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solangelotus · 2 days

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she’s thunderstorms

luke castellan x reader (MDNI)

beautiful patterns on the window pane

summary: you and luke agreed to be friends with benefits, but that all changes for you after a climactic moment together. luke knew his feelings before this agreement, but yours are a sudden revelation.

word count: 4.2k

warnings: zeus!reader, talks about greek tragedies/violence, angst if you squint, smut MDNI! (warnings under the cut). clarisse x silena. reader wears a bikini. percabeth mentions. reader has long enough hair for two braids

author’s note: this is based off of this post i saw! also, this is my first time writing something creatively in a whopping FIVE years! so please be kind <3 this will be a small series that i have planned out, but i want to see how this is received before committing!

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smut warnings: oral (f receiving), unprotected sex (don’t do that), p in v, slight breeding kink maybe, praise, pet names. little bit of dom reader and sub luke but nothing too obvious

a forbidden child. gods and monsters alike all wanted you to pay for a life you didn’t even ask for. you had tried leaving camp occasionally, opting to try and live a somewhat normal life but it wasn’t possible as a child of the king of the gods. you always made your way back to camp half-blood, and back to the only place that feels like home.

this summer the heat is overwhelming. any day where you weren’t forced to teach combat or how to make friendship bracelets meant taking advantage of the empty beach that overlooked long island sound. your reprieve from the heat was typically spent with other campers. silena beauregard and clarissa la rue joined you today, and all three of you rested on towels underneath the bright sun.

“where’s luke?” clarisse asks, handing you a bowl of strawberries from the picnic basket you three had packed at lunch.

“oh, him and chris are stuck on dish duty,” silena explains with a shrug, not caring about the fact she’s to be blamed for their absences. “their cabin was a big mess this morning, and it was the nicest job i could give them. cabin nine is on stable duties right now. can’t have charlie thinking i’m soft on him. lee’s at an infirmary shift i think.”

“you are soft on him,” clarisse teases and silena scrunches her nose at her taller girlfriend. the latter shoves a strawberry into the former’s mouth with a laugh. “what? it’s no different than my friendship with chris, and i am not afraid to admit i’m soft on him. they're our exes.”

“y/n’s not soft on her exes, she’s only soft on her boy toy,” silena points out, and you lift your sunglasses to rest them on the top of your head. you narrow your eyes at the daughter of aphrodite.

“i don’t have any exes, and he is not my boy toy.”

“no, he’s just your best friend who you occasionally fuck and are completely in love with.”

“but you’re not denying that you have a soft spot for him?” silena smirks. of course, you are soft for luke castellan.

the son of hermes was the first person you met at camp and had been your best friend since you were fifteen. no matter how prideful you were, there was no chance of denying your loyalty to the boy who had been at your side for the last four years.

“it’s not like that,” you say to clarisse, ignoring silena’s question. “it’s strictly platonic. we have an agreement.”

“yeah, yeah, we know you don’t do relationships,” silena interjects, stating it as if it’s the biggest sin someone could commit. you suppose it may be to her; she was a favorite of her mother, and everything she did and said was full of love.

“no fighting, you two.”

“rich coming from you.”

“y/n!”

“what? i was joking!”

“it’s so funny,” clarisse deadpans, and the three of you begin to laugh. you put your empty bowl back into the picnic basket and pull your band tee off before pushing yourself up to stand.

“can we swim now?”

“give me a second,” the daughter of aphrodite says and takes your hand to stand. covering her swimsuit is a floor-length pink sundress that you’re certain was the reason she and clarisse happened to be late to the beach.

silena may have inherited desire from her mother, but clarisse inherited passion from her father. you never would have pinned clarisse to like fashion, but anytime silena wore a sundress it was bad news for anyone around them. once she sheds the dress, clarisse grabs her hand and runs towards the water. you trail behind them, enjoying the sight of two of your closest friends' love for each other.

truth be told, you did envy them to some extent. the average demigod's lifespan was already short, and yours was even shorter. making it to nineteen was a miracle in and of itself.

it didn’t seem fair to rope someone else into a romantic greek tragedy. you would only do it if you were the one left behind. but as a forbidden child, that was and will never be an option. you are the eurydice, the hyacinthus, the daphne, and the achilles. in every version of your story, death would be your only option. grief would be a privilege.

by the time the boys finished their chores, they came into view with a few stragglers behind them. “oh, great. i thought the point of beach days was that they were childless.”

“who even is it?” you ask after silena splashes clarisse for her comments.

“looks like that fucking new kid.”

“you stay away from him, clar.”

“no promises, love.”

“oh, are you talking about percy jackson?”

“yeah, he failed his cabin inspection too,” silena answers you. if you had a soft spot for anyone, it would undoubtedly be the only other forbidden child at camp (sans your pine tree sister). luke spent a lot of time training percy, and you spent a lot of time voicing your experiences and frustrations with each other.

“he’s the only one in his cabin.”

“so is y/n, and she hardly ever makes it in the top five,” silena points out and you splash her. the boys set down their stuff, and you notice percy getting pushed by another girl. you make your way onto the shore as percy sprints past you with annabeth right on his heels.

“hey, stormy,” luke greets you. you swat at his hand which tries to touch your hip and push him away from you with a laugh. he gets his hands back on you and pulls your back flush against his chest. his hand snakes around to rest on the lower part of your belly. “can you blame me for wanting to get my hands on you when you look this good?”

“luke!” you chastised. before summer started, you both had snuck out of camp to go shopping with the money your mom had sent you. when you tried on the royal blue bikini, luke’s jaw had gone slack and you knew you had to buy it. he looks at you with a smirk once you spin around, and you stand on the tip of your toes to whisper in his ear. “you can do that later.”

“gods,” he mumbles and watches as you run back into the water. you cup a handful of water and throw it at percy who retaliates by sending a wave of water down on top of you.

luke feels like he can’t breathe when he sees you laugh and squeeze the water out of your soaking braids. he watches your hands and feels his heartbeat race as he sees you adjust the bottoms of your swimsuit.

“stop staring,” lee fletcher nudges him with a smile, and chris nods from beside him. the boys relentlessly tease luke at every chance they get. they knew to keep the information about you and luke to themselves but he was a loudmouth. he had trouble keeping it in when you were such a beautiful person to love on.

“i need to go help lena with clarisse before she tries to kill percy,” chris groans and runs into the water when percy accidentally splashes her in the process of trying to get annabeth. beckendorf follows him to help, but silena successfully stops clarisse’s anger with a kiss. luke wishes he could be so open with his affection for you.

he pulls his shirt off and sets it down beside yours. he catches your smile when he begins his descent into the water, and your eyes dip down to his v-line that pokes out from his swimming trunks. gods, he is going to kill you someday.

“y/n,” annabeth drags out your name and tugs on your arm, “play chicken with me and percy, please?”

“sure, you want castellan in on it?”

“luke,” she calls out and wades over to him. he smiles at her and tries to shake his head, but the young girl tugs him over until you are face to face with his pout.

“this feels unfair, stormy. why did you say yes?”

“just bend down,” you instruct and he blushes. he would be lying if he said he doesn’t love when you order him around.

“yes, ma’am.”

you push yourself up onto the lithe boy’s shoulders, just as a wave pulls annabeth out of the water and onto percy’s shoulders. she squeals in surprise, and he latches onto her hands to keep her balanced. you smile at the two, and look over at silena who sends you a silent message: percy is trying to impress annabeth. he likes her, and you know the daughter of athena well enough to recognize those feelings are returned.

annabeth calls your name, and you find yourself tugging and pushing against her to try and knock her off of her perch. luke’s grip on your thighs is distracting, especially as you feel him move his hands higher up at each opportunity. your heart speeds up in your chest and you can’t tell if it’s from the hands teasing the flesh on your legs or from the excitement of pushing the girl into the water.

percy groans and dips under the water to find her, while you and luke cheer. you try to coax him to look up at you but fail to move his head and feel a sharp, pleasurable pain on your thigh. you smack his chest, and he looks up at you with a wide grin. your heart drops to your stomach when you see the deep red mark presenting itself on your thigh. you splash water at his face when you hop down from his shoulders and he winces. “did you fucking bite me?”

“that,” he pauses and pulls you flush against him, “is payback for annabeth wanting me to go to the infirmary last week for the hickeys you left.”

“oh.”

it wasn’t very often that luke was able to make a mess of you in public. usually, you force him to keep it behind closed doors. he stares down at you with a smirk, enjoying the pink dusting your cheeks.

he spins you and wraps his arms around you from behind. you were familiar with this dangerous dance of his, one that he does when he wants you. “it would be a shame if a storm were to ruin our beach day, and we had to go back to your cabin.”

“a shame indeed,” you agree, and feel a tug in your stomach as you hold your hand towards a faraway point of the rocky shore. lightning strikes down, and a scream comes from percy as rain clouds begin forming overhead. annabeth laughs at her boy’s antics and runs with him as he tries to get to the shore as fast as possible. “you’re going to have to work a little harder than that to get what you want.”

“y/n, luke! come on!” silena calls and luke whines as you push off of him. he watches as you saunter out of the water, one hand behind you as you wield more storm clouds into camp. he slowly follows you and dies when you pull your tee shirt over your head. your ass pokes out from the bottom of the arctic monkeys shirt he had gotten with a five-finger discount at a concert you had snuck into. he would do anything you want right now if you were alone on this beach.

you turn around and toss him your towel, which blinds him as it lands directly on his face. you and percy laugh together, and luke just stands in defeat until he feels the fabric fall off his face. you move and stop yourself in front of him to wrap the towel around his neck as if it’s a cape. the smile on your face as you dry off his shoulders and chest makes him fully believe you were made for him. he says a silent prayer to zeus. he finds himself praying to your father more than ever. only the king of the gods could bring such an ethereal being to life. he’s sure that you were more divine than human.

“you like this, don’t you?” you ask. luke leans his face into your hands as you dry his hair off.

“hmm?”

“me taking care of you,” you add, causing him to blush. he takes the towel from you and covers his face again. “nothing to be embarrassed about, pretty boy. you know i like it, too.”

“stormy,” he groans and you rip the towel off his face.

“c’mon guys, we need to get back to our cabins before the storm starts,” lee ushers everyone off the shore.

“it just came out of nowhere,” percy pouts, saddened by the rain ruining his swimming.

“yeah, super weird, perce,” silena agrees and narrows her eyes at you. you tug luke with you as you run off into the tree line with him. far enough away from both the beach and the cabins is when you find yourself pushing luke against the trunk of a tree. he smiles down at you, his cheeks red, and he reminds you vividly of the first time you decided to sleep together.

bruises litter his skin as you kiss a path up his chest back to his neck. his hands grip your thighs and you let out quiet sighs when he squeezes them ever so slightly. you sit up, your core resting lightly on him, and grind down on him. his eyes close at the movement and he lets out a low groan, his grip becoming tighter. it feels more intimate than anything you have done. your best friend squirms underneath you, and you feel a love and desire unlike any before.

you cup his cheeks and instruct him to open his eyes. he looks at you with heavy lids, and a heavy, warm feeling erupts in your chest. his cheeks are flushed, and he has a small content smile on his face. you feel like the most important person in the world; you feel like more than just a daughter.

you dip down and kiss him hard, a moan surprising the both of you from the back of his throat. you roll your hips against his again and open your mouth in surprise at how hard he is. his head falls back against your pillow, and you begin to kiss along his jaw, “is this okay?”

“yeah, that’s — that’s okay, y/n,” he speaks through gasps and you smile against his skin. he feels your teeth against his adam’s apple and murmurs your name again. “please, keep going. don’t stop.”

luke’s mouth on yours brings you out of your reverie. his hands toy with the end of your shirt, and he slips his tongue into your mouth when you gasp. his fingertips trace lightly over your core on your bikini bottoms, and your hands grip his arms tightly. you can hear your friends closing in from a distance. “we can’t be doing this here, luke.”

“i want you,” he whines when you circle his wrist with your fingers to pull it away. you let go and walk backwards in the direction of the camp with him walking slowly towards you, like a predator to prey.

“come get me then,” you tell him and turn to sprint towards your cabin. he has an advantage in sword fighting, but you will always be faster than him. he gains ground on you with his long legs, but you run into your cabin before him. his chest heaves by the time you let him lay you down on the bed.

luke likes you in control of him, teasing and teaching him where you like to be touched. he enjoys you teaching him new things about himself, where he’s most sensitive, and what makes him cum fastest. he loves when you relinquish control once in a while and you let him divulge and enjoy every part of your body that he can.

what luke castellan enjoys most is when your body shakes as he eats you out. he knows you love it, too, by the eagerness with which you allow the bottoms of your bikini to be removed.

he applies light pressure to your clit with his tongue and pushes your hips down to prevent you from squirming away from him. fervent moans leave your body, and your thighs squeeze his head. the way his tongue quickly switches from kitten licks to lapping makes your head spin until his name comes out like a mantra, like a prayer. luke, luke, luke. you’re tempted to give gratitude to the gods for blessing you with such a lover.

when he kisses you, you wrap your legs around his waist and rake your fingers through his hair. he pulls away and nuzzles his face into your neck. you wrap your arms around him, in a tight hug, and a contented sigh leaves his lips. he enjoys moments where you let him love you too.

his feelings remain unknown to you, but each time he finds himself touching you, tasting you, and feeling you around him is reason enough to enjoy your friendship as it is. although, truly, he feels this is something that even friends don’t do. you confirm his suspicions when you manage to flip him and remove his swim trunks. no friend that he knows of could ever touch him so easily, get him to breathe so heavily, and make him nearly cum with just a few strokes.

“leave your shirt on,” he breathes out, his breathing heavy from you guiding him inside you. he fills you completely, and a sigh escapes your lips. your eyes meet each other and luke believes you look like royalty with the soft glow of the sunset in the background creating a halo around your head. your hair is in two braids — something he was sure clarisse did for you — and he toys with the ends, trying to steady his breathing as you remain reluctant to move.

“why?”

“truthfully, you look stunning in nothing but that shirt?”

“this shirt?” you laugh, and he groans as he feels you tighten around him. his head falls back against his pillow, and you move your hips in slow, languid circles against him.

it’s hard to keep serious, to act like he doesn’t press against your walls in the most perfect ways. like he doesn’t make you feel better than any person before him. you rest a hand on the nape of his neck and push lightly so he is forced to look at you. you try to remain calm, despite the building pressure. “clarisse always goes crazy when silena wears sundresses. you feel that way with these shirts?”

“yes,” he sighs. you often find yourself being asked to keep the band tees on during sex that he has stolen for you. luke can’t explain it, there’s just something so electric about something he has gotten you adorning your body. the bands, and the music, brought you much passion and you when you were passionate was something that drove him up a wall.

he couldn’t deny that your frame adored by the graphic band tees was something he thought about while fucking his fist when he failed to have you. now that he has you, he tries his best to share what turns him on the most. “you look like royalty.”

“i am,” you retort, and increase the pace of your hips. you groan and lean down to rest your forearms on either side of his head. he looks at you, eyes full of bliss, and he sits up enough to smash your lips together. you moan into his mouth, struggling to keep your wits when it feels so good. “what do you want, pretty boy?”

luke takes a second to comprehend your question. he’s whimpering and gripping your sides hard enough to leave bruises. sometimes you wonder if you are made for each other when he fucks you this well. he tries to take a deep breath, but his breath comes out in shutters. “can i mark you up?”

“f-fuck, yeah,” you mutter, and he sits up, his confidence increasing from the stutter in your words. he wraps his arms around your back, pulling you tight against him. he nibbles at your neck, running his tongue over the marks to soothe them. you are sure you have reached elysium; his teeth on your neck, and his hands guiding your hips as you rock against him. “luke?”

this is the most control you have ever granted him. he relishes the opportunity to make you fall apart and wonders why it all suddenly feels so different as you struggle to keep up your pace. on the other hand, you found yourself experiencing similar thoughts. you are more relaxed this time, more comfortable with allowing him to do whatever he wants with your body. it’s true intimacy, you finally allow yourself to relinquish what led you to sex in the first place: control.

“yeah?”

“i-i want, um, i want,” you pause, taking in a gasp of air. he feels so good, so godly. you feel pathetic but fail to care. you know luke would never use this vulnerability against you. it’s hard to focus when he fills you so perfectly to the point where you are nearly knocked over the edge.

“what do you want, princess?” he asks, and you blush at the near-pornographic moan that leaves your throat. you rest your forehead on his shoulder, trying to hide your flushed cheeks. he reaches between your sweaty bodies and begins to rub harsh circles on your clit, causing a high-pitched whine to leave your throat. “c’mon, princess, you're doing so good. tell me what you want.”

“fuck,” you cry, biting down on his shoulder to prevent another loud moan from escaping your mouth. he groans and quickened his pace on your clit, causing another string of whimpers to leave you. you are entirely sure that you have never remained on edge for so long. you want to scream, to shout his name to anyone who will hear. you don’t even care if the whole camp hears. the praises, the nicknames, it’s all so new and so invigorating.

“please, talk to me.”

“i’m so close.”

“me too, baby. where do you want me to finish?”

“luke,” your voice comes out as a whine again, “cum in me.”

few words escape either of you, they are replaced with lewd sounds loud enough to only increase your arousal. he channels his unraveling with fast, rough movements on your clit, and with his mouth sucking on your neck.

you cum first, squeezing him within an inch of his life. he removes his fingers from your core, and places them on your hips, lifting and slamming you down on his cock. you nearly scream, the feeling so overstimulating after two orgasms.

when he finally cums in you with a groan, you clench around him, milking every last drop you can get. when you first slept together (and every consecutive time following), you felt embarrassed at the idea of him cumming inside of you being so hot.

he assures you each time that he feels the same, but you never have the confidence to let it happen. now you couldn’t care less at the idea as he collapses onto his back with you falling on his chest.

both of you are unsure of how long you lay there, but it’s long enough for him to soften inside of you. every movement leaves you whimpering, so spent from the activities of the day. he holds you tight, and you trace shapes and letters on his chest as he tries to guess them.

when he finally falls asleep, you pull yourself off him and admire the soft, kind boy beside you. you trace the scar on his face, and lean up to kiss the corner of his mouth. he doesn’t so much as stir in his sleep, and you catch yourself tracing three letters on his chest: I, L, Y.

luke is clueless of this as he sleeps, which you thank the gods for. love was never something you thought you would experience, but this surely had to be it, right? this was something so spectacular and ground shaking to you.

there were parts of yourself that he knew of that you would never tell anyone. you were fucked, you knew this the first time he made you cum. all of that pent up tension was more than sexual frustration, it was desire and blooming feelings you tried to hide from the moment you met him.

no one matches the feeling in your chest when he smiles. no one matches the butterflies in your belly when he pays you attention. no one ever has and ever will receive the same love you give luke, and maybe this is the moment where you finally will accept that it’s okay to love the son of hermes.

#tomi writes #luke fic recs #luke castellan fic #luke castellan imagine #luke castellan smut #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan x you #sub luke castellan #luke castellan #zeus reader #luke castellan x zeus!reader #lee fletcher #ruegard #pjo fanfic #luke castellan fanfic #please be nice

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cosmopretty · 3 days

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Break Up

UConn’s fem manger

warnings: angst, emotional abuse, a small sexual assault

You have been managing UConn’s woman’s basketball team for almost two years now. You lived in the dorms with the rest of the girls, you were close with all of them. But recently you have been seeing this boy you met at one of the team’s basketball games. The girls all hated him and they said he was manipulative, rude, disrespectful but you didn’t see that.

Practice just ended for the day and you were walking back to the dorms in between Azzi and Aubrey. They were both talking about the game this weekend while you listened to them both. You were about to open your mouth to speak before your phone started ringing. You saw it was Luke you smiled before answering the phone. “Hey Luke” you said while Azzi rolled her eyes not liking the boy one bit. You heard him move around on the other side of the phone “Get dressed up I’m taking you out tonight at six” he tells you before hanging up without hearing you even respond.

You put your phone back in your pocket and smile to yourself, Aubrey nudges you “What’s got you all smiley?” she asks you. Shaking your head you look up at the girl “Luke is taking me out on a date today. What should I wear? Oh and my hair? to-“ you start rambling before Aubrey stops you putting her hands on your shoulders “Relax tiny just wait till we get home” you nod at her words and continue walking back to the dorms.

The second you got back to your dorm you went straight to the shower. It was around five pm now which meant you had around an hour to get ready. Stepping out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around your body you flinch seeing Nika sitting on your bed. You put your hand on you chest “You scared the fuck out of me Niks don’t do that” you breath out. She shrugs “Heard you have a little date” the international girl states. Nodding your head slowly you go to your draws and slide on a pair of panties and grab the dress from your bed and slide it on. You were comfortable with the girls so you didn’t really care what they saw. Nika looks you up and down “Cute dress” she compliments you but you can tell she is holding back what she really wants to say.

Sighing you raise your brows at the girl “What is it Niks?” you ask her. She groans and gets up looking down at you “Luke isn’t the guy you think he is Y/N. I see how he manipulates and treats you come on I know you’re not dumb” Nika says. You furrow your brows at her and look down a lump forming in your throat “Get out” you say. Nika opens her mouth to speak again before you open the door “Now Nika” you say. The Croatian girl gets up and walks out knowing you were hurt by her words since you never used her first name. You sit down on your bed and think of what she just told you. Luke was sweet but he also liked to control everything you did, you saw it as him being protective the girls saw it as him controlling you. They had no idea the words he had said to you after you first met. He told you that he was the only boy who would ever love you as you are, he was talking about you liking both boys and girls. He made fun of your body and hair and told you no one would love you. But he also cared for you in a way no one ever has before, even though he did switch up and hurt you with his words he also held you and “cared” for you.

Sighing you get up and grab your makeup bag starting to put some mascara on. After finishing your makeup you start straightening your hair you do half before getting tired. Walking out of your room you knock on Paige’s door, she opens it and looks down at you raising her brows trying not to laugh at your hair being half straight half a mess “Can you help me please?” you ask holding up the straightener. Paige nods and follows you back to your room, she sits behind you on your bed and starts brushing your hair then straightening it. After she finishes you turn around smiling “Thanks Paigey I gotta go now” you grab your bag sliding in a pair of heels before smiling at her once more and running outside to meet up with your man, Luke.

“Hey Luke” you slide into the passenger seat of his car. He looks you up and down “Let’s just go back to my house instead of dinner I’m tired” you bite your lip.

“But I got all ready come on” you whine he shrugs and continues to drive down to his house ignoring you.

Once you get there you both sit down on his couch making out, you on his lap. You pull away out of breath “Lets watch a movie or something” you ask moving to get off of his lap.

Luke groans and rolls his eyes “Come on you never wanna go past kissing. What are you scared or something? You’re such a bitch bro like na” he groans again.

“What?” You ask him genuinely confused, he looks at you and pulls you into him grabbing your ass. You push his hands off of you “stop seriously” you try to walk away before he pulls you into him grabbing your ass again. You push him but it goes to no use has he feels all over your body, tears leave your eyes before you kick him hard in the stomach.

You take a few steps back away from him “What the fuck Luke? I said stopped I tried to push you off of me” you look at him wide eyes wiping your tears.

“Get out bro if you don’t wanna fuck we shouldn’t be together in the first place” he says throwing your bag at you.

You run out of his apartment and start walking back home to your apartment tears leaving your eyes, mascara down your ur face. You sniffle holding your arms close to your body in a way to protect yourself.

———

Walking into the dorms you see Aubrey, Nika, Paige, KK and Azzi sitting in the ouch on live. You immediately put your head down and try to walk past them unnoticed but of course KK had to say something “Girlypop come say hi to the live!” You shake your head no not trusting your voice and lift your head. KK straight away ends the live the second she saw your tear stricken face. “What happened bebo?” Nika asks walking up to your going to hug you before you step back shaking your head no.

“Im just tired” you voice cracks and you run to your dorm going straight into the shower trying to forget about what happened.

You step out of the water once it goes cold, not knowing hold long you have been sitting in there letting the water run over your body. You slide on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top before looking in the mirror rubbing your face. Going into your room you see both Paige and Azzi sitting on your bed.

“You guys okay?” You ask them both confused on what they were doing. Azzi looks at your shocked “Are we okay? Are you okay? You came home crying all scared looking like a lost puppy! What the hell happened?” Paige asks you.

Looking down you sigh letting out a shaken breath. The vibe in the room changed and you breathe out again “Luke broke up with me” your voice cracks again but you refuse to cry again.

Azzi pulls you down on the bed with her and hugs you. You don’t flinch away instead falling into her arms “He broke up with me because I didn’t wanna do sex. He kept touching me I-I tried to push him off of me but but h-he didn’t stop” you cry into her chest.

Paige mouth opens in shock “He didn’t uhm you know he uhm” she stutters out.

You look up and Paige wipes your tears “He didn’t do anything besides touch all over me but it was uncomfortable I thought he really liked me” you sit down bringing your knees to your chest.

Both of the two basketball players don’t know what to say to you. Nika walks in and looks at them both with a look for them to leave you alone with her. Paige and Azzi leave not before both of them kiss your forehead.

Nika sits next to you and you lay your head on her shoulder “You were right Niks” you say.

The Croatian girl shakes her head “I wish I wasn’t Y/n you deserve to be loved you know that” you shake your head no at her words. She lifts your head from her shoulder and looks at you she pulls your shirt up a bit seeing the red marks from how hard Luke was gripping your body.

Nika shakes your head “Ubit ću tog gada” she mutters under her breath.

You slap her shoulder “I don’t understand you Niks” you whine. She shakes her head and repeats herself in English “I will kill that bastard”

You laugh “How about no we need you to get into the WNBA you can’t do that jail” you laugh some more. Nika smiles seeing you laughing “Who says I get caught?” The taller girl teases. You laughs more not being able to stop yourself and soon Nika joins you.

She gets up “Come let’s watch a movie with the girls Aubrey ordered canes and KK has her trufru” she holds her hand out to you.

Grabbing her hand you both walk over to the living where, Azzi,KK,Aubrey and Paige sat in silence. You make a face at them “Who died god damn it’s so silent” you say.

KK runs up to you and hugs you twirling you around in a circle “Girlypop I swear to the trufru gods I will end that man” you laugh as she puts you down.

You sit on the couch and Aubrey hands you some fries and a milkshake “Thanks Aubs your the best” you smile sipping the shake.

“What movie we watching?” Paige asks sitting on the floor on the pillows. Everyone shrugs “Lets watch The Maze Runner I love that movie” Paige nods and grabs the remote turning it on. KK lays her head in your lap and hands you some trufru “You know I like you when I give your trufru” she says you roll your eyes at her words.

Send requests please

#paige bueckers #paige buckets #uconn wbb #uconn huskies #kk arnold #nika muhl #azzi fudd #geno auriemma #ice brady

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kteezy997 · 3 days

Text

Daddy's Boy-Part Thirteen(the end)//t.c.

Warnings: angst, cursing, smut, pregnant sex, little bit of dirty talk

In the weeks following the honeymoon, your belly really started to grow. Both of your boys were obsessed with the bump. Theo would bring in his favorite books into your room to read to the baby at bedtime. Timmy would lay his head on the bump, caressing it, and whisper sweet little phrases in French.

It was even better when you found out the gender and you all could call the baby by his name, Dylan. You came up with his name as Timmy had wrapped the Bob Dylan film that he had worked so very hard on for years. When he heard your pick for your second child's name, he was in love with it. "It's perfect." he said.

"Dylan Chalamet. It's so cute." you replied, hugging your husband and giving him a kiss.

Theo learned how to write his baby brother's name, and even colored him a picture for his nursery. "That's me, daddy, mommy, and baby Dylan." he explained, pointing to each of the adorable stick figures he had drawn, with each name spelled out perfectly.

"We will put it in the baby's room, just above the crib. That way he will see it every morning when he wakes up." you said, hugging your son before taking the drawing to hang it up.

Theo kept one of your ultrasound photos and slept with it every night as if it was a teddy bear. When Timmy discovered this one night, he became emotional. You could even see the tears welling up in his eyes. He pulled you into a hug, saying, "He's going to be the best big brother."

........

Time flew by during this pregnancy, and before you knew it, you were ready to pop any day.

One night during your ninth month, Theo was oddly quiet during dinner. Afterwards, he opted to work on his spelling words in his room by himself.

As you cleaned the dinner table together, you decided to mention your concern for your son to Timmy. "Do you think Theo is acting a little weird? Like he's not quite himself today?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on with him. You should get off your feet, babe. Go sit with him in his room, talk to him, okay?" Timmy answered, stepping over to you to press a sweet kiss on your cheek while he gave a soft rub to your large belly.

"Okay. I'll see what’s bugging him."

.......

You knocked on Theo's bedroom door, opening it and peeking your head in, "Hey buddy, is it okay if I come in?"

He was lying on his bed with his papers in front him and responded, "Yeah."

"You were really quiet during dinner, is everything okay, Theo?" you asked, your calming mom voice was present as you sat down on your little boy's bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he mumbled, writing out one of his spelling words.

You frowned, not fully convinced by him, "Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about anything, is it something to do with the new baby coming?"

Theo shrugged, not looking up at you. "I don't know. It's just that I don't want you and Daddy to forget about me when Dylan gets here."

You could feel how sad your boy was, and it hurt your heart that he felt this way. You put your hand on his head, caressing his hair to soothe him. "That could never happen. We are going to love you and Dylan both equally, we could never forget you. You're our son, we love you more than there are stars in the sky. Don't you know that?"

Theo sighed, "Yeah, I guess. But what if Dad likes Dylan more than me and doesn't want to play with me anymore?”

"Oh, Daddy will always want to play with you. You guys are the best of friends, and when Dylan comes, he will be Daddy' other best friend, but nothing will change."

He put his chin on his hand, tracing letters, "Okay."

You realized what he needed. "Come with me, you should talk with your Dad about this."

...........

You took Theo by the hand into the kitchen, finding Timmy at the sink, washing dishes.

"Hey," your husband greeted you both, "is everything alright?" he set the wet, clean plate in his hand into the dish drying rack on the counter.

"Theo is having a hard time with the baby coming. He's worried that you won't want to play with him anymore." you explained.

Timmy frowned, grabbed the dish towel nearby to dry his hands, "Hey," he said, kneeling down to Theo's height, "don't think like that. We'll always be buddies, that will never change. We'll just have Dylan to hang out with too, and I will never let you feel left out, okay?"

"Do you promise?" Theo asked, his eyes widening at his father.

"Of course." Timmy answered, holding out his pinky finger. As he let Theo wrap his own pinky around it, he asked, "What is a pinky promise?"

"The most solemn vow there is!" the boy said, smiling.

.......

You came into your bedroom later on, after tucking Theo in. Timmy was already under the covers. You figured that he was naked, as you had been making love nearly every night the last couple of weeks. You were always in the mood lately. It felt amazing to ride him, or for him to fuck you softly from the side. You both typically loved the missionary position, but with a basketball-sized belly in between you, it was nearly impossible.

You smiled at your husband as you got into bed. It felt so relieving to lay down and be off of your swollen feet. "You were great with him tonight." you said, taking his hand in yours.

"Yeah, well, you set it up for me. He just needed reassurance." Timmy said, squeezing your hand lightly and caressing his thumb over your hand.

"You don't always have to praise me." you told him, resting your other hand on your baby bump belly.

"Oh, but I do. How could I not give you a compliment every chance I get?" he cooed, leaning in to kiss you on the cheek.

You leaned into his kiss just for a moment, but then you felt the baby move awkwardly in your stomach. "Oof." you said softly, moving your hand toward where the movement was.

Timmy sat up, "Everything okay?" His protective mode was engaged.

"Yeah, yeah, I think he's just moving lower. Just getting ready to come out."

"Okay. At least all the sex is working to induce the birth." he wiggled his eyebrows at you.

"Yeah, I think it's working nicely." you turned to him, kissing his lips. "You're doing great, Daddy." you smirked. "But I'm ready for him to be out of me." you giggled.

Timmy grinned as well, giving you another kiss. "I know you are, baby. But he'll be here really soon."

"Ugh, I know. I can't wait to meet him." you scooted closer to him, then rested your head on his bare chest.

"Theo is worried about you giving birth."

"Oh,” you frowned, looking up at him, “did he ask you about where babies come from?"

"No, not exactly. He was just curious if it would hurt you to have Dylan come out."

"What did you tell him?" you sat up in the bed.

"I told him that it would hurt, but the doctors can give you medicine to help with the pain. He’s just worried about his mom. I have to admit, I am not looking forward to seeing you in that amount of pain.” You could see the genuine concern in his green eyes.

“Oh, honey it’s okay.” you touched his cheek, “You’ll be there with me, so I know everything will be okay. Besides, when it’s all over, we will have our sweet baby boy. And Theo will have his brother.”

“He’s been so excited about the baby. I hope what he was feeling today is only a temporary thing.”

“Oh I’m sure once he sees the baby, all his worries will be forgotten. Anyway, I'm not looking forward to the day when he does ask about where babies come from. I hope he asks you."

"Me?" Timmy laughed, "Why me?"

"I don't know, because you're both boys. And because I don't want to have that talk with him, he's my little boy. So innocent, you know?"

“Yeah, I guess it would be easier to understand for him when he’s not talking to his mom. That’d be awkward as fuck.”

“Which is why when the time comes, down the road, you’ll be having the sex talk with both boys.”

Timmy visibly winced, “Oh man, I do not want to think of our boys being that old. But I do love having sex talk with their mom.” he then snuggled close to you.

“Is that your segue into having sex right now?” you giggled.

“Yes. Is it working?”

You climbed onto him, throwing your hands into his hair, “Of course it is.”

Your husband gave you a sly grin as you leaned to kiss him, and you softly bucked your hips in his lap. His cock grew hard within seconds.

“Mm, push my panties to the side.” you moaned against his lips.

Timmy did as he was told, sliding the fabric away from your pussy so he could sheath his thick cock inside of you.

You moaned deeply, trembling at the feeling.

He held your hips, looking up at you, his eyes wide like a child looking at a lit up Christmas tree. “You’re so amazing, y/n, you feel so good.”

“Ahhh.” you pulled him into your tight embrace, bucking your hips as best as you could with your belly in the way. He filled you up perfectly, the rubbing on your walls made your pussy throb around him.

Timmy held onto you, sucking on your neck, nibbling along your collarbone. “Yes, baby, fuck me. That’s it.”

He was always so sweet and encouraging lately, it turned you on even more. You grabbed his hands, plopping them onto your heavy breasts, and plunged down on him harder.

“Just like that, fuck.” he praised, scrunching his brows in pleasure and biting his lip. He watched your breasts as they bounced under your oversized night shirt.

He started to rub your breasts, the wet slapping sound underneath you thundered through the bedroom, and you were brought over the brink of your orgasm. You could feel Timmy come inside of you as well.

I am ending this story for now, but I could be persuaded to do a sequel, if enough people would be interested!

@gatoenlaciudad @thebetawolfgirl @musicandbooksaremyhappyplace @softhecreator @tchalamss @lixzey @bitchyunknownuser @ducktapebar @aoi-targaryen @yukideadinside @elloise0 @thatoneweirdgirl17 @mel-vaz @sammy-halpert @iwishchalamet @that-one-fangirl69 @jindongdongie @briefkittenearthquake

#timmy chalamet #timothée chalamet fanfic #timothée chalamet #timothée imagine #timothee x reader #timothee chalamet smut #timothee chalamet #timothee fanfic #lil timmy tim

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xoxoavenger · 3 days

Text

Give Me Your Weekends

pairing: JJ Maybank x Fem!Reader

summary: But I knew you/Playing hide-and-seek and/Giving me your weekends, I/I knew you/Your heartbeat on the High Line/Once in 20 lifetimes, I/And when I felt like I was an old cardigan/Under someone's bed/You put me on and said I was your favorite

word count: 1263

cardigan masterlist main masterlist

"So, ya know how today was supposed to be our date night?" Y/N says as she gets home from work. JJ had just gotten back as well, but John B was still out. Sarah was on the couch, and for a moment Y/N thought of how weird it was that they were all living together.

"Yes." JJ starts, walking in and pausing. "Just like every other Saturday night."

"I got a call from the Kamps," She starts. She feels guilty, she does, but she couldn't pass this up and she hopes JJ agrees. "They asked me to babysit. They're paying well and we really need the money." They were trying to move out, because recently Kie and Pope had been staying over and there wasn't enough room for all six of them in the Chateau. Plus, it would be nice to have their own place, to show their parents that they were responsible despite their upbringing.

"It's fine." JJ smiles and puts his hands on her arms, effectively calming her down. "I'll come too, and we can make it a date night." She can't believe she got someone like JJ. Someone who would give up his date night, his weekend, just to be with her while she babysat.

"It's overnight." She cringes as she says it, but JJ just smiles and pulls her in.

"We can play house." She smiles as her face heats, her heart being overloaded with feelings.

"I love you." She tells him, arms around his neck as his rest low on her hips. She leans in for a kiss, and of course he accepts.

When they make it to the house, JJ realizes this is not in Figure Eight, like he once thought. This family lives on the cut.

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" Mrs. Kamp is saying, her hair a mess. She's disheveled, and JJ has a feeling he knows what she's gonna say before she says it. "I'm so sorry for the late notice, but our usual babysitter was busy and Mike's mother is in the hospital on the mainland."

"It's no problem, really. I hope your mother-in-law is alright." Y/N says with a smile. Mr. Kamp comes out with a bag over his shoulder. They thank the young couple one more time before heading out, leaving Y/N and JJ with the kids.

The kids who are much younger than Y/N thought.

Of course, Mrs. Kamp never told Y/N how old the kids were, but she assumed that at least one of them were older than five. However, they looked around two and four, both coloring at the table. There was a note on the counter, telling Y/N that she's welcome to sleep in their bedroom and to help herself to anything in the fridge or pantry, that Mrs. Kamp will text her to let her know when they will be coming back.

"Hello," She says cheerfully once she finishes reading, the two kids looking over at her. The older one was a little boy who looked like the carbon copy of his mother. The girl looked more like a mix of both, hair braided nicely. "My name is Y/N, and this is JJ." It was then that Y/N realized that she didn't know the name of the kids.

"My name is Landon." The boy says, going back to coloring. "My sister is Jane." Jane is still looking at them with wide eyes, clutching her crayon.

"Did you guys already eat dinner?" Y/N asks, not seeing any signs of a meal in the kitchen.

"Yeah. Mom made us mac n cheese and chicken nuggets." Landon spoke very well for a kid his age.

"Cheese!" Jane yelled, smiling brightly.

"Do you mind if I color?" JJ asks, going to sit on the empty seat next to Jane. She nods and hands him the purple crayon. "I like this picture you've made." Y/N's heart swells as she watches JJ with the little girl. They don't look anything alike, but Y/N can't help but feel her feelings expand out of her chest.

"I made a pirate." Landon says as Y/N goes to sit next to him. What he made is not a pirate, but in fact a bunch of scribbles.

"It looks wonderful." She says, smiling as she looks it over. "The shading is the work of a true artist." She tells him, watching him beam and blush.

After they were done coloring, Jane looked up at JJ with big eyes and said "Hide seek?" JJ wouldn't be caught dead saying no to this girl, so he nods and helps her clean up. The couple cover their laughs when the kids are hiding terribly, behind curtains or under blankets. At one point they lose Landon for a couple minutes, long enough for them to freak out slightly until they finally find him in the shower of the bathroom. After that, they get the kids ready for bed without a hitch. They ask for their parents once, but otherwise they go to sleep with their water bottles on each bedside table.

"I brought something for us to share on the patio." She tells him, smiling as she goes to her small duffle bag and pulls out two bottles of beer.

"A woman after my very heart." JJ smiles, leaning in to kiss her as he grabs a beer.

"I've already got it." She tells him. He shrugs with a smirk, taking her hand and leading her out to the patio. It's nothing special, just a small area that looks out the marsh. There's a couch swing, which they both slowly sit on.

They sit on the swing for awhile, Y/N leaning against JJ's chest, her legs curled up. He has his arm around her, thumb caressing underneath her shirt. When her beer falls against his leg and dribbles out the remains that she hadn't drank he looks over to see her asleep, mouth slumped open and body slack. For a minute JJ wants to keep her here. She's against his chest, which means she's listening to his heartbeat, something he knows she loves. So, for another half an hour, he lightly swings, finishing his own beer and listening to Y/N's soft breathing. But then he's starting to fall asleep, so he has to wake her up with a kiss to the forehead and some low murmuring.

"I want to stay out here." She tells him, but he just moves them to sit up and stand.

"The bed will be so much more comfy." He tells her, but she's still grumbling.

"I was comfy." She frowns, but he leads her inside, making sure the beer bottles are in his bag. He gets her ready for bed, helping her change and brush her teeth sleepily before stripping and hopping in with her. She moves around so that she's laying on his chest, asleep almost immediately.

"I love you," He tells her right before he goes to sleep, sure she's already asleep. He kisses her forehead and almost jumps when she leans and kisses his chest.

"I love you more." With that JJ almost can't sleep, because his heart feels so light. "I want to get married." He tenses, heart pounding as he hears her breathing even out. He feels sick thinking about that kind of commitment; his parents were married, and look how that turned out. His father almost killed his mother before she left, and now he's the one with bruises. Oh God, what if she wants kids? He'd turn out just like his dad. He'd ruin everything.

JJ has to leave.

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @one-sweet-gubler

#jj maybank x reader #jj maybank #jj maybank imagine #jj x reader #obx imagine

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appleblueberry-pie · 2 days

Note

There aren't many Yandere Nanami requests, so I came up with one. How would you react if the reader was a second year student at Jujutsu school, was a beautiful and intelligent woman, and had one of the most powerful rituals in her clan? Maybe she would have tried to get closer, but she didn't count on the fact that she turned out to be Gojo Satoru's girlfriend (this would be set in her teenage years to be precise).

Kento was a little nervous. No, he was extremely nervous and even anxious. He couldn't eat this morning or even eat lunch. He knew he was going to confess to you today. Kento has a hard time with hiding things from people he admires and are close with. So, it's about time to tell you about how he truly feels, knowing it's been clawing at him to finally tell you the truth behind his actions.

The only reason he was regretting this moment and how it can end is because you never seemed fully receptive in his gift giving. He always got you your favorite juice boxes from the vending machines and even bought you lunch a handful of times when you didn't have one. But you always seemed.....he doesn't want to assume, but it kind of feels half-assed when you say you genuinely are grateful for his gifts and his efforts to get to know you better.

But nonetheless, he will tell you today how he truly feels. Right now. As he sits next to you and fiddles with his fingers as you wait for him to spit it out.

"Yes.....um....Y/n, I have to tell you something very important that I feel you deserve to know." You nod and scoot closer, thinking something bad happened, especially with how his voice was shaking and he was almost sweating. "I-...........I have had a romantic interest in you for quite some time now."

He watched your face drop as if you had seen a ghost. You seemed to almost lean away from him when you sat up straighter at his words. His heart dropped at your reaction and his stomach began twisting and turning when your lips pursed together.

He was gonna puke. He can't say anything else knowing you definitely didn't feel the same way. That reaction told him everything he needs to know. He can't even look at you anymore and this silence was giving him a heart attack. God, just say something so he doesn't do something stupid. "Nanami...." You just said his last name instead of his first. What has he done?

"You know I'm dating Satoru, right?"

Would he be crazy for trying to act like he didn't know this? "I......."

You brought your hand to his shoulder, as if you were comforting a child, and suddenly, he felt like a disgusting little kid. He never deserved you. But knowing you will always be had the hands of his terrible classmate will continue to make his heart burn in rage. All he wanted was you, and he can't because he was too late. He can't even prove a point. Not when he was weaker than you. Not when he can't protect you and Gojo can. Not when he was a pathetic little boy holding onto a broken dream to finally have the girl that was meant for him.

'Don't be sorry for me. Don't look at me like that, and please don't tell me that disgusting truth all over again. I see it every day.' He wishes he could say that out loud, but the last thing he wants to do is break your beautiful heart. He wants to hug you, but it would never feel the same as it used to, and all he wants now is for things to be how they used to.

All this does is piss him off even more. He will find a way to have you. If he has to meet your family himself, find a way to kill Gojo Satoru, steal him from you, find a way to meet your strength to show you what devotion means, find a way into your mind to make you see the truth and what will always remain true between him and you, then he'll take his sweet time to get to where he needs to be to make that happen. He will always be yours and you won't know it until he can show you. Until then, he'll take this slap to the face.

i feel so fucking bad for him in this oh my god

#yandere nanami kento #nanami kento #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #yandere jjk #yandere kento #yandere nanami x reader #yandere #yandere x reader #reader #yandere character #yandere x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader #yandere jujutsu kaisen #nanami kento x reader

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harringtonstilinski · 23 hours

Text

The Alchemy - Eddie Munson

Author: @harringtonstilinski Characters: Eddie Munson x Henderson!Reader Word Count: 5,165 Warnings: quick gif, fluff, angst, steve being an ass, Requested: no | yes; i hope this meets your expectations, anon friend!! <33 Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! I either aged up Dustin, or aged down Steve, Reader, and Eddie. I guess I'll leave it up to your interpretation. I don't think the gif goes with it, but oh well. If you like this, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊

eddie munson masterlist

eddie munson playlist

Steve Harrington. Hawkins very own it boy, and Hawkins High King.

Eddie Munson. Hawkins residential freak, and Dungeon Master to the Hellfire Club.

Then there’s you. Hawkins High Queen, and best friend to Hellfire’s Dungeon Master. You were crowned Queen when you and Steve started dating. Hating the title, you ignored everyone that referred to you as Queen.

You weren’t popular by any means. Just a normal girl that had her nose stuck in a book in the corner of the room. Steve had noticed you one day during Study Hall, thinking that you were the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

So, one day when you were in class, Steve had walked up to your locker in the empty hallway, asking you to meet him in between the gym and the building next to it, to which you had heaved an anxious sigh and walked to that meeting spot.

When you had arrived, he was leaning against the wall, looking just as nervous as you were. The two of you had talked about why he wanted you there; so that he could tell you about his feelings for you, and vice versa.

It wasn’t no secret that almost all the girls at Hawkins High had a crush on Steve. All he had to do was just glance at them and they’d all swoon and sigh at what they would call a small interaction.

Steve could’ve had any girl in the school, even Nancy Wheeler, but instead, he chose you. Mainly because you weren’t like the other girls trying to grab his attention. You would have cared less about getting attention, but it was one day in homeroom when he showed up late to school with his usual breakfast; a bacon, egg and cheese sesame bagel. He usually only had one, but one particular morning, after you had caught his eye, he decided to get you one as well.

Having overheard a small conversation you had with one of your friends, he smiled to himself and got a bagel sandwich for you; a plain bagel with a sausage patty in the middle. Pretty simple meal for a pretty simple girl. When he had placed it on your desk, you looked a little stunned, looking up at him as he walked by, a small smile appearing on your face as he disappeared from your view. From that day between the buildings, the two of you had been inseparable. It made your little brother, Dustin, happy to see that his favorite sister and babysitter turned older male best friend got together.

Although you were thankful that you were with Steve, it took your time away from your best friend, Hawkins resident Freak and Hellfire’s Dungeon Master, Eddie Munson, who had also turned into your brother’s other older male friend.

You loved Eddie, he made you laugh, made you feel comfortable when you would go sit at Hellfire’s campaigns reading your books, and he made you feel like the only girl in the world… until Steve came along and swept you off of your feet.

Now, as you were standing at your locker skimming over yesterday’s work to figure out what you need for today, you noticed from the corner of your eye a body leaning against the lockers next to yours. Sighing, you smiled a little, smelling the light scent of nicotine. “What do you want, Eddie?”

“What makes you think I want something?” he asked, crossing his arms and resting the bottom of his Reebox on the lockers he was leaning against, his leg bending at the knee.

“Because everytime you lean next to my locker, you always ask for something,” you said, looking into the depths of your locker to find the textbook for your next class, grabbing it along with a notebook and pencil before finally looking at your best friend.

“Like what?” Eddie asked, turning his body so that his shoulder was the only thing touching the locker door. He smirked a little before leaning his head down the slightest bit and off to the side.

“Like a lighter, notes from class, for me to sit at Hellfire to keep you company when you have Jeff, Gareth and Doug.” You closed your locker, hand resting against it as you looked him in the eyes with a soft smile. “I’m guessing you’re gonna ask about Hellfire.”

With his mouth agape, he couldn’t help but just stare at you before dramatically putting his hand over his heart. “How you dare think that I would-” Dropping his arms, he placed his hands on his hips, a semi-serious look on his face. “Yeah, I’m asking you to come to Hellfire tonight.”

You chuckled, looping your arm through his that he held out for you to take. “Okay. Let me see if I can move some things around tonight. I know that Steve probably has something planned-”

At Eddie’s sigh, you stopped talking, looking at his profile. “I just don’t get why you have to move things around for him. Just to hang out with me. I mean, I’m your best friend, for fuck’s sake.”

It was your turn to sigh, your footsteps halting before you gently pulled at Eddie’s elbow, his head quickly turning over his shoulder to look at you. “I know, and trust me, it gets a bit tiring having to talk with him about my hanging out with you. But he is my boyfriend, so I have to take his feelings into account as well.”

Sighing again, Eddie hung his head. “I just don’t like you having to pencil me into your schedule.” He looked back up at you, seeing the sad look in your eyes. “I wish it was different.” Looking above your head, he rolled his eyes and looked off to the side, the movement not going unnoticed by you.

With furrowed brows, you started to ask, “What’s wro-” before your body was lifted up, your feet coming off the ground as a squeal left your throat. When you were placed back down, you turned to see who it was, audibly letting out a breath at seeing your boyfriend, Steve. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

You went to see if Eddie was still standing behind you now to tell him that you’d meet him at lunch, but at seeing his form retreating down the hall to the rest of Hellfire, your shoulders sagged a little, feeling bad for your best friend.

“Why were you talking to Eddie the Freak Munson?” Steve asked, lacing his fingers with yours to continue your walk to class.

“Because he’s my best friend, and he met me at my locker,” you said, the words coming out in more of a question than a statement. “He asked me a question that I need to talk to you about.”

Sighing, Steve brought his hand up to his hair, running his fingers through the strands. “What did he ask about this time?”

“If I could sit in at Hellfire tonight.”

Feeling a light pull on your hand, you turned to see that Steve had stopped walking, forefinger and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose. “We have plans tonight,” he said. When he looked at you, you could see a look irritation in his eyes. “We can’t cancel tonight.”

Sighing and rolling your eyes, you said, “I’m sure Nancy can reschedule.”

“Why the fuck would she reschedule? You’re the one who set this up.”

Taken aback, your eyes widened at his remark. “Uhm, newsflash, Steve, you and her set this ‘study date’ up. Not me.” Deciding to be defiant, you crossed your arms over your chest, caging in your books and standing a little bit taller. “You can go without me. I’m hanging out with my best friend.” “Your best friend that’s a freak?” Steve retorted, voice getting a little loud.

“Just because he likes to play a fantasy game doesn’t mean that he’s a freak.”

All Steve could do was let out a humorless chuckle. “I can’t believe I’m arguing with you about this in the middle of the damn hallway.”

You sighed, not really wanting to hear anymore of it. “You’re the one who stopped, not me. You’re the one who decided to try and pick a fight, not me. I’m going tonight, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

As you walked away, you couldn’t help but look off to the side, seeing your brother’s somber eyes on you, sadness filling them as he had watched yours and Steve’s disagreement.

~~~

Storming into the drama room, you groaned exasperatedly while walking to the ‘throne’ Eddie had made for you. It didn’t register to you that there was a campaign going as you sat down and said, “I can’t fucking believe Steve.” Turning to face Eddie, mouth agape with a sigh leaving your lips. “He told me I couldn’t cancel plans that he made with Nancy fucking Wheeler. Plus, on top of that, he called you a damn freak!”

“That’s, uhm, frustrating, sweetheart, but–” Eddie said, but you still went on to interrupt him.

“I get enough of that shit from everyone in this fucking school and godforsaken town.” Reaching into your bag, you grabbed your book, opening it to the page you had set your bookmark to earlier in the day and leaned back in the chair. “I mean-” Closing your book, you sat up again, looking at your best friend. “Who the hell does he think he is?!”

“Your boyfriend?” Eddie said, more of a question.

You thought for a moment, looking above his head in thought before closing your eyes and shaking your head. “Yeah, but that’s not the point,” you said, opening your eyes. “You’re my best fucking friend. He knows that. His damn ego is getting in the way, and I won’t stand for it! He tried to argue with me about it after you asked, and then again in the parking lot!”

“Sweet–”

“No, no, let her go,” Jeff says in a whisper. “I want to see what kind of shit she says about her own boyfriend.”

With a deep voice, you said, “You’re not hanging out with Munson because all he wants to do is fuck you, and I think you wanna fuck him, too.” Groaning in aggravation, you tilted your head back some. “He’s such an asshole when it comes to you.” Pointing at Eddie with your elbow resting on the arm rest, you said, “You know what I think? I think he’s fucking jealous. Yeah. Uh-huh. He’s jealous. All because I want to spend time with my teddy bear of a best friend who is definitely not a freak.”

Letting out a huff, you opened your book back up, bringing your legs up to bend at the knee, your feet in the chair, letting your eyes scan over the words of your book. Waving towards the table, you said in a more calmer voice, “Carry on.”

“Ohhh-kaaaaayyyyyyy?” Eddie said, confused as ever. He was still stuck on the fact that Steve basically outed his feelings to you.

It was true. Eddie liked you. As more than a friend. Who could blame him, though? He liked you because you’re funny, smart, can match his sarcasm when needed, you listened to him ramble on about the latest campaign he was planning or the new heavy metal tape he had just bought. You made Eddie feel like the only man on earth, and he liked– no, no - loved you for it.

But what he and Steve didn’t know… was that your feelings for Eddie were reciprocated. You just acted on your feelings for Steve because you didn’t think Eddie felt the same way. It was a weird love triangle that you had found yourself in; liking two guys at the same time, but didn’t know who to choose until Steve answered that internal question for you.

Granted, you and Steve have been dating for the last six months, but still. The way he treated Eddie was bothersome. You didn’t like it, and every time you tried to voice your opinion on the matter, he didn’t want to have anything to do with it, not wanting to pick that fight. It didn’t feel right, the way Steve would dismiss your feelings on the subject, but you didn’t want to ruin this new thing you had with him, so you dropped it, hoping the next time it got brought up would be different.

With each passing moment you sat with the boys of Hellfire while they played their campaign, you couldn’t help but glance up at Eddie from time to time, and wonder how much different life would be if you were with him and not Steve. How much leniency he would give you to hang out with friends of your own.

Sure, being with Steve was great, but as the months passed, you realized that your feelings for Steve weren’t there anymore. They were elsewhere. They were for Eddie, and a lot damn stronger than you realized. It only took just now, watching him smile, and stand to playfully argue with his best friends for you to realize it.

It wasn’t until an hour later that you were walking with Eddie to the parking lot of the school, laughing at something that he said when you heard your name being called. Looking around, you spotted that maroon BMW that everyone in town knew was Steve’s, the teenage boy standing at the open door of the driver’s side. Even from where you were standing, you could see the scowl on his face.

Turning to Eddie with a sigh, you informed him that you had to go and that you’d either call him later that night or see him the following day at school, to which he looked at you with hesitance on his features.

He looked at up Steve, moving to the side a little to try and block Steve’s view of you… or that’s the way Eddie saw it as, but to you, you saw it as a way of protection; protection against Steve’s hard gaze on you, protection from those hazel eyes that you can feel burning holes into your skin.

“Listen,” Eddie said, so softly that only you can hear. Looking back down at you, he continued his words. “If you need anything, and I mean anything, you call me. You find a phone, and you call me. If Wayne picks up, you tell him where you’re at, and I’ll come get you as soon as he tells me.”

You could see the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke, not wanting any harm to come to you. Sure, Steve had never laid on you, but Eddie never knew if he was the type to strike at any moment for whatever reason he saw necessary, and you could see the conflicting emotions in his eyes.

Lifting a hand to rest on his cheek, you didn’t miss the way he sighed softly, closing his eyes as he ever so gently leaned into your touch before opening his eyes when you started to speak. “I’ll be fine. He’s never hurt me, and even if he did, you’d be the first person I call. And then Hop.”

Eddie nodded, closing his eyes on more time. Lifting his own hand to engulf yours, he turned to his head slightly, kissing the bottom of your palm before lowering both of your hands. “Come on,” he whispered. “Let me walk you to his car.”

Reluctantly, he let go of your hand, turning to start the small journey to Steve’s car, the latter sighing in impatience.

“It’s about time,” he breathed. “Come on. We’re gonna be late.”

Confused, you stopped at the front of the car, looking at him with confused brows. “Late? For what?” Feeling a hand on the small of your back, you relaxed a great deal, knowing it was Eddie who was trying to bring you comfort.

“The study thing with Nance,” Steve said, almost like it was obvious. “I called her and pushed the time back, which she was confusingly okay with.”

You knew the double meaning behind his words. It didn’t take the biggest nerd in school to see that his feelings, too, had shifted from you to Nancy. “Is anyone else going to be there?” you asked.

Shaking his head, Steve replied, “Nope. Just the three of us.”

“Okay, well, you can go alone and I can just go home,” you replied after thinking for a moment about it. “I’m tired anyway. I’ll probably just fall asleep.”

Sighing, Steve hung his head for a moment before picking his head back up, looking at you with so much dominance, it honestly started to scare you. “You’re going with me, and that’s final. Let’s go.” Sliding back into his seat, his gaze never strayed away from you, watching your every move.

It’s not that Steve didn’t trust you, he did. It was Eddie he didn’t trust. Steve could see it from a mile away that Munson had feelings for you, and that they weren’t going to go away anytime soon.

Sighing, you turned to face Eddie straight on, bringing a hand up to mess with the patch on his denim vest that was closest to you so that Steve couldn’t see… or at least you hoped he couldn’t see. “I think it best if I just go with him. Don’t want to have another disagreement about it.”

Eddie could see the disappointment and hurt in your eyes. He knew that whatever was going on in your relationship wasn’t good if it started to turn sour this quickly. “I mean it, sweetheart. You call me if you need me.”

Looking up at him, you could see adoration in his cynical eyes. “I will. Don’t worry. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being there. Being my be–”

“Come on, babe! We gotta go!” Steve interrupted.

Groaning quietly in frustration, you hang your head, eyes closed. “I swear, I’m gonna break up with him if he keeps acting this way.”

Sighing, Eddie wrapped his arms around your shoulders, bringing you in for a hug. Resting his cheek on the top of your head as you wrapped your own arms around his middle, he closed his eyes, not liking that you’re feeling this way towards your boyfriend. “Hopefully, things get better between you two. I don’t like seeing you like this.”

Hesitantly, you let him go, looking up at him. “I’ll call you later, okay? Or I’ll see you tomorrow. Whichever comes first.”

“Whichever comes first.”

You smiled at each other before Eddie kissed the area of your forehead where your hairline started. He turned and walked away, eyes cast in front of him as you watched his form get smaller and smaller.

~~~

The next three months were more or less the same; you wanting to hang out with Hellfire on their campaign days after school, Steve saying that you two had plans when you didn’t recall making any, you two disagreeing about it, etcetera, etcetera. When it was almost time to wrap up the school year, you were surprisingly excited, having been invited to Hellfire’s End of the Year party.

Eddie had recruited you to help him plan it out, and with the help of everyone saying they’ll bring certain supplies, you were more than excited about the party. It was all you and Dustin could talk about for weeks, the both of you asking your mother if the party could be held at your place, to which she happily agreed to.

When you relayed the message to Eddie, he smiled so big that you thought he’d split his cheeks into two. He had picked you up and spun you around, hugging your body to his in glee, until a throat being cleared stopped the happiness between the two of you.

Setting you down, your smile died, seeing Steve standing with his hands on his hips. “Hey, babe,” you said, almost stuttering.

“Let me walk you to class?” he asked, holding his hand out for you to take, which you did. Before you could say goodbye to Eddie, Steve had pulled you down the hallway, standing in an open spot by the bulletin board, pointing to the picture of the Hellfire club. “You’re not going to that party.”

Taken aback by his sternness, you raised your eyebrows in surprise, eyes widening a little before furrowing your brows in slight anger. “Excuse me?”

“I said you’re not going, and that’s final.”

“You can’t tell me what to do,” you said, crossing your arms defiantly. “It’s at my house.”

“Then you’re not staying.”

“Yes, I am. Again, you can’t tell me what to do.” From behind Steve, you could see your little brother stop at the front doors of the school, watching the scene unfold before him, Eddie and Jeff coming up on either side of him, Eddie’s blood starting to boil.

“No. You’re. Not.”

Sighing exasperatedly, you turned your body towards the door, head thrown back in annoyance. “Oh, my god, you’re so annoying.” Quickly glancing at Eddie, your eyes met before it hit you like a freight train. “It’s because of Eddie, isn’t it? Well, I got newsflash for you, buddy; it’s just Eddie! The rest of Hellfire will be there!”

“Yeah, Eddie. The guy you just can’t stop talking about,” Steve retorted, growing more and more angry by the second while you were growing more and more defensive.

Bringing your head back in confusion, you asked, “What the fuck does that mean?”

“Eddie’s hair this, Eddie’s band that. Can’t hang out tonight because Eddie needs me at Hellfire.”

Laughing while pinching the bridge of your nose, you closed your eyes, just now noticing the jealousy Steve had toward Eddie. “You’re so ridiculous. If I hadn’t known about Robin, I would’ve thought the same thing.”

A quick moment of relief passes over Steve, his features softening as he goes to ask, “Wait, so–” before you quietly interrupted, “Eddie’s not gay! And neither are you, so stop. Hellfire is having an End of the School Year party and Eddie invited me. So fucking what? I told him the party is being held at mine and Dustin’s, so I might as well stay for a little bit since the invitation was extended.”

“Whatever,” Steve said, going to walk around you before your next words stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Then we can whatever this relationship.”

Steve turned back around to face you, a small audience now gathering as the three boys of Hellfire walked in to stand behind you. “What?”

Feeling Eddie standing right behind you, you spoke with the most confidence you could muster. “I’m tired of always fighting with you about me hanging out with my best friend. The jealousy is getting pretty annoying. I can’t stay in this if you’re always going to be telling me what I can and can’t do, who I can and can’t hang out with. This isn’t the Steve that I got together with. This isn’t the Steve that I fell in love with. I don’t know this Steve standing in front of me. The Steve I fell in love with would be accepting of my friends and of my hanging out with them. Not this Steve. This Steve is controlling, and jealous, and… just an asshole. I’m sorry, Steve, but I’m done. Maybe somewhere down the road in life we’ll find each other again, but as of right now… I’m done.”

With that, you turned and walked around Eddie and out of the school, Eddie just staring at Steve in disbelief. “You broke her, man.”

“What the fuck do you know?” Steve asked, taking a step forward. “You know nothing of our relationship.”

“I know you were an asshole to her,” Eddie said, calmly. “She came to Hellfire a few months ago saying that you were jealous about her wanting to hang out with us because I asked her to. When it comes to me, you’re fucking jealous and you know it.” Not wanting to add more fuel to the fire, but already doing so, he went on to add, “Oh, and she knows you’re fucking Nancy Wheeler behind her back, and have been for months.” After the kids the hallway gasped, he continued, “Study dates with just her and Nancy? Really? You’re better than that, man. Your reputation is better than that.” He turned to walk out of the school in search of you only to find that you were already gone.

~~~

It wasn’t but a couple of hours later that you had decided to call the Munson’s landline in search of Eddie. You figured since it was after school that you’d try his house first before trying Reefer Rick’s and Jeff’s house.

Wayne had answered and said that he hadn’t seen Eddie since the night before when he left for his shift at the plant, which you understood completely, knowing the older Munson man worked nights and didn’t see Eddie until the latter came home from school.

After calling Jeff’s and hearing that he was proud of you for standing up to Steve, he had relayed that he didn’t know where Eddie was and that he was sorry he couldn’t have been more help, to which you had told him to not worry about.

Calling Reefer Rick’s, you had prayed and hoped that he’d answer, knowing that he was always too high or drunk to answer his own damn landline. Relief washed over you when he did pick up, asking first and foremost if you wanted to buy from him, to which you politely declined.

You got straight to the point and asked if Eddie was over at his place, to which he said he was and that he looked distraught and angry, saying that Eddie was in the boathouse. After saying a quick thanks, you hung up the phone, the man on the other end looking at the phone in confusion before saying a quick, “Ohh-kay?” before placing the receiver back on the base.

Telling your mom you’d be back soon, you bolted out of the house, grabbing your bike and pedaling as hard as you could to Reefer Rick’s on the other side of town. You didn’t have a plan as you pedaled, just wanting to get there as soon as you could to talk to Eddie.

With luck you were having, you heard thunder, looking around you to see dark gray clouds lining the sky, the image making you pedal faster, and as you did, you only thought about Eddie, and hoping to God that he’d still be at Rick’s when you got there.

Rick didn’t bother to tell Eddie that you were coming by to see him, the man wanting it to be a surprise for Eddie, who was pacing slowly back and forth in the boathouse, a D&D die in his hand, the Dungeon Master tossing it in the air to catch it or rolling it around in his palm.

Hearing the thunder outside, he looked out of the window, seeing those same gray clouds you did, his nerves growing more and more with each passing second, not knowing that you were on the way.

Feeling drops of water land on your head and hands, you push yourself, your legs feeling like jelly as the rain comes down harder on you, the coolness of the raindrops cooling you off significantly. You welcomed it, tilting your head back for just a moment to let the rain pour down your face. When you recognized the driveway to Rick’s house, you started to slow down your pedaling, shouting Eddie’s name as you did.

Eddie looked out of the window of the boathouse, seeing your form jump off the bike and push it off to the side, shouting Eddie’s name again. He didn’t hesitate to jump from his spot by the window, running to the door and walking outside. “Sweetheart?” he said, voice loud enough to be heard over the rain. “What are you–” “Tell me you love me,” you said, standing just a few feet from him, your voice also loud enough to be heard over the rain.

“Sweetheart, come in–”

“Tell me you love me,” you repeated, your breathing heavy. “Because, goddammit, Eddie, I love you.”

“Then why were you with that tool?”

“Because I didn’t think you could love me the way that I love you. I didn’t think the feelings I had for you were mutual, but I came to realize that they were.”

Astonished, Eddie’s eyes widened for a second before scrunching again to not get the rain water in his eyes. “When did you figure it out?”

“That night three months ago after Hellfire,” you replied, remembering that night as if it were yesterday. “At first I saw it before we walked to Steve’s car, but when you kissed my hairline before walking away, I saw the look in your eyes.”

“Then why did you stay with Steve?”

“I wanted to see if what I saw was just a fluke, but the more I thought about it, and the way you picked me up earlier today to spin me around, I knew it wasn’t a fluke and that you have those same feelings for me.”

Eddie stepped closer to you, now just mere inches away. “I’ve had feelings for you for years, sweetheart. Not just recently.”

“I know,” you said. “You make me happy, Eddie. Happier than Steve ever did. You make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world. The way you make me laugh, the instant smile I get when I see you, just… everything about you made the feelings hit like a bus.”

Chuckling, Eddie looked down at both of your soaked shoes before looking back up at you. “You make me feel all those same things, baby. You don’t see me as a fucking freak like the rest of this damn town does. You see me for me. And that’s something I’ll be forever grateful for.”

Before you could give a reply, his hands cup your cheeks, bringing your lips to his, finally getting to feel the softness of your lips that he had been dreaming about. As your lips moved in complete and total sync, all you could feel was happiness; happiness that you finally got the boy of your dreams.

Pulling away, the two of you just breathed, loving the way your lips had just perfectly molded together.

“Come on,” Eddie said, lifting his head to look up at you. Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, he smirked before feeling your fingers fan his jaw. “Let’s go back to my trailer. We’ll take warm showers to warm up, eat all the junk we can find and watch a movie together. How’s that sound?”

Smiling up at him, all you could do was look at him before picturing all of that in your mind before saying, “Sounds perfect.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N 2: hi, friends! let me know what you thought! again, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox.

Additional Notes: i'm trying to add the character masterlists and playlists onto all my one-shots from here on out! let me know if it makes it easier for y'all to back and choose!

~~~

Forever / Everything Taglist: @stiles-o-dylan24 @stixnstripesworld @fandom-princess-forevermore @quanticobae @mischiefandi @kellyashcroft @lauren-novak

If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.

Italics wouldn’t let me tag!

~~~

*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski.

All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.

*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

Posted on June 7, 2024

#eddie munson x reader #steve harrington x reader #eddie munson #steve harrington

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iloveboysinred · 20 hours

Text

Worldly things [Choso Kamo]

pg.13 fluff | Choso Kamo x fem reader (can be read as gender neutral but written with a fem reader in mind, minimal pronouns use)

synopsis; Choso was still adjusting to living life in the open with his brother. He struggles to grasp human concepts, growing even more confused when Yuji brings up the topic of attraction.

cw; shy Choso, speed dating, Yuji and Choso call each other brother all day long, Shibuya never happened idc everyone is still alive and living normally because we deserve peace, soft Choso, awkwardness, fluff, youre yuta’s sister, cursing, not entirely proofread

3046k words

masterlist

“Dude, Jennifer Lawrence over Takada any day.” “How can you even say that, as my brother!?” Choso sat between Yuji and Todo, trying to understand what the discussion was about. He kept looking between the two arguing men, wanting to be included but not at all knowing what to say.

There were a lot of things Choso didn’t understand about his new life. He was still confused on how humans behaved; and he didn’t even bother attempting to decipher the technology all around him and how it conveniently solved the simplest problems in seconds. None of it had ever mattered before. His one and only drive was to live for his brothers, to protect them.

However, Choso realized that assimilating to humans would make him closer to Yuji, he would be more easily accepted around his brother’s colleagues and friends if he behaved more like a typical human. So he tried extra hard to indulge in Yuji’s hobbies; sometimes following him around, observing him and his behavior around others. It was starting to become a little unsettling, and he later solemnly accepted Yuji’s advice on finding interests of his own.

But today was a slow day. Only a few sourcers mill around before having to return to their rooms, quiet chatter dying down as the last of the school’s faculty disperses. The school is enveloped in peaceful quiet. The sun had begun to set, darkening the sky into soft hues of orange, scarlet and purple. Humidity from the afternoon’s rain had settled in the air, fat dew drops rolling off tree leaves, dripping onto the ground below and soaking the soil, making the unpleasant stench of wet earth waft into the air. Wildlife sang from their hiding places, the prominent sounds of crickets chirping from the grass overtaking the peaceful silence, Inharmonious with the accompanying high notes of birdsong. It was miserable out to say the least.

Choso had decided to spend his downtime with Yuji as always, finding comfort in his brother’s familiarity. It was difficult to connect with anybody else, their cold glances and blatant disregard of him perfectly sending the message they wanted him to receive;

He was an outcast.

It had only been Todo who welcomed him, both as a brother and as a friend. Although they had initially bonded over their mutual care for Yuji, there was nothing else Choso could really relate to. Todo just kept going on and on about brotherhood and other things he was too uninterested in to catch. He never complained though, happy with the companionship they had forged.

“What do you think, big bro?” Yuji turned towards Choso, shoving the screen a little too close to his face, Todo coming up with his own phone, expectantly staring Choso down. The sudden confrontational attention made him a little anxious. What were they asking him about? Who were these two women?

“I don’t understand. What are you asking me, little brother?” Choso warily ducked away from the phones, way too close to even really know what he’s looking at. “Which one do you think is hotter?!” Choso responded with a blank look, still not understanding. “ Hotter?” “yeah– like which one do you like more?” Choso backed up to get a proper look, eyeing both screens carefully, attempting to see what the boys were seeing. “Well, I don’t know them, so I can’t say-”Oh for fucks sake. Which one do you find more attractive?!” Todo snapped, and Choso couldn’t help the irritation that flit through him for a second at his outburst. “Well, if i’m being honest. I don’t think I like either of them.” “HUH?!” the boys shouted in unison, gaping at him as though he’d grown another head. Choso shrugged, happily easing back on the comfortable bean bag Yuji had in his room.

“Do you even have a type, big bro?” Yuji inquired, hanging over the bed to peek down at him. “Yeah, do you even like human women?” Todo added, his huge build almost toppling over the edge of the bed. Choso sighed, stretching his arms out across the bean bag. This was just going to be another quirk added to his list of social behaviors he’d have to learn. “I’m not sure I know what it feels to ‘like’ somebody. Sorry.” Yuji flopped down on the bean bag next to him, leaning over on his shoulder. “Okay so think about it like this, when you like somebody, you feel your heart get really fast, and you think about kissing them and holding their hand. Has anybody ever made you feel that way, big brother?”

Choso scratched his scalp, thinking over his answer. Out of all the people he’s met so far he can’t say he felt anything but aloof towards them, certainly not feeling deeply enough to think about intimacy. There were plenty of pretty women around, of course. However, physical appearance was simply not enough to invoke such sentiments in Choso’s mind. He shook his head, muttering a quiet “no.” He was starting to feel insecure again. They made it sound as if he’d committed an absurdity. Did his lack of feelings alienate him from his own brother this time? His reaction had made it feel that way, the look of shocked disbelief on Yuji’s face suddenly starting to make him feel queasy.

“You know what that means, big brother?” Yuji’s voice had taken a serious note, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, tight grip making Choso’s anxiety worsen. “What? what does it mean, little brother?” Yuji dramatically closed his eyes, clenching his fist close to his chest “It means… we have to find out what you like and then land you a girlfriend!” The silent pause that followed was awkward, Todo not even acknowledging the conversation anymore, just laying on the bed staring at something on his phone. “..What?” Yuji responded with a look of newfound determination, sitting up and gripping his shoulders with both hands. “Leave it to me, big bro!”

Choso could only stare at him, slightly relieved of his worries, but at the same time anxious to see what Itadori had planned.

The following day was beautiful. The outside was still a bit humid from the previous night, but the beaming sun made it less noticeable. The dry breeze provided little relief against the scorching heat of the day, instead swirling around dry soil and leaf litter. The uncomfortable aridity had prompted everyone to be indoors or exclusively under shade, keeping themselves cool in the air conditioned classrooms and dorms.

Choso decided to exchange his Sōhei for more weather tolerant clothes, opting to instead wear a simple black mid-sleeve shirt and a pair of dock pants he had borrowed from Yuji. He kept his hair in it’s usual up-do, not bothering to do much but thumb down a few unruly fly aways and re-tighten his hair ties.

He eyed himself in the mirror, dusting himself off in ponderance. Yuji had told him to dress nicely, inviting him as a chaperone to a shopping trip with the other first years. He had happily agreed, questioning why his brother hadn’t invited him out more often, assuring the boy that he would love to tag along and even help Yuji pick out some new shoes, still feeling guilty about the wounds he’d inflicted so long ago. But now he wasn’t sure he liked the idea anymore. He thought back to Yuji’s barely concealed enthusiasm at the prospect of landing him in a relationship and internally cringed. “Shopping trip..yeah, right.” but he had already agreed, and the thought of letting his little brother down hurt enough to convince him to show up anyway.

The trip to the mall had been a lot more ignominious than Choso had expected. He seated himself next to his brother, miserably waiting in a booth for the “speed dating” event to begin. It was being hosted in the middle of the mall, a large crowd of people surrounding the participants. Choso had never felt so trapped, protectively holding onto Yuji’s sleeve under the table. He was tense, eyes flitting through the crowd often. “It’s okay big bro, just relax.” Yuji whispered, reassuring him with a gentle pat on his shoulder, then sitting up straight when the first round of contestants walked up to the table. He pursed his lips and sat up from the lazy forward slouch he’d always sit in, reluctantly letting go of Yuji’s sleeve and turning to face the woman sitting down in front of him.

He had to admit she was pretty- but he just couldn’t find something to converse about at all. He glanced at the reject button for a second, bright red and blinking up at him. He contemplated the emotions he would invoke from her if he pressed it, would she be relieved from this misery the same way he would be right now? Or would she be disappointed? The minimal conversation had been fine, exchanging basic courtesies at first and asking questions here and there. But as the minutes passed it felt as if he was grasping at straws. His voice getting drier, his focus wavering elsewhere.

Choso was bored. Worse than that, he didn’t even want to be there.

He pressed the button, and she paused her chatter, startled by the muted “bzzz!” the button hummed. He apologized and she politely said her goodbyes, getting up and walking on to the next row.

Pretty soon Choso was overwhelmed and tired. Every contestant had either completely uninterested him, or asked too many questions he didn’t feel the need to answer. Yuji, on the other hand, acquired a mountain of phone numbers. His pockets stuffed to the brim with little paper slips. He tried to be comforting, encouraging Choso to try again another time. But by now he just wanted nothing more but to go home and hide away in his room. Going back to the dining hall where Megumi and Nobara waited for them, Choso hovered around them as they shopped, holding Nobara’s bags out of courtesy and making sure to keep the three students within his sights.

Much later than Choso would have liked, they finally decided to go back to the school. He less than carefully shoved Nobora’s bags off onto Megumi and headed back to his room, eager to just sit by himself for a while, away from the frustrating heat and maybe even find himself something to eat. He had already gotten accustomed to these halls, walking in what seemed to be an endless straight line, turning two corners on the way to his room, walking down until he reached his door.

The room door across from him opened just as he fished his keys out of his pocket and his eyes veered over, slightly startled. Nobody had ever been inside that room before. As long as he’d been there it’s always been deafeningly quiet, uninhabited and empty. The shuffling almost made him want to be apprehensive. Was it an intruder? Could somebody have gotten past so easily?

He drew in a quiet breath when you emerged from inside, idly standing in front of his door. You turned around, startling when you noticed him. “Oh, hi! You must be Choso. Sorry we didn’t get to meet before, I’ve been overseas with my little brother. I’m Y/n Okkotsu, it's really nice to meet you. I hope we can be….” Choso patiently waited until you were done rambling, studying your face in wonder. You were so pretty, beautiful, even. The resemblance to Yuta was definitely there; but your lips, smile, and eye color were uniquely yours.

“Uh..Choso?” He blinked, realizing it was quiet. You were waiting for him to respond. “Oh- sorry, I'm Choso Kamo. I hope we can be good neighbors.” He offered you a crooked smile, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He felt his heart squeeze when you smiled back at him, wondering how you had so much warmth for a stranger you’d just met. “Yeah I know! My brother told me about all the newbies lurking around, I'm glad we got the chance to meet face to face.” He nodded, awkwardly shuffling in place. He had no idea what to say to you, embarrassment at his painful silence warming his stomach. “….well okay, well if you ever want to hang out you know where to find me. See you around, Cho!” you nodded at him, padding off with a large suitcase hanging on your back. After a few beats he finally managed to unlock his door, rushing in, hastily shutting it behind him. “Cho?” he had to admit he didn’t mind the nickname, for some reason it sounded so sweet coming from you.

The next few days Choso only caught a few glances of you here and there. From what he heard around the dorms, you were a special grade sorcerer right along with your brother. It was only to be expected that shortly after your return you’d both been bombarded with missions. Regardless, he found himself always seeking you out. Every day he would stare at your door for a little too long, silently hoping you would pop out and greet him with your dazzling smile, calling him by that sweet little nickname you’d entitled him with.

“Cho”

He was undeniably curious about you. Which is why he’s knocking on your door now, smiling to himself at your muffled “Coming!” from behind the door. He shifted anxiously from one foot to the other, trying to keep his face blank. You swung open the door, politely smiling at him. “Oh hi Cho! What can I do for you?” the edges of his lips curled, suddenly feeling a bit bashful. “ I was wondering if you wanted to ‘hang out’? Only you’re not busy, of course.” you blinked at him, in aghast. He cringed, almost wanting to retract his offer, suddenly nervous. “If it’s a bad time, that’s okay- “ “no! no! Choso, come in!” you gleefully stood to the side, giving him space to walk inside your room.

He was impressed by the personality you had given your dorm. Beautifully decorated with personal items you had collected on your journeys, framed pictures of you and your little brother sitting neatly on your desk. The warm, incandescent lighting from your lamps bathed the room in a cozy atmosphere, making him feel relaxed. He breathed in the calming scents of the candles you had on the counter of your kitchenette, scents of cinnamon spice filling his nose and warming his spice circulating in the air from the air conditioner blasting cool air into the space. He found that he liked your room, taking off his shoes at the door and leaving them on the side, stepping on your fluffy carpet with his socks, his feet relaxing pleasurably into the soft material. “You can sit anywhere you like, get comfortable.” you gestured to the love seat a few feet away from your bed. He sunk into the chair, his fingers interlaced on his bouncing leg as he watched you prepare him a glass of cold iced tea.

“You sit there while I get ready, okay? Then we can head out somewhere.” He nodded, taking the glass so he could lean back and get comfortable. After a few minutes you came out from the bathroom, clad in a gray tank top and jean shorts. He noticed you pulled your hair up into a bun, making him reach up to feel his own hair, noticing that you were matching. He smiled to himself in delight. “Alright Cho, ready to go?” He nodded at you, placing the glass on the nightstand before he got to his feet and followed you out the door, silently walking behind you.

You had ultimately decided on heading to a nearby ice cream parlor, setting down on the stools and ordering a large sundae to share. He found that conversation came easy with you, your bubbly personality was refreshing. You always had something to talk about. He felt lightweight, his heart skipping a beat everytime you smiled at him. The chatter in the parlor was a dull noise. The only thing Choso could hear was your voice, calling his name so prettily, looking at him with your beautiful eyes. He thought that he wanted to be like this forever, he wanted you to always look at him that way, to always smile at him.

All too quickly, the day had come to an end. Choso had slowed down his pace to match yours, trying to savor the walk back to the dorms for as long as he could. You continued on your chatter, exchanging funny stories and sentiments for your brothers. The warmth in his chest had only grown when you stopped right in front of your door. You graced him with one of your smiles, bringing him into a hug. He shyly wrapped his arms around you, laying his forehead on your shoulder.

After a while you pulled away, smiling “I had fun, Cho” you whispered, holding his shoulders. “Why do you call me that?” he couldn’t help but ask, his heart feeling fuzzy every time you called him by that name. “Well..” his lips pursed to hide his smile when he noticed your warming cheeks. “Because it’s cute… and I think you’re cute.” You averted your eyes from his, regretfully pulling away to fumble with your keys. “Sorry if that was too forward–” Choso waved his hand, cutting you off. “No-no, it’s alright. I-I think you’re cute, too..” he could feel the blush on his cheeks, his heart squeezing.

You giggled at him, your blush matching his own, opening your door and half stepping inside. “Let’s do this again, yeah?” he nodded, “yeah– how about tomorrow? If you’re not busy?” “You know where to find me, goodnight Cho.” this time he smiled at you, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Goodnight, Y/n.” When you shut the door Choso took off to Yuji’s room, rapidly knocking on the door in urgency. He didn’t even greet his brother, barging into the room as soon as the door opened. “Big bro, what–” Choso turned around, looking at him with a mix of panic and glee.

“I think.. I like somebody, little brother.”

#❥iloveboysinred #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #choso x you #choso kamo #choso x reader #jjk choso #kamo choso #choso x y/n

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georgeclarkewifey · 2 days

Text

Inconvenience | g. clarke

Chapter 3 - Ikea Trip

Summary: four boys and noa in ikea, what could go wrong?

Word Count: 1.1k+

Warnings: swearing, George being a dick

noamurphy

liked by chrismd10, arthurtv and 13,473 others

noamurphy literally got halfway to Ikea before they demanded to stop for food

comments open

chrismd10 well we were hungry what did you expect?

⮑ noamurphy wait??? to get Ikea meatballs???

⮑ gkbarry_ noa speaking facts as usual

⮑ noamurphy love you babe x

arthurtv but we wanted hot dogs

⮑ noamurphy yeah and I wanted a successful football career but we don’t always get what we want

⮑ arthurhill just saw chris choke on his hot dog after he read this

⮑ fan new Noa lore?????

fan1 she’s so real for giving us this

⮑ fan2 mother really fed us today

⮑ noamurphy I worry for you guys sometimes

fan3 Ikea vlog 👉👈🥺 pls

⮑ noamurphy arthurtv ?

⮑ arthurtv 🫡

“Thank fuck.” Noa muttered, as the car finally pulled into the Ikea store parking lot. Somehow, their half an hour journey had doubled in length when Arthur TV declared that he was hungry and wanted to get hot dogs. “Honestly, all you guys do is think about your stomachs.”

“But I was hungry-“

“Well aware of the Television, maybe you should have had breakfast.”

“I had two Costco cookies!”

“Is that really what constitutes as a healthy breakfast these days.” Noa replied, rubbing her temples. “C’mon, let’s get this show off the road and into Swedish Heaven.”

Noa managed to herd the boys into the showroom area without much fuss, but once they were inside was where the real trouble began.

Arthur, who had decided to vlog the entire trip was running round the bedrooms with Chris, deciding to tumble out of a wardrobe every five minutes to declare that ‘they weren’t in Narnia any more’, which not only drew the attention of all the other shoppers, but some of the workers as well.

“Dixie! Please hold yourself together for five minutes, please? Just five minutes so that I can choose a bed frame and wardrobe…preferably one that you and Arthur haven’t tried to jump out of.” Noa pleaded, examining a black wooden bed.

“What colour do you want everything in? Because that will narrow the search down.” Chris said, before gazing at a set of bunk beds. “You know, if you ever wanted to have more than one person stay-“

“I’m not getting bunk beds Chris.” She sighed. “I’m not seven years old. Or making a nerf war sequel with my cousins.”

Starting to turn red, as the others snicked, Chris shook his head. “I was a kid okay? And at the time it looked good and we had fun!”

“Is anyone feeling thirsty?” Arthur TV asked, a slow grin starting to form. “I could go for a can of quick revive.”

Chris groaned in frustration, throwing his hands in the air. “Children, I’m friends with actual children.”

The four looked at each other, processing what he had just said, before dissolving into fits of giggles. Realising what they had interpreted, Chris shook his head and began to walk off. “Great, now they’re going to joke that I’m a nonce. Wonderful, just what I needed today, really, really it is.”

“Oh come on Chris, we know you don’t like kids. George, on the other hand-“

“Nope not even starting that conversation.” George grumbled, beginning to play with the drawers of one of the bed. “Why would someone want drawers on their bed?”

“If they don’t have enough room for a wardrobe I’m guessing. Not everyone has YouTuber money you see.” Noa replied, raising her eyebrows at him to reinforce her point. George just rolled at her and walked away, causing Noa to turn to the two Arthurs.

“Okay, what is his problem? Was it something I said? Or did?” She asked, moving to go inspect the next set of beds.

“Uh, we don’t actually know, we’re trying to figure it out too.”

“So he hasn’t even told you guys? Don’t you have like, guy time where you air all your grievances about stuff, and then bark like dogs at the end of it?”

Arthur (Hill) snorted. “No, you’re thinking of the Diamond Dogs, from Ted Lasso.”

“Shit yeah I am. Point still stands, he hasn’t said anything?”

“Not to us at least. And then I’d guess nothing to Chris either, because Chris then would have told us.”

Noa sighed as she ran her hand over a wooden bed frame. “Great, so one of your closest friends is pissed at me and I don’t even know why.”

“I’m sure he’ll come round, don’t even worry about it.”

“Thanks.” She muttered. “You know what, I think I’m gonna get this one. It’s cute, it’ll fit in my room, and I’m pretty sure there’s a matching desk and wardrobe.”

Grinning wickedly, Arthur (Frederick) beckoned Chris and George back over to join them. “You know, I reckon you need to test it, just to make sure that you like it.”

Noa smiled and flopped onto the bed. “Happy now?”

“Nah, I reckon you need someone to test it with you know? Just in case you ever find someone, or get lucky on a night out.” Arthur said, turning his head slowly to look at George.

“Why are you looking at me?” He asked, a small undertone of disgust in his voice, causing Noa’s eyebrows to raise gently.

“Well my shoes are muddy, so that’s a no. And Arthur and Chris are like her brothers, so I wouldn’t ask that of them.”

“But you’d ask that of me.” He grumbled quietly, moving to stand next to the bed. George sighed. “Move over then.”

Noa did so, smiling apologetically at George, before shooting a glare at the other three, who had all whipped out their phones.

George bit his lip as he laid down next to Noa, and began glaring daggers at the back of her head. He was hating every second, especially the fact that no matter where he looked, all he could see was Noa. From the top of her head all the way to where her hair fell on her back, obscuring the graphic print on the back of her hoodie. For a second, he wasn’t sure if he was in Ikea or his own personal hell, crafted for him by Arthur Hill.

“Wait, Noa you gotta make sure you’ve got enough room to roll over.” Chris added, throwing the couple an enthusiastic double thumbs up.

“I’m gonna kill you.” Noa said, only loud enough for George to hear, as she narrowed her eyes at Chris, who was too busy grinning from ear to ear, along with the two Arthurs.

George saw this and averted his gaze, doing everything he possibly could to avoid meeting Noa’s eyes as she faced him. He resisted for as long as he could, but eventually caved.

Luckily, he didn’t meet Noa’s eyes, as she had presumably fazed out, gazing at the geometric pattern on the pillow. George’s stare softened slightly has he studied her features, noticing the faint freckles that dotted over her nose, as well as the small circle of amber that added contrast to her icy blue eyes.

George wasn’t sure how he had been staring at her, but he was saved from any further embarrassment by Chris clearing his throat. “Glad that’s over.” He said, immediately sitting up and fixing his hair, leaving Noa behind.

She coughed, rubbing her face as if it would absolve her of any feelings of uneasiness and embarrassment. “Thanks for that.” She muttered to the two Arthurs. “I’m sure that really helped the situation.”

“I reckon so yeah.” Arthur Television agreed happily.

“Being sarcastic Artie, being sarcastic.” She sighed, patting his shoulder.

chrismd10

liked by noamurphy, arthurhill and 386,820 others

chrismd10 can’t buy an ikea bed without testing it first

comments open

fan1 noa??? and George???? what is going on right now???

⮑ fan2 I was there and I don’t think they’re a thing bc Arthur asked them to do it

⮑ fan1 but why would he do that if not for…?

noamurphy hate you arthurhill

⮑ arthurhill love you too

maxbalegde can’t believe my mans in bed with someone else

⮑ noamurphy not my fault I promise he’s all yours x

fan4 I know they say that there’s nothing going on but look how close they are!!!! really confused rn

⮑ arthurtv Watch my vlog and then you’ll be fine

gkbarry_ omg who’s that fittie in bed

⮑ georgeclarke yours truly

⮑ gkbarry_ ew no not you

⮑ chrismd get roasted George

⮑ georgeclarke shut up hobbit

#arthur frederick #arthur hill #chris dixon #chris md #george clarke fics #george clarke imagine #george clarkey #george clarkey x reader #uk youtubers #youtube #george clarke

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pauking5 · 2 days

Text

Runaway 🏎️ Chapter 3 🏁

Pairing: Naozumi Hiyama x fem reader oc

Genre: racing AU, enemies to lovers, sports rivalry, suspense, a whole lot of teasing, gender power games, spice

Word count: 15.2k+

A/N: Curious who's going to catch the Tokyo Drift reference 😏 Hope you're ready for the storm cause lightning and thunder just met for real in this one. It was literal hell to write at times, but I wanted to get more accurate with it and bring you as close to the view in my head as possible, so sorry for the delay. Tried my hand at writing tension so I hope it's good. Enjoy lovelies. Smooches to you :)

Raiko's Playlist: Bad Boy - Red Velvet, High Horse - Kacey Musgraves, Antisocial - Ed Sheeran, Travis Scott, True Disaster - Tove Lo, "good guy" - Against The Current, Summer Jam - 99 RZNS, John Gibbons, KOOLKID, How Bad Do You Want It (Oh Yeah) - Sevyn Streeter, Pump It - Black Eyed Peas, Tokyo Drift - Teriyaki Boys, Morning After Dark - Timbaland, Nelly Furtado.

Day 3 of Tour de Tokai - Final stages

The sun was up before you could catch any sleep, peaking through the thick blinds with bright beams. That brightness didn't bode well with the small hangover brewing between your pinched eyebrows. A remainder of the excessive amounts of champagne you drank last night and the really excited twosome next door, working hard to drill a hole in the wall behind your head all night long. At one point, they quieted down and you were near falling asleep until they went at it again and again, and you contemplated sleeping in the bathtub.

Putting on your golden blue team kit and the darkest shades you could find in the mess of luggage, you packed and dragged your heavy bags into the hallway and pressed the button on the lift for reception. You caught your reflection in the shiny silver doors and thanked god no one saw you yet. Your hair was a half-tangled mess, hidden under the team baseball cap well enough. Only two days on the job and you already had sunken in eye bags, but those were probably from the amazing beauty sleep you had the night before.

I had better days, you blew out a breath pulling up your shades.

Bags checked out and safely loaded into the airport car until later, you headed for the track. Walking out to the biggest stand on the hill overlooking the road for today, you scanned the grounds. It was still pretty early but the crowds were already making their way to the stands to get the best seats - right in the sputter of a dusty drift corner. The dirt must be doing wonders for their skin if they paid so much to sit there willingly, you thought, grimacing at the dried up mud painting most of the sun-bleached seats.

At least it was a quiet spot to just do some people watching and wake yourself up. You watched the food court vendors open the back doors to their vans before getting to work on the food. Some people were sat on the trunk of their cars, huddled in blankets or hoodies, eating a makeshift breakfast before queuing up for entrance. The race marshals were putting up the access signs and doing other maintenance checks.

The spring breeze blew softly feeling like a refreshing cup of coffee you didn't have yet. Early mornings like these were the best. Just quiet and mundane. Slow and pleasant.

Your peaceful perusal was interrupted by a figure settling in on your right, mimicking your leaned back posture on the wooden fence next to the race banner, hands crossed over your chest and all. You didn't even need to look over to know who it was. The expensive combination of lemony vanilla and other bitter, citrusy fruits entered your nostrils like ten meters ago, before he even stopped next to you.

How can someone so irritating smell so good?

"How did you sleep?" he spoke, voice low and husky, still laced with blissful sleep. A luxury mere mortals are unable to acquire at the expense of divine hedonism. Though, if that was how gods fucked, you wished to never hear it again. The girl's moans replayed like a broken record in your head even now, voice sweet like cotton candy reaching impossible notes.

Jesus Christ, you shuddered, trying your hardest to get rid of the image you just accidentally put in your head.

"I didn't," you said with a tight-lipped smile, turning to the devil beside you. He did look well-rested. "Hearing your name being moaned until three in the morning kinda ruined the peace one needs to sleep."

"I told you to join us," he shrugged, like he was asking you to join a grocery run and definitely not a threesome call. "It was a good sex catch."

I hope that angel never comes across his dick again.

Staring ahead, you hoped that if you ignored him, he would make himself scarce like he did last night at the car reveal. Instead, he leaned over to your side, lips slightly brushing the side of your ear with another offer that made your skin crawl with tendrils of chills, branching out from your nape all the way down to your spine.

"You know, we could've moved the show to your room. Get you out and about with the masses. Learn a thing or two."

You could taste the malice in his voice, looking to throw you off with raw sex talk. He pulled back to his corner, that annoying grin bright as day on his face, way too enthusiastic about his choice of words after last night.

He should work on his sweet nothings some more.

"I have my fair share with the masses. Don't you worry your frozen little braincells with that," you said, trying to shake off those chills still dancing on your spine.

"Ah, so she does get action," he laughed dryly, tilting forward with another remark he was better off keeping to himself. "I couldn't tell."

A little burst of mischief raised in you, so you turned to face him fully, pulling your shades off. Your body acted on a mindless spurt of small revenge as one of your hands lapped itself around his shoulder, gripping the other in balance and to pull him towards you, while the other rested on top of his chest. Under your palm, his heartbeat was calm and steady, just like the engine of the car before the race.

Narrowing your eyes at him, you scanned his face to see the ever-present amusement etched into every chiseled dent of his jaw, high cheekbones and perfectly angled lips. You wondered if dimples would pop out on the sides if he ever smiled for real, not just in a teasing manner or for show. Was he even capable of smiling?

The more your eyes drove up his face, the wider that eager glint in his eyes got. In the morning sun, rising brighter over the hill behind you, golden beams reflected off his orbs much like fiery bronze specks glinting off regal statues.

That eagerness turned to confusion when you inched closer to his ear, your lips brushing his in the same way his did. Your breath ghosted over his neck and you felt the smallest rise in his pulse, the muscles in his back tensing under your hold. You spoke small, but loud enough to cover the buzz of the rave music catching volume in the stands, making sure he received every single word.

"You know what would be a better catch?" you asked, tone sweet and tempting like a fiend.

His head craned down slightly and he quirked an eyebrow at you, curious as to where you were taking this. Only for it to not be in the direction he expected it to go in.

"Breaking that penis of yours in two and scattering pieces of it on the track like it's fucking gravel for everyone to drive over it. That," you enforced your threat with a swift gaze at his precious groin then moved your eyes back to his, "would be the catch of the year."

His lips parted in disbelief, the smug look on his face gone completely, as if you just detonated a bomb with his very own hand on it.

That was an unofficial war announcement. Jaw tightened in bold offensive, you stood your ground waiting for his retaliation. Your hand was still on his chest waiting for that spike to come again. But it never did.

Slowly but surely, the look in his eyes morphed to one of challenge, burning with the dire need to crush you to pieces for that daring threat.

Was this a novelty to him? A woman driving the reality train through his brain without having her legs open for him? Possibly. Because his smirk was now taut, filled with the same vindictive goading you carried. Just a tad bit darker and full of hunger for battle.

"I would like to see you try, rookie."

Rookie.

That nickname was starting to get on your nerves. Though there was no lie in it because you were a rookie in the sport, the way he said it implied that there was nothing else to you but that - a clueless beginner that will always stay a clueless beginner. Belittling at its finest. Your temper didn't buy belittling very well.

"Listen here you asswipe-" you started, only to get cut off by Don Tanaka's voice closing in behind you.

"Rai, the crew's waiting for... you..."

The words died in Tanaka's throat the more he took in how curled up you were with Naozumi. At first he was about to reprimand you for dealing cahoots with the enemy again, but when his eyes fell on the teeth grinding murderous looks you both threw each other, he decided on breaking it off before the interaction turned violent.

"Rai, step away from Naozumi."

"This. isn't. over," you gritted out with poison, plying yourself away from him.

Pushing your sunglasses back up your nose and throwing one more sharp imaginary knife right in the middle of his annoyingly handsome face devoid of imperfections, you sourly turned and left with Tanaka.

"I think it is, princess," he muttered behind you.

"Just you wait."

The really funny thing about curses is that they never truly... leave.

They might take a break and sip a cocktail somewhere sunny, like the big white-bearded gramps dressed in red does in his vacation after Christmas, letting you bask in some sort of chill ambiguity that all is well and perfect. Until nothing is well and perfect. Just absolutely horrifying and close to provoking a collective meltdown. Quite like the one in your team pen at the moment.

The team was gathered around the car with discouraged looks decorating all their faces as Sentaro, the main mechanic, relayed the news to you. Not one soul moved, everything and everyone as still as your shut off engine.

This had to be some sick joke. There was no way this is happening.

"What do you mean I can't go out on track today? You're joking right?" you laughed nervously, trying to stop your eye from twitching violently.

Apparently, the mechanics tried to start the engine and black smoke came out of it. While that issue was partly because of a clogged air filter that was vacuumed clean now, the engine also overheated to the point they thought it would blow up if they let it run longer.

From your brief experience with cars and growing up around the team garage, you had a feeling of what the issue could be.

"Is the dashboard blinking with the high oil pressure sign?" you asked Sentaro to which he nodded in response.

You were in front of the car in an instant, popping the hood open to check the oil injection. Pulling out the dipstick on a clean cloth your assumptions were proven right, though you wished they were horribly wrong. The rough dirt roads from yesterday definitely took a toll on the engine's oil filter, judging by the black sludge you were met with instead of the normal light brown color of the motor oil.

Dropping down to the ground with your phone's flashlight, you looked under the car and sure enough, there was a trail of the same dark goo leaking out from the car. The oil filter was the problem. And lucky for you, the oil specialized mechanic wasn't here today.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," said Tanaka, leaning on the side of the car. "There's nothing we can do."

Before you could even browse solutions, Kate ran in the pen nearly tripping over her feet. Thanks to Tanaka's steady hold, she landed upright on her feet, giving him a shy look of gratitude that didn't go unnoticed by you. They held each other's gaze for a while, not one thought behind them but a tinge of affection.

Realizing they had an audience, she cleared her throat stepping away from him. His hand shot up to rub his nape with a nervous smile.

What was that about? you thought, scrunching your nose inquisitively at the two. The faint blush spreading on her cheeks and the playful look in his eyes was a bit of a dead give away of what went on between the two. The car issue was more of a priority right now than their mutual fancy. I'll pester them about it later.

"What's up, Kate?"

Your voice seemed to break her out of whatever reverie she was having.

"The pre-race press conference starts in fifteen," she announced, eyes grazing over your team kit before flying back to yours with confusion. "Why are you not in your racing suit yet? What's going on?"

"I'll explain on the way," you replied hastily.

You moved away from the car to grab your bag and went to change in the trailer with her following in tow. Turning back around, your eyes flew back to Tanaka and the rest of the crew.

If the big man was here, he would know what to do. But he left for Tokyo early in the morning for a business meeting with a new sponsor. You were completely on your own with the team, and from the looks of it, it was time to take the lead.

"Nothing you can do," you said with a small smile trying to bring some optimism back into the sour mood. "There's something I can do. Just don't touch the engine until I'm back from the conference."

"Also, go tell the organizers I'm retiring from the first stage and keep them posted on the second one," you told Tanaka, ignoring Kate's gasp of shock. "We might still have a shot at points today. We worked too hard to let that go."

With that, you ran back to the trailer behind the pen, getting changed while Kate's worries doubled and spilled over yours in a frenzy of overly dramatic and stressed hand gestures.

"What do you mean retiring from the first stage? Are you crazy?"

Taking off the kit with a grunt, you made haste for the fireproofs and the suit.

"Not crazy," you groaned, pushing your legs through the pants of the racing suit. "Just trying not to freak out because it won't help anyone if I do."

"The car has an issue that's preventing me from taking part in the first stage today, but I hope," you breathed out, struggling to pull the top part of the suit over your hips, "that we can somehow get it out on track at least for the second stage."

With the already smoldering heat outside and your growing nerves, the ensemble felt so uncomfortable to wear. Pulling your arms through the sleeves and zipping it up to your neck, you fiddled with the soft collar unable to close it properly. Kate swatted your hands away to help you fix it so you could be out the door. Though you couldn't do that without your driver's card that was nowhere to be found.

"On a scale of one to ten, how big are your hopes of that actually happening?"

You stopped your relentless searching for your identification lanyards only to find them in the safe hold of Kate's hands.

"A solid eleven," you paused, grabbing them with a grateful smile. "On a good day. We'll have to see if today is one of those."

You were out of the trailer in no time, heading for the conference room while she ran you through possible questions you could get asked by the stingy reporters. Before you went on stage to take your designated seat, she pulled you back around for a last check.

"You know what you have to say?" she asked, placing her hands on your shoulders to make you focus.

Narrowing your eyes at her with a 'I'm not a child' look, you recounted the rules of publicity she made you repeat before each press meeting. Or more like your very own not so accurate version of them.

"No snarky replies, wait for my turn and try to maintain the already crumbling image we have. No biggie."

She smacked your cheeks together, shaking you hard to bring you back from sarcasm land. Better sarcasm than a full blown meltdown. You rolled your eyes at her dramatic antics, reciting the actual holy trinity of rules to get her off your case.

"If it's not for my own benefit or the team's, don't reply. Avoid all questions about my or dad's personal life with a simple 'no comment'. Keep levelheaded and avoid conflicts of interest," you finished confidently, but with a slight confusion on the last one.

She nodded with a bright smile, letting go of your cheeks. Whirling you around, she made quick work of your hair in a ponytail and fixed your team cap on top of your head to look more professional than you felt at the moment.

"You've got this, Rai," she encouraged sweetly like she always did. "I'll be right here in case of anything."

"Thanks Yuzu," you smiled at her, trying to ease her stress before it rubbed off on you, turning you into a ticking bomb. "I owe you one."

"You owe me more than one," she quipped as a matter of factly.

"Yeah, yeah," you waved her off, turning for the stage. "I'll tell dad to add a holiday bonus to your paycheck."

"All debts are paid," she replied, sounding like an ATM machine that just cashed out your first salary before you even saw it in the account.

You went up the stairs, taking a seat behind your name tag, near the middle row on the lower side of the makeshift stage. Most drivers were already in their seats waiting for the show to start so you could all be on your way. You caught sight of Akira about two chairs down to the left, already clocking you with a small wave.

At least there's some sunshine in the world.

You leaned over the seat, turning the mic away. He scooched over, meeting you halfway with a short smile that was enough to send butterflies swarming wildly in your stomach.

"Hello there."

"Hi," you replied sheepishly. "You ready for today?"

"I hope so. The tracks today look way better than whatever the fuck those three were yesterday."

You both shared a horrified look remembering the disaster that almost left your cars in totaled wrecks the day before.

"What about you? Ready?"

"It's complicated," you looked down in disdain, conscious of the mess awaiting you in the team pen after the conference.

What was the point in elaborating further? He's going to see the scoreboard anyway. The retirement issue was better kept under wraps for now, in case press inched to you like leeches before they even got to ask you a question.

"Hogging my seat doesn't look that complicated."

That tone of mixed delight and irritation could only belong to one person. That and the shady vibes prickling the hairs on the back of your neck like the very shadows of death were about to swallow you into the underworld.

Sure enough, craning your head backwards Naozumi was right behind you. Alarm bells rang in your head replaying his words again. His seat? What the fuck is he on- Your eyes fell back on the name tag right beside yours, reflecting Naozumi Hiyama back at you, bright as the light of day. Oh.

Naozumi was to be seated on your left for the next half an hour. What a joy. For some poor sick bastard, definitely not for you.

How did I not notice it before I sat down? I could've switched seats with the backfield guys in a heartbeat and no one would know a thing.

Looking back behind you, your small hope was crushed as most seats were taken up already, busting your escape plan. Your gaze landed back on the man, now more interested to know how much of your conversation he heard.

"How long have you been standing there like a scarecrow?"

"Enough to almost physically gag at your conversation."

Ah, there he was. Repulsion in human form. Wonderful.

You bid Akira an apologetic smile and leaned back in your seat, letting nation's finest walk by to take his own. He held onto your backseat to let himself down in his. Leaning way too close to you again, you caught an extra accidental whiff of that expensive perfume of his, toned down by the scent of the burnt rubber fumes caught to his suit. You turned your head away with a breath, resisting the urge not to choke. From the snicker on his lips pointed downwards, you could tell he did that on purpose. Fucker.

It wasn't long and the press conference finally commenced. As expected you weren't first in line for questions, both to your relief and growing unease. Your thoughts ran back to the car. The longer you spent here, looking pretty for the media that could care less, the less time you got to spend on fixing the car. Changing the oil filter was relatively less time consuming than the oil draining and changing. Besides, who knew if there weren't other problems. There were always problems.

Tapping your feet impatiently under the table, your eyes trained on the digital clock at the back of the room, mentally pushing the flickering red dots bouncing between the numbers a tad bit faster. Boring questions aimed at the other drivers went in through your ears, fading together, getting lost into an incorrigible mess of side thoughts, all while you dissociated somewhere far away.

At some point, something heavy moved on top of your leg that seems to have taken on incessant bouncing. You broke your eyes away from the clock to check. Thinking it must have been a bug or your sleep-deprived hallucination, you were beyond surprised to see a hand resting there, all five fingers of it splayed wide on top of your knee, nearly enveloping it whole.

Following the path of the muscular, veiny hand to the grey material going up the plush arm of a racing suit, you found it connected to Naozumi's shoulder. His gaze was set ahead with his chin propped on his other hand, a bored look taking over his usual amusement.

Is he looking for entertainment again?

Focusing your attention back on the press crowd, you went to push it off briskly. You felt it slide off your leg, shutting your eyes in relief that he let go and didn't put it back, going back to your daydream.

The clock ticked by infuriatingly slower, and by the looks of it, only ten boring minutes passed. You resumed your foot tapping, unable to keep cool without releasing tension in a way that kept you calm and levelheaded for the rest of the conference. You even started repeating Kate's set of three rules, again and again, until they blurred together in your head into a mess of words.

Unconsciously, you resumed the knee bouncing. That's when the same familiar weight sat back on top of your knee, trying to cease your restless shaking. You groaned mentally, aware that there was nothing else you could do but let his hand sit there until he got bored of being annoying.

Was it weird that the touch gave you a small ounce of comfort? It was so far from an actual touch, closer to a simple brush. But it grounded you back to reality in a less impatient way than your nervous foot tapping.

Jesus, Rai. The man fucked the sleep out of your brain last night. He's trying to get under your skin.

Leaning forward on your hands, you shifted your position so your feet crossed under your seat in hopes his hand would slide down again. His grip never lessened, turning firmer on top of your knee, seeing right through your trick. You huffed a breath through your nose, trying to calm down before you shoved your fist heavy with rage in his beautiful face to do some overdue damage, since he was asking for it so nicely.

In your line of sight, you saw him reach down for his water bottle, right beside his leg. His hand trailed down your calf with the movement, only for it to slide back up to its original spot on your knee.

This wasn't anywhere near comforting. This was teasing. Maybe even payback for this morning for invading his space with violent threats of castration. The side of his lip curled up in the slightest, letting you know he was enjoying tormenting you a whole lot.

Since he's so into masochism, we'll see how brave he is next time when I sneak in a lighter. The suit might be fireproof but I don't think his fingers are.

Somewhere between Naozumi's idiotic game and your patience running thin for the male species, the press finally remembered you existed and your name was called out by a reporter.

"I'm Hina from Daily Times. I have a question for Rai Suruki of Suruki Racing."

"Go on," you nodded with a smile.

"There haven't been a lot of female entries to rally in past years. Are there some goals you hope to achieve with your participation in the Seiko Rally Cup Series?"

That was quite a nice question. She seemed a little unsure of herself, probably new on the job since she was already being mangled down by the experienced male gazes in the room, especially from the reporter clique.

Turns out rally isn't the only industry where women are not welcomed.

"Well," you started, "I hope that if more girls see me out there on track, they can gain the courage to get racing too. Be it karting, rally or any other series. I grew up seeing my father's generation race and it felt daunting getting into it in the first place, since there was little to no female involvement. But times are changing and I hope it's for the better. Goal-wise, I would say the biggest one is to get girls into the sport, technically or behind the wheel," you ended with another smile, making sure she got a good amount of detail to work from.

That encouraged her to show you a bright smile in gratitude before she sat back down. You nodded back at her with one that matched.

"For Raiko Suruki, from Automotive Racing," called out another reporter, much older than the rest. "Heard the car is totally self-manufactured. How's the pace on track so far?"

Ah, technical questions. I like those.

"So far it's good. We're still testing bits and pieces to see what works best, but so far it's responding well to our tinkering. Like any car there's setbacks, as you may have seen in the previous stages, but we're working to remedy that and maximize its current performance. There's a lot of power under that hood and we're trying to see just how much of it we can bring out."

He nodded, scribbling down your words in a stacked leather notebook filled to the brim that has definitely seen better days. At least that said he's passionate about the sport and not just here to get a quote for a flimsy article. True to that, he geared up with another question.

"Performance progress-wise, do you think it's a car able to compete for the cup this year? Maybe even to reach the WRC?"

It was a reach to aim for the title, knowing the team barely got back on the road. But it was a goal nonetheless.

"Absolutely," you answered right away. "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't. As for the WRC, I guess it's all in due time."

"I'm looking forward to your evolution. Thank you," he concluded his short round of questions, sitting back in his seat.

"One more question for Miss Suruki," shouted another reporter. "From Tokyo Action Sport."

Uh-oh.

Tokyo Action Sport was one of the big ones Kate told you to be wary of. Due to their huge coverage of all sports around the country, sports buffs took their word like it was the weekly Ten Commandments in print form. That and the fact that they liked to scandalize most, if not all of their headlines - basically the foul celeb tabloids in dirty sports version.

From the way the reporter twirled the pen around his nimble fingers and the sneer on his face as he skimmed over his fancy notebook, you could tell he was looking for another front page story with an equally disarming question at the ready. You nodded for him to talk, bracing yourself for the incoming attack.

"Last night, at the official car reveal, you said you will compete for Suruki Racing until the team no longer wants you," he started, lifting his icy eyes from the paper to cut through you. "Does that mean your contract has an expiry date?"

If there was a question that, when uttered out loud, would have the power to open the gates of hell, it would be this one.

Expiry date? Driving for the team that has my name on it? Fuck me if I know.

Your nervous tapping resumed tenfold, forgetting all about Naozumi's hand that was still stationed on your leg, now struggling to stay there in the wake of the shaky earthquake coursing through you with the sharp truth of the real world.

You never thought of the possibility of driving for another team. Right from the start, Suruki Racing was to be your forever home. For Christ sake, you were the only hope for the team to stay alive at the moment. But that was just your opinion, maybe Tanaka shared it. But the team might still be adamant to take you as their only viable option and that might just be the case for your father too.

Nothing guaranteed that you will always be their number one choice.

"Why did Suruki Racing pick you out of the wider talent pool out there?"

"Are you trying for yourself or for him?"

"Do you consider yourself a challenge to the rest of the drivers?"

Your nervous shaking was several tempos away from rattling the panel table and attracting attention you were better off without at the moment. The aftermath of that happening was already in sight.

Suruki Racing's finest cracks under the pressure of her first press conference, would read the first page in the later Sunday print.

Is Suruki's own bloodline able to keep the legacy with no surety of a long-term contract? another one would say.

If you were lucky they would put it on the second spread or in the middle pages next to some old car adverts. But the worst part of it all is that the majority of the rally community, including the panel of drivers around you, would wholeheartedly agree with the newspapers.

Maybe this was just you making movies in your head but those were always possibilities upon possibilities and they all pointed to failure. Your failure of saving the team and seeing it succeed if you caved in to them.

The weight on top of your knee moved higher up your leg, stopping mid-way on your thigh. Enraged out of your mind, you were about to swat if off like a fly just when Naozumi did the unthinkable - his thumb started rubbing the side of your leg in circles over the suit, alternating patterns. You could feel that touch burn even through the triple permeable fireproof layers, sending all your senses in override, heartbeat pounding louder in your ears with each languid stroke of his thumb.

Was he trying to calm you down? Or was this him riding on the wave of anger surfacing from the depths of your very being to make you inch closer to exploding? Because there was a thin line between the two and you struggled to find which direction he was steering in today.

Strangely, that mildly provoking but oddly comforting caress worked. It calmed you down and drowned the black hole your mind went down into, bringing your focus back on the task at hand - giving the reporter an answer before your silence was taken as one.

"I'm afraid not," you responded, your voice bouncing back way too quiet on the microphone for it to sound like you were sure of yourself.

A handful of chuckles erupted behind you, rippling down into the audience and the rest of the media crews around the room.

"Everyone has an expiry date on their contracts, doll," commented a gruff voice from behind you. "Better find it out before the press does," they added with a chuckle.

You turned around to match the rude remarks with Katsumi's face, driver for Top Rank Racing. From what you knew about the man, he's been in rally long enough to know that he was right. Though he could've delivered that a bit more nicely.

Casting an unsure look at Kate, you saw her beckon you to say something else, mouthing several pointers that fell unheard with your growing unease. There was nothing else to say. That was the pure truth. No one had a safe seat in rally, except if you were Akira with loads of talent or Naozumi with a shit ton of cash to throw around. But you... you were lucky if there was a next year for you at all. And that might just be the case for your team too, whether it takes off or it burns to charred ashes again. Whether they keep you with them or not. And that realization hurt the deepest of them all.

"There you go again with useless questions, Misano," spoke Naozumi, successfully diverting your attention away from a meltdown.

His voice carried out smooth like whiskey over the shushed murmurs in the room, able to charm the attention of even the stingiest creature. His dark brown eyes were throwing sharp daggers with the aim to impel the man in the middle of the press convoy, almost like he had some personal vendetta against him, able to see past his journalistic tricks better than anyone.

From the few words he uttered your way you could tell why.

"Why don't you wrack your brain for something more interesting to ask?" he added bitterly.

Misano could only glare at him, shifting his attention from you to the man beside you, much more poison seeping from his tone at being interrupted.

"I was just about to get to you Naozumi. Impatient as always," he sneered. "I do have a really good one," he chuckled lowly to himself, like he was about to get the scoop of the century.

Naozumi was absolutely unfazed by his tactics. Just like you were, before he opened his mouth.

"You and Shinkai are in quite the fight to reach the higher ranks of the WRC. Did you solve the misunderstandings from last year to prevent more incidents from happening this time around?"

Naozumi laughed dryly at that, averting his eyes away from the man so overzealous for drama. When his eyes fell back on him, it wasn't with the same playful gaze reserved for toying around with people, but with raw hunger to rip him to shreds until every other word he was dying to write was out and cut to tiny little pieces on the floor.

Even you shuddered at the intensity of that look. You thanked the heavens it wasn't directed at you. If you were in Misano's shoes, you would shove those words back down your throat and run to puke them out somewhere they would be more well received, like the trash can outside, right around the door. That might do everyone in here a favor.

Naozumi finally let go of your leg, turning around in his seat to face the press with more interest. You breathed a small sigh of relief at the loss of contact. But a small part of you mourned the reassurance it provided for a short while, letting the nerves about your future race back up your spine again. At least they were dimmer now, since you put your focus on the charade of power to your left.

"If by misunderstanding you mean forced damage to my car," paused Naozumi with an icy grin matching the gaze that never once faltered from Misano, "then no, we didn't solve anything."

He delivered that affirmation so smoothly that even you leaned over the table to get a better look at him. Contrary to the calmness in his voice, there was a furious annoyance taking over his features. One far more irritated than the other looks you've seen him sport in the past three days.

"You can't solve misunderstandings with hardheaded people," piped in Akira, matching the same sweet venom in Naozumi's voice.

Naozumi could only smirk coldly, dropping his gaze to his team racing suit before he aimed it at Akira.

"That's where you're wrong," corrected Naozumi. "You can't solve misunderstandings with irresponsible people that can't admit to their faults."

It was Akira's turn to be vexed, staring down the man on his right. Those eyes, softer than melted chocolate, turned into the most violent tempest catching speed by the second. Though he wasn't necessarily asked a question, he was just as involved in the one served to Naozumi, so he turned to Misano with a comment.

"I think what Naozumi means by that is that some things are better left in the past. Or swept under the rug for the sake of it."

Point, aim and shoot.

"Let's leave the talking to the track," grinned Akira, patting Naozumi's shoulder in feign respect.

Naozumi broke into a toothy smile, tongue coming out to swipe over his teeth in disbelief. That smile grew and grew until it matched Akira's, just like a Cheshire cat. Then he leant over to him, whispering something in his ear. A threat you just so happened to hear.

"Stay the fuck away from my track. And don't fool yourself that thing was accidental to free your conscience" he mumbled.

The cameras flashed to immortalize the moment, making sure to get all sides of the burning declaration of war. They held each other's gaze with impending rage, pumping hard enough to blow out big dark fumes like messenger torches.

Keeping levelheaded and avoiding conflicts of interest was a rule their agents were probably negotiating with them, not even close to being able to enforce it.

From the looks of it, there was way more tension between the two than they let on with those loaded glances passed from one end of the paddock to the other in between stages. They had history that was better left unraveled for the sake of the rest of the season.

I take it back. The car reveal was a baby next to this shit show.

After that, the rest of the conference went by uneventfully. Surprisingly. The stifling tension however, was still palpable in the air. It was crazy how just one question from Misano turned the mood salty real fast. He hasn't asked anything else ever since, sitting merrily in the audience with a smug smirk, utterly pleased at causing an uproar.

The rest of the reporters went for decent questions as the drivers geared up for mayhem on track. As soon as the organisers let you, you dashed outside, welcoming the fresh breath of air and freedom away from that purgatory room.

Got nine more of those to endure.

"Not bad for your first press conference, rookie."

Was that supposed to be an encouraging pat on the back? If anything it sounded haughty and kind of condescending.

Does it hurt him to shed off some of that superior complex thing he has going on?

Upon remembering his game back in the conference room, you whirled around to him instantly, backing him in a corner so no one could hear your murderous intentions. The flames inside of you were leaping high and violent again. But that must have been the Naozumi effect at this point - setting you on fire then walking away only to come back and kindle you again whenever he saw fit.

"Don't ever touch me again or I will rip your hands and shove them down your cars' exhaust. Understood?"

"It was a good distraction though, wasn't it?" he smirked, pinning you with that knowing look of his that made you want to spit fire like a dragon.

"It was so fucking unnecessary-" you stopped, the rest of your words dying in your throat. "It was so -," you growled. "You're so -"

You gave up on speaking. There was no point in explaining why punching him was the right thing to do because the more you looked at it you realized he was right. That playful stroke was a good distraction from going berserk with all those demons patiently waiting to pick you apart like flies that dove into shit on the side of the road. Even if it was for a while, he managed to calm down your stormy temper. It was a miracle for anyone to even do that in the first place.

He leaned down to you, stopping just a few inches off your face. His eyes drifted down to your lips for a brief second before securing your gaze again with that dark look of his that has probably disarmed more girls than you could count on all your existent fingers, hands and toes included.

"That's what I thought," he said as teasingly soft as a brush on canvas.

Before you could say anything else he walked off, leaving you dumbfounded with your tongue poking your cheek, and kind of questioning your sanity.

He's so goddamn infuriating.

Back in your pen, you took off the suit, changing back in the team kit and made a beeline for the car. There was no time to waste. The crew gathered around you in a heartbeat, waiting for your directions.

The skilled gazes laid on you, full of years of garage work, made you very aware of the fact that they expected full professionalism from you.

God, I hope this works.

"Okay so, we need to change the oil filter," you started. "The oil inside is contaminated and from the looks of it, it's not usable anymore. The filter itself appears to have blown a gasket, so that too needs replacing," you finished in one breath.

"But our oil person isn't here today," Akio, one of the mechanics, pointed out.

"Mister Hinode isn't," you sighed, hoping the old man was enjoying himself for taking the day off today of all days. "But I am. I watched him change enough oil filters back at the garage to know what I have to do."

"Very well. Lead the way," he replied with a nod, fully placing his trust in your hands.

Though slightly unsure, the rest of the team followed. Looking back at Tanaka, you saw him nod too, letting you know he had your back. At the silent show of support, you pushed the nerves away and got to work in your full element.

"What I need from you is a car lift, a drain pan, the new oil filter, and four or five liters of motor oil," you told the team. "Draining it will take about an hour, more or less, and replacing it a little less in theory. We have less than four hours until stage two so we can't afford to lose any time if we want to get something out of today."

"You heard the girl," clapped Tanaka, moving to get all hands on deck. "Let's move."

You turned to Sentaro and the electrical engineer.

"I need you guys to run the electrical checks again, now and after I finish changing the filter, in case anything else goes off and needs fixing so we're on top of it ASAP."

"Got it. Also, regarding the oil pressure, it was on high levels last night when we brought it back from the event, but we thought it was from being out on track for so long," he said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. It can happen out of nowhere too, especially considering the roads I drove it down yesterday. But do ping Mr. Hinode in case there's something we're missing."

"Thanks, Raiko. You're a lifesaver," he said, walking back to his laptop.

Eh, I'm a what now? you blinked trying to take that compliment in. Shaking yourself out of it, you rolled up your sleeves to your elbows and worked to lift the car at an angle you could fit under it.

Pulling over a creeper, you leaned back and got under, looking for the oil plug under the dirty chassis. Finding it right away, just a little off the underside of the front bumper, you unscrewed it with a wrench. Barely twisted open, the splotchy black goo started spilling everywhere, much more liquid and disgusting than you thought it would be. What was on the dipstick was nothing compared to what spilled out on the sides of the plug. It smelled horrible, like murky grass and three days old mud had a biochemical hazard lovechild. And there was about four liters of that to drain out.

The more you unscrewed the plug, the more it splattered everywhere, some of it flying in your hair. Jerking away so it wouldn't land in your eyes, you turned the plug tugging it off completely. The oil flow doubled right away and you realized you should've had the drain pan under it before you unscrewed it.

"Fucks sake," you grunted, holding out a hand to whoever was close by. "Loosen the oil cap on the top and hand me the drain pan."

A hand pushed the drain pan into your own and you moved fast to shove it under the oil drain, to avoid more of it staining the asphalt.

You slid out from under the hood to breathe in some fresh air, meeting with Kate and Tanaka's faces, looking at you with matching disgusted looks as they took in your very contaminated appearance.

"Your face..." started Kate, pointing at your face as she pinched her nose.

"All natural," you shot back. "You should try it sometimes."

Tanaka howled a laugh as he pulled you up from the ground, handing you a few clean cloths. You wiped your hair as best as you could, frowning at the dirt coming out of it. That will take a lot of showers to take out.

"Now what?"

"Now we wait. And make other checks on the car to make sure nothing else is broken."

Come on, pick up.

Pacing the dusty ground above the stands, you listened as the line rang and rang, each dial tone pumping the nerves back in your system. You were starting to regret this until he finally picked up on the seventh ring.

"I'm in a meeting right now," filtered your father's shushed voice through the phone.

Of course he's in a meeting. That's why he left early this morning. In the chaos with the car and the press, you forgot all about that. Now the scope of the call didn't even really seem that important anymore, preoccupied with the fact that you interrupted something that probably was.

"Raiko? Are you there?"

A car whizzed past on track, pulling roars of cheers from the crowd, prompting you to find a quieter corner.

Was there even a point in asking that?

Fuck it. Just get it over with.

"Does...," you started, but the rest of the words got lost somewhere in the mess in your head. You took a deep breath and tried again, this time sounding a bit more composed. "Does my contract have an expiration date?"

He could tell something was off. You could be as composed as you wanted, but your father could always pick up on the uncertainty laced in your voice.

You heard shuffling, rushed goodbyes and a door closing shut, before a chair creaked. His voice came through more clearly now.

"Of course not. I told you you're welcome to drive for Suruki Racing until you no longer wish to."

Those were the same words you said out loud to the reporter just last night, so sure of yourself and knowing what you wanted that it would be impossible for anyone to second guess it or even challenge your claim to the seat in the team. Until smug-face opened his mouth to comment on it in the press conference today.

"Is everything alright, Rai? I know I left in a rush but if there's anything you need, please let me know."

"Everything's alright," you reassured him, trying to sound more on top of the situation than you felt. "Sorry for disturbing the meeting."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I could use a break," he chuckled, making you chuckle too.

It was so good to finally talk to him like that. Like you were father and daughter for once in a while, before being team principal and driver.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" he asked again, willing to listen to any concerns you had, big or small.

"Yeah," you sighed softly. "It is now. Thanks dad."

He could tell there was more to it than you were telling him, like the issues with the car and missing the first stage, but you didn't push it. Tanaka would catch him up on it later anyways. There was no use in railing him up on a plane right now.

"Always, firebolt. Good luck out there."

That always was your I love you. He wasn't one to be a softie for cheesy stuff, like blurting out those three words, but that always never failed to reassure you that you'll get through anything and come out on the bright side. No matter what.

"Good luck to you too," you piped up, ending the call.

Looking ahead, you caught sight of the Spica Racing blue hues right on time, approaching a rocky corner. Naozumi took it so effortlessly before diving into the last drift portion taking it wide, closer to the barrier, lifting the dust and gravel off the ground to fly off in the stands like a gust of sand.

You backed away coughing a little, shaking your head with a smile at the gesture that was one hundred percent intentional.

At least someone's having fun today.

You got back to the pen at the same time Naozumi pulled up. He got out of the car much more pleased with his run than he has these past few days. He didn't even yell at his engineers this time.

Unfortunately for your short lived peace of mind, he caught sight of you and turned your way with a smile as wide as his pride must be.

The closer he got, he eyed you from head to toe, taking you in all your muddy glory, scrunching his nose at the smell that was still glued to you like you sprayed on intense dirt road cologne. Your clothes also reeked of motor oil. If someone had a flint they might as well light you on fire if you just breathed in their direction.

"What happened to you? Did you DNF into a bush of skunks or something?"

"Haha, really funny," you deadpanned. "I didn't even start the race for that matter."

Throwing a look at the scoreboard in your pen since it was closest, he scoured all the drivers until his eyes landed on your name, staring back at him with a DNS in bold letters, right at the bottom of the grid.

"What? How did you even manage that?"

Was he actually concerned or was he just planning to fumble the bag for more insults based on your answer? Closing in on the playful glint in his eyes, it was probably the latter and you were not in the mood for it.

"Engine issues," you sighed, slumping in defeat.

It's been half an hour and you were still waiting for the oil to finish draining before you could actually fix anything. Time was ticking away and so were your hopes of somehow participating in the second stage.

"You missed a spot," he said, gesturing to your face.

Bringing your hands up, you wiped them everywhere coming up entirely clean. Is he seeing things?

He shook his head before coming closer, wiping his thumb over the tip of your nose. Your heart thrummed in your ears, drowning everything else around you but his touch and how close he was. Feeling the callused pads of his fingers on your skin, without all those fibrous layers of the suit between you, felt like being touched by millions of sparks of electricity at the same time. Heat surged pink on your cheeks quicker than you could hide it.

Instead of getting the splotch of mud away, he smudged it all across your cheeks with a grin. Him being him, he just had to ruin the moment.

"There. Much better," he concluded, proud of his outstanding work of art.

That only provoked you, flipping the switch on your rage. You kept it under wraps long enough and at this point, he was just asking for it.

"I told you not to touch me ever again," you rasped, swatting his hand away.

"Hmm, I don't recall," he hummed, wiping his thumb on his suit to get rid of the dirt. "It was probably an empty threat."

An empty threat? Hah. He's really starting to piss me the fuck off.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

Because he had many of them and most included disturbing your peace on an undetermined period.

"I don't really have a problem, rookie," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Stop calling me that," you seethed. "I'm not a rookie."

"Oh, but you are." He took a step closer to you. "Need I remind you that you stepped foot in the car not even two days ago? A rookie stays a rookie until they prove themselves worthy of the road."

"You think you're the shit, don't you?"

"And you are?" he chuckled darkly. "You don't have the guts for it. Why don't you go back to being daddy's little spoiled princess, driving plastic cars, since it's obvious you can't drive a real one?"

Naozumi had a talent at making sure his words drove straight to their recipient, cutting deeper than intended, at times with a purpose more painful than the edge of a knife.

"At least I'm not the idiot that wrecked the car in the easiest turn in the whole region just yesterday, driving it with an engine failure only to blame it on my team. It takes real skill to pull that off."

His jaw ticked with fresh blood. You definitely ticked a nerve with that. If you're throwing knives at each other, might as well throw them deep just for the funk of it.

"At least I didn't get a DNF and a DNS first time on the job. Your father may have put that winning image in your head to motivate you, but if you think it will be that easy, you're wrong. You will always be a rookie and there's nothing you can do to help it."

If that was supposed to make it hurt more, boohoo it missed it's mark. Kinda late to the pity party. Might invite you next time.

"Oh, you're one to talk," you scoffed incredulously. "You're nothing without your team and you can't even see that. What's gonna happen when they all walk out and leave you stranded to work on the car all by yourself? Will you magically pay your way out of it by hiring other people?"

"That's none of your business," he hissed.

"Real drivers help their team," you growled.

You were overtaken by a sense of kinship for your team stronger than anything the world could throw at you. He probably knew nothing about that or what it means to make constant sacrifices for something you love body and soul. But he sure had the nerve to come and preach it to you like a total hypocrite since the rules of normal society apparently don't apply to him but they do to everyone else.

"You don't get to tell me how to be a driver," he shot back, tone becoming more menacing with every word.

"And you don't get to trample all over my hard work. My team's hard work. Don't talk to me about privilege when you're living off it just fine."

You didn't even notice you closed the distance to him, getting right up in his face, seeping into his space once more, this time with a different kind of savagery - one that felt a lot like unleashing chaos.

"You don't know shit," he growled, towering over you. "So I suggest you to back the fuck off."

"Or what?," you gritted back.

The corner of his lip turned up with a dark wicked smirk, a warning pledge of fast approaching colossal disaster, just like the words rumbling out of his throat, low and deep, just like thunder.

"I'll make sure the rest of your time here is a living hell."

A living hell? I'm already living hell, pretty boy.

You simply chuckled at that. He had no idea that you laughed in the face of danger. He must have thought you were crazy for it.

His head tilted in slight confusion at your reaction, though his eyes never left their furious fire behind. You quipped a brow silently accepting his challenge, wondering just how far he could go to prove a point and preserve his pride in the face of a mere rookie.

"I'd like to see you try."

"You're gonna regret this."

This man loved to make enemies with everyone. But he picked the wrong person to start the fight with. Unfortunately for him and his loud wrathful thunder, vengeful lightning always strikes twice. Always.

"We'll see about that."

Not another word came out of his mouth. He just grinned devilishly as if he already started devising a wicked little plan in his head to pull the earth from under your feet when you were not looking.

Regarding you with one more look full of hatred, he pulled back, walking off to his pen.

Little did he know, he just met his match. Regrets... you had many for yourself. But you were sure as hell that him of all people was the last one to add to them. Never in a million years would you let that happen.

I wouldn't wish hell upon anyone. Especially mine. But if I had the choice to curse one person in the whole wide world right now...

I would curse him in a heartbeat.

You were sitting outside the pen, glaring at Naozumi's back, until Tanaka called out to you.

"Raiko. The oil has drained out.," he said, stopping in his tracks. "What are you doing out here?"

Googling ways to overcome your enemies with the power of forced distance.

"Nothing," you scoffed, heading back inside.

Time to get dirtier than my soul.

Taking your place back under the car, you worked on changing the oil filter with a new one. Screwing off the old filter entirely by hand, the leftover oil spilled everywhere again. At least there wasn't that much left in the basin to really stain anything.

It would've been nice not to have to do this with your bare hands, but you've been Mr. Hinode's human flashlight enough to know that the filter can only be tightened by a bare hand to make sure it's in the right spot and that none of it can leak out.

"Could you hand me a filter wrench?"

"Here," popped in Akio's head, who now became your human flashlight.

"Thanks."

A little shimmying and the old broken filter finally popped out with the rest of the oil leaking out down your arms. The last drop fell on your forehead. A good luck omen? We shall see.

Passing it to Akio, you motioned to him to shine some light on the broken filter. You noticed the head gasket was indeed damaged.

"Is the new filter ready and rubbed with oil yet?"

"Yep. Good to go?"

"Yeah."

Checking the engine block with the flash light one more time to make sure there weren't any other bits or parts stuck inside, you tried putting the new filter in. You struggled to make it do inside the engine block, moving down a little farther under the car. Not a fun thrill to experience with a ton hanging above you lifted by a tool weighing less.

Please don't crush me, hun. I drive you but I can assure you that you don't want to drive me.

Spinning the part to the right, you finally got it in, puffing out a breath. You screwed it on until you felt it stop turning. You gave it another spin with your hand before you tightened it with a wrench the rest of the way.

"We should be good to go now. Pour the motor oil in."

One of the mechanics poured the oil in on top. You waited to see if any of it would still leak out only to see none.

The new oil filter was successfully attached.

Well fuck me, I just did that.

Rolling out from under the car, you breathed out a sigh of relief as the team started applauding you and howling your name out of nowhere.

"Raiko! Raiko! Raiko!"

"Oh, shut the fuck up."

They all laughed at your cussing. Tanaka and Sentaro pulled you up as the rest threw their cloths at you to send you to shower. Your team kit was sticking to you like you just took a dip in an oil lake, save for the sweat rolling down your back. That one belonged to you.

"You smell as bad as the car after a day on track and I'm saying that in the nicest way possible," said Akio.

"Haha, really funny," you laughed, throwing some of the cloths back with oil stains. "If I had a hose I would drench you all. Don't tempt me."

Little did you know that someone came around to check out what the ruckus next door was about. He watched you from the sidelines, running around to smear the oil on your hands on whoever landed in your range of attack. Most of them didn't even move, welcoming your attack with defeated smiles. The corner of his lip tilted up in a delighted grin at the scene.

Maybe I underestimated her.

"Everything's got the green light, right?"

"Yes, Raiko," Tanaka reassured you for the hundredth time since you stepped in the car. "All other car checks came out good. Stop stressing."

"I'm not stressing."

Well, you kinda were since you lost a lot of points by retiring from the first stage. You needed a clear head before the race and after today it just wasn't happening. You fixed the car before it was time to race, but if you didn't do right by this one, you could kiss any advancement ahead in the series goodbye.

"You saved us today. Any other driver would've ripped their contract to pieces in front of the team if they had to get anywhere near motor oil."

"I think you're forgetting I'm not just any driver," you smirked, pulling your helmet on. "Let's do this shit."

You went out there and enjoyed it for the first time this weekend. Your run was smoother than anything else today. The corners were mostly wide, mid-range turns, and the car felt great with the new oil change. It would be another 3000 miles before you had to change it again and hopefully, the filter would last longer than that.

Even Tanaka seemed to enjoy himself. He didn't reach for the door handle not even once like he was used to whenever he was in the car with you. You did accelerate faster in some turns watching his hand come up halfway only to stop and retract back.

"6 left 100. Flat out."

One hundred meters left to the widest corner left in the race.

Come to mamma.

The dirt flew up in the air behind you, leaving a trail of dust on each side. You dove closer to the left where the stands were, taking the last corner with a large drift that rose up huge clouds of sand from your rear. You heard the roars of the crowd before the puckers from the slide over the gravel, all getting lost in the rave music booming through the speakers.

This is what racing was about. Leaving it all in the hands of the wheel for two minutes where the world quieted down. Being on a one track mind.

Once every driver went for their run, you sat on the hood with the rest of the team waiting for the final update of the track times. You chewed your lip in thinking, tapping your foot on the floor.

I hope all those sacrifices weren't in vain. We all worked way too hard to fall off the track right now. We need this right now.

The scoreboard loaded to display the first three names and all heads perked forward. No one spoke. Not even the wind dared to rustle a banner.

1st place - Naozumi Hiyama - Spica Racing Factory

2nd place - Akira Shinkai - Sigma Racing

3rd place - Takatoshi Tohira - YM Works

Naozumi's ego was strong today. He just so managed to bag podium after that whole show of arrogance. Fucker. Pushing your annoyance for the man away, you focused back on the board.

Come on, load faster.

4th place - Katsumi Ishibashi - Top Rank

I can kiss top five for Tour de Tokai goodbye. So long world.

5th place - Raiko Suruki - Suruki Racing

What the fuck-

Loud cheers erupted all around you like the national football team just won the World Cup. That was totally impossible but you did it. You placed in the first point rankings. You were in top five! Still far away from the podium, but at least you didn't fall off the scoreboard.

Before you even said anything, the screen updated to display the Drivers Championship standings so far.

1. Akira Shinkai - Sigma Racing - 61 pts

2. Naozumi Hiyama - Spica Racing Factory - 53 pts

3. Neil Emerton - Cusco Racing - 47 pts

4. Takatoshi Tohira - YM Works - 38 pts

5. Fairuz Badawi - Eliot Racing - 31 pts

6. Katsumi Ishibashi - TOP RANK - 28 pts

7. Raiko Suruki - Suruki Racing - 25 pts

"It's not much, but they're good points," said Tanaka, patting you on the back. "Amazing work today, lightning strike."

Turning back to everyone, you called out to them. The team gave you their full undivided attention. Your team. Most of these people saw you grow up from a rowdy teenager into the driver you are today. They were more than your team. They were your extended family. You owed them everything.

"I know dad's not here today, but someone has to do the honorary speech" you clapped your hands together, trying to will some normal words out.

"I wouldn't have been able to get out there without you guys. You're the reason this team works like oiled parts, no pun intended."

Some of them laughed at that. You happened to have your father's humor.

"I know there's no podium celebration for us this time, but I will work even harder to bring it to you soon. For now, please rest up, eat well and stay safe. The Fuji Highland Masters round is nearby so we need to get in the gear for it soon."

"Raiko! Raiko! Raiko!"

"Guys, please stop," you giggled, suddenly flustered at all the attention. "Come on, go home. Before the organizers kick us out."

Grabbing your duffel bag with your things, you went back to the race banner. You pulled out your phone and took a photo of it and a selfie.

Your career officially started. It was a rocky start and the climb up to even get a chance at podium was even rockier. But you were willing to fight for it with your teeth.

Suruki Racing was born again this weekend and you were planning to keep it alive for longer than it has before.

Turning around, you cast a look at the podium. Naozumi just received his trophy, smashing the champagne bottle to spray the crowd. That million dollar smile was back on his face, wider and brighter than you've seen it. It almost looked real. Among all that lust for fame and money in his blood, he looked like he fit right in with the haze of celebration. Like he was made to be a winner.

On the other side of the podium, Akira lifted his 2nd place trophy too, fully enjoying the squeals from his fans. You didn't know what came over you, but you pulled your phone out to snap a picture of both of them for safekeeping.

Spotting you on the side about to leave, Akira took off in your direction. His hand tugged on your arm to spin you around.

"Hey!"

"Hey, you," you smiled. "Second place, huh?"

He looked down at the trophy with a small smile, not really reaching his eyes like usual.

"Yeah. Not my best drive but it's alright."

"Could say the same."

"Are you coming to the party?"

"The famed afterparty on Naozumi's yacht?" You looked back at the podium, watching him throw the champagne bottle down his throat, spilling everywhere on his suit in the process. "No, thanks. I'll pass."

"He wants everyone on the grid there. Though I would much rather not go, my agent said it's good publicity. To tame the media after that stunt today or something like that. So, come with me."

After declaring each other mortal enemies, you wanted nothing to do with Naozumi at all. Not even being in his range of view. Going to a party, on his yacht, in the middle of a body of water was the last thing you needed.

"I'll think about it."

A staff member came to pull him away for a quick press interview. He seemed adamant to leave but you waved him off. You were in need of a shower before the mud became one with your skin.

"I have to go," he pressed his lips together in a smile, dimples popping on the sides. "See you back in Tokyo?"

"Sure."

Would going to that party be so bad? I could definitely use some alcohol and if it's free, why the hell not? He must have expensive alcohol on board. I can let my pride go for a free drink.

There was no lie that Tokyo's skyline looked so magical at night, especially on a yacht ride down the central river. Skyscrapers stretched out into the sky, multicolored lights blinking back at you with sparkles. The rich really had this superb view every night and they barely took a ride here if it wasn't for business purposes.

At least yours truly knows how to pick a party location.

Speaking of the man of the hour, you counted about eight girls around him from your secluded spot at the bar. You could hear their high-pitched voices all the way there, asking him all kinds of questions about himself and the car. He just hummed in response to all of them, focusing his attention elsewhere.

If today wasn't so shit and he didn't literally declare war to you, you might have just been a tad bit happy for him. The most you mustered was a mumbled congratulations when you boarded the ship. He just passed you a grin and left it at that.

He doesn't deserve my cheerfulness. He gets it from the world enough as it is. Plus the fact that he invited everyone on his yacht just in spite.

None of the drinks at the bar were for free and most were too expensive for your pocket, so you had to drink a mocktail. Even his hospitability was in mocking.

More girls scooched closer to get a piece of him, tanned arms and bare legs brushing up against him from all sides. He didn't even seem to be bothered in the slightest that his space was being taken up. But he did mind when it was you doing it.

"Then let's make a toast again!"

"Cheers!"

"Congratulations on being the champion!"

The girls cheered and clinked glasses, sipping on the expensive champagne. He joined on the clinking too, though he didn't drink with them, keeping his glass aside.

His eyes drifted from the champagne glass in his hand to you. The small smile on his face turned into a smirk of provocation. A smirk that went right to the epicenter of your rage. He came to kindle that fire again.

Before you knew it, you made a beeline through the crowd stopping right in front of his table. The girls shot you disapproving looks, sizing you up and down in every way they wanted. Picking apart your messy, tousled hair. Your tomboy outfit. Some even mumbled something about your nails not being in fashion. You shot them a look and they stopped looking at you altogether.

Naozumi just regarded you with a knowing look, averting his eyes to the water surrounding the boat in dismissal. You just stood there with your arms crossed, waiting for him to stop his passive ignorance.

"Got something to say to me, rookie?"

Would he explode if he just called me by my name?

"I do actually."

"Then," he extended a hand around one of the girls getting more comfortable with her. She snuggled into his body, giddiness taking over her for getting so close to him. You could feel the jealousy oozing off the other girls, waiting for their turn. "Let's hear it."

He really does have a thing for public humiliation.

Akira stepped beside you, lightly pulling at the sleeve of your leather jacket to get you away from trouble. Little did he know you loved trouble more than anything in the world. Especially when it involved a certain know-it-all with an annoyingly handsome face.

"Rai, let's go," he muttered, aware that some people turned around to watch the scene. "You're better than him. Don't give him the satisfaction."

"I wasn't talking to you, Shinkai," spat Naozumi, not once lifting his eyes away from you. Not even when the girl at his side caressed the side of his neck with obvious want. "Go lick the boots of your own team principal."

"Talk, rookie. Or did the cat get your tongue?"

You want war on and off track, Naozumi?

You have it.

The words were out of your mouth in a heartbeat, not one thought behind them. Nothing but the sole need to see how he would react to being challenged publicly.

"Let's settle it on the road. You and me. Our cars back at the docks."

An illegal race on the streets of Tokyo. Might as well be career suicide for some. But you had way too hanging by a thread, while he only had his pride. Taking that away would be like shoving him off his throne and sitting on it like it was yours.

Best case scenario, you win and leave him with a shattered ego.

Worst case scenario, you lose or end your career.

The only good thing was that the odds were in no one's favour out there on the road. It took skill to win an illegal race in a city that was built up on street racing of the highest stakes.

"What does the winner get?"

"Always so set on winning, aren't you? Would losing something dim your small manly pride?"

His tongue pushed his cheek in the same annoyed manner it would at his brother reprimanding him for being incapable of listening to simple directions.

"That's between you and me," you added, settling on making this as private as you could.

The sudden realization was written all over his face. He knew what you were referring to since you threw his very own words back at him.

"A rookie stays a rookie until they prove themselves worthy of the road."

Ripples of gasps echoed around you, people already murmuring things about you. Until the rumors started being directed at Naozumi and his ability to drive. It was time for him to prove himself worthy of the crowd as well.

Naozumi sat back swirling the champagne in his glass until the liquid was left without bubbles. He seemed to give it a good thought.

There was that curiosity dancing in his eyes again. The same rush of novelty measuring up on your very own. He wanted to know where you would take this if he gave you the chance.

"Fine by me," he said, taking you up on your offer.

Shaking off the female arms circled around him, he got up and threw back that glass of champagne emptying it in one go, before calling out to the captain to turn the boat around. He walked to you, stopping mere steps away from you.

"Where?"

"The hill over there down to the docks. No time cuts, no tricks."

"You shouldn't drive after drinking," you remarked.

He smirked, taking one more step towards you. "Are you worried about me, princess?"

"No," you said, taking one step in his direction.

One more step from each of you and you were chest to chest, facing off like it was a real battle for the very pride of driving. People made a circle around you, staying away from the tension already wafting through the air.

He bent down to your ear. "To settle your worries, it was non-alcoholic champagne. But don't let them know. I keep my alcohol for the big wins."

He really was the biggest asshole on the planet.

The two of you were the first to get off the boat and find your cars, driving them up the top of the hill with some of the crowd from the yacht following right behind. It would be a drive down through traffic and tight corners but it looked much more doable than the roads you've driven through today.

You heard his car purring before he pulled up next to you turning in your seat to gawk at it - a midnight blue R8, a beast of a car compared to yours.

It was an older model, so overpacked with modifications it made your head spin. Nothing on that car looked like it belonged on it and you had a hunch that long hood curving over the engine held a lot more mysteries than the outside body of the car.

He rolled down his window, leaning a hand over it to check yours out too. He scanned it back to front and from the twinge in his lips, he appeared impressed by your weapon of choice. Who wouldn't gape at it when yours was a collection car worth more than three of his yachts together.

"Veilside RX-7. Not bad for a rookie."

He sounded genuinely respectful.

"Thanks."

"I'll give you a five seconds head start," he added.

"I think you could use them a lot more than me," you shot back.

He revved his V8 engine, roaring it to life like a lion looking to claim his rightful throne. You did the same, revving your V6 longer to prepare it for the sprint race. Your engine missed two cylinders and some horsepower but yours had way better grip on the road. Though small compared to his speed intake, you had a shot at winning this.

He was big and wide, a monster under the hood but one that got swallowed on serpentine roads like the one that awaited you. It was a show car. It wasn't made for racing. That and your car was smaller and bunchier, meaning you were able to whizz through corners much faster if needed.

He can't beat me at what I know best.

I was born with the drift in my veins.

And illegal street racing?

Not my first rodeo, pretty boy.

Someone walked to the front stopping between your cars. It was the blonde woman from last night. Shorts that were shorter than your lifespan climbed up her buttocks, joined by a tank top that hugged her boobs better than any of your bras could. A checkered flag hang in her hand, getting rustled by the cool night breeze.

"Not too late to back out," he piped up.

"See you at the finish line. That is if you can keep up," you said, rolling up your window to avoid more of his attitude from seeping inside your car.

You cast a look down to your right at the docks then turned back around to the road.

On second thoughts, Tokyo's skyline looks way better from up here.

The blonde rolled her hand with the flag calling out a count and holding up her fingers. The crowd cheered behind you, already getting gassed by the fumes burning out through the exhausts.

"Three."

It's not about how fast you go.

You revved the engine loud, feeling the car shake with the raw horsepower under the hood.

"Two."

It's about how long you go fast.

Throwing a look at Naozumi, you caught him looking right back at you, that shit-eating grin back on his face.

Fast like lightning.

"GO!"

The flag barely hit the floor when you pressed the gas like a madman. His extra horsepower propelled him a few meters ahead of you. You kept close on his tail, letting him take the tight corners before you so he felt it on his own skin that this wasn't the type of road to get cocky on. Not with a million dollar car like his.

Passing the first two corners, he moved to the middle of the road to cover more ground. He must have realized his car takes way too much space to even drift. And this was a drifting road.

The next corner gave him an opening to shift gears and drift. You went on the outside, trying to overtake him but he was way too wide to get past. You needed a wider corner.

Moving around a rocky hillside, you noticed the road barriers curving down into a wider path, less narrow with more flow.

Naozumi slowed down, reducing his drift angle in the process, rear jerking in a light drift. That's my cue. You pulled the hand brake, pressed down the clutch then quickly stabbed the gas, turning the steering to the left. Accelerating, you flew past him, sliding in front of his car over the middle of the road, slick and smooth like butter on a hot frying pan.

The next turn was just as wide. He accelerated trying to get past you and he almost did if you didn't know him any better. You took the drift faster than him, with the risk of letting the car skid off the road. The tyres screeched loudly at the excess of pressure. Thinking fast, you dropped in the clutch moving down in second gear, finding the sweet spot where the rotations aligned and swerved left into another perfect drift. The roaring growl of the engine was music to your ears.

This is how you drive a car, baby.

A few more turns and you skidded out into intense night traffic. The move from rough to slick asphalt sent your rear wide in the middle of an intersection, passing a red light and being honked at from all sides of the intersection. Naozumi followed right behind you, mere meters away from smashing into your tail lights if you slowed down in the slightest.

You entered a tunnel, whizzing past city cars as fast as you could, overtaking them in fast twisting zig zags. Going back down the hill of the main road, he slid in beside you, pushing the car to its limits to close the gap to you. You didn't let off either, dropping down another gear to rev the engine and push past him.

The docks were just a few blocks away. So close.

Police sirens howled loudly in the distance. One look in the rearview mirror and sure enough the red and blue lights shone bright behind you, heading for you and Naozumi.

Three more police cars pulled up two blocks down, trying to block the street and the two of you from passing through. You shot him a quick look he shared with you, fully aware that this was going to get messy. He threw his head to the blocks on the side, wanting to take the longer route and go around. You laughed at that, turning back ahead.

Go hide, Naozumi. I like to face things head on. You should try it sometimes.

Pressing the gas pedal to increase the speed, you slid in front of him and went through fast. The hands on your speedometer went past 120 kmph. If the officers didn't want to get crushed, they had to pull away. But they didn't. Not that you wanted them to.

You cut the gas, tapped the clutch and steered left really tight, drifting down the lane of the street that was left unguarded. You held on tight to the wheel to stay in control of the car as the force pushed you into the door. Your tyres skidded with a screech at the amount of power, but you drifted into that lane and got the car back around straight, leaving the law enforcement behind you.

Two hundred meters in, you repeated the same maneuver this time to the right and steering wide, diving into another turn down the street, completely losing them. The farther away you got, the less you could hear the sirens. They didn't follow.

One thing about police here: they didn't give a fuck if they didn't stop you on the first try. With the amount of street races around Tokyo at night, they gave up on speeding tickets too. If you can do better than one-eighty they can't catch you. They just liked showing up for some ruckus for people to know they were worth their taxes.

Naozumi slowed down behind you, unable to understand how you got away. He followed your drift on the stretch, miscalculating how wide and low he was as his wheels got up on the sidewalk, scraping his front bumper in the process.

Circling around the last blocks with him in tow, he raced up to you, catching speed until he reached you again.

Now it was finally head to head.

Eight hundred meters stood between his dignity and your career getting knocked off and thrown into the river. None of you backed off, increasing the speed to inhumane limits. Not even the rally cars went this fast. The tyres gripped the asphalt hard, engine thundering under the hood, wheel quivering in your hold the faster you drove.

Five hundred meters.

On your left, his R8 got closer, trying to take away from your ascent. A lower portion going under a bridge came up ahead with a tight corner between the pillars. You veered under it, drifting with his car at the same time. He took the inside pushing you off into the rocky sidewalk as payback for his scratched bumper. Your rear wheel caught onto it, swaying the car off the road. The tremors shook your seat the more you drove over the rocks and you managed to get off it just before you smashed into the pillar, sliding back on the road.

Motherfucker.

You pushed the car even faster to catch up to him. You played fair and square and he was pulling tricks. Fairplay was in the trash at this point when it comes to him. What was worse was that you expected more, but maybe that was a mistake.

Three hundred meters.

The size of a football stadium stood between you and the finish line. The docks were now in view, tall and shabby warehouses littered on the sides of the road. Time for Plan B.

Just because I don't have one between my legs doesn't mean I can't act like a dick too.

You let go of the throttle, slowing down to fall behind him and tailed him, sticking to his end like a leech. He liked to play dirty. At least he could have a taste of his own medicine.

He tried to shake you off, going in chicanes and slowing down in the process. He was growing impatient and it showed because you weren't letting off his tail not in even a little, keeping close to his end. If you had more horsepower you could've kissed his back bumper for shits and giggles.

He tried his hardest to lose you, turns getting Once he steered right really wide, you took the opening and accelerated, speeding through ahead and leaving him behind. You turned to wave at him with a smile as you passed by, bolting through to the end.

You whizzed past the redhead waving the checkered flag, getting the crowd yelling as you drifted around them, lifting some of the dust up in the air as you did some victorious doughnuts. Naozumi pulled up behind you and you circled him a few times before you stopped in front of him.

That dark look in his eyes was full of hatred just a few hours ago. Now, it turned furious with rage, pride absolutely shattered. He took a gamble on your inexperience and he lost the game he started so confident in his own powers.

Everyone rushed to your car to cheer on you. You got out shocked at the crowd pooling in. Akira bolted through the endless mob of people, reaching you and bringing you in a bone-crushing hug you couldn't help but melt in.

"That was batshit crazy! We could see everything from down here."

"I know," your voice came out muffled from being tucked in his shoulder. "I can't believe I did that."

"Well," he pulled apart to hold onto your shoulders, "believe it 'cause you absolutely just did that."

The crowd started chanting your name and you couldn't help the giddiness overtaking your senses. Some of those people were either drivers or really famous and they were calling out your name with excitement.

You might have fallen off the track today but you won the crowd tonight. This was yours to enjoy fully and no one could take it away from you. You earned it. You proved that you belonged on the road.

Naozumi finally cut the engine off. He slumped back in his seat for a moment before he got out to inspect the damage on the front of his car. You walked over to him to see him threading his fingers over the scratched paint stretching over to a dent, covering a good part of the corner in front of the right wheel.

"That looks nasty," you said.

He shot you a look filled with hatred. That graze looked worse than nasty could describe and from how he grinded his teeth in annoyance, it looked like it was entirely your fault in his head.

Not one word was uttered between him getting back in his car and speeding away, leaving his victory celebration for you to enjoy.

I think I scratched his ego too.

Akira slid in beside you, eyes trained on the back of his car, watching it drift away until you could no longer see it.

"Is it wrong that I feel bad for him?"

"Nah, you earned this. He's just complicated." Then he paused, rotating to you. "Frankly, I don't think anyone threw him off his high horse this hard before. Not even me," he said with a grin, happy at Naozumi's demise.

Maybe he was right. Naozumi was a really complicated person. But the more you faced each other on and off track, the more you got to know more about him. And the more your hands inched closer to unravel that puzzle on the shelf with his name on it.

One thing was for sure.

After today's events, that plastic foil on his puzzle box was entirely gone. And one of your dying curiosities was satisfied tonight.

You now knew what made Naozumi tick.

And it wasn't losing.

🏎️Glossary of terms and other useful information 🏎️

The Points - Points in rally get awarded on a top 10 places basis. Depending on the placement at the end of the final stage, the score one gets differs. First place can get as high as 25 points, while tenth place gets only one point. *The last stage is called the Power Stage, giving drivers in top five extra points in the overall standings.

Drivers Championship standings - The overall points gathered over the course of all rounds. If you're familiar with F1, it is the equivalent to the Drivers' World Championship standings.

Downshift - One of Raiko's favourite things. Changing gears from an upper one to an inferior one, where the car revs up before it speeds up. Also the sweet spot where the rotations align and the engine roars.

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#runaway 🏎️🏁#naozumi hiyama #naozumi hiyama x reader #naozumi hiyama x you #overdrive fic #akira shinkai #akira shinkai x reader #overdrive mackenyu

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