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paddockbunny · 1 year

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Chapter Four

Summary: Turning up to the paddock had perhaps been one of the worst decisions you possibly could have made but at least you didn't let the evening go to waste. Now, after the events of that weekend you had to face the music…..and be saved when things didn’t go so well Pairing : Max Verstappen x Reader Rating :18+. Word Count: 5, 749 Trigger Warnings : IT'S BASICALLY ALL ANGST AND SMUT! NSFW, 18+, adult content, adult language, LOTS of Christian Horner in this chapter, PinV sex, protected sex, sad potentially triggering family dynamics Authors Note : Ah I really hope you guys like it now it's been turned into a fic, hope it doesn't disappoint! If you wish to be added (or removed) from the Tag List please DM me so I see it! Sending everyone love

You turned off the key to the ignition and a large exhale left your body. Of all the places in the world you could have been, here was the last place on earth you wanted to be. You took a cursory glace to the side of you, glimpsing fleetingly at the old fashioned farmhouse that now played host to your “family.” Every time you came back here to your father’s big sprawling estate equipped with its own stream for fishing, horse stables and fucking wine cellar even though no one could possibly drink that much wine, you couldn’t help but feel reminiscent. Not of the rather ostentatious abode your father and his family now resided but how much it reminded you of the somewhat humbler home you grew up in yourself when it was just the three of you, him, you and your mother. Hell, your childhood home would have paled in comparison to this palace. But at least you had some happy memories before Geraldine and the fame of his position in F1 went to your father’s head.

You grabbed Monty’s birthday present off the passenger seat of your car and took deep, steady inhale. Monty was the sole reason you were here. If it weren’t for keeping a promise to your little brother that you would come to his birthday party then you wouldn’t be anywhere near this place at all. Thing was immediately after leaving your hotel room in the early hours of the following morning - post celebratory all night fucking after his win – Max texted you and started hounding you about flying out and spending a few days with him in Monaco. And those texts he sent were very, very hard to resist. They always started innocently enough, claiming he just wanted to show you around but quickly they always descended into a familiar, smutty tone. You knew that if you had flown out to Monaco the only place you would be seeing would be Max Verstappen’s bedroom – and his shower, and his sofa, and his balcony and his kitchen counter top. Now you had gotten to know him better, you knew Max would want to be inside of you as much as he possibly could. And although the idea naturally excited you and aroused more than just your interest, you turned him down on grounds you were worried about how so much sex might affect his next performance (and of course upsetting little Monty by skipping his party). As you got out of the safety of your car you smiled while remembering the dick pic he sent you last night when he pleaded his case again for the umpteenth time. Your memory instantly recalling how desperate his purpling tip looked for some release and the veins that ran up and down his girthy shaft were fit for bursting. Cat like you practically licked your lips thinking about him being in your mouth. You couldn’t help imagining your tongue swirling around him, licking up and down his length and God, the sheer thought of taste of him was enough to get your panties damp. But as the gravel crunched underfoot while you walked up toward the doorway to your father and his new families home, you pushed the thought of Monaco, Max and his cock out of your mind.

The place was awash with kids and their adults. From the kitchen you could see Geraldine was very much in charge, holding court amongst the parents while your father stood pretending to listen by her side. It was clear even just from inside that no expense had been spared on Monty’s fifth birthday. Trampolines, bouncy castles, balloon arches, the full fucking Instagrammable shebang. Watching the scene outside from behind the window, you could admit that it was hard for you not to feel a little bitter. You thought back to your birthday parties as a kid and could only recall one or two where your father was even present and even at that, you didn’t exactly have a party like this one. For you it was a few banners, paper hats and a customary Colin the Caterpillar cake. Not the lavish excessive parade of wealth Geri had managed to wrangle out of your notoriously tight fisted father. But then again you had to remind yourself that these were his “second chance children” and they’d be sure to get everything you never did, including his time and respect. You turned, ready to go out and make a fuss of your innocent brother when you caught sight of a bottle of opened champagne sitting ignored on a counter top. A few swigs for Dutch courage wouldn’t kill you – your father was probably still simmering about your paddock appearance after all.

“MONTY!” You shouted loudly, deliberately putting on a display of unwavering resilience. You spied him on the bouncy castle and held out your arms for him to come running into after he managed to get off. He squealed your name excitedly and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. Regardless of what hurt you had felt in your life at the end of your fathers opinion and temper, you had to admit you did love this little adorable curly haired boy. He was so innocent and loving and you clamped your arms around him firmly when he leaped into your arms for a hug. You had missed all of his prior birthdays – due to Uni or just feeling plain unwelcome – so you were glad to make the appearance today just for him. He excitedly told you all of the presents he had gotten and who they were from before begging you to play them all with him because you were the “bestest” at knowing what to do and the sheer happiness in his little face made all of the worry in your body seem inconsequential. And then you felt a hand touch your shoulder and looked up to see Geri, smiling down at you.

“Thank-you.” She said instead of a hello, throwing her matchstick like arms around your body. “He’s been telling everyone his big sister was coming all day.” It made your heart swell but in the same passing moment you thought of how it felt like when you had been left devastated and crestfallen on so many of your own birthdays when your dad failed to make an appearance. “Would you like a slice of cake?” She smiled broadly and began leading you over toward where the adults were gathered. Geri had this peculiar knack of staring at you so intently with her blue eyes that you found yourself saying yes even if you meant no, probably how she managed to lure your dad away from your mum that was another hole down which you did not want to fucking spiral so followed her lead over toward the patio.

“Nice of you to come.” Your dad was clearly still in a mood with you and there was no way the rest of the parents here did not notice the cool manner in which he greeted you with. Somehow, you always felt five years old in his presence. Wanting to cling on to his leg and hide behind it like the shy child inside of you but also wanting to do or say something that would make him proud and boastful – the irony of which he had displayed toward the man you were friends with benefits with more than you yourself was not lost on you – but alas today would not be one of those days. “Anything for Monty.” “Not strictly true is it? He’s five now and you haven’t been to a single one of his birthdays before” He said it in his typical smartass voice he usually reserved for people he saw as opponents. Toto Wolff received this tone of voice from him on many occasions, of which you were utterly sure. You noticed how a few of the seated females at the table you two were standing behind turned and glanced at you. The looks simply read; “so that’s the eldest one?” & “I can’t believe he has an older daughter, especially one like that” which almost made you want to reach between them at the bottle of wine on the table and down it in front of them so they had their gossip. “Well…” You geared yourself up “I’m here this time, like he wished for.” Even when you were included you weren’t and felt like this was another one of your miscalculations.

After a while of uncomfortable silence between you and your dad, you noticed Geri heading back into the house and remembered the other reason that you had made such an effort to come today. You needed to ascertain exactly what Geri thought she knew about you and Max and take the right course of action. One course of said action you had decided was telling her she was imagining things, that Max was just being polite and her idea of something going on between the pair of you was a purely fictional fantasy from her side – gaslight her if you will. The other was to work out if (or perhaps when) she would tell your father and if she was going to deliberately ruin things for you. That would require more of your strength and acting skills. You would grudge giving her the satisfaction of begging because she would probably get high off the power she could wield over you in the moment, but you were enjoying things with Max too much to want it to stop so were prepared to swallow your pride and do what had to be done. You found her in the kitchen, unplugging her phone so she could no doubt post about the day all over her social media (as if people actually cared) and sort of cornered her.

“I was wondering if I could uh…have a word?” Why were you suddenly all nervous? It wasn’t because of her, nor the slightly awkward conversation that was about to take place, so maybe it was simply the thought of Max. “Is this about M.A.X?” She acted like a giddy 15 year-old schoolgirl as she relished in spelling out his name. An uneasy feeling descended upon your body when a dastardly smirk appeared across her face and you knew she was taking a lot of pleasure from this. Instinctively you made a simple glance to the side and noticed how close some people were to the door so tilted your head and motioned for her to follow you out of earshot into the dining room, where you perched on the edge of the table. “I don’t know what it is you think you…” “Know?” She finished the sentence for you and in that second you found her unreadable until her shoulders dropped and she smiled less villainously. She softly said your name and touched your arm. “I see the way the pair of you look at each other. That’s it.” In a few words your head started spinning. How did you look at each other? With complete wanton desire and utter desperation? Did pure carnal thoughts and lust paint itself all over both of your faces? Did everyone else see what she so evidently did? Your brain went into overdrive trying to decipher whatever the hell she meant so quickly that you almost missed the fact she was adding to it. “And then when you turned up in the paddock, well…. that was a very clear indication that something must have happened between you two. I thought maybe it might have just been in my mind; I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want my little plan of inviting you to the annual barbeque to result in you and Max…y’know…” She trailed off with a brow wiggle to infer she had been hoping to get you and Max together. “Anyway, then you had a headache and so did he and then I saw that wrapper on the floor when we came by and I just knew.”

“Was that why you came by that night? To find out if something was going on? To catch us at it or something?” You bit straight away; forgetting that she might have linked on to the last words leaving your lips and suddenly your heart rate skipped and you could feel it thundering away in your chest. “Actually, it wasn’t my idea to come. Believe it or not after the race when Max won, your dad felt bad about sending you away and it was him that wanted to check on you.” You weren’t entirely sure you believed her. She always tried to play something of a mediator between your father and you and so this situation reeked of her interference. And with that silence descended between the pair of you. You didn’t want to admit anything to her because right now you were holding something of a metaphorical upper hand. She only suspected something and she only suspected Max. “Anything that may or may not be going on between Max and I is not anyone else’s business.” It was a good diversion. You didn’t need to confirm or deny anything but Geri still eyed you up suspiciously. “If you’re worried I’m going to tell your dad, don’t be. This is something that you are in control of, you and Max…or not Max….” Her hand reached out and squeezed your arm again in a rather motherly way and you realised she was silently telling you not to worry about her spilling her guts to anyone. She would keep quiet. “Plus, I don’t know how your father would react. He would maybe cut the breaks on Max’s car or something.” Geri added with a nervous sounding giggle. You swallowed, you knew you gave her a hard time at times – well after the shit show that your early teens were due to her who could blame you – but this was one of the rare moments that you actually rather found yourself loving your stepmother.

It only took a further 45 minutes for the peace of mind Geri had provided you with to come crashing down like a lead balloon. You had gone back outside, ate a slice of cake, bounced on the bouncy castle with the kids and then come back off feeling a little queasy so fetched a drink from the bar behind the adults table. You were close to selecting a glass of champagne but chose the safe option and went for a sparkling water instead. And that was when your dad appeared at the side of you and asked for a word almost simultaneously, a familiar sinking feeling cast down upon you. You didn’t have to wonder very hard to know it was about your unannounced appearance at his workplace. The vein on his temple practically throbbing away as he put his hands on his hips like you were a member of the media and not his eldest child. You had to be at leas thankful for the small mercy he had pulled you away from the foray of guests that would no doubt relish in hearing some Horner family gossip.

He didn’t speak but rather stared at you disapprovingly. It was clear and obvious waiting on you to talk first, to apologise or grovel, and judging by the rather alarming knot in your stomach your body was telling you not to do. But then the silence finally became unbearable and you cracked under the pressure. “I know you’re angry with me about turning up to that race but…” “Angry? No I was angry when you strolled into my garage before the race. Now I’m disappointed in your choices that led to you strolling into my garage in the first place.” Disappointed was the only word you heard. It seemed to be a running theme with him being disappointed in you so at least it didn’t break any habits. “Had I not made myself clear before, on all the countless occasions you asked…” You hadn’t asked on countless occasions. You asked twice, both times while Daniel was still with the team and you were an impressionable teenager with a crush. His voice was still going and you had to zone back in to hear what he was saying.

“It was a display of nothing more than sheer defiance of an order. You knew you were not allowed and still persisted anyway. I’m sure if I asked Max about it myself he would confirm that you harangued him into giving you that pass just so you could try and embarrass me. Was that why you decided to go? You wanted to embarrass me? Steal limelight from the team? Because that was what everyone thought of it as. Me, Geri, Helmut, the team, Max…” Max did? You raised your head. “Yes Max. He told me so after the race. He felt lied too. Taken advantage of by you and your silly little notions.” It stung you a little because now you weren’t sure if you could trust him but you knew what your father was like and how he would be overwhelmingly persistent until someone gave him the answer he was seeking. You thought you were handling his tirade pretty well. He had been continuing as you tried to pinpoint the moment in your life things had gone so awfully wrong between the pair of you – even if you weren’t entirely sure that there could be just one in particular – and tried to block every word he was subsequently hitting you with until he brought up your mother. “You’re just like your mother” And that raised a scoff out of you. Their divorce had been nasty but at least she didn’t cheat on her husband, leave her for a fucking Spice Girl and abandon her role as a parent. Upon hearing your scoff you felt the pressure of the moment radiating off your father. “I don’t understand why I’m so unwelcome.” You didn’t mean specifically regarding the issue of the paddock but that was what he focused on.

“Because there is no way in hell I trust you around so many good looking, rich young men. I remember the look in your eyes at Ricciardo a few years ago and I won’t have you making a fool of yourself at the expense of my name when you attempt to fling yourself at one them.” The sexism that exuded from your father was predictable and didn’t even sound that bad compared to some of the things he said over the years. But this time the difference was that you actively had to stop yourself from scoffing again at the irony of the situation you found yourself in with none other than his own golden driver. You wondered how sweet it would be to just out the fact you had been shagging Max behind his back in front of all these people and the scene it would likely create. But a loud squeal from the children playing on the lawn was a sudden reminder not to be the cause of any upset. After all, the fact it was his son’s birthday was all that was keeping him back from shouting at you like you knew he wanted too. “Perhaps its best you leave.” He stated bluntly. “I promised Monty I would play with…” “He’ll forget about it. Just go.”

You had had plenty of words over the years but for some reason today felt like some of the worst. He had never ordered you to leave before, ever. And you wanted to believe it was because of all of Geri’s rich, fancy, posh friends and your dad not wanting to cause a scene but you knew it was because he was teetering dangerously close to saying things that he would never be able to take back and perhaps damage the remnants of a relationship with you irrevocably. When he got mad, no one on earth was madder. What people saw in the F1 paddock could be seen as child’s play compared to what you had seen and yet as you glanced over at your half brother you did indeed head inside of the house to retrieve your things and sneak away out of the front door. You couldn’t be bothered to put up with a fight today.

While your expensive trainer clad feet crunched again on the stony gravel of the driveway, you took your phone from your bag as you made your way toward your car. Your finger hovered for a moment over the icon for call but you pushed the reservations out of your mind and did it anyway. It only took a few short rings, ones that synchronised perfectly with your step, but when you finally heard his accented voice you felt like a century had passed. You took a long deep inhale as you unlocked your car and hastily opened the drivers door.

“Does your offer still stand? Do you think I could catch a flight out tonight?”

****

You admired the beautiful view out of the helicopter window. The trip from Nice to Monaco was shortest by heli taxi and although you didn’t particularly like flying in helicopters you felt filled with a strange excitement. Both at where you were landing and whom exactly it was that was waiting down on the ground to pick you up. Max had arranged everything for you after your phone call. It was all done so quickly it was as if he was actively waiting on you to phone him. You hadn’t explained to him the reasons for your sudden change of mind but when the screenshot of your boarding pass came through you had never felt such a feeling of relief before and mentally thanked him for helping you escape from your horrid day. The pilot suddenly announced to you that you would be landing in two minutes and a strange calmness passed over your body. It was as if your self conscience knew that this was where you were supposed to be right now to “recover” from the one sided argument you had had with your dad. And indeed, as you strolled through the miniscule terminal with your luggage beside you, you couldn’t hide your smile. You had to remind yourself not to leap on him as soon as you saw him but it was a struggle when you saw him leaning against his car smiling straight back at you, reminding you of some stupid Disney prince, your knight in shining fucking armour.

“Hey you….” He purred into the flesh of your neck as you wrapped your arms around his. Peacefulness swept over your entire body as he held you and you allowed yourself to register it, drink it in and lock it in your memory to remind you what it felt like forever. As he pulled back you watched him as he glanced side to side quickly and just as you were about to laugh and ask what he was doing his hand found the back of your head and he pressed his lips against yours. It was more than what you needed. It was absolutely everything. A sigh escaped from you and made its way into his mouth and he couldn’t help but smirk against your lips. “That much huh?” He asked and you knew he was referring to how much you needed him, craved him and yearned for him. But he didn’t try to jest with you. He didn’t try and make light of what it was that brought you here. He didn’t try to reduce it down to the friends with benefits situation you now found yourself in with him. Instead he just lulled a gentle “let's get you home” and that was that.

As the strange knot in your stomach – the one that had pretty much been there all day – tightened again Max seemed to pick up on your slightly agitated state. He had to have noticed how you couldn’t stop biting your lip, twirling your hair or picking at your manicure. “Was your brother’s birthday party today?” He asked and your head rolled back against the headrest when you turned to look at him. You nodded and he caught it when he glanced at you. “Let's not talk about that.” It came out of you in nothing louder than a whisper - you didn't trust yourself not to get emotional - and Max nodded in agreement but it only took him a further 30 seconds to add; “If there’s something on your mind….”

“Nothing that matters.” Your reply was as soft as your earlier plea not to talk about it. You didn’t want anything about your ridiculous family being spoken about when they were the ones you were here to forget even existed.

*****

Max held open his apartment door but let you in first ahead of him. Standing in the hallway you felt like it wasn’t as bachelor pad-esque as you had been expecting. There was softness to the area that you pinned as a woman’s touch, his mother’s perhaps - you had done your research after that day in your fathers Aston Martin and concluded he wasn’t in any form of neither serious nor public relationship and therefore was pretty much free game in your eyes. As the door closed behind you, the reason you were there flooded back to you and all you suddenly wanted was him him to make you feel better. You wanted him to simply erase the memory of today straight out of your mind. So the sound of the door closing was your signal. With haste you turned simultaneously and pressed your body against his while your mouth found his. His keys tumbled from his palm and made a loud clattering noise on the floor as his palm was suddenly on your neck as a shaky breath poured from him into your open mouth. You were so hopelessly desperate for him that your hands trailed down toward the waistband of his jeans to urge him to take this to the bedroom. Max took your deliberate action to mean exactly what you wanted it too and his hands slipped down your back and he used his strength to pick you up, clean off your feet, and you wrapped your legs around his waist as he carried you off to his bedroom.

You were thankful at Max’s hasty speed in getting you undressed and how he could turn you on like a tap. As you ran your hands through his soft hair his mouth had already began its decent down your chest and a heavy sigh left your open mouth when he took your nipple in his mouth and grazed over it with his teeth. Max practically purred when he heard your gasp when he sunk his teeth in a little harder before placing a tender kiss against the flesh he had just had in his mouth. You could feel how Max’s foreplay had had the desired effect of you. You could feel how slick you were getting between your thighs and you were so wet you were ready to beg for him. But Max was one step ahead of you.

“What do you want?” He breathed against your neck and you couldn’t deny the tingle it sent all over your body, pure undeniable excitement. Your hips lifted off of his bed against pushed against his. His cock brushing against your core told you of his own excitement and what he wanted too. “Fuck me…” It left you as more of a whine than you intended but his smirk told you he liked it. And with your vocalised encouragement Max repositioned himself, pulling your leg up around his hip how he wanted it and you felt the tip of his cock slide up and down your folds, both collecting some of your wetness but you also knew it was because he wanted to tease you.

His mouth grazed over yours, his lips practically capturing your own as finally he slowly gave you a few inches of his thick cock and your mouth fell open against his. You moaned his name and he pulled out before teasing you with a few more inches. The stretch from his girthy cock made your breath tremble. Then as he repeated the action, he halted and asked you to open your eyes and look at him. His iceberg blue orbs stared straight into your soul and you felt like he was capturing something inside of you that you weren’t able to withhold from him. And then as his eyes transfixed on yours, he finally gave you all of himself. Filling you up, straight up to the hilt. Max stayed there for the shortest of moments before he decided now was when he would start slowly building his pace. His hips ground against yours with every thrust while a grunt toppled from his open mouth. Your breathing started to unsteady itself with each of the powerful, long thrusts Max made and you encouraged him to go faster – and harder – by raking your nails across the flesh of his shoulders.

With every passing moment you felt yourself become more and more undone. Max’s cock was angled just right. Continually hitting that spot inside of you that drove you closer and closer to the edge. This was exactly what you imagined in your head when you received the text containing the screenshot of your ticket from him this afternoon. It was what you thought of when you sat on the flight from England to France a few hours ago. But mostly it was what you had anticipated when you made the call asking if he still wanted you when you had been cast out of your father’s home this afternoon. It wasn’t revenge – in the manner which perhaps other people would have thought it would have been – it was just to feel wanted, desired, and in some nonsensical way that made some resemblance of sense in a deep dark part of your brain, loved. You hadn’t realised that you had momentarily zoned out until Max slowed his rhythm and gently caressed your cheek.

“Hey, are you ok? Do you want to stop?” Your eyes found his again and words failed you but no, you didn’t want to stop. Your lips pressed against his as if you were trying to telepathically thank him for making you feel so alive and worthy. But you felt his cock twitch inside of you and without a second thought you used every shred of strength inside of you to turn your positions over so you were on top.

A pleased, admirable sigh left Max’s mouth as he gripped hold of your hips as you steadied yourself with flat hands on his chest. You watched his eyes cast over your perfectly naked frame. Focusing on your chest before falling downwards to your open legs straddling his lap. Instinctively you allowed him his time to stare at you, wanting him to take you in, before you slipped your hand down, between your thighs and grasp hold of his throbbing, still erect cock and slowly lowered yourself down upon it. Max felt impossibly large like this and if he was hitting the spot before he was doing it even more so now. You moaned as you took all of him and it mixed with a groan that erupted out of him.

“Fuck…” He swore when you finally started moving. His fingertips pressing into the flesh of your hips so tightly you knew he would be leaving bruises but you didn’t care. Another groan cascaded from his open mouth and you knew he was close. The thought of your own orgasm – which only moments ago was building to an almost impossible crescendo - was now far from your mind as you were solely focused on him for no other reason than as a thank-you for saving you today. And as you reached behind you, placing your hand on his thigh for support and so he had a better view of himself inside of you, you picked up the pace a little more till you knew he was ready to cum. You saw all of the signs or rather you knew all of Max’s tell tale signs he was about to reach his high. His eyes squeezed shut, brow furrowed. He mouth agape gasping and stifling his own moans. His breathing was hitching and he was struggling to keep it steady. His stomach clenched and you could feel him beginning to twitch inside of you. You purred his name a few times and on the last one, when your mouth was open and your eyes shut tightly, Max sat bolt up right and held you in place as he finally found his release. His arms were around you, holding you tightly as his milky seed poured out of him into the condom he was wearing but you none the less felt his cock pulsate at the feeling of his climax.

“Just…give me ten…” He panted as he fell back against the plush pillows and you smugly trailed your hands across his shoulders before dismounting his lap. You watched the rise and fall of his chest as he fought to regain control of his breathing and it provided you with the rhythm to regain your own. You hadn’t even realised you were still panting until you heard him taking a few long deep (still shaky) breaths. “…You didn’t get off, I need to fix that.” The fact he noticed that he had gotten his while you hadn’t, was something you couldn’t help but mentally note. He couldn’t have possibly been that in tune with your body yet so figured you should telepathically thank all the women who had come before you who had taught him so well. “You don’t have too.” You said as you lay down beside him and although you really did want him to make you cum, it wasn’t the most important thing to you in that moment. In truth, you felt rather at odds with yourself now that you lay in his bed. Almost like you could admit how easy it would be to fall in love with Max instead of just keeping up the “fuck buddies” or “friends with benefits” titles that the pair of you seemed to silently agree upon without even a discussion.

“I want to.” His head turned toward you and he smiled, not smirked this time, at you as if he was silently informing you that your satisfaction was his only priority right now. And that was all it took to ignite something inside of you.

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marshmallow--3 · 1 year

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What sucks is if you add sex into this, suddenly it's prostitution

#fake dating trope #fake relationship trope #fake boyfriend trope #yes I'm thinking about Benny Miller

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solariswrites · 2 years

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Just A Bite of Honesty

Pete let out a shaky breath as he started to stir from sleeping. He couldn’t remember the last time that he’d slept so well. But those thoughts were pushed aside as he realized that lithe fingers were combing through his hair. His eyes fluttered open, blearily as he tried to focus. He immediately sat up as he realized it was Vegas. The older man looked so soft and from the wet hair it was obvious he’d taken a shower.

“Morning Pete.” Vegas chuckled, softly letting his hand fall gently on Pete’s chest to check the bruising at his neck. It was fainter than before. He was glad that between the balm and the medication that it wasn’t lingering. It wasn’t common for Pete to be wearing turtlenecks and it was still a bit hot during the day. Fall hadn’t set in just yet.

Pete’s breath caught. His heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. Vegas’ touch was light and careful. He hated that the touch was due to the bruising from his father trying to strangle him. The memory flashing through his mind killed the warmth blooming at their closeness. To his surprise immediately Vegas’ hand retracted.

“We can put some more of the balm that the doctor gave us when you get out of the shower.” Vegas stated with a gentle smile. “And get something to eat in your stomach. I checked the fridge a few minutes ago and your dinner was still in there.”

“I just got lost in my paper. Then Prosche called me again to interrogate me about us and I was just too tired to do anything but sleep.” Pete responded, feeling a bit guilty but on the other hand he had to get the paper done. He lowered his gaze to his hands that were now fidgeting with the blanket.

“You shouldn’t be skipping meals when you’re not well.” Vegas in a firm tone that had Pete meeting his gaze again. “And if he’s still struggling, point him towards me. I can handle it.”

“ Oh no you don’t. I can handle my best friend and for your information I’m fine.” Pete licked his lips trying to think of anything else to say to try to reassure Vegas.

“Of course you are, but one should never be so stingy they can’t accept help.” Vegas’ expression shifted into a more familiar one. It was like there was times that Pete was sure that Vegas felt more than just being a helpful friend. Like right now, Vegas’ eyes had dropped to his lips before slowly meeting his gaze again. “Such as a very refreshing bath. There’s a rather nicely sized shower in that bathroom.” His head tilting towards the bathroom door.

“Uh, no thank you and why would you want to take another bath? You obviously already had one.” Pete reached up to tug a strand of Vegas’ hair.

“Who said anything about me bathing? It’d be about you.” Vegas responded without hesitation.

Pete lowered his hand and he swallowed hard. His cheeks were heating up. He suddenly tossed the sheets back so that he could slip from the bed. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Have I ever broken one with you, Pete?” Vegas asked,standing up to his full height. He enjoyed this side of Pete - defiant but also dash clueless in just how much of himself he was revealing to him. He’d be an idiot to not see the signs that Pete had liked him before he’d made this arrangement. Pete desired him but wasn’t ready to reach for him. Vegas knew one thing and that was that he’d be right there for his touch when he was.

“Lunch will be ready when you get out.” At that Vegas sauntered out feeling those dark eyes trailing after him. If he heard a damn it coming from behind the closed bedroom door, he didn’t bury it. Vegas grinned as he went to cook them something to eat.

/// If Pete was completely honest with himself, and he didn’t want to be, he’d tell Vegas he was right. A shower had been needed. Not because of him being unhygienic, but that he did feel refreshed for the day. Pete had checked his bruises. The memory of Vegas’ fingertips tracing the bruise had him flushing again. So he’d stopped. Since he wasn’t going to see Porsche today then he could dress as casual as possible

Which of course meant that he was in an oversized t-shirt and his favorite gray sweats that might be a bit thread barren. He tossed the towel into a basket for his hair before he headed to the kitchen. A familiar sight greeted him with Vegas at the stove. The man loved to cook despite his passion for law.

“Isn’t that going to burn?” Pete asked as he slid onto the bar stool and leaned forward watch the man cook. His gaze locked on the skillet with the lid on and he could see that there was a grilled cheese sandwich in the pan. His stomach growled. The smell of chicken, peppers, and cheese was thick in the air.

“It’s on low heat. The key is to let the cheese melt before browning. No touching.” Vegas answered, stepping close to give Pete some of the green pepper sticks. “Guess the bath wasn’t a bad idea.”

“Nope. A great self care idea.” Pete took a bite of the pepper. He chuckled as Vegas gave him a playful glare.

“Yes, rub it in my face I couldn’t join you while I make you lunch. Rude.” Vegas teased as he moved back to the stove.

Pete stilled as his heart skipped a beat. There it was again. Usually the flirting faded but it seemed like Vegas wasn’t going to stop. How was he supposed to make it if Vegas kept this up? “You know it’s just us. You don’t have to flirt with me, P’Vegas?”

“I flirt with who I want, Pete.” Vegas answered. He’d made the engineer his sandwich first so he slid it onto the plate and walked back over to him. “And besides, who’s the one that told his friends that he was living with me? If you didn’t like flirting a little bit then why’d you make it so you’d have to be here?”

“I…you know…I…it’s not like the room was being used.” Pete sputtered, not wanting to bend. He did have a bit of pride. His cheeks became heated and he was sure he looked like a tomato. “And you took liberties without consulting me.”

“I am not judging you, Pete. I want you here. So it’s not like you are bothering me or being a burden.” Vegas made sure to point out, because it was the truth. He did want him in his home, looking soft and comfortable. “Don’t give me that look. It’s true and you living here doesn’t have to be about our current dating situation. You can just live here. It’s not like every expense wasn’t already paid by my uncle or myself. You could focus on your school work and-”

“No, I can’t do that.” Pete swallowed. A month was one thing but just staying because he wanted to be here wasn’t. It would blur the lines even more for his poor heart.

“Why? Because it would be..” Vegas trailed off as he took his serrated chef’s knives to cut the grilled cheese in half before sliding it over to Pete. “...what you actually need instead of being exhausted and overworked? There’s more to life than self induced misery, Pete.” He reached over to steal a bite of melted cheese that’d oozed out. “You didn’t ask for your father, but you can ask for what you want from me.”

Before Pete could deflect, Vegas smiled at him while bending down to grab the glass from the shelf on the island then went to the fridge to grab Pete one of his sodas. Unable to find the words he just simply dug into his lunch.

#vegaspete #vegas theerapanyakul #pete #pete x vegas #modern college au #engineer! pete #law major! vegas #fake relationship trope #forced proximity

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bookishwum · 1 year

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He turned back, meeting my gaze, a disarming openness in his eyes. Right there, in that exact moment, I did a terrible, terrible thing.

I fell in love with my boss.

— Faking Ms. Right, Claire Kingsley

#books #quotes #romance #dirty martini running club #claire kingsley #fake relationship trope #grumpy sunshine trope #boss employee trope

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googoogagahearteyes · 11 months

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Just a statistic I’m interested in finding out :)

Like for me it would depend on who it was etc etc but overall still a yes bc it would be funny yknow

#no this is definitely not bc i just watched to all the boys ive loved before for the first time #after bingeing #xo kitty #poll #romance #fanfic trope #but irl #tatbilb #to all the boys trilogy #but also literally all other fake relationship trope media #fake relationship #genuinely interested in the outcome of this #:)

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dynamic-power · 3 months

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The four of them are sitting in Robin's living room watching a movie when Robin's mom pops her head in and says that the pizza had arrived. Steve and Robin stand from the couch immediately, pushing and shoving at each other to get to the kitchen first. Nancy and Eddie stay behind, heads tilted together as they talk and giggle in hushed tones.

By the time Nance and Ed have made it to the kitchen, Robin and Steve have made it back to the couch. Robin's mom joins them after a moment, sitting in one of the chairs they've pulled in from the dining table to seat all five of them.

As Robin reaches over to try and pluck a piece of pepperoni from Steve's pizza, Steve catches Robin's mom watching them with a fond smile and twinkling eyes.

Steve knows that look. That's the look of a mother who thinks Steve is the perfect boyfriend to their daughter.

He spots a flash of curls before the couch sinks down beside him. He can divert Robin's mom's attention and show her that he and Robin really are just friends. Nancy won't mind. She'll understand and play along, so he lets his hand drift out to grip her thigh. "Hey, baby, do you think -"

Only his palm doesn't land on the cotton of Nancy's skirt. It touches rough denim instead.

He should snatch his hand back, should apologize and explain, but as his eyes meet the wide, startled gaze of Eddie, he freezes.

Eddie's eyes flash up to Robin, then to her mom, and Steve realizes that Eddie has understood. A warm palm slides onto his and dexterous fingers flip his hand over and twine with his own. "Think what, sweetheart?"

Gooseflesh rushes up his arm as Eddie's rough thumb begins to stroke his hand, and he swallows down a potentially embarrassing noise. "Um. Do you think your uncle would mind if you stayed with me tonight?"

Eddie smiles at him, wide and bright and disarming. "No, I don't think he'd mind. Parents out of town again?"

Robin's mom has diverted her gaze back to the TV, but Robin and Nancy are now staring at them with wide eyes. He ignores them. "Yeah."

"Big, spooky house too much for you?" Before Steve can reply, Eddie shifts closer to him and settles against Steve's side. "I'll protect you, sweetheart."

They watch the rest of the movie that way. Steve finds it a little odd to finish eating using his wrong hand, but for some reason, he can't bring himself to let go of Eddie.

#dyno writes #one of my favorite tropes #fake relationship #steddie #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie musnon #robin buckley #nancy wheeler

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flyingraijin · 2 years

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long atsumu fic will be dropping real soon :p

#💙 babbles #i've been on the grind with this story #15 chapters #fake relationship trope #jealousy #i am excitedddddd #idk if its actually a good story but im obsessed with atsumu rn so i wrote it anyway

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ggrapeejuicee · 4 months

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„Just… Pretend.”

summary: in which harry convinces you to spend your summer in cape cod with his parents as his ‘girlfriend.’ but everything is just pretend, your not actually his girlfriend and you never have wanted to be his girlfriend, you’ve never seen him as more than harry styles, the singer… but by the end of the summer will that change?

tropes (so far) : fake dating

part one

“It’s just for one weekend.” He pleaded, “Then you can go back to hating me. You never even have to talk to me again, I don’t care.”

You sigh, your head falling backwards with a groan. You did not want to do this at all, but he’d been persistently asking you for days.

“C’mon, please?”

You roll your eyes, “You’re on a date with a new girl every week, I’m sure any of them would be up for it.”

“I can’t just take anyone to my parent’s place.”

“Why not? Or how about you just tell them you’re not seeing anyone right now? They won’t care.”

“I just need you to come, alright? I’ll owe you one, I promise.”

“Why me? There’s a million other people you could take, besides I’ve already met your parents at a show, they’ll never believe we’re seeing each other.”

“And they really liked you!”

“There’ll be a ton of other people that they like too, Harry. Choose anyone else.”

“I can’t.” He sighs.

“You can.”

“I can’t.” He repeats.

You look at him with tired eyes, awaiting his explanation. You’d been over this a hundred times, you had no interest in pretending to be his girlfriend while he visited his parents over the summer.

“I already told them we’re together.” He says quietly, avoiding eye contact.

“What?” You scoff, “You’ve gotta be joking.”

“They just… They met you at the show, and they really did seem to like you, and they kept going on and on about how they want me to find someone who makes me happy and stuff and I shut them up by saying we’re together…”

“You’re unbelievable.” You say, annoyed.!

The fact he’d been telling his parents ridiculous lies without even telling you about it, when said lies actually involved you had pissed you off.

Harry’s parents were lovely, and a producer on his latest album you’d met them a couple times at shows- Especially during the LA residence where you and his parents sat through the concerts in a VIP booth. His mum was lovely, always smiling and knew every single lyric. She told you that she was in Harry’s 0.5% of top listeners on Spotify last year.

You thought that was cute.

 You couldn’t relate though, 5 Seconds of Summer were your top Spotify artist- Harry could never find out about that.

“They’ve been asking for me to take you to the beach house for months-“

“Months?!” You interrupt, “How long have you been telling them we’re together?”

He shrugged, “Since the end of the Forum residency?”

“Harry that was SIX months ago!” You yell, “I can’t pretend to be in a six month relationship with you, that’s ridiculous.”

He sits down on the couch, hugging a pillow.

“Yes you can. You practically know everything about me already. We spent every day of the tour together.”

“Everything about you in a career aspect.”

“Everything in general.” Harry corrects, “Sometimes I think you know more about me than I do.”

“I don’t. You’re just saying this because you’re convincing yourself that this ridiculous idea will actually work.”

“Name my first pet.”

“What?” You question. He was being stupid. There is no way you’d ever be able to spend two weeks with his parents over the summer, it was never going to work. It was a recipe for disaster.

“C’mon. You know the answer.”

He just kept staring at you. He wasn’t giving up. The longer you stayed silent the more intense his stare got. When he began to raise his eyebrows you’d given up.

“Max.” You mutter quietly, unimpressed with this whole game he was playing.

“And what am I allergic to?”

“Marshmallows, but you eat them anyway.”

Harry was grinning, and it was pissing you off. He was winning and he knew it.

“My favourite Christmas song?”

You rolled your eyes, “Christmas lights by Coldplay, but you tell everyone that it’s Merry Christmas Everyone because it’s a classic.”

Harry was giving you a ‘I told you so’ look. He wasn’t going to quit until you agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend.

You sigh softly, “Even if I agree to this… It could he really damaging for my career.”

“No one will find out.” His face was more serious now, and you could tell from the way he was looking at you that he meant it, “I’ll make sure of that.”

“But if if does-”

“It won’t.”

“But if it does, because there’s always a chance no matter what you think, then everyone will only think I got hired to tour manage because we’re ‘sleeping together.’” You say, using air quotes, just to further elaborate that this was all fake.

Harry had already got his grammy, he was at the peak of his career he’d be fine no matter what happened. But you were a female music producer in a male dominated industry, if people think you were only hired for this album because you’re fucking the singer- your career was over.

“If people find out I’ll kill you.”

“Does this mean you’re gonna agree?”

You nod, reluctantly.

“Thank you!” He jumps out of his chair, “I swear I’ll make it up to you, thank you so much.”

— — —

If you were in Harry’s position you’d be vigilant of everything, everyone, everywhere. You’d be paranoid of someone jumping through your bedroom window while you were asleep. But Harry was oddly calm. Maybe he was just like that. His lips were formed almost in a smile while he slept, and his eyes were moving under his eyelids- probably from a dream he was having. He wasn’t calm very often- recently he’d been very on edge and anxious about everything, it was nice to see him look so peaceful. You hoped for that sort of peace someday soon.

You had been in the studio going on six hours, and when he’d taken a break from recording so you could go over the tracks he’d managed to fall asleep in that short period of time.

You let him sleep while you packed up the equipment, putting things back into their assigned places, and didn’t bother waking him up until you were 100% ready to go.

“Harry,” You said softly, shaking his shoulder lightly, “Harry we gotta go.”

His eyes opened and he blinked a few times to adjust himself to the light.

“Huh?”

“We only had the studio booked until six, we gotta go.”

“Oh,” He sat up, stretching his arms and cracking his neck that had went into a cramp, “Sorry, don’t even remember falling asleep to be honest.”

“Don’t worry about it,” You shrug, “We got enough done today anyways. You deserve a rest.”

There were only three days left until the day Harry had said you were leaving for his parents place, and you had skipped over the subject every time he’d tried to bring it up. You didn’t really want to think about it because you were dreading it so badly.

“I’ll give you a ride home.” Harry said as you left the studio building.

“No, it’s alright.” You say, “I’ll just get an Uber.”

Harry glared at you, “Y/N, just get in the car.”

You glare back. But it had been a long day so getting a free lift wasn’t so bad.

“So.” He said, starting the car. “We gotta go over some things.”

“About the album?” You play dumb.

“… No.” He rolls his eyes, “Stop pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m not pretending.”

“Love, you gotta tell me some stuff about you. My parents are gonna ask me shit and I don’t have a clue what to tell them.”

You groan. You should’ve stuck to your gut and got an Uber.

“Like what.”

He shrugs, “What’s your favourite colour?”

“Purple.” You reply.

“Mines is blue.”

“I know,” You reply.

“What’s your favourite song?” He asked.

You laughed to yourself a little.

“Jet black heart,” You grin, knowing you’d get some sort of reaction out of this answer, “By 5 Seconds of Summer.”

“5 Seconds of Summer?” Harry scoffs, “They’re punks!”

You roll their eyes, “They turned to pop music and half of them are married, they’re hardly punks.”

“You know one of them dated my sister, right?” Harry groaned.

“Yep,” You grin, “And wrote a banging tune about it as well.”

“Don’t remind me.” He muttered.

“Look, you asked me a question and I gave you an honest answer. You can’t complain.”

“I know, I know.” Harry said, “You got any exes?”

You raise your eyebrows, “What?”

“This is the kind of stuff I need to know! Like I dunno if I’m your first boyfriend and all that.”

“Harry… I’m 24 years old. You’re not my first boyfriend.”

You said it almost as if he was your boyfriend. It sent a chill down your spine. This was going to be a long few weeks.

“Good to know.” He said.

He dropped you off outside your apartment.

“I guess the next time I see you will be for when we’re leaving, yeah?”

You nod. There was no studio session booked until after his vacation to Cape Cod, where his families beach house was, so he was right. The next time you see him would be at the airport.

“Flights at seven.” He says.

“Got it.”

The next few weeks were going to be hell.

part two coming soon…

support me through ko-fi! (buy me a coffee!!)

#harry styles x reader #harry styles au #harry styles angst #harry styles smut #harry styles one shot #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles #harry styles story #fake dating #fake dating trope #fake relationship

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it-happened-one-fic · 11 months

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Reliable - Sebek

Author's Notes: This fic is for @rainbowcake1212 for my 300 Followers Event! I hope you enjoy your Hot Chocolate and Cheesecake fic!

Type: Gender-neutral reader/ fluff/ romantic/ Hot Chocolate and Cheesecake prompt

Word count: 2454

I stared, flabbergasted, at Sebek, who merely looked at me with that point-blank stare of his.

“So let me get this right…. You are getting harassed by overly pushy noble ladies seeking a…”

“A relationship.” He finished impatiently, scowling slightly before he continued, “I have rejected them countless times, but they still return. They no doubt wish to use me to get close to my Lord, but I will not allow it.”

A smug grin crossed his face as he finished, no doubt proud that he was protecting Malleus from a perceived threat. It was just sad that he didn’t realize he was perfectly worth being interested in all on his own without his connection to Malleus.

“And you want me to accompany you to this ball as your fake date?” I questioned him, hardly even able to believe that he had even brought this up.

And he simply nodded in confirmation, like there was nothing odd about it.

I shook my head incredulously, “Wouldn’t it be better to find someone a little more… I don’t know, impressive, to scare off your suitors?”

His eyebrows rose in a surprisingly slow climb for someone quite as hot-blooded as Sebek, “No.”

His hand twitched at his side, no doubt a sign of agitation at his having to request assistance from a human such as myself, “You will do perfectly well.”

I found myself shrugging, still not entirely certain about Sebek’s grand scheme but also willing to help. After all, it couldn’t be pleasant to be pursued by someone you’d already rejected.

“Alright, I’ll do it. What do I need to know?” That ended up being the question I wished I’d never asked since that was the question that led to my copious and detailed instruction regarding the Valley of Thorns and its many, many customs.

But, come the day of the ball, I was certainly prepared. Especially since Mrs. Zigvolt herself had gotten me a suitably dressy outfit ready.

She’d been thrilled that Sebek had brought a friend home, and then even more delighted when she found I was going to be his partner for the evening. Even after I’d told her I was just his fake date, she remained delighted. Chuckling slightly to herself as she’d gotten my measurements, “Of course, dear. Of course.”

I’d frowned at her but kept my silence, not quite having the heart to tell her that Sebek was anything but interested in me. I was just handy for the current situation he was in.

We were friends, but I doubted that line would ever be crossed since I was human and he’d made it painfully clear how he felt about humans in general. But, at the very least, pretending to be his date for the evening might be fun. Even if just a little.

And so I entered the palace on Sebek’s arm, doing my best to not be distracted by how good he looked in his clean-cut suit that made him look like a true knight even though he was still in training.

If I hadn’t been able to see it before, I could certainly see why he had a great many suitors who were apparently hounding him.

The doors swung open as we arrived, carefully walking down the wide staircase into the ballroom filled with fae, who all turned to openly stare at us.

Over at the raised dais, I could see Malleus, guarded by Lilia and Silver, alongside a seated woman whom I could assume was the queen.

The three of them seemed pleased to see me alongside Sebek, but I couldn’t say the same for everyone present.

There were several women, in particular, who seemed rather annoyed by my presence. Or perhaps it was more who I was with.

I leaned closer to Sebek, smiling relaxedly even as I whispered to him, “So what is it, exactly, that you’re wanting me to do?”

He glanced at me with one raised eyebrow, totally ruining the image of a happy couple by the lack of smile on his face, “You merely need to stay by my side.”

He spoke like that was obvious, and I sighed. Apparently, selling this relationship was going to be entirely up to me.

And our first test came all too soon as a younger-looking noble came over, a smile on his face as he greeted Sebek, “Ah. It is good to see you again, Master Zigvolt. I am sure you are relieved to be home from school.”

I watched awkwardly as the formalities were dispensed, feeling halfway like I was watching some sort of period film from a front row seat, until the man twisted to look at me, a charming smile on his face as he looked down at me, “And this is…?”

“Mine.” The response was blunt and immediate and had me looking up in utter shock at Sebek, who seemed perfectly relaxed. Like he hadn’t just spouted something utterly ridiculous, even if I was his fake date.

I smiled awkwardly as I looked back at the young man, who looked just as startled as I was, confirming that ‘mine’ was an odd way of introducing one’s partner even in the Valley of Thorns.

“Yes, I am Sebek’s partner,” I calmly let my hand continue to rest where it was, tucked through the crook of Sebek’s elbow, even as I squeezed his arm slightly in annoyed revenge. Earning myself an odd look from Sebek as I began cleaning up his mess.

“Please, call me Y/n,” The man nodded, smiling awkwardly as the two of us pretended that Sebek hadn’t just calmly asserted that I belonged to him. The man went on with what I assumed were more common pleasantries before at last bidding us adieu.

“It was a pleasure to have met you.” He bobbed his head awkwardly before quickly retreating as soon as he’d finished his piece. Leaving me to look up at Sebek in still frustrated shock.

“What was that?” I hissed at Sebek, earning myself an incredulous look from the young man, who apparently had seen nothing wrong with the introduction he’d given for me.

“I was letting him know that you were with me,” He was still utterly flummoxed, dragging a sigh out of me.

I’d known that Sebek was utterly hopeless, but this… I honestly hadn’t expected it to be quite this bad.

“Sebek, you can’t just introduce me as yours. No one does that. You need to just let people assume we’re together,” I quietly explained as we continued to meander through the room. Dodging various other guests who continued to watch the two of us with curious gazes.

“And why are people staring so much anyway? Is it that odd for you to come with someone?” Sebek was apparently more prepared for this line of conversation since he responded much more promptly and with less confusion as he shook his head.

“No. They are not used to humans. My father does not come to these… celebrations. The only human usually present is Silver, and he has already proved himself to be a competent knight. Other than that, it is only ever dignitaries.” I nodded as I mulled over his words, not entirely liking what they meant.

“So I’m the odd one here?” His nod confirmed my words, and I sighed, wondering for the thousandth time why he thought I would be a good choice for his fake date.

“Alright, what do we do next? Is there anyone you need to greet?” I looked up at him questioningly as he stopped us off to the side of the room. Glancing around as if to check that no one was too close to overhear us, even though people had been giving us wide-berth the entire time.

I suppose it was easier for them to observe from a distance.

“No, if anyone wishes to speak to me, they will come. At most, we’ll have to do one dance. For now, I’m going to get something to drink. Stay here,” So saying, he strode off. Straight-backed and proud as ever, even though it seemed like absolutely everyone was questioning his choice on his date. Including myself.

But that was the way Sebek often was. It was impossible to tell what was going to bother him and what wasn’t. While certain things being said about him would bother him endlessly, others wouldn’t.

What surprised me was that the others whispering about the fact he’d come with a human didn’t bother him. It was true that his parents were a human and fae match, but I’d figured that such a thing would bother him.

I frowned, watching as one of the fae broke off from the crowd and approached me. It was a woman.

She was, just like the other fae, absolutely gorgeous. But, more importantly, she had me pointed and was obviously approaching to have a word with me. And if my reasons for being at this ball were anything to go by, it was going to have something to do with Sebek and what I was doing with him.

This was quite likely one of the suitors he’d wished to deter.

She smiled as she stopped in front of me, “You must be Sebek’s partner. I confess I wasn’t aware he had someone he was with until the two of you appeared. It is lovely to meet you.”

Her tone was sweet, and, to anyone watching, she would appear quite genuine. But there was something in the way she held herself, like a snake poised to strike at the very instant I gave her an opening, that spoke of anything but sweetness.

But this was something I’d already been prepared for. While Sebek hadn’t mentioned it, Lilia had.

The suitors Sebek so wished to deter weren’t likely to just accept that he’d found someone that he preferred over them. Much less if that person didn’t have a rank and wasn’t fae.

So I smiled back, preparing to play whatever game was being laid out in front of me, “Oh, we haven’t been together that long, and Sebek wanted to make sure I was ready to attend one of these balls before he brought me with him. He’s incredibly attentive, you see.”

Attentive indeed. I doubted I would ever forget the rigorous testing I’d gone through before he’d at last decided that I was ready for tonight.

“Indeed, he is quite a charming man. It’s good that he prepared you, though. It would be so unfortunate if something went wrong. After all, it wouldn’t just affect you, but him as well. Better to be safe than sorry, as they say.”

She was an insincere one, that was certain. I could understand why Sebek wouldn’t like her, even as lovely as she was.

And charming wasn’t the first word I would use to describe Sebek.

It was true that he had some endearing qualities and that he was quite attractive, but still… Charming didn’t quite encompass all of Sebek when one thought of exactly how loud and blunt he could be at times.

But I didn’t miss her oh-so-subtle threat about how if something were to occur, it would affect him. That was something I’d already realized and had been the only reason I’d accepted his lessons with little complaint.

“Well, yes, of course. I could never let something happen to harm him.” They weren’t untrue words. In fact, nothing I’d said was untrue. But, just from watching her, it didn’t look like I had to lie to upset her.

“My, you are a sweet one. I can understand why he likes you so well. However, I can’t help but wonder if you’ll be able to handle the pressure?”

I would have almost preferred if she’d thrown a drink in my face rather than attempting to slip through the cracks and hit me with attacks meant to weaken my resolve and cause uncertainty. But that was also her trouble. She wasn’t going to be able to sway me with such threats.

“Ah, well. I have faced certain pressures before, and I don’t want to disappoint Sebek….” I trailed off, watching as the man in question approached with a frown on his face.

“Y/n?” The woman turned to face him, her eyes wide at the tone he’d used. One that spoke of concern while simultaneously promising to handle the situation if I needed him to.

And that was one of the reasons this woman wouldn’t be able to sway me. Not only had she underestimated me, she’d underestimated exactly how much Sebek and I trusted one another.

I smiled at him, resting my hand on his arm, “Everything’s fine. I was just about to tell the lovely young woman that she needn’t worry about me. How could I ever crumble under any pressure and disappoint you when you are always so reliable?”

It was subtle, but I could see her fist clench behind her as she looked between me and Sebek. The picture of a supportive couple who wouldn’t crumble just because of a few spiteful words.

“I see.” He looked down at me for a brief moment, with a certain softness to his gaze before he looked her way. A proud smirk appeared on his face that had me bracing for the loudness that was coming.

“I THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN FOR MY PARTNER, MISS RAFFLESIA. BUT AS YOU CAN SEE THERE IS NO NEED FOR SUCH WORRIES!”

I barely managed to not cringe at his loudness but smiled nonetheless as he broadcasted the entire situation to everyone at the ball.

Whether calculated or not, he had certainly embarrassed ‘Miss Rafflesia,’ as evidenced by the way she retreated at impressive speeds.

“Was the yelling really necessary?” I looked up at him, still smiling at his customary volume, which had been oddly absent this evening.

He looked down at me, nodding firmly as he lowered his voice, no doubt because I’d mentioned his yelling, “Indeed. They all need to know that you have my utter trust. That way, they won’t bother trying to harass you when I am not near. It would take more than just a few words to break my trust in you, and I have faith that it is the same for you.”

My eyes widened at his words, ever blunt in his honesty, no matter the topic. I laughed slightly as I recovered from my surprise, earning myself a surprised look from my partner, which only amused me further.

But how could I help it when I’d long since realized that even though this was just a fake arrangement, I could have a far worse partner than someone quite as reliable as my very own knight.

*Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae.

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