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crazyinlovewithbucky · 7 months

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"Who would've thought I'd get you?"

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x avenger!witch!Reader

Summary: You and Bucky were both in Wakanda at the same time. He was getting the winter soldier out of his head and trying to find his peace and his old self there and you were getting rid of your demons and fighting your dark self who consumed you after reading the dark hold. You both found peace and familiarity in each other's company and got really close to each other. After healing and leaving Wakanda, you lived in Brooklyn and got closer to each other until your relationship escalated and took a very interesting turn.

Warnings: angst, fluff, infinity war, and endgame events, living in Wakanda, mentions of the blip, mentions of therapy, friends to lovers, smut, oral (f receiving), p in v, making out, use of sergeant and doll, sub to dom to sub reader, dom to sub to dom Bucky, creampie, breeding kink, magic used on Bucky, magic handcuffs, overstimulation, orgasm denial, edging, manipulating(?), very horny Bucky, very very horny reader, sexting, sending nudes, mentions of oral (m receiving), soft!dom Bucky, aftercare.

This smut was inspired by the song Get You by Daniel Caeser (feat. Kali Uchis)

AU/N: Hey guys, I just want to confess that I can't stop thinking about this fan art of Bucky so I decided to write a smut inspired by it. I found the picture on Pinterest so credit to the artist @daxramires on twitter and tumblr. Anyway, hope you enjoy it and I'd like to remind you that English isn't my first language so excuse me if I misspell or mispronounce anything. Enjoy <3.

"I don't know how I could've survived this time without you by my side," Bucky whispered in your ears while you were sitting by the bonfire, surrounded by trees and fields in Wakanda. It was very late in the night, and everyone was asleep, even the goats and cows. It was just you and him, eating roasted corn and talking under the full-of-stars sky of the night. You looked at him and smiled. He was very beautiful with that thick beard of his and his grown, long, and silky hair. And oh, his gazing, shiny blue eyes.

"I don't know how I could've survived without you too, Bucky. You are stronger than you think you are. Always the guy I could lean on and trust blindly." He smiled at your words, took your hands in his, and kissed you deeply. Kissing each other was nothing new to you both, as you got so much closer to each other during this dark time you both are having when you're trying to heal and fight off your demons.

His demons were his past, the winter soldier and all of those years spent locked and frozen, missing out on everything in life. Your demons were actual demons you accidentally summoned while your soul, heart, and mind were being consumed by the dark-hold. That book taught you everything about dark magic, and as a result, you became the most powerful witch of all time, or as you thought you were until you met the Scarlet Witch herself one day and had one of the deadliest fights ever. Lucky for you, she pitied you and wanted to help, so she talked to her team, the very famous Avengers, savers, and protectors of the earth. They decided to help you, and there was no better place to get rid of your demons than the place of peace, happiness, and kind people. Wakanda.

Shauri introduced you to Bucky and told you he was here too to heal, just like you. Your rooms or your huts were next to each other. He was the first one you saw when you woke up and the last one you saw before you went to sleep. You shared everything together. Food, clothes, water, treats, and even the same chores, and when your therapeutic healing sessions got tough on both of you, you always found comfort in each other's arms. That's how you both started kissing and hugging each other, as a way to ground one another and remind yourselves that you have each other.

But kissing each other didn't just occur after bad news or feeling depressed. It occurred after good news and after feeling happy. You didn't know back then in Wakanda what kind of relationship you both had, but it was a beautiful one, and you didn't want to ruin it if you labeled it or asked him if you were just friends or more. You thought to yourself that maybe you were just a part of his healing path, and you were nothing more than a person who helps him get on his feet again, and as soon as he does, he'll leave and start living his life. You wouldn't hate him if he did, and as much as you loved him, you learned how to keep a distance sometimes, just not to get too attached and have high expectations. You kept reminding yourself that you were here to heal and not break your heart more than you should.

After the whole healing journey, you both couldn't make your dreams come true of going to New York and having an apartment there together and for you to start writing again and achieving your dream of becoming a published writer, and he took an interest in photography, especially when you got him a film camera for his birthday and he started taking very beautiful photos of the nature there, of the kids running and helping their fathers in the fields, and of course he took various photos of you, making food, taking care of the goats, lying next to the lake, smiling and trying to push the camera away, washing your hair, and using your magic to lift a very big pile of hay.

Steve came and told you about the fight with Thanos and how you all need to defend Earth, and there might be a chance of no one coming back. You and Bucky were in disbelief; maybe you were more than him and felt anxious. He pulled you away from the team and everyone and took you to your favorite apple tree. He talked and calmed you down, told you everything was going to be okay, and he would never leave your side. And if everything goes downhill, you'll forever remain in his heart, whether he's dead or alive. You both kind of said goodbye to each other, embraced each other, shared a very deep and passionate kiss, cried a little, and said I love you for the first time to each other.

During the fight, you were still protecting each other. You were fighting with each other as a team; he was killing and shooting any alien who got a little bit closer to you, and with your magic, you were dodging their arrows and weapons that got thrown at him. Until the moment in which Thanos killed Vision and you saw Wanda crying and mourning him. You sat by her side, hugged her tightly, and cried with her. Until you felt total silence and everyone started fading away. In a panic, you ran and searched for Bucky. You found Steve, and you were in the middle of asking him if he saw Bucky or not. Bucky came from behind some bushes and said yours and Steve's names. You blinked, and he wasn't there anymore. Just dust flying away. You felt strange. You looked at Steve with burning teary eyes, and his eyes were filled with horror and confusion as he looked at you. You couldn't understand why. He held you and shouted your name as you looked at your hand and found yourself turning into dust and fading away too. You whispered his name in concern, and then everything went black.

After you woke up, you found King T'Challa getting you up on your feet and telling you, Let's go; they're waiting for us to fight. You didn't understand anything. One second later, Steve was shouting your name, and your hands were turning into dust. The other, King T'Challa, was holding you up and guiding you into a gold ring portal to another place. You couldn't find Bucky anywhere until you felt someone hugging you from behind and whispering in your ear, "I'm here doll. Let's get this over with so that we can get that apartment in Brooklyn as we promised." You cried, turned to him, and kissed him deeply.

"I thought I'd lost you," you cried, and you hugged him tightly.

"Never." He hugged you back and whispered in your ear, "I promised you, I'd never leave you." He pulled back again and kissed you. "Now, be a good girl for me and kill those sons of bitches. Make me proud." You giggled at him with teary eyes and nodded.

Of course, after a huge and deadly fight, you won. It took you both more time to heal from that, especially after knowing it's been 5 years since the fight in Wakanda and that Wakanda suffered a big loss, so they cannot take you both in at the moment and they need to rebuild their country again. So you both got back to New York and started seeing therapists. You both were shaken up by what had happened and decided it'd be a big step for you both to live with each other now, so you wanted to take one step at a time.

You were there for each other still, you lived very close to one another and even shared each other's apartment keys. Most of the time you were at each other's places, hanging out, cooking, and watching TV. But there always was a big sexual tension between you both. From him more because he didn't have sex for almost 80 years now and he was dying every time he saw because he just wanted to rip all of your clothes off and fuck you till you both can't breathe anymore. He was very attracted to you in ways, you can't even imagine. There was this one time he came by to your house, opened the door with the extra key you gave him and he saw you in the kitchen wearing an apron while washing the dishes and he almost came in his pants from this sight alone. Later that evening, he fucked his fist at the thought of you being his housewife, wearing that same apron, and he's fucking his cum into your cunt on the countertop.

You both were watching Scarface in your apartment, cuddling on your couch. Bucky was trying his hardest to focus on the movie, not the way your arms were wrapped around him and your left leg was resting on his leg with your head on his shoulder. He was having a fight with himself, as he didn't want his erection to be visible from under his pants so that you wouldn't get disgusted or creeped out by him. Then the line, "The eyes, chico. They never lie." came on.

You mumbled, "I guess this is true." then looked at him deeply.

He smiled and asked, "Why?"

"I believe that eyes can speak all the words and say all the things we bury in our hearts." Your gaze kept going from his eyes to his mouth, and vice versa. You found his pupils dilating until there was only a sin blue round line of his iris. You bit your lips at him, hinting that you need him too, hoping that he shares the same feelings as you, and you were almost certain he does as you noticed the tent forming in his pants and thought that maybe he does need you as much as you need him.

You were right because you found yourself suddenly underneath him as he started devouring your mouth and neck. You wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him closer. Your tongues were fighting each other for dominance, and he was kissing you like there was no tomorrow. You'd die if he stopped. He started humping his hardened erection into your clothed cunt, and both of you were moaning at the movement and friction happening. He took off your t-shirt and found you not wearing a bra. "Fuck, doll. Are you trying to kill me?" He groaned before attacking your boobs with bites and kisses. He kept sucking and kissing your nipples, making all sorts of sounds and groans. His hips never stopped humping you.

You were cut out of your trance by a phone ringing. You both panted, and he took the phone out of his back pocket, it was Sam with a 911 next to his name. This was Sam's number for emergencies; if he called from this number, then it was an emergency. "Fuck, it's Sam from his 911 number." He said it out of breath, then pulled away from you and sat back on the couch, trying to calm himself and steady his breath. You sat next to him, covered your exposed chest with your arm, and tried to breathe normally too. He looked at you with a smirk, leaned his head forward toward yours, and kissed you deeply.

He answered the call, and Sam started talking right away. While Bucky was listening to Sam, you decided to tease him a little and sat on his lap, pushed him back to lean on the couch, and started grinding on him while kissing his cheek and neck. He groaned and held your hip with his left arm as he was holding the phone to his ear with the other and kept moving you on his crotch. His eyes widened a bit as Sam heard his groans and asked Bucky what he was doing. "Ahhh, nothing. It's just a headache. Go on." He smirked at you. You giggled and kept grinding yourself slowly on him as he took your right boob in his hand and started massaging it and pinching your nipple. You tried your best to hide and muffle your moans, but some were getting out involuntarily.

"Okay. Got it. See you in 10." He said this before hanging up the phone with Sam, and as soon as he did, he flipped you both over and kissed you hungrily.

"Excuse me? "See you in 10"? Please tell me it's in 10 hours," you whined, wrapping your legs and arms around him, not wanting him to leave.

"Sorry, doll. It's urgent. Some Hydra scientists were caught in Prague, and they need me to make them confess where their headquarters are now. It won't take long, I swear. I'll make sure to get back as soon as possible to finish what we started here." He mumbled against your mouth and kept pecking your lips and kissing you between his words. You found it extremely difficult now to say goodbye to him after what you both just shared and had. But he had to go, and you understood that, so you let him go, and he promised to get back to you as soon as possible and in one piece.

While he was away, you couldn't stop texting each other all the time, and your conversation and texts got more sexual. It started out simple: I need you so bad right now. I imagine you lying naked on my bed. I want to kiss you. Then, step by step, you found yourself taking naked pictures of yourself and sending them to him, and he was finding any excuse to go to the bathroom and fuck his fist while looking at your pictures and texting you how much he wants to bury his cock in your cunt and how badly he wants to taste you. Your texts, video calls, and pictures you sent to each other were what made you able to endure the pain of him being away.

You woke up one day and whined when you realized he was not here yet, and you didn't know when he was coming back. He said it wouldn't take long, but it's been a week, and you were going crazy. You had a meeting with the rest of the team in the Avengers Tower, so you took a shower to cool yourself down, got dressed, and went there. Throughout the whole meeting, you couldn't stop thinking about Bucky and the various positions and places you'd make love and fuck on. You've never wanted anyone like that before. You couldn't stop thinking about his eyes, his lips, his collarbones, his strong muscular arms, his thick thighs, and his hard cock. You've been humping your pillow, imagining it was his cock. You miss him. You miss his touches, his kisses, his hugs, his bites, and his smile. You found yourself distracted and closing your legs tightly, trying to ease some of the pain and need growing between your legs. Unfortunately, the day was very long and tiring. Tony and Fury had the whole team training and researching for the new big mission in Europe, as during those 5 years, Hydra built itself again and was planning to cause World War 3. So it was in your hands to stop them before they even began. Of course, you were highly distracted that day and couldn't focus on training or researching. You had your butt kicked multiple times by Yelena as she was screaming at you to focus. You were finally able to breathe when you left and got into a cab, taking you home.

In the cab, you texted Bucky, "I've had a bad day, and I'd like to suck your dick to feel better." You smiled to yourself at the vulgar text you just sent, but you both were used to this way of talking now. You hid your feelings and need for each other for too long now, so you felt like you had to make up for all this time of repressed feelings.

He replied instantly, "Trust me, sucking my dick would just make it worse," with a winky emoji next to it. You giggled and texted him that you miss him so much and can't wait to see him. The ride from Manhattan to Brooklyn took too long, obviously, so Bucky and his usual teasing nature asked you to tell him what you wanted him to do to you when he got back. You smirked and told him everything you'd been daydreaming about today and how you wanted him to touch you and fuck you on every surface in your apartment. How much did you want to feel his tongue and mouth on your clit. How much you wanted to ride his face. How much you wanted to cockwarm him and feel his cock so deep inside you while he buries his tongue in your throat.

You found yourself closing your legs tighter and rubbing your thighs together. You were desperate for any friction, but more desperate for his touch. You got a notification that he sent you a picture. You opened it quickly and found a live photo of him stroking his cock while the head leaked on his lower stomach. You could hear him grunting in the background. You bit your lip, closed your eyes, and tried to breathe normally. You couldn't wait till you get home and play with your favorite toy after facetiming him and seeing him fuck his fist at the thought of you.

Eventually, you arrived at your apartment building. You paid the cab driver and rushed upstairs to your place. You opened the door quickly and headed inside. You started to rip and take all your clothes off while heading to your bedroom; you were only in your underwear now, and as soon as you opened your bedroom door and entered it, you were faced with a very naked Bucky on the bed that's now full of red rose petals. You gasped at the sight before you.

He smirked. "Welcome home, doll." You couldn't believe your eyes—you had to blink twice to make sure this was real and actually happening. "I missed you so much. Come here." He sat himself up on his elbows and gave you a devilish smirk. You noticed his phone on the pillow next to him. This motherfucker has been texting me and sending me pictures of his dick while he was naked on my bed all this goddamn time, you thought to yourself. I'm going to fucking kill him.

You ran and jumped on the bed, on him. He caught you and held you by the waist and pulled you down to him. He pressed his lips against yours harshly while he was tearing and ripping off your bra and panties. Your bare, soaked cunt was touching his hardened cock. This feeling of him making contact with you down there made you pull away and moan loudly. You craved more of this feeling so you started rubbing yourself on him and grinding down. He held your hips and made you move faster. "Fuck. I miss you so much" He panted and lifted his head up and started sucking and kissing your boobs. He buried his face between them and started leaving kisses and marks in the space between them.

"No, Sergeant." Using your magic, you pulled his hands away and handcuffed him with bright red magical strings to the bedpost. He was very confused. "You didn't tell me that you were coming today or that you're here, in my bed, playing with yourself like some horny teenager while I was having a shitty day full of meetings and training which I could've not attended if you told me you were coming."

"I'm sorry, baby. I wanted to surprise you." He pouted his lips in an attempt to make you forgive him.

"Nope. Not working on me, Barnes." You raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Now, what's going to happen is that you'll watch me fuck myself on your cock and you won't get to come." He gasped and was about to start protesting but you muffled him with makeshift tape on his mouth that you created with your magic. "Tap on the bed twice with your leg if you want me to stop at any time, okay baby?" You said before kissing his cheek and he nodded. You smiled at him and at how he was okay with you being in control.

You lifted your hips up, grabbed his cock, and started rubbing and moving it between your folds, then lined it up with your entrance. You sat down on it slightly, taking it inch by inch. You cried out at the burning sensation you felt from being stretched out like that. Bucky was big. The biggest you've ever had, but you just wanted him badly enough to even think about him not fitting, so you took your time to adjust. You sat down until he was fully buried in you. You can hear his muffled groans and see how his chest is rising up and down. His eyes were locked on where your bodies were connected. You lifted yourself slowly to make him see the base of his cock soaked with your juices, and his muffled groans became louder and his hips started lifting upwards involuntarily. He wanted to keep it buried inside of you and wanted to feel your hot, soaking walls being wrapped around his achy, hard length. He kept fucking and thrusting his hips upwards, fucking into you, and you let him. You started lifting yourself up and down on him and riding him. Until you both found a steady, fast pace and kept going.

Your moans and screams were uncontrollable at this moment, and you could see he was suffering with these restraints you had on him and how he was squirming his hands and arms, trying to get loose and touch you. You removed that makeshift tape from his mouth, and he was a groaning mess. "Fuck, dolly. Let me kiss you, please. I want to taste you." He whined, and his eyes were very hazy, with dilated pupils and nothing but pure lust in them. You leaned in and kissed him passionately. It was like he had been waiting for this moment, and he started to devour your lips and tongue with his like a man starving. All of that while fucking up into you harder and faster than before. You choked on a gasp, and he never stopped any of his movements or his kissing. You knew that he was trying to distract you from your decision to not let him come. You pulled away quickly, pushed his hips down, and sat on him, not moving while he was still buried deep.

"You sneaky motherfucker." You said, out of breath.

He leaned his head back, and his cheeks were burning red while he was breathing hard, almost panting. "Baby, please. I can't take it anymore. It hurts so bad down there." He looked at you with teary eyes.

"Fuck it, are you crying now, Barnes? It's been only 10 minutes, and you're crying? I haven't even come yet." You felt like you took it too far with him, but he didn't tap his leg as you told him, so you decided to take it easier on him a little and removed the handcuffs.

As soon as you removed them, everything turned around, and you found yourself in a millisecond underneath him with your legs spread out and lifted all the way to your shoulders as he split you in half while his cock was still nestled deep down in your hole.

"Remember when I told you I'm such a good actor? I wasn't lying." He smirked at you before pulling his cock all the way out and thrusting so hard inside you again that you were pushed back into the bed from how hard it was. He kept fucking you with very long, deep, hard strokes like that. You forget all about your dominance over him and your promise to not let him come. Little did you know that he would let you decide when he could come because he didn't want to make you break your promise, knowing that if he granted you that, you'd grant him whatever he wanted. And boy, did he want a lot!

From how deep and good he was thrusting and fucking into you, your mind was filled with white noise. Your mouth was in an O shape, and nothing but silent screams and gasps came out. He leaned in and rested his forehead on yours as he was looking down at the way his cock was disappearing inside of you. "Look at that, dolly. Look how good you're taking me! You're meant for me, baby. Meant to take my dick like that. You fit me so well." You gasped and moaned at his words, and as you were very close to coming, he snaked his hand down and started rubbing quick circles on your clit. Everything turned white for you as you found yourself gushing your orgasm around his cock. You were crying out so loudly as he kept fucking you through your orgasm; you swore you almost went blind from the pleasure he was giving you.

He stopped and flipped you over on your stomach, he put a pillow beneath your hips to give more access to your holes. You whined at the loss of stuffiness in your hole, he moved down and mumbled against your cunt, "Need to clean this beauty up, dolly. You made a big mess." He started eating you out like you were his last meal. Sucking your clit between his lips, licking you in long strokes from your clit up to your puckered back hole, spreading your folds with his tongue and lapping on the new juices gushing from your hole. You were squirming already from the overstimulation so he held your hips tightly and pushed you down again, making sure his mouth never left your sweet cunt. He kept moaning and mumbling words you couldn't hear but it was sending a lot of vibrations and that made you come again all over his mouth. You were panting and a moaning mess. He didn't stop until he cleaned your fresh wave of white liquid then he pulled away, ran his thumb between your folds, "Wish you could see how swollen and red this pussy is, dolly. It's my pussy, now." He pushed his thumb inside your hole while his fingers circled and rubbed your clit. You were crying out loud and squirming again from the overstimulation, you can sense your pulse in your clit, and with his finger, he could sense it too. "So sensitive for me, right doll? So sensitive, sweet, and all mine." He pulled his thumb out of your hole and kissed it, leaving kisses and kitten licks all over your cunt till he reached your clit and sucked it roughly. "I think this is my new hobby now." He licked your clit and moved his head from side to side while doing so.

You screamed from the overstimulation he was causing you, "E-Enough Bucky. C-Can't take it anymore." You whimpered and squirmed again.

"It's never enough with you, doll." He kneeled behind you and noticed that wet and sticky spot his cock made from all the precum leaking from him. He slowly pushed his cock inside you again and started to fuck you slowly. You were in another universe by now. Feeling so high and dizzy from all the pleasure and stimulation. He picked up a pace and started thrusting faster and harder, making sure he hit all your sweet spots. He felt how heavy his balls were and just wanted to empty them all out inside you. He was desperate to come at this point.

"Dolly, please, can I come? It really hurts, baby. I need to fill you up, pretty please." leaned down and whimpered in your ears. And you were so glad he still gave you the upper hand and didn't let you break your promise. His thrusts were getting sloppier and messier. "Please, baby, I can't hold it any longer." He grunted and bit your shoulder.

"Come for me, Bucky. Fill me up." You whimpered and could feel yourself on the edge of another orgasm.

"Only if you came with me too." He groaned and started rubbing and slapping your clit roughly to throw you off the edge faster. His stimulation not only threw you off the edge, but you found yourself squirting your orgasm out and clenching your walls on his cock like crazy. He cried out loudly and spurted his orgasm so deeply inside you. You could feel his hot white liquid filling you up to the max, and you thought he would stop and be still inside now, but he was fucking everything back inside. You almost forgot that he was a super soldier, and that's why he had this much stamina.

You both lay still on the bed, catching your breaths. You felt him pulling out slowly and then lying next to you. He turned to face you, ran his fingers through your hair, and played with it softly. "A bath or a shower?" He asked you with a smile. You smiled back and told him you'd like to have a bath. He got up, went to the bathroom, got a wet small towel, and cleaned you both up first. Then he went to the bathroom again and prepared the bath. You went through your closet and prepared fresh and clean clothes for you and Bucky. Even though you were very close friends before, you always kept each other's clothes in both of your houses, just in case. He called out for you from the bathroom, and you went to find him in the tub waiting for you. You smiled, went in, and sat in front of him, leaning yourself on his chest as he hugged you tightly.

In the rest of the evening, you both discussed your relationship and decided that you should start dating for real now. You wondered why you both didn't take that step a long time ago since both of you share the same feelings for each other. Little did you know, that would be the start of an amazing relationship after an amazing friendship. And that would be the man you spent the rest of your life with. He was your soulmate.

fin

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chrisevansonly · 7 months

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𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚 | 𝒐𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊

☁︎ oscar piastri x female reader

☁︎ oscar is experiencing thanksgiving with your family for the first time….and boy is it crazy

☁︎ no warnings just fluff and maybe a tad overwhelmed oscar lol

☁︎ i can’t believe october is starting to come to an end, these little fall fics have been making me so happy, i think ill do another one in december too to get ready for christmas 🤭 p.s thanksgiving in canada is beginning of october in contrast to the USA which is end of november in case you’re confused :)

Thanksgiving was a little chaotic in your family, when everyone gathered together and all sat down for the annual fall meal, only this year it was your boyfriend Oscar’s first time attending it with you. He knew you got your vibrant and extroverted personality from your parents, but now that he looks back on it, he’s pretty sure your entire family played a part in it.

“Oscar when do you and my little sunshine plan on having children hmm?” your grandma asked, causing you to choke on your water

“Nana!”

Oscar laughed patting your back gently to help with your coughing

“I think whenever the time is right, we’re in no rush”

“Well you’re only getting older!”

You shook your head at the old woman’s antics your mother stepping in before you

“Mom, leave these two alone, they’re both still in their early twenties, no babies for them, eat your turkey”

“Never too early to have a baby, such nonsense!”

Leaning over to Oscar you looked at him apologetically

“I’m sorry, she’s very persistent”

He only smiled, kissing your forehead as he squeezed your knee under the table

“I don’t mind at all, it’ll happen someday anyway”

The two of you may have been young but you both knew that you were endgame for each other, there was no one else on earth more perfect for either of you, and everyone was starting to see that.

“So Oscar, i’ve been watching your season, looks pretty good this year”

It was your father’s time to chime in, Oscar nodding as he gave your father 100% of his attention.

“Yes, it’s been going really well, the car feels good this year, so i’m looking forward to finishing the next few races and then having some time off” he replied, a bit hesitantly as he always did with your dad

“That’s good to hear, I’d love to come see a race sometime”

You smiled

“You should come to Las Vegas with us dad! You and mom have been wanting to go back there so why not?”

In hindsight you should have asked Oscar first if he was okay with this, but knowing him, he wouldn’t mind at all. He loved spending time with your family as much as you did with his.

“Oh that’s a great idea honey, i’m sure we can figure something out!”

The rest of dinner went off without a hitch, calm conversation and laughter shared between everyone, you could already feel the classic thanksgiving hangover hitting you as you lounged on the couch tucked into Oscar’s side, your eyes heavy and tired.

“NO YOU JUST SLAPPED ME WITH ANOTHER PICK UP UP 4 IM GONNA KILL YOU!!!”

Oscar laughed hearing your little cousins playing uno in the other room as you rolled your eyes. If anyone was the loudest on these holidays it was the kiddos.

“YEAH WELL YOU JUST SUCK AT THE GAME THEN!”

It wasn’t long before your aunt went in there and told them off, quiet chatter resuming after the mini scream fest over the classical card game had ensued. Truth be told you were nervous for Oscar to experience thanksgiving with your family because you weren’t always put together and fancy, you were loud and energetic, your family loved playing games, having treasure hunts and playing games of charades.

You knew deep down it wouldn’t everyone’s cup of tea but Oscar wouldn’t have it any other way. He’d never felt more comfortable and at home like he did with you when you visited your family. It made him feel normal and accepted, he didn’t have to worry about the media, the race track or the constant murmurs going around the paddock.

“How was your first thanksgiving experience love?”

He smiled down at you, his finger tips running up and down your back

“I loved it, really it was so much, I can’t wait to keep experiencing this craziness with you”

“Oscar loves the thanksgiving craziness…never thought i’d say that”

The Aussie laughed leaning down to kiss you

“Well now I get to experience a different craziness from yours everyday”

“Hey!”

You frowned jokingly but he was quick to once again bring his lips to yours, deepening the kiss enough to have your face flush, thankfully your family too enamoured in their own activities to notice your little display of affection.

“I love you and all your craziness darling, it’s what makes you, you.” he stated softly, taking his time to admire you

“I love you more.”

Oscar had all he needed right in front of him, he’d never felt more welcomed and appreciated than he did right now, curled up on the couch at your parents house after a delicious dinner, something he would continue to be apart of for years…and years to come.

#rueswrites #ruesanswers #ruesanons<3 #ruesasks #oscar piastri x y/n #oscar piastri x you #oscar piastri fanfic #oscar piastri #oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri fluff #oscar piastri drabble #formula 1 masterlist #formula 1 fanfiction #formula 1 fanfic #oscar piastri f1 #f1 drabble #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine

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queers-gambit · 1 month

Text

Alpine

prompt: in an effort to help your boyfriend with his trauma, you rescue a furry feline together - a white cat named, Alpine - who rescues you both in return.

pairing: Bucky Barnes x female!Widow!reader

fandom masterlist: Marvel

word count: 6.9k+

note: been seeing a lot of Alpine recently and got inspired.

second note: no, it's not comic / canon compliant so just have fun. author did some research but there's not a LOT written / known about Alpine, so, again, just have fun!

warnings: post Endgame, pre tfaws; cursing, Lord's name in vain, small angst, mostly hurt and comfort, Nick Fury calling reader a bitch playfully, Bucky's trauma responses, small spoilers, Dr. Raynor / therapy.

other works with Widow!reader and Bucky NOT necessary to read

read here: Damage Done

"Are you angry with me?"

"No."

"Disappointed? Annoyed? Frustrated?"

"No, doll."

"Then why won't you talk to me!?"

"Nothing to say."

You wiped a hand down your face, lifting it only to pinch the bridge of your nose. Your head shook to shake away your thoughts, sniffling emotion, sighing when you dropped your hand to slap against your thigh. "I'm really trying here, Bucky, I swear to you, I am. But I can't help if you don't talk to me," you softened your voice, beginning to understand this was a losing battle.

"I never said I needed help."

"You never have to ask me for help, Bucky, I just give it because I want to! Because I love you! That's part of being in a relationship!"

"Maybe I don't want it!" Your boyfriend snapped, rounding on you with unfiltered emotion in his eyes. The horrors swam in his baby blues, vivid memories he was unable to escape haunting him, terrorizing him; creating a shell of a man who could no longer hide his avid pain. "Did you ever think about that? Ever consider that I don't want your help because I don't need it?"

"Everyone needs help sometimes, Buck."

"No, not everyone - I'm not one of your pet projects, you don't get to treat me like a broken thing that needs fixed! I certainly don't need your pity - not yours."

"I don't pity you! Fuck's sake, Bucky, I love you and want to see you heal. I know you better than anyone - "

"You don't," he sneered, cutting you off. "You don't know me, not really, not as well as Steve - "

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Steve isn't here! He's not coming back!" You snapped, instantly regretting it when Bucky's eyes coated with glassy emotion he fought vehemently to keep down. "I-I'm sorry, that was - that was really mean of me and totally out of line," you apologized, both sighing deeply. "All right, look, let's just talk this out, please."

"There's nothing to say."

Your hip cocked, arms crossing, "She called me, you know."

"Who?"

"Dr. Raynor."

"Fuck's sake," he growled. "Why would she do that?"

"Maybe because today's session was, apparently, supposed to be a couples session. She thought I was refusing, called to say I was impeding on your progress and if I want to help you, I'd have to show up to your appointments. Which is really funny because you never told me about today, so I had no idea what the hell she was talking about - but that didn't stop her from tearing me a new asshole!"

He frowned, avoiding your eyes. "I didn't need a couples session. Not today, I just - I wanted today to focus on other shit."

"And I can respect that, but you're not doing yourself any favors by hiding shit from me. To get the best results from therapy, you have to actually do the work, and not just do what Dr. Raynor says, but actually listen to her advice - "

"I don't need you on my back about this, Raynor does that enough for you both," Bucky growled. "I do the fucking work - I'm the one in that room, I'm the one applying silly little rules to my life - "

"Obviously not if you didn't even tell me Raynor requested my attendance! You should've told me, and then you should've said you weren't ready! I would've respected that, but I can't do a Goddamn thing if you don't talk to me!"

His jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth, skin twitching and distinct muscles tightening. "Like I said, there's nothing to talk about," he practically spat, shaking his head at you before grabbing his sneakers from the closet.

You didn't mean to sound harsh, but demanded, "Where are you going? We're in the middle of a conversation."

"No, we're not, 'cause I'm ending it," he scoffed, sitting on the corner of your shared mattress, exchanged his shoes. "And I'm going for a run, need to clear my head."

You shook your head before leaving the bedroom, "Absolutely unbelievable."

Bucky left your shared apartment a few minutes later, somewhere you've only lived five months - the time it's been since Tony Stark, Iron Man, snapped the other half of living beings back into existence. He lost his life in return, the ultimate sacrifice, but he managed to reverse the damage Thanos created five years prior. Five months of living in this apartment without a lick of warmth, personal touch, or real sentiment; it being dreary, dark, and mostly empty. Hell, Bucky didn't even feel comfortable in bed, so he camped in the barren living room, giving visual to the way your relationship was beginning to fray, unravel, crack.

He didn't want anything personal in your apartment - thinking it was ridiculous to settle down after all you two have endured, witnessed, and fought for. You agreed to keep things at the bare minimum, only stocking what was necessary, knowing this was part of his healing process and didn't want to drum-up further anxiety. It made everything impersonal, boring, bland, and down right depressing - but it was a small accommodation you could provide your lover.

You hated the distance. Hated how alone Bucky felt after Steve. Hated how reclusive he became, the anger he projected. Hated how no matter what you did, you weren't enough - not this time. For years, you've loved him despite his flaws, his brainwashing, his trauma responses, but whatever he was enduring now was something you weren't equipped to handle. Didn't mean you weren't willing to try, but Bucky was the one pushing you away; thinking his demons were his sole responsibility, never letting you be the pillar that helped support him. God, you hated the distance.

You left the apartment, too. Nick Fury had employed you for creative, solo, high profile missions; wanting to utilize your Widow training, especially now that Natasha Romanoff was deceased. And you wanna know what? Bucky hadn't even asked about her, never tried to offer comfort, only quietly attending the funeral service you hosted with the remaining Avengers to give her a proper sendoff - despite there being no body. Bucky knew you and Nat were as thick as thieves, family without blood, two lost souls who leaned on each other in trying times; bonded by trauma, encouraged by resounding bravery, disciplined by strength. The fact that your boyfriend never even checked in with you after Nat's passing obviously hurt your feelings but you remained silent.

Again, to avoid generating more anxiety for Bucky.

You met the one-eyed man at a local, bustling coffee shop, finding the sight of the hardened, burly man eating a scone amusing. "Got you one of these," he nudged a dessert plate to your side of the table when you sat down with your desired coffee, "know you like 'em."

"Blueberries are my favorite," you half-smirked, regarding the moist muffin and sighing sadly. "All right, sir, what's on the docket?"

He stared at you for a moment, chewing thoughtfully before leaning back in his chair. "The fuck's going on with you?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You look different today."

"Mh," you nodded, joking, "got a hair cut."

"No, it's your aura. Something bothering you, kid?"

"You do realize I'm a fully grown adult, right?"

Nick shrugged, "I don't see age."

"You don't - nobody sees age, Nick, Jesus."

He took a sip of his green tea. "There's still something bothering you. Not sure if you should go on this mission if you're wound tight."

"I'm just dealing with shit at home."

"Oh, right, the cyborg. How is the hundred year old psycho?"

"You you want me to stab out your other eye? 'Cause I fucking will," you threatened with a fork clenched in your grasp, perking your brows up your forehead. "Say that shit again, see what the fuck I do, Nick, I absolutely dare you."

He chuckled, hands held in defense, "Sorry, sorry, that was uncalled for. What's wrong with Sergeant Barnes?"

You shrugged, "It's complicated."

"Bitch, aliens opening a wormhole in space and time to invade Earth is complicated - relationships aren't. Try me."

After an amused chuckle, you told him, "He's struggling right now. You know? After everything, it's been a lot for him and now that things are relatively back to normal, he's having a hard time trying to assimilate himself back into the populace. You know, learning to live in this day and age - a man out of time, outside his comfort zone, forced to adjust himself after living as a weapon of mass destruction for so long. Add in the fact that his best friend passed, marking another forceful adjustment he's unprepared for..."

"Hm," Nick nodded, "heard he's got a full pardon."

"He does."

"Which has a contingency he's gotta go to therapy, right? Part of rejoining society?"

You nodded, "Right, again."

"So he's in therapy and still struggling?"

"It's not like there's an on-off switch, Nick, therapy takes time and dedication. I just don't think he feels at peace, calm, in control - like he deserves any of this; the pardon especially. Think the stress, fear, and confusion is eating at him."

"Well, he's got you."

"I'm not his mother."

"No, you're his girlfriend, and it's a girlfriend's responsibility to support him, ain't it? Help him through this?"

"I can only do so much, Nick," you scoffed, "I'm just one person and he's a stubborn jackass - he just pushes me away. I'm sure I don't help the situation by accepting your contracts."

Fury considered your words for a long moment, then asked, "You said he's lonely?"

"Wouldn't you? Given his situation? He won't say, but I know losing Steve caused a part of him die."

Nick shrugged, "So get him a dog."

You never wouldn't guessed those words could ever pass Nick Fury's lips, head cocking, eyes narrowing, arms crossed over your chest. "I'm sorry, do what now?"

"It's obvious, ain't it? Dude needs company when you're gone, a sense of purpose, to feel like there was something - or someone - depending on him. Might help whatever limbo he's lingering in."

"A dog?"

"A dog. He can take it for walks or whatever."

You considered his recommendation, asking again, "A dog?"

"Do we need to get your hearing checked again? You lose the last functionality of your ears? Yes, a dog."

"I don't know..."

"It's just a suggestion, might promote his peace, help him process grief and guilt. Telling you, a dog would do him good. Now," he took another sip of tea, "onto business."

"You give me whiplash," you chuckled. "What's this job?"

"Simple and easy," he pulled up a tablet from the chair beside him, tapping it three times and handing it to you.

"None of your jobs are simple or easy, Nicky-Nick."

"I told you, don't call me that. Look, I just need you in London to investigate a string of potential terrorist activity. Just some recon, you won't be gone more than a few days - if you behave and stay on task."

You scanned the document, "When do I ever do that?" He chuckled briefly, you wondering, "Flagsmashers? Jesus, what a name. C'mon, you can't be serious. These guys are just radicals - you know, trying to vouch for those displaced after the Blip. It's actually kinda endearing, I mean, they're trying to give a microphone to those without a voice."

"They're escalating - too quickly," Fury informed. "They haven't raised any international flags yet, but something ain't right about them. I just need you as eyes and ears, maybe report if you think they're worth the worry."

Little did you know, in only about a month, you would join forces with Bucky and Sam Wilson - The Falcon - to dismantle the organization.

"When do I leave?"

"Tuesday would be ideal. But I can push it to Friday if you wanna go get that dog."

Your laughter was endearing, handing the tablet back over.

Bucky liked holding hands, though, he often wouldn't ever voice it. It made him feel tethered, anchored to reality; instilling a sense of pride to have such a gorgeous lady - such as yourself - at his side. However, the part he liked most, was being reminded he wasn't alone; even when on crowded, overpopulated streets, he didn't have to be afraid because with his hand in yours, he looked just like everyone else. You protected him even without intending to or without even knowing what you were doing.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he sighed, people on the street sidestepping and avoiding running into you two. "I was upset, stressed out, you know how I get after seeing Raynor."

"It's okay, baby," you assured, ever the patient, loyal, and supportive girlfriend he needed. "I'm not holding it against you, but just promise me, when you're ready, you'll tell me."

He nodded, "I will - I mean, I promise." You hummed and pet his bicep with your other hand, giving his arm a hug. "Now are you gonna tell me where we're going?"

"I told you, it's a surprise."

He was ready to reply when a small commotion echoed from the alley you were passing, Bucky coming to a jarring halt that yanked on your arm, swinging you around. You were ready to ask what was happening when you clocked one of Bucky's "friends", an older man named Yori Nakajima, arguing with one of his neighbors.

"Hey, hey, Yori," Bucky intervened, you watching from the mouth of the alley, "woah, hey, what's going on?"

You couldn't hear whatever Yori was saying, but Bucky turned to the other man and growled something at him that made the neighbor scurry off. He glared at you, lip curled in a sneer, disappearing amongst patrons of the crowded sidewalk. You frowned and approached Yori and Bucky, your boyfriend still trying to calm his friend - well, 'friend' was a very generous term. See, Yori was the father of a young man that died by the hand of the Winter Soldier, being a name on Bucky's list he needed to make amends with.

However, when you took your place beside Bucky, Yori was waving you both off and shuffling down the alley, towards one of his apartment building's doors. "What was that all about?" You asked softly, taking note of the disgruntled expression your boyfriend usually wore these days.

"Just," he sighed, shaking his head, "Yori's upset with some of his neighbors - thinks they're encroaching on being disrespectful."

"When doesn't he?" Bucky sighed, you wondering softly, "You think you're ever gonna feel ready to tell him?"

"I'm working on it," he sighed sadly. "All right, c'mon - "

You both paused with furrowed brows when there came a series of shrill meows from under a couple of soggy, cardboard boxes beside a dumpster. "Did you hear that?" You asked.

"Uh-huh."

Another elongated meow was heard, Bucky curiously approach the discarded trash coated in sewage sludge. He slowly squatted, you approaching his shoulder when another meow cried out. Now, normally, you'd never investigate animal noises out of fear they were feral and carrying disease, but something just felt sad about what you heard - apparently, to Bucky, too. Gingerly, he reached out and lifted a piece of dripping cardboard, seeing a bundle moving under the next piece. He moved that one, too.

"Oh, my God!" You cooed when a tiny kitten was revealed. White fur was stained with dirt, sludge, and other nasty juices; nose pink, eyes a piercing, clear blue with brownish tear stains rimming them. The kitten mewed in greeting, pacing a tight circle before trying to back up in the brick wall; hunching its back and hissing slightly when you lowered yourself into a squat beside Bucky. "Baby, it's all alone, should we help?" You pouted.

"I don't think it wants our help, doll," he sighed. "It looks scared of us. Bet the mother's around somewhere, be a shame to move it if she's coming back."

"It looks too skinny, maybe it's alone?"

"Or maybe it's not," Buck countered. "C'mon, sugar, we can't take it."

After a bit of back and forth, you finally relented and had to walk away. You frowned for at least two blocks, but upon your halt at a crosswalk, you were greeted by another shrieking meow. Whipping around, you and Buck both looked down to discover the wee little kitten had followed you and was practically yelling for your attention. You grinned.

"Well, now we really have to help it," you told Bucky.

"How?"

"We take it to a shelter," you answered, shrugging, "good thing I know where one is."

"What's it doing?" Bucky asked nervously, the kitten dancing around your legs; brushing up against you both, meowing the whole time.

"I think she wants you to pick her up," you smirked.

He sighed and stooped to scoop the little creature in hand, regarding it carefully; weighing it, checking paws and other vulnerable spots. Bucky muttered, "All right, yeah, fine, let's take him to a shelter. Little beast needs some food it feels like, definitely a flea bath and some fresh water."

"You big softie."

"Lead the way to the shelter, princess, c'mon," he ignored your jab, tucking the kitten into his chest protectively. "He feels fragile," Bucky worried, "maybe you should carry him, I might crush him."

"You've got the little babe, Buck," you assured, "you're not gonna hurt him - I mean, if it's even a him."

"By the attitude, could be a girl," he joked, making your heart lighten. He'd been in such a funk that you missed his teasing, soft words; the little jokes he cracked, his smile - God, you missed seeing his smile. During your time on the run after DC, while seeking refuge in Bucharest for a couple years, you grew accustomed to seeing his radiant smile; remembering how easily he offered it when just the two of you. For a moment, you considered how your relationship was no longer just you and Bucky - but his trauma, too.

Arriving at the shelter, it was like an assault on the senses. Dogs were heard barking from the kennels, the pungent smell of urine and wood chips smacking you in the face, and a sort of humidity lingering in the air - a sharp contrast to the crisp outside.

"Hi," you greeted the receptionist, offering a kind smile.

"Hi, there. How can I help you two?" The man with long hair asked.

"Well, uh, two things," you explained, "one: we'd like to tour your kennels, we're interested in adopting a dog - "

"We are?" Bucky gaped.

" - and two: we found this little fella in an alley," you pointed to the kitten curled protectively against Bucky's warmth. "We wanted to make sure he was okay, maybe leave him here for adoption?"

"Oh," Man Bun blinked, regarding both Bucky and the kitten, "wow, uh, yeah, that's really nice of you guys, rescuing the little guy. You know, since everyone came back few months ago, there's be an influx of strays. A lot of people gave up their animals when their loved ones came back."

"Well, that's super fucked up," your eyes rolled.

"Tell me about it," he sighed. "Look, I'd love to help you guys out, so, tell you what. I can let you back in the kennels - no problem! Help match you to your new companion, but, uh... I don't think I can help you with the cat. You see, we, uh, we've had to start euthanizing the overflow animals or the ones who don't get adopted in a timeframe. We're at our max capacity, so... If you wanna leave him here, uh, I can't promise he'll have a place."

"You'd put him down?" Bucky growled.

"It's not what we want to do," Man Bun swiftly explained, "but it's just necessary - we don't have the room or resources to take him."

"Do you know of any no-kill shelters? Maybe one that has room?" You asked, feeling Bucky's disgust rolling off him in waves.

"Not in the area," Man Bun frowned. "Honestly? I think the closest no-kill shelter's in Maryland. Maybe Virginia?"

"Jesus," you frowned, looking at Bucky.

"Look, my best advice?" Man Bun offered, "Take the little tike home, clean him up, and call around to other shelters to see if they have space. But if you intend to adopt a dog, maybe bringing back a kitten isn't the best timing. If you give him up to us, he'll probably be sent directly to overflow..."

"We'll take him home," Bucky instantly decided, shocking you.

"We will?" You asked softly, lips curling in a small smile.

"Why not?" He sighed.

"I would've thought you'd be more of a dog person..."

"I'm not an animal person, but we're not leaving this little guy here just for him to be euthanized. We can handle him for a few days, you know, until we find a shelter with room."

"I think that's a great idea," you grinned.

"But was this your plan? For us to adopt a dog?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Why?"

You shrugged, "Just thought a dog would be nice company when I'm outta town for work. You know, could go on walks or runs together, you'd have someone looking out for you, maybe a dog would help with your stress levels?"

He eyed you for a moment, sighing, "I appreciate that, doll. Maybe another time, though? At least let us find somewhere or someone to take this guy."

The kitten gave a prolonged squeak - seemingly agreeing. "All right, noisy, we hear you," you chuckled, giving the kitten's head a scratch. You asked Man Bun, "Do you guys have the means to check him over, you know, before we go home? Make sure he's not injured or something?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "let me go get one of the technicians."

After the tech's exam, you were given the paperwork from that day's visit, the name, number, and address of a recommended vet, and before you knew it, found yourselves at the local pet store. You would've been ashamed by the absurd amount of money you spent, but Bucky rationalized the need because you weren't sure how long your new companion would stay with you. So, you ransacked the store, buying a sizable litter box, 50 pounds of actual litter, a bag of kibble, case of wet food, several different treats, a balm for the baby's feet, too many toys and stimulation activities, a carrying case in the event of transporting the kitten, and a tiny collar - if you decided to keep the little noise machine.

The sight of Bucky with the little fuzz ball warmed your heart. He still seemed hesitant and stiff, as if afraid to hurt the kitten, but he wasn't so tense anymore. However, he handed the pet over for you to hold while he carried the supplies back home; biceps bulging to support the weight. In that moment, walking familiar streets with his arms full of cat supplies, he questioned how he got here - to feel all domestic and out-of-place. He was Bucky Barnes - a Sargent in the Army, prolific hitman, something of an Avenger now. He didn't adopt cats and buy toys!

However, watching you talk to the kitten softly, he smiled - something small at first that grew like a germinating seed to split his face. You seemed so... Bright, excited, rejuvenated, even. He knew the past five months since the Blip had been rough on you, what with losing Natasha, fighting Thanos and his army of aliens, then ricocheting into 'normal life' only to deal with his emotional baggage. Watching you walk down the street with a fuzzy white ball of energy, pointing out different things, cooing and narrating the city to the kitten as if he could understand was refreshing after seemingly seeing nothing but a frown on your lips recently.

To Bucky, as long as you were happy, he was happy - and it seemed you were very content with your new little buddy. So, he was happy with your new little buddy and figured a dose of domestic life wasn't the end of the world. In fact, he actually felt... Intrigued by the newest addition to your little family.

When you returned home, it was to an empty apartment. Bucky dropped the supplies in the living room, hands to his hips, looking around, "Well, uh... At least there's room to run around, right?"

You nodded, "And no risk of ruined furniture."

"Yeah," he sighed, watching you set the kitten down. "All right, pip squeak. C'mon, lemme give you the tour - pay attention. So, in here," he moved around the wall, kitten following and listening intently, labeling, "this is the kitchen, this is where you'll get your meals - and no, you're not allowed on the counters." He pointed a warning finger, "Don't let me catch you up there or there's gonna be hell to pay. I don't wanna find your hair in my morning bagel."

"Buck, you don't eat breakfast."

"Fine, then I don't wanna hear my girl found hair in her bagel."

The kitten mewed loudly, trotting to keep up as Bucky walked around the barren apartment - giving a literal tour. You unpacked the supplies, setting up a raised food bowl beside a full water bowl. You left the treats in an empty cupboard, the litter box ready to use in the bathroom, and tossed some toys around the open, empty living room floor. You meandered, stashing other supplies, hearing the scampering thuds of excited little feet.

When your head popped out of the kitchen, you grinned at what you saw. Bucky was sat on the floor, flicking a feathered stick over the hardwood floors for the kitten to race around and try to catch. The longer you watched, the more defenseless Bucky seemed, and dare you say it, he looked calm - maybe even happy. His eyes were locked on the animal's antics as if he didn't want to miss a single movement he made; small smile making him look younger and brighter.

You made a mental note to thank Nick Fury for his suggestion. Sure, he actually said to get a dog, but this kitten seemed to have the same effect.

"Hey, baby?" You called, hanging up your phone after calling the recommended vet. "So, uh... Listen, you know how I have to go outta town on Friday?"

"Yeah?" He glanced up, letting the kitten wrestle his booted foot.

"So, I managed to get a vet appointment but it's for Friday. Is that okay? Or do you want me to reschedule for when I'm back so we can go together?"

"Oh, uh, no, that's all right, sugar, keep the Friday slot. I can take him, it's not a big deal."

"You sure? I hate having to saddle you with this responsibility."

"I'm sure," he nodded, "I can take him, it's okay."

For the rest of the week, you had a front row viewing of an incredible bond being formed. The kitten liked you, you two had many moments together, but it was obvious the little guy adored Bucky. He was stuck to your boyfriend like Velcro, following him everywhere, shrieking for attention when Bucky was preoccupied, liked being held when he cooked, even tried to get in the shower with Bucky. They played together, Bucky's laugh warming the entire apartment; positively obsessed with one another, the little guy even sleeping between you and Bucky.

It was as if you both forgot to look for the kitten a permanent home, the lack of furniture providing wide space for play and entertainment. Bucky even got one of those cat trees, couple individual scratching posts, and a laser pointer that drove your furry friend up the wall. There was some unspoken rule about naming animals - where if you named them, they were yours officially. So, one evening over dinner, you proposed a few names, Bucky giving his opinion; but then you began to consider "theme" names. Because your little buddy was white, you mused over names like Noelle or Snow, but finally settled on Alpine after narrowly beating out Aspen.

The day you flew to London, you warned both Bucky and kitten to behave themselves. Later that night, while you were sat in a tinted SUV for surveillance, your phone rang with Bucky's contact. "Hey, baby, how's it going?" You answered, refocusing through your advanced camera lens to snap necessary photos.

"Good, yeah. Uh, how's London?"

"Pretty dreary, it's been raining all day. Hey, how was the vet appointment?"

'Oh, yeah, no, it was, uh, yeah, it was good. Gave Alpine a buncha shots, microchipped her, started her on antibiotics - "

"Did you say, 'her'?"

"Yeah, that was the other thing - turns out, Alpine's a girl."

You chuckled, "Well, I'll be damned. How're you feelin', Buck?"

"I'm... Okay."

"I'm sorry I'm not there," you sighed. "Nightmares again?"

"Yeah."

"Sleeping in the living room?"

"You know it."

"TV on?"

"Reminds me I'm not where I dreamt I am."

"Well, I'll be home in a few days."

"What's this mission?"

"Just a little recon, I'm only to observe. Nicky told me to keep an eye on some suspicious activity."

"Don't tell me you're sitting in a white van?"

"No, sir, it's a Rolls Royce this time," you chuckled.

True to your word, you were home by Tuesday night. The transatlantic flight was long and tedious; a storm creating steady turbulence, making it absolutely impossible to get any shut eye. When you landed, you made a beeline to the Starbucks and got the largest coffee possible with an added 2 shots of espresso before exiting the bustling airport. Outside, waiting at the curb, Nick Fury himself stood before a sleek and shiny car that probably cost more than a 4-year education at an American university.

He smirked, "Welcome back, kid."

"Nice of you to pick me up, Nicky-Nick."

"Don't call me that."

"Don't call me 'kid'."

"Get in the Goddamn car, I'm not having this argument again."

After storing your luggage, Nick drove you back home while listening to your mission report. You didn't think the Flagsmashers were extreme enough to warrant intervention, but all Nick heard was that now was the time to strike before there came the need, before a chance for escalation could occur. You left the tablet full of notes, observations, photos, and data with the one-eyed man, and before you fully departed the car, paused to lean in the open window.

"Hey, uh, I've been meaning to thank you."

"What for?" Nick asked, face hardened in a permanent look of disagreement. You never took it personally - Nick Fury having professional Resting Bitch Face (RBF).

"Your advice about getting Bucky a dog."

"No shit," he chuckled, "you actually got him a dog?"

"Uh, well, no..."

"What'd you get?" Nick asked in suspicion, watching your lips roll between your teeth to restrain your smile. "Ah, hell no! You didn't! A cat? A fucking cat?"

"I know you don't like them - "

"Bitch! One scratched out my eye!"

"But our cat didn't."

"Doesn't matter - fuck all them felines."

You laughed and slapped the metal door, "Well, thank you anyway for the idea of a companion animal. Bucky's a lot calmer it seems."

Nick Fury sighed, waving you off like a pesky insect. "I'll call you when I got another job. Have fun with the little demon."

"You talkin' about Bucky or Alpine?"

"The cat - wait, Alpine? The fuck kinda name is that?"

"You know, Alpine... Like the Alps?"

His head shook, "I know what fuckin' alpine is."

"Why don't you head off - looks like you're gonna give yourself a stroke. Didn't realize getting a kitten would stress you out this bad."

"Get out my Goddamn window and I can leave."

You grinned and dropped a wink, again, patting the car and stepping back onto the sidewalk. Nick peeled off, leaving you alone to shoulder your duffel bag and head inside your apartment building. When you got to your desired location, the door opened without the usual creak, Bucky obviously WD-40'ing the hinges. "Hello?" You called softly, hanging your keys on the little peg in the foyer, toeing out of your shoes, glancing around the empty apartment.

Ready to call out again, you actually almost choked on air when you inhaled but stopped abruptly. You pouted your bottom lip at the sight of Bucky sound asleep in his nest on the floor, TV's lighting flashing and creating shadows, giving clear sight of Alpine curled in a tight ball on Buck's chest. His flesh hand was raised to rest on his chest, keeping Alpine cuddled to his warmth.

Quickly, you pulled your phone from your back pocket, snapping an adorable picture of your boyfriend before silently tiptoeing away to dispose of your duffel and purse. You sent the photo to Bucky's phone, positive you were keeping the kitten. After a long, hot shower that washed the travel from your body, you changed into loungewear, pulled your hair back, then reentered the living room where you knelt at Bucky's side. In-sync, your presence made both Alpine and Bucky flinch awake - your boyfriend jerking away from your warmth as the kitten hopped off his chest.

You winced, "Oh, shit, I'm so sorry, baby, I didn't mean to wake you."

His head shook, "No, it's all right, doll, I wasn't sleeping."

"You were, don't deny it," you grinned, settling on the mound of blankets.

Bucky chuckled gently, "I tried to stay up for you. C'mere," his arm opened in invitation, smirking gently. You settled down and turned into his side, his arm now coiled around your form, constricting to pull you closer so his lips could plant on your forehead. "How was London? Your mission?"

"Easy peasy," you sighed, "nothing too strenuous or stressful. The most 'complicated' part of the whole thing was using a different car each day to avoid suspicion."

"Hmm... Who was the target?"

"Some radical group," you sighed, head resting on his pectoral. "How was it? Just you and Alpine?"

"It was pretty good, nothing to complain about. She's nice company."

As if understanding she was the topic of conversation, Alpine mewed several times in a row as she walked up the seam of your body pressed to Bucky's. She turned in two circles before settling down between you; your grin authentic as a manicured fingernail extended to scratch her head.

"Actually, sweetheart, I've been thinking..."

"Hmm? About what?" You mumbled, eyes drooping with each passing second.

"About how we should keep her - Alpine, we should keep Alpine."

"You're just figuring that out now?" You teased, sluggishly lifting your head to smirk at him. "I knew she was ours the moment you picked her up. It'll be nice having her around, don't you think? I know she's not a dog you can take on walks but with Alpine, you don't have to be alone."

He nodded, "I like that idea. She's a good cat."

"Check your phone in the morning."

"Why?"

"Mmmh, I sent you a picture, you'll see - but it's just confirmation that Alpines part of us now, part of our crew."

"Our family," Bucky agreed softly. He watched you resettle on his chest, spending the following couple hours in the glow of the TV, watching you and Alpine. Bucky's heart warmed to a degree he's never known, making the comparison of himself to Jim Carrey's, the Grinch - a movie you made him watch. Eventually, exhaustion outweighed his domestic thoughts; falling asleep with you safe in his arms and Alpine curled up between you.

"Well, this certainly is a surprise... I was beginning to think James made you up."

"Oh, please, nobody could make me up - I'm too complex, nobody's got that kinda imagination," you smirked, legs crossed, seated beside Bucky on a sofa; both facing his therapist.

"I'm glad you could finally join us - I've been asking James to bring you for a while now," Dr. Raynor's eyes darted between you and Bucky, making you feel as if she was seeing right into your soul. However, her tone was accusatory, as if scolding Bucky.

So, you swiftly defended, "Well, I'm happy to be here. Bucky's one of my top priorities, I'd do anything for him - including attending any of these silly mandated sessions. Which are bullshit, by the way, because he's not the Winter Soldier anymore so why is Bucky being crucified? Why is this being pinned on him when he technically didn't do anything? The Winter Soldier did."

"Well, healing often takes time and dedication, and must be done in a series of steps. That's how you see real progress. These sessions are a condition of his pardon - "

"I can't believe your government would even enforce these silly little rules considering Bucky's assistance. He fought against Thanos, he fought on our side, and by all means, helped restore what was lost. I just find it pretty dehumanizing to force him to jump through hoops. I mean, for Christ's sake, half the universe was snapped away, you'd think after that, there wouldn't be need for pardons or contingencies - or for holding onto grudges."

"This is simply how we keep order in a post-Blip society. Everything changed in those five years, it's necessary to keep balance amongst all worldly citizens."

You scoffed lightly, "Ever consider these sessions might be doing more harm than good?"

Raynor frowned, "Despite the Winter Soldier being decommissioned, James still has trauma to process and skeletons to clear out of the closet. Yes, the Winter Soldier is gone, but the man remains - and James needs to focus on healing that part of himself. Whatever he did as the Winter Soldier wasn't Bucky's doing, but he still remembers all he did, which creates a heavy toll on the mind. That's part of the reason these sessions are mandated - because the assassin might be gone, but the residual effects still linger."

You hummed, "Well, let's get into it, Doc."

"You know... I've heard a lot about you. James paints you in a very bright light, says your bark and bite are equally as vicious."

"Hm," you nodded, brows perked, "yet I don't know shit about you."

"Perfectly natural. Typically, most people don't gossip about their therapists. It's nice that you could join us for this session."

"Nice to be invited."

She clicked her pen and settled her pad securely on her lap, just staring at you and Bucky for a long moment. You were ready to snap at her when she opened her mouth, "So, I hear you adopted a cat?"

"We did," you confirmed.

"Alpine," Bucky supplied, body rigid with tension and nerves.

"Right... Alpine," Raynor nodded, leaning her elbow to an arm of her padded chair. "How did this cat come into your possession?"

"We rescued her from a dumpster," Bucky answered stiffly.

"Really?" Raynor perked both brows.

"She was under some pieces of cardboard, screamin' her li'l head off," You chuckled. "Though, I think it's safe to say she chose us, adopted us as caregivers."

"How's that?"

"She wouldn't let us pick her up and we were afraid to take her in case her mama was lingering around. Turns out, she followed us. We were at a crosswalk when she caught up, demanding we pick her up and take her home."

"Is that so?"

"I'd like to think so," you nodded. "We were already on our way to the shelter, so, we took her with us, got her checked out."

"Why were you heading to the shelter to begin with?"

"Oh, uh, to adopt a dog. I had a colleague recommend an emotional support animal - or a companionship animal - to help Bucky feel less alone."

Raynor made a note of something. "You work often?" She asked.

"Often enough that I feel guilty for leaving. Figured getting a dog would instill a sense of dependence, you know, help Bucky feel like there was someone depending on him. Help usher in comfort and stability, help keep him calm, focused, distracted. But Alpine does the same thing - no dog necessary, apparently."

Raynor nodded, her wrinkles dimpling as she frowned and wrote down another note. When her eyes lifted, so did her lips; a smirk on display as she praised, "I actually think that's a wonderful idea. You know, there's been a lot of research about soldiers with PTSD benefitting from an emotional support animal. You're right, they promote peace, stability, distraction - gives patrons a tangible purpose, taking care of another life not their own."

"For sure, again, anything to help," you agreed, holding Bucky's gloved hand he kept covered by leather - only worn in public.

"Although, I wonder, why get a pet? I ask because James speaks highly of you, credits you for keeping him stable and on-track. Do you feel as if she's not enough, James? Is that why you kept Alpine?"

"No," he answered instantly, "she's my best girl and will always be enough. Watch your mouth, Doc."

"But sometimes extra help is nice," you tacked on, tightening your hand in Bucky's. "But for what it's worth, Dr. Raynor, Bucky keeps me sane. I keep him balanced. We keep each other safe. Alpine's just an added bonus, a quiet menace to help quell the business of our brains."

Raynor smirked, "I must say, you surprise me, Miss."

"I'm no stranger to mental health. But as I said before, I just want to help." You looked up at Bucky, finsihing softly, "He deserves peace in this lifetime - and if a little ball of fur can help, sign me up..."

requesting rules and masterlist

Marvel masterlist

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bubbles-for-all-of-us · 1 month

Note

hi I loved you're never again fic with az it's so good we definitely need a part two protective az is endgame!

Part I

Never again

“You should sit down”, you motioned for the side of the bed. Azriel had been passing back and forth for hours. “This is not your fault”, you reached out for him but he only shook his head. “I should have known, should have seen the signs”, Azriel grumbled, brushing some of the messy strands of hair away.

“My love”, you called out, hatting seeing him so overwhelmed with all of it. “You need to know that I never, not even once, entered it once we met”, he breathed out, moving closer to you. “Azriel…”, you sighed. “No, I never. I told her. I told her that whatever that was going on was over. Done. No more”, he said firmly. Pleading with his eyes for forgiveness. “I’m not accusing you of anything”, you muttered softly, reaching for his palms. “I just need you to know”, “And I believe you”, you lifted his hands closer to your lips, kissing the scared skin softly.

“I need to go fetch Madja”, he huffed, standing up. “No, you do not”, you pulled him closer to you, halting his steps. “But your legs”, Azriel argued firmly. “They are well and whatever is left of the scratch will heal in no time”, you reassured him. Hoping to chase some of the panic away. Azriel let out a deep sigh.

“I never thought the first dinner would turn into such disaster”, he shook his head. You knew how much this meant to him. How much he had wanted to show you off. To finally sit with his family not feeling as if something was missing. To finally let go of the past and enjoy the present. “I don’t agree. I had a wonderful time with everyone”, you smiled at him softly. “You were… She…”, Azriel muttered out, the overwhelming feeling rising within him once more. “Why don’t you move in with me for a bit”, you cut into his thoughts, “Come stay in winter and we can invite your family over”, you suggested, “Everything would have time to die down a little”. The last thing you wanted was for him to fall into a guilt-ridden mess. You knew how protective Azriel could be. “I want to make sure that she knows”, he said firmly, “And I want to make sure that she won’t get to see you”, you cut in, “Not now at least. What if she targets you next”, your voice died down at the very end. Azriel tilted his head to the side his eyes growing soft. “My love, she will never harm”, he reached out cupping your face, “I will never let her get close to both of us”. “That’s exactly what scares me. I want you free from the burden that she is”, you whispered. Azriel was silent for a moment before he nodded slowly, “I’ll inform Rhys tomorrow and we will move”, he said tenderly, leaning in to brush his lips over your temple.

#azriel acotar x reader #azriel acotar imagine #azriel x you #azriel x oc #azriel imagine #azriel x reader #azriel spymaster #azriel shadowsinger #azriel acotar #azriel #acotar x reader #acotar imagine #acotar x you

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eimids · 6 months

Text

Weddings and heartbreaks

Warnings: Angst, sad stuff but like who doesn't love that

Lucy Bronze x Ona Battle, Lucy x reader before

Quick blurb.

"I do" Lucy said smiling to her bride. There was tears in her eyes and she seemed genuinely happy.

"I declare you as wife and wife! You may kiss the bride" The officiant announced and everyone cheered. You watched as Lucy kissed Ona passionately. Just like she had done with you a while before.

Lucy was finally happy with someone and you were happy for her. It just hurt that the someone wasn't you.

Lucy looked at you at one point. There were tears in both of your eyes. Lucy thought that they were happy tears but they were so much more. You had many great years with Lucy. One day she just fell out of love. You told her that you understood but that day your heart broke into million little peaces.

You had thought that Lucy was your endgame. You thought that one day you would get married and live happily ever after but that was too much to ask. You didn't see it coming when Lucy wanted to talk to you. It was the worst day of your life and you never got over Lucia.

The ceremony quickly changed into a party and drinks were shared and many dances danced. Everyone was happy expect for you. You were miserable. You had to watch the love of your life be happy with someone else. You tried to seem normal as you held a conversation with your best friend Alexia but she saw right through you.

"What's going on?" Alexia straight up asked.

"Nothing. What do you mean?" You tried to deny.

"I know you still have feelings for her y/n" She said back to you. Not believing your lies. You moved away from the dance floor to sit in a chair. Alexia came sitting next to you.

"I don't just like her Ale. I fucking love her and will never stop loving her" You whispered trying so hard not to cry. "I'm happy for her but it's just hurts too much to see her with another woman who is everything I couldn't be. Ona is amazing and they are perfect together but I still wish that it would be me" You continued. You couldn't fight the tears anymore.

Ale hugged you as you cried to her. She knew you needed someone to listen and not judge and she wanted to be that person. After You calmed down a bit you continued talking.

"I've decided to leave Barca and go to Arsenal." You confessed to the captain. Ale looked shocked.

"Y/n you don't have to do that. The team is so much better with you in it. I'm better with you here." Ale said with a sad tone.

"But I do have to do that. I can't watch those two be the perfect happy couple. I just can't do that right now. It will be better for all of us"

"Please just think about this for a little while longer y/n" Alexia pleaded.

"The transfer is already done. I have made my decision already and I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. Maybe in couple of years I will be back but right now this is what I have to do"

"I understand that. But please promise me that we will stay in contact. And you'll come and visit me often. I can't do life without you" Ale said with now tears in her eyes.

"Of course Ale, you are my best friend and you are not getting rid of me that easily" You laughed a little. You stayed with Ale for a while before continuing to the party.

"What the fuck y/n" Lucy yelled to the phone.

"What are you talking about?" You tried to act clueless but knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You know what I'm talking about y/n. You are going to Arsenal??" She continued angrily.

"Yes Lucia. I'm going to Arsenal and I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I was going to tell you I promise" You tried.

"Y/n I thought we were still friends. Aren't friends supposed to talk about this kind of stuff. You can't just leave. I don't want you to go" Lucy said. You could hear the hurt in her voice.

"It's not about what you want Lucy. I still love you okay and for some reason you don't seem to notice that. And I'm so happy that you finally have the life you have always wanted but I can't help the fact that I'm heartbroken that it's not with me. I love you Lucia and I just need to get away from all of this"

That's all you said before ending the call.

You had fell in love with the wrong person.

---

Angst <3

#woso fanfics #woso x reader #wlw post #woso community #lucy bronze #angst #lucy bronze imagine #lucy bronze x reader #ona battle #alexia putellas

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charlesslut16 · 9 months

Note

hii!

could you write something about charles x actress!reader where fans start saying that they don’t work together and charles should get someone more humble and yn gets really sad and she thinks about breaking up with charles but charles doesn’t want too break up then he comforts her? it could turn into a smut or a fluff, whatever you’d like!

thank you, kisses 🩷🩷

-we belong-

summary : you read the hate comments and you do not feel enough for charles anymore...

PAIRING : charles leclerc x actress!reader

WARNINGS : none?

note : i hope you like this :)

masterlist

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charles and you have been dating for almost one and a half years now. You worked as an actress, while charles was a Formula One driver at Scuderia Ferrari.

You were so happy with charles as your boyfriend and best friend, and he was happy with you. But the fans of Charles were not as happy as you were with the relationship between the two of you.

First there were hate comments like 'charles deserves better' or 'they do not fit together' but then there were comments at premiers, events or even on the paddock.

You ignored them at first, but now that they were regularly, you couldn't ignore them anymore. As you read or heard them and started to doubt that you and charles could work.

Charles didn't realize you weren't feeling well, but that was your plan. You distanced yourself from him, which charles just thought and hoped was the stress.

liked by arthur_leclerc, yourusername and 1.532.116 others

charles_leclerc great day with my girl

view all 3,426 comments

lorenzotl had a great day with you guys

charles_leclerc_fanpage they're endgame!

yankees Delivered a strike! thanks for stopping by!

username she looks absolutly beautiful

user charles deserves better

username they just do not work

username absolutly agreed. he deserves better user he needs someone more humble

liked by user and 24.792 others

user i don't understand why he chose her.

You read the comments under charles new Instagram post. Every hate comment, you read, you took to heart. You knew that charles deserved better, but you loved him.

You pondered about what to do right now. Maybe you should break up with charles and go on living your life without charles. Or maybe you should tell charles.

If you told charles, you both could talk and clear up the feeling that were inside you. But no, you didn't want to tell charles your problem. Instead, you decided you should break up.

It would benefit everyone. Charles could find another girlfriend that was better for him and fit better to him. And you could film your movies without the worry that charles fans were there to say hurtful things.

Everything could go back to normal.

So you called charles the next day and told him that he should come to your apartment because you wanted to talk about something which included your relationship.

Charles agreed and drove to your apartment. The bell rang and you opened the door anxiously. You welcomed charles in, without a hug or a kiss, which made charles suspect something bad.

Then you sat down on the couch, opposite from charles, which made him suspicious again. You played with your hands, that were in your lap. Then took a deep breath and looked him deep in the eyes.

“Charles… I think we should end our relationship or at least take a break. I can't take this hate anymore. It's consuming me whole.”

As you told this, charles, he was absolutely speechless. How could he not see how much it hurt you. He knew you became distant, but he didn't take it that serious.

But now that he had the pieces, the puzzle finally made sense. You became distant because you wanted to break up, but not because of him, because of the comments.

He didn't know what to say. How could he? You had just told him you wanted to end your journey together. But he needed to stop you. Charles needed to tell you that you could master this together.

“I love you, y/n. I hope you know this. I understand that the hate comments can get too much. Please tell me when you feel like this. I can help you to cope with it. But please don't break up with me. You will please the haters with it.”

He stood up from his place on the couch and walked to you. Charles kneeled in front of you and took your hand into his. He held them up to his mouth and gave your wrist a kiss, then he laid them back on your lap.

“Y/n, I know that this is hard, but please do not end our relationship just because of some stupid comments.”

Before you could say something, charles gave you a warm, long hug, to comfort you. He saw that small tears were starting to appear, and he didn't want you to cry.

You couldn't say anything, as you realized, that if you had just talked to charles, everything could have been avoided. The sadness wouldn't have consumed you.

Charles ended the hug and saw as the tears were running down your cheeks. His heart broke at the sight of you being so upset. He’d do anything to make you feel better.

He hugged you again, rubbed your back as he held you tight and whispered sweet things into your ear. The scent of your boyfriend comforted. Charles wiped your tears and kissed your stained cheeks.

“It’s okay”

Charles hummed to you, even though he’d never ever admit to anyone he had done that, but he knew how much you loved it and as I said, he’d do anything for you

You wrapped your arms around Charles's shoulders, burrowed your head into his neck. He smelled of his aftershave and his expensive shampoo. Charles traced circles on your back with his fingers, his nose buried in your hair.

“I’m here with you”

harles gave you a small, light kiss on your neck, while he rubbed his nose against the warm skin of your neck. He hoped that everything would be alright in time.

“Je t'aime. Nous allons nous en sortir ensemble. Tout va s'arranger. Mais s'il te plaît, arrête de lire ces commentaires horribles et méchants. Tu vaux bien mieux que tous ceux qui écrivent de tels commentaires. Nous sommes faits l'un pour l'autre.”

I love you. We'll get through this together. We're going to be okay. But please, stop reading those horrible, mean comments. You are so much better than anyone who writes such comments. We belong together.

#charles leclerc #formula 1 #f1 fluff #formula one #f1 #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fluff #charles leclerc f1 #charles leclerc oneshot #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fanfic #charles lecrelc #charles lechair

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bunniekittiee · 4 months

Text

Cheater, Cheater, Raiden’s Eager

Pairings: Kung Lao x Fem. Reader, Raiden x Fem. Reader

A/N: Bi-Han won the poll, but I just could not stop myself from writing Kung Lao's fic. Shout out to @engie-main for giving me ideas on how I could approach this! You were a huge help! If some parts are poorly written or don’t make much sense, I apologize. I was in multiple different states of mind while writing this so it affected my writing too. I also suck at writing endings lol. But Happy New Year everyone! First fic of the year!!

Content Warning: A little angsty, cheating, physical cheating, NSFW, making out, oral (69)

Summary: Kung Lao has secretly been cheating behind his girlfriend’s back. After being exposed by Fujin, Y/N ends things for good. Raiden begins to fall for her, but his conflicts with Lao make them more estranged.

No one would have ever thought it would come to this. They seemed like they were endgame, enough to get married, have children, grow old together. At least, that is what Y/N thought. She never thought he would have done what he did. And she did not want to find out this way. It devastated her.

It was a group outing. Liu Kang wanted his champions to get together for a special dinner at Madame Bo's. Fujin, Raiden's sister, helped Y/N get ready for the date, as well as herself. They were the closest of friends, just like Raiden and Kung Lao. She introduced Kung Lao to Y/N originally, and the two hit it off from there.

She was happy to know that her best friend had found someone who loved and adored her, even if it was ill-mannered Kung Lao. He did have good attributes, she guessed. But Kung Lao was never her first pick for her best friend.

Raiden was used to having Y/N over often because of their friendship. He thought she was very pretty, maybe a little too good for Lao, but nonetheless he was happy for his best friend as well.

"Raiden!" Fujin yelled out of her room as she helped Y/N curl her hair. "Ten more minutes!"

Raiden sighed. He had been waiting for them to finish for over thirty minutes now. "We are going to be late."

Fujin peeked her head out of the room and glared at her brother. "Excuse me?"

Raiden looked away. "Nothing, sister."

"That's what I thought." she replied with her eyes narrowed, returning back to helping her best friend. Y/N giggled as Fujin smiled wide. She was quite the character.

They had finished up and left the room, making Raiden let out a small sigh. "I see that you are both finally ready."

Y/N smiled at Raiden while Fujin rolled her eyes. "Stop with the sassiness, I can't deal with it today."

Raiden raised a brow while he opened the front door for the two women. "Sassiness? I'm not anything."

"There you go again!" Fujin exclaimed as Y/N laughed. They interlocked arms together and talked on their way to Madame Bo's. Lao was going to meet them there with Johnny and Kenshi. She was excited to see her boyfriend. It had been some time since they had went out on a date, especially a group date.

After a few minutes of walking, they had arrived at Madame Bo's. It was quite busy, but as they scanned the room, they saw that the men were sitting at one of the bigger tables in the middle of the restaurant. Perfect.

Raiden led them to the table, and they sat in their respective spots, Y/N next to Kung Lao and Fujin sitting between Raiden and Y/N. Johnny tried to flirt with Fujin for a minute before she shut him down quickly. Raiden almost felt bad for the actor, but Kenshi thought it was hilarious.

Liu Kang arrived last, but he was very happy. When was he not? "I am happy to see that everyone made it tonight."

"A night out at Madame Bo's? We couldn’t turn that down." Lao said with a smirk. "Raiden's paying."

Raiden raised a brow. "I never said that."

"Raiden told me the same thing too." Fujin said with a wink while Raiden looked offended.

Liu chuckled. "I guess we will have to find out at the end of the night. Now let us begin dinner!"

A waitress came by and took everyone's drink orders. But not before she locked eyes with Kung Lao and almost looked nervous. Fujin noticed this, and she narrowed her eyes slightly. She did not want to say anything, maybe it was just a reaction the girl had to a table almost completely full of men. But why specifically Kung Lao?

Y/N was too caught up in Lao tickling her side to notice this, but Fujin brushed it off. She told herself to be on the lookout. For her best friend. Johnny had dared Raiden to electrocute the water tank full of fish near them which horrified him, but Liu thought it was funny. There was never a dull moment with his champions.

The drinks came to the table, the same waitress handing them out. When handing Lao's drink, she settled her hand on his shoulder before quickly pulling it away. This caught Y/N's attention.

"Do you know her?" She asked him, confusion written on her face.

"Yeah, she's my cousin." Lao said with his mouth full of an appetizer. "I thought I told you that?"

"No, you didn't." she replied back. She was never the jealous type of person, but she didn't like him keeping secrets from her. They were a team, what was the point of secrets? She told him everything. Ignoring the little splinters that went into her heart, Y/N continued munching on her food. Fujin had a bad feeling in her stomach. But she did not want to say anything. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks. She hoped it was.

Taking the last order, the waitress went back to the kitchen to get the chefs started on the orders. It would take a little bit of time, and Fujin felt nauseated. She excused herself to the bathroom where the same waitress caught her arm as soon as she was away from the table.

"Excuse me, how can I help you?" Fujin asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

The waitress chewed on her lip. "I must confess something as I do not know how to approach it."

Fujin's stomach did a somersault. "What is it?"

"Kung Lao and I have had relations with each other for the past six months." She said as Fujin's eyes widened. "He never told me he had a relationship. He never told me anything about her, and I feel so guilty knowing that she doesn’t know."

Fujin was beyond angry. Not at the woman, at Lao. He had betrayed her best friend. "I... I am at a little loss for words.”

The waitress nodded her head. “I understand. I think she needs to know. She is worth so much more than a cheating man.”

Fujin huffed. “She is. If I had known he would’ve did this to her, I would have never let him around her.”

"I am really sorry. If I had known he had a girlfriend, I would have never entertained him. He approached me first." She said sadly. "I feel horrible."

"He will get his karma, believe me." Fujin said. "I have to return to the table, but keep your eyes open."

The waitress and her both exchanged a head nod as Fujin went back to the table. They were laughing loudly and enjoying their time, not knowing that their nice outing was going to end badly. She would make sure Kung Lao regret ever committing adultery. She sat down again, and Raiden gave her a weird look.

She could not look at Kung Lao without her body filling with rage, but she kept quiet. Y/N was close to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Fujin felt awful knowing that her best friend's world was about to come crashing down.

Their food arrived at their table, and the same waitress helped her coworkers put their food on the wooden table. She locked eyes with Lao before quickly averting her gaze. As soon as they left, Fujin cleared her throat. "I am amazed, Lao. I guess the waitress’ seem to know you around here."

"He said that's his cousin." Y/N replied with a small shrug.

Raiden was puzzled. "Cousin? You never told me you had a cousin that worked at the restaurant?"

"I swear I did." Kung Lao said with a small hint of annoyance. "Do you ever pay attention?"

"I thought your cousins have moved away from Fengjian?" Raiden said as he looked at Lao with confusion. The entire table went silent as they watched the situation unfold. "Lao, I don’t believe that is your cousin.”

Lao started to stress a bit, but he tried to keep it cool. "I think your memory is off, Raiden. And what do you know about my family?"

"I know enough to know that she isn't your cousin.” Raiden replied back with a frown. Johnny and Kenshi exchanged 'oh shit' looks before turning their attention back to the rest of the table.

Y/N looked at Lao. "Do you care to explain to me who she really is?"

"Babe, like I said, she's my cousin. Raiden's memory is off. And let's not do this in front of everyone." He forced an awkward smile at her.

Fujin was done. She immediately got up, eyes burning with anger and smoke practically coming out of her ears. "And to think I let her around you, you filthy dog.” Fujin’s face held malice. “You deceive all of us, especially your own lover!”

The restaurant was still bustling, but other tables were now watching the drama unfold at the middle table.

Bi-Han sighed angrily at one of the side tables, Kuai Liang and Tomas both looking up from their food to watch what was going to happen next. "I wanted a quiet night. Instead, we have to listen to Liu Kang's champions argue."

"But brother, it is about to get good." Kuai Liang replied as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Kung Lao is about to get exposed."

Bi-Han snapped his neck to the table. "I would do anything to watch that imbecile crumble."

"Fujin, can you keep it quiet?" Kung Lao hissed at her. "Stop being dramatic, I did nothing."

Raiden let out an exasperated sigh. That was the worst thing he could tell Fujin.

Fujin clenched her jaw. "The waitress herself told me that you and her have been sleeping with each other for six months. While Y/N has been oblivious to it!”

Liu Kang covered his mouth with his hand while Johnny's mouth was agape. Kenshi’s eyebrows had risen in shock. Kung Lao mentally cursed. "She's lying to you! We have never crossed paths with each other."

Y/N turned to Kung Lao slowly. "Then explain the shoulder touching and the eye contact Lao. You were practically undressing her with your eyes!"

Raiden shook his head at his friend. "All those times you told me to tell Y/N you were out buying her gifts; you were seeing your "cousin"?" he said in disbelief. "I covered for you thinking you were doing something nice for her!"

All eyes were now on Kung Lao who was metaphorically backed into a corner. The group stared at him, waiting for an answer. "It is all a misunderstanding, I promise you!"

Y/N shook her head. "I don't believe you, Lao."

"You're going to trust Fujin's and some harlot's word over mine? I thought you trusted me." Lao said angrily at Y/N.

Fujina gasped as the waitress walked up to Kung Lao and slapped him in the face. "How dare you! You came to me first and flirted with me! It is you that is the harlot." She walked off as Lao held his stinging cheek with his hand.

Bi-Han held in the laugh that was stuck in his chest. Watching Lao being exposed after each and every lie he told was hilarious. However, Kuai Liang and Tomas felt horrible for Y/N who sat there looking defeated. Heartbroken.

But that was an understatement for what she felt. Her whole world was ripped away from her. And Kung Lao continued to bury himself in a deeper hole with every lie he told. Everyone at the table knew that he was making it worse for himself.

"Enough!" Liu Kang exclaimed, his white eyes narrowing. "Kung Lao, you are not helping your situation with every lie you tell. Be truthful, especially to your significant other."

Kung Lao sighed, looking at Y/N. "Let’s talk outside of here. Not when everyone is staring at us.”

Figuring he was right, they both got up from their seats and went outside, all eyes on them as they exited the establishment. Madame Bo was observing from afar of the events unfolding between Kung Lao and his lover.

“Tell me the truth, Lao! It is what I deserve.” Y/N told him as soon as they were outside. The night sky’s stars were twinkling at them, but there was nothing to twinkle about.

Kung Lao chewed on his lip. “I love you very much and-”

“No you do not.” She interrupted him. “Do not give me the sob story. Tell me the truth now.” She crossed her arms and looked up at him.

“I did it because I was tired of waiting for you.” Lao said as he fidgeted with his hat. “You are very adamant about keeping your innocence until marriage, and that’s nice. But when you’re with someone like me, it’s not ideal.”

Suffocation. Her entire body felt like it was being suffocated. Lao always said he didn't mind waiting for her. But she guessed that was another lie of his. She wondered how many other lies he had told her.

“I am so sorry, Y/N. I want to be with you. And only you.”

She scoffed. “I can hardly believe that. If you wanted me, you would have never made this mistake. We are over, Kung Lao.” She said as she turned away to go back inside the restaurant to grab Fujin. She just wanted to go home. She did not want to be out anymore.

As soon as Y/N entered the restaurant, Fujin hopped to her feet and bid farewell to the men who only watched as both women left. It was Fujin’s duty to be there for her.

Kung Lao entered the restaurant as well, sitting down at the table again looking at his plate miserably. Madame Bo came by the table and smacked Kung Lao in the head with a wad of newspaper. "You have made a grave mistake, Kung Lao. I thought you were better than that. I guess I thought wrong." He did not like the disappointment that radiated off of his friends, especially Madame Bo. She was like a mother figure to him.

Finishing dinner would have been like pulling teeth. The air was filled with tension and awkwardness as Johnny eyed Lao with resentment. He as well liked Y/N. He thought she was a sweetheart. And Lao absolutely destroyed her trust. Liu Kang told his champions that he would pay for dinner, giving Raiden a look as he glanced at him. The Thunder God caught this look and grabbed Kung Lao to lead him out of the restaurant. Johnny and Kenshi thanked Liu Kang and trailed after the two men.

“Tell us the truth, Lao. We are away from everyone else. We want the truth.” Raiden reiterated to his friend. He gave him a hardened look that Lao avoided.

Lao frowned. "I just couldn’t wait any longer for her. She was… always adamant on keeping her innocence until marriage. I love her, I really do, but I couldn't keep waiting. I was having difficulty."

"Woah, brother." Johnny said as he made a face. "You don't ever insult a girl and her virginity. And you don’t ever lead her on like that.”

Kenshi shook his head. “That isn’t an excuse. You should have known from the beginning that she was taking things slow. And if it wasn’t for you, you should have not gotten together with her.”

Raiden was bewildered. Every time he saw them together, they were happy. Lao looked happy, in love with her. Yet he was unfaithful most of their relationship. This was not like the Lao he knew and was close to. Raiden felt like he was looking at a stranger. "Lao, I can't believe you. I thought you were better than this. I expected you to be better."

Kung Lao's eyes began to water, and Raiden started to feel guilty. "Lao?" The hat-man started to cry, but he quickly wiped his tears away. "I know I messed up. I know I did, but I don't know what I can do to make it right."

Raiden sighed quietly. "There isn't much you can do, Lao. You can't make it right, sadly. I'm sorry." Despite what Raiden was feeling, he had to be there for his friend. Just like Fujin had to be there for Y/N.

The other men comforted Lao, putting their own feelings to the side about the situation. They knew he made the biggest mistake of his life, but they had to stay neutral.

Fujin held Y/N's hair back as she threw up the contents of her stomach into the toilet. What was supposed to be a nice outing turned into her worst nightmare. She felt horrible for her friend. She was inconsolable.

After Fujin helped her wash her mouth out and get ready for bed, she laid in Fujin’s bed. Tonight, she would stay with her, she did not want to be alone. Not when her heart felt like it was going to stop beating. She cried into Fujin’s shoulder, and she rubbed Y/N's back gently. She was beyond angry at Kung Lao, but she knew she had to be there for her friend. She needed her.

Raiden arrived home a bit later than usual, and he noticed Fujin sitting at the table with a cup of tea, mind wandering. "Is Y/N okay? How is she feeling?"

Startled, Fujin slightly jumped. "I apologize, I was deep in thought." She sighed. "She's not taking it the best. She was throwing up and had a panic attack. It is a miracle that she is even asleep right now."

Raiden frowned. "I am sorry to hear that. I cannot believe Kung Lao and his actions. It feels like an intense nightmare." He sat down near Fujin. "His reasoning is unforgivable."

"His existence is unforgivable. Y/N gave him everything, she was always too good for him." Fujin looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't.

Raiden quirked an eyebrow. "You look like you have more to say."

Fujin sipped her tea. "I always thought that you and Y/N would have ended up together."

Raiden's brown eyes widened. "You have?"

She nodded. "I had hoped that you both would have. I would have rather seen her with you than Kung Lao. I always had a feeling he would cause heartache, but we cannot help who we love."

"Wow, I never would have thought that you would have wanted us together." Raiden was bewildered. "I have always thought she was pretty."

Fujin chuckled. "Well, give her some time before you go and try to romance her. She is going to be heartbroken for a long while. But she will come around again."

It was a long while before Y/N was ready to go back into the dating world. Kung Lao’s actions had completely warped her sense of trustworthiness with others, and she felt very insecure. Like she wasn’t enough. She wouldn’t be enough for the next man who came into her life. She was afraid of the same thing happening once more to her.

She spent a lot of time with Fujin and Raiden. Her best friend made sure she was distracted from her intense thoughts, as well as check on her mental health. Whether it was girl outings, sit-downs, tea times, or sitting at home, Fujin made sure Y/N’s heartbreak would not worsen.

As disappointed as Raiden was in Kung Lao, he was still his best friend. He had to interact with him on a day-to-day basis at the academy, and he couldn’t let personal problems interfere with his work. Even if Kung Lao allowed it to affect his.

His moods were dampened, he started to sleep less, he never ate frequently, and when training, he never seemed focused. He was beginning to lose his touch in his work. And Liu Kang had begun to notice.

“Raiden, come, I must discuss something important with you.” Liu Kang said as he approached Raiden who was in the middle of meditating. Raiden got up from the ground, walking with Liu Kang to somewhere away from the others.

“I have seen Kung Lao’s performance declining since that night at Madame Bo’s.” Liu said as his white eyes were staring into Raiden’s soul. “If he cannot focus, I will have to send him home until he improves.”

Raiden sighed. “I understand, Lord Liu Kang. He has not handled his breakup well.”

Liu Kang nodded. “I understand. Tough situations like that require lots of time to process and move on. I would hate to send him home and have him depart from us for the time being. But his actions may cause liabilities on missions. And we cannot afford that.”

Raiden understood where Liu Kang was coming from. He had a lot to lose, especially if he were to lose his champions. They were a part of protecting Earthrealm, they could not lose their lives because Kung Lao could not put his own self-brought issues to the side.

"I completely understand, Lord Liu Kang." Raiden said, bowing to the Fire God. "I will talk to Kung Lao and get through to him as much as I can."

Liu put a hand on Raiden's shoulder. "Thank you, Raiden. And one more thing,” Raiden looked at him as he said this. “When you plan on romancing Y/N, be sure to not take her to Madame Bo’s. It will remind her of the unforgivable.”

Raiden’s cheeks tinged pink as he stuttered. “Yes, Lord Liu Kang.” He walked back outside as Liu chuckled.

Liu sighed happily to himself with a small smile on his face. Raiden deserved to be happy, as they always were in every timeline. It was only different because Kung Lao had changed the course of events. But Raiden would never know that.

Raiden walked back to where his friends were. Kung Lao was sitting on one of the benches while Johnny and Kenshi sandwiched him. They looked concerned for him. Raiden quickened his pace. "Lao, are you okay?"

Lao sniffled as he harshly wiped his tears off his face. "No, I am not. I miss her. I don't know why I hurt her."

Raiden gave Johnny and Kenshi a look that signaled them to give them their space. Raiden would fill them in later. As they walked away, Raiden sat down next to him. "We all make mistakes that change our lives. But we cannot be stuck on them. It is unhealthy."

"Does she ever talk about me? Does she ever think about me?" Lao turned to Raiden, tears streaking down his face, his eyes red. "Does she still love me, Raiden?"

Raiden stared back at his friend. He did not want to tell Lao the truth. He often overheard her and Fujin's conversations in their home, and she did not harbor any feelings for him. She was recovering from it. Raiden stayed quiet, but Lao was not having it.

"Tell me now, Raiden. You are my best friend. Even if it hurts, I need to know. For my own sake." Lao was desperate.

He frowned. "From what I hear, she does not. I am very sorry, Lao. I wish it was different." Raiden felt horribly for his friend. Although he created it for himself, he still could not help but feel bad.

Eyes watering once again, Kung Lao blinked to prevent them from spilling. He sighed quietly, nodding his head. Their relationship was never going to be repaired. Kung Lao never had another chance. He stayed silent as he was afraid if he were to speak, he would never be able to stop crying. He avoided Raiden's gaze and stared off into the distance.

"You need to put your focus and energy into your training and work. It will help distract you." Raiden was trying to be as encouraging as possible. "I know it takes time, but you will feel better."

Lao did not reply back to Raiden which made him feel like he was being ignored. But he did not let him annoy him. He knew Lao needed more time. So, he sat there quietly until it was time to resume their training. Another day, Raiden would attempt to talk to his friend.

Walking back to his home, Raiden felt relieved as he approached the front door. He was exhausted and ready to relax. He had a long, draining day at the academy, and all he wanted was rest. Entering inside, he spotted Y/N in the kitchen. Fujin was not with her.

"Where's Fujin?" Raiden asked her when he went to the kitchen. She smiled. "Well, hello to you too, Raiden."

Raiden's cheeks flushed. "I apologize for not greeting you."

She giggled. "Don't apologize, I'm only kidding. Fujin's bathing, so I am passing the time. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes please," Raiden replied with a small sigh. "I've had a very excruciatingly long day."

She poured Raiden a cup of tea as they sat down at the table together. She was the closest to Fujin, but she and Raiden could still hold conversations fairly well. Even if the main topic of discussion was not in her life anymore. "Tell me about your day. I am all ears."

Raiden told her about his day as she listened intently to him. He felt his stresses begin to lift off as he breathed in the steam from his cup and talked. She nodded her head at him here and there and kept eye contact. Raiden noticed how bright her eyes were. How beautiful they were.

"And I am emotionally drained from comforting Kung Lao. He is my best friend, and I will always be there for him. But he is jeopardizing his place at the academy." Raiden continued. His eyes widened slightly as he realized his mistake. "I am so sorry. I do not mean to bring him up, especially to you."

She waved her hand with a small chuckle. "Kung Lao is a man from the past. I am in a new chapter of life. I can handle him being brought up in conversations."

Raiden nodded and decided it was best to not tell her what Lao had said. He was not her concern anymore, and Raiden never wanted to make her feel guilty for her choices. He knew that Lao deserved it.

"More tea?" she asked him as she began to get up. Raiden nodded and thanked her. Her smile seemed to enlarge. Raiden returned the smile. As she walked away, he was in his thoughts again. He thought about what Liu Kang said. He felt like a bad friend if he were to ask her out. Kung Lao was his best friend ever since their childhood. And here he was, thinking about asking his ex-girlfriend out.

But Lao made a huge mistake. One that could never be fixed. So Raiden was okay, right?

That’s what he thought but he wasn’t so sure anymore. He wondered if he should talk to Kung Lao first, but Raiden knew he would be even more devastated. Maybe it was not the right time-

“Raiden? Are you okay?” She asked him, eyebrows furrowed as she gently held his hands. Raiden noticed and immediately turned red, almost jumping in his seat.

“Yes yes, I am okay. Thank you. I was deep in thought.” He said as he tried to contain himself. They were still holding hands.

She giggled. “Fujin does the same thing. You are both definitely related.”

“Of course we’re related.” Fujin interrupted, making both of them jump and Y/N unlock her hands from Raiden’s. Fujin’s eyes twinkled as she made eye contact with her friend before turning to Raiden. “I hope your day was well, brother.”

“Could be better but I am thankful for another day.” Raiden replied as he tried to contain his blush.

“So darn humble it’s almost irritating.” Fujin said as she brushed her hair.

Raiden finished his tea and began to get up. “I have a few things to do. I will see you both later.” He nodded his head at Y/N and shuffled away. Once Fujin knew he was out of earshot, she snuffled at her friend. “Didn’t mean to interrupt your hand-holding.”

Her friend groaned and lightly pushed Fujin as she made her away over to her. “You are horrible.”

“What’s next, you two creating a family out here? Goodness.” She joked as her friend turned tomato red and hid her face. “Rather it be Raiden than anyone else.”

“Yes yes, I know. Don’t go into any more detail.” She said as she sat down on a seat.

Fujin only smiled. She would much rather it be Raiden any day over Kung Lao or Raiden’s other friends. She knew her brother was good. The absolute best. She trusted him with her best friend.

Another day of training. Raiden was happy to live another day, but he felt like he was stagnant. Just a little bit. He did not feel as enthusiastic in his training, but he knew he needed to be. He had to set a good example for the others, as well as prove his potential to Liu Kang. And he needed to talk to Kung Lao.

Kung Lao was hitting the punching bag when Raiden entered one of the rooms. He was focused despite blood seeping through the bandages on his hands. Raiden figured he was taking his anger out.

“Lao, I need to talk to you.” Raiden said as he approached him.

Lao’s eyes averted to Raiden, and he stopped for a moment. “Can it wait? I’m a little busy here.”

Ignoring his attitude, Raiden continued. “No. It can’t wait.”

Lao sighed. “If you’re going to give me another speech about how I need to get over my relationship and focus, then keep it to yourself. I’ve heard it enough.”

Raiden was never one to ever get angry. He seemed to have had that part of him somewhat turned off. Or maybe it was dormant. But as of now, he was irritated. “No, I wasn’t going to do that. Can you please talk to me?”

“Just because Liu Kang gave you an amulet does not mean I have to listen to you.” Kung Lao replied.

“I want to take Y/N out for dinner.” Raiden said as he stared at his friend. “I am telling you so you are not blindsided.”

Kung Lao stopped for a second and scoffed. “What a friend you are, taking my ex-girlfriend who I am not over, out to dinner. What else do you want to take from me, Raiden?”

“We are going as friends. Nothing more than that.” Raiden retorted back.

“As friends? We both know you want to date her. How long has that been going on for? Did you want to date her while I was with her?” Kung Lao started to get into Raiden’s face. “Tell me, Raiden. What is it?”

“So what, Kung Lao? You made the mistake of cheating. You knew what you were doing.” Raiden argued, his eyes narrowing and his body language beginning to shift. “Do not try to turn this around on me and make it my fault. I was never interested when you were with her. She was your girlfriend until you decided that you could not wait for her.”

“So what? So what?” Lao’s voice was rising. “You came to tell me about taking her out. You know I am not over her. You know I am still struggling getting over her. And yet, here you are, already trying to take my place. What more do you want from me, Raiden?”

“None of that is my fault. I am sorry that you are not over her. I am sorry that you are struggling. But you made the mistake of cheating. Not me, Fujin, or Y/N. You made that mistake.” Raiden stared into his eyes. “If you never cheated, this would have never happened. And you know that.”

Kung Lao stayed quiet and began to wail on the punching bag. Raiden stepped out of the room and began to walk to another training area in the academy. He was frustrated. But this wouldn’t stop him from asking her out. He liked her, and why would he let Kung Lao get in the way? He was the one who made the mistake. Not Raiden.

Palms sweaty, Raiden fumbled with the front door of his home. He knew Fujin and Y/N would be here. He wanted to ask her. He was too irritated with Kung Lao to reason if it was a good idea or not.

He entered his home with a small sigh, and his eyes caught the women sitting and enjoying a cup of tea together. She recognized his footsteps and turned around with a sweet smile. “Hey Raiden!”

Raiden smiled back. At least someone was happy to see him. “Hey Y/N! How’s your day been?”

She got up from her chair to prepare a cup of tea for Raiden. He never asked her to, but she knew him well. That warmed his heart. “It’s been okay. I am ready for a relaxing break.”

Fujin nodded. “Has Kung Lao been giving you issues?”

Raiden gave her a ‘be quiet’ look that Y/N did not notice as she was busy. “No, he has not.”

Fujin frowned. “I don’t believe that. If he even thinks about being an imbecile to you, I will choke him out.”

Raiden knew she would definitely do it, and Lao would not win against her. Fujin was incredibly strong. And Raiden realized this when she put him in a chokehold and made him eat dirt because he ate the last few pieces of her chocolate. Raiden learned two very valuable lessons that day. Never touch a woman’s food, especially when she is on her period. And that you have to floss very well to get the dirt out of every crevice of your teeth.

“I know, sister. You don’t need to save me. I can handle my own.” Raiden replied. “As much as I appreciate it.”

“Liu Kang may not appreciate you and Kung Lao getting into physical fights with animosity. But he cannot say much when it is me. I’m not a part of the academy.”

“She’s essentially saying that Kung Lao can mess around and find out what happens when he angers Fujin.” Y/N said as she put tea in front of Raiden. Raiden thanked her and chuckled. Fujin nodded with a mischievous smile. “He will not stand a chance.”

“He shouldn’t be an issue.” Raiden sighed as he did not want to think about his work. “He is prideful, but it can crumble easily. That’s how he’s always been.”

Y/N giggled. “It is funny to hear you talk about your closest friend.”

“Well, it is the truth.” Raiden said with a small smile. Her giggles made him warm. “At the end of the day, he is still my friend.”

Fujin, being quite the observer she is, noticed how radiant both Raiden and her best friend were. Eyes flicking between the both of them, Fujin made up her mind. “Oh my goodness! I forgot to help Madame Bo with food shopping!” Fujin scrambled for her satchel and began to run out the door. “I’ll see you both later!”

Raiden was puzzled, but he had a feeling Fujin did it so he could ask her out. She always worked in mysterious ways.

“I wonder what that’s all about.” Y/N said, just as confused as Raiden.

“I have no clue. But I wanted to ask you something.” Raiden said as he took the leap of faith. Raiden was never that confident, but right now he was feeling it. He wanted to ask her now so he could either wallow in his own pity or celebrate his victory.

She looked at him with her bright eyes that made Raiden feel tingly. She waited for his question.

“I know it may be too soon, but I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date. Somewhere of your liking.” Raiden’s palms were sweaty.

She was taken aback. A date with Raiden? He and Kung Lao were friends, and here Raiden was asking her out. But Lao was not a factor in her life anymore. She would not make decisions based on his feelings or thoughts. He betrayed her and made her feel unworthy. That was something she could not forgive.

And she would be a liar if she said she wasn’t interested in Raiden. While dating Lao, she never found Raiden attractive, but he was always sweet. But after, Raiden unlocked something in her. His eyes held much love and kindness. His hands were so gentle and warm. He was inviting. His lips looked so soft, and she always had the urge to kiss him. He was so sweet. So loving. Always positive.

Despite being a virgin, her sex drive had always been a bit low. But with Raiden, she felt it increase. There were many sleepless nights that she had to take care of herself because the thoughts of Raiden made her desiring. With Lao, she wanted their relationship to go slow. But with Raiden she wanted to give him her all.

Raiden saw her space out, and he began to feel extremely nervous. Maybe he said the wrong thing? Maybe she isn’t interested? Was it too soon? He was overthinking it. “Well?” He asked her. He was ready to be rejected.

“I would love to go, Raiden.” She replied softly, snapping out of her trance. “I must confess something.”

He nodded his head at her. Was it what he hoped for?

She let out a small sigh. “I have fallen for you. I am enamored by you. I don’t want to go on a date as friends, I want to go as lovers.” Now it was her turn to be nervous.

The Thunder God was about to combust on the spot. His chest fluttered, his thoughts were everywhere at once, and butterflies had invaded his stomach. She felt the same way too. “I would like to go as lovers too.” He replied with a small tinge of pink on his cheeks.

She smiled at him again. “Then it’s a date. I would like to go out to the carnival. If that’s okay with you.”

Raiden smiled back. “I would love to. When do you want to go?”

Bashfully grinning, she giggled. “Tonight, if that’s not too soon.”

“Absolutely! We will go tonight.” Raiden gently grabbed her hands and held them. They were soft. He wanted to kiss her hands, but he refrained from doing so. She held his hands as well, and she stared into his brown eyes. They seemed more beautiful than usual. Their excitement consumed them as eventually she left to get ready in her home. Raiden felt himself become giddy as the time grew nearer. Fujin had come back eventually, and Raiden filled her in. She clapped her hands and smiled, congratulating her brother while also threatening him. Just as Fujin menaced Lao, she would do the same to Raiden. Even if they were related.

Looking himself over in the mirror one last time, Raiden let out a nervous breath. Fujin stood nearby. “Don’t be nervous. You’ve known her for almost your entire life.”

“I know,” he replied as he fidgeted with his hands. “But I can’t help my nervousness. I must leave soon so I can buy her flowers.”

Fujin grinned. “How sweet. Have fun, brother. And be safe. If anything gets crazy, I will be there.” Her face turned serious. “Especially if it’s Kung Lao giving you issues.”

“Liu Kang gave me an amulet forged by the Elder Gods. And yet, you are worried that Lao will challenge me.” Raiden said with his head tilting slightly.

“I know you can handle yourself, Raiden. But as family, it is my job to protect you as well.” Fujin glanced at one of the clocks. “You must be on your way! Have fun! Tell Y/N I said hi!” Fujin practically shoved Raiden out of the house.

Raiden shook his head with a small chuckle and made his way to one of the shops to buy her flowers. He knew her favorites already from Lao dragging him along, as well as Fujin’s suggestions. Raiden went the extra mile to find some lace and ribbon to tie a bow around the flowers. He was so extra in every way possible, but he did it out of the kindness of his heart. He wanted to leave a long-lasting impression.

Approaching the door to her home, he knocked. He felt the butterflies creep back into his stomach, but it all went away when she opened the door. She looked gorgeous. Her hair was done to perfection, her makeup accentuated her features, and her outfit complimented her well. Raiden could not help his awe. “You look stunning.”

She smiled with a small blush dusting her cheeks. “Thank you, Raiden. You look handsome yourself.”

He handed the flowers to her, and she gasped. “These are so beautiful! And the bow-” Her fingers gently curled around the fabric. “Oh Raiden! You are so thoughtful. Let me put these in a vase before we leave! You can come in as well.” She moved quickly back inside of her home, and Raiden stepped inside. It was cozy, but it felt… lonely. He knew she lived here alone. That was why she had often stayed at his and Fujin’s home. He felt guilty that she had to come home to an empty home.

But before it could get to him more, she reappeared back in front of him. “Shall we go?”

He pulled out of his thoughts and smiled. “Yes, we shall.” They left her home and began to make their way to the carnival. He was excited but still felt the nerves pool in his lower stomach.

She talked excitedly on their walk, stars shining in her eyes. He could listen to her talk for hours. Raiden wondered how Lao could ever betray such a beautiful, sweet woman like Y/N. Lao had to have been on some sort of psychedelic herb to even think about betraying her.

But if Lao didn’t make that mistake, Raiden wouldn’t be here with her. It worked out in his favor.

As they approached, they could see and hear the crowds of people enjoying the carnival. They stood at the many tents to win prizes for their loved ones. Raiden felt like a little kid again.

Suddenly, he felt his hand being grabbed by Y/N. “That one! Let’s go to that one.” It did not register right away that she was holding his hand until he was being dragged along to the tent. He felt a small smile on his lips. She was so cute. After paying a small fee, her and Raiden both began to play the game. Raiden, being great at almost everything, beat her at it. She giggled at him as he picked a fairly large stuffed animal out. But it wasn’t for him.

He held a large dragon stuffed animal in his arms and gave it to Y/N. She squealed with excitement as she took it from him, giving him a hug as she did so. “Awww! Raiden, you are so sweet!”

He hugged her back and chuckled. “Anything for you. Now let’s get to the other games!”

They had lost a few games but also won a few as well. Whatever prizes he won, they went to her. And whatever prizes she won, they went to Raiden. Eventually, they had to buy a basket to carry their prizes because of how many they had. There were moments where Raiden felt that he wanted to kiss her, but he never made the move to do so. He didn’t want to scare her off.

Sharing one of the fried foods off to the side, they ate and talked. They were in their own little world. That was, until someone had decided to show up.

“Going as friends? You are a liar, Raiden.” Kung Lao said as he frowned. His eyes flickered to his ex-girlfriend who narrowed her eyes at him.

“It’s none of your concern, Lao. Leave us be.” Raiden replied back. He did not want to be cold towards his friend, but he didn’t want him to ruin his date.

“How odd is it that after we break up, you go and flirt your way into my friend group.” Lao turned his attention to Y/N.

Wiping at her mouth, she rolled her eyes. “I did not flirt my way into your friend group. I am on a date with Raiden. I haven’t went out with anyone else. What is the big deal?”

“Big deal? Big deal?” Kung Lao exclaimed in frustration. “We break up, and you are over here on a date with MY best friend! Do you realize how weird and hurtful that is? Knowing that my best friend also has a piece of you too.”

“Lao st-”

“You are not my boyfriend anymore!” She snapped, eyes burning with anger. “I broke up with you because you cheated on me! You cheated on me our entire relationship, Kung Lao. And you are hurt that I’m on a date with Raiden?” She scoffed at him as he looked at her with shock.

“Don’t you see how much I love you? How much miss you?” Lao argued back. “I have been miserable, and I know you know that. I want you back. I don’t want our story to end now.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “How much do you really miss me? If you loved me from the start, you would have never cheated. I was hurt knowing that you could not wait for me. I was hurt knowing that you picked another woman over me. After I have supported you and loved you.”

“Don’t you realize that I can be better?” He grabbed her by the shoulders, and Raiden wanted to step in, but he knew that she would handle it herself. There was nothing he could do. “We can start on a fresh clean slate. We can make it work, Y/N. I can’t bear to continue my life without you.”

“You are not a factor in my life anymore, Kung Lao. And it will stay that way.” She said with a small sigh as she removed his hands off of her. “We can never restart. I will never forgive you for what you have done to me. Let me enjoy my date with Raiden, and you get back to doing whatever you were before you decided to rudely interrupt our time.”

She grabbed Raiden’s hand and pulled him away from Lao who stood there with tears glistening in his eyes and his fists shaking with anger and sadness. She was holding his hand. Raiden had taken his place. It should have been him, not Raiden. He watched them disappear into the crowd. His heart hurt so badly. There was nothing he could change. Absolutely nothing.

They pulled themselves away from the carnival and into a more quiet spot. Her eyebrows were scrunched in frustration. “I cannot believe him. Interrupting our peaceful date like that. I am so sorry, Raiden.”

Raiden rested his hand on her lower back. “Don’t apologize. You did what had to be done. I have enjoyed my time with you very much.”

He saw her lips curl into a grin. “I enjoyed my time too. And look at all the stuff we won!”

She lingered on her words for a second, and Raiden tilted his head at her to continue. “I was just thinking that… we go back to your house. And drink some tea. Unwind, you know?”

Interlocking their hands, Raiden nodded. “Of course. That sounds amazing right now.”

It was a little quiet on the walk to Raiden and Fujin’s home. The wind began to stir, making her shiver. Raiden wrapped an arm around her to keep her warm and close to him. Even though he was nervous and wondering if he was making the right moves. He did not want to scare her off or make her feel like it was moving too fast. But she leaned in towards his touch and let him pull her close to his body.

Arriving to his home, he opened the door and ushered her inside. Fujin was snacking on something that Raiden had no clue what it was. “Hey! You are both back early.” She tilted her head at them slightly.

Y/N sighed as she set the stuffed animals down that they had won. “It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed my time. And then Kung Lao decided to interfere.”

Fujin’s face hardened. She set her wrapper down carefully. “And what did he have to say?”

“He gave a whole speech about how I was on a date with his best friend and how much he loves and misses me. You know, the usual speech a cheater will say after their significant other leaves.” She sat down at a chair with one of the stuffed animals hugged close to her. Raiden sat on the other side of her.

“Of course he did. He’s dramatic. He’s lucky it’s just Raiden you’re on a date with. Imagine if you went with Liu Kang.” Fujin laughed.

“What’s wrong with me?” Raiden asked jokingly. “I think I’m equivalent to Liu Kang.”

“Have you seen Liu’s body?” Fujin said sarcastically. “He was literally carved by the Elder Gods.”

“Well, I would rather it be Raiden.” Y/N interjected while squeezing his hand. “He was carved by a Fire God.”

Fujin groaned. “By the Gods, not the sappiness. You guys have made me feel so ooey gooey that I’m going to Madame Bo’s. Goodbye!” As she was making her exit, she gave Y/N one last look and winked. She blushed a bit before her and Raiden settled together in each other’s presence.

The tension was strong as they were watching TV. Raiden’s hand was settled around her shoulders while she cuddled close to him. Her mind began to wander as her thoughts about Raiden started to turn sexual. She wanted to run her hands all along his body. She wanted to feel him against her. She wanted his lips on her.

Feeling her excitement, she rubbed her legs together to create some friction. She did not want to ruin their date with her horny thoughts.

“Are you cold? I can get you a blanket.” Raiden asked her as he noticed her moving around. He didn’t ask her if she needed a blanket. He felt rude.

“No, I’m okay. Thank you, Raiden.” She said as her cheeks tinged pink. At least he was a little innocent about it.

They returned their attention back to the movie, but her thoughts were still running astray. Thoughts about Raiden using his fingers on her. His mouth on her. The excitement was too much for her. She needed him now, but she knew that he was not in the mood. She didn’t want to pressure him into doing something he didn’t want to do.

Raiden knew something was going on. She was spacing out a lot, and he wondered what she was thinking about. It was just them at the house. Fujin was gone and would be gone for a while.

“You are quiet. Is there something bothering you?” He asked her. He hoped he didn’t do anything wrong.

She jumped slightly. “Oh, of course not! I am just in my thoughts, I’m sorry.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you thinking about?”

She started to feel embarrassed. She didn’t want to tell Raiden her thoughts. Especially when they were perverted about him. “It’s nothing really.”

“You can tell me anything.” He said to her as he gentle squeezed her hand. They were close in proximity, his face inching forward to hers. Her eyes flickered down to his lips and back to his eyes, and she realized what she had done at the very last second. He definitely caught her.

Raiden gently grabbed her face with one hand and guided her towards him, connecting his lips with her and giving her a gentle kiss. It started off with small kisses, kisses that were so sweet it almost gave her a sugar rush. His other hand settled on the back of her neck to pull her closer to him. It almost felt like electricity. She kissed him back, desperately wanting to feel his love, but she didn’t want to rush it. As much as she wanted her release.

He was just winging it. He had hardly any experience, and he had gotten advice mainly from Johnny who had a lot more experience than him and Kung Lao combined. Johnny was the one who told Raiden where to touch and what to do that would drive a woman crazy. That was how he described it.

“Let’s take this to the bedroom.” Raiden whispered as he pulled away from her. He picked her up, making her squeal as she wrapped her legs around his torso. He gave her kisses as he walked to his room, kicking the door open and setting her down onto his bed gently. He continued to kiss her, peppering kisses down her jawline and onto her neck. He moved her hair to the side so he had full access to her neck. Kissing and licking different spots, she moaned quietly while she tangled her fingers in Raiden’s hair. She started to undo the bun that it was in, so she could see him at his full glory. His black hair trickled down his shoulders, the smell of shampoo and fresh rosemary hitting her senses. She ran her hands through his hair, making Raiden hum in content. It was comfortable. He felt like he belonged in her arms.

He took his shirt off, making her do the same for herself. Raiden resumed kissing her collarbone as he wrapped his fingers around the clasp of her bra, looking at her for permission. With a nod of her head, he unclasped it and let her breasts fall freely. He kissed lower, gently licking and sucking on her soft skin. She moaned with every move he made. He made her feel good. Better than Lao ever did. He focused more on himself where Raiden was not selfish.

She felt up his body as he continued to kiss lower and lower, reaching the waistband of her skirt. Looking up once again for permission, she enthusiastically nodded her head quickly. He wrapped his fingers around the waistband and slipped them off, face to face with her aching core. Her panties were soaked, a large wet spot making it obvious. He smiled to himself.

He slid off her underwear and threw them across the room, moving himself closer to her. She was beautiful in ever way possible. He wondered how Lao could ever love another woman when she was the greatest. Giving a long lick, he eyed her as her face scrunched up in pleasure. He pushed her thighs up around his shoulders and dove his face into her sopping wet pussy. He ate like it was his last meal of a lifetime. She moaned louder, her hand tangled in his black locks as he tongued her clit. Sucking, licking, nibbling very softly, he drove her insane. She felt the warm knot tying in her stomach.

She pushed his head away rather quickly. Her wetness and his saliva was smeared across his mouth and chin. Wiping some of it away, he furrowed his brows. “Did I hurt you? Are you okay?”

“I have an idea.” She replied as she noticed his hard-on pressed against his underwear. Her mouth watered at what he would taste like. “Lay down.” She moved over where Raiden could lay down comfortably. She removed his boxers, letting his cock spring freely. The tip was wet with pre-cum.

Moving her body on top of his, but in the opposite direction, Raiden understood what she was trying to do. He felt himself become more excited as her pussy was in his face. He settled his arms around her ass and dove back into his meal. Meanwhile, she kitten-licked his tip, teasing him before taking him completely in her mouth. He groaned quietly, sending the vibrations through her. All that was echoing in the room were groans and moans, along with wet sloppy noises from their mouths.

The pleasure continued to build within one another. Almost like bounded souls, they felt their release coming onto them around the same time. Raiden tried not to thrust his hips despite how good her mouth felt.

Sucking on her clit, she squealed in pleasure as she took Raiden completely in her mouth, entirely engulfed in the warmness of her throat. She continued to moan, rutting against his mouth. Raiden’s stomach knot released, and his mind was frazzled in pleasure while her throat took all of his cum. She swallowed as her eyes rolled into the back of her head while she released in Raiden’s mouth.

Minds frazzled with pleasure, she moved off of him and laid next to him. Both of them were panting quietly as they stared at the ceiling. “Wow… that was… amazing.” She said as she glanced at him.

“It was. That felt so good.” He responded, brushing his hair away from his face.

They sat in a comfortable silence before Raiden got up. He started to put on his underwear. “I’ll make us some tea. Especially to ease your throat. I’m sure it is a little bruised.” He slipped on a shirt and grabbed one for Y/N. She slipped it on after she put on her panties, his shirt oversized on her in the cutest ways possible. He smiled sweetly. “You look adorable.”

“You think?” She asked with a giggle. “I probably look like a hot mess.”

“You are beautiful no matter what.” He replied as he went to the kitchen to heat up water for tea. She followed behind him, her legs slightly shaking from the position she was in. While waiting, she leaned against him.

“I really enjoyed today. I would like to have many more days like this.” She said quietly.

“As do I.” He said while leaning against her as well. He kissed the top of her head. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with anything. We can take it as slow as you want.”

“I understand. I would like to take it slow as well. But with what we just did, we definitely did the opposite.” She grinned.

He blushed. “I apologize for that. I’m sorry if I coaxed you into anything.”

“You worry wort,” she laughed. “You didn’t coax me into anything. We both enjoyed ourselves.”

He chuckled. Pouring their cups of tea, they settled back into his room. They cuddled underneath his bed sheets, her head resting on his chest. She listened to his heartbeat. Eventually, it put her to sleep. It was too comforting.

Raiden fell asleep soon after, but not before thinking about the night. He wanted many more nights like this. With her. He knew that he would have a lot of explaining and arguments with Kung Lao, but nothing could separate him from his love. Things worked out for the best, in his benefit.

But what mattered the most was that he had her. And she had him. It was meant to be.

#mortal kombat #mk1 #mk1 2023 #mk 1 2023 #mk 1 #mk raiden #mk1 raiden #raiden mk1 #raiden x reader #raiden x y/n #raiden x you #mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat raiden #mk kung lao #mk1 kung lao #kung lao x reader

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consistencynevermether · 5 months

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The Garden of Heroes- Astarion X Reader

content- gn! tav x Astarion. angst (but kinda more bittersweet), with a good ending. sfw. cannon typical violence but nothing extreme. soooo many character deaths. Astarion and tav forever endgame im sorry to this man he will not be moving on

Summary: Astarion learns how to live on after you and the others are gone.

word count- 2.4k

Out of your party, Karlach was the first to die. It wasn’t unexpected that she would go first. She was always headstrong, rushing into battle and putting the safety of others before herself. She died a hero's death, and so she was honored as such. After all, your group had saved Baldur's gate, and not just from the mindflayers. Even after, your party continued to do great deeds of heroism across the sword coast. Sometimes all together as a group, and sometimes as individuals. Regardless, Karlach was a hero, and so when they buried her, they erected a statue in a beautiful plot of land outside of Baldur's gate, which they titled “The Garden of heroes”. A beautiful name but also a melancholy one. A reminder that her statue would not be the last one to be built in this grove. Losing Karlach, it was painful for everyone, Astarion included.

But what really stuck with him was that garden's name. The promise it brought of more of his friends becoming just old statutes and legends. And of you, someone far more precious than a friend, becoming the same.

Wyll was the second to go. Taken from you all far too soon, just like Karlach. And just like her, he died as he lived, honorably. Despite everything in life that tried to extinguish his spirit, nothing could. He was happy and kind and loyal till the end of his days. When his statue was put up next to Karlach’s, everyone grieved. But over time when your hearts all healed a little, Wyll’s proud, tall, beautiful statue made Karlachs look less lonely, like she had a friend now, and there was a certain comfort in that. But there would be no comfort for Astarion when the next statue would be built.

Because the next one was you.

Tav. The great hero of the sword coast. Felled in battle. Your sacrifice had saved the world once again but left Astarion all alone.

You died far before your time. How far? Were you an elf who still had hundreds of years ahead of them? Were you a half-orc who only had maybe 20 or 30 left? Regardless, it was too soon. Astarion had thought he’d have more time. More time to come to terms with you leaving him. That he would be allowed to let you go, not have you ripped from his embrace by this cruel twist of fate.

And just like that, you were the 3rd statue in the Garden of Heroes. To everyone else that’s just how it was, another hero lost and life went on. But not for Astarion. The world seemed to stop for him.

He knew it would happen one day. He probably told himself he would go on living even without you, that he wouldn’t waste his life mourning someone when he could still live. After all, he deserved that, he had been alive so long and yet had barely begun to truly live. Yet the gaping hole that you left behind in his heart could never be filled.

Still, because of his experience with Cazador, he refused to let himself waste his freedom. Despite you being gone he didn’t want to stop living.

But he couldn’t bring himself to love again. Nobody could compare. No one’s laugh could make his heart flutter like yours, nobody’s kisses could be quite as sweet. You who loved him at his worst and showed him the light. You who reached out your hand to him, but ultimately let him become his own savior, letting it be his choice to be good. To feel good again. It was a tragedy that he had lost that love, something that made his world so much brighter. But he cherished the memories, and that made it easier to live on.

That is until the memories began to fade.

He doesn't know when it started. It was definitely after Gale and Lazel had joined you in the garden. Shadowheart too probably. After all, they were all only human, Giyth, and half-elf, at most the oldest of them could have been Shadowheart at 200 years or so, and Astarion couldn’t ever forget you in such a short amount of time.

He mourned all 3 of them of course, and Shadowheart’s lack of snark towards Astarion (which over the years had become just friendly banter) was missed. But it wasn’t the same as when he lost you.

But after decades of them being laid to rest in the Garden of Heroes, he’d started to forget little details of his former party members. But he remembered every detail of you. He heard your voice in his dreams, imagined your smile as he daydreamed, and wore a piece of your jewelry as a reminder. Even though you weren’t here anymore, he honored you.

But as the years went on, it became… twisted. Some nights Astarion would wake up in a cold sweat, muttering to himself as he tried desperately to remember what color your eyes were. Every night his dreams of you became more fuzzy with time, and every morning he clinged a little harder to the little reminders of you. In the end, he was no longer honoring you, but instead clinging to a memory. He had promised himself, promised you that he would continue to live. Yet ever since you left he had just been alive. He was spiraling.

Why what happened next transpired isn't exactly clear to Astarion. Maybe it was you from beyond the grave, maybe it was some god your party had helped before, or maybe it was just dumb luck. But by whatever force, he was sought out by a young group of adventurers looking for help.

They were inexperienced, reckless, and worked horribly together, which is exactly why they came seeking out one of the great heroes of the sword Coast, to help them. It was easy for Astarion to forget just how legendary he and his friends were. Don't get him wrong, he thought very highly of himself, but the way these inexperienced adventurers would look at him with wonder in their eyes whenever he mentioned your name, was…odd. On the one hand, it saddened him that you were nothing more than a mere legend now, but on the other, it gave him a strange sense of happiness knowing that your memory lived on, that even the people who didn't know you were influenced by you. And having a bunch of idiots to keep alive was strangely comforting. He often wondered if you had felt the same way when you had led the motley crew of tadpole-infected weirdos all those years ago, and it gave him a connection to you that made his heart ache, but in a good way.

It kept those nightmares at bay and kept the loneliness from consuming him. It's what he needed, that human connection, to stand up on his own two feet and keep going. It would never be the same, he knew that.

Sometimes, sitting around the campfire, eyes closed, he could almost feel like he was back there with you. The crackle and warmth of the fire, the overlapping voices in the background, the sound of the forest. Some things never changed, and sitting there, he could almost imagine you next to him, polishing some weapon next to him in the light of the campfire, its metallic glint bathing your features in warm orange.

And when he opened his eyes and saw that you weren't there, and hadn't been for decades now, he was ok. The pain did not consume him, the sadness did not break him, and the hurt felt good in a way because it showed how much he was loved, and how hard he loved you back in return.

Astarion wasn’t alone anymore. And he was able to truly live again. He imagined if you could see him now, you’d be quite proud. However, occasionally at night, his thoughts would wander to more than just imagining. In Faerun, there were many ways to speak with the deceased and even bring them back. But what stopped him was your last moments. Even now what you said was crystal clear, and would never fade no matter how many years went by, it echoed in his mind constantly:

“My only regret is leaving you behind.”

As much as it hurt to be alone, Astarion knew that you were satisfied with the life you lived. And loathe he was to admit it, deep down he always knew that if he suggested some way to make you immortal to stay with him, you would decline. You burned brightly and fast, it’s who you were. You lived your life the way you wanted to, and it wasn’t his right to drag you back up with him. He knew this. But it didn’t make the thought any less tempting.

Whenever that temptation arose, he found solace in a bit of a strange place. Or more accurately, person. Halsin. Astarion and Halsin were never terribly close, the two just had quite different personalities. Not that there was any real bad blood, just never that closeness he felt with some of the others. But as the years went by, he and Halsin became the only two people left of the original group, and that caused them to share a few bittersweet bonding moments.

Halsin was one of the few people Astarion could reminisce with. Not only that but someone who loved so freely yet lived so long the way Halsin did made him good at dealing with loss and grieving in a healthy way, something Astarion didn’t always excel at. So he frequently went to visit the Archdruid, and Halsin was always happy to see his old friend. After a while, they even started a tradition, once every 10 years the two of them would travel to the Garden of Heroes together. Not many words were spoken during those trips, but it meant a great deal to both of them.

All too fast it seemed, the pair had visited the grove dozens of times. And every time Astarion couldn’t help but notice Halsin had more and more gray hair with each passing visit. Elves were long-living, but not immortal. Halsin would soon be gone from this world too.

At this point, Astarion could handle the loss. He had learned to deal with the short lifespans of those around him, at this point the young heroes he had once traveled with after your passing were now seasoned, veteran warriors, or had passed themselves. It wouldn't be the loss of Halson that broke Astarion, it would be the fact that he would truly be the last of you all.

After Halsin's passing, nobody knew enough about your group anymore to erect a statue of him in the garden. It had been centuries and you had faded from legend to myth. Ancient heroes of days gone past. So Astarion decided to take matters into his own hands and learned to carve stone.

What? He was an immortal after all, he had eternity to perfect the craft. For decades he’d bring in stone slabs and practice carving, his reasoning being that no way in hell was he lugging around a Halsin-sized statue, but really your own statue looking over him gave him a sense of comfort. And when he had perfected carving stone, he sought other reasons to stay in the garden. After so many years it had become neglected and overgrown, so Astarion took it upon himself to take care of the place.

After decades of staying in this garden turned to centuries, he began to become a legend in his own right. But not the heroic type you were known as. No, the tales people spun about him were quite depressing. He became known as the caretaker of the Garden of Heroes, and many theorized as to why he did this, spun many a dramatic and tragic tale to be told at the local bar or to gossip about with friends. He’d almost feel insulted, but he rarely left the garden anyway. Being there made him happy, and after so many centuries alive, that’s really what his main pursuit was now. Just happiness. It wasn’t truly living, not entirely. But he had done so much living, far more than even the longest-living elf had ever done, and he figured it was ok now. To just be happy was enough.

There were rare times when he left the garden, when people came there asking for his help, or when there was a major threat to Baldur's gate, he would offer his aid. The centuries of living never seemed to dull his blade, and with everything he had seen and accomplished, there was no doubt Astarion was one of the most skilled people alive. He truly was a hero from ancient times.

That’s probably why his death was even more legendary than yours.

To lose a hero was tragic. But to lose someone who had lived for so long, known so much, seen so much, it was a different type of melancholy for the people of Faerun. Like they had lost an ancient protector. For someone who seemed mysterious, infallible, and all-knowing to fall was a scary thing in some ways. But it wasn’t also without honor.

The people of Baldur's Gate who lived during the time Astarion died probably had no idea why the garden was so important to him. But they did know it was important. So when he died saving Faerun, much like you had done oh so many centuries ago, they decided the most respectful thing to do was return his body to the garden to be laid to rest. Some even debated that he should have his own statue erected in the garden. Ultimately these people didn’t know the significance of this place, who stood here, and why Astarion cared for it, so they decided it would be best to simply return the body. Though later a statue of Astarion would be put up inside Balurs Gate, along with a plaque. maybe people would remember him a little longer than they had remembered you. But everyone fades to the sands of time eventually. Every legend is told one last time.

Luckily for the rouge vampire spawn, his legend didn't end with his death. It ended when he opened his eyes a few moments later, a gentle touch awakening him. The feeling of fingers running through his curls, and he knew. He knew immediately. No matter how many centuries apart, he could never not recognize your touch. He didn't know where he was, where he ended up after death, but it truly didn't matter to him in this moment. Because wherever he was, you were there with him. After so many years of looking up at your statue, its face faded and details lost to time, he finally got to see the real thing again. He got to know the color of your eyes once more. And in Astarion’s book, that was the best ending he could have gotten.

#astarion fic #astarion romance #astarion x mc #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #astarion x you #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion #baldurs gate 3 astarion #bg3 astarion #astarion bg3 #astarion my beloved #astarion angst #astarion fanfic

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retrieve-the-kraken · 2 months

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Okay, so I’ve finished my taxes, and I’m basically out of the woods with some overwhelming work stuff, and everything turned out well with a medical situation with my mum, but I am still very tired, but I also cannot keep going without putting my preliminary thoughts on my very first viewing of season 3 down on a post…

It seems my worst characterization so far is assuming that these two idiots would learn to communicate. They haven’t, they’re stupid teenagers, they’re really bad at it, they get mad at each other for everything, and they don’t listen. And that needs to change soon if we want Wilmon endgame.

Boris, do you do couples therapy? PLEASE HELP THEM.

I think a big reason Wilhelm lashes out, besides getting caught up in his own head, is the fact that he’s also constantly afraid of saying the wrong thing and pissing Simon off. But the stakes for Simon are clearly higher. Wilhelm really needs to learn to communicate, but he’s dragging a whole life of terrible communication and zero support, so HOW is he supposed to learn, if he naturally feels afraid to open up?

It shows in the way he reacts to learning about Erik. Simon might be right, and Erik maybe just gave in to peer pressure, like everyone else in that school (which we see over and over again, like with the strike, and that guy who just repeats ‘yeah hilarious’ when Vincent tells him, and the graduation rituals and basically everything that everyone does at that fucking school), and maybe he wasn’t particularly homophobic. Or maybe he was, but if he had found out about Wilhelm maybe he would have changed his views (after all he was a stupid kid too)… But how would Wilhelm know? Erik is dead, there’s no way of asking him, confronting him about it. And people still call him perfect, and still compare him to his brother.

It must be so traumatizing to have held this person in your head as the one you trusted for everything, the one who would support you most, the one who probably knew you better than anyone else, who would love you and be there for you no matter what, and it turns out that he might not have accepted you at all. And just like that Wille is all alone and angry and afraid again.

(This is why it’s extra cruel that August posted that fucking video, especially how premeditated it was to share it over the whole world, but also then tell Wilhelm that his brother was possibly a homophobe. It doesn’t matter that he went through that horrible hazing, it doesn’t matter that he put a stop to it, and it doesn’t matter that he’s a stupid kid too, the fact that he did THAT to someone, anyone, is awful and he should have known better.)

So that scene in season 1 when Erik teases Wilhelm about his crush potentially changes completely. Maybe he didn’t suspect anything, maybe it was just a coincidence that he never used any pronouns…

And that makes it even more traumatizing that his parents still think of Erik as the figure of perfection, and Wilhelm, who is queer and scandalous and rebellious, is the real thorn on their side. Fucking Ludvig saying that Erik really was perfect, that he didn’t have “that darkness inside of him”, to his surviving son… But for all we know maybe Erik’s death was not accidental, maybe he did have “a darkness” inside of him.

On the other hand, that “darkness” doesn’t excuse Kristina at all. I am convinced that this depression/burnout that she’s going through is absolute bullshit. Sure, she might be depressed, she’s still grieving her “perfect” heir, and she’s going through a lot. But it’s like Wilhelm says, how convenient that she shuts down and breaks down now. She wasn’t like this when the video happened, because she could still cover it up. And she wasn’t like this when Wilhelm called her to scream that he was going to abdicate, because she could still drag him out of Hillerska. It was only when he told the whole world, and there was no covering it up anymore, that she suddenly became fragile with grief.

And even if it were true, even if she’s going through a severe depression or burnout, as a result of everything that’s happened, that doesn’t excuse her previous lies and manipulations. And it makes the fact that she still really wants Wille to become her successor, despite knowing what it could do to him, despite knowing that he’s already extremely anxious and that he does not know how to manage his own emotions, is evil.

(And even if she wants August to be the backup too, knowing how he is, knowing his own family history, and how it could affect him too, is evil too.) MORE on this later.

Kristina uses her breakdowns to emotionally manipulate Wille into trying to do his best to be the perfect crown prince, now indirectly through Farima and Ludvig. And Wille’s so concerned with her and her fragility that it affects his relationship with Simon. Because he’s anxious about the possible imminence of having to take over, of being the new monarch, when he can barely control his own feelings, when he just wants to enjoy his first relationship and just be in love.

Of course he made things worse for himself and Simon when he publicly revealed their relationship, but we can understand where that’s coming from. He didn’t want to hide anymore, he didn’t want to not be able to be himself anymore, not be able to be with the boy he loves. But they’re still forced to hide, because people start hating on Simon, because people won’t stop talking about them (as much as I HATED Wille shushing Simon, I also understood that he didn’t want anyone to hear their argument, because he didn’t want to give people more reason to talk about them, but also there’s probably a lot of ‘keeping up appearances’ embedded in his mind), because they are very different and almost incompatible for many reasons, and because being the crown prince means conforming to a lot of things (no tattoos, no cutting your hair shorter than, no nail polish, no expressing political opinions, etc etc), and so he has to remove the nail polish and he doesn’t want his foundation to be geared toward LGBTQIA+ people or mental health issues… He can’t express himself, he can’t be himself, because what he is or who he is for real is not compatible with his role or what is expected of him… he’s so repressed still.

(The whole nail polish scene, and the scene where Simon suggests that Wille’s foundation could be geared toward LGBTQIA+ youth, reminded me a little of Isak in SKAM saying that he wasn’t just going to start marching in the Pride parade or wearing makeup. Wille is not necessarily about identity expression, or at least he doesn’t think that he should be. He just wants to be himself, and be with the boy he loves, and that’s it).

As for Simon, he can do no wrong, and I absolutely agree with everything he says and does, but he has always been very idealistic, and he does come across as a little more naïve than I expected, especially with the whole social media comments and his song. It wasn’t the first time he experienced it, because things went south for him when he appeared on the video, so for him now to think that people are magically not going to be cruel.

But I understand how much he’s sacrificing for Wille, and Wille not appreciating it at all must sting. Just like he points out that he didn’t have contact with Micke for years, for Sara’s sake, and suddenly she’s living with him… that fucking hurt. Simon has always been very opinionated and outspoken, and he’s very authentically and proudly himself, but he’s also always molded himself to what other people need, like being a parented child and taking on too much in the house to relieve Linda, and taking care of Sara, and worrying about his father, and letting himself be manipulated by Marcus, and now basically giving up a lot of himself to be with Wille. And as a result Linda treats him like he’s a drug addict, and Sara goes to the father she didn’t want to have contact with, and Marcus talks shit about him to the press, and Wille doesn’t listen to him…

Sara saw the light (sort of), so maybe hopefully Wille will too. More on that later too.

Anyway, it would have been nice for someone from the royal court to sit Simon down and explain to him what being the boyfriend of a royal involves, so that Wille doesn’t have to figure out how to tell him all these difficult things himself. Wille is so used to some of these things, they seem so obvious to him, that he might not immediately think of how weird or outlandish it might seem to Simon. (THat scene with the cake, I mean… it was funny in a way, but I wonder how many terrifying thoughts crossed Simon’s mind, the obvious “wait what??? did I just eat poison???” but also “wait what??? someone’s trying to poison my boyfriend????” and “there are kids here, have they also accidentally been poisoned????”).

I really really hope that, since he’s being forced to go to Boris with August, that Wille will think about going with Simon, and trying to work things out. They need to be able to say all these things to each other, get on the same page.

More importantly, I need a callback to what Boris said to him in season 2, about the expectations of his family, about being able to make his own choices. Which Wille internalized beautifully with that speech to Simon outside his house.

Anyway, this is already very long. Moving on to more general thoughts:

- I did think that the fact that they sort of resolved the whole issue with the police report and the drugs felt a little anticlimactic. It was built up and built up and the whole season 2 finale was about that, and we had a cliffhanger and everything, and then… bye. I wonder if it will come back (more on that later).

- And for that matter, Alexander just became a background character. Did he even have any lines? I could barely spot him.

- August telling Wilhelm in front of everyone at the table that he’s sure Wille will fuck up on his own… rich.

- Also Stella and Rosh was sort of hinted at, it happened in a blink, and then Fredrika was… jealous? Confused? Homophobic? All of the above? But then… NOTHING. Stella was even missing in the last episode, because she was “sick”… (scheduling conflicts for Felicia? Actually sick?)

- I think it’s interesting that Sara preached and preached to Simon about giving people a second chance, including their dad, and then she… goes and does it? It wasn’t the first time she did, she was with August despite the awful thing he did. And then she goes and… gives August ANOTHER chance????

- Someone needs to tell Sara that she needs to stop getting wtih August, because every time they get together somehow, Wilmon go south… It seems these two couples cannot exist simultaneously…

- So I still have to rewatch, but… is August then in the middle of selling his father’s estate to pay Simon? Are any of his friends aware of this?

- I have a cultural question: what was the whole deal about travelling to the US? I mean, I thought they were asking if these kids have never travelled abroad, but they mentioned the US specifically, several times… Is that a thing in Sweden, traveling to the US? Not any other part of Europe? Not Asia? Just wondering. Made me curious.

- Still waiting for this season’s Elias song… just one episode left… If we don’t get one, or a callback to Revolution, I might claw my face off…

- Nils repeating that maybe Wille would have been better off with someone from the inner circle. Seriously, Nils, who do you mean? WHO? Who could you be referring to? Hmm?

- Something else about Nils… a part of me really wished that Wille would have asked Nils for confirmation on the Erik thing. Wille obviously doesn’t want to believe it at first, but then he does, and hearing it from August makes it even worse, so maybe hearing it from someone like Nils would be the final confirmation that he would need, that his brother was the worst. On the other hand, for him to ask Nils to confirm something like that, as a gay, and possibly hearing what happened to him as a result of it… that would have probably made it even worse.

- Really hate that Marcus was mentioned, that he came back to haunt Simon in a way, even if it was minimal. But props to Simon for not rising to the bait in that moment.

- Simon, my love, i understand that you’re upset and heartbroken, but… it would have been nice if you tried to get Wille to talk to you one last time, before breaking up with him on his birthday… especially seeing everything he’s going through. Not that your feelings are any less important than his, of course, but… are you trying to get him to jump out the window????

-Eternally saddened by the disappearance of the orange sweater. Eternally saddened by the fact that Wilhelm did not set foot in or around Simon’s house this season. Although who knows, still one episode left…

Things that I liked most:

- Seriously the chemistry between Edvin and Omar is OFF THE CHARTS. The intimacy coordinator this season was very good.

- Especially that sex scene. Not just because it makes me immensely happy when my favorite ship fucks, because holy shit that was hot, but also because there’s a whole theme around all the hate mail and messages and classism and homophobia and toxic masculinity that Simon is a target of, especially being Latino, whilst Wille, being white and privileged and high class and the heir to the throne, is probably seen as the “man” of the relationship (especially since in the video he’s also the one “in control” whilst Simon is the receiver), so it’s very VERY satisfying to see that they are both top and bottom at times, and they both equally enjoy it.

- Also the use of choir music during the sex scene, giving it a very holy feel, much like Elias’s Holy playing when they have sex again in season 2… seriously I NEED my Elias song this season or I WILL START A REVOLUTION.

- At first I was annoyed at the whole “school possibly closing” plotline, because I thought it was unneeded. Or that maybe it would play a bigger role in the whole video-drugs controversy. But the truth is that it was really good, how it highlighted these kids’ privilege and the absurdity of wanting to cover things up and uphold traditions, and it also worked wonderfully to highlight the divide between Simon and Wille. As Simon says to Wille, he only takes a stand when he has nothing to lose.

- Felice. Felice this whole season was magnificent. Her whole breakdown over the end of her friendship with Sara, showing how truly important it was to her. And Madison saying that sometimes breaking up with a friend is worse than getting dumped, and I AGREE SO MUCH. But then I also think she loses her sense of self, because despite being popular and beautiful, she still gets used and treated badly, by August (obviously), but also by Wille (the kiss), and worst of all by Sara (who in a way used her for her horse, but also for the clout). And in the meantime, she’s treated differently than the other students for being one of the few black girls, and she gets singled out for her hair… and yet, the school is using her to make themselves look good. And now she decides to give Sara a second chance, because she really missed her, because it really hurt to lose that friend, and Sara goes and… does that…

- One of my favorite things about Simon is how he is proof that just because you’re gay doesn’t mean that you have flawless fashion sense. And i can’t help but wonder how fashion and style icon/ELLE’s Best Dressed Man/OMR Beauty founder Omar feels about Simon’s fashion choices. Never change, Simon, never change.

- Vincent was every bit of the tremendous asshole that I hoped he’d be this season. Did not disappoint. I wanted to punch him in the face every time he opened his mouth. Marvellous.

- I’m happy that we got more Madison, but still not enough. Still, iconic. Forever one of my favorite characters.

- I don’t know what to say about Sara and Micke. Just maybe that, when he played that song in the car, even before they started singing, i just knew “oh fuck, it’s all going to shit soon…” I guess Sara felt lost enough that she was suddenly willing to give him a second chance. And the whole “is that going to happen to me?” bit really made me sad. That she understands that mental health and mental illness is unfortunately many times hereditary, and worries that she might become just like him… But despite not being entirely like him, with addiction problems and such, she was still unreliable like him, she did bad things to her family like he did… I was rooting for you, Micke, we were all rooting for you.

- I feel that August’s love for status and for the monarchy might be starting to fray at the edges. First with the fact that he was reminded of his own traumatizing initiation, and reminded of how the crown prince, his cousin and friend and idol, himself was part of that. Second with the fact that Simon points out that he might have an eating disorder, how he would probably not fare any better than the queen if he were in such a stressful position as crown prince or king, how difficult it is for him to handle stress and anxiety. And third with seeing how it affects Wille and Simon and realizing that something similar might still happen to him and Sara. And the fact that he reveals to Sara why he is the way he is, that he lets his guard down with her, might point to even more growth (even though I hate that Sara sort of gave him a “second chance” again). Also I feel the reality of how they, the Royal Court, would control his life is finally sinking in. Hopefully he will also soon realize that they also use him as a manipulation tool. So maybe he won’t let himself be manipulated by them much longer.

- I loved Wille’s ultimate outburst at his mother and father, i love that he told them everything they needed to hear, about their emotional abuse, their neglect. Unfortunately they still refused to acknowledge how terrible parents they have been, and walked off, instead of trying to resolve it. So Wille throwing around the gifts, as impulsive and tantrum-ish it might come across, makes perfect sense. He tries to talk and gets nothing in return. If he’s repressed it’s bad, but if he expresses himself then nothing happens either.

- And I love that Simon got to see what Wille is really dealing with. As privileged as he might be, he’s still lacking the most important things: unconditional support and love. No amount of money or status can make it better, and Wille is broken. The only thing is that, Simon saw how broken Wille was over the death of his brother, whom he loved very much, but I don’t think he quite grasps the gravity of Wille learning that maybe that beloved brother wouldn’t have been so cool with him, because he has never had to deal with a parent or sibling rejecting him for his sexuality. It’s something very different to be rejected by society at large than it is to be rejected by your own family, and not everyone has the emotional strength to deal with that. So for Wille’s parents to still like his potentially homophobic dead brother more than him, is heart-wrenching. But I don’t think Simon really gets that because he’s probably not surprised that Erik might have been like that, because in his eyes those privileged kids in that school (except obviously Wille, and Felice and Madison, who is asking about the non-binaries) are probably all massive homophobes.

- Despite this, I love that Simon sets boundaries nonetheless. I mean, it hurt like fucking hell for him to tell Wille, on his fucking birthday, that maybe they shouldn’t be together. But just because Wille is hurting doesn’t mean that Simon has not also been hurting too. And if they can’t comfort each other, and try to support each other when they both obviously most need it, then maybe they’re just not going to work. And it took a lot of guts for Simon to bring it up in that moment, in Wille’s bed, in the palace, where he’s basically trapped, with nowhere to go, no way to get away (I doubt he called Linda in the middle of the night to come pick him up more than two hours away in Stockholm).

My hopes for the final episode (I don’t think I have any predictions other than, open ending or not, Wilmon will be endgame and there will be a revolution, I just don’t know how):

- Wilmon talk. An actual, healthy, heartfelt talk. A reconciliation for the ages.

- That the fucking school will close and August won’t be able to graduate, and he’ll realize that maybe he shouldn’t have “lived for that school”, as Erik once put it.

- That Wille will realize that, if Erik was not the person he thought he was, then maybe he no longer has to live up to his legacy anymore. @foreverunraveling pointed out how, now that the big Erik revelation is confirmed, then maybe the queen’s trump card to manipulate Wille into being the ideal crown prince is gone. Wille doesn’t care about the monarchy really, but he did care about not disappointing his brother, the “perfect crown prince”, and now we know that he was far from perfect. Erik lived a double life, as Wille points out, there was “public Erik” or crown prince Erik, and there was “private Erik”, or the real Erik (or so Wille thought, now we know there was a “secret Erik” which was the real Erik) and Wille struggles so much with the idea of having to split himself in two, . Wille cannot live a double life, he withers away when he has to hide himself, and now he gets the opportunity to leave that stifling life behind, and blossom.

- That Simon will get a fucking break. I hate that his whole life was turned upside down from the moment the video was leaked, and it’s just never going to be the same, whether he stays with Wille or not, he’ll always be the boy from the crown prince sex tape, he’ll always be the crown prince’s ex, or the crown prince’s boyfriend. But I want some positive feedback for him, someone bigger than the woman and the little boy wanting a selfie. I want him to have his own fanclub or something. Maybe that’s too idealistic…? (I may be imagining something like that scene in Red White and Royal Blue, when they realize that there’s a whole crowd outside the palace all excited to the the Prince and his First son boyfriend… one can dream).

- I want whatever Felice said during the interview to be taken seriously, and for her to stop doubting herself.

- I want a genuine apology from August.

- Also one from Kristina.

- I get the feeling that the fact that August leaked the video might still come out publicly, what with the whole school issue. And in that case, I would like for it to be Simon might to do it, tossing the money from the settlement in his face. It looks like Simon still feels guilty about accepting it, especially when he chided Wille about his privilege and Wille (figuratively) threw the money back in his face. What if Simon does it literally?

- I really wanna know what’s going to happen between Felice and Sara now. The outlook is not good.

- Is it too much to ask to know what’s going on between Stella and Fredrika?

- Most importantly, is the whole thing with Erik going to come out eventually? And how will people react? With support for the monarchy, or with support for Wille?

I have so many more thoughts, but I’m slightly burnt out, and I really should take a break. Also this is way too long. Might have more thoughts once I’ve rewatched the first five episodes, calmly over the weekend…

Also this is very long and I’m sorry.

#young royals #young royals season 3 #yr season 3 #yr s3 spoilers #young royals season 3 spoilers #young royals thoughts #young royals analysis

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mirkwoodsuperspy · 6 months

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"what if byler happens?" like i would be screaming and i would spoil it for everyone and make them watch the confession scene or the kiss scene or the mike finds about the painting scene or the fight they will inevitably have scene and i would definitely go "i told you so" to everyone who doubted me and get onto tumblr because i want to witness the byler tag flooding and people crying and laughing and screaming in their posts at the same time.

but "what if byler doesn't happen?" like i would be holding out hope right to the end but somewhere along i would be like, oh, it's not happening, and i would be sitting in shock as the end credits roll because how could it not have happened? and then i would have to roll up and cry because of the sheer embarrassment because ive been telling so many people that it would be endgame and they were like "ok bro" or like "it's not going to happen because it's a mainstream show" or like "mike is in love with eleven" and they were right?! and i would have to apologise to those that i actually gaslighted and brought them into the delusion? because i was wrong and we were wrong and i wouldn't be able to face any social media besides tumblr (because we're all bylers here).

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vrisrezis · 11 months

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Just the progression of rocket and y/ns relationshio throughout the movies? Like their relationship in vol1, 2, infinity war, endgame, holiday special maybe? and then vol 3?

Vol 1 :

You and rocket aren’t the closest automatically, I imagine rocket being very sarcastic towards you as he normally is with everyone else. I imagine rocket would find you attractive right away though, and would not shy away from nicknames like doll. He’d do it in a teasing way though, to not make it the most noticeable that he’s perhaps interested in you. However if you are like him and happen to be animalistic, he is noticeably a little different in terms of his sarcasm and he’s more likely to grow a soft spot for you quickly. However, you form a close bond after you comfort him in his drunken state, when he calls himself a monster. You have no reason to be so kind to him, after everything he’s done since the two of you met, so it strikes a cord in him. From on that point he’s noticeably softer and he might even start to gain feelings that are a little deeper than just initial “oh they’re hot” his feelings only growing deeper when you comfort him when he thought he lost groot. Again, doing something out of kindness when you don’t have to.

Vol 2 :

The two of you are close friends at this point, you’ve helped him raise groot. All of them had, but you especially. Nowadays, you often talk to him while he’s tinkering with random things. You become mad at him for stealing batteries, which leads to you joining quill and the others on his dad journey. You two separate for the first time since knowing eachother, and rocket is left to self reflect on himself (thanks to yondu). He’s able to realize he’s been pushing people away or acting like he doesn’t care for them, he even does so with you. Yondu tells him, if he really loves you, he should show it. I imagine he stopped acting like he didn’t care for groot after watching him almost die, so I imagine that when he sees you again, after that point no longer pretends he doesn’t care for you. He ends up confessing he cares for you deeply, and while his confession is obviously romantic, you take it as platonic. He does this right before you try to save quill, and you’re still persistent even after his confession, so he’s forced to tase you. After that though, the two of you do finally make up and he properly apologizes to you.

I am groot:

The two of you have an unspoken relationship. You two are very much like parents to groot at this point, and groot makes this very aware to the both of you. You don’t think much of it, as it makes sense since you’ve helped rocket so much in taking care of groot. However there seems to be an unspoken tension that gets even stronger because of what he’s told you both, called you both. Rocket is not only more aware of his feelings, he’s more aware that groot knows. Rocket knows he should do something about his feelings, but he stays silent.

Infinity war:

While he is once again sad to see the two of you separate again, it’s for the fate of the universe. You decide to stay with the morons in order to keep them safe, and rocket understands. It’s in your nature to be selfless and that you’d want to keep your family safe. Also, the fact rocket and groot are gonna be with the god of thunder certainly helps you feel more secure in the fact he and groot will be fine. Rocket casually demands a hug goodbye from you, growing more comfortable at this point for his feelings towards you without saying anything outright. Your relationship always seemed very friendly, but this time it feels more intimate and romantic, despite the fact neither of you have made your feelings aware to one another.

Endgame:

The two of you find solace in one another after the loss of your family. You end up dating over the course of the 5 years you two spent on earth together. After all the grief and pain, it’s something rocket simply could not keep to himself anymore. Especially since, he truly wants you to know he loves and cares for you, deeply. He thought for a moment you were gone too, before you came to earth along with nebula and Tony. He has made the effort since then for you to realize how much he cares. The two of you seperate, you deciding to help Tony, Steve, and others go back in time. Rocket bids you farewell, giving you a nice hug and a kiss. You two reunite after all is said and done, happy to see one another in one piece, as well as your family.

Holiday special:

Your relationship is a newfound development by the other guardians at this point, but mantis still manages to find you two adorable whilst everyone else is kinda offput by it at the moment. Not in a bad way, it’s just kinda new to them. You spend a lot of your time together this day, and eventually helping mantis set up Christmas for Peter. You gave eachother special gifts to one another, you granted him a special weapon designed by the people of wakanda, a weapon that can turn into any weapon at will. And what he got you? A necklace you loved that he broke… forever ago. He’s very embarrassed about his gift in comparison to yours, but you were still happy with it. Oh, and Peter was in a funny mood that day, so he even set up a mistletoe for you two to kiss under.

Vol 3.

Since you spend most of it praying your beloved isn’t dead, you don’t exactly interact with him specifically … very much. You go through hell and back just to make sure he comes alive okay, and he does. You embrace eachother the second you see eachother again, a very different embrace than any other hug you two gave one another. A mutual agreement that you’re both glad rockets alive. You fight together (albeit you’re a little protective of him), and after everything’s said and done, rocket is the captain. You’re still by his side, but now you’re following orders. In the past you would’ve made fun of him for suggesting he was captain, but now, it just feels right.

#rocket the raccoon x reader #rocket raccoon x reader #rocket racoon x reader #rocket x reader #mcu x y/n #mcu x you #mcu x reader #marvel x y/n #marvel x you #marvel x reader

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melon-kiss · 3 months

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We cannot be sure if we're ever getting season 2 of 1670. However, no one can deny us the right to predict. So here are my guesses:

Regardless of what happens in the meantime, I'm 99% convinced we're getting Aniela and Maciej being unmasked to the public, probably by Jakub. And it has a strong “season finale” potential to it.

I'm also pretty sure we'll be seeing another magnate's son but this time it could be different. We could get someone who'll share Aniela’s worldviews and it will cause a dilemma for her. Her objections to the marriage – caused by the fact she's already taken – may lead to the unmasking thing mentioned before.

There's also the third option where the lovers break up for the greater good and no one ever finds out – or everyone finds out when it's no longer true. Maciej will find the theater group and will hit the road with them and Aniela will marry a “good” magnate's son (as described above). However, I was told a comedy can't be perceived as such unless it has a happy ending. This does not seem like one...

Some fans speculate that Maciej is faking being a peasant and may turn out to be a nobleman. To be honest, it would be a bit underwhelming for me but I thought I'd drop it in here.

The actress portraying Aniela (Martyna Byczkowska), however, says Maciej will probably die (strangled for the closeness with a noblewoman) or the relationship will be forced to end. But she also says her character would be the best fit for running the estate, so there's some hope...

But what if Jakub found himself a nice boy? That would complicate the “outing plans”...

I'm genuinely confused and curious about Zofia. I’d love for her to get back with Rozalia and become an endgame but I do have a feeling we may not see her (Rozalia) again. My guess is we could either get another lover for Zofia or she gets outed – which will fuel Aniela’s anger towards her mother over her hypocrisy.

We can safely assume that we'll see some unhinged Bogdan. I mean, he was unhinged before but now, with all that money and the demonic possession? Dear God, we should be scared for our lives.

Of course, I would love to see some unhinged Wojciech, too. I mean, he has the potential to behead another magnate's son – and if he does, we may get the “It’s becoming a tradition around here” gag.

As to Jan Paweł? We can throw anything at him. He'll pull through.

Ofc, feel free to add your guesses! Wishful thinking is welcome, too.

#1670 #1670 netflix

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velvetcloxds · 3 months

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REMNANTS | E.M.

word count: 2.3k

warning: alternative series ending, no happy ending, thought we were done with this but if I can't talk about it with someone then I can write about it to someone- make this go away by making you the villain vibes except it’s scary factual

summary: you overhear a conversation between eddie and billy and realize your parents had good reason to try and keep you away from him.

previous parts: linger | fleeting | gone

You had a sickening pull to your stomach, the butterflies that lived there had turned to stone, heavy and rough, and it made you want to throw up. Your dad was right, as if that sentence alone wasn’t enough to make your guts jumble, it also made the next part even worse because he was right about Eddie being not only bad for you, but ultimately being on the wrong side of things altogether. Motives really do change, people really do change, but what if you just didn’t know Eddie’s motives from the beginning. When Billy Hargrove started working for the family your dad thought he’d be able to change him and bring out better in him, and for a while he did, for a while, he worked harder than he schemed. But still, he managed to change everything, nearly ruining the entire legacy your parents had created by allowing squatters to move into rooms and pocketing the money, sent out false communications in your dad’s name, selling private information to whoever paid him the most- it was unreal that someone so young, so immature could create such a scheme right under everyone’s noses.

Eddie wasn’t directly involved in any of it, but he knew, you didn’t know that he knew, and it should’ve made you run for the hills when you found out that he did. You should’ve, the second you saw Billy talking to him, the second he started getting a little too involved in the admin part of the job, you should’ve seen his helpfulness and eagerness for what it truly was- a search for an in and you very naively gave it to him by thinking with your heart and not your head.

Your mom decided to send you home, it wasn’t as busy, the work you had to do wasn’t stuck to the office and though she’d never tell your dad about it, your mom knew you were hurting a little at the idea that Eddie, in all his kind glory wasn’t truly who you thought he was. In the back of your head, you could clearly still see your Eddie, he was still all the things that made you blush just at the thought of him but there was a snippy voice in your head that wondered what about it was real, what about it was an act and what about it was just a ploy to distract you from what was happening. You wondered if he ever even wanted to be your friend, ever actually saw you, or if it was always just an endgame type of scenario, if he applied just enough sweet charm, you’d fold like paper, the boss’ naïve daughter who was so desperate for any form of care or love or attention she fell for it without a single bit of hesitation. You felt embarrassed, and stupid, like all those times your mom told you that guys would change your character was right, and that made you so cross too because you were sure you’d be different.

You were already having a horrendous day, fought with your mom, had to apologize for not cutting him off when you should’ve, when you realized you liked him, why you didn’t tell her and the truth was because you knew she’d reason with you, make you realize how selfish, how unlike yourself you were being. And how would you explain that, you’d not done anything wrong, innocent conversations, subtle musings that disguised his flirting, really it was just nice to be noticed, be seen and fussed over, you didn’t need to hide yourself, you could just be. Now it felt like there was a magnifying glass aimed right at you, every move, every word, everything you’d done the last few months was now under question because you’d not seen Eddie for who he was. You wanted to walk it off and get some air before having to sit in a car with them to be taken home. It wasn’t like you’d run into any of them, not when they were in hiding somewhere discussing their plans.

When you’d found yourself in front of the empty room that used to be an office, that used to be where you and Eddie hid away to eat lunch, to breathe a little, you didn’t expect to find him there, didn’t expect to find him there with those type of people either, seems like you were still in the process of finding out just how much you misunderstood him.

“Oh get over it, so what if she’s ignoring you,” it was Billy’s voice, too arrogant all things considered, too loud considering he wasn’t allowed in the building in the first place, you peaked into the window and saw Eddie shrug, his face looked different, clouded by something- secrets, just like theirs. “Never mind that, we’ve still got the floorplans, still know which rooms are open and when they’ll be filled,” he was smoking, flicked ash onto the carpet, and rubbed it into the material with the sole of his boot. “Besides, if she comes out saying anything to her parents, we have enough to put everything right back onto her,” that sickening feeling was back, it felt like it was trying to harden the whole of your body with it.

“I don’t know about that, man,” Eddie took a drag from the cigarette and shook his head, he looked unsure, but you couldn’t know, not now, you weren’t sure if you’d ever been able to read him in the first place. “She’s a sweet girl, I mean I know we used her for intel, know it was easy to get her on my side, but shit, I don’t know if it’s right to make this all out to be her fault when it goes wrong.”

“When?” Billy scoffed, a sound, much like his general existence that made you want to throw a chair at him just to silence it. “Eddie, we’ve been one step ahead of them since the beginning, by the chance they catch onto us we’ll be walking away with full pockets and not a single piece of evidence pointing to us.”

You somehow felt even more stupid when you expected Eddie to defend you, your family, he’d been working close enough to the lot of you to at least realize that this wasn’t okay, wasn’t right, definitely wasn’t legal, but it wasn’t how you treated people who cared for you, helped you.

“I think my pockets are full enough,” Eddie stood up, stuffed the cigarette in Billy’s hand, and kicked at the mark Billy left on the floor as if it could take it out now, you bit back a scoff, very typical. “I don’t want to be involved in this anymore, I didn’t think I’d care if I hurt them, thought people like them deserve it but-“

“But you like her? So what if you like her, do you think she’d care about you at all outside of this place, if she’d met you in the diner or the supermarket, she wouldn’t even have noticed you,” he wasn’t wrong, you hated to know he wasn’t wrong, but it meant you also wouldn’t have gotten hurt, it means you would’ve been right to stay as far away as possible. “Besides, she’d write you off in an instant if she knew what you’d been doing with me, that’s the whole point, we’re all caught up in it now, no getting out of it- we’re the ones with the power, we can take them all down with us.”

“You give yourself too much credit, Billy,” Eddie looked like he’d seen a ghost when you opened the office door to see them, he’d paled, and tried his best to hide his reaction but failed completely. “It’s going to take more than a little plan decided on over cigarettes and late-night beers to take down this business, we were surviving before you, and we’ll survive after you,” you couldn’t look at Eddie, took the cigarette from Billy’s hold and put it out on the plastic shades hanging on his shirt pocket. “Now, the sign with your picture on it by the gate is more than just a little suggestion- you’re not allowed on the premises.”

“Hasn’t stopped me before, has it,” he winked and shoved Eddie’s shoulder lightly before he made quite the scene of walking away from you. “See you soon,” he paused, scoffed at the way Eddie was looking at you, lips moving without any words. “Good luck, Eds.”

You waited for the door to shut, for his steps to echo on the stairs as he left, for your heart to start beating again, for your blood to stop boiling. When you finally looked up at the boy, you wished you hadn’t, he looked guilty, you didn’t need to know him to know that it was written all over his features, all over his movements- he moved to say something, you shook your head, he didn’t take note of it.

“I’m sorry,” it felt odd being on the receiving end of that phrase, when you used it the day before it had such a different meaning, and held such different emotions, he was guilty, he was doing something wrong and he was able to hide it from you for months now but with it all out in the open it was like he couldn’t hide from it either, he had to face it now. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Bite your tongue,” you had to be careful now, not too emotional, not too revealing, he wasn’t on your side, wasn’t one you could trust with yourself anymore, another person to sift with, another person to pretend with. “You don’t believe that- I most certainly don’t- I might not know you Eddie Munson, but you knew me enough to take part in this plan of yours so don’t you dare try and tell me you didn’t think this would hurt me.”

“It’s not that simple, okay, yes it started as an act, but I swear things started changing for me, you made this so difficult for me, I knew I should’ve kept going but I couldn’t stand seeing you actually like me knowing what I was doing.”

“I made it hard for you to hurt me?” you scoffed, your words might be calculated but the sound was very telling, you were fuming, you were devastated, how Eddie of all people could be the one to do this to you was madness, unbelievable- how he could be working hand in hand to hurt the business was a whole other thing, your entire livelihood was at stake because he wanted to score some extra cash this month. You shook your head. “I’m so confused, Eddie, honestly, I should be so upset with you but more than anything I’m literally so disappointed in you. You’re better than this, you’re better than him and his schemes- you had a shot here, you were proving yourself to my parents, you had a future here aside for me and you completely threw that away- you think they could trust you after this?”

“I didn’t think it through,” he pulled a hand through his hair, and pulled at his denim jacket, it seemed like he didn’t know what to do with his hands, with his body, he wanted to speak to you but you had a feeling he didn’t know where to even begin, even if he had, he knew you wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t accept anything from him after what you’d just heard. “I didn’t think it would go this far.”

“Neither did I,” he reached for you, and you stepped back, absolutely hated that, he did it again and you physically had to push his hand away. “Don’t. Don’t you dare.”

“Please, you don’t need to forgive me, but hear me out, let me explain, it won’t mean much but I swear there’s more to this than what you overheard,” you allowed his hand to brush against yours, closed your eyes for a second at the familiar feel of it, considered how you’d think about it for days on end even after all his done.

“Just leave, Eddie, take your cash, your people, leave before I have to tell my dad about all of this and he makes you leave,” you folded your arms around yourself, hated yourself more than you could fathom, how could you have fallen for this, how could you allow yourself to feel like this. “Please, this was cruel, it was unkind and unfair and I never for a second expected this of you so please just leave- please don’t let this linger.”

And he didn’t, he left, you shattered, felt the remnants of your trust in him fall to the floor, and you had no idea how to process this. It was never just a crush, it was never a crush in the first place, you were a pawn and they just took you right off the board.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x yn #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson drabble #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson one shot #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson ff #eddie munson fanfic

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hopefulromances · 8 months

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Long Time Coming I Chapter 17 I It's Been A Long Time Coming

Summary: Being hired as the first female assistant coach in the league was a challenge of it itself. Being a football prodigy and University Football Legend was easy enough. Coaching Jamie Tartt was a challenge all on its own.

Chapter Summary: The final chapter. Read the end note for more.

Word Count: 5.3K

Warning: The most canon divergent I get (roykeeley endgame forever), a little more self-indulgent than usual, some more heated content but nothing smutty, I'm just sad y'all

Prologue One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve 13 14 15 16

Change was in the air. A lot of things were changing. There was a lot of good change. Nate was back! He was just working with Will right now, but I could already tell he was different from how he left. He apologized to me for all the nasty things he had said and done. I was a little wary at first, but Jamie reminded me that I’d given him a second chance and Nate deserved one too.

Another good change was that Roy and Keeley had officially gotten back together. Much to the relief of everyone else in the club who couldn’t bear to see them apart. It was nice to have another couple around our age to go out with. We already had a double date set up for the week after the last game.

Then, of course, there was some not so good change. When Ted told Roy and I that he and Beard would be leaving at the end of the season, I almost passed out. My personal plans aside, I’d never done this without him, and I didn’t know if I wanted to. But Ted assured both of us that the club was in good hands with the two of us. Many tears were shed and that was before we told the team.

Roy and I went out alone that night. I told Jamie that we had some stuff to plan but really, the two of us just needed to be with each other.

“What was Ted going on about?” Roy asked, taking a long sip of his beer. “About not letting his decision get in the way of any plans we might have?”

I shrugged, playing with my cocktail, trying to be inconspicuous. But, as usual, Roy could see right through me.

“I haven’t figured out all the details,” I said, finally. “But… yeah… something’s planned, a bit.”

I expected him to be cross with me for leaving him to deal with the changes alone, but he wasn’t. He just lifted his glass towards me.

“To big fucking changes,” he offered.

I smiled, feeling a warmth in my chest. “To big fucking changes.”

“And you know,” he stopped me before I could take a sip. “We’re always here for you. Not just me, the whole fucking team would die for you.” It was very sweet. Roy being vulnerable with me for a second. “Don’t go getting all… fucking… emotional on me, (Y/N).”

“You know what this means, Roy.”

“We are not fucking, hugging.”

“Oh, yes we are.”

I when I got home that night, Jamie was there waiting for me. We always ended up at each other’s houses somehow or another though we promised we wouldn’t move in together until after the end of the season. But there he was waiting for me anyways, washing dishes in the kitchen.

“Hey, babe, how was grandad?” he asked, finishing up the plate he was washing.

I smiled at it, at the domestic nature of the act, at the thought of walking home to Jamie every day for the rest of my life. I walked up and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his back.

“Was good,” I answered, rubbing my head on his skin.

“Now who’s acting like a cat?” He rumbled, smirking as he looked back at you.

I hummed a giggle, pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade before letting go again. I leaned against the island and waited for him to finished up. He threw the dish towel over his shoulder as he turned to look at me.

“What?” Jamie questioned, smirking.

“What?” I returned.

“You got a funny look on your face,” he told me, reaching out to pinch my cheek. “Look all spacey.”

I batted his hand away, shaking my head. “No… it’s just,” I rubbed at my chin. “There’s a lot of change happening right now… isn’t there.” Jamie cocked his head at me, motioning for me to continue. “Well… Ted and Beard are leaving, Nate’s back, Roy and Keeley are back together – which is great – but… it’s just a lot.”

Jamie nodded. “Yeah… it is. Was there anything else… that was changing… that you might want to tell me?”

Jamie had come to know me very well. Too well for my comfort sometimes. He could tell there was something going on in my head, something I wasn’t telling him. But that was something I still didn’t want to share quite yet, wasn’t ready to share.

“No, I’m just same old me,” I grinned, stepping forward to slot myself between his legs. His mouth dropped into that lazy smile that drove me mad. I took a shaky breath and nodded at him. “And we… we’re not changing? Yeah?”

“I don’t plan on changing a thing,” He quipped, wrapping his arms low around my hips. “That is… unless we’re changing the amount of clothes you’re wearing.” He tugged at my pants slightly, drawing a laugh from me. Safe to say, no matter what else changed, we would be okay.

The final day of training came and went. The boys put on their show for Ted and Beard, who loved it, of course. There was so much movement happening all around the locker room. I sat in the crook of Jamie’s leg that he kept propped up on the bench as we chatted with Cockburn and Dixon when Keeley walked in with her usual cheerful greeting.

I took a moment to look around the room. At the team, and the coaches, and the people, walking in and out. It felt so different. So different from the locker room I’d seen three years ago. It felt much more alive and warmer, inviting people to come join the family. I felt a pang of nostalgia for it already, and there I was, sitting in the moment.

It felt like the end of something. It was the end of the season sure, but it was more than that. With Ted leaving and the future so unsure, it was really the end of an era at Richmond. The Lasso era was ending. And I missed it already.

Jamie and Roy went out that night for a drink. Jamie was practically bouncing, excited that Roy had invited him out and was going to allow him to drink a single beer. So, I took the opportunity to go to Keeley’s to discuss my plans with her.

I arrived at Keeley’s doorstep that night. If anyone would be able to help me figure out the logistics of this, it’d be her. I hadn’t told anyone else about this idea, just Ted and the very vague conversation I’d had with Jamie.

“(Y/N)!” Keeley squeal when she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Hi Keeley,” I greeted, smiling. “I had something I wanted to talk to you about.”

It didn’t take long, only about an hour of chatting for us to figure out how to go about the plan. Keeley had been so excited, jumping on board immediately, grabbing her notebook to jot down some notes and start sketching some logo ideas.

“Do you think Rebecca will go for it?” I asked, nervously.

“Go for it? She’ll love it!” Keeley enthused. She sipped on her wine. “Is this why you’ve been so weird at training and such. Cause it’s not just Ted and Beard leaving?”

“Acting weird?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Is that way Roy said?”

Keeley smirked. “Said you were plotting something.”

“Yeah, his death for starters,” I laughed, grinning. Keeley let out a cackle that only she could make. Our laughter was interrupted by a knock on the door. I looked at the clock, it was late, later than a random passerby. “Did you order food?”

“No, I thought you did,” Keeley shrugged, scooting her chair back.

At the door was Roy and Jamie, and from the looks of it, they’d been in some sort of scuffle.

“My word, what’s happen to you two?” I cried as Keeley opened the door.

Jamie’s nose was bleeding, his head tilted back slightly as he pinched the bridge and Roy’s shirt had been nearly torn off. They had other bumps and bruises across their bodies, and I honestly couldn’t believe it. We finally sat them down at Keeley’s table, Keeley and I sat next to each other facing Roy and Jamie.

“All right, are you gonna tell us what happened?” Keeley asked, handing Roy an ice pack. I handed Jamie a fresh tissue, wiping his face with my thumb, even as he tried to duck away from me.

“Better be a cool story, or else this is just sad,” I echoed, pulling back from Jamie finally.

Jamie looked over at Roy who shrugged, gesturing for Jamie to start.

“We got in a fight,” Jamie started.

“About the two of you,” Roy finished.

Keeley and I looked at each other a bit incredulous before replying in unison. “Why!?”

“Well, we was just talking about the trip to Brazil coming up that the four of us are going on, and I was saying how great Keeley was at her job,” Roy explained, smiling at Keeley.

“And I was saying how you’re fantastic at your job, too, (Y/N),” Jamie followed up quickly. “How you had improved the team so much this season, the lads really respect you.”

Roy shook his head and turned to look at Jamie. “And I was saying how, of course, I thought you were good at your job, but Keeley runs her own PR firm, she’s fucking next level.”

Jamie growled and turned to face Roy. “But (Y/N) is the first female coach in the whole premier league, and she’s the only Captain from the Imperial girls’ team to win three straight championships.”

Roy leaned forward to get in Jamie’s face. “But Keeley is who makes (Y/N) look good. Keeley makes all of us look good.:

Jamie matches him immediately. “But (Y/N) makes sure there is good stuff to make look good.”

“Oh my GOD!” I shout out, slamming my hands on the table. Roy and Jamie flinch away from each other. “Did you really get in a fist fight to try and prove which one of us was better?” I pointed between Keeley and myself.

The boys shrugged, answering me without saying a word.

“Are you joking?” Keeley reared. “Like are you seriously joking?”

She and I looked at each other. Without another word, we kicked the boys out and returned to our wine night.

I returned home later that night to find Jamie on the couch, munching on a chicken kebab, his nose stuffed with tissues. I shook my head as I came down to sit next to him.

“You are ridiculous, you know that?” I chuckled, taking the kebab from him. He let out a grunt of protest but didn’t stop me from taking a bite.

“Oi, I had to wrestle Roy for that one,” he settled me into his side, his arm wrapping around me.

“Oh, I didn’t know it was WrestleMania tonight,” I gaped shaking my head. I brought a hand up and mussed his hair. “What were you thinking? Getting in a fight with Roy.”

“I was defending your honor,” He defended, grabbing my hand to pull it away from his head. “Don’t see the harm in it, just guys being dudes.”

I almost choked on my kebab. “Guys being dudes? You really have lots it.”

He smiled and pulled me into him, turning the TV on. I leaned back against his shoulder, staring at the screen, chewing on the latter half of his kebab. Now was the time.

“Jamie, I’m quitting coaching.”

“What?” He flew up from his seat, knocking me to the side. “What’re you doing that for? Is it Nate? Did he say something? Or Roy? I’ll kill them both!”

“No! No, Jamie listen.” I grabbed his hands, coaxing him to sit back down. “It’s not anyone else… it’s me. It’s what I’ve been… planning.”

Jamie frowned, his eyes looking into mine for answers. “You’re not gonna coach me anymore?”

I felt my heart break just a little at his pitiful tone. I brought my hand up to his face, holding his neck in my grasp.

“No, Jamie… I’m not. I’m not going to coach anyone,” I started to explain. “See, what I realized, the part of coaching I’m good at is the playing bit. Understanding the players and how they think. It helped Ted a lot but… I’m not a coach. I’m a player.”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “You want to play? You’re gonna join a women’s team?”

“Yeah?” I worried my bottom lip as he processed. Why was I afraid? Was he going to disapprove, god was this like with Matt all over again? “Is that okay?”

“Okay?” His eyes lit up so bright. “That’s amazing.”

He lifted me up, spinning me around in his arms. I held on tightly, afraid to fall, even though Jamie would never let me fall. He placed me down in front of him, gripping my waist.

“How fucking amazing is it that we’ll be the two best players in our leagues,” He mused, grinning widely. “Who you going to play for? I ‘spose Arsenal’s the closest for the women’s or Reading but you can do better than Reading.”

“You’re assuming I’ll get to pick!” I laughed.

He made a pursed his lips and shrugged. “Obviously, they’ll all be after you, won’t they.”

“Well, uh, the thing is, actually,” I looked down, playing with the hem of his shirt to distract myself. “That’s what I was talking to Keely about. I’m gonna convince Rebecca to start a women’s team at Richmond.”

Again, Jamie processed. Then he lifted me up again, twirling me around, cackling like mad.

“You’re brilliant, you are, you know that?” He kisses me then, passionately in a way I’d never felt before. My breath gets pushed out of me as my hands flail to hold on to him. He kisses me again, slowly, before pulling back. “I love you.”

I look at him, wide-eyed, panting. “I love you, too.”

He smiled at me smugly, knowing exactly the effect he was having on me. He reached down and lifted me up over his shoulder, carrying me off towards the bedroom.

“Jamie!” I cried happily, banging on his back. “Put me down!”

“Oh, I’ll put you down,” he sneered, plopping me down onto the mattress. He crawled over my body, anticipation growing with in me as I propped myself up onto my elbows. He took his time reaching me, his lips ghosting over my skin. Up my chest, my neck, until they hovered over my lips, just out of reach of mine. “My girl…”

He kissed my cheek, nose nudging mine like he liked to do. I tried to press up and kiss him, but he pulled back, what a tease.

“Jamie,” I frowned, whining. I pulled on his shirt, trying to pull him closer to me.

“Hold on, sweetheart,” he murmured, pushing me down so I was flat on the bed. “I just wanna look at ya.” His hand travelled down my body before coming back up to rest on my cheek, stroking my skin with his thumb. “You’re amazing.”

I felt so soft under his praise, under his touch as he admired me. But it wasn’t just my body he was admiring it, it was me. All of me. And when he finally kissed me, it felt like the sun was filling my body with its warmth.

The day of the final game came, West Ham, again. This time under George Cartwick, the bastard. But I didn’t feel more normal anxiety about such an important game. Yeah, this game could solidify our ranking within the league, but I didn’t feel too worried. Win or lose, we’d shown the whole country exactly what we could do.

I carried the box from Zava in my grasp, using my legs to readjust my grip as I waved to Laughing Liam.

“Hello, lads,” I greeted as I walked into the locker room. The room erupted in a choral of hellos and greetings.

“What’ve you got there?” Colin asked, coming over to help me set the box down.

I dusted my hands off, starting to open it up. “It’s a care package from, Zava.”

The locker room groaned, and I smirked, sneaking a glance at Jamie who seemed quite pleased with the response.

No,” Dani spoke up from behind me, quite firm. “Thank you, but no. I will not let him hurt me again.”

“Ooh, it’s t-shirts!” Will smiled, reaching across me to get one.

“Can I have two, please?” Dani decided.

I shook my head, moving away from the box to reach out for Jamie. He pulled me towards him, chuckling at the antics, wrapping his arms around me to pull my back against his chest, my hands crossing in front of my body as I held onto him.

“Oh, oh!” Colin exclaimed. “There’s a card.” He reached in and grabbed a card out of it. “’My brothers.’” The boys laughed. “’Good luck against West Ham. Please enjoy the T-shirts and this avocado from my farm. Never forget, I am always inside you, Zava.’”

“What, he sent us one avocado?” Jamie questioned, his lips right by my ear.

Bumbercatch lifted the avocado from box and held it up so we could all see it. It was giant. I felt Jamie freeze in surprise.

“Holeh guacamoleh,” he shuttered out. “Show me that, bro.”

He let go of me to grab the avocado, staring at it in awe. I laughed, shaking my head.

The beginning of the game was a little rocky, probably due to the video that Beard had made, sending the whole team into a sobbing frenzy. The first half quarter was a stalemate, but Jamie was keeping them on their toes, controlling the field with his excellent strategic passes. Nevertheless, Westham managed to score, twice before the half.

The boys were buzzing during the half, talking and strategizing with one another. It was a stark difference from the team I started with. That team would be silent, brooding, angry about what was going wrong. But this team still had hope, they still had believe.

Ted emerged from his den to address the team.

“Well, fellas, we got our work cut out for us in the second half. But you know, I’ll get to all that in a minute.” I went over to my spot next to Roy, crossing my arms as I looked over the group.

“No, uh, right now, all I wanna do is let you gentlemen know what an absolute honor it's been to be your coach. Getting to work with y'all these last three years has truly been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I've loved getting to know each and every single one of you. Learning all about the men you were and getting a front-row seat to see the men… and women you all have become “

He looked over at me and I nodded, swallowing a thick ball of sadness in my throat.

“A-And I wanna thank you for your patience with me. You know, when I showed up here, I didn't know one thing about soccer. But now... Well, now I know at least one thing about football.”

We let out a chuckle, though it was well watery I could tell. He continued.

“I'm just so gosh damn proud to be a part of this team. You know? And I love you guys. I'm gonna miss y'all." My heart swelled. I didn't want to say goodbye. I swiped at a tear that had escaped my eyes.

"Now, regarding this second half... Yeah, I don't know what's gonna happen. You know what I mean? No one does. Sports would be a lot less fun if we did. You know? And you all would probably make a lot less money, so... You know? We don't wanna know the future. No, no, we wanna be here right now. And look, I-I know we're down a couple goals. But I'm telling you, man, if y'all play hard, play smart, play together and just, you know... Just do what y'all do, and we'll go out with the peace of mind knowing we did our best. That we tried. Yeah?”

“Yes, coach.”

“Hm. All right. Anybody else have something to say?”

“Coach.” Sam spoke up.

“Yeah, Sam, what you got?”

Sam stood up and grabbed something from his locker, pulling out a small piece of yellow paper. Then Jamie stood up, pulling out a book from his locker that had a similar yellow piece of paper sticking out of it. Soon the whole team was grabbing things from their lockers and pulling out their own yellow pieces.

I sighed and reached into my pocket and found my wallet. I had a polaroid of Jamie and I, sitting at Sam’s restaurant, and taped on the back was my own piece of yellow paper. I held it up and walked over to where the boys were placing their pieces.

Soon there was a clutter of pieces all mixed up. The boys stared at it a second, wondering what was wrong with it. Then they moved into action, putting it back together like a puzzle. I smiled at Roy who shook his head and chuckled.

Finally, the sign was back together. The torn up believe sign put back together by the team that made it a reality. I’d missed the sign. Missed it more than I knew.

“And there it is,” Ted mused, smiling at it. “Number four. Yeah?”

The fourth rule of total football. Believe. Believing in this team and the people in it. Believing in change and love and friendship. Believing in the fact that victory was within our grasp. Believe was filling this room. Starting from when Ted first stepped foot in the locker, infecting the place with his positivity. Now the room, and the whole stadium was filled with it, so even when he was gone, we’d keep it going. Believe.

“Alright, let’s bring it in.”

We walked in together, Jamie standing right behind me so he could keep one hand on my hip while the other went in for the huddle.

“I know they folks like to say, ‘there’s no place like home,’” Ted looked around the circle, at our team. “That’s true. You know. But man, there ain’t a whole lot of places like AFC Richmond either.” I let out a shaky laugh, the team following in suit. He addressed Isaac. “Richmond on three. One, two, three…”

“RICHMOND.”

The second half feels more electric than before. More shots on the goal, with only one getting in from Jamie. The stadium erupted in cheers as Jamie scored, giving the crowd a shred of hope for Richmond’s chances.

Jamie gets in again losing his mark and heading for a second goal when he’s tackled. It’s a weak tackle and Jamie certainly played it up but it got us our penalty.

“That’s it,” I muttered, nodding at Ted.

It took a second, Jamie passing the ball over to Dani who then passed it to… Isaac.

“Oh, what the fuck,” I grunted, rolling my eyes. I loved Isaac, I really did, but I was certain he’d never even made a penalty before.

Isaac went for the shot, and it flew into the stands, causing a groan to go across the field. It wasn’t the end of the world but equalizing certainly would have been helpful. But then the referee went back to look at the net before turning around and signaling a goal.

I laughed and let out a cheer, patting Roy’s shoulder.

“Who fucking knew,” I gaped.

“Apparently, Dani,” Roy answered.

This wasn’t the end; we still had another goal to get but victory was just in reach. The game came to a halt as the grounds crew came out to fix the goal. Jamie jogged over to me, an excited look on his face.

“How mint was that, eh, babe?” He asked, excitedly.

I shook my head handing him a water bottle. “You could have made that easily.”

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” He grinned, downing the water.

As he did, I noticed Rupert on the field. Yes, Rupert Manion, as in the owner of West Ham, walking on the field like a villain from a Bond movie.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Jamie snorted, watching the man.

“Don’t know…” I murmured back. “But I’m going to find out, cover for me?”

Jamie nodded at me, turning back to the coaches, as I tried to wander over inconspicuously I made it seem like I was going to fill up my water bottle, trying to get within ear shot of whatever conversation they were having.

“Tartt is out there doing whatever he fucking wants.” Rupert growled.

Oh. I see.

“Yeah, but I’ve got two players on him already,” Cartwick responded. He looked terrified, and Rupert pressed further.

“Take him out.” I stiffened, looking that way, as subtly as possible. No way he was implying what I thought he was.

“Are you joking?” Cartwick retorted.

I looked back towards Jamie. If anyone got near him, I would kill them. I’d kill them with my bare hands.

“Get rid of him.”

I was gripping the water bottle in my hand so tight I thought it would break. Water started overflowing, getting my arm wet but I couldn’t move. I thought that if I did I would go over and punch Rupert right across his stupid face.

“I’m not playing the game like that,” George finally being a good person for once in his useless life.

“You do what I say, or you are done,” Rupert threatened.

George started to reply when there was a thump that sounded, and I looked over finally. Rupert had pushed George to the ground, sending him flying and, unfortunately, revealing both of his testicles.

I flinched away, finally walking back over to our side. Jamie collected me, pulling me away from Rupert, even though we were already far enough.

“What a fucking wanker,” he grumbled.

The crowd seemed to agree as Rupert started to walk off the field, shouting it at him over and over. Part of me felt bad for him- oh wait no it didn’t. He’d threatened Jamie Tartt. The love of my life, and I thought he deserved a lot worse than a bad name.

“Everything alright?” Jamie seemed to notice my tense mood.

I looked back over at him, shaking my head. “Yeah, fine, just go out and smash it, yeah? Watch your left kick, you’re holding back.”

“Heard,” he nodded, agreeing. “Anything else?”

“Oh, yeah,” I imitated thinking. “I love you, and when you win, we’re gonna have banger sex tonight.”

He grinned wickedly at me. “Now that sounds like a plan?”

I could tell he wanted to kiss me, but we weren’t exactly public yet. Keeley said it would probably be a bad idea, might look bad for a coach to be dating their player. We weren’t a secret exactly either, but just private.

“Go,” I pressed, pushing him away from me. He nodded, sending me a look that I could read. I love you, you’re amazing, thank you. I chewed my lip and nodded at him as well. I love you, too, go smash it.

The Hammers got control of the ball quickly and it seemed like they’d scored a pull-ahead goal but, as Ted pointed out, they had been offsides. That had been close, too close. We needed something. Jamie was trying to keep up his role as engineer, but he had been completely boxed in.

“Okay. Come on. Talk to me, geese,” Ted brought is in.

We needed something they wouldn’t expect right now. Beard and Roy rattled off some plays, but I closed my eyes trying to picture the field, what I would be looking for. Jamie was who everyone was expecting to make a play, so we had to use him somehow, maybe as… as a fucking decoy.

I opened my eyes and saw Ted looking at me. I could tell he’d just made the same connection I had.

“Do you think it’ll work?” He asked me, cocking his head.

“Definitely,” I stated, nodding firmly.

“Alright, hold on,” he called over to Nate, getting him to come over to us before calling out to the boys. “Here hold this.” He mimed handing something to Nate, who took the invisible object. “IT’S AN OSCAR!” He shouted to the boys, giving Nate some instruction on how to hold it. “OR THE ESPY”

That seemed to resonate with the boys as they nodded finally, discussing amongst themselves. They started off, Sam passing the ball to Dixon. Jamie sprinted into the box shouting wildly.

“YEAH, YEAH! PASS ME THE BALL! ME, ME, ME! I WANT THE PALL! PASS ME THE BALL, PLEASE!”

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He really was selling it and it seemed to be working. There must have been four guys marking him. But Sam was left open and Dixon took his chance, passing him the ball. Then it happened, Sam took the shot.

“Barbecue sauce.”

The ball soared into the goal, and we’d done it. The game ended shortly after. We’d won. Everything moved in slow motion, the cheer of the crowd, the jumping and celebrations, the ground shaking with excitement.

But I was just looking of one person. Jamie. I needed Jamie. And we locked eyes. His grey eyes stormy with excitement. I felt myself moving towards him, rushing onto the field to get to get to him as quick as I could. I jumped and he caught my in his arms, spinning me around, my legs flying behind me.

I took his face and kissed him. Right there. In front of everyone. I didn’t care anymore, I wasn’t his coach, I wasn’t anyone’s coach. And right now, Jamie Tartt needed a kissing. He stood there on the pitch, practically eating each other’s faces off until I remembered where we were and pulled away. He followed me, letting out a whine.

“Not now,” I muttered to him, giggling. “Now we celebrate with them. But later…” I walked my fingers down his chest.

He grabbed my hand, tsking his tongue. “Don’t do that, love. Or I might just have to take you away right now.”

I shivered, tempted to let him do so. But then I looked over and saw Colin kissing his boyfriend, I saw Isaac and Sam hugging, I saw Ted starting to gain a crowd, probably ramping up to do something cheesy.

“Let’s go celebrate, babe,” I said, taking his hand in mine.

We ran over to the group to watch Ted do his victory dance. We celebrated. We were on top of the world. That’s how I like to remember that time. The whole team together. All of us. I could see into the future. I could see Ted leaving, and that would be sad.

But I could also see Keeley and I giving Rebecca the plans for the AFC Richmond Women’s team. I could see Jamie and I going to Brazil together and Keeley and Roy joining us after the shoot was done. I could see Jamie reconnecting with his father, showing him exactly the man he’d become without him. I could see Roy and Nate running the team together brilliantly. I could see us, months from now, having dinner at Higgin’s house. The whole team, kids running in the yard, chatting with Roy and Keeley, laughing with Colin and Michael.

I could see happiness. A happiness that I didn’t have three years ago that I had now. A happiness that had been…

A Long Time Coming.

Taglist: @heletsmelovehim @higherthanheroes @ajax-petropolus-wife @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @optimisticsandwichgladiator @kno-way-home @sleepy-time @wigglegiggle @skewedcherries @respondingtoshowerthoughts-blog @snubug @rana030 @ems-alexandra @jaymum @imfalling-inlove @littleesilvia @eugene-emt-roe

END NOTE: If you've made it this far, thank you. When Ted Lasso ended, I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I still had the characters and stories rattling around in my head. So I decided to write this, just to get it out of my head, as an OFC Fic on AO3 (That's being updated as well if you're interested in meeting my OC).

Coming to Tumblr was inspired by a number of writers. Specifically three people who I now am mutuals with and even would call my friends. @illiterateaffairs @its-time-to-write, @alwritey-aphrodite, and @sokkigarden. Each of them inspired my in their beautiful understanding of Jamie's character, their individual styles and personalities, all of them inspired me and encouraged me to continue my writing. They are truly such talents, and I respect them each individually very greatly.

Finally, I have to thank every single person who has liked, commented, reblogged, or even just scrolled through a chapter. every comment, I read, every reblog, I read. They all mean the world to me, and I know I say that a lot but I really mean it. I didn't expect this series to get any traction much less get me nearly 400 followers. You guys kept me going.

Thank you for reading. From me and Jamie <3

#jamie tartt #jamie tartt x reader #ted lasso #ted lasso show #jamie tartt imagine #jamie tartt x y/n #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt/reader #jamie tartt/y/n

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