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effervescentdragon · 1 year

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charlos and pirate AU

"This is preposterous! I demand to speak with someone, you cannot treat us this way -"

The latch opens in the middle of Charles' diatribe, and the force with which a man - a pirate, not a man, a pirate - jumps down the stairs from the deck shuts Charles up pretty conclusively. The pirate is wearing a red bandana on his head, and Charles cannot see his face clearly. What he can see, though, are the pirate's arms, tanned skin glistening with sea-water and sweat as the strong muscles ripple underneath. Charles is distracted - and it is expected, really, he hasn't eaten properly for days, ever since they were captured. He gave most of his food to Arthur, who was still weak and ill. His fever had passed before the pirates attacked them, but Charles was unwilling to risk the return of his illness, so he made sure Arthur ate a big part of Charles' share, too, just in case. He is sleeping, now, and has been through Charles' yelling obscenities and everything he coyld think of, though Charles isn't sure how he managed. Perhaps he was weaker than Charles though? Charles is so distracted by his thought, and by the effortless, decisive way the pirate moves, his strength evident just in the way he walks, that he doesn't realize that the pirate is inside his cell until he finds himself face to face with him.

He is - beautiful, Charles thinks. His face is comely handsome, and his skin is dark, darker than Charles', both in the typical way of the Spainards and probably even darker due to being exposed to the elements. His rolled up sleeves show arms which are strong and covered with dark hair, his muscles showing, and his hands are large, obviously the hands of someone who knows how to use them. The same dark hair peaks from where the shirt on his chest doesn't quite cover his skin. He radiates calm, even though his full lips are turned in a frown, and Charles gets distracted by the way he smells, standing so close Charles can decipher the smell of the ocean, and of something wooden, something steady and durable underneath the smell of sweat. Charles should be repulsed, really. He should be trying to move away from the man who is standing so close, Charles can almost touch him.

Charles is mostly confused. He is also perhaps somewhat aroused.

"You need to stop yelling," the man - pirate, he is a pirate and a scoundrel - says, and the words curl around his tongue and come out of his full mouth accented in a way that makes Charles a bit weak in the knees. "Everyone can hear you on the deck, cariño."

Charles does not speak the Spanish tongue, but he is pretty sure that was not an insult. He licks his lips, cracked and dry from the salt and the heat, and wishes he hadn't taken off his coat and given it to Arthur in the other cell as another blanket, for it left him standing in just his thin, white shirt that showed his every movement and his every shallow breath.

"That was the point," he manages to say. "My brother is still sick, and I do not understand why we are being held here alone."

The man's eyes flash, and Charles will blame his addled mind and the stress of the situation for thinking they look the most fetching shade of brown, and soulful, and like eyes that poetry should be written about.

"You need to be quiet now, cariño. We have a trade to make with some, ay, que estoy haciendo, joder," the man cuts himself off in obvious frustration. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply, and Charles can't help but let his eyes fall on the sliver of skin in between his collarbones. "The people that will come onboard are not nice people, and they can not know you are here."

Charles huffs incredulously.

"Not nice people? Interesting words, coming from a pirate."

The man steps closer quicker than Charles can gather his bearing, and as he steps backwards instinctively, he hits the bars of his cell. The man comes even closer, and Charles' breath hitches, for they are almost, but not quite touching. He can still feel the heat radiating from the pirate, and smell the ocean on him, and his head spins a little.

"These men are not good, cariño," the pirate says in a low voice that makes something in the pit of Charles' stomach awaken. "If they knew you were here, they would not hesitate to take a beautiful thing as you by force, and they would surely harm both you and your brother."

Charles' first thought is Nobody can harm Arthur. He keeps that one for himself. The second thought, sadly, he does not manage to keep behind his teeth.

"You think I am beautiful?" he asks, then bites his lip hard, because what a foolish question! What a fool he is! It does not matter, what thus ruggedly handsome man - pirate, he is a fucking pirate - thinks about Charles, it only matters what he will do to - with, with him.

The man's eyes flash once more just as Charles feels his lip break, the skin too abused not to yield to the pressure. He feels the trickle of blood falling, and his tongue darts out to lick it off just as the pirate raises his finger to Charles' lip.

Charles tastes the pirate's skin with his tongue as they meet in the middle. It tastes like salt and Charles' own blood.

The pirate's eyes darken. Charles shivers, and grabs onto the bars for support.

"You are very beautiful," the man whispers, like he is imparting a tremenduous secret to Charles. "But I would also love you to stay alive. And to not make problems for us."

The stale air below the deck has never felt as opressive, or as animate as it did to Charles then. He sucks in a breath, and his lips touch the man's finger again. They are both breathing heavily, and Charles is clutching onto the bars so that he doesn't do something foolish, something forbidden and unholy, something that is, if the look in pirate's eyes is anything to go by, not unwelcome. The moments pass in a stalemate, before the man exhales sharply and lowers his head a bit, shaking it as if to shake himself from a temporary madness.

"You will be the death of me, Charles Leclerc," he says softly and pulls himself away. Charles is frozen in place, his heart beating traitorously fast, and the man is already out of his cell when he comes to whatever senses he has left.

"Wait!" he calls to him, and the man turns around. "What is your name?"

The man - pirate, he is a pirate - pauses, and seems to be debating something with himself. He finally shrugs.

"Carlos," he says. "My name is Carlos."

"Carlos," Charles repeats in a breathless whisper. "It is a lovely name."

"Just like yours," the man remarks, and a smile he gives Charles takes all the breath he has left in his lungs away. "Be quiet, please," he repeats, and Charles nods wordlessly. Before he can blink, the man is already running up the stairs and back onto the deck, and Charles is left trying to calm down his racing heart in the silence.

"Well, brother, you sure as fuck know how to pick them."

The words, more amused than reproachful, break the silence, and Charles yelps, then lets himself fall down on his ass.

"Shut the fuck up, Arthur," he says weakly, and listens to his brother chuckle softly, and thinks about how they will get out of this, and how worried Lolo must be, and the way the pirate - Carlos, his name is Carlos - said his name like a caress, and how his skin tasted for that brief moment on Charles' tongue, and whether he will get the chance to taste Carlos' skin, or his lips, ever again.

#i was supposed to sleep. but. i had this scene in my head and well. fuck it #short au prompts #charlos #f1 rpf #effervescentdragonwrites #my writing #idek what this is istg theyre both messes

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a-kind-of-merry-war · 2 months

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A guy doing marine research into phytoplankton is far out to sea and waiting for the samples to be ready when he spots a fast-moving ripple in the water up ahead.

Fully aware that this spot is home to a migratory orca pod, he assumes he's stumbled across an orca hunting a seal and settles against the railing to watch, because it's not every day you get to see that.

The ripples get closer, the shadows in the water more defined, the water choppier, and suddenly the orca and its unfortunate prey are zooming directly towards the boat and he's waiting, breath held, for them to duck right underneath--

When the water breaks, the ocean sprays, and he's suddenly smacked fully in the face by a very wet, very confused, and very pretty merman, throwing them both down onto the deck while the boat rocks as a confused and now quite hungry orca dives beneath it.

The merman, it turns out, thought that the boat was an ice float and didn't realise his mistake until it was too late. But he's very thankful for the impromptu rescue, and wow don't you have nice arms, and holy shit you've got legs, can I touch them? Is that weird? Can I touch them anyway? And your hair--

So of course they get to talking because they're both utterly fascinated with the other, and soon the sun has set and the samples are long-since ready and the moonlight is making the ocean look black and they part with the knowledge that they'll never meet again, and a kiss, and a lingering look over the shoulder for all the things that can't be...

And the researcher gets back to land, moors his boat, readies his samples. He packs up his things, shoves them into his bags, and prepares to go home. He steps onto the jetty boards and thinks of the merman and the solid wood beneath his feet seems to sway for more than one reason.

There's a splash. He turns, pulled as if by the tide, and there's a ripple in the water. A face. A pair of eyes made black by the moonlight.

And this is how the researcher acquires a merman boyfriend who helps him find samples and the merman acquires a human boyfriend who rescues him from whales.

#short story #i guess?#original fiction #merman #mermaids #queer #fantasy fiction #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writers #guess what suckers this is just a one night in hartswood AU!!!!#mer!penn 4 LIFE #this is NOT a prompt lmao #im happy for you to use it with fanfic or w/e tho #but not original fiction #on account of how its my idea for a book

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nelkcats · 1 year

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Hood assistant

Contrary to popular belief, Red Hood wasn't actually a bad boss, Danny could attest to that. After all, thanks to a guy named Bill, he had gotten a job with the Crime Lord, and although he initially feared being assigned to kill or do "shady" activities, his boss actually reassigned him to his assistant.

So yes, Danny now worked directly under Hood's personal assistant, a very attractive man by the name of Jason, but the other goons warned him that it was very likely that he was dating Hood, with the amount of time they spent together so he didn't have to much hope with his crush.

In summary: Danny fell in love with Jason, but he thinks that Jason is dating Red Hood because of comments from the goons and he doesn't want to be "the third wheel" or for Jason to cheat on the crime lord with him, on the other hand Red Hood started flirting with him too and it's getting incredibly frustrating how unfaithful this couple is.

Meanwhile, Jason just wishes the guy would understand his signals, maybe the flowers aren't enough, he doesn't realize he's sending signals like Red Hood too.

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inkclover · 1 year

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Day 28: Lost and Found 🍼

Sorta a what-if scenario set in the future of Found

some sketches I made way back *hops awayyy*

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ghostreblogging · 1 year

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Danny and Damian are twins au again

Ok so what if like Danny and Damian were twins. But like Danny was the stickler for rules . Like never wore anything but the league outfits. Just never even joked .

And they meet years later.

When the villain said they'll bring the souls of the people they killed to fight them. He was expecting the people he killed to be in the thoudands. Damian was arleady a little nervous.

And Damian didn't get nervous but how could he not be? His family is going to meet his twin brother. His father is going to meet his son he never got to meet.

The villain seemed to notice his apprehension and laughed. People he killed drove out in large numbers. And there he saw his brother. It was unmistakable. But his brother wore a weird outfit.

He never strayed far from simple and respectable clothes. Always a stickler for rules. And had on multiple occasions scolded him for not wearing his equipment properly.

But now he was wearing multiple unnecessary belts and was wearing a platform boots with spikes soles.

My doodle for this Danny.

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cookierunauprompts · 4 months

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I was wondering if you could write Shadow Milk Cookie taking care of a sick y/n? I'm fighting off a cold myself :') and I love your writing!!! /pos

Requested Prompt #9 - 💓

" i told you not to push yourself." You could hear Shadow Milk huff, feeling the vibrations of his steps before he actually stopped behind your fallen form. " But noooo you just had to get another adventure in and now look where that's gotten you." You groaned weakly from your place on the forest floor, not even protesting when you were picked up by the much taller cookie. " Shadow Milk..." You groaned out weakly, staring up into displeased heterochromatic blue eyes. " Sigh, Whatever am I going to do with you?" He mused, poking at your cheek much to your displeasure. He snapped his fingers... not that he actually had fingers though, and opened up a small rift back home. The minute you were placed down you were being intensely analyzed by the gigantic jester. " ... You're sick." He eventually states, picking you up again as you squirm in protest. " Nooo... 'm not sick, just tired." You protest with a mutter, quickly silenced by the cloth wrapping around you. " And here I thought that I was supposed to be the lying one out of the two of us." He chuckled, almost bemused at your feeble attempt to deceive him. " Come on, go get some rest Little Star~" He purred as he picked up your bundled form, carrying you off to his room so he could keep a good eye on you.

#cookie run #cookie run au #cookie run kingdom #cookie run au prompts #crk #shadow milk cookie #cr kingdom #beast yeast #cookie run x reader #shadow milk cookie x reader #sorry if it's short anon i do not know how to write sick people #but a prompt is a prompt sooo #anyways i hope you enjoy!#Also I hope that you feel better soon anon !!

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thepenultimateword · 2 months

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Soulmates Prompt List

I hope it’s ok if I use the red string in some of these prompts. Since it’s cultural, I don’t want to appropriate it or anything; I’ve just read so many fun soulmates stories based around that concept lately that I thought it would be fun to write some prompts.

1. The red string will guide you to your soulmate when you are in close proximity (within a few miles) to them. Unfortunately, [A]’s leads them to a funeral. Fortunately, they’re a necromancer.

2. Pirate’s red string has always led them into the sea. They always figured that meant that they were “married” to their sea life. That is until one day the string goes tight and they are pulled overboard and find a merperson on the other end, desperately trying to bite the string free.

3. People don’t have just one soulmate. There are many potential soulmates depending on the path one follows. Villain has take advantage of this fact after realizing that their powers are strengthened with each soulmate’s soul they devour. They don’t care much for losses, much preferring their position as a ruler and almost god. That is until they until they meet Hero, the first soulmate they’ve ever cared to spare.

4. Soulmates know each other at first sight. It’s sort of ZING! Or a ZANG! Or something like that. [A] was always told they couldn’t miss it, but now [B] is looking at them like they were just electrocuted and [A]…felt nothing.

5. Thief sees the words mid-heist. The words they never told anyone but wrote on their arm at 13 during soulstice to be able to recognize their soulmate one day. However, even with proof, Detective seems to think Thief is making up another one of their deceptions to escape. Or maybe they’re just in deep deep denial.

6. [A] is cursed to remember and [B] is cursed to forget. They are Soulmates in every life but not always successful ones. Turns out [B] only regains their memories of past lives when [A] succeeds in making them fall in love with them once again. It’s a tiring thing, wooing their love in every life, but it’s more painful to be forgotten.

7. Fate has already chosen matches for each person, but that does not stop some people from trying to “steal” soulmates, ignoring the rules that forbid flirting with anyone not prearranged for them. In fact, quite a few people have started claiming that soulmates should be a choice, but can anyone really defy fate?

8. Soulmates appear in each other's dreams the night before they meet in person. After such a dream, [A] recognizes [B] immediately, and from the look on [B]'s face when they lock eyes, they recognize them right back. So why are they lying and claiming they've never seen [A] before?

9. People used to be born with predestined matches, a matching mark appearing somewhere on their skin upon first meeting. But one day it simply stopped, so humankind had to manufacture it themselves. Now, upon birth, every baby is implanted with a device--they are legally required to upload all personal data to the device's cloud throughout their life--to simulate such a mark, only to activate upon contact with a compatible match. The ways of spontaneous soulmates are now only a story of the past. [A] is fully invested in the technology, however, [B] doesn't believe humankind should have ever messed with the decisions of fate.

10. In a post-apocalyptic world, [A] expected their soulmate to be dead. Not that it mattered anymore. Almost everyone was dead. And love was not going to keep them alive. But when a thief sneaks into their safe house and tries to steal supplies, [A] tackles them to the ground, catching a glimpse of the soul mark on the thief's neck just as it fades. Their soulmate still exists. And the feelings that come with that knowledge are very confusing.

#creative writing #prompt #writing prompt #short prompt #prompt list #soulmates #soulmate fic #fiction #writeblr #writblr #soulmate au

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satan-is-obsessed · 1 year

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modern steddie au where Corroded Coffin is opening for Scene Queen and Steve came to see her live cause he has parental issues and related to "Pretty in Pink", anyways he sees Eddie in a black mesh top, covered in tattoos and can't stop looking at him or thinking about him even after the main act begins. Little does he know Eddie spotted him almost immediately and decided to join him in the crowd. Steve gets taken out of his thoughts by a low voice whispering in his ear

"couldn't help noticing you staring at me, big boy"

#long story short they definitely go to the bathroom together #and grab drinks afterwards #someone write this #i'm begging #steddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #rockstar eddie munson #babygirl steve harrington #fanfic prompt #steddie au #modern au #scene queen #corroded coffin

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hsgucci94 · 8 months

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Heartbroken

Summary: Harry doesn’t want his lifestyle to affect Y/N so he only has one card left under his sleeve, and it involves breaking up.

Part 3 of His weakness, a mafia!harry short story.

Read previous parts:

Part 1 | Part 2

by no means I’m trying to romanticise this lifestyle, it’s pure fiction x

masterlist

“You better not be trying to get rid of me right now,” Y/N joked, but when she didn’t get the response she was looking for out of him, she frowned, moving her hands away from his face and using them to hug her torso instead. As if she could protect herself from whatever was coming next.

His countenance stayed as stern as it was when speaking his last two sentences, and she was starting to think he actually meant them.

“Harry-"

"Tell me you haven't thought about how different your life would be if I wasn’t in it," he cut her off. "Tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind to leave me behind and get away from all this shit, from all my shit," he moved one of his hands up to her cheek and caressed it slowly. "Tell me, baby, I won't get angry at you. I could never. You had a lot of free time to think while recovering, I bet you thought about us, and how I won't get you nowhere good."

She stressed her frown, taking in everything he had just said to her. Why would she have thought about any of that? Wasn’t he listening when she told him a moment ago how grateful she was for everything he had done for her these past weeks?

“Are you breaking up with me?” Her voice cracked, “‘S that why you’ve been so good to me? To soften the blow?”

“No,” he hastened to add, “None of that, sweetheart.” He let out a sigh and and closed his eyes afterwards.

“I don't get it then,” she harshly replied, pissed at him, herself and the goddamned conversation they were having out of nowhere, “One minute you tell me you can't live without me and the next you’re encouraging me to leave you.”

“I don’t want you to leave me. But I don’t want you to stay if you’re not sure either.”

“Sure about what, Harry?” She was exasperated.

“Sure about us, baby,” he spoke in a soft tone still.

“I am sure, are you? Because I get the feeling it’s you who doesn’t want me around anymore.”

“Y/N…”

“No, Harry.” She gulped, inhaling through her nose a few times before getting up from his lap and turning her back to him, too overwhelmed, “I’ll go sleep in the guest room. Good night.” Her voice muffled.

The moment Y/N closed the door behind her, Harry put his hands on his head, pulling at his hair in frustration.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He groaned, infuriated with himself for being like that, so dumb and insecure when it came to her.

All his brilliant qualities, those that turned him into a witty and elusive criminal, numbed whenever she was involved.

He would have put up a fight for her to sleep next to him regardless of his stupidity hadn’t he known her well enough to understand she needed some time on her own after he practically doubted the love she had for him.

He knew her feelings were genuine, as sincere as his were for her, but that was the main issue: he was scared. He didn’t know how to move forward from there. He had never before been in a relationship as serious as that one; he had never cared for anyone as much as he did for her, but he knew that no matter how good she was for him, he would only end up burying her up in his misery one way or another. The night Y/N was attacked kept on playing on his mind whenever it got the chance, making him shudder in fear just by thinking how much worse it all could have turned out.

Instead of some pretty bad looking wounds and a couple of broken ribs, it could have been her death body laid on the dark pavement for him to find it the following day.

That illusion alone gave him chills.

Everyone knew the six-feet tall and dark-haired British man didn’t fear anything, except losing her for good. She now had the chance to get away from him and move on, he was leading her the way out of all his bullshit. As much as it would pain Harry to let her go, a part of him wanted her to leave him and don’t look back. The other, however, was just too selfish to let any other man have such a diamond in the rough. Because that was what she had become. His most precious relic.

So he was conflicted with himself wether it was best to keep her or let her go.

Some time later he walked to the bathroom, where he picked up on his previous activity and brushed his teeth. Then he stripped off his clothes and walked to the bed. He tossed the duvet open and slid on his side, sighing heavily when he felt the cold and emptiness of a solitary body surrounding him. The bed that had always been cozy and warm enough for him, now felt harsh and uncomfortable without her body pressed to his.

He switched off the lights of the room and only kept on the lamp on his nightstand, which set the room in a much night-like scene. But even though he was supposed to close his eyes and get some sleep, his mind wouldn’t give him a rest. He could only think about her, about how hurt she felt when he spoke, and only prayed she hadn’t started crying as soon as she left his sight. The simple thought of her tears running down her flushed cheeks broke his heart.

He clenched his jaw, cursing himself.

His eyes wandered around the bedroom, and soon ended up on what had now became her nightstand. That piece of furniture had no special use before she came into his life. Now it was the drawer she used the most. It was where she kept all her valuables, such as her wallet or glasses cases, anything she couldn’t afford to buy a second time until it got broken or unusable. She also liked to keep there her current read and the medication she was taking for her treatment.

Her medication.

As soon as realisation hit him, Harry got up and walked to his bathroom, where he filled a glass of water and went back to the room. He opened the drawer and took out the small plastic container with the remaining pills in it before heading to where she was sleeping.

Even though Y/N liked to roll her eyes at him and tease him about how he never listened to her whenever he forgot some minor details about something she had previously mentioned, he did. He did listen to her. He might not always remember what she said, but he always tried to pay attention. So even if Y/N had told him a couple of hours before that she was feeling much better and didn’t need to take her medication as often, he didn’t want her to wake up in the middle of the night in pain and not have it near.

Being as cautious as possible, he entered the room where she was peacefully resting. Her features were relaxed and her lips slightly parted, and he couldn’t help but smile at such beautiful view.

He crossed the room in silence and left her pills on the nightstand next to her, before turning around to leave. He would have swore he had been absolutely discreet, but his sneaky steps and calculated movements were not enough to ovoid waking her up.

Y/N’s eyes opened and widened as soon as she noticed a big dark shadow moving around in the room. She was way too sleepy to distinguish who it was, so her first instinct was to scream.

Someone had entered the house and was there to hurt her once again.

She quickly got out of the bed, ready to grab the doorknob and run for her life, but two strong arms grabbed her.

“Shh, baby. Shh, it’s me, it’s just me. I’m here, I’m right here,” Harry spoke in a rush, pulling her to his chest. Her screams faded the moment she felt his skin against her, his arms wrapping around her back, securing her. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Y/N’s hands gripped his biceps anxiously, inhaling and exhaling a few times trying to get her breathing back to normal. “Shit,” she mumbled, her heart still beating hard against her chest while it echoed through her ears, “Shit, Harry.”

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said again, soothing her with small strokes on her back.

He pitched his lips in a thin line afterwards, processing what got her so terrified so suddenly. No one, and he meant no one, would get the chance to touch her after that night. He could promise her that, and wouldn’t get tired of assuring her so over and over again. He knew she was still scared of people showing up out of the blue to attack her, but he made her a promise to keep her safe above anything, and he was a man of his word. “I increased surveillance on this house and I have eyes on you at all times. You know that, right?” His words were stern, but his tone warm and calming.

“I know,” she mumbled, closing her eyes shut as if by doing so she could forget the fear she had previously experienced when, for a moment, she really thought they came back to hurt her.

She knew such thoughts were just her mind playing tricks on her because Harry had already got rid of those who assaulted her. She found about it when she mistakenly read one of his text messages a few weeks back. But still, she knew there were tons of bad guys out there ready to get a grip on her just to try get to him.

He was a mafia leader, after all.

It was inevitable.

“Y/N, look at me,” Harry caught her attention a few seconds later. She didn’t break her hold on him nor signalled she had heard him. “I need you to look at me.”

Part 4 coming soon

Please, like & share if you liked it? it’ll help so much 🥺✨thanks!! x

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#harry styles #harry styles imagine #short story #harry styles imagines #harry styles prompts #harry styles stories #harrystyles #hsgucci94 #harry styles x reader #hsgucci94 stories #mafia harry does things to me #mafia au #mafia harry styles

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navnae · 1 year

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Steddie Soulmate AU

prompt: a clock counts down until you meet your soulmate

Prompt from @phantypurple !!! ❤️

Read on AO3

At a certain age everyone is assigned a small clock and when it counts down to zero your supposed to meet your soulmate in that exact moment, at least that’s what Steve has been told for majority of his life. Ever since he got his clock his parents were always attached to his hip to see if it finally went to zero after having an encounter with every girl he’s met. They were extremely disappointed when they looked at the clock and it was still counting down, even Steve started to wonder when will he find his soulmate. Fast forward to him meeting Nancy in high school, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t madly in love with her and he genuinely cared for her. They’ve spent so much time together that he was certain that she had to be the one for him. For awhile he never checked his clock because he assumed that it had already went to zero, that was until him and Nancy got into this huge fight at a party leaving both of them in a terrible state of mind. When he left the part he felt the need to take a look at his clock because the way things happened between them it just didn’t seem like they would ever recover from that. Steve pulled the tiny clock out of his pocket, he let out an exhausted sigh when he saw it still counting down and it wasn’t even close to zero in the slightest. He let out a bitter laugh, Nancy was right about their relationship being bullshit. Steve started to believe that this whole soulmate thing was bullshit too.

Steve started working at scoops right after high school and honestly he started to give up when it came to looking for the perfect girl. As much as he doubted his clock he would still check it to see if after every encounter he’d finally see zero, of course with his luck that never happened. Steve felt hopeless, he started to feel worse once he remembered that Nancy’s and Jonathan’s clocks went to zero as soon as they broke up. Then the kids somehow beat him to a better love life than all of the years he’s spent trying to find at least one girl that could be his. He put all that to the side when he had to focus on fighting the Russians and Hawkins was suffering once again because of these monsters that has been summoned by a darker presence. Through all of the beatings he had to endure Robin, his coworker, was there by his side. Steve never thought about Robin differently until Dustin brought up the conversation, because of his pride he tried shutting down the possibility that they would ever be together. They were so different and to him soulmates had to fit you perfectly but in hindsight she did. Robin was able to get him in more ways than his older friends despite growing up together. She got his humor, she was easy to talk to, and she actually made him laugh without even trying. Steve had been blinded by his own reputation to realize that she was everything he needed no matter what their statuses were.

Steve thought about that as the night continued then both of them ended up in the bathroom high off the drugs that they were given prior. They were in separate stalls letting out everything they’ve eaten earlier in the day, not the most proudest moment for either of them but they couldn’t control how their bodies reacted to substances they’ve never had. During this Robin and Steve still managed to laugh at everything leading up to where they were now, maybe it was because they still had drugs in their system who knows. Steve took it upon himself to ask Robin a silly question about peeing herself and to his shock she admitted to doing it making him laugh at her honesty. He’s never met a girl who could say things like that and not feel ashamed which was why he slowly found himself catching feelings for her because she wasn’t like any of the other girls he’s met. Then it came down to Robin asking him a question ‘Have you ever been in love?’ and to that his response was a yes, the person he felt that strongly for was Nancy. Steve pushed that to the side so he could focus on what he wanted to say. Maybe talking to Robin gave him a little bit of a confidence boost to finally tell her how he felt or he was just completely out of his mind and he started talking without thinking. Steve went down this path of confessing his feelings for Robin while explaining why she was great and he had this idea in his head that this would be the moment. He waited for the ‘I feel the same way!’ coming from the other stall but it never did, only silence fell over both of them making things extremely awkward mostly for Robin.

Nothing else was said between them, Steve didn’t understand any of it. Did he approach her wrong, was his tone too much or she couldn’t hear him clearly. ‘Robin?’ Steve said loud enough for her to hear him, worried that she overdosed without him knowing. A huge weight was lifted off his shoulders when he heard her voice again, this time he wanted to make his point clear. Sliding underneath the stall wall to see Robin and ask her what was her thoughts on what he said, her thoughts on him. Robin frowned barely giving Steve eye contact like she wanted to avoid this entire situation and conversation. Steve saw how she was thinking of ways to tell him that whatever he felt for her would never be received. Robin took a deep breath before looking at Steve again, with a soft smile she explained to him that she wasn’t like other girls but not in the way he thought. She went on further to tell him that in high school she couldn’t stop herself from feeling bad because for him it was easy to get the attention of Tammy Thompson who she had a crush on for a long time while he wouldn’t even give her the time of day. Steve looked at Robin with confusion not understanding what she was getting at, if she didn’t have a crush on him then why would she be upset that Tammy was looking at him? None of it clicked to him until Robin subtly spelled it out for him…oh.

Steve couldn’t help but feel like an idiot most importantly he didn’t realize how big of a deal this was for Robin to tell him something so personal. When she thought that the worst was about to come Steve showed her that she had nothing to worry about. It made Robin feel better when they easily went back into a joking manner as if nothing happened and they continued laugh until their stomachs hurt. In the back of Steve’s mind having a strong friendship with Robin meant way more to him than whatever the dumb clock in his pocket had in store for him. Steve pulled it to see if anything changed, he thought that soulmate didn’t necessarily mean romantic in most cases so maybe it went to zero because Robin was platonically his. His eyes gazed upon the clock to still see it counting down, Robin laughed lightly before pulling out her own clock and she turned it towards him.

“Mine is still counting down too.” Robin joked. Steve laughed and he felt a little bit better. Both of them were waiting for that someone to come into their lives but they had no idea when that was going to happen.

A year had past with Steve constantly checking the clock and to no supremely was still counting down. Robin’s stopped awhile ago when she met Vickie so Steve was the only one in the friend group that still had his clock ticking but he noticed that the numbers weren’t that far away from zero. He kept his expectations low though because it seemed like the universe was playing one big joke on him. Steve’s focus had been directed else where when the news showed that Chrissy Cunningham has been killed and there was a lot of conspiracies leading to Eddie Munson. Steve wouldn’t say that he was very fond of the guy not because he gave off freaking vibes, part of the reason being that but Dustin found him interesting for some reason. Steve didn’t find the appeal in the guy especially after seeing him on the news, Steve wanted to stay far away from him. Of course with Dustin being his friend the kid wanted to figure out what happened and prove that Eddie was innocent. Steve had his suspicions about Eddie but Dustin swore out that something supernatural did this even max vouched for him, he was still skeptical of this entire scenario but he was willing to help out with whatever the kids needed.

They went to find Eddie at the boathouse during the night while the chaos in Hawkins was getting worse. Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Max checked out the place to see if he was there. At the time Steve didn’t really care about the way he went about things, that would explain why he would pick up an oar to poke around for Eddie. He knew that it wasn’t the right thing to do and he’d pay for it within a second. Steve’s life flashed before his eyes as his back hit the wall with strong hands holding him down. Once Steve gathered himself now everything started to become clear and standing right in front of him was Eddie. His eyes were glossy, a broken beer bottle in his hand, that look in his eye that could’ve killed Steve if he had the chance. Dustin called out to Eddie to reassure him that they were there to help, now it was Eddie’s to be skeptical. Steve noticed that Eddie looked at him with very little trust in him. If it wasn’t for Dustin neither of the boys would’ve been in the same room to say the least. After a few seconds of Eddie glaring at Steve he eventually loosened his grip on him and backed away from him. Steve let out a breath that he didn’t know was holding until the interaction was over. He watched Dustin comfort Eddie, Steve didn’t know him that well but just from the way his voice cracked while trying to explain that he was innocent made Steve’s heart ache. They listened to his story as he went into detail from start to finish and didn’t why he was so intrigued by Eddie, at a certain point Steve stopped listening to story and his attention was more on… Eddie? Steve snapped out of his thoughts when everyone called it a night, he shrugged off whatever he felt a few seconds prior it was probably nothing.

Steve left the boathouse feeling stranger and he didn’t know why. He tried to ignore it but he kept having thoughts about his clock. Something told him to check it, Steve prepared himself to still see the clock counting down like usual and he reminded himself that if his expectations were low then he wouldn’t be disappointed. He pulled it out giving it a quick glance thinking that his eyes were playing tricks on him he stared at it. Steve’s jaw dropped at the sight of the numbers on the clock.

00:00

“This… has to be a mistake.” Steve mumbled to himself. He got everyone’s attention and they looked at him with raised brows.

“What?” Max asked. All of them watched him stare at the clock with his mouth open. Steve couldn’t think straight, this couldn’t be real life.

“My clock…” Steve trailed off as he ran a hand through his hair. Robin rolled her eyes before taking the clock out of Steve’s had to see what was making him act so weird.

“Let me see this.” Robin examined the clock then her eyes widened once she saw the numbers. Now she understood why Steve was freaking out.

“Can you guys please tell us what’s wrong.” Dustin said clearly annoyed. Robin showed Dustin and Max Steve’s clock, both of them gasped in unison. They caught on to what that meant.

“Steve, you probably don’t want to hear this but if your clock is done counting down and the last person you talked was-“

“Eddie,” Steve finished Robin’s sentence, ‘that means Eddie’s my soulmate.”

Part 2

This took way longer than expected and thus definitely will need a part two. For everyone who sent a prompt I will get yours for right now I’m going in order. Hopefully this was enjoyable despite how the clock concept kind of doesn’t make sense but hey I tried. Don’t be shy send more prompts!!! :)

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effervescentdragon · 1 year

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charlos pac rim au

"I don't want to do it," Charles says, and Sebastian holds back a sigh. "I don't want to do it, Seb, what the fuck, they can't make me -"

"They can," he interrupts, because Charles looks like he's going to cry, and Seb sure as fuck feels like he will. "They can, because I'm," he pauses, makes himself take a deep breath. He can say it. "Because I'm not able to do it with you anymore."

Charles stops fidgeting, and his stillness is eerie. He's sitting in front of Seb on the table and the absence of his kicking legs and his shuffling where he sits is so unnatural. I know what you're thinking, Sebastian thinks, because you don't spend years in Drift with someone without knowing their thoughts. Don't say it. Don't lie to yourself, Charles. Let go.

"We can try again," Charles says stubbornly, not looking away, and not moving. "We can try again, it wasn't your fault, Seb -"

"Charles," Sebastian interrupts again. "I know - I don't - fuck," he closes his eyes, because he doesn't want to start crying. "I can't drift anymore, Charles. You know I can't. Transgressor fucked me up permanently, Charles, I was lucky to come out of it alive." He swallows around the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry."

There is silence in the room, and Sebastian breathes through it. He shuffles in his chair, and moves his legs, and opens his arms, and before he knows it, Charles is there, hugging him with his whole body. Sebastian breathes him in, and lets Charles hold him, and holds onto him as tight as he can.

"He'll be good for you," Seb whispers, eyes still closed. "Trust me. I know he will. I wouldn't leave you with someone who I didn't think could be your match. So try, please?" he whispers. "For me?"

"You saved my mind, Seb," Charles whispers into Sebastian's neck. "You shielded me from that fucking Kaiju, and I'm the reason you can't pilot anymore." Before Sebastian can protest - it wasn't Charlses' burden, it was Seb's own decision, it was inevitable, he wouldn't have, couldn't have done anything different, nor would he want to - Charles pushes away from the embrace, and Seb opens his eyes. Charles' eyes are wet, and green, and more determined than Seb has ever seen them. "For you, I'll try," he says, and it sounds like a promise. "I'll try."

"That's all I ask," Seb says softly. "All I ever asked from you was to try."

---

Sebastian watches them from behind the glass as they do a compatibility test. He didn't even have to bribe Toto to be here, though he was prepared to do so, but when he came into the observation room, there was a padded chair waiting for him already, and now he's on the edge of his seat, watching Charles and Carlos fight.

Charles is a beauty in motion, and Seb can see the moves he'll make in his head perfectly, a second before he moves. He twirls and jumps and hits, and doesn't lose his concentration. It's expected, and he's not surprised. He's done the same dance with Charles many times, and he can almost feel the adrenaline in his body, like he's the one on the mat. WHat he's more interested in, though, is Carlos.

Carlos, whose face is sweaty but who doesn't give Charles an inch. Carlos, who seems bigger than Charles but lets Charles lead, and steps in his way, moves him so they don't lose momentum when Charles gets impatient. Carlos, who looks steadier than Earth underneath them and who dances with Charles and never stumbles, never falters, observing as he fights and adjusting himeslf to Charles in a way Sebastian has rarely seen possible. Carlos, who smiles at Charles when he has him pinned on the mat, and winks at him, and says "That was good. Again?" straight to Charles' face, and means it.

Sebastian watches Charles try to hide his confusion, and succeed for everyone who doesn't know him as well as Sebastian does. More importantly, he watched Charles try to hide his blush as he looks at Carlos' throat as he swallows half a bottle of water. He watches Charles fail completely to hid his distraction, and fumble with his own water bottle, pouring half of it over his shirt. He watches Carlos notice, and say something to Charles that makes him laugh, and the easy way Charles lets Carlos touch him and pull him back in the middle of the mat, and he smiles.

"They will be a good fit, Sainz and Leclerc. I think so, Sebastian," Toto says from somewhere behind him, the question unasked, but implied.

Seb lets himself smile wider.

"Yes," he replies, and his chest feels lighter than it did since before he woke up in the hospital, Charles frantic at his side. "I think they will be a perfect fit, Commander."

#im sorry i had seb in my head and i couldnt get him out #i hope you like this anyway #charlos #f1 rpf #another pacific rim au #effervescentdragonwrites #my writing #short au prompts #ferrari boys <3

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tthaiphhuan · 1 year

Text

Clearly inspired by the song Something about You — Eyedress.

No stand AU where they have “ordinary” school life. Koichi still suffers.

#josuyasu #jjba okuyasu #okuyasu my beloved #jojo josuke #josuke x okuyasu #josuke higashitaka #short prompt #mini comic #rendering is not my strongest suit #rendering #eyedress #prettiest girl in the world #jjba #jojo part 4 #no Rohan au

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gummybearstastelikesadness · 1 year

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Sadness’ Shorts #4

Infinite corpse AU,

but Danny ruins the black market organ and cadaver trade in Gotham by flooding the market with his own bodies.

#danny phantom #batman #dp #dp x dc #dc x dp #danny fenton #dpxdc #corpse au #dp prompt #it’s one way to corner the market #sadness’ shorts

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cookierunauprompts · 3 months

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Oh sorry! Meant prompt 21! ...somehow in my very tired mind I swapped the two numbers around.

It's alright!

Request Prompt #23 - 💓💔💝

You blinked open your eyes to look at Shadow Milk Cookie, or rather, the good half of him. You still couldn't believe that he was well... here. Here and good instead of one of the beasts. It seemed that tonight was yet another sleepless night for him however, seeing how he was staring up at the ceiling. " Shadow Milk?" You began quizzically in your sleepy tone, " Thinkin' about that stuff again... huh?" The blue-tinted cookie sighed, scooting a bit and rolling over into your newly extended arms. " Yeah..." Wordlessly, you took him into your embrace. Letting him bury himself with you and the covers. Time like this you were glad to have just one bed, one that was big enough for the both of you, because then you'd be able to make sure he actually got some sleep unlike way way before. " Don't worry," You assure him like you have on every one of this nights. " Pure Vanilla and the others would find a way to tell us immediately if your other half got off Beast Yeast. You're safe, and his actions aren't yours to take the blame for." He hummed softly, letting you rest your hand in his hair. You'd stay with him for as long as he needs to go to sleep for tonight. You couldn't do anything back then, but you will now.

#cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run au #crk #shadow milk cookie #cookie run au prompts #cr kingdom #beast yeast #shadow milk cookie x reader #sorry it's short. i only woke up less that an hour ago

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riolu4 · 2 months

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This place for small story the one that I have Ideas for the every time difference and is random and some bart of it.

Country Branch is Good Dancer Even though he have 4 legs He can dance very well to all Genres

Classical Branch Does not fly that after he is tall the normal Classical Troll and Smidge and every time he fly every pup troll being surprised except King Peppy.

Branch being adopt by one of Genre or Subgenre trolls the Branch age is 6 Years old.

The Funk Troll adopt by Branch the story is he left Poppy village to find something Like supplies or medicine and bird capture him , far and far from Troll Village Lucky the one of Funk UFO saw him and saved him but is not easy to find the Pop village and more and Royal funk family The They Second Son is alive by the Name of cooper.

Ok the all for now the maybe some different some similar some between I Have different concept from the story Like maybe I will Have Different variant of the Story.

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singsweetmelodies · 6 months

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Hello Katie 👋🏼👋🏼 :D

For the 50 romance prompts ask meme, I'll like to request for 44: soulmate AU: timers <3

but if possible... with a twist...? (you don't have to include a twist if it's too difficult to work it in!)

The twist being, for whatever reason, their countdown timers for each of them to the time they meet their soulmates doesn't match, so they think "we're not each other's soulmates. that's cool. (no it's not)" but it turns out that they're each other soulmates anyways. or they choose to be with each other in spite of not being each other's soulmates. idk. *nervous laughter*

hiiii charlotte 🥰 first off, i am SO sorry for the incredible delay with this answer!! i saw this prompt and i absolutely LOVED IT (and the twist!! 🙏 *chef's kiss*) but unfortunately i got struck with a horrible case of writer's block/work deadlines, and just couldn't get to it at all.

until yesterday: i decided to just open my inbox and see what came to me. no thinking, just following the vibe of a prompt and writing. and uh. this happened... not only did it get ridiculously long (oops?) but it also somehow became a mini "investigate montreal" fic?? so in that vein, i'm tagging @1016week and submitting a belated entry for Day 6 "Montreal"... ❤️

i love this one. hope you love it too!! 👀⌚

Charles' soulmate timer stops when he is seven years old, and he meets the boy with the bluest eyes he's ever seen.

He's been vibrating with excitement all weekend - not just because it's a karting cup, but because his soulmate timer has been ticking down to this day for months now. Well, not just months, not really. It's actually been his whole life, but Charles doesn't remember all of that. He only remembers the past few months, when the little numbers had been getting smaller and smaller, until there were only ten days left and Charles gasped when he realised that the day would fall on the same day as the Bridgestone Cup.

"Of course the girl I marry is going to like racing, too," he'd told Maman and Papa, confidingly. Not a lot about soulmates made much sense to him, but this did.

His Maman had tried to smile, and Charles had hugged her tight to let her know it was going to be okay. He would find his soulmate, and then everyone would be smiling, because that's what people do when you meet your soulmate.

(Later that night, when Charles had been too excited to sleep and he'd gone to the bathroom quickly, Charles had heard his parents having an argument in their room. The door was closed, so their voices were muffled, but Charles could still make out his Maman saying "I just don't think it's a good sign, to meet your soulmate so young!" But Papa had countered, "Many people do, and they have beautiful stories. You have to trust that our Charles will meet his perfect match tomorrow." And then there had been an icky noise, like kissing, and Charles had flushed the loo quickly and ran back to his room.)

Now, with the beautiful blue eyed boy standing in front of him, Charles thinks of Papa's words again. Our Charles will meet his perfect match tomorrow.

Charles thought it would be a girl who really liked karting, but this is even better. This is a boy who wins at karting, because he's holding a trophy in both hands and grinning like he couldn't be happier.

Of course Charles' perfect match would be someone who wins at karting. It's only right, because Charles also wins at karting.

Charles clears his throat. "Hi," he says shyly, and the blue-eyed boy jumps.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," he says apologetically, and then he laughs. He has a nice laugh, Charles thinks - like he knows how to have fun. "You are a bit short," the blue-eyed boy adds, and hey.

"Hey," Charles protests. "I'm tall for my age. I'm seven."

"Well, I'm nine," the blue-eyed boy says, like that's the most impressive age in the world.

It is a bit impressive, but not very, because Lorenzo is much older than that. Still, it is a little scary - Charles is only seven. What if this blue-eyed boy doesn't like him because he's only seven? Older kids can be mean like that.

No, he is your perfect match, Charles reminds himself. This blue-eyed boy won't be mean to him, because that's not how perfect matches work.

Charles takes a deep breath, then he sticks out his hand. "I'm Charles," he says.

The blue-eyed boy takes his hand, and it feels... weird. A little bit like when you get shocked by static electricity.

Charles giggles, unable to stop himself, and the blue-eyed boy smiles, as though he likes that.

"Hello, Charles. I'm Pierre," he says, squeezing Charles' hand. His eyes widen a moment later. "Oh! You've met your soulmate?!"

Charles doesn't understand what he means. "Well, yeah," he says. "It's y-"

And then he notices it.

Pierre's soulmate timer, right there on his wrist, right above where Charles is gripping his hand - it's still ticking.

Now, Charles doesn't know a lot about soulmates yet, but he knows that that's not good. Not good at all.

"I, um," Charles stammers, and then he does the one thing Maman and Papa said you should never do to your soulmate. Charles lies.

"I met so many new people today. I don't remember who it was."

Pierre's face falls. "Oh," he says, and he sounds unbearably sad for Charles. "But..." He chews his lip, shaking his head with a deep frown.

Then, mid-shake, Pierre's expression changes to one of determination. "I will help you find them," he says, with the kind of confidence Charles can only dream of when he's not on the racetrack.

He tugs on Charles' hand - which he still hasn't let go of - and Charles is helpless to do anything but follow.

They don't find Charles' soulmate anywhere, of course, and then Charles has to go win his race - but Pierre makes him promise that they will find each other at the next French karting event, and Charles will tell him all about his soulmate.

Charles promises, even though the idea makes his stomach feel all funny. I shouldn't be lying to my soulmate, he thinks, guiltily.

But Pierre's soulmate timer didn't stop ticking, and... that's not how soulmates are supposed to work.

The moment he's in the car with his father after the race, heading back home, Charles asks him about it.

Papa is quiet for a long moment, then: "Are you sure there wasn't someone behind Pierre, Charles?" he asks, in his careful, kind way. "Someone who's timer stopped at the same time as yours?"

Charles thinks about it for a moment, but even the idea of that feels - wrong, somehow. Like going into a corner and knowing you braked too hard, and you're going to flip the kart.

He shakes his head decisively. "No," he says. "It's Pierre."

He hears rather than sees his father blow out a soft sigh. Charles catches his eye in the rearview mirror, feeling confused and a little shaky inside.

When Papa sighs like that, it's never good news - it's usually something about sponsorship, which is a word Charles is already coming to dread.

It doesn't make sense how this could be about sponsorship, though. It probably isn't.

Charles waits for his father to gather his thoughts, like he needs to do sometimes to make sure he says exactly what he means. (It's something Maman keeps telling him he should try doing as well, but he's not so good at that yet.)

"You know how even the greatest racing drivers make mistakes sometimes?" Papa asks.

Charles frowns, but he nods. "Yes?"

"Sometimes the universe is like that, too. Sometimes the universe makes a mistake, and stops the timers too soon," Papa explains.

Charles frowns. He hasn't heard about that before, but he guesses it makes sense. It's true what Papa said - not even Senna was a perfect driver who never made mistakes. It makes sense that the universe is the same.

"But this doesn't mean you don't have a soulmate, okay, Charles?" Papa says before Charles can spend too much time thinking about the whole thing. His voice is firmer than Charles was expecting, and he reaches up to tilt the rearview mirror to see Charles better.

"It doesn't mean you don't have a soulmate," he repeats, like he doesn't want Charles to ever doubt that. "It just means it's going to be a little harder to find them."

Charles frowns, and he can't help but be a little annoyed. Isn't the whole point of soulmate timers to make it easier to find your perfect match?

It's just his luck that his soulmate timer doesn't work properly.

"I understand," Charles says, though, because he can tell it's important to his father.

Papa nods, but he keeps watching Charles in the rearview mirror for the rest of the drive, like he sometimes does after a race where Charles crashed the kart badly and he needs to keep making sure that Charles is fine.

Of course Charles is fine. He doesn't think this is comparable to a bad race at all! It's a little annoying, yes, but it's not that bad. It's just a bit of extra work, isn't it?

Charles shrugs his shoulders, glancing quickly down at the stopped soulmate timer at his wrist.

Whatever. Racing is more important than soulmates, anyway.

Almost twenty years later, Charles still says that to himself almost every day, even if he doesn't believe it with nearly the same careless seven-year-old confidence anymore: racing is more important than soulmates.

It is, because it has to be.

The thing is this: his father's explanation to Charles' seven-year-old self had been true - if a little oversimplified, and painted with an overt layer of kindness.

The truth Charles knows now is that there are two reasons, two categories, for people whose timers stop when the other person's keeps running.

One is, like Papa had said all those years ago, a simple case of mistaken timing - cases where the universe or fate or whatever controls it all stopped one person's timer a little too soon, or the other's a little too late.

It's harder to find each other in those cases, but it's still quite possible.

And then there's the second category. The unrequiteds. People whose timers stopped at the right time - when they met the person who would be their perfect match - except that they are not that person's perfect match in return. It only goes one way.

It's rare, but it happens sometimes. No system is perfect, after all - not even a system of soulmates.

For years and years, Charles tried to convince himself that he fell into the first category. His soulmate timer simply stopped too early, by some cosmic accident - but it's okay, Charles insists to everyone who asks and to himself as well, because what it's done is given Charles more time to focus on his racing instead. He's not constantly glancing down at his wrist and wondering when his timer is going to stop ticking - he can just get on with the racing.

He'll find his soulmate eventually, but on his own terms. There's nothing bad about that, surely.

Charles believes that. Really he does.

Except.

Except, if it's true and Charles falls into the first category - the mistaken timing category - then it would mean Pierre isn't his soulmate.

Pierre, who kept the promise he'd made to a seven-year-old who wasn't even his soulmate (because, yes, he had found Charles at the very next French karting cup, and he'd asked to meet Charles' soulmate - and when Charles had to admit that he still hadn't found them, Pierre had hugged him and told him not to give up and that he would find his soulmate someday. Pierre had held Charles' hand and explained that his parents almost didn't find each other, but they did. So it might take Charles some time, but that was okay, because it had taken Pierre's parents some time too, but now they were happier than ever. He'd been so convincing, firm but kind and absolutely sure of himself, and he'd made Charles believe it. He also made Charles smile, genuinely and truly, when he promised he'd stick by Charles' side no matter what anyone else said or whispered about his stopped soulmate timer.)

Pierre, who kept that promise about sticking with Charles, too. Pierre who never stopped being kind, and loyal, and the best friend Charles could ask for, whether he was seven or thirteen or nineteen or twenty-six.

Honestly, how was Charles supposed to not fall hopelessly in love with him?

He tried to deny it. For years and years, Charles tried to deny it - I will find my soulmate someday and it will all make sense, he'd tried to convince himself - but the thing was, what made more sense than Pierre being his soulmate?

It was roundabout the time of Pierre's first win (when Charles was standing under the podium in Monza with an aching back but a heart soaring with joy for his best friend despite the disaster of his own race) that Charles resigned himself to the truth: Pierre is his soulmate.

He has to be. Isn't a soulmate meant to be your perfect match; the person who understands you better than anyone and makes you happier than any other person in the world?

There's nobody else who could make Charles as happy as Pierre does. Nobody, nobody. There's no point in even trying to deny it anymore.

Pierre is his soulmate. But he is not Pierre's.

And that's okay. It's okay.

It has to be.

It isn't okay, not really, but that's true of a lot of things in Charles' life, and he's learned how to deal with them. He can deal with this, too.

On the whole, Charles thinks he does a pretty good job of dealing with it. He gets to be Pierre's best friend, after all - isn't that just a different kind of soulmate? True, Charles might want more, but it isn't like he has nothing. He has Pierre, and he will have Pierre for the rest of their lives.

Not in the way he wants, but - at least he will have Pierre.

The one thing he tries never to think about is Pierre's actual soulmate. Because Pierre has one, he knows, and he will meet them at some point.

Charles doesn't know how the hell he's supposed to look at some soulmate of Pierre's, and smile at her, and not be hopelessly, heartbreakingly jealous.

(He will do it, though. He will learn to smile at Pierre's soulmate - for Pierre's sake. He'll do it for Pierre.)

But that's a bridge he will cross when they get there. He doesn't have to worry about it yet (or at least, that's what Charles keeps telling himself even as the months tick by, and he knows there aren't year figures left on Pierre's soulmate timer anymore. Just months now, and then... weeks.)

Charles isn't thinking about it. He's put it out of his mind completely - which is easy enough to do, thankfully, given everything that's been happening on-track this season.

That's probably why he accepts Pierre's invitation to dinner in Montreal without thinking twice about it. (Even if he had realised, though, Charles doesn't think he would have been able to say no, either. He would give Pierre everything, if he only asked.)

So they go to dinner in Montreal, and it's perfect, and wonderful, and laughter-filled, and all in all exactly what Charles needed to distract himself from the fact that he has yet another engine penalty, and the sinking feeling that the championship is beginning to slip out of his reach.

Pierre seems to realise it, because he's in even finer form than usual - teasing Charles and tickling his ribs playfully and making him laugh at every possible opportunity.

Even on the drive back to the hotel: they stop at a red light, and Pierre steals Charles' cap, and Charles is giggling and filming it while Pierre is giggling back, and he's pretty sure neither of them are thinking about it at all, until-

Until Pierre's face changes from laughter to something almost ashen. "Charles," he says, and for all the years Charles has known him, he's never once heard Pierre's voice like that. "My soulmate timer just stopped."

For a few seconds, the words don't even register in Charles' mind.

Then they do, and Charles can feel his heart drop. "What?" he breathes.

His hands shake, and he doesn't even register the fact that the light has gone green as he glances all around them, craning his neck to see if there's anyone behind the white Ferrari, or around to the side.

Just a few minutes ago, their car had been surrounded by fans on all sides, all jostling to try and get pictures of them. But now, somehow, they're all alone in the Montreal night.

(The irony of it all is not lost on him - is this how Pierre felt all those years ago, when he was trying to look for Charles' soulmate at a karting cup, but not finding anybody it could be?)

"Are you sure it stopped just now? And not earlier?" Charles asks, willing his voice not to shake.

"Yeah," Pierre whispers. He sounds... devastated.

"But," Charles says, and then he has to take a deep breath. "But there's no-one else here, Pierrot."

"I know," Pierre says, somehow even softer.

Charles' fingers clench reflexively around the steering wheel, and he's moving in blank autopilot as he puts the car into gear and starts driving forward again.

He doesn't even realise he's shaking his head until Pierre says softly, "Charles." There's something wounded about it.

Charles stops shaking his head and slams on the brakes instead, jerking the car into something he hopes is a parking space at the side of the road.

"I don't understand," he says, far more calmly than he feels. "You can't - I can't be your soulmate."

Okay, maybe he's not so calm after all. But he doesn't think... he doesn't think anyone would be calm, in this situation.

Pierre makes a sound that could almost be a laugh, except that it sounds too strangled. "Do you know," he says, "that I have spent half my life wondering if the soulmate system got something wrong in my case? Because if you're not my soulmate, then who is? Who could possibly..."

Pierre does laugh this time, shaking his head. "You know, I asked to go out with you tonight for a reason. I knew - I knew it would happen tonight, so I needed to..." He swallows. "I needed to see you, one last time. Before I wouldn't be allowed to love you anymore."

It jolts through Charles then, what Pierre is trying to say. "Pierre," he breathes, and now it's his turn to say his best friend's name in a way he doesn't think he's ever said it before.

But Pierre's not finished yet. "I thought I could have one last night with you," he says. "One last night, before I had to say goodbye to my feelings, and try to love someone else."

My feelings. Try to love someone else.

Charles Leclerc is a lot of things, but an idiot is not one of them. He knows what Pierre is saying. He's...

Pierre loves him too. All along, Pierre has loved him too.

Only, he never had the option of thinking we're soulmates, Charles realised, and his heart twists in his chest.

Because Charles, for all that he accepted his soulbond toward Pierre was unrequited - at least he'd had the option of them being soulmates. Yes, it was in a twisted way, but at least he'd had that.

Pierre didn't. And he still fell in love with Charles.

The thought hits him like a shell-shock, and it's enough that Charles can only sit there for a moment, staring blankly, as Pierre continues talking beside him.

"I meant for tonight to just be a quick dinner together, something fun but normal for us," Pierre is saying, wringing his hands. "But I lost track of time. I always lose time when I'm talking to you, Charlito, I could talk to you forever - but the point is, I forgot to tell you I need to go back. I forgot that I was meant to meet my fucking soulmate tonight, because I was spending time with you, and - "

He takes a deep breath, and then he laughs again, leaning forward to drop his head into his hands. "I felt it happen, you know? I knew exactly when my soulmate timer stopped, because I could feel it, and it's - it was when I put that fucking cap on my head, Charles."

The cap that he's still wearing. Charles' 16 Ferrari cap.

Charles' hands shake as he reaches out to touch it, just the brim. "Your soulmate timer stopped when you put my cap on," he says, because a part of him still can't believe that this is real, that he's not living in some kind of heartbreakingly wonderful dream.

Pierre straightens up so fast that Charles is left with his fingers dangling awkwardly in mid-air. "Yes," he says, suddenly looking wild, "but this doesn't have to change anything, Charlito, I promise. I will still help you find your soulmate, and I will - I'll learn how to live with an unrequited bond, it's -"

"No!" Charles interrupts, half-throwing himself across the car to catch hold of Pierre's hands. "No, no, no, no. No more unrequited bonds, Pierrot."

Pierre starts to shake his head, but then he stops in the middle of the movement. "What do you mean," he asks, very carefully, "no more?"

And suddenly, Charles feels giddy, of all things. "I mean, your timer didn't stop when mine did. So for years, I have thought that we can't be soulmates, or at least that you couldn't be my soulmate. But now your timer stopped when you put on my cap, so -"

"Stop, stop, stop," Pierre says, squeezing Charles' hands tightly. "What do you mean, my timer didn't stop when yours did?"

"Oh," Charles says, and then he winces, the weight of the only real lie he's ever told his best friend (the only real lie he's ever told his soulmate) settling onto his shoulders with uncomfortable heaviness. "Um. Well. Do you remember when we met, and you thought I already met my soulmate?"

"No," Pierre breathes, but it's not the kind of no that says "no I don't remember." This no is more like "no way."

"Yeah," Charles says, and he can't help but look down at his own wrist, where the soulmate timer has been stopped for years and years. "My timer stopped the moment I met you, Pierrot."

"You..."

Pierre doesn't look like he knows how to finish that sentence, but Charles understands him anyway. "How was I supposed to tell you? I was seven, Pierre, and your timer didn't stop. I thought it was a mistake for years."

"But?" Pierre asks, like he can tell there was a but.

Charles beams at him. "But, I realised that there was nobody else who could be my perfect match. So I thought you were my soulmate after all, but it was unrequited."

"Never," Pierre says with a fierceness Charles doesn't expect. "Charles, never. If I knew... if I thought I had even half a chance, I would have been with you anyway."

Charles tries to laugh, but it comes out all breathless. "No you wouldn't."

"Yes, I would," Pierre argues, and his voice is heartbreakingly sincere. "I don't care. I would have chosen you."

Charles hears a punched-out noise, and it takes him a moment to realise it came from him. The next moment, he's unbuckling his seatbelt and climbing awkwardly over to sit on Pierre's lap.

It's not quite comfortable, because for all its luxury, the white Ferrari does not have a lot of leg space - but Charles doesn't think either of them give a single fuck, in this moment.

"I love you," he tells Pierre, reaching up to cup his cheek. "I've always loved you, but I never would have stood between you and your soulmate."

"Funny," Pierre says, his hands coming up to grip Charles' hips, "because that's exactly what stopped me from kissing you senseless."

"Well," Charles says, and if he grinds down just a little on Pierre's lap, he'll swear to everyone who asks that it was accidental. "It doesn't have to stop us anymore."

"Never again," Pierre agrees, tightening his grip on Charles' hips. "Never."

"So kiss me senseless, please," Charles whispers, and then he adds "soulmate," and that's what does it. Pierre surges up and kisses him, wild and desperate and more than a little clumsy, but without question the best kiss Charles has ever had. His own cap digs into his forehead a little, but Charles can't even bring himself to care about that - they owe too much to this cap now, honestly.

Maybe the universe does know what it's doing after all, Charles thinks. Maybe the universe just wanted to write a good story for them. A story that goes like this:

Charles' soulmate timer stopped when he was seven years old, and he met the boy with the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.

Almost twenty years later, Pierre's soulmate timer stopped in a white Ferrari in Montreal, and Charles finally got to kiss the boy with the bluest eyes he's ever seen, the man who is his best friend and his soulmate.

The odds of it working out this way have to be... a million to one, probably, or maybe even less.

But then again, what are the odds that two boys who met at a French karting cup and became friends with a shared dream would both make it to Formula 1?

Maybe the answer is just that Pierre and Charles have always liked beating the odds.

(50 Romance Prompts Ask Meme) <- not currently taking more prompts, sorry!

#50 romance prompts meme #piarles #piarles fic #myfic #soulmate timers au #*me writing this to try and banish my writers block* so it's just going to be a short little drabble!#you can tell i am a scuderia ferrari fan and delusional because LOOK what happened lmfao #i don't think you could call this ''short'' in any sense of the word #in fact it probably belongs on AO3 #OOPS #but i love it #i love it SO MUCH #we are so back babyyyyy #(like any good ferrari fan i fully expect to be saying ''it's so over!'' a week from now)#(but let's enjoy it while it lasts!!)#(SOULMATE PIARLES BABYYYYY)#(posted at exactly 16:26 my time too! this makes me smile <333)

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