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starboyshoyo · 1 year

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Courting, Pining, or Flirting?

Characters: All NRC students x reader (seperately)

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland

Genre: fluff

Do the NRC boys court you, pine for you, or flirt with you?

HEARTSLABYUL

Riddle Rosehearts will do his best in courting you. Raised to be strict and formal, he has virtually no idea of what love is, or how to express it. The best he got was the fairytales of princesses and knights in his childhood. So he’ll follow their lead to the best of his ability. Riddle will give you his blazer jacket, and take your arm in his when navigating crowded hallways- he’ll even bow to you when saying goodnight, placing a tender kiss on your hand. Riddle might need a bit of a confidence boost before he performs a moonlight soliloquy under your balcony, though.

Ace Trappola, unsurprisingly, enjoys flirting with you. What can he say, he’s a fun-loving guy! That extends to all parts of his life, including you. When the two of you are watching movies on his laptop in Ramshackle Dorm, he’ll tug the blanket away, forcing you to cuddle up to him for warmth. One day in class, a crumpled paper ball will hit you on the shoulder, reading: DO YOU LIKE ME? YES/NO ;) It’s childish, but somehow endearing.

Deuce Spade, ever the gentleman, will try (keyword: try) his best in courting you. His mom didn’t raise a brat! Listening to her advice, he’ll buy you flowers, ask you out on the weekends, and drape his jacket over your shoulders when you get cold. It’s a lot less smooth than it sounds, though. He’ll be a blushing, stuttering mess the entire time and accidentally spill his plans to you before he can execute them. Then he’ll apologize and spill even more of his plans- and alas, the cycle continues.

Trey Clover is surprisingly good at flirting! Trey is confident in his ability to charm people. Even the most uptight of Prefects tend to relax a little around him. Of course, the delicious handmade pastries he often brings along with him are just a bonus. They’re an easy way to strike up a conversation with you, getting you to spill more and more about yourself to him. He’s comfortable to talk to, isn’t he? Oh, is that baked good your favorite? Expect a box of them to show up on your desk within the next week, along with a coy little note: Sweets for the sweet.

Cater Diamond, on the surface, is definitely into flirting. He chases anything and everything within a fifty-meter radius of himself, and giving his posts on Magicam so much as a comment will result in a Hey cutie ;) popping up in your DM notifications at 1 AM. But with a person that Cater truly loves, face to face, he won’t do anything more than stay by your side as a supportive friend, pining from afar. He’s afraid of messing this up. Do you even see him that way? Please say you do.

SAVANACLAW

Leona Kingscholar does all three, in the order of pining, courting, and flirting. Hear me out: Leona pines, but not in a hopeless way. Instead, he just figures that he doesn’t have the time or emotional investment for a relationship. But once the feelings began to grow, Leona gets desperate. He doesn’t want opportunities to slip through his fingers without doing anything. So he’ll begin subtly hanging out with you more, until it reaches the courting stage. At that point, he becomes visibly softer and less harsh around you. He’ll only really be comfortable flirting and being playful with you once you’re in an established relationship, not before.

Ruggie Bucchi is into casual flirting- Well, he’s into it until he realizes he’s fallen so hard that he can’t climb back out. It’s all fun and games to him at first. Oh, you want to pet his ears? Maybe trading that cookie of yours from the lunch buffet would be suitable collateral. You think he looks good in the PE uniform? There’s more where that came from. Want him to accompany you on a late-night errand? Of course! He loves spending time with you- Wait, when did that happen?

Jack Howl follows his sharp instincts on everything, and every sign is pointing at him courting you like a true gentleman. He knows he’s a little rough around the edges, but he’s got no problem cleaning his act up for you. Putting on a suit and tie and using a bit of gel in his hair and around his ears is a small price to pay for your affection. He’s not particularly shy about showing you he has feelings for you, but outright telling you might take a bit more time and effort.

OCTAVINELLE

Azul Ashengrotto is painfully, unequivocally deep in pining for you. There’s just no way around it is there? Oh, what he wouldn’t give to crawl into his tako pot and hide when you’re around. You’re on his mind every second of every day, and he lays in bed every night wondering if you see him the same way. Is he handsome to you? Is he smart? He wants to hold you so bad but he won’t do it until you tell him yes, I like you too, first.

Jade Leech, ever the calm, collected one, excels at smooth flirting. He just knows you like him as much as he likes you, and he’s not afraid to point it out. It’s not like you’re subtle about it either- with the way you sit in a corner booth of Mostro Lounge for hours, just to be able to talk with him after-hours over leftover pastries and tea. You wouldn’t mind if he did this with you more often, would you?

Floyd Leech has his unique way of flirting, just like everything else in his life. You’re just so exciting, Shrimpy! Won’t you tell him a little more about your day? Even just the little things, like how many pages of notes you took in History of Magic class or an answer to a test question or two- he’s kidding, he’s kidding! All jokes aside, Floyd truly does enjoy your company and the ways you spice up his life.

SCARABIA

Kalim Al-Asim does none of the three, surprisingly. He’s so bright it might not even occur to you that he’s interested until you’re already three layers deep. He’s always been a friendly person, so when he begins inviting you to hang out all the time, you wouldn’t give it a second thought. It’s only when you notice him trying to do things for you rather than just with you do you realize his feelings might run a little deeper than just friendship. He tries to be chivalrous, but it usually just comes off as him playing at being your prince charming. The closest you could get to describing what Kalim does is playful, friendly courting- albeit a very unconventional form of it.

Jamil Viper is used to never getting what he wants. Somewhere along the line he stopped trying. So when you step into his life, shining but not blinding like Kalim, he hesitates. Is he ready to take such a risk? All he knows for sure is that he wants you in his life… someday. So quietly, in between classes and in the hallways, he’ll be pining for you from afar- hoping you’ll make the first move, so that he won’t have to worry about Kalim whisking you away.

POMEFIORE

Vil Schoenheit thinks he has never met someone so beautiful before. You might even be half as beautiful as he is! It’s a huge compliment coming from someone like him. You’re also half as smart, almost as strong, and maybe he’d consider taking you out for lunch- but don’t get it twisted! He’s doing this out of the goodness of his heart. (He likes you. He really likes you. Please date him.) It’s not very good flirting, but he’s trying his best.

Rook Hunt is flamboyant and genuine in everything he does, which includes flirting with you, his longtime crush. You have the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen! Would you mind if he admired it for a while? He’ll brag about you to everyone around him, much to the irritation of Vil, who finds it offensive that his biggest supporter has ‘betrayed’ him for another. Rook doesn’t care, though. If you so pleased, he’d be more than happy to walk you to your next class. Anything to bask in your unmatched beauty just a few seconds longer.

Epel Felmier is good at flirting, and he’s confident about it too! A rough and tumble farm boy like him needs a cute thing on his arm to show off, doesn’t he? Don’t laugh at him- he’s trying to impress you. He’ll do anything he can to prove to you that he’s a strong, capable person and your perfect match. Let him carry your books, and serve you in the cafeteria buffet line. When you share a snack together, he’ll lean just a bit too close, letting his cheek brush against yours before pulling away. Come on, look him in the eyes! Or are you too shy~

IGNIHYDE

Idia Shroud has never met you in real life. You’ve never seen his face, but he’s seen yours through the camera of his tablet at housewarden meetings. Maybe it’s the pent up stress speaking, but wow, you’re way out of his league. Best to make casual conversation and repress his pining over a game of online chess, lest he screw it all up in real life.

DIASOMNIA

Malleus Draconia is a lonely soul who knows little more than a life of isolation. When you walk into his life, unafraid of the twisted black crown that sits on his head or the ominous aura that seems to surround him, he has to wonder if after all these years he’s finally found his soulmate. Immediately, he wants to make plans to see you every day, to listen to you ramble about anything and everything beyond the briar walls around his castle. Stay a while and talk with him, won’t you? Malleus is the true definition of patience and indulgence when he’s courting you.

Lilia Vanrouge isn’t one for mere high school relationships. He’s a father and a general! He’s got a teenager to raise and armies to lead, on top the infamously heavy homework load from NRC classes. You’d have to be really important to him to find a place in his ancient heart. Sure, he’ll have his fun with flirting and all, but no one can really expect a thousand-year old fae to fall in love… right?

Sebek Zigvolt is shocked, no pun intended. There’s no way a fae like himself has fallen for a mere human! No, he won’t accept it. Sebek will turn in somersaults and bend over backwards to make any excuse on why he is not in love with you, he’s just a bit agitated today! Ironically, he makes things harder for himself with this mindset, condemning himself to pining for you from afar.

Silver, like his name, wants to be your knight in shining armor- he’s just not quite sure how to go about it yet. He supposes he’ll ask for your parents’ permission to begin courting you, first. That’s the tradition in the Valley of Thorns after all. But when Lilia points out that it’s a bit old-fashioned, he’ll simply agree and go along with whatever terrible plans the rest of Diasomnia comes up with next. Be prepared to be barraged with an awful yet endearing mix of pick-up lines, cheesy love letters, and classic romance songs that this quartet comes up with in their free time. The best thing? Silver himself won’t even be awake for half of it.

Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

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hybridirl · 3 months

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who first?

18+ only, please!

ellie x f!loser!reader x abby

a/n: sorry for the long wait! i was with my family the past week celebrating a holiday :)!! now i’m back and i’m gonna try and pump out a few. i am in fact working on the ellie x loser!reader pt2, so pls bear with me! i’m still thinking up ideas. this shit is harddd

brief summary: ellie and abby are the bestest of friends, and you’re… there. they kinda feel bad for you, so they bring home some of the “good shit” for a game. never have i ever? with shots. reversed. haven’t done it? drink!!!

tw / AU, *DUBCON* (reader is drunk (but so is ellie and abby)), strap-on, use of y/n, cunnilingus (r and e receiving), tit-slapping, porn no plot, rushed sex, threesome, reader gets referred to as “girl”

ᡣ𐭩

watching tiktoks for hours on end was never your proudest pastime, especially when your two roommates were constantly out partying. you, honestly, were a third wheel. well, to be fair, you came into this friendship way after these two had already been established as this inseparable duo. still, being a friend - even if it’s not as deep - doesn’t mean you should be excluded from their little activities.

so, this is how your night has gone so far: moping around, trying to bake some cookies you found on tiktok, and binging tiktok. you sat on the island of the kitchen, a frown plastered on your face as you munched on your fifth cookie.

you glanced at the clock: 11:35 PM. you knew exactly what this meant; one of them is slutting themselves out while the other waits to drive themselves home. god, how it aggravated you! - how easily they could get into someone’s pants by just looking at them while you had to ease your way into it. that slow, smooth talking you, except it rarely ever worked and you came off as a creep. the pickup lines from reddit don’t seem to work in reality, huh?

pulling yourself off the counter and shoving the last piece of cookie into your mouth, you wondered why you stayed up until they came back. maybe you were just a little afraid to go to sleep alone, maybe you were just simply lonely. you wanted them to come home, tell you about their day and get envious at their friendship that you weren’t in on and that you didn’t have. poor you. you were like a watchdog, always staying up and looking out until your ‘owners’ came along, praising you for your good work so you could get your little dopamine rush. you even whimpered, just a little, as you sat on the couch to watch some cheesy drama movie that you had zero interest in. about thirty minutes in, the door opens. you turn your head and watch your two acquaintances walk in, both holding a suspiciously shaped brown bag.

“hey,” you greet, “what’re those?” you pointed toward the bags in their hands.

“just stuff for you,” ellie chirped first, setting the bag on the coffee table.

“us, she means,” abby cut in, setting hers down. you watched as they revealed what was shielded from her viewing: two tall bottles of ‘devil’s spring vodka.’

you cocked your head to the side and spoke, “for us? what for?” they gave you a ‘what do you think?’ look before ellie headed off to get three shot glasses. she placed one in front of you, abby, and herself.

“so, y/n,” abby began, popping the top and pouring some into each glass. “we know you’re lonely and we thought we’d do something for you, huh? sound good?” you pursed your lips and nodded, completely weirded out by this interaction.

“we’re gonna play a game,” ellie said, circling her glass with her hands. “it’s like ‘never have i ever.’ ever played?” you nodded. “good. so, each time someone says something you haven’t done, you take a shot. got it?” you nod again. “a—lright, you guys ready?” abby smiles and raises her hand.

“i’ll go first,” she told, an obvious mischievous glint in her eye, “let’s start of tame. so, y/n, have you ever… kissed someone in public? i’m not talking a little peck, i’m talking seriously making out.” your face heated, and your jaw dropped just slightly. you thought about lying, of course, just to seem cool, but, you knew they’d know.

“i-i… no, i haven’t,” you muttered out, shakily reaching your hand toward your glass. you took a sip, wincing at the burn in your throat.

“c’mon, y/n, the whole thing,” ellie chuckled at your ministrations. you whimpered silently before your head tilted back, gulping the rest down.

“ugh,” you groaned as you set it down and watched as ellie pour more into your glass. you had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

“okay, my turn,” ellie giggled, looking at the two of you. “okay, y/n, have you ever… had someone motorboat you?” your brows furrowed immediately.

“m-motorboat? i, well, um… no.”

“drink up then, girl.” they watched as you took another brave shot, your face contorting into what looked like pain, and, to be fair, it was painful.

you were about to speak, for your turn, but abby interrupted quickly, barely even noticing your open mouth, “my turn, huh?” abby questioned. your jaw shut right back up, letting her take the lead. letting her do her thing. “so, y/n, ever, i don’t know, let’s get a little crazier with this one, yeah? ever been in a threesome?”

you stared at abby with wide eyes, why are they asking you this stuff? why only you?

“no…” you whispered, continuing your stare on her as you went to take yet another shot. you were already starting to feel a buzz, already starting to feel the heat in your tummy. with a slightly clouded head, you turned to ellie. she was smirking, her eyes knowing as her lips parted once more.

“how about you give it a go?” ellie asked you, and you felt some relief.

“h-have you guys ever, um… have you guys ever… had a threesome?” you asked in a low voice. you watched abby roll her eyes and go to grab her glass, as with ellie.

“o—kay, my turn,” ellie clasped her hands together, after setting her glass back down, “ever taken it up the ass, y/n?”

“why are you only asking me?” you gawked, reaching for your glass. you took the next shot, and felt a sudden need for more.

“because we already know what we’ve did,” abby replied, another shot of the vodka slithering down her throat. “mm, that’s some good shit. so, y/n, have you ever topped?” you sighed as you reached for the glass once more. “oh, so you’re a bottom? figures. i mean, look at you.” you looked up at her, slightly offended whilst your hands went to pour yourself another shot.

“have you guys ever, uh, had public… sex?” you found yourself boldly asking, obvious that this drink was getting to you. they both raised their glasses to their lips.

this went on and on, mostly them asking you, you sometimes asking them until you were all drunk out of your minds.

“y/n,” ellie finally groaned and she scooted closer to you. you hadn’t realized the proximity of them both, slowly decreasing as the night went on. you hummed a response, your eyes half closed and your face hot. “h’ve you ever, uh, fantasized? about us?” ellie asked, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. your hand didn’t reach for the glass, rather you simply stared into those green eyes. “yeah? you have? why didn’t you tell us? we coulda’ made all of your dreams come true, sweetheart,” she whispered, her hand meeting your waist.

“i-i was n-nervous,” you whined, “didn’ wanna say anythin’…”

“y/n, baby,” abby purred into your ear, “you don’ gotta be nervous ‘round us.” your head throbbed as you bit your lip; their hands explored your body, slowly molding you into your arousal. you wondered if this was their plan all along as their fingers danced around your PJs, caressing your inner thighs…

“please,” you whispered and their eyes flickered toward you. “…t-touch me…” you sighed blissfully as ellie’s hand finally met with your pajama-clad vulva. abby’s head dipped into the crook of your neck; she kissed up your neck and throat, then tilted your head toward hers to kiss your lips. sloppily, her tongue slipped into your mouth, prodding and massaging your tongue. your own mingled with hers, dancing around each other’s. you barely noticed your bottoms being tugged down, only realizing once the chill of the air hit your heat.

“lemme taste ‘er first,” abby said quickly as she pulled away from your swollen lips.

“no,” ellie whined, tugging your body toward hers.

“it was my idea,” she growled in return, “now let me have her first.” ellie huffed, but let go. she took asylum in your breasts; lifting your shirt up, she immediately dove into your mounds. she licked up to your nipple, taking it between her lips. you let out a broken moan as she nibbled on your sensitive bud, her tongue swirling around your pebbling nipples.

abby slid your legs open with her hands, spreading your labia with her thumb.

“how long h’ve you been this wet, y/n?” an obvious rhetorical question. you were too occupied with ellie and the worship of your breasts.

“a’w-while,” you managed to croak, though. you heard her chuckle and felt your body being tugged toward her more. “mmf, abby, be gentle…” ellie watched as abby’s head dipped between your legs, then her eyes flickered to your face to watch it contort in pleasurable expressions. “abby… ngh…” your hand reached to tug at her blonde hair, earning a groan from her lips.

“i heard she’s a p-pro,” ellie whispered to you while she tugged off her bottoms. your eyes fluttered, staring dazed at the sight of her pussy.

“want,” you purred out. ellie only smirked at you, her hands moving in to shove you down onto the couch. her legs straddled your head and she lowered herself onto you without warning, virtually smothering you. “mmf!” your brows were furrowed, your nose smooshed against her wet cunt. she ground her hips into your face, covering it in her slick.

“c’mon, y/n, thought you wanted it.” your doe eyes kept gazing up at her and you began to do the best you could with her weight in your face, your tongue working hard against her swollen clit.

both of the feelings were intoxicating, abby at your pussy, you at ellie’s. your legs tightened around abby’s head as her fingers found your g-spot, thrusting her fingers in and out of you. you moan into ellie, slurping at the nectar leaking from her. you’re so intoxicated, you can’t tell if it’s from the alcohol or this delicious feeling. your hands gripped ellie’s sides and you pulled her closer. you were whimpering, moaning, abby’s tongue wriggling into you, her fingernails digging into your plush thighs.

“mmm!” you cried, your eyes shutting as you felt a knot in your stomach begin to uncoil, your juices coating abby’s tongue and face.

“ahn, yeah,” abby groaned. “righ’ on my tongue, sweethear’.” your eyes were rolling, face scrunched in pleasure. it was a sure sight for ellie, drawing - no, forcing ellie’s own climax to follow suit. her arousal painted you, creaming on your face as she held your head close to her.

“oh, god, please please please — fuck!”

she ground against you, riding her orgasm out in your face. her clit bumped your nose, and your hands gripped her hips, slowly guiding her to a halt as she came down. as she got up from you, she took a moment to admire her work. your face looked so exhausted, wet with her, and needy for more.

“abby,” ellie said, “g-go get the…” she gestured into the direction of the bedrooms, then abby knew what she was talking about. she made her way into one the bedrooms, who knows which, and rummaged through. you watched the hallway curiously, ready for her arrival. you tried to sit up, but ellie only grabbed you, laying you down on her thighs. when abby came out, you were surprised to find her pant-less, and with a harness strapped to her person, not to mention a dildo hanging from it. she approached, slow and cautious steps. you couldn’t tell if she was trying to tease you or try to get you into the idea.

“you wan’ it?” she asked you, slowly crawling into the sofa, then nudging and prodding your wetness with the head.

“wan’ it.”

“alrigh’, sweet girl,” she breathed, easing the head into your slippery entrance. “good?” you nodded your head, egging her on silently.

“abby,” you moaned breathlessly. she shushed you, halting her movements so you could get used to her. she ran her rough hands down your sides, down, down, to your clit, gently rubbing it to make you feel some sort of goodness as she stood still. “move, please,” you whimpered.

“y/n, you should see ‘yer face right now,” ellie giggled, caressing the side of your head. “god, y’so pretty. fuck ‘er, abby, hurry. look at ‘er face.” abby rolled her eyes, not usually taking commands. she was going to anyway, but…

“oh!” you gasped from her sudden movements, a tight snap from her hips. “f-fuck!”

“mmm, ‘n moans so pretty,” ellie praised, “didn’ get to hear ‘ya so well when you were under me. gettin’ smothered by my pussy... mhm…” she caressed your face again, cupping your cheeks as abby began to pound you.

“abby!” you cried to her, eyes shut tight, hands flailing to find somewhere to rest. they found abby’s biceps, gripping them tightly as she slapped her hips against yours. “please, ngh!” you grit your teeth, jaw clenched while pleasure overtook you.

“eyes open,” abby growled, “‘n on me.” you had to fight yourself to open your eyes, but the sight in front of you was perfect. abby’s blonde hair sticking to her forehead, her braid dangling and swinging with each thrust, her slack jaw, fuck. “yeah, ‘atta girl.” she was thrusting just right, obviously so experienced. it was pleasing her, too, the strap hitting just right at her swollen clit.

how badly you wanted to touch her body, worship her like you did quietly with her eyes. she was like a greek god, muscular and sculpted so perfectly. especially now, sweat marbling her skin and her chiseled body over yours. you almost forgot ellie was there, being as (almost) quiet as she was. glancing up, you caught sight of her, her fingers buried into her cunt. the sight alone was enough to make you cum once more, but you couldn’t, not so early. you looked back up at the deity above you who was staring into your eyes.

“abby,” you groaned. you threw your head back, going dumb on her cock. “right there… f-please…” cross-eyed, you sobered up a little as you felt a harsh pain on your breasts. “oh!” you gasped, feeling her large hand slap your chest. “abby!”

“take my cock, girl,” abby panted, hands squeezing your breasts, using them as leverage as she continued her pounding.

“fu—ck,” ellie groaned to the sight of you and to the noise of her fingers in her cunt, squelching, obscene, and loud. “y’doing so good, y/n… yes… uhn!”

you ran your hand up abby’s biceps, wrapping your arms around her neck. this prompted her to lean in and kiss your lips, deep and hungry. your hand cupped her cheek, pulling her close while your lips collided. abby pulled away first to admire your body and you took this moment to lift your arms above your head, desperately trying to pull ellie closer by her legs. she scoot closer and you cocked your head to the side, immediately licking at her cunt.

“yeah,” abby moaned, feeling the beginnings of her orgasm. “lick ‘er fuckin’ pussy.” she gripped your waist, hurriedly thrusting into you, her clot bumping against the harness. “fuck, i’m cumming!” she moaned, collapsing onto you as she came. she kissed at your neck, bit at it, too, while she continued to thrust, needing you to cum, too. her fingers finding your clit, furiously rubbing it.

you couldn’t help it anymore; biting into ellie’s thigh, you came. squirted, actually. all over her cock, all over her abdomen. your body was convulsing, shaking and twitching for her. ellie followed in suit, your teeth pushing her over the edge as they sunk deeper into her. all three of you were moaning, crying, holding each other tight.

“fuck,” you were the first to say. abby slowly pulled out of you, panting deeply.

“you squirted,” abby chuckled with admiration. she squeezed your thighs and glanced up at ellie, “all good?” she asked. ellie nodded.

“yeah, just,” she sighed blissfully, “fuck. we should do this again.” you giggled and kissed ellie’s thigh.

“mhm,” you agreed.

maybe your (sex?) life has just changed for the better.

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brittle-doughie · 3 months

Note

Introducing the Y/N plush! And the cookies and what they do with said plush!

The cookie in the second image are, shining glitter, pomegranate, chess choco twins, golden cheese, caramelon, custard the lll, black pearl, licorice, lychee, komiho, Affogato, lilac, onion, stardust, space doughnut, timekeeper, shadow milk, white lily, snap dragon, pitya, abyss monarch and fire spirit. And if your wondering, the two drawings took 6 hours total-)

The Earthbread Big Seller!

I can tell which of the two took you the longest. I would like to know what it says next to Snapdragon if you can!

“Amazing Y/N Plush! Collect your very own doll to keep. Be the first one on your block to own the amazing new Y/N Plush! Please do not fight over them!”

[A large line had formed at Butterbear’s shop! Cookies of the sea and sky have emerged too to get their very own plush!]

Many fans had considered Shining Glitter’s latest show to be one of her best! She couldn’t take all of the credit though, she had help!

She cuddled close the Y/N plush she had next to her mic stand. She can count on it to allow her to give it her all, as if Y/N themself was watching her!

Having her own plush hold up a mirror for her to help fix her hair up already made itself more useful to Pomegranate than a certain cookie in the CoD.

She took a quick look around before she took it with her to bed, dozing off with the plushie clutched tightly in her arms.

The Chess Choco duo loved that they now have an observer to their chess games in the form of their own Y/N plush! They didn’t expect one or the other to pull anything tricky, but it was nice to have some sort of reassurance that no sneaky tactics came into play!

They split the time in half with how much each of the two got to have the plush. It doesn’t stop disputes from breaking out that had Earl Grey stepping in from time to time!

One of Golden Cheese Cookie’s favorite things to do with her Y/N plush would be to dress it up in whatever amount of riches she can put on it the little doll.

One of her favorite outfits for it is one that makes the plush look like a resident of her own kingdom, complete with wings to match hers. Something she has planned for the real deal when she gets the opportunity!

Carameleon Cookie was so stoked to have a buddy to call his own within the forested areas close to the Silver Kingdom. It sure beats being alone all the time!

He can tell you that he isn’t too attached to the thing as he waits for the actual Y/N Cookie to come by. He just..doesn’t want to lose it, okay?!

It was good to have one of his loyal subjects always around to listen what he had to say! Even if it was just a plush version of them, Custard Cookie III could spend minutes just talking to the plush as if it were a real cookie!

It’s why he considers it as one of his best subjects in the kingdom! Right behind the real Y/N Cookie, of course!

Black Pearl’s Y/N plush is nothing short of the best thing to ever grace her waters. It was down to the very last detail the cookie of her dreams had.

She’d never tire of it, acting protective over the plush, something she’d be more aggressively so if the real Y/N Cookie was with her! The plush will look amazing within her dwelling!

Licorice Cookie didn’t care about Pomegranate’s venom spewing mouth these days, not when he has his bestest friend, the Y/N plush, with him!

He can truly confide his secrets and feelings towards the little plush, like his feelings towards Y/N Cookie, but it better not blab to you! He even uses the plush as a guardian for his diary!

Ha! Why wait in line for a plush when Lychee Dragon could just swipe it from that fumbler, Kumiho Cookie! She didn’t appreciate Y/N Cookie enough, so why not give it to a dragon that certainly will!

Kumiho was not having it though, angrily coming after the dragon for stealing her darling in plush form! She did not let Lychee’s lies get to her, she’s taking back that plush!

Affogato Cookie could just monologue all day to his plush on how he plans to take over the throne one day and Y/N Cookie will join him as part of that dream!

He’d promise nothing but the best life for you with a luxurious life with no worries or limits as he went to caress the plush’s cheek. The best victory would be to have you for himself while that Caramel Arrow Cookie watched! He can’t stop giggling to himself about it!

With how popular these plushies were getting, Lilac was particularly watchful of his. He already called it his own with the lilac scent and he’ll bring down anyone swiping his plush from him.

He always keeps it on his person, both as a precaution and that he has easy access to it to hold and cuddle close when he’s needy. It’s what he would’ve done to the actual Y/N Cookie.

Blackberry Cookie can always count on Y/N Cookie to help settle down Onion during one of her crying bouts, she enjoyed the company from them too. So it was a total win when she received a plush for herself and for Onion.

Onion always liked to go to bed holding both her doll and plushie to ensure a good night’s rest without the fear of a nightmare waking her up, for she trusts the Y/N plush to help her even in her dreams.

Stardust doesn’t mind sharing his Y/N plushie with his friend, Space Doughnut. After all, they share the same trait of seeing Y/N Cookie as a dear friend. Space Doughnut was just as trusting with theirs to Stardust as well!

Space Doughnut does get overly excited when they could play around with BOTH plushies, making Stardust laugh with a smile as Doughnut happily played the two plushies.

Was it really any surprise that Timekeeper Cookie wanted to be greedy and have a number of Y/N plushies? They’re her favorite, why wouldn’t she take them? It wasn’t like the original owners could prove anything against her.

Timekeeper Cookie cuddled herself amidst her plushies without a care in the world, relishing in seeing the face of the cookie she liked all around her. Though it wouldn’t hurt to try and grab a couple more to her collection…and then Y/N Cookie themself!

Shadow Milk’s puppet show was going to be wonderful with the guest of honor being Y/N Cookie themself! Almost! He was able to obtain a plushie from one of his clown faeries and he was absolutely adoring it!

The plushie is always going to be a part of his puppet shows, interacting with a doll of himself that he made. How romantic it would be if the two stuffed dolls danced and smushed together to replicate a kiss! It even made Shadow Milk himself blush at the thought of you and him possibly doing that too~

One of the faeries had gently opened White Lily’s glass case, placing down a Y/N plush they had gotten for her. She immediately grabbed it and clutched it tight close to her, a smile on her face being the indicator that she liked the plush already.

One of the faeries had gotten curious about what made this plushie so dear to her as she reached for it and tried to pull it out of her arms. She had to quickly reel her hand back when White Lily swiped at it, nuzzling the plushie closer to her body, shielding it from any further attempts.

Pitaya Dragon Cookie didn’t expect Snapdragon to enjoy their Y/N plush that much to the point that they whined for Pitaya to hand it over to them. While this was meant to be for Pitaya only, they didn’t mind it as they give it to the young dragon.

Snapdragon immediately swiped it up and flies around with the doll in their arms, babbling happily as they played around with the stuff toy. Pitaya couldn’t help but smile at the sight, it was just like when Y/N Cookie would play with Snapdragon themself…

Abyss Monarch Cookie didn’t find themself going out much, especially for something as small as a stuffed plush. Yet there they were, having went out and gotten a Y/N to call their own.

This sense of adoration they start to feel for this plush was almost on the same level as they had for Y/N Cookie themself. They gently picked it up and spun slowly around with it, was this feeling a sign and not a temporary emotion? This feeling of…longing…

Fire Spirit was so stoked to have receive his own plush that he couldn’t wait to have simmer down first before messing around with it, too enveloped in his own that his hands start to emit smoke touching the plush.

He started to freak out when he open his eyes to see that he had turned the plush into a pile of ash, crying in anguish as he tried to salvage what he can. He went back to Butterbear Cookie with the news and he was generous enough to give him a replacement, warning him to be more careful next time!

#brittle answers #cookie run x you #cookie run x reader #cr x reader #cookie run #crk x reader #cookie run kingdom x reader #cookie run kingdom #cr kingdom #cookie run ovenbreak #cookie run ovenbreak x reader #crob x you #crob x reader

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whore4abby · 6 months

Text

cookies 2; dbf!abby anderson

part 1

warnings; older!abby, smut - fingering (r!recieving), masturbating (reader), mdni

wc; 1.5k

secrets and side-eyes;

she’s your dad’s best friend for fucks sake, you shouldn't be feeling this way about a woman 20 years older than you, but yet here you are silently pining after her and avoiding her like the damn plague that you’re desperate not to catch. staying cooped up in your room with the lame excuse of ‘homework’ whenever she came over to watch a game with your dad. catching glimpses of her as you leave the safe confinements of your bedroom and sneak down to the kitchen to get a glass of water, your heart almost stopping and you eyes widening immediately when she makes eye contact, a shit-eating grin plastered on her face, showing her delight in making you flustered.

abby looks up at you and raises an eyebrow as she sees you walk into the living room, ”hey, honey~” she says casually, but there’s an undertone of something more in her voice. she leans forward and places her elbows on her knees, her blown-out eyes trail down your body hungrily. a hint of a cocky smirk curls at the corner of her lips. the sexual tension between you two is extremely evident and you can’t help but squirm a little under her gaze as her eyes linger on you for a little too long.

“hey…abby….” you try and speak as nonchalantly as possible, but the words seem to snag in your throat as she’s practically undressing you with her eyes, probably thinking about bending you over the nearest counter and fucking you dumb until you can’t walk straight.

“come and watch a movie with us…” your dad doesn’t seem to notice abby staring and smiles happily. he’s sitting in his trusty old, leather la-z-boy recliner, leaving you no other choice but to sit next to abby on the tiny beige two seater sofa. fuck that. you have better things to do than to endure some mind-numbingly shitty movie for the rest of the night.

“dad i would love to, but…i got stuff to work on…” you sigh softly in frustration, talking in a mildly exasperated tone as you're absolutely insistent on not sitting next to abby. but you truly would rather work on a bullshit project than sit beside her for two hours.

“cmon, kiddo….i hardly spend time with you anymore.” your dad looks at you with a hint of sadness showing on his face and you can’t help but feel a wave of guilt. because its true, being so busy with college and the relentless studying and countless assignments doesn't leave you much time to spend with him these days.

“ugh…fine…”your shoulders slump in defeat and you pout as you walk over to sit beside abby. you squeeze in next to her, her thick thighs pressing into yours as she manspreads even further, obviously getting a kick out of this.

you instinctively reach for a nearby fuzzy blanket to cover up your bare thighs, mentally cursing yourself for wearing such small pyjama shorts in front of her. abby notices you trying to cover up your legs and a smug, knowing smile spreads across her lips, she crosses her arms and leans back into the couch, pushing her knees out even further and bumping them into your legs which only heightens the ongoing tension between the both of you.

you catch onto her act but don’t acknowledge her subtle clues at all, choosing to continue watching the television quietly. after a little while you can feel the weight of her gaze on you again and you turn your head slightly to look at her curiously from the corner of your eye and see her staring at you intently, almost as if she’s studying you somehow.

you turn your head fully and your eyes lock with hers but you don't say anything as your father is still in the room and it makes things unbearably awkward. but despite the growing tension, abby doesn't give a single fuck that he's sitting right there as she slips her hand under the blanket and traces an intricate pattern with her fingertips across the flesh of your thighs.

“you're so naughty… letting me touch you like this while your daddy's in the room~” she whispers into your ear as she slips her hand beneath your soft cotton shorts. you’re thankful for your dad being utterly engrossed in the movie and the booming sound effects making it impossible for anyone but you to hear her words but you still feel so embarrassed of the way your body is reacting to her lewd touch.

the crotch of your shorts is practically sopping wet by the time she gets her hands to where you need her most. she smirks when she feels that you aren't wearing any panties, this new revelation seeming to amuse her. she ever so slightly brushes the pad of her middle finger across your clit, making you bite your lip harshly to stop yourself from making any noise.

she continues to tease you, rubbing tiny circles over your clit before dragging her fingers down through your folds to thrust into your soaked slit, before dragging them back out, evoking a gasp from you.

this back and forth continues for what feels like forever until you're so wet its almost dripping down your thighs and you have to resist the urge to start bucking your hips up into her. the movie quickly comes to an end and she reluctantly drags her hand out of your shorts and rests it back on her own leg. her fingers are still shiny with your slick, glistening in the dim light, your eyes widen as she subtly puts them in her mouth to suck them clean with an air of pride.

you quickly spring up from your seat as soon as the credits start rolling, “i’m really tired, i’m sorry…” you lie, adding in a faux yawn to hopefully fool your dad into letting you leave. your father looks over at you and nods, “of course, you should go to bed. i’ll see you in the morning.” you smile and say your goodnights to both your dad and abby before retreating back up the stairs. the stickiness on your inner thighs reminding you of the feeling of abby’s hand on your cunt just mere minutes ago.

you quickly close your bedroom door behind you, relishing in the silence and security. the room is cozy, decorated with soft colors, from the lavender walls, to the soft white sheets on your comfy bed with plushies and various stuffed animals sitting neatly against the fluffy throw pillows.

you walk over to your bed and collapse down onto it, the lingering wetness of your shorts pressing against your throbbing pussy. you close your eyes in an attempt to calm yourself down, but it's no use. your body is still hot and trembling from all the excitement that abby had brought upon you. and as much as you try to ignore it, that familiar ache between your thighs keeps growing stronger and harder to ignore by the minute, leaving you helplessly longing for a release.

you hand drifts down into your shorts to slowly touch yourself, the memories of what happened earlier still floating around in your mind. your shaky fingers glide over your pussy, still soaked from all the attention abby gave you. barely audible moans leave your lips as you rub through your delicate folds before mimicking the rhythmic movements of abby’s fingers on your clit. your mind is filled with nothing but dirty thoughts about abby and it makes it harder to resist your orgasm.

your breathing becomes ragged and your hips buck up involuntarily, seeking more of the delicious friction that’s pushing you over the edge. your fingers start to move faster, frantically rubbing across your swollen clit and it isn't long before you're cumming, covering your mouth to muffle your whimpers and desperately refraining from crying out her name.

thinking only of the lingering and vivid memory of abby's fingers inside you and how good they stretched you out as you bite your lip and come down from your high, still feeling so aroused but so ashamed at the same time. you feel like such a pervert for thinking about abby this way but she seems so comfortable in this new situationship that’s unfolded between the two of you and it's as if all the existing boundaries been completely erased since that odd afternoon in the kitchen.

you get into bed with a strange sense of guilt lingering over you as you close your eyes tightly, as if trying to forget about everything that happened between the two of you. you lay there staring at the ceiling for a while, the experiences with abby feeling so surreal almost dream-like, and you’re not even quite sure how to process it all.

all you know for sure is that this changes everything between the two of you and it exceeds way beyond a fleeting infatuation or a silly crush on your end.

#*ੈ✩‧₊˚ ⋆.ೃ࿔myfics⌨️#abby anderson #abby tlou #tlou abby #abby anderson x reader #abby anderson x you #abby the last of us #abby x reader #abby anderson x female reader #abby anderson smut #abby x fem!reader

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itstheghostofmypast · 29 days

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MOOT GAME: " make up a trope for your moots and their biases. doesn’t need to be romantic. can be crackfic/funny/anything you want ^ㅇ(๑>◡<๑)ㅇ^ "

Okay- so, first of all, thank you so much Anon, for this ask and I'm sorry I responded to late, but I had to take my time with this one.😭💖.

So here it goes, (i know i said i'd do two biases, im sorry guys, i love yall too much and i get too invested the word count was killing me)

1) @edenesth

Park Seonghwa- Rivals to Lovers

Here me out, he owns an old book shop across the street, he's been there longer than you too. This was his turf, his town, his people, people who loved to read in his cozy library, with its olden print books, worn out pages, read through by generations of the same family.

All was great until one spring she shows up, with her whole pastel plus minimalistic vibes, all with the cutesy trinkets and plants, with warm lights- he noticed some books too, but they were only for show- in conclusion it was a horrid place.

A horrid place where most teens would go to after school now, no longer going to his bookshop, where they'd gossip, read novels or mangas, or even look at pretty pictured magazines (the safe kind, mind you he kept nothing nasty). What's worse was that the older folk began to go there, too! Especially because of how nice she was to them, so polite and so pretty and - ANNOYING.

He even went to 'inspect' the place, with a sour mood and an ill intention, though he was greeted with a burst of sweet aroma, one that had his stomach growling and his inner foodie, begging him to pick at least one of the many pastries or have a cup of steaming, delicious coffee. What came next was worst, her, with her gentle smile and angelic features.

"Hello! Welcome to Spring Avenue, how may we help you today?"

"You're taking my traffic."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Of course you don't."

With that he had walked out, starting a cold war, between the two. Ironically, she was a pacifist, never a fighter, but boy, did he piss her off, he knew all those buttons that would have her steaming like a hot latte.

The war had begun;

It all began when he put a " 10% off sign on Mangas, Fashion Magazines and Manhwas" that took a god chunk of her traffic.

In retaliation, she launched a "Friendship campaign, any customer that brings a friend gets a cake slice free."

Spend 2 hours reading here and leave with a borrowed book/novel of your choice."

"Buy a coffee and get a cookie free."

This continued throughout the season, so did their rivalry, to an extent that led their divided customers sense the tension. And like usual, highschoolers are escapists and this little feud of Seonghwa and her's was a problem they'd like to avoid, from her cafe they could see their beloved bookshop owner Seonghwa scowl at them, and if they were leaving the bookshop, the kids could feel the uneasiness in her smile that she give them once they'd pass her by.

"Congratulations, you're in loss." She sighed, closing the file, earning a scowl from the cafe owner, "Hey, I'm just here to check your bills, loss, and profit stuff, don't shoot the messenger."

"Alexia, come on." She whined, this was her dream, she'd put in her life's savings for this, "What should I do, Lexi?"

"Gosh, maybe not give out stupid discounts four times in a month?" Alexia sighed, rubbing her face, leaning back to stare at the bookshop across the street, "San said he knows the owner, maybe you guys could do a collab, instead of trying to each other's traffic."

"Who's San?" She asked her best friend, slash account manager and Public Relations officer- wait, was she dating!?

"Oh- uh- hey would you look at the time?" Alexia got up, grabbing her disposable coffee cup and bag, "Tell you what, you ask the bookshop owner dude about this? Okay? I'll get back with the details on Monday!" She called out as she walked towards the door, ignoring the cafe owner's questions about this San, "BYE LOVE YOU!"

That's how she found herself standing Infront of his bookshop that evening, still debating if she should go in or not? Was this idea even worth it, the guy was rude, annoying, stupid, incredibly handsome and sweet with kids and- the hell.

"Can I help you?" His deep voice came out of no where

She almost jumped out of her skin, only to turn around and spot the man she had been hating for the past ten months, standing there in all his angleic glory, with that ugly sweater and that overly comfortable scarf, not to mention his hair, his undercut had grown, quiet well too, perhaps he really was blessed with good genes.

"I uh..." she trailed off, pouting to herself, thinking of how he'd react, maybe he would make fun of her, or insult her or even go as far as to tell the town about her poor business management skills.

"Are you still open?" his question had caught her off guard, staring at him quietly wanting to see if this was a trick, only it wasn't, for when she nodded, he had looked around and then asked if he could...get a cup of coffee from there.

Of course she had said yes, why on earth would she say no to a customer, she needed the business. Unfortunately, that one cup of coffee, turned into two, then three, well- not as unfortunate as she would like it to be.

The two, mind you, who still didnt like each other, began to learn a lot about each other. He learnt how she was genuinely a sweet, caring and gentle person, her persona was indeed not fake but very real, this is who she was. She on the other hand, learned that he had inherited this business from his family, and he was an avid reader- sort a geek, a cute geek, a cute geek that could eat a whole chocolate cake with three mugs off coffee like it was nothing.

It wasn't until the third week of him visiting her cafe, that when he had stepped out to go there, he had bumped into her. She had almost fallen, but he was quick, gripping her wrist and pulling her into his chest, only to laugh when she mumbled an excuse, though he was glad she couldn't hear how his heart was hammering against his chest, wanting to stuff itself in the breast pocket of her coat.

That day she had asked him if she could check out his book shop, because she had been looking for old English bakery recipes and she couldn't find it anywhere, not any store around or online. Of course he had taken her to the right isle, in the right section in no time, this bookshop was his life and collecting and sifting through books was his passion, that day he had seen her passion, she had sat there, on the floor the entire night, reading book after book, mumbling to herself as she noted down recipes. He had sat next to her, helping her jot down notes, bringing her coffee- well not as good as hers, but good enough. At one point he had even ordered them a late night snack, well snacks, because he's a growing boy. He had closed the shop with the two inside, even pulled out a blanket and some cushions from the lounging area so she could comfortably work- she was a passionate girl and ironically he had realised something that night, only it turned into a full blown epiphany in the morning.

Next morning she had woken up right next to him, her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her as the blanket was draped over the two, they had fallen asleep while reading- oh my, he really was pretty up close.

Though the two pretended nothing had happened, nothing had changed, however, everyone around them had noticed, the highschoolers would giggle when he'd come to her cafe for a cup of coffee, or how the older folk would pat him on the back when she'd step into the bookshop calling him out for help, with her little, "Hwa?"

Neither really knew how it happened, but one night while closing up he had waited outside for her, telling her he'd drop her home, even though she lived close by. Slowly this had become part of their routine, he'd often talk about the latest manga or an issue to the Star Wars comics or whatever on earth he'd talk about, but she'd always listen. Always smile and laugh at his jokes, while he'd readily accept any test recipes she'd try, telling her that his stomach was like a blackhole.

But when do the two get together? Simple, on New Years Eve, when he had to close his shop but she had decided to leave her cafe open, wanting to cater to all those who were celebrating the arrival of the new year with their loved ones, she knew Seonghwa had to go home anyway and she didn't want to spend the night alone since her family was out of town. What she did not expect was a few minutes before the strike of midnight, the cafe door chimed open as she turned to greet the customer, only to freeze at the sight before her- Seonghwa entering with a bouqet of origami flowers, smiling at her as he slowly walked to her;

"I- I know you don't like plucking flowers or bouqets, so I made you these."

"You...made these?"

"Ofcourse."

"W-why?"

"I...because I..." but before he could finish his sentence his ears picked up the count down, causing him to quickly place the flowers on the counter and as soon as the fireworks rang in her ears, it was as if she could feel the burning warmth in her body, taking a second to process how his lips were on hers, his hands cupping her face as her hands instinctively went up to grip his coat, pulling him even closer. Who knew that one day she'll end up opening a cafe that also served as a bookstore, who knew that one day, her little, evil, handsome rival bookseller, would be the New Year's kiss she never knew she needed, the man she never knew she needed, the lover that she was blessed to have.

2) @yessa-vie

Jeong Yunho- Neighbors to Lovers

No, she was not the new tenant, he was, and for some ungodly reason he was also extremely ill-prepared to live alone. Like any other weekend, she was leaving her apartment to go to the cafe to sit in peace and finish her novel, but God had other plans. She had opened the door to come face to face with a tall, good-looking man, though the smile he wore scared her- he was one of those extroverts.

No, he was not mean at all, nor was he the manipulative kind, Jeong Yunho really didn't know how the pre-installed dishwasher worked, that's why he had come to her that fateful weekend, about to knock on the door but she had beat him to it, opening the door before he could, earning a sheepish smile in return- who knew his neighbour would be so gorgeous, who knew purple could look so good on someone?

"Hey, I- I moved in across the hall, apartment 19, lol, I guess we're neighbours, huh?"

She had only nodded meekly at his question, pulling her satchel closer to her person, not because she didn't like him, no, but because she wasn't much of a talker anymore, not so confident either and also- because regardless of how good looking this stranger was, he was still a stranger.

"I'm Yunho- Sorry to bother you, I know you must be going somewhere, but I- I uh- I wanted to know if you know how to operate the dishwasher?"

That's how she found herself in his apartment, leaving the maindoor wide open, so she could escape if something were to happen, but to her surprise he was just a regular idiot, one who thought the dishwasher was a rack used to dry the dishes- men.

That night Yunho met an angel, one who seemingly had her life planned out, held together well, while he was still trying to build something out of his- data analyst or not, living alone was not the easiest thing to do, yet, she seemed so nonchalant about it.

Overtime however, she noticed how he would come over to ask her for help often, sometimes it was the 'fridge isn't working right' other times it was the 'how much water do you add to rice while boiling it?' Honestly, she would've told him to piss off if it were anyone else, but it was her polite neighbour, her sweet polite, new neighbour who would pass her by in the corridor every morning, smiling at her and wishing her a good morning- even if she wasn't a morning person.

Ironically, he continued to ensure they cross paths, only because he wanted to get to know her, to talk to her, he really needed a friend, and since moving here meant Mingi and him could no longer hang out 24/7, he really needed another person to talk to, someone who was not Hongjoong from the finance department.

Ironically, she did not protest or tell him to get lost, instead she's quietly help him whenever he'd approach her, giving him a shy smile then going back to her apartment. That purple door tempting him to go back and knock on the old wood, wanting to know what Narnia like secrets she hid behind.

She let it be, truthfully, she wanted fo befriended him, but during these little adventures, she realised she had begun to neglect her book, the same book she had a deadline for, the same book she had been working on day and night, and now this puppy pops up and takes all her attention?

So what does she do? Simple, she starts to create some form of distance, leave before he'd be awake, come back home later too, also even if he did come to knock on her purple door, she wouldn't be there to answer it, so technically she wouldn't feel guilty right?

Wrong, instead God had punished her with a severe writer's block, one so bad that she had missed two of her deadlines, and according to her publisher, she was on her last chance. That's how she found herself at the very cafe where she would find solace, now on the verge of tears, staring at the laptop in pure agony, maybe this was payback for leaving him unattended and ignoring him or maybe she was never meant to be a writer.

A fresh cup of coffee was placed next to her hand, causing her to quickly pull back and look at the stranger, only her panicked eyes met a softer, more timid gaze, a gentle smile gracing her presence.

"Hey... you looked like you needed the juice." He smiled, gesturing towards the chair, as if asking for permission to sit down next to her, to which she nodded.

"I uh..." she paused. Should she even be asking him how he's been? Does she have the right to do so, or are they just neighbours- well, at this point, two strangers living across each other.

"I read your books by the way," he began, giving her a gentle smile, as he felt the way she had tensed up, honestly, initially he thought she was like that because his presence made her uncomfortable, but he soon realised it wasn't him, but she usually was this tensed all the time, this nervous and unsure, which made no sense to him because she was one of the most well functioning person he had met in the city, and he was glad to have moved in next to her, "It's great, the plotline is amazing and the details- you really captured the essence, I particularly liked the world you created, honestly, when I moved here I thought everyone wore those 'blockers' too. To not...feel stuff you know," he turned to look at her, only to catch her staring at him, a small chuckle escaping him when she cleared her throat, averting her gaze, "You were the only one who was nice enough to help me, even for the stupidest of tasks...it means a lot."

She stared at him in awe and disbelief. She had been trying to avoid him for almost a month now, couldn't he tell? Or was he just playing dumb- I mean he totally could be dumb, he didn't know a toaster comes with settings, just thought the numbers were there for the appeal.

After that the two began to "spend time together", it was strictly casual mind you, nothing personal, though he would drop by more often than usual, sometimes after work, sometimes on the weekends- to have dinner with her, he'd bring dessert, or to watch a movie with her, he'd bring the snacks- no, nothing domestic at all.

Or so they thought, because a few months in, he had come over by swinging the door open, yes he had the keys and she had his keys, only to find her standing there all dressed up.

"Where are you off to? What about movie night?"

"Oh no..." she gasped, "Yuyu, I forgot to tell you I had a date tonight." A date? Why? With whom?

"Wait, why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"Why would you go on a date when we- I mean...isn't it weird? Shouldn't you be more focused on your book, instead of this temporary romance?"

"Temporary romance?!"

"W-wait, I didn't mean it like that. It came out wrong-"

"Out."

"W-what?"

"I said get out!"

That happened a week ago, she had been avoiding him for a whole week, she had been ignoring his calls, his texts, his knocks- no he didn't barge into her apartment, it took him a great amount of time to get her to open up to him and he idiotically clowned himself. So he decided to go to the next thing, go to the official reading of her book launch.

He waited there at the back, listening to her intently, taking in each word, who knew he would ever fall in love with, her neighbour, the same girl who had helped with the dishwasher, brought him dinner at night, spent time teaching him the usual ropes of living alone- who knew the very same girl had changed the plot of the book, basing it on her life, expressing how the shy, depressed protagonist, who thought dying her hair purple would make her feel better, realised that the only thing that would make her feel better would be a companion, a tall, handsome man, with a heart of gold- it was not that she needed a man, no, she just needed a friend, and she had finally found one, the inspiration to her writer's block, the Chandler to her Monica, the- HE DIES!?

He gasped, appalled at the way she had ended the story, where at the end, on his deathbed the man tells his beloved how she never needed him, but he needed her to function, to live through each day- bloody hell.

He waited for them to leave when he finally approached her, somewhat upset-no, he was very upset, as she stopped cleaning up to look at him, raising a questioning brow, "What?"

"I can't believe you!"

"Funny, Jeong, I should be the one saying that."

"What!? You killed me!?"

"What?"

"I come here to declare my undying love- no I come here to tell you how much you mean to me and apologise for never asking you out but getting upset when someone actually asked you out and you KILL ME IN YOUR NOVE?"

"First of all, I accept your apology, secondly, the protagonist was DEFINITELY NOT YOU, I made him up WAY BEFORE I met you."

"Oh..." he stared at her then looked around the almost empty bookshop, maybe he should just leave-

"So...Will you ask me out properly now or...'l"

"Move in with me."

"Too fast."

"Was worth a shot." He smiled when she let out a small laugh shaking her head at his antics, "Take me to dinner, Yunho." She smiled watching him lean closer then pause, as if asking for her permission, "Can I...?" His question was answered when she gripped him by the lapels of his coat, pulling him closer to crash her lips against his, smiling when he wrapped his arms around her, pulling back only to press his forehead against hers,

"We move into my apartment..."

"What? Mine's great-"

"Yunho, have you seen the window and the balcony on mine?"

"Your apartment it is boss."

3) @jaehunnyy

Choi San- Bestfriends to Lovers

Idiots, these two were complete idiots who were utterly in love with each other but were also too blind to realise that - why? Simple, because both feared that confessing to the other may ruin the long-held, deep bond.

A bond that had developed at the ripe age of childhood, middle school, to be more accurate. The day he had come to school, bored out of his mind, staring outside the window, wondering if he could jump on the closest tree to escape this prison. What he had not expected was an angel to come and sit beside him, well technically, the teacher had made her sit next to him, and he hadn't noticed her until she poked his shoulder lighter, causing him to jerk back and gasp, earning a few chuckles from the glass as the teacher just sighed in defeat.

"Wh-Hello."

"Do you need help with that?" She asked, pointing at the math equation in front of him. He looked at his notebook and remembered that's what they were supposed to me doing- damn that was a lot of daydreaming.

"Yeah, I guess...do you... know how to solve it?" He asked the new girl, too afraid to make eyecontact.

"Here, I'll show you." Turning to face him, she pulled his scribbled notebook closer.

"I'm San by the way."

That day onwards, a nice and quiet introvert at the back of the class finally began to crack open. From time to time, you'd hear him whispering to her, talking about some anime or a film. Often, he'd be telling her about his cat, Byeol, and how pretty she was. During break you wouldn't see San next to her for the first five minutes, no, he'd be sprinting across the campus,jumping down the stairs to go to the canteen to get her something to drink with her lunch, or a sweet snack, regardless of how many times she'd say 'it's fine.' During self study hours, she wouldn't be studying, no, she'd be busy tutoring her athletically gifted friend, he was...a little dumb, but that's okay, he was hardworking and she'd tell him she'd help him where he'd get stuck, explain and tutor where needed- especially in math.

As they grew older, he grew into his body, his self-esteem issues slowly subsiding, his feelings for her deepening, yet, never enough to tip the scale, at the bring of an edge but never enough to flow out he had to keep it all under control, because that's just how San was, patient and calm, he would never take a step if there was an ounce of the doubt when it came to how she felt about him. Though watching her spread her wings into the beauty she was, well, was somewhat problematic for him. Especially when she'd come to him, smiling like that, greeting him with the gentle voice of hers, asking him if he liked her haircut.

"What do you think?"

"It's...very nice."

"Just very nice?"

"You'd look pretty to me even if you were bald."

Conversations like these would have her heart hammering against her ribcage, and she'd pray to God that he couldn't hear it. She'd pray for it when he'd be walking home side by side, his shoulder bumping into hers, or his hand brushing against hers, when he'd take her bag from her, clicking his tongue at how heavy it would be,

"You trynna' build muscles like me?" He'd ask, though he was still very fragile, he'd only started going to the gym when he noticed how the 'basketball team captain', had decided to ask her to 'help tutor him too', though she had politely declined.

"Hmm? Of course not, Advanced Math books are just big like that..."

"Why do you do this to yourself, dove?" A nickname she had gained over the time, one used only by him.

"Because I wanna teach one day, I love teaching, I want to make sure people realise subjects aren't difficult or they aren't dumb, it's just that they're not taught properly."

Yup, he was smitten, on his knees, begging for her please ( he was also an idiot).

Ended up in college with her, though in a different major, like hell the now 'mountain of a man', no longer the kitten-like fragile boy, was going to major in math- business was a way better option.

This wasn't a bad situation, though they rarely had a few classes together, she'd still make time to see him, to text him as soon as class would end, but he'd already be standing at the exit, waiting for her with a coffee in hand and a dimpled smile, reserved just for her.

In no means was Choi San an extrovert, but somehow along the line he had met one, who later claimed that his MBTI had changed to an introvert too, though he doubted that notion- Jung Wooyoung.

Boistorous, noisy, obnoxious but a genuinely nice person at heart, Wooyoung was his companion in his major's classes, he was also the first person to know about San's little secret, since San trusted him enough to know, though Wooyoung assured him he had figured it out as soon as San introduced him to her as his "bestfriend".

"You're an idiot." Wooyoung snorted, taking off his shoes as he walked into the 4th years tiny apartment.

"What? Why?"

"You really think I didn't know?"

"How did you kno-'

"You can be bestfriends with a girl since childhood, unless a) one of you confessed to the other and got friendzoned but still chose friendship or b) neither of you confessed but are secretly crushing over the other."

"Wow, should've been a psychologist instead of a business major."

"What can I say, Sannie? I am a man of many talents."

Things progressed like this for a long time, Wooyoung watched from the sidelines how the two would basically act like a couple that was not a couple- almost everyone at campus thought they were a couple and Wooyoung was basically the third wheel. Not that he minded, and San appreciated him for that, he was glad Wooyoung's relationship with his dove was platonic- borderline sibling-like.

But Choi San was a fool, one that Choi San, at the fresh age of 25 wished that perhaps he'd be able to take the next steps, but something at the back of his mind held him back, were his personal desires as important as this friendship?

Which is why he stood there watching his best friend get ready for her date, her date with Wooyoung. After a conversation he did not like, but what could he say? He was too afraid to even confess, and well, Wooyoung wasn't a bad guy, and technically, he was his friend.

"I'm gonna ask her out, Sannie." The brunnet sighed, before taking a sip of his coffee, humming at the bitterness, perhaps this bitterness was sweeter than the bitter taste that had developed in San's mouth at the statement.

"W-why?" The bigger man with the fragile heart whispered.

"Because...I like her...I'm sorry but...I gave you time, so much of it and...I just wanted you to be the first one to know...if she says no, we'll all still be friends, but if she says yes...San, I won't hold back."

That had led to her first anniversary with Wooyoung, then the second and finally a day before their third anniversary San had texted the couple how he wouldn't be able to make it to their anniversary party because he had work that day and he wished them the best.

What he did not expect was someone knocking on his door at 2 am, opening the door to find a tear stained Wooyoung, only for him to punch the taller man in the face, watching him stumble backwards then wipe his eyes and sigh, "I swear- if you weren't such a great guy, I would've stabbed you."

"What the F*CK WOOYOUNG?"

That night was the first time he had seen Wooyoung cry, cry about how when she read the message she had become a mess, one that even Wooyoung couldn't fix, begging him for forgiveness how she made a mistake, how even though she was happy with Wooyoung, her heart belonged to someone else, someone who she thought she could move on from since he never confessed, since he never liked her back the way she did, and though the text was a confirmation of that, she couldn't bear lying to Wooyoung, to give him only half the love of what he deserved, knowing he deserved someone who would teach him the true meaning of love, because she was a teacher with only one student in mind, the idiot of a man- Choi San.

That night San couldn't sleep, not a wink, he processed the words over and over again, so did she like him? Should he confess to her? Now? Wouldn't that make it awkward? Or should he wait? Would that be a mistake?

Though his questions were answered in the morning when the doorbell rang at 7 am, making the sleepy man sigh as he stumbled to the door with blurry eyes, opening it still half asleep, only the slap he received woke sobered him up quickly,

"OW- WH- WHY ARE YOU JUST LIKE WOOYOUNG!?"

"SHUT UP! DONT TAKE HIS NAME! I HURT HIM BECAUSE OF YOU!" Never in the many years of knowing her, had she raised her voice like that.

"I-"

"NO! LISTEN TO ME!" She yelled before shoving him inside so she could continue yelling inside, "I like you- and you- you d*ck you could tell him you liked me but you couldn't tell me!? All those horrible dates you watched me go to, but you couldn't stop me?! You knew you liked me yet you let Woo ask me out!?"

"I- I didn't wanna ruin what we had..."

"San, I- what if I had married Woo? Huh? Then what? When you already had half my heart, I-"

She couldn't finish her sentence though, because the next thing she knew, he was smothering her with all that pent up love, his lips pressing against hers with a ferocity she had ever seen in her gentle Sannie, wanting to claim what he was too scared to touch before.

He only pulled back when she lightly pushed him back, gasping for air, looking up at him all flushed and pink, her swollen lips just enticing him even more,

"W-what was that?" She breathed out.

"Never say you're marrying anyone but me, I would've ruined the wedding even if it meant being thrown out."

"You're an idiot Sannie."

"No, I just had a teacher who could teach me math, but couldn't teach me how to love properly - guess she was learning too."

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starryevermore · 5 months

Text

tis the damn season ✧ jamie tartt

angst city™ library | send in a request (consult request faqs first)

pairing: jamie tartt x fem!reader

summary: he won’t ask you to wait if you don’t ask him to stay. so he’ll go back to london and the so-called friends who’ll write books about him, if he ever makes it, and wonder about the only soul who can tell which smiles he’s faking. and the heart he knows he’s breaking is his own, to leave the warmest bed he’s ever known.

word count: 4,850

warnings?: 18+ MINORS DNI, (badly written) smut, unprotected sex, pinv sex, angst, breaking up, pining, not proofread

Jamie Tartt was not the type of man to fall in love. He didn’t think he was capable of it. Something about his heart, maybe. Something about how his dad made him feel like love was a weakness. That if he ever opened himself up to a person like that, his dad would be disappointed, and where there came disappointment… If he was a poet, he could probably say it more eloquently. But Jamie Tartt was a far cry from a poet. The best he could say was that he couldn’t love—no matter what, no matter who.

And maybe that’s why it stung, just a little bit, when his mum mentioned you.

He had come back up to Manchester for the holidays—something he seldom did, in an effort to avoid his dad. But he missed home, he missed his mum. And, besides, it was the holidays. There were no games to be played. No training he had to attend. It was kind of sad to be at the bars and clubs on Christmas. What else was he to do besides go home? Was there anything left for him in London? So, he came and prayed that James Tartt would be nowhere to be found.

He was lucky in that regard, but all luck runs out eventually.

“I saw that girl you used to go to school with when I went to the shop yesterday,” Georgie said when Jamie came down for dinner. Jamie grabbed one of the rolls Simon made, scarfing it down before grabbing a second. He watched his mum as he chewed, wondering where she was going with this. “Oh, what’s her name? The one who always had her nose in a book? You remember, the girl you always followed around like a puppy.”

Oh, Jamie remembered you. He remembered you quite well. You were his first actual girlfriend, back before he became a famous footballer. You didn’t care much for football, or the fact that Jamie’s right foot had been kissed by God and that he was well on his way of making a career out of the only thing he cared for. Well, okay, you did care about him achieving his dreams (had they been his dreams? or had all of it been something his father pushed on him? fuck—this is why he doesn’t come home for the holidays. it makes him think too much). But you cared more about him. You cared about how rocky road was his favorite ice cream flavor. You cared about how Disney movies were his favorite—and not the newer shit, the classic stuff. You cared about how he liked to be held and have his hair played with. You cared about how Jamie would try to read the books you loved just to try to understand you more. You cared, and he couldn’t, and that’s why it ended.

He muttered your name before shoveling another forkful of food into his mouth.

“That’s right! Sweet girl, she is, you know? Anyway, apparently she’s opened up this cute little book shop.”

“Why’re you telling me about this?” Jamie asked, mid-way through chewing his food. Simon gave him a disapproving look. Simon only looked disapproving when Jamie forgot his manners. But why should he give a fuck about manners? He was signed by Man City! He was such a good footballer that he got loaned out to Richmond to help their pathetic asses! Jamie Tartt could be a complete and utter prick, and nothing would ever go wrong. He could have anything, anyone he wanted. (Except, maybe, you.)

“I stopped in the other day, during the big grand opening,” Georgie continued. “It was such a wonderful event. She even made cookies! You remember them? Those little peanut butter things that you would always beg for? Oh, Simon might have cracked the code on the recipe!” She nudged Simon with her elbow. “‘Course, he could always just ask for the recipe. I’m sure she would be happy to give it. But he has to do everything himself!”

Jamie stared at his mum. She would get to her point eventually. No need in him saying anything until she reached it.

“Anyways, she was asking about you. Said she hoped you were doing well. I told her you were, that you were doing well at Richmond. But I think you should stop by her shop. It would be nice to see her, wouldn’t it?”

He shrugged. “I guess. Don’t really talk to her anymore, y’know? Haven’t for years. Be kinda weird to show up now.”

“Just think about it, okay? I think she’d be happy to see you.”

He shrugged, again. If Jamie was honest with himself, he would agree it would be nice to see you. But…Well, the last time he saw you, he hadn’t exactly left on good terms.

Six Years Ago…

Jamie couldn’t meet your gaze. If he looked you in the eyes, he would falter. If he faltered, he would never make it out of here. And, fuck, he really needed to make it out of here. But when you spoke to him, your voice quivering ever so slightly, he nearly broke his resolve.

“What are you saying, JamJam?”

Okay. Okay, that he could focus on. Direct his frustrations to that. If he made a big deal out of that, he could stamp down all of the other awful feelings he had towards that.

“Don’t call me that. I hate it when you call me that,” Jamie lied.

A frown settled on your face. You took a step towards him, reaching out. He took a step back. “I don’t understand why you’re acting like this. Why are you doing this?”

Jamie looked away again. Fuck, he really couldn’t do this. How do other people break up so easily? His dad had no problem leaving his mum. Why was he having so much trouble leaving you? He tried to think back to something his dad had said—anything his dad had said—when he was having horrible, blow out fights with his mum that Jamie couldn’t ignore no matter how many times he tried stuffing his ears. But his mind was drawing a blank.

He couldn’t think straight when he was with you.

“Well? Are you going to say something or are you going to keep acting like a dick?”

He sucked in a breath and settled on, “I can’t be with someone like you anymore. Would look bad for my career.”

“Your career…?” you repeated. You shook your head, like you couldn’t believe what you were hearing. “Is this really because you’ve signed to Man City?”

Jamie shrugged. He didn’t know what he could say to you. Anything that came out of his mouth would only make things worse. Not that this was really going well. But he couldn’t…He didn’t want to break your heart, not really. He’d wanted this to be a clean break. Something that you’d understand, and you’d let him go. But everything he said just made it harder and harder to go.

“Because if it is, you really are the biggest fucking prick I’ve ever met,” you continued. “Like, seriously? You finally start making it big and you want to throw everything from your old, poor life behind? What’s next? You’re gonna tell Georgie you won’t take her calls anymore? Pretend that you never knew any of us?”

“Don’t talk about my mum.” Ugh, fuck. This was going worse than he ever could have imagined. He looked back at you, trying to give you the most disinterested look he could manage. “Just get outta here. I don’t have time for this anymore.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “You are a fucking prick. What, you’ll defend your mum but rag on me? That’s spineless, Jamie. If you want to break up with me because you’re going to be too famous for me, just fucking say so.”

Shit. This wasn’t how he wanted this to go. He didn’t want to make you angry. He just…He wanted you to understand. (But understand what? That he was a spineless coward, letting his dad’s words about not needing to be tied down when he entered the big leagues get to his head?) “Always been a prick. You’re just finally catching up with everyone else.”

You rolled your eyes again. With a shake of your head, you said, “You know what? I hope this is all worth it. Making me hate you before you leave. Because now all I can think when I see you is that I can’t believe I wasted my time with a guy who can’t even be honest with me.”

Jamie bit his tongue, holding back everything he wanted to say to you. To tell you the truth, to apologize and get on his knees and grovel until you forgave him. But instead, he only looked away. “Whatever.”

For a long moment, you stared at him, not saying a word. Probably waiting for him to make the first move, to see if he was going to actually let you in. But when he didn’t, you only shook your head, turned, and left.

Jamie stood there, listening to you go down the stairs, shout a goodbye at Georgie, then the door shut. A minute later, his mum came up the stairs, poking her head in. She tutted when she saw all of his things strewn about the room, not even close to being finished packing.

“I thought she was going to help you pack? You two get distracted again?” Georgie asked.

“Something like that,” Jamie grumbled. He grabbed his duffel bag, starting to shove his shirts in it. “Don’t gotta worry about that no more. She won’t distract me anymore.”

Georgie frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

Jamie looked out the window, catching a glimpse of you as you walked down the street to your own home. “Just don’t gotta worry anymore. We won’t be seeing her around anymore.”

And, oh, how he hated himself for that. But he would never admit it. He’d rather lie to himself, convince himself that this was a good thing, than admit that he just made what was, perhaps, the biggest mistake of his life.

“I’m going out a run,” Jamie said when dinner was finished and Simon began to collect the plates to be washed.

Georgie rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Can take my boy away from the game, but can’t take the game out of my boy,” she teased, reaching over and pinching one of his cheeks. Jamie let out a chuckle at the gesture. More seriously, she said, “Be careful. And make sure you have your phone on ya, yeah? Just ‘cause you’re a big footballer now, doesn’t mean that you can’t get into trouble.”

Jamie nodded, not really listening. He just needed to get out of there, if only for an hour or two. He loved his mum, yeah, but something about how the conversation turned to you really unnerved him. He’d done just fine not thinking about you for the last however many years. But now that you were forced back into his brain, he couldn’t figure out how to shake you out. So, he slipped on his trainers, pulled on a jacket, and shouted his goodbye to his mum and Simon before disappearing into the night.

He wasn’t quite sure where he was heading. It was like his feet had a mind of his own, taking him wherever they pleased. And who was he to judge? After all, his feet made his fucking career. Without his feet, he would have nothing. So, if they wanted to take him on a tour of Manchester, fine by him. It’s just…Well, he’d prefer it if the tour didn’t end right outside of your bookshop.

Jamie stared at the “open” sign for a long time. It was odd for a shop to be open so late, but you always were a night owl. You thrived when the sun went down. (His heart hurt when he realized just how easy it was to recall such simple details like that. How, even after all these years, he still knew you like the back of his hand.)

There was a strong urge to keep running. To jog right past your shop and pretend that he never saw it. That he was never tempted to see you again, no matter how much his heart earned to just hear you one last time. It would be easier that way. Jamie had no idea what you felt towards him. If the anger still simmered from that fight. If your heart still earned for him, too. If you didn’t feel anything towards him at all—not love, not hatred, not anything. But there was a stronger urge to push open that shop, if only to get a glimpse of your face. He didn’t have to say anything. He could pretend he was at the wrong place, turn and run before you could even realize who was there. (He couldn’t do that, though. If he was going to commit, he had to commit. There was no backing out. If he was going to see you, he was going to see you.)

Holding his breath, Jamie pushed open the door, a little bell jingling as it swung.

There was no turning back now.

“We’re about to close!” you shouted from somewhere in the back of the shop. “So unless you know exactly what you’re looking for and where to find it, go ahead and head on out!”

Jamie followed the sound of your voice, finding you in the back corner of the shop. It was a cute little knitting corner, with loads of yarn and needles and books of patterns. There was a long table, with a bunch of seats around it. Did people come here to knit? That was kind of cute. Jamie wondered, briefly, if you knew how to knit, and if maybe you could teach him. He’d like to have something to do with his hands when he had moments to relax.

And you…God, you looked even more beautiful than the last time he saw you. How was that even possible?

You weren’t even trying to look beautiful. Your hair was tied up, out of your face. Some strands had fallen loose. On anyone else, it might have made them look disheveled. But on you? It made you look like a goddess. You wore a large white sweater (had you made it in this little knitting corner?) and a long patterned skirt. From the bottom of your skirt, he could see a pair of socks peeking out. They looked like those sort of socks that had famous paintings printed on them. Jamie didn’t really know the names of any famous paintings, so he wasn’t entirely sure what it was. To top it all off, you wore the same chunky white trainers you’d worn the last time he ever saw you. Adorable, and practical—a perfect description of everything he knew you to be.

“Thought you were gonna be a doctor somethin’,” Jamie said, tearing his eyes away from you and at the rows and rows of shelves. The shelves had little chalkboard signs above them with the genre written on them. They had a little bit of artwork corresponding to the genre, too. A bloody knife and the scream mask for horror, some hearts and flowers for romance, what looked to be an impressive portrait of Gandalf for fantasy. Did you draw them? He didn’t remember you being very artistic, and he thought he knew everything there was to know about you. Maybe he didn’t know much of you at all anymore.

When you turned, there was shock clearly written all over your face. Your brows were raised, your mouth dropped open. You looked at him almost like you’d seen a ghost. Like, of all the people that could’ve shown up in your shop, he was the very last person you’d ever think to see. Maybe that was his fault.

But then you smiled at him. He liked your smile. It wasn’t like the strange, uncanny smiles of the models he surrounded himself with—all perfectly straight, so white it could blind him. No, your teeth were natural, and perfect. “It didn’t make me happy like I thought it would.”

“Ah.” He didn’t really understand that. Was the point of a career to be happy? Wasn’t it just to make loads of money? To get your parents off your back?

“And are you? Happy, I mean? Playing football.”

Jamie paused. That was an odd question. “I’m a top scorer at Richmond. At the last game, I—”

You held up your hand, signaling for him to stop talking. His mouth shut, and you said, “Jamie, I didn’t ask for your stats. If I wanted to know those, I could look them up myself. I asked if you were happy.”

Jamie paused again. He wasn’t quite sure the answer to that question. The only other person who ever really cared about that was his mum, and she’d been too excited to see him to ask that question yet. Was he happy? What did being happy really mean? “I don’t know.”

You frowned. Oh, he hated that. You frowning, he means, but also that look you were giving him. How your brows were pinched together, how you stared at him like you could see straight into his soul. You probably could. You’d always been smart like that. If there was anyone who could figure out a way to see into the thoughts, feelings, character of people…Well, it would have to be you. Or maybe his mum. But definitely you.

“Oh, Jamie.”

And there it was. Perhaps the reason he found himself standing in your little shop just as it was closing. Perhaps the reason he couldn’t get you out of his head. Perhaps the reason that, even after all these years, all he could think about was how badly he fucked this.

You stepped toward him, wrapping your arms around him. You pulled his face down into the crook of your neck. If you were anyone else, he might have wrenched away, told you to fuck off. But it was you, and he liked the way you smelled of roses, vanilla, and freshly brewed coffee. So he let himself wrap his arms around your waist, to take the moment to inhale your scent as he stood in your embrace.

Being that close to you…He couldn’t help himself. Couldn’t stop himself from pressing a kiss to your neck, pressing another when he heard you gasp. You were always so sensitive, so easy to rile up. A bit of pride swelled in his chest, knowing that he had all the right buttons to press memorized. He kissed up your neck, down your jaw, pausing just as his lips were about to meet yours.

“Stop me,” he whispered. He didn’t want you to, not really. But he wanted you to know you had a way out. That you were in control.

Instead, you kissed him. A small moan escaped your lips. Fuck, he always loved the little noises you would make for him. He used to make a game of it, to see how quickly he could make you cry and whimper and whine for him.

His hands fell to your waist, gripping it tight as he lifted you up onto the table. Your legs wrapped around his hips and tugged him closer. He grew hard, just from being this close to you. Fuck, he had really missed you. Missed this. What had he been thinking all those years ago to let you go?

“Fuck me, Jamie, please,” you whined, reaching down, fiddling with his zipper.

“Don’t got a condom—” he started to say when he remembered that he’d left his wallet at home. (How could he not have a condom?) As much as he wanted this, he didn’t want to take any risks. At least, not without you being okay with it.

“Don’t care. ‘m on the pill.”

“You sure?”

“Quit talking and fuck me, please,” you grumbled, nipping at his lips.

Jamie let out a chuckle, helping you free his cock from his pants. He pushed your skirt up, pulled your panties to the side to see if you were ready for him. A smirk settled on his face as he felt how wet you were. “Desperate for me, huh?” he teased, pressing kisses down your jaw.

“Can you blame me?”

“Not one bit.”

He pushed his cock past your slick folds, groaning at the feeling. God, he’d forgotten how tight your pussy was. How you clenched around him with every thrust, how you sucked him back in, determined to take every last inch.

“You're fucking perfect, love,” he said, panting with each thrust. “Dunno why I left you. Shoulda stayed. Shoulda been content with you.”

Your brows pinched together—whether from the pleasure or from his confession, he wasn’t too sure. Your mouth opened, ready to say something, but his cock hit that spongy spot deep in your cunt and a moan escaped instead. Your arms wrapped around him, your nails digging into his shoulders through his shirt. “Y-You don’t mean that,” you gasped, your eyes squeezed shut.

“I do. I do—” Jamie pulled you closer, his thrusts growing shallower. He reached between your legs, thumb settling on your clit, rubbing his fast circles, helping you reach your high with him. “You mean everything to me. Always fucking have.”

“JamJam—” you said, your voice growing louder as he hit that sensitive spot again, and again, and again. His heart stuttered at the nickname. He thought he would never hear it again, never hear you call him that again. Whatever you were going to say next was lost in a moan so loud you nearly screamed, cumming around him, squeezing the life out of his cock.

Jamie came not long after, his head falling to the crook of your neck, a groan escaping his lips. He pressed a kiss to your neck, staying like that for just a moment, trying to commit it to memory. “I mean it. Shoulda stayed.”

You pressed against his shoulder. He pulled away with a frown. You offered a small smile. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better. This was enough.”

He took a moment to tuck his softening cock away to try and collect his thoughts. How could you not understand that he was being genuine? Did you really think he was the sort of guy who’d say things he didn’t mean just to have sex with you? (Though, to be fair, he was that sort of guy. But not with you, never with you. You were the only person who could ever get the genuine side of him.)

“I want to stay with you forever. To throw it all away.”

You stayed silent, sensing that this mind was working too fast for him to figure out how to say all the things he wanted to say. So, you let him stand there and process. You were always so good about that. Would always give him the room to figure things out instead of making him feel like an idiot for not knowing to talk about the hard things.

Jamie’s hands came to rest on your hips as you stayed there in the silence. He rubbed small circles on the bit of exposed skin that appeared when your sweater became untucked from your skirt in all the madness. He liked this. He liked soft moments with you. When he was younger, he used to swear he would bottle them all up and keep them forever. He liked it then, and he liked it now. But, as he stood there with you, it all began to weight down on him. This scared him. This kind of commitment he was willing to give you…It could never work out.

“But I can’t stay,” he whispered.

You reached up, caressing his face, running your fingers through his hair. He let himself shut his eyes, to enjoy the moment. He knew it wouldn’t last. “I know.”

“I shouldn’t have come here,” he mumbled, mostly to himself. You stilled, your fingers no longer scratching at his scalp. “It’s too hard to leave now.”

“Oh, Jamie—”

“But I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Couldn’t get you outta my fucking head. Didn’t even mean to show up here, but it’s like my feet were working all on their own. Like they had their own brain or somethin’, I don’t know.”

You scratched at his scalp again, dragging your nails and soothing him. “It’s alright, Jamie. I never thought you were going to stick around. You were always meant for more.”

Jamie sniffled. He pressed his face into the crook of your neck so you couldn’t see his face. He pretended like he didn’t know you could feel the tears trickling out of his eyes. “You’re enough, though. You’re more than enough for me.”

“But you can’t stay,” you finished his thought.

“I’m nothing without football. There isn’t anything else I can do. I’m not brilliant like you,” he mumbled. “I can’t just leave what I’d been working for my entire life and open a book shop because it makes me happy.”

“Football doesn’t make you happy anymore?”

“It does, but you make me happier.” He looked up, letting you see the tears rolling down his cheeks.

You caressed his face, your thumb rubbing the swell of his cheek. A tear smeared across his face as you did so. “JamJam, you’ve always been meant for more. But if that’s not what you want anymore…It’s okay to leave those things behind. It’ll hurt, it’ll suck, but if it means you’ll be happier…It’ll always be worth it.”

Jamie shook his head. No. You didn’t understand. How could you? You didn’t have to deal with his dad. You didn’t have the same expectations, the same level of scrutiny. If the media found out he left football for this life, a simple life, then they’d never let him have a day of peace. They would still follow him around, talk shit about everything he did. And, God, if they found out about you…You didn’t deserve that kind of hatred they’d spew. He couldn’t ruin your peace for his own selfish reasons.

“You don’t get it.”

“Then explain it to me, JamJam. Help me understand.”

He pushed himself away, turned his back to you. He couldn’t do this. “I have to leave.”

You followed after him. But when you reached out for him, he jerked away. “JamJam…Jamie, I love you. I have always loved you, but if you runaway right now…I don’t know that I can let you in again.”

Jamie swallowed thickly. He hated this. He hated it so much, but it was what he needed to do. He had to do this, no matter how much his heart and his brain screamed at him otherwise. “That’s probably for the best.”

When you didn’t say anymore, he started to walk away. With every step he took, it felt like he was leaving a part of himself behind. He fought every instinct to look back at you, to come running into your arms, to tell you he was an idiot and he could never leave you again.

“Jamie?” you called out. He paused in his step, but didn’t turn. “Is this because you think being with someone like me will hurt your career?”

The tears started to well up in his eyes again. He was grateful you couldn’t see his face, that you couldn’t tell how much this was hurting him. He didn’t want to taint this moment anymore than he already was. “That was never true. You…you were always more amazing than I ever deserved. You should be with someone better than me.”

You were silent for a beat, then two. For a second, he wondered if you even heard him. Should he repeat himself? Or would that just make things worse? Finally, you said, “Goodbye, Jamie.”

“Goodbye, love.”

He left the shop without turning back. But, as he crossed the street, he turned. Watched as the lights in the shop slowly turned off. As you came out, locking the door behind you. He almost ducked behind a lamppost, not wanting you to realize he was still hanging around. But he didn’t, letting you see him as you turned around. You offered him a sad smile and a wave before turning and walking away. Away from him, from his life, forever.

Jamie opened his mouth, ready to call out to you. But he shouldn’t. He couldn’t. You deserved better than a man who always so hot and cold with you. So, he turned, too, and began to jog back home. Maybe if he was lucky, Simon would still have some of those peanut butter cookies leftover. That could be good for him.

Yeah, that could be good.

#jamie tartt imagine #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt x fem!reader #jamie tartt x female reader #jamie tartt x you #jamie tartt x y/n #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt fan fiction #jamie tartt fanfic #jamie tartt fan fic #jamie tartt fic #starrywrites #starryevermore

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nycbaby21 · 9 months

Text

Quinn Hughes Imagine

prompt: “I’m sorry. I just had to see you.“

word count: 1,865

The final buzzer of the game was normally met with cheers and excitement at Rogers Arena, but tonight it was filled with heavy sighs and disappointed fans. This was the third game in a row they had lost and you can see how frustrated the guys were getting. Not wanting to bother watching the sad and irritated post-game interviews, I lean over and turn off the tv. I had never been a huge hockey girl, that is until I moved to Vancouver for work and moved in next door to one of the Canucks. Many months ago when I was lugging boxes into the apartment building I bumped into the tall blonde with a huge smile. He immediately stopped what he was doing and helped with what would have taken me hours by myself. After a repayment meal and a lengthy conversation about how it was truly criminal, I had never been to a hockey game, a quick and solid friendship was made with Brock.

I made my way over to the kitchen and turned on the oven for some cookies. Normally when Brock and the guys have a hard game he usually ends up over at mine. He says it helps him because he doesn’t feel like being alone after. Recently some of the other guys have started coming along, which I actually really enjoy. I was so scared that I wouldn’t make friends and be so alone moving to a completely new country, but I feel like I am a member of the team with how many hockey players file in and out of my place. Sometimes they show up even when Brock isn’t around.

My phone rings when I am placing the cookie sheet in the oven. I reach over and answer already knowing who it was. It was a running joke in our friendship that Brock looked like Prince Charming from Shrek, so his ringtone was quickly changed from the default one to I’m Too Sexy for My Shirt from the second movie. I can’t help but smile when I hear the sound. “Hey B,” I say trying to gauge his mood based on his facial features. It was too dark in his car for me to tell. “Hey y/n,” he sighs and I can hear the disappointment in his voice. A frown appears on my face before I could help it. I didn’t know what to say to make it better so we just sat in silence, a comfortable one. “I have a batch of your favorites in the oven waiting for you,” I tell him hoping to bring a small smile to the blonde’s face. A big sigh leaves his mouth,” I’m not coming home tonight. Remember that girl I went out with last week,” he starts and I nod,” Well she came to the game tonight and invited me over.”

“That’s okay Boes. I’ll just put them up for you and drop them by sometime tomorrow.” That seems to lift his mood the tiniest bit. “So… you are staying the night,” I smirk while raising my eyebrows ridiculously. He glances down at the phone seeing my face and busts out laughing. My work for the night was done by making my best friend smile after a tough night. “Grow up dork,” he laughs and soon his whole face lights up when he parks and reaches for the overhead lights. He quickly fiddles around the car grabbing his bag and then turning back to face me. “Okay well I’m here so I guess I see you when I see you,” he says getting out and heading towards her door. “Okay bye B. And hey at least you can say you scored tonight, the other guys can’t,” I say trying to hold a straight face but failing. “Oh, my god. I’m hanging up now. I actually hate you,” his words don’t match the beaming smile on his face. “Love you too,” I say while hanging up the phone.

The quick beeps of the oven alert me to the cookies being done. As I plate the last couple I hear a knock on my door. Glancing at the clock on the microwave, I wonder who it could be this late since Brock isn’t home. I head to the door quietly and peek through the peephole seeing one of his teammates. I stand back confused for one second and then quickly shake it off opening the door. I look up and meet the eyes of the last player I thought would show up after a bad game. Quinn Hughes stood in the hallway in his game-day suit and dripping hair. “Oh my gosh, Quinn. You must be freezing,” I rush to pull him into my apartment. “I’m sure I have something that will fit give me one second,” I say rushing off to my room and pulling out a pair of my dad’s old college sweats that I stole when I moved. I grab a random sweatshirt because almost all of mine are oversized anyway and find him in the same position I left him in. The only difference is the door is now closed and his hockey bag was on the floor.

“Okay, these should work. But if not I can always run over to Brock’s and grab something,” it looks like my words fall deaf on his ears because he hasn’t even looked at me the whole time I was talking. “Quinn, did you hear me? Are you okay,” I ask slowly walking towards him and trying to hand him the clothes. He finally lifts his head and I can see the tears in his beautiful eyes. “Oh Quinn,” I whisper as I take one final step forward and wrap my arms around him. Having known him for months now, I know Quinn isn’t the biggest fan of physical touch, especially with people he isn’t really all that close with. When I make it close enough to him, he collapses in my arms letting out soft sobs breaking my heart in the process. Quinn was the guy who always had everything together, and seeing him let down his walls was new territory for me.

Quickly circling my arms around the tall defencemen, I stand in the middle of my apartment with the boy letting all of my emotions out. I rub my hand up and down his back slowly and whisper small things to him like “It’s okay Quinn let it all out” and “I know I know.” My arms had gone numb five minutes ago but I was going to stay in his embrace until he pulled away. As if he had read my mind he shyly pulled away and looked down at me with red eyes. A stray tear falls down his cheek and without a second thought, I reach up and wipe it away with my thumb leaving my hand resting on his face. I go to pull it away feeling too intimate but he encircles my wrist with his hand and leans into mine more. A small smile faces upon my face accompanied by a red blush. Now was not the time to be thinking about how attractive I found him or how many times I had wished he would be the one to show up with Brock after a game.

“Wanna go sit down in the living room. I can turn something on or we can talk if you want to,” I speak gently eyes scanning his face. A small nod gives me his answer and I slip my hand from his cheek and lace our fingers together. After he left and changed I started getting him settled in the middle of my couch and I try to round the back of it to grab one of the thousands of throw blankets I have. His grip on my hand on tightens eyes jumping to look at me and figure out why I am leaving him. I laugh lightly and reach for the closest blanket and fall back into his embrace on the couch. I lean back into the corner of it and gently pull him back into me. He rests his head in the crook of my neck and I hesitantly run my fingers through his dark hair. He releases a small sound of enjoyment so I continue until my hand goes numb.

Using the remote I turned on some Adam Sandler movie I had started the night before but fell asleep during. The only reason I even knew he was awake was when he let out a small laugh at the scene. My hand falls from his head when he looks up at me with childlike eyes. I swear even if he wasn’t so close he could have still heard my heartbeat increase. I sent him a smile and he returned it just as big. “Thank you,” his voice was rough from his recent tears. “You don’t have to thank me, Quinn.” He really didn’t need to thank me, I felt like I should be the one thanking him for letting me be the person he lets his walls down to. “Brock always talks about how you have these magical hugs. Like how after every win he feels so much better after hugging you in the halls, or how after every loss they make him feel just the smallest bit less shitty,” he says sitting up and looking anywhere but my eyes. I let out a laugh at this because I had heard Brock says this before, I’m sure everyone he has met has. “I’m sorry. I just had to see you and see if he was right,” he started,” and he was.” The smile that graced his face was one I wanted to freeze time for and just stare at it for a little longer.

“Well, I’m glad I could be of help. You don’t have to be sorry either. I am actually so happy I finally got a hug from the huggy bear,” I laugh watching his face fill with blush as he laughs too. We stare at each other for a couple of minutes only breaking eye contact at one of the many random noises Adam Sandler makes. We settle back into the couch sitting shoulder to shoulder, feeling so content. Neither of us speaks, we just sit there on the couch enjoying each other's company and watching the ending of the movie. I hand him the remote to pick the next one and while his eyes drift across the screen looking for something, I let mine land on his face trying to memorize every small detail of it. I break my gaze when I hear the opening to Mighty Ducks and laugh at him. He shakes his head and smiles,” What, it’s a good movie.” I reach to fix the blanket on our legs when he stops me and looks over. “Do I smell cookies,” he questions laughing as his stomach grumbles. I nod jumping up and bringing him the container I was supposed to bring Brock. At that moment I didn’t even care that I would have to make more in the morning. The smile on Quinn’s face made it all feel worth it.

#quinn hughes imagine #quinn hughes #brock boeser #vancouver canucks #nhl imagine #nycbaby21works

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silvervioletvalentine · 3 months

Text

Stay , stay , stay , cause I’ve been loving you for quite some time

Pairing: Auston Matthews x Cherrie , Charles leclerc x Cherrie

Word count: 8k

Summary: in which Auston Matthews knows what he wants and Cherrie just wanted stability . And poor Charles doesn’t know what’s coming for him .

Or- in which Auston just wants to stay , stay , stay.

Warnings: cheating! Ew I’m sorry but like , also not! Cheating is gross so don’t do it irl but also, that doesn’t count here for this story sorry!!;) smut , guilt and pregnancy towards the end but doesn’t go into detail of baby’s etc . Happy ending but not for charles:( lemme know what u think!! My two fav worlds clashing nhlxf1 !) love you guys xoxo

The thing was, Cherrie knew exactly who Auston Matthews was . How could she not? After being best friends with Lucy for the past two years , she had heard all about her boyfriends best friend , who also happened to be his teammate too.

And that have been fine, it all would have been okay if Auston had been normal and polite . If he had shook her hand hello and made polite conversation , then maybe they could have even had been distant friends whenever she came to see Lucy in Toronto.

But life was never that simple was it? Not to her it wasn't.

Because Auston didn't want to be her friend , that much was clear . From the very first time they had met and the very first time she had murmured a sweet hello to him, he had made it very clear to her of what he thought .

He didn't even try to hide the way he looked at her , the way his eyes would linger on her body , on her lips and the way he would automatically grin whenever she would speak . His eyes always searching for her when he entered the room, even when his best friend was right there, he came straight for her .

It was the way he had followed her on every social media , commented publicly on every pictures she posted . Finding new and creative ways to express just how beautiful he really thought she was , and because they were all such good friends , they were in a groupchat together , which meant he had her number.

And Auston wasn't one to waste a perfect opportunity in front of him.

Which led to late night texts after his games , smug 'did you see me score tonight gorgeous?' With a 'get fucked Auston.' Reply from her almost immediately.

Which led to him calling her , which led to her picking up just to tell him to leave her alone , which somehow led to them bickering over why her favourite cookies were better than his , which led to switching to FaceTime so they could argue properly , in his words .

Which led to him talking to her until she fell asleep mid murmuring to him.

And even though she spent most of her time in Monaco , there would be flowers at her door every Friday and fresh chocolates arriving every Monday morning from him. A simple 'roses are are classic beauty, just like you.' Written on the card from him personally .

And when she came back to see Lucy , he would be by here . Smiling at her like she was all he wanted to see , like she was all that mattered to him then.

And she would roll her eyes and he would skim his hand across her back gently whenever he passed her by, squeezing her hips as he murmured a smug 'excuse me' only to round back to her a moment later with a drink in his hand for her.

And she would tell him off in French , tell him to behave and that she knew what he was doing and he would simply smile and tell he didn't understand French , sorry sweetheart.

His grin only widening when she would insult him and start an argument , her blood pumping with excitement when he would roll his eyes and bicker back. His side pressed to hers as he told her she was wrong , that there was no way French cheese was better than good old American cheese.

Then she would swear that as soon as he tasted it he would take that back, and he would slyly reply 'you offering to take me back to Monaco with you?'

And she would fluster and banter back, in your dreams matthews .

And maybe their back and forths would be okay, maybe his clear intentions and his warm hands and his whispered words would be okay, In another world . But it wasn't okay and it wasn't right .

Because Cherrie had a boyfriend. A very kind and very Beautiful boyfriend who thought the world of her . Who was sweet and funny in a fumbling boyish way . A boyfriend who loved her and promised her a steady future .

Charles was the perfect partner really . The picture perfect couple they were , admired and adored by all. Cherrie couldn't risk breaking that, it was all she had. All she had come to know.

Because she had never had a promise of absolute before , a steadiness that guaranteed calmness and no drama . A future of white and little hands and chubby cheeks , of a husband and a perfect home.

The perfect life that she knew Charles could give her. One that he promised her , always .

And she loved Charles , she did. She had followed him around to as many races as she could , even though he never had time to be at her concerts or her award shows, she made sure that she was there for his. Because he was so good to her , so sweet and perfect. He didn't deserve anything less than her loyalty and devotion.

And she had never hesitated before , never doubted what they had. Not until now.

But she couldn't do that to him, or to herself . With Charles , her life was set in stone and what woman didn't want the big house and the French wedding and all the family and friends , the babies and the calmness and stability?

No. No. Her future was in her hands and she wasn't going to let some mouthy, over confident , stubborn hockey player change that.

Auston Matthews would leave her alone eventually , he would grow bored of chasing her around. His silly little infatuation on her would fade, she told herself firmly . It had to.

And she told herself that over and over again until she maybe started to believe it. And then she got called to sing at the all star games , and Auston was there. Because of cause he was , he was captain and he was waiting for her as soon as she stepped through the doors of the building.

Sometimes she wondered if he had a tracker on her because whenever she arrived , he was always there. At this point , she was surprised he hadn't shown up at her door in Monaco yet . It seemed like something he would do.

"Auston." She sighed out tiredly when she saw him, looking him up and down. Dressed in a knitted jumper and ripped jeans, a beanie on his head . He was the picture of cosy.

And her clothes suddenly felt to tight and uncomfortable, hating that her stylist had put her in the tightest jeans possible and the tightest shirt she owned tugging at her chest, her long hair reaching her hips . She wished that she could put on a cosy jumper and just go to sleep, Jetlag was a bitch.

He smiled down at her , towering over her always . He felt his heart skip a beat as he looked into her honey eyes , swearing that there wasn't a woman more beautiful in the world than Cherrie .

"Hey baby. You tired?" He guessed easily as he looked at her slouched shoulders and yawning mouth , a fond smile tugging at his lips .

He reached over and took her sparkly bag from her , hooking it over his arm instead.

She couldn't help but giggle a little at the sight of him with her glittery bag tucked under his arm , and she would blame the tiredness for the way she let him put his arm over her shoulder and lead her along . For the way she leaned into his side and quietly inhaled his cologne , the same one that she had bought him for Christmas last year .

"Yes. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just get a place here." She mumbled without thinking of how Auston would take that comment . "Plus I miss Lucy when I'm back in Monaco . Maybe.." she trailed off yawning again.

Auston smiled to himself , squeezing her shoulder gently as he led her to the locker room that was empty . None of the other players arriving yet.

"I could always use a roommate baby." He slyly said , smirking down at her when she glared lazily up at him for his comment .

She just rolled her eyes at him , mostly amused at how he just couldn't help himself around her . "In your dreams matthews. You'd be a terrible roommate anyways." She replied , slapping his hand away when she felt it dip a little too low in her back.

He chuckled and let her step away , crossing the locker room door behind them. Placing her sparkly bag on the hook near his jersey and name , he gently pushed her down onto the bench so she could rest her feet .

Looking down at the matching sparkly heels on her feet , he rose a brow judgmentally . "Why are you wearing these killers?" He knelt down in front of her and begin to unhook the little straps .

Cherrie could only watch in surprise , feet aching too much to keep them on anyways , as he tugged her heels off.

"Cause they're pretty." She simply told him "and they match my bag." She added as though he hasn't already noticed . He noticed everything she did , said and wore .

Auston nodded his head in agreement as he pulled the other one off before standing up to reach into his training bag. Pulling out a pair of familiar trainers , Cherrie could only watch in disbelief as he started putting her sketchers on her feet instead.

"What the fuck?" She voiced her shock making him glance up at her in question "why do you have my trainers? Why are they in your bag right now?" She wondered , perplexed .

Auston just shrugged like it was no big deal "you left them here last time you came, so I put them in my bag cause I knew you would turn up in pretty heels and that your feet would be hurting you. Good job I did huh?" He grinned up at her smugly as he tied the laces for her into bunny bows .

Cherrie was Speechless at his thoughtful thinking . Remembering the way Charles had told her it was her fault for wearing heels the last time they had went out and she complained about her feet hurting, he had told her to suck it up and that beauty was pain anyways.

At the thought of her boyfriend , she cleared her throat and quickly stood up as soon as Auston was finished tying her shoes for her . Putting some space between them , she tucked her hair behind her eyes nervously .

She shouldn't be in here alone with him, she thought to herself in slight panic . If anyone found out ...

"Er-merci." She mumbled to Auston instead . Leaning against the wall behind her as she watched him look right back at her , a small smile on his face .

"Don't worry about it baby. Glad to help." He simply replied, waving off her thanks like he always did.

Then he looked at her hair and tilted his head a little "did you get highlights while you were away? Looks a little lighter . And more .." he made a chopping motion near his jaw motioning to the layers she had cut in there "it frames your face prettily." He compliments her easily .

Cherrie felt her cheeks flush. She had gotten highlights and a little cut. Charles hasn't even noticed.

But Auston had.

"Yeah .." she ran her fingers through her hair consciously "I got some layers as well to give it more volume . Do you like it?" She cursed herself mentally as soon as the little girlish question for validation had slipped out.

But Auston didn't even blink. He simply nodded his head and reached over to pick up a piece of her hair , admiring it closely .

"I do. It suites you. Makes you look somehow even more beautiful." He breathed out, his eyes flickering up to meet hers. He looked between her eyes like he was searching for something and when she swallowed , his smile slipped into a soft smirk.

"You like the lil 'tache?" He questioned her back, wiggling his lips to show off his moustache to her.

Cherrie let out a startled laugh at the sudden questions , gaze slipping down to his lips? Her throat feeling dry.

"Yeah." Her voice was nothing more than a whisper as she looked back up to his hooded eyes set on her , she exhaled shakily "cosplaying Luigi aus?"she teased him lightly .

He just breathed out a quite laugh "you like Luigi?"

She nodded barely "yeah. I always play him." She murmured.

His smile crooked "then yeah. I'm cosplaying him baby."

There was a tension filled silence filling the room as they just stared at each other , and Cherrie felt all those complicated emotions filling the gaps of her Ribcage till they beat down on her chest as a violent reminder that she shouldn't be doing this.

She shouldn't be entertaining him like this, she shouldn't be stood so close and letting him so near.

She knew what he wanted . He had never tried to hide it.

But she had ...she had a boyfriend . Charles .

She inhaled sharply and Auston chose that moment to break the silence , not moving even an inch away.

His hands coming up to press against the wall above her head , boxing her between his body and the wall behind her . She swallowed .

"I missed you. Why didn't you pick up my call on Saturday?" He asked her quietly already knowing the answer but wanting hear it anyway. It almost felt like he was taunting her.

Cherries jaw ticked as she answered him shortly "I was with my boyfriend Auston. I don't have time for you." And maybe that was cruel and mean.

But so was the little laugh he gave her too. His eyes sharpening into her own with familiarity . Her chest buzzed .

"Oh yeah? And what were you doing with Charlie boy hmmm?" He ducked his head to stare at her , his expression taunting "did I interrupt some awful fuck? You should be thankful really." He said.

Cherrie glared up at him , half enraged and half embarrassed.

"Shut up! You don't get to speak like that to me Auston." She warned him sternly .

He just rose a brow mockingly "oh yeah?" He let out a breathy laugh "then why do you let me then hmm? Why not push me away?"

And he was right . She hated that he was right. Because she could have pushed him away and he would have let her . She didn't have to follow into this room and banter with him like this, she didn't have to do anything .

But she wanted to. And she hated herself for it.

"You need to stop Auston." She weakly resorted hands resting on his chest as though she was going to push him away. "I have a boyfriend and I love him." She said it more as a reminder to herself.

Auston knew that and he just laughed lowly "sometimes I find it hard to believe you ya know? When we're like this. Why do you have to remind yourself that you do? I'm not forcing you to be here." he reminded her as well.

"I know.." she whispered , lip trembling as she clenched her fingers around his sweatered chest.

"I'm going to leave." She promised him, herself , Charles . She didn't fucking know anymore .

All she could see was the warmth in Austons eyes and the freckles on his nose as he gently nudged it against her own.

"But you'll always come back." He replied then he kissed her.

And the guilt wasn't heavy enough In her chest to stop her from kissing him back , it didn't stop her from wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him hoist her legs around his waist as he pressed her back against the wall.

And all thoughts of Charles were forced from her mind as Auston snaked his tongue into her mouth , his pelvis pressed up against hers as she moaned against his mouth. Tasting the roof his mouth and the soft sponge of his tongue , she bit down on his bottom lip with her teeth and pulled it not so gently till he was groaning too.

"Fuck baby.." he muttered as he pulled his mouth away, his eyes dark and promising as he pressed kisses down her neck instead . Sucking at the sweet spot below her jaw , she whimpered and fisted his hair tightly between her fingers.

"Don't leave any marks." She pleaded , making him chuckle against the soft skin of her neck. Her body shivering as she reached down to unbuckle his jeans , his fingers fumbling for her button too.

Auston kept presses kisses over her face , her brow , her nose and mouth as he worked her jeans down her hips . His fingers easily slipping between her lips and feeling the wet heat he had caused so easily .

"All for me baby?" He smugly murmured into her before roughly spinning her body around until she was facing the wall, her arms as spread as her legs were . Head bowed down and eyes squeeze shut in excitement , lust and guilt. A lethal mix.

"God you're so damn beautiful baby." He almost whimpered himself as he slid his finger through her folds , gathering the slickness over her fluttering hole .

Cherrie could only moan as she felt his ring finger slip through her pussy with ease, fucking her with it quickly and hard .

Her hands shaking against the wall as she felt his other hand quickly find her clit, rubbing hard circles till her knees were buckling , his body keeping her upright .

"I dream of you ya know? When you're gone. I think of your big fucking eyes and that sweet mouth of yours .." he breathed out heavily pulling away his fingers only to rub his cockhead up against her pussy instead ."shit." He gritted out clenching her hips in his hand as he slid right home .

Cherrie let out a soft cry trying to keep quite as he fucked himself into her , not giving her a moment to adjust before he was pounding into her like a man starved for warmth. His hips snapping back against hers as he grunted against her neck, kissing her shoulder and her ear , over her jaw till she was a moaning , crying mess .

"juste comme ça(just like that)" she babbled out tears filling her eyes as she felt him in her stomach

"Auston!" She cried out.

Auston let out a deep moan at his name in her mouth , "ah shit baby!" He grunted out "fuck! No one can fuck you like I can , can they huh?" He taunted.

She felt tears leaving her eyes from the pleasure as he fucked her like she was some dirty slut he had picked up at a bar for the night .

"No! Nooo! Just you baby , just you!" She babbled out , a mess as she reached back to clutch at his hair, keeping his head tucked into her neck as he mouthed at her tender skin , tongue tracing his name till she was quivering .

"Yeah? Not even Charles?" Hearing his name made her clench around him and he gritted out a taunting chuckle.

"shit. You're such a dirty girl Cher, what would Charlie think if he saw you like this hmm? Clenching around my cock as you whispered my name?" He pounded into her even harder "you think he'd be happy?" He laughed "cause I certainly am."

"Fuck you!" She managed to grit out between breaths. The pleasure overweighting the guilt as she felt the cord tightening in her stomach .

"You are baby. And you will again and again. God I -" he couldn't even finish his sentence and maybe that was for the best, before she was coming around his cock . Auston following right behind her .

Lazily fucking them through the haze , he held her back to his chest as they caught their breath back.

Reaching down to place a soft kiss on her cheek, he gently pulled out with a hiss. Then pulled up her panties and her jeans and his own too just as noises filled the hallway.

Nearly making them jump out of their skin as the locker room door burst open, Mitch's excited face filling the door only to fall slightly at the sight of them.

And Auston was sure they made quite the pair . Clothes askew , hair a mess and sweaty with the smell of sex filling the room. But he couldn't bring himself to care , too busy grinning smugly at a now pale Cherrie as she quickly scurried over to get her bag . Leaving her heels there.

"Guys?" Mitch hesitantly spoke up, eyeing the both of them in shock.

His eyes flickering to Auston in shock , "everything alright?" He awkwardly asked.

Cherrie just coughed and plastered a smile onto her trembling lips , unable to look at either of them now.

"Everything's fine. Just Auston winding me up as usual." She breathed out not sparing him a glance before she was pushing past Auston to get out the room, heart pounding in her chest as the realisation of what she had done came crashing down on her.

"I've gotta go-"

Auston just kept smiling "see you later baby!"

"Get wrecked Auston!" She called back angrily over her shoulder before disappearing completely.

Leaving Mitch looking at him in disbelief "please tell me you didn't Auston.." he sighed loudly In worry.

Auston just laughed "okay then I didn't."

She didn't answer the phone that night. Auston couldn't really blame her .

The worst thing was that Cherrie had guilty hoped that it would never happen again. That it would just be a one off mistake , a secret that she's take down to the grave with her. But she should have known better than to believe that Auston Matthews would ever change his mind about her .

But it still didn't change the way her stomach dropped right down to her ass when a month later , at the Monaco Grand Prix , there was Auston Matthews and Mitch and Lucy stood there with Charles . All of them taking like they were the best of friends.

Cherrie wanted to be sick as she saw the way Auston was casually chatting to her boyfriend like he hadn't completely wrecked her entire relationship last month , not that her poor boyfriend knew but still. What the hell was he playing at?

Before she could turn around and make a quick escape , Charles was quick to spot her and wave her over with a fond smile on his face .

"Ah mon amour! Look who came to see you! Are you surprised?" Charles beamed at her as he pulled her into his side , gazing at her expectantly . Excitement on his face as he motioned her to her best friend , Mitch and Auston happily .

She loosely hugged his waist and avoided Auston gaze , heart pounding in her chest . "Did you- did you do this?" She practically squeaked out .

Charles beamed proudly at her "yes! Are you happy?" He asked her pleased with himself for surprising her . She sure looked surprised to him, wide eyed and flushed cheeked .

She swallowed thickly , guilt quickly consuming her again .

"So happy ." She muttered plastering a smile onto her face for him. "Thank you." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and practically felt Austin's eyes burning through her skull.

She shuddered.

Then she took a deep breath and faced the three of them with a smile . Quickly hugging her best friend tightly "I've missed you so much Luce!" She kissed her cheeks brightly , the two girls beaming at other.

Lucy grinned at her happily "thank Auston and Charles really! Auston contacted Charles with the idea of us to surprise you!" She let her know obviously.

But this new information made Cherrie look at Auston with a sternness in her eyes , finally making contact with his smug smirk and knowing eyes.

She gritted her teeth and said through a forced smile "did he? How sweet." She wanted to kill him for knowingly putting her in this position .

Auston took it with ease , even going as far as slapping Charles shoulder like a good friend . Her boyfriend smiling at him politely like the good guy he was .

She felt sick. Actually sick.

"Just thought it would be nice for us all to catch up! Plus you talk so much about this Charles , thought it was time that I met him!" Auston squinted his eyes at her challengingly and Cherrie knew that this was her punishment for ignoring his texts all month.

But what did he expect her to do? Act like nothing had happened? To just ditch Charles for him? The guilt was making her feel physically Ill.

She was not a cheater . But she - she was , wasn't she?

She had cheated on her sweet boyfriend with a loud mouth hockey player who was so certain that he was the one for her . What the actual fuck has she done?

She took a deep breath and looked at Charles helplessly . He took it as her being speechless with happiness .

Charles grinned at Auston pleasantly "well it's nice to meet you. How are you finding Monaco?" He asked him politely .

But Auston was looking straight at her when he replied "beautiful, so beautiful in fact that I could see myself falling in love with it."

She choked on her breath and Charles turned to her with surprise , patting her back with a amused laugh.

"You good?" He grinned at her pressing a kiss to her cheek and Cherrie wanted to kill herself. "Maybe you should go get a drink. The heat is pretty strong."

But Cherrie could see the way Mitch was looking between her and Auston with a crease in his brow , suspicion clearly written across his usually happy face.

She looked at her boyfriend with a smile just as his assistant came to tell him to get his helmet on and get in the damn car .

He smiled down at her and motioned down the hallway .

"go rest in my room. I'll see you later yeah?" He kissed her quickly before leaving , winking at her over his shoulder .

As soon as she could , Cherrie was making an excuse to head down to Charles room while the others watched the race . And she became keenly aware of the footsteps following closely behind , attempting to slam the door on him but Auston just laughed loudly .

Pushing his way through in amusement "can't get rid of me that easily baby." He told her with a smile as he locked the door behind them.

But Cherrie was seething with guilt and anxiety "what is wrong with you?!" She demanded to know as she chucked a throw pillow at him in anger.

He dodged it with ease.

He snorted "what? I was just doing a nice thing . Thought you'd be happy." He replied knowing for a fact that she would not be. But he had to see her. He missed her.

Cherrie glared at him in disbelief "happy? You're torturing me! Playing nicey nice with my boyfriend like that! I could kill you!" She quietly screamed at him so nobody could overhear. Everyone too busy watching the race anyways , just like she should be.

Auston sighed and crossed the room to her , standing just close enough to touch. "What did you want me to do? Be rude! Ignore him? Come right out and say 'I fucked-"

"Shut up!" She cut him off quickly . Slapping his shoulder hard in anger .

"Why are you torturing me like this?" She wanted to cry. Wanted the guilt to go away, wanted the sick wanting for him to go away too.

It would be so much easier if she just hates him but she didn't , couldn't . No matter how much she tried.

Austin's face softened as he saw just how upset she was . He gently cupped her face in his hand and let out a guilty sigh .

"I'm sorry baby. I just wanted to see you." He admitted to her quietly "I missed you."

"This is wrong Auston." She whispered to him with a sniff . Looking into his eyes and just wishing it could be easy. And she only had herself to blame.

He nodded in agreement "I know it is and I'm sorry but-" he chewed at his lip in frustration "every time I close my eyes I see you Cherrie . When I'm at practice I listen to your songs and I pretend it's me you're singing too. And I -" he exhaled long and hard "and I know it's not right but I can't help how I feel. And the worst part is I know that you feel it too.."

The tears were clouding her eyes now and she shook her head at him in frustration , chest feeling tight.

"I can't Auston okay? I can't do that to him-"

"You already have Cherrie!" He raised his voice at her slightly , heart pounding in his chest . "Can't you see? You're driving me fucking crazy!"

She scoffed and pushed at his chest "oh yeah? And you're just making me feel like a fucking care bear are you?!" She snapped back at him.

He rolled his eyes . Then he surged forward , cupped her cheeks and kissed her hard.

And she , she kissed him back. Because of course she did.

And when they were done and they were cuddled on the couch back in their clothes , Auston asked her quietly

"Would you ever write a song about me?" Looking at her gently .

And damned the guilt . Damned the anger and the reservations and the worry and the world.

"I would." She whispered to him already picturing a thousand words to the beat of his pounding heart beneath her ear .

She could write a whole album about him and the title would be 'conflict of the heart .'

They were all invited back to the after party and Cherrie couldn't tear herself from Auston's side . The guilt easily eased with a bottle of champagne , she took a large sip and passed the bottle to Auston. The lipstick covered tip pressing against his lips as he took a gulp and hooked his arm around her shoulders lazily .

"I can see why you like Monaco." He said down to her honestly . Looking out of the large floor to ceiling window of Charles apartment , at the beautiful night view.

Cherrie looked up at him with a small smile "it's nice isn't it?" She replied . Taking a bother sip from the bottle as they passed it back and forth.

Auston hummed , chewing on his cheek as he hesitated before saying "but it's not Toronto is it?" In what felt like a statement but came out as more of an insecure question instead .

And Cherrie knew what he was asking. And she was drunk enough to push aside the guilt and sigh in agreement "yeah. It's not Toronto. It's too different worlds. One is beautiful and sweet and easy to navigate and the other is ...the other is rugged around the edges , big and ..and scary." She muttered while swallowing .

He looked down at her with a slight frown "scary?" I'm scary? Is what he didn't say.

She nodded slightly , no longer looking at him.

"Yeah , terrifying really. especially when you've only been used to Monaco. Toronto can be ..can be intimidating ya know? It's a lot different and a lot less ..secure." She admitted to him lowly .

"And that's what you want? Security?" His question was quiet as though he was finally understanding where her worries lied.

Charles was secure for her. He wasn't . He swallowed.

"Yeah." She nodded her head gently "what girl doesn't?"

It was quite for a moment before Auston finally found the courage to speak up again. "But you like it right? You -" he exhaled long and hard "you like Toronto? Think it's fun and something yeah?"

She let out a laugh "yeah it's something alright , pretty cool sometimes I guess." She said.

"You could get used to it?"

"Maybe."

And they both missed the way pierre was watching them closely , a frown on his face as he watched the way Auston smiled down at her . His arm never leaving her shoulder as they whispered between each other , as though the rest of the party didn't exist to them.

Pierre finally caught up to her when she was about to leave with Auston back to his hotel , making the excuse that he was drunk and wanted to make sure he got back safely . Everyone bought it but Pierre.

"What are you doing Cherrie?" He asked her quietly while Auston called them a cab.

She swallowed in surprise , looking at him with wide eyes. "What do you mean? I'm just helping aus back to his hotel." She responded quickly.

Pierre shook his head at her in disappointment and her stomach felt heavy. "That's not what your doing , I saw the way he was looking at you. What's going on?" He demanded to know. Charles was his best friend after all, he didn't want him getting hurt .

"Nothing is going on pierre! Don't be silly." She let out a strained laugh and took a step away from him, the guilt hitting her full force now. The haze that she got from Auston finally lifting as she faced reality that maybe she wasn't as subtle as she thought she was.

Auston was already looking at them and Cherrie took a step towards him , wanting to leave . Pierre saw the way they gravitated towards each other and shook his head in disbelief .

"He loves you Cherrie." Was all he told her with a serious look on his face "he'll give you forever." It was a sickly reminder at what she was going to lose if she wasn't careful.

Her voice trembled as she relied "and I love him." But this time she wasn't sure just who she was talking about .

She turned away before he could say anything else and pushed Auston into the cab, shaking her head at him when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't Auston . Just don't." It was a quite ride back to the hotel.

But she lets him kiss her when they get to his room, let's him take her clothes off gently and lets his kisses turn soft and his movements slow and he fucked her gently and slowly , like he was trying to prove something to her .

And she came with tears in her eyes and droplets of salt on her chest as Auston bowed his head and sniffled as though he knew .

Wrapping the cover around her naked , trembling body she watched as Auston sat at the edge of the bed, quite and back tense . A tension filling the room despite what they had just done.

She knew she had to be the one to break it this time. Pierre's words echoing in her head as guilt finally hit home.

"He loves me Auston ." She told him quietly , voice trembling with fear almost . So many emotions hitting her at once.

And Auston just let out a sad laugh , turning his head to look at her over his shoulder . "And what about what you want baby? What about that?" He responded firmly .

But Cherrie just stubbornly shook her head "I do love him."

He scoffed incredulously "really? Cause I don't think you do baby. I think you love the idea of him and the life that he can give you. The stability of Charles is what you love." He told her meaning it. Knowing it was true .

But it only angered her "and you know everything about me do you? You think you know me?!" Her voice rose as panic and anxiety , guilt and shame and pain crept up on her .

Auston let out another weak laugh "yeah, I think I do! And I think you're scared to admit that what you want isn't what you thought you wanted after all."

She let out a mean Scoff "and what? You think I want you?" It was supposed to be cruel , but instead it just come out as a weak whisper .

And Auston nodded his head softly "I do. Because I want you too. And I -" he swallowed around the ball rising in his throat as he got to his feet and put his clothes back on.

"I understand why you're scared. I am too-"

She let out a slightly crazed sound from her lips , staring up at him with wide tearful eyes "you're scared? What do you have to lose?! If I lose Charles I lose everything Auston! I lose love, I lose friends and my future-"

"But you'll have me! You'll have our friends and our future-"

"You don't know that-"

"I do Cherrie! I fucking do because I love you!" He screamed at her and the room fell silent . And Auston could only let out a weak , Pathetic laugh when she just looked at him, crying silently on the bed .

"Ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?" He tried to joke.

But Cherrie quickly shook her head in panic "you don't love me Auston -you wouldn't want me forever-"

He let out a Frustrated groan at her refusal to admit what he already knew .

"yes I fucking do! If I could marry you right now just to prove my love for you I would Cherrie! But you won't let me. Because you're scared!" He shouted down to her .

On the verge of tears himself because he could feel what was coming , and his bag had never been unpacked because he knew there was only two ways this trip could end .

She was sobbing now , staring up at him with wide eyes full of tears . Heart breaking in her chest.

"He's depending on me Auston! I promised him!" She cried.

He shook his head angrily at her "you already broke that promise months ago Cherrie ." He looked at her pleadingly

"Tell me to stay baby, please." His voice cracked.

Silence "please baby. I need you."

The silence was painful and Auston swallowed hard and backed away towards where his bag was packed near the door.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to him brokenly .

Auston could only shake his head in pain. Unable to look at her anymore , his heart breaking in his chest .

He left.

She didn't ask him to stay.

But she wanted him to.

And it should have been easy , it should have been simply to put the past behind her. To move on and focus on what she had. But life was never that fucking easy.

Because a few weeks later Cherrie found herself staring down at a positive pregnancy test while Charles made them dinner .

16 week it read . And she knew , of course she fucking did.

Because 16 weeks ago Charles had been away for two months racing, it couldn't be his. Plus they always used protection.

But she and Auston didn't . Turns out the first time really did stick both physically and emotionally it seemed.

She was crying silently when she FaceTimed Lucy , her best friend in shock as she silently showed her the test. Hiccuping and trying to keep quite so Charles wouldn't hear her panic.

"No fucking way. Are we happy? Are we sad?" Lucy doesn't know what to say as she looked at her best friend silently sobbing with heartbreak written across her face .

She tried to wave off Mitch who was listening in from the couch as soon as he heard her say cherries name .

He knew all about what had happened be tween her and Auston , having been the one who comforted him when he arrived back home in tears admitting to him what had happened .

"God , not happy then." Lucy realised with a wince "are you okay? Do you need me to fly out?"

Cherrie whimpered "I fucked up so bad." She cried.

Lucy tried to make her feel better "I know it's scary but a baby could be a good thing-"

"No." She sniffled and shook her head "not the baby. It's - " because she could tell her that it wasn't Charles , Mitch had shot up from the couch with a loud gasp.

"Baby?!" He exclaimed in shock as he looked at the phone , straight at a wide eyed crying Cherrie.

"You're pregnant?!" His stomach dropped.

Cherrie avoided the camera "Mitch please-"

"Is it his Cherrie?" For the first time in a long time Mitch's voice was hard as he asked her. "Is it Auston's?"

Lucy gasped and almost collapsed in shock looking between the two , speechless at what she was hearing .

And Cherrie could only cry harder . He got his answer and Mitch hung up the phone .

After that terrible phone call , she tried to pretend that everything was okay. She wiped away her tears , hid the test and ate dinner with Charles like everything was okay when it definitely was not.

And she should have known that it couldn't be easy because not even a couple of hours later , there was banging at her front door.

Charles looked over at her curiously "you expecting someone?" He asked her already walking over to the door to answer .

Cherrie could only freeze , heart in her mouth as he swung open the door. Having a feeling she already knew who was behind it.

And she was right . Because there was a panting Auston shoving past her boyfriend , looking at her with hope and fear and so many fucking emotions , ignoring Charles loud 'what the fuck?'

He only looked at Cherrie. "Is it true?" He wanted to know. And despite the excitement , the fear and hope on his face . His voice was calm. Too calm.

She swallowed . Eyes darting over to her confused boyfriend looking between them warily .

"What's going on? Why is he here?" He asked her concerned . His stomach dropping as he recalled something pierre had told him a few weeks ago.

'Auston and Cherrie ..they're close aren't they?' He had said to him. And Charles had just obliviously agreed. 'You should be careful mate , he has a look in his eyes when he sees her .' But he had ignored it, marking him off as delusional .

But now. Now he wasn't so sure. Because his

Girlfriend look terrified and Auston looked , well , he was looking at her with a certain look in his eye just like Pierre had said.

Auston still didn't look away from Cherrie as he spoke calmly "yeah Cherrie , why don't you tell him why I'm here?"

Cherie felt like she was going to pass out "Charles-" she looked at him pleadingly and he felt sick.

He quickly shook his head glaring at her "no. I'm not leaving , tell me what the fuck is going on?!" He shouted at them in panic .

Silence . Horrible , tense, sickly silence and then

"I'm so sorry Charles.."

"No.." he breathed out hands coming up to clutch at his face "no. No. No. 'No ..."

Auston finally looked at him and feels a pinch of guilt hit him as he watched the drivers heart break.

He swallowed "look man- I'm sorry but-"

"No!" Charles laughed manically , looking at him with wide eyes . Looking between the both of them "there's no way! No. I don't believe it!" He denied tears in his eyes.

Cherrie was close to crying, Auston frowned.

"You want to me to kiss her in front of you then to prove it?" It slipped out before he could stop himself.

Cherrie looked at him in disbelief "Auston!" She hissed at him angrily.

Charles heaved a breath , crying. "Cherrie?" His voice cracked as he looked at her pleadingly and she had never felt like a worse human being than then.

He didn't deserve any of this. She hated herself for it but she couldn't change the past now. It was too late, Auston was right, she had already broke her promise to him.

The least she could do was admit what she had done.

"I'm sorry Charles I never meant for it to happen." She told him sniffling , meaning it. She never saw it coming and she'd never be the same.

"I loved you." Was all he choked out before spinning to face Auston , gritting his teeth angrily "and you! You made me fly you out to surprise my girlfriend just so you could fuck her right under my nose?!"

Auston winced In guilt "look man-"

Cherrie let out a short scream of shock as she watches her usually sweet , non violent boyfriend punch Auston straight in his nose . Auston barely moving but taking the hit , hissing a little as blood dripped down his nose.

"Okay." He nodded as he wiped away the blood there , tongue in cheek "I deserved that." He didn't get to say anything else before Charles was gone .

Leaving him with a crying and furious Cherrie looking at him like she might hit him as well.

"What are you doing here?" She sniffled.

He gave her a look, let her grab a cloth and wipe away the blood from his face .

He swallowed "you know why I'm here. Is it true? Are you pregnant?" He wanted to know.

Cherrie just sighed tearfully and nodded her head in defeat . "Yeah it's true . Sixteen weeks." She murmured to him as she cleaned his nose.

He exhaled shakily "first time stuck?"

"Stuck like a nasty hockey player who wouldn't leave me alone." She muttered sniffling.

He smiled a little at that. Then he cleared his throat and took her hands in his , making her look at him.

His own eyes filled with tears as he realised that his life was going to change , just like he had wanted it too.

And yeah, he was scared shitless . I mean a baby? He had thought he'd have one in at least a couple years time. But he couldn't bring himself to be upset about it.

I mean it was going to be his and cherries baby and what a hell of a story that would be.

And despite it all, he was happy . Because he was getting his chance.

"I'm sorry it happened this way baby." He told her honestly wishing it could have been simpler , but life was never easy. "But it's us yeah? Don't think there's such a thing as a simple between us."

She laughed a little at that. Squeezing his hands gently . "Yeah. I suppose. And a baby.."

"And a baby." He confirmed with a grin stroking her hair away from her tearful face , he nudged his sore nose with hers gently .

"I meant every word I said ya know? I love you. You drive me fucking crazy and I want to stay." His eyes looked between hers hopefully .

"will you let me stay? Please? I promise you won't regret it. Won't regret me." He pleaded.

And Cherrie just , she let go and she did what felt right for once . She didn't worry about the future because the future was standing right in front of her promising her that he would stay if she let him.

And that was enough stability for her.

"Stay." She whispered to him softly and watch his whole body relax , a tearful laugh slipping from his lips as he pulled closer "stay with me. I want Toronto to be my home." She said. And she meant it.

"Still scared?"

"Terrified."

"Me too."

"Auston?" She spoke softly .

"Yeah?" He kissed her again. She smiled against his teeth.

"I love you." She promised . "Take me home?"

He smiled so bright she felt the light slip through the cracks and she smiled too.

"Always."

#f1 imagine #formula one imagine #f1 oneshot #charles leclerc oneshot #charles leclerc imagine #nhl oneshot #nhl imagine #auston matthews oneshot #auston matthews imagine

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chrisevansleftpeck · 1 year

Text

Kitty Games

Word Count: 1k

Spencer Reid x Reader

Content Warnings: None :)

“This one!” You pointed at a small brown kitten, curled up in a ball inside of a cage. “Oh, Spencer, please say yes, please say yes.” You’d finally managed to drag Spencer to the pound after a long argument about adopting an animal. It took five months for him to even agree on getting a cat, but four more months to decide on whether to adopt or rescue. Finally, an agreement had been made.

Spencer smiled down at the kitten’s mud-colored fur. He chuckled a little under his breath at the kitten’s meows at you as you offered your hand out in front of its cage. Still crouched at the kitty’s level, you turned your head towards Spencer.

“I didn’t say a thing.” Though Spencer couldn’t hide his smile as he pretended to doubt the kitten’s cuteness.

“It’s a girl, Spence. But she’s a baby and doesn’t have a name yet.” You waved your hand at Spencer to crouch down next to you. He shook his head in protest but was forced down as you unexpectedly yanked at his hand. “See that?” You pointed at the information attached to the kitten’s cage. “No home, no prospective buyers. She’s all ours if we want her.”

Spencer’s face softened as he looked at the kitty, watching her lick at her paws and purr. No doubt in his mind she was the one. Yet still… “I don’t know y/n. I don’t know if she’s the one.”

Your mind whirred. You couldn’t not take this cat. What if someone else rescued her by the next time you visited the pound? “Baby, please. She’s perfect and I love her a lot. I really really want her.”

“We can’t make a choice in one day. Let’s revisit this over the weekend, okay?” Spencer watched as his words broke your heart, but deep down he knew it’d be worth it. However, Spencer didn’t expect your sadness to turn into anger so quickly.

You shot up and started towards the door. Spencer followed you out into the cold quickly, “I’m eating with Penelope, Em, and JJ in two hours anyways. I’ll ask one of them to pick me up from here.”

Spencer looked puzzled, you were upset with him. For real. “We- we came here together though.”

“Well I don’t feel like going home alone without a cat right now. But since you do, I think you’ll do just fine going home without me too.” You were making no sense at this point. You were in a post-pound funk after seeing so many sweet babies without a home or place to live.

Spencer reached for your hand in distress, but you just yanked it away. “Alright. But I’m not leaving until I see you get into a car.”

“Fine.” You whispered.

“Fine.” Spencer bit back, really hoping this game would be worth it.

___________________________________________________________

As soon as Spencer knew he was in the clear, he ran back inside the pound and wasted no time rescuing that kitten. He’d calculated that he’d probably have about four hours to get the cat and set everything up, so there was no time to waste.

Straight from the pound with a brand new kitty, Spencer drove to Petco and picked up a pink fluffy dome-shaped cat bed, much bigger than the kitty, which he thought was funny. On his trip he also picked up an array of cat food and other necessities such as food and water bowls, litter, a litter box, scoopers, everything he’d need.

That left him with two hours to set up the kitty’s toys and new purchases in the apartment. He spent every minute carefully, building the kitty’s perfect new scratching post, kitty palace of a bed, and filling a little cookie jar with tiny cat treats. All done, Spencer waited in the living room with his kitty in his lap, a big pink bow tied around her, so that he could see your reaction as soon as you walked in.

You made it into the apartment around 9:40 and slid a to-go meal across the kitchen counter. It was a little something you’d picked up for Spencer. No matter how upset you were, you loved him and would always look after him.

“Hey, we missed you.” Spencer stood up from the couch, extending the wrapped kitty in his arms out to you.

Your hands shot up to your mouth. “Oh my god. Spencer-” You dragged on as your eyes began to cloud. Spencer carefully laid her in your arms, unwrapping the pink bow around her. “Oh my god, I feel horrible, horrible, horrible.” You whispered as you pet your new kitty.

“I knew to pull off the surprise I’d have to make you sad, but I didn’t think you’d be mad.” He laughed, watching you place a little kiss on the kitten’s small head. Your heart melted as she purred into the kiss.

“Oh! And she has toys, oh my god. It’s so perfect,” You finally looked up at Spencer with a little tear running down your cheek, “I’m so sorry, baby.”

Spencer shook his head, just wrapping you and his baby kitten up into a big family hug. “Don’t be.” He placed a kiss on both you and the kitten. “What’s our baby’s name?”

“Hmmm.” You thought with a smile. “Muffin.”

“Ooh, I love Muffin.” Spencer replied, making you giggle. You watched as Spencer’s eyes studied your lips. “I love you. Thank you for everything.”

“I love you so much more. Thank you for the world, plus my kitty.” You placed a kiss on Spencer’s nose in return, then went back to stroking Muffin’s back.

Spencer raised his hand to your face, “Our kitty.” He claimed with a smile.

“Our kitty.” You corrected yourself, pulling Spencer and your mutual furbaby into a tight, loving, thankful squeeze. The long day made sense now. Everything was worth that moment. Everything was worth little Muffin Reid.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I’m starting a taglist, if you’d like to be added just comment!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Taglist:

- @goobysgoobers

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clusterbuck · 1 year

Text

dream, baby, dream

6x13 coda

eddie very quickly realises he’s made a mistake.

he’s made many mistakes over the course of his life, but this one—

he hadn’t quite realised what he was doing when he told buck to dress nice. hadn’t realised what it would mean, that he would end up pressed against buck and his burgundy velvet suit, which sounds like it shouldn’t look good on anyone—

but buck isn’t just anyone, and it works, somehow, and now eddie has to live with the consequences of his actions.

buck takes to the game easily, his initial uncertainty giving way to a kind of confidence that burns low in the pit of eddie’s stomach and makes him consider something truly foolish. eddie spots chief williams and captain mehta raising their eyebrows, once or twice, but most of his attention is fixed on buck—the glint in his eye when he knows he has a good hand, the curve of his fingers around the cards, the way the muscles in his jaw shift when he slips into a grin, just the slightest bit predatory.

eddie tries very hard not to think of ways to get buck to direct that grin at him.

it doesn’t work.

he excuses himself from the game after only a few hands, grabbing a beer from the bar and settling in to watch buck play. there’s something stupidly endearing about the hunch of his shoulders, the way his arms seem unwieldy and too long as he gathers the chips to himself time and time again. like he’s not entirely sure he fits here, that there’s space for him at this table.

and eddie thinks he might have made a mistake, but he can’t quite figure out where it all went wrong. how he’d become a firefighter and joined the 118, and now he’s in a restaurant basement trying to resist the urge to put his mouth on his best friend’s skin. he’s just—not entirely sure how it all happened.

and the thing about it is it doesn’t feel like a mistake. not when he’s sitting in the loft gently teasing buck over christopher’s math homework, or when buck crashes on his couch more often than not, or when christopher finds a recipe he wants to try and makes buck come over because he still doesn’t trust eddie to do it by himself. that all feels easy and natural and like he wants to do it for the rest of his life.

even now, with the mouth and the skin and the want that’s more intense than anything he’s ever felt, it doesn’t feel like a mistake. just—in the wrong context.

“everything okay?” rosa asks, bumping her hip against eddie’s and following his gaze to buck.

“i—yeah,” eddie says, taking a long sip of his beer. “just thinking.”

rosa hums in acknowledgement. “thinking is all well and good,” she says. “just—don’t think too long, hm?”

eddie narrows his eyes. “what do you mean?”

“he died,” rosa says. “he came back, this time, but—you know what the job is.”

“i’m not—it’s not—” eddie tries to protest, and rosa smiles.

“okay,” she says. “just think about what i said.”

and eddie does think about it. he thinks about it throughout the rest of the poker game and doesn’t even try to keep his eyes off buck, and through collecting their winnings and the trip home and as he stares at himself in the mirror as he brushes his teeth. he thinks about it, and he thinks about it, and he doesn’t really come to any conclusions about it, until two days later when he walks into buck’s loft and finds him and christopher standing side by side, carefully scooping out evenly sized cookies.

he knows this much, at least: it’s not a mistake.

#coming to you live from an airplane once again fjfjfj #911 spoilers #911 6x13 #911fic #buddie #buddie fic #shush emma #emma writes

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st4rb3rr13s · 7 months

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Autumn Eren 🍂

Eren headcanons during fall!!

This has been written probably so many times but let’s act like I’m original 😍😍 also I’ve been having bad writers block so I apologize.(let’s see how long it takes me to write again!!)

No warnings

Eren LOVES autumn. It just brings him so much good vibes😭😭 like yes Summer is amazing. The cookouts, the beach, him being shirtless(showing off), ice cream, yes, he’s a summer boy but AUTUMN?? 🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️

Eren would definitely light up pumpkin spice candles in his living room, maple candles in the kitchen, vanilla pumpkin waffle in his bathroom, and cinnamon spiced vanilla in his room. HE LOVESSS THE SCENTS!! Ever since he was a kid, mama Carla always made sure to light candles.

Mama Carla would make autumn such a homely feeling for Eren. She would always bake him sweets after school, but during autumn it would be pumpkin bread, pumpkin fritters, apple pie cookies, pies. He’d try to recreate it but it just left a disgusting dessert and a mess.

Eren as a child LOVED jumping in leaves, but as he got older he stopped doing it. Now he just crushes the leaves and he loves doing that. The crunch gives him such a happy feeling.

Eren would hate trees, BUT THE DIFFERENT COLORS OMG!! He would go crazy, taking so many pictures of the different leaves. His favorite is the red ones, red is just a pretty color to him. Would even plant a tree in front of his house to see what color it turns.

Eren would have different decor for different seasons, so you know his decor for fall would be so cute. Pumpkin pillows, leaf plates, ghost cup holders, ugh!!

Eren would actually like how cold it gets because he can wear bring out all the fuzzy stuff he has. DONT START AT THE FUZZY SOCKS AND BLANKETS! I know a lot of ppl don’t like socks for presents…but Eren would love them just for fall. He can wear fuzzy socks while doing chores while having a blanket wrapped around his arms. He loves being warm.

Eren loves going to the pumpkin patch. (If you couldnt tell he loves pumpkins) He’d try to get the biggest and smallest pumpkin. Different colors too, like green and white. He’d definitely carve pumpkins with you, getting frustrated it’s not looking how he wants.

Eren loves eating candy corn. It’s sometimes concerning how much candy corn he eats in one sitting…but it’s ok bc he shares SOME with you (fat ass.) If you let him, he’ll eat a whole bag in a day. (You have to hide it from him or he won’t eat dinner and wake you up to eat dinner at 2 am.)

Eren and Mama Carla will be talking shit with a pumpkin spice latte in their hands. Eren would tell her all the gossip on campus (let’s be real, Eren WOULD be the NOISEST MF(But not noiser than Connie.)) Pumpkin Spice Latte is just their thing, and no one can take that away from him.

Eren’s least thing about fall is Halloween tbh. Yes it’s fun, but also not rlly. (His dog got sick accidentally eating chocolate and Eren hasn’t been the same since.) but he will give kids candy. If you beg hard enough he’ll even dress up!!

Eren goes to Halloween parties tho, just doesn’t dress up. (Unless you beg him). He’s fine with standing out too, he honestly just came to have fun with his friends then he’s out.

Eren loves the extra candy cause then he can eat all of it while watching a horror movie. (He would scream and hold your arm ORRR have a straight face the whole movie(he’s also get a stomach ache so…))

Eren has a love/hate relationship with horror. He’d love horror attractions, movies, games, shows, whatever. But every horror attraction he goes to, somehow he gets agitated. He screams his head off until his friend called him a wuss. So now he looks unfazed and ignores the workers who try to scare him. (He’s just a big baby who gets scared too easily.)

Eren would be so excited about the fnaf movie. He played all the games ever since he was younger so now he’s be so hyped for the movie and force you to go.

Tags: @s3lfinvolvedh3athen

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the-somwthing · 4 months

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OFFICIAL DOUBLE LIFE SECRET SOULMATES POST TO EXPLAIN THE PLOT

I will state nothing but facts here for other fans to interpret.

- Grian finds out Scar is his soulmate. He’s devastated by this but obviously tries to keep him alive, not telling him that he’s his soulmate until the end of the first session

- Important to note that when Grian was still trying to find his soulmate and tested with BigB, upon finding out they weren’t soulmates Grian said he had “never felt so heartbroken”

- Scar, upon finding out Grian is his soulmate, doesn’t really care about that much, already insisting the Jellies are his soulmate and it was even his thumbnail. He lets Grian drag him to his new home but doesn’t make any other efforts to work with him

- Eventually, Grian decides he wants a new soulmate, and sneaks into Box with the intention to “steal Ren’s man”

- By chance, BigB finds the heart and cookies before Ren does, and takes down the evidence as instructed so Ren won’t find it. He is on board with having a secret soulmate.

- BigB ends up being unable to hide things from his soulmate, he just can’t stand to lie to him, so he tells Ren about the secret soulmate, not revealing who it is but telling him that he has one

- Ren seems to misread the situation and believes BigB just has a secret admirer, which he declares is okay, because they can “look but not touch”

- BigB then of course misunderstands believing that Ren thinks this whole thing is okay to Ren, which I don’t blame him for because he DID explain things that (spoilers) Ren gets upset about later. But also Ren definitely somehow misunderstood, and maybe BigB should’ve caught onto what he was saying.

- BigB and Grian hang out as secret soulmates, BigB telling Grian that Ren doesn’t know who it is, but that he couldn’t hide it from Ren (“you know me”)

- Eventually the Relationship Ranch happens. BigB and Ren go there and despite getting into a few fights and failing some games, things seem to be going okay at the end… until BigB mentions that he saw his secret soulmate. Side note, I freaking love that part, Scott’s like “okay I’ll just step away to evaluate your score” and talks to his audience like “yeah I think I’ll tell them they need to work through some things” and as soon as he comes back Ren is yelling “YOU SAW THE SECRET ADMIRER?!” and Scott’s just like “oh that changes some things”

- Ren logs off in a fit of heartbreak. BigB then celebrates. After returning home he cries about it. He doesn’t want to lose Ren

- Grian and BigB continue to see each other, exchanging goods. Scar sees them at some point.

- btw, I forgot about the Broken Hearts Club, but I will say, you’re all probably thinking it happens after the Relationship Ranch. It doesn’t. Ren joined BEFORE that. Why? Because he went home and BigB wasn’t there once 😭 he came back later and Ren was happy again. Back to the plot

- Ren and BigB, who are now red, are forced back together. Neither one really wants to leave the other so it’s pretty awkward, until BigB reveals the gifts Grian gave him (that he wasn’t supposed to share with Ren I think. He of course cannot hide things from Ren and loves Ren so he shares them with Ren). Ren suddenly changes his mind on the whole secret soulmate thing, and decides he likes it and BigB should continue to see them.

- Scar gives Grian some cookies “for his secret soulmate” as you know an iconic call out line. I will say he literally did not care about anything Grian was doing up until this point. They do not discuss this further, Grian denying he has one.

- Grian Freaking Kills Ren (Which Kills BigB Too)

- As ghosts, Ren says that he and BigB were “loyal to each other till the very end”

- Grian holds a funeral for BigB. BigB as a ghost accepts Grian’s apology and forgives him. Grian declares they are “still secret soulmates”

And that is the entire Secret Soulmate Drama summarized. If I got anything wrong, let me know.

#double life smp #trafficblr #dlsmp #secret soulmates #dlsmp ren #dlsmp bigb #dlsmp grian #life series

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flowerfan2 · 1 year

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Let in Light and Banish Shade

Just a little hurt/comfort Christmas Eve fic. I hadn’t planned to get drawn into the Stranger Things fandom this year, but it happened. Thanks to @kedreeva for that - and for answering my questions (and writing awesome ST fic). Please reblog if you enjoyed this - I’m a newbie in this fandom and would appreciate it.

Wishing you all peace and joy in the new year.

____

Steve/Eddie, T, 2600 words. A03.

It’s been months since they defeated Vecna, and almost as long since Eddie got out of the hospital, more stitches than skin but still somehow alive. He knows he should be grateful to modern medicine or some shit, but it’s hard when he’s spending every other day hoping he doesn’t lose his mind from the pain in his head.

The headaches aren’t as bad as they were at first, and Eddie has figured out ways to avoid them, or at least try to. He knows for sure that loud noises and bright lights can bring them on or make them worse, so he spends a lot of time holed up in his room, curtains closed and lights on dim.

Unfortunately, this really sucks, because Eddie is not so good at being quiet and staying still. It’s driving him batty, and even if it’s not demo-batty, it’s still a problem. He had thought for a while that he could still hang out with the kids, be their DM but just at a lower volume, but that didn’t work. Dustin got him some kind of super-duper noise cancelling headphones to cover his ears, but then the kids just shouted louder and again, no dice.

He's able to kill some time every day studying for his GED. As anyone who has ever met him could have predicted, though, it’s hard to focus on that for very long, even if reading didn’t make him feel like his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.

Now it’s Christmas Eve, and to put the icing on the stale donut that is his life, he’s going to be stuck in bed with a headache instead of going to the Byers’ house for a party. Robin stopped by the trailer a few days ago to tell him about it. They’ve all been good about keeping tabs on him, Robin and Steve, mostly, since Nancy has been away at college. Dustin, of course, can’t stay away for more than a day or two, and sometimes Max comes over, still limping but smiling more and more every time. But even the most well-meaning visits are stilted. Eddie wants to just be normal again. To be able to carry on a conversation in more than a whisper, to hang out with a group of people all laughing and shouting over each other to be heard.

The invitation to tonight’s gathering featured Will’s drawing of a huge dragon resting quietly in a snowbank, looking out over a town filled with twinkling lights. Even Hawkins can look pretty at Christmastime, Eddie has to admit. Though there’s not much of a view from his trailer, even if the lights didn’t bring on a migraine.

Eddie is lying in bed, playing the game where he tries to figure out if his middling headache is going to get worse before it gets better, when he hears a knock on the front door. This new (new-to-you, anyway) trailer’s door actually locks, and while he knows it won’t keep Vecna-level bad guys out, he figures it might at least slow down the good citizens of Hawkins that still think he’s a murderer.

Eddie slides out of bed and walks carefully down the hall, wishing he had socks on. When he opens the door he’s not really surprised to see Steve, smiling shyly at him.

“Come on in.”

Steve nods and complies, his smile dimming as he gives Eddie an appraising glance. “You look cold.”

That’s the least of Eddie’s issues, but also true. His ratty t-shirt and old sweatpants don’t do much against the December chill. “Yeah, well I was all cozy under my blankets until you came along.”

“Well, let’s get you back in bed,” Steve says, prodding Eddie in the right direction with a hand on his shoulder before shedding his coat and following him.

It’s not the first time Steve has shown up, packages in hand, delivering soup or cookies or even a box of Eddie’s favorite cereal. Eddie knows Steve is fond of him, knows he hates how badly Eddie got hurt. It’s part of what he loves about Steve, that he cares about his friends so deeply. It’s pretty amazing that Steve includes him in that group. He’s not always sure he deserves it, but on days like this, it’s awfully nice.

Eddie slides back under the blankets while Steve rummages in the backpack he brought along. “Stay here,” Steve says, keeping his voice to that soft pitch he always uses with Eddie now.

“Where else would I go?” Eddie mutters. He tries not to shiver, it makes his head hurt more, just lies still and wonders what Steve is up to. A beep from the kitchen catches his attention, and then Steve is back.

“Close your eyes.”

Eddie blinks up at him for a minute. Steve’s got on a dark red sweater, very appropriate for the holiday. He’s probably just here to say hi before dashing back to the Byers’ party. Dashing, indeed. He thinks he might like this sweater even better than Steve’s sunshine yellow one.

“Eddie?”

“Um, yeah?”

“Close your eyes.”

But then I can’t see you, Eddie thinks. “Why?”

Steve’s mouth quirks up at the corner. “You’ll see.”

Eddie closes his eyes, and feels a warm, soft weight laid over them. He touches it with his fingers. It’s kind of a bean bag thing; Steve must have warmed it up in the microwave. It keeps his eyes closed without Eddie having to think about it.

“Robin’s mom went to some kind of spa getaway for work, and brought home a bunch of stuff.” Steve shuffles closer and the bed squeaks as he sits down. “Do you like lavender? She had some oil, it’s supposed to be relaxing. But I know smells sometimes make it worse…?” Steve trails off, his voice rising with the question.

“Let me try it.” Eddie gives the proffered bottle a quick sniff. It’s only barely scented, and doesn’t seem to make any more daggers shoot through his skull.

“Pass the sniff test?”

Literally, Eddie thinks, and nods, careful not to dislodge the warm bean bag thing from his eyes.

A moment goes by, Steve shifting next to him, and then Steve touches his temples and rubs gently. It feels great, Steve’s fingers tracing circles right where it hurts the most.

“This okay?” Steve asks softly.

“Yeah, it’s good.”

Eddie doesn’t know how long it goes on. Steve’s fingers move up and down across his temples and across his forehead, so slowly and lightly that all Eddie feels is relief.

“Back here too?” Steve’s touching his hair, sliding his hand back over his ears.

“Yeah.”

Steve continues massaging Eddie’s scalp, easing his fingers through Eddie’s hair. He shifts a little as he goes, supporting Eddie’s head. It feels amazing, and Eddie gives himself over to it, the gentle touches creating a soothing rhythm he wants to live in forever.

At some point Steve pauses, maybe thinking Eddie has fallen asleep. Eddie takes the pillow off his eyes, lifts himself up on an elbow and squints at Steve through one eye. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

Eddie hadn’t really meant to ask this question, but it’s been on his mind since Steve arrived. It was bound to find its way out of his bruised head eventually.

Steve bites his lip, then focuses on Eddie’s face and his expression changes. It looks like he’s holding back a laugh.

Eddie considers, then turns his one-eyed squint into a full-on silly face, eyes scrunched together, mouth open and tongue out. He even adds one hand on his head, fingers waggling.

It makes his head throb, but Steve’s soft laugh is worth it. “God, Eddie, I’m so-” Steve cuts himself off and rubs a hand over his mouth.

Something tightens in his stomach at Steve’s words. “You’re so what?” Eddie speaks louder than he should have, and Steve’s face falls as Eddie flinches at the sound of his own voice.

“Lie back down, come on, close your eyes,” Steve says softly, and he shifts, guiding Eddie back onto the bed, this time somehow rearranging them so that Eddie’s head is lying on Steve’s thigh. The denim feels good under his cheek, and Eddie is in enough pain that he isn’t going to question exactly what’s going on. If Steve’s really cool with this rather intimate approach to health care, Eddie’s not going to stop him.

Steve’s hand rests on Eddie’s shoulder, then he goes back to petting his hair, fingers sliding against his scalp. Eddie relaxes into it, letting out a sigh of relief as the spike of pain fades. It’s only then that he realizes that Steve has avoided answering his original question.

“Did the party get cancelled?” he asks, trying not to think about how his lips are practically brushing Steve’s thigh as he speaks. “Nancy not make it home yet?”

“No, she’s back. Party’s still on. But you couldn’t come, so I came to see you, duh.”

Steve’s Dustin imitation needs some work, but his deflection is clear as day.

“Last minute decision?” Eddie waves his hand in Steve’s general direction, indicating his nice sweater and fancy jeans.

Steve takes in a long breath and lets it out slowly. Eddie can feel his chest rising and falling behind his head. There’s a pause, and Eddie thinks that Steve might be picking something up from the D&D sessions he’s been tagging along to, because the suspense is really building.

“I stopped by the Byers’ first, to say hi to everyone. But I knew as soon as I found out that you weren’t going that I wasn’t going either. I couldn’t have a good time knowing you were lying here hurting.”

Steve’s hand on Eddie’s neck has stilled, and Eddie arches up against it. He hears Steve’s puff of amusement as he starts moving again, the tension broken.

“Them’s some mighty strong words, Steve,” Eddie says lightly. He’s wondered, from time to time, whether there could be something between them. More than once there’s been a moment when he thought there could be. This is one of those moments.

Steve doesn’t deflect this time, just keeps on touching Eddie, brushing his hair away from his face, stroking a finger along his cheekbone. Eddie’s no genius, but he really doesn’t think they are still in platonic mode anymore.

“What were you going to say before? You’re so – what?”

In response, Steve suddenly shifts, sliding to lie down on the bed next to Eddie, catching Eddie’s head so he isn’t dumped off Steve’s thigh. Before he knows it, Steve’s lying on his side facing him, his hand cupping his cheek. Eddie briefly wonders whether he’s having some kind of hallucination, but when he blinks Steve is still right there.

“Eddie,” Steve says.

Eddie swallows hard and meets Steve’s eyes, hoping his heart doesn’t actually burst out of his chest. “Yeah?”

“I was going to say, before I chickened out, that I am <i>so fucking glad</i> you’re alive.” Steve’s voice is still quiet, but it’s got an intensity to it Eddie hasn’t heard before. “I know it’s been hard, I know your scars probably pull and itch like mine do, I know these headaches suck and nightmares don’t make them any better, but you’re getting through it, you’re getting better, I see it, and I’m so glad to see it, glad is such a dumb word for how I feel, I mean, I” – Steve’s voice cracks, and he shakes his head a little and goes on – “I’m just glad you’re here.”

Eddie thinks he’s still breathing, must be, but it’s a near thing. “I’m glad you’re here too.” The double meaning is probably clear, but like an idiot, he rambles on. “Here, you know, alive. And, you know, here with me.” He tugs on Eddie’s sweater as if to illustrate, and Steve grins.

“I get it.”

“You do, huh?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Steve takes Eddie’s hand, twines their fingers together, and brings their joined hands between them. “You’ve been playing the guitar again.”

Eddie’s brain stumbles a little at this. “Um, yeah, little bit, now that my head isn’t killing me every single day. How did you know?”

Steve runs a thumb over the palm of Eddie’s hand and down to his fingertips. “Getting your callouses back. It’s cool.”

Eddie’s never been the subject of anyone’s attention like this before. No one’s ever cared enough to notice details like this about him. He must have let this thought show on his face, or maybe even spoken it aloud, because Steve just shrugs.

“’Course I noticed.”

He’s not sure Steve meant it to sound so profound, but he can’t help but hear it that way. And Steve’s still holding his hand, lying here with him under the blankets, gazing at him like he’s never seen anything better. It’s overwhelming.

“Are you sure about this, Steve? I’m kinda fucked up.” Understatement. “I don’t have much to offer you.”

Steve’s mouth quirks. “Just a whole lotta love?”

“I’m gonna kill you, quoting Led Zep at me at a time like this,” Eddie mumbles as Steve leans in and kisses the words out of his mouth.

It’s a good kiss, Goldilocks perfect, not too hard and not too soft, with just a tease of tongue. But it doesn’t go on for long before Eddie needs to stop and lay back down, his head spiking with pain again.

“It’s okay, relax,” Steve says, tucking Eddie’s head on his shoulder and pulling the blankets around them. He feels Steve drop a kiss to his head. “You’re okay.”

“What if we can’t ever kiss for more than thirty seconds because of my headaches?” Eddie whispers, mostly joking. “What if it’s another Vecna curse?”

Steve laughs softly. “We’ll figure it out.”

“You’re supposed to say ‘thirty seconds with you is more than enough.’”

“Oh, it’s definitely not enough,” Steve says. “But honestly,” he says, voice lightening, “you’re right.”

“Fuck, Steve, I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Plot twist?”

“Of the best kind.”

Steve lets go of his hand in favor of wrapping an arm around Eddie’s shoulder, his movements smooth and careful. “I know you’re still hurting, if this is making things worse…”

“Oh my god, no, this is the opposite of making things worse,” Eddie says, letting himself snuggle closer, digging his chin into Steve’s chest. “It feels great. I mean, my head still feels like the demobats are tossing it around like a chew toy, but aside from that, all good.”

Eddie can practically feel Steve’s concern oozing out through his fingers as he cups the back of Eddie’s neck. “Just rest, babe. I’ve got you.”

Eddie obeys, sinking deeper into Steve’s embrace. “You know, you’re kind of an awesome Christmas gift.” Eddie lets his hand rest on Steve’s shoulder, his thumb gently brushing the soft skin on his collarbone. “And here I thought I was just getting coal.”

“No way,” Steve says, almost affronted at the idea.

And even though Eddie appreciates Steve’s support, he can’t resist teasing back, his voice sinking low. “Are you saying I’ve been good?”

There’s a pause as Steve takes this in and switches gears. He hums softly, sending a shiver down Eddie’s spine. “The best.”

Eddie’s not sure how he ended up here, but damn if he isn’t going to enjoy it while he can. And if there’s a chance that this is real – that Steve Harrington is going to cradle him in his arms and whisper sweet nothings to him as he crawls his way back to the world of the living – he’s going to take it. Turns out it’s not going to be such a bad Christmas after all.

Note: The title of this story is from 1984's “Do They Know It’s Christmas?" - a song sung by a bunch of celebrities which despite its shortcomings raised millions of dollars for charity.

#Steddie #Eddie Munson #Steve Harrington #Stranger Things #Steddie fic #Stranger Things fic

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stargazer-sims · 2 months

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The Art of Redemption

(part 13)

previous // next // story index

—————

By the time Saturday rolls around, Nikolai has almost entirely forgotten his disappointment at not being able to enjoy Thursday's unexpected snowfall by playing outside with Stan, Beth-Anne and Stan and Milena's two young grandsons. He acknowledges that Beth-Anne and Stan's reasons for discouraging him from going out made sense. Another inadvertent fall wouldn't do his injured leg any good, and he definitely doesn’t want any more setbacks. But, just because he understands the rationale now, that didn't mean he had to like it at the time.

He can't say he was sad or bored indoors with Milena. They listened to music and she taught him how to bake chocolate chip cookies, and they laughed a lot at each other’s work-related anecdotes. Although he would have preferred helping to build a snow fort and then engaging in the inevitable snowball fight afterwards, lack of snowballs notwithstanding, it had been a fun day.

He and Milena had hot cocoa and their freshly-baked cookies waiting when everyone else came inside, and it was hard to determine if it was Stan or his seven and nine year old grandsons, Lukas and Marek, who were more excited about the snack. After snack time, Nikolai played video games with the boys while Milena got some housekeeping done and Stan and Beth-Anne went back outside to help the Kovacs' elderly next-door neighbour clear snow from his driveway.

While Lukas, the seven year old, was taking his turn with the game controller, nine year old Marek chattered enthusiastically to Nikolai about skating, about his Saturday group class, and how his grandpa thought he could start competing next year if he wanted to.

"I don't know if I'd win any medals or not," Marek said. "But even if I don't, that's okay. I like skating a lot, and Grandpa says having fun is what counts. But, I think he thinks I'm a good skater anyway."

“Well, your grandpa should know,” Nikolai told him. “He’s seen a lot of skaters in his lifetime, and back in the day, he was fantastic too. Is he going to coach you?”

“Maybe,” Marek said. “Or maybe Auntie Beth-Anne, ‘cause I’m in her group class now. You have to be at least nine to be in that class, and I had my birthday in November, so I moved from another class to that one."

“I’m coming to your group class this Saturday, so I’ll see you there.”

That elicited a giggle from Marek. “You’re too big for a kids' group class!”

“No, I’m not coming to skate. I’m coming to watch. Some day, I’m going to be a coach like your grandpa and Beth-Anne, but I have to learn how to do it first, and Beth-Anne is going to teach me.”

“Is that like… coach coaching?”

Nikolai laughed. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Cool.” Marek beamed. “You should watch me, ‘cause I can do three different double jumps. Oh, and there’s this one kid, Eden. He can do a triple toe loop, but don’t tell anybody, ‘cause Auntie Beth-Anne already said he’s not allowed to do triples yet.”

Nikolai put a finger to his lips and made a zipping gesture. “The secret’s safe. Don’t worry.”

He’d been aware on some level that Stan’s grandson and the much-mentioned kid named Eden were both in one of Beth-Anne’s Saturday group classes, but until recently, he’d been far too focused on his own career and the events of his own life to give much thought to what might be happening at the rink when he wasn’t there. Saturdays used to be his day off, when he didn’t go to the dance studio or the gym, and when he skated only if he wanted to. Prior to his injury, he’d had very little contact with children’s group classes. He'd had no reason to.

But, all that has changed. It’s Saturday, and he’s essentially going to work. Or, more accurately, to volunteer. He rephrases the thought because although it’s technically on-the-job training, he’s not getting paid.

He’ll have to start looking for a real job soon. His savings won’t last indefinitely, and the mortgage on his and Anya’s house and their household bills won’t pay themselves. He doubts Anya would be thrilled about taking on the full responsibility for it. She couldn’t afford to manage it on her own anyway and would probably need help from her parents. Nikolai does not, under any circumstances, want that to happen. He’d rather sell the property than to be indebted to Anya’s father in any way. Mr. Baranov dislikes him intensely, a fact that he barely succeeds in hiding, and Nikolai isn’t shy to admit the feeling is mutual.

It hadn’t always been like that, of course. His family and Anya’s have known each other since he and Anya were teenagers, ever since Nikolai’s family had moved here from another province and Nikolai met Anya at the rink. They’d all gotten along well, and Nikolai even recalls Anya’s father happily giving his blessing for their marriage. It’s only been during the past three years, since Nikolai and Anya have been married, that things have gone drastically downhill.

God alone knows what Anya might’ve been telling her father about me all this time. It’s enough to push him toward panic, and he has to remind himself this isn’t the moment. He needs to be clear-headed. Later. You’ll have time to think about all that stuff later.

Beth-Anne had woken him up at six o’clock and told him to hustle, as they needed to be at the rink by a quarter to eight. When he asked her why they needed to be there so early if her first class didn’t start until 8:30, she explained there’s one kid who’s been coming to the rink with his older cousin lately, and the cousin is apparently fixated on arriving early for everything. He could be there as early as eight o’clock, she said, and she didn’t want a ten year old out on the ice by himself with only the non-skating teenage cousin to supervise him.

As it happened, Beth-Anne had given him ample time to get ready. He ended up sitting on the bench by the front door for twenty minutes waiting for her, and he wanted to laugh when she came flying down the stairs with a breathless, “Okay, this is the best I can do with this fucking makeup. Let’s go.”

They made it to the arena only five minutes later than Beth-Anne’s 7:45 target, which they mutually agreed was due entirely to being held up by some sort of emergency road work they’d had to detour around and had nothing at all to do with stopping at Tim Horton’s to fill their insulated travel mugs with fresh coffee. Beth-Anne was pleased, right up until two seconds ago, when they’d rounded the corner into the glass-walled corridor leading to her assigned practice rink and they spotted a kid already on the ice.

The child is small, with wisps of straight black hair peeking out from beneath his rainbow-striped toque. When he turns, Nikolai sees a delicate face that reminds him of a porcelain doll more than of a real person. He immediately feels weird for having this thought, but he can’t help remarking to himself that he’s never seen such a beautiful child before.

Then, something else occurs to him that quickly chases the stray thought away. He wonders if there’s been a mix-up with ice times. There’s no way this boy should be in a group class for nine to eleven year olds. He doesn’t look like he could be more than six or seven.

Nikolai blinks and looks more closely at the way the little boy is moving. The child is dancing around an orange safety cone, and his footwork is far too complex for any six year old to have perfected to that degree.

It takes only a moment for him to connect the dots. This must be Eden Seong, the student Beth-Anne often talks about with such adoration and pride. Korean-Canadian, tiny, feisty, and overflowing with talent… Suddenly, it makes sense why everyone refers to him as ‘little Eden’ and why he gets so much praise.

“Dammit!” Beth-Anne mutters. “I’m going to have a word with that cousin.”

Nikolai looks up toward the benches and notices another boy, this one probably around sixteen or seventeen, with the same delicate features as the younger one. He's bundled in a huge parka and cradling a takeaway cup between his mittened hands, and he looks unhappy. He appears to be shouting something at the smaller boy, but from behind the wall, it’s hard to tell.

Nikolai’s attention is off the child for no more than three seconds, but in that sliver of time, Beth-Anne lets out an exclamation of “Shit!” and almost simultaneously sets their two metal travel mugs and her skate bag on the floor. Beth-Anne is already pushing her way through the door to the rink area when Nikolai sees that the little boy is now sitting on his bum on the ice, legs splayed out in front of him.

Nikolai hurries to catch up with Beth-Anne, cursing under his breath because at this point his crutches are slowing him down rather than helping him. He abandons them by the door and limps as fast as he can to the gate that leads to the ice surface.

Beth-Anne is already practically running across the ice. "Eden, are you okay? What happened?"

The little boy — Eden — scrambles to his feet and skates directly into Beth-Anne’s waiting arms. Almost immediately, he begins to sob for all he’s worth. He wails, "Everything is awful!"

Nikolai frowns. Not that most of the figure skaters he’s acquainted with, including himself, are known for being particularly mellow, but this level of dramatic behaviour seems like an overreaction to a simple fall. He glances up at the teenager in the stands again. The older boy is scowling with his entire face, his features pinched with anger or embarrassment, or both.

He realizes something must’ve happened before he and Beth-Anne arrived, and what he’s seeing now is Eden’s breaking point.

"I wouldn't go that far," Beth-Anne is saying to her little student. "Everything can't be awful. There's got to be something that isn't."

"No... everything,” Eden says.

"Are you sure?" she asks. “What about grilled cheese? And ballet?"

Eden pauses, considering her words. He sniffles loudly and concedes, "No."

"There. You’re not awful either, and I’m reasonbly sure I’m not. So, everything's not awful. Just certain things."

"Yeah, I guess,” he says.

"Can you tell me why you're crying?" she inquires. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“No,” he tells her. “It’s just… I hardly ever fall down. I lost my balance, and it was stupid ‘cause I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Everyone falls down sometimes. It’s okay. As long as you’re not hurt, that’s what’s important.”

Eden shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does,” Beth-Anne says.

“No, it doesn’t. Even if I hurt myself really bad and I could never skate again, it wouldn’t make any difference. Maybe it’d even be better that way, ‘cause then I’d have an actual reason to stop.” More tears spill down his pale cheeks, and he wipes at them aggressively. "It wouldn’t just be because my parents don’t want me to skate any more. They said I have to stop after this month, and it’s not fair.”

“I know,” Beth-Anne says gently. “I’ve talked to your parents, and I've been thinking a lot about that.”

"Really? Can you fix it? Can you talk to them again and make them change their minds?”

“No one can make anybody change their mind, you know. Every person is in charge of their own actions and their own feelings. I can try to convince them, but at the end of the day, what happens will be up to them."

“But, what about my feelings?” Eden protests. “I love skating. I don’t ever want to stop, but all my parents care about is liabilities, whatever that is. They don’t care how I feel.”

“I think they do,” Beth-Anne assures him. “But, they’re worried about you. They don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Then, I should never do anything ever again. I should never ride my bike or run on the stairs or walk on the sidewalk in my bare feet or play tag with Charlie and Sadie. I accidentally got hurt doing all that stuff.”

“Have you tried telling that to your parents?”

“No, but it wouldn’t do any good if I did.”

“You might be surprised,” Beth-Anne tells him.

“We shouldn’t even have to talk about it,” Eden says. He pulls back from his coach and looks her straight in the face. “I’m good at skating. Like, really good, and it’s my favourite thing in the whole world, and everybody knows that. Why would anybody want to take away somebody’s favourite thing that they’re really good at? That’s just… not right.”

"Hmm..." Beth-Anne lets go of him and straightens up. "You know what I think?”

“What?”

“That’s a very grown up way to express yourself. I think, instead of acting like you did last time when your mother came to get you, you should explain it to your parents the way you just did to me.”

"I was so mad," Eden says. "I couldn't help it."

"Really? Some invisible force of nature just pulled you to the ice and made you scream like a toddler?"

"No, but—"

"Remember what I just said? Each person is in charge of their own feelings and actions. That means we get to choose how we respond to things, and sometimes the choices we make help us get our point across a lot better."

"What do you mean?"

"If you were having an argument with one of your friends, would you listen to him more if he yelled and threw a tantrum, or if he just calmly explained his side of it?"

"Calm," Eden says. "I don't like it when people yell."

"Most people don't like that," Beth-Anne says. "I'll bet your mother didn't like it very much the other day."

"She said I made a scene." Eden looks down at his feet. "And she said she didn't want to hear me saying anything else about skating that day."

"Well, today's a new day, and you've already learned something useful, haven't you?"

Eden nods. "Yeah. Only babies get their way by screaming. Kids my age kinda have to act more like grownups to win the argument."

Beth-Anne laughs. "I might not have put it quite that way, but you've got the idea. If you want me to, I'll talk to your parents again, but I want you to talk to them about it as well. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yeah," Eden says. "As long as you tell them I want to have a grown up conversation first."

"I'll definitely do that for you."

"I'm gonna tell them what I told you, but should I also say I want to start competing in Novice division next season, too?”

“Yes, you can tell them that, but let’s concentrate on keeping you skating first, okay?”

“And getting out of group classes and having more individual sessions?” he persists.

“Yes, but let’s go one step at a time. Stay in the program first, and then we’ll worry about the other stuff,” Beth-Anne says. “For what it’s worth though, I do think you've outgrown group classes. If you want to skate competitively, you should have individual coaching all the time."

"Will you do it?" Eden asks. The prospect of skating competitively seems to have distracted him from his earlier emotional outburst, and Nikolai finds himself smiling slightly. Eden reminds him of himself with his single-minded passion for the sport and for reaching the top. "I want to keep skating and maybe even get to the Olympics some day, and if you were my coach, that'd be awesome."

"I'll be your coach for the next couple of years, if that's what you and your parents want," Beth-Anne says. "When you're ready for Junior division, you might need somebody who can give you more time and attention."

"Somebody?" he echoes, sounding a little incredulous, as if he can't possibly imagine not having Beth-Anne as his coach. "Like who?"

"We'll have plenty of time to work that out, but maybe this guy over here." Beth-Anne turns and waves her hand in the direction of Nikolai, who’s leaning against the open gate to take some weight off his leg. She beckons him to come and join them. "You know, if he learns everything I'm going to teach him about coaching, and if the two of you can get along."

“Is he nice?” Eden asks, as Nikolai starts to pick his way carefully across the ice. "And he can't work with me unless he likes hugs, 'cause you know I'm a hugger."

“He’s amazingly nice,” Beth-Anne says. “A little headstrong sometimes, but he’s great guy and he’s just as obsessed with skating as you are. That should make him a good match for you, and…” she cuts the sentence short to admonish, “Nikolai, take your time! And where are your crutches?”

“Over there,” Nikolai says vaguely. He slides a bit as he stops beside Beth-Anne. “They were getting annoying, and I can put weight on my leg now, so…”

Beth-Anne makes an exasperated noise. “See what I mean? Headstrong as fu—"

“Fudge,” Nikolai interrupts her.

Eden seems not to notice the slip. He’s too occupied with scrutinizing Nikolai. "Can you be a coach? Do you even know enough about skating?"

"Oh, I might know a thing or two,” Nikolai says, doing his best to keep his amusement off his face. “I’ve won a few medals, even.”

Beth-Anne smiles. "Eden, this is Nikolai Pavlenko. He won gold at Worlds last season." She gestures at Eden and continues, "Nik, meet Eden Seong."

Eden scrunches his brow in concentration as he studies him. "But, you kinda don’t look like Nikolai Pavlenko, though? My parents let me stay up to watch a bunch of stuff from Worlds last season. I watched your free skate, but you look a lot different than you did when I saw you on TV."

Nikolai strokes his chin. "Maybe it's the beard. It's new."

He doesn’t mention that his beard is a result of him having been too depressed to bother with shaving. By the time he felt well enough to care about his appearance again, he decided he actually liked the beard and opted to keep it. He hadn’t been aware that it had altered his recognizability that much, but then again, he’s used to his own face in the mirror. He’d never not recognize himself, but that doesn’t necessarily mean other people would instantly know it was him.

"I like it,” Eden says. “You think I can grow one someday?"

"Probably when you're older," Nikolai replies.

"I'd look cool with a beard." Eden strokes his own chin like he’s trying to imagine himself older and with facial hair. "If you were my coach, could you teach me to do quads? You make them look so easy."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Beth-Anne says. "You can't even do a triple yet."

"Yes, I can!" Eden retorts, and then quickly claps a hand over his mouth. "Um, I mean... Triple? What's that?"

Recalling the tidbit of allegedly secret information he’d heard from Marek a few days earlier, Nikolai laughs out loud. "Oh, I already like you."

Really?" Eden says.

"Beth-Anne, remember the back flip?" Nikolai says.

"Oh, lord..." Beth-Anne groans. "Don't give him ideas."

"Back flip?" Eden inquires. "What back flip?"

"Never mind, Eden," says Beth-Anne. "Forget you heard that."

"Can you really do a triple, Eden?" Nikolai asks.

Eden suddenly has the stereotypical ‘deer in the headlights’ expression, as if he doesn't know how to answer this question without getting in trouble with his coach. He glances at Beth-Anne, clearly trying to gauge her reaction. “Um… maybe?”

Beth-Anne shrugs. "If you can, you can. Never mind that I told you not to try it."

"I can," Eden confesses. "A triple toe loop."

"You don't become a champion without taking risks," says Nikolai. "You told me that, Beth-Anne. Remember?"

"You were my first student. What did I know back then?" she says.

“I think Uncle Stan told you the same thing, didn’t he?”

“Motivational bullshit.”

"Eden, how old are you?" Nikolai wants to know. "You're starting Novice next season, so ten or eleven, right?"

"I'm gonna be eleven in May," Eden answers. “May twenty-third.”

"And you can do a triple already. Nice." Nikolai meets Beth-Anne's gaze. "Can he show me?"

Beth-Anne spreads her hands. "Does it look like I could stop him?"

"You really wanna see it?" Eden says eagerly. "I promise, it’ll be good."

"I'm sure it will," says Nikolai.

"Beth-Anne, can I show him right now?"

Beth-Anne nods toward the center of the ice. "You might as well go for it. Move a few of those cones first."

Eden looks excited by this new turn of events. He grins at his cousin in the stands and gives him a cheeky thumbs up before skating away from Nikolai and Beth-Anne, and then pushing the orange cones off to the side, one by one.

Nikolai can’t look away as Eden skates around, building up momentum. The kid may be small, but that little body is packed with strength and kinetic energy. It’s not only pure power, either. He moves with a precision that surprises Nikolai; refined, graceful and disciplined.

The kid has talent, and if he's already this advanced at ten, who knows what he might be capable of in the future?

Nikolai can predict the exact moment when Eden is about to jump. He counts the rotations.

One… two… three.

Yes!

The landing isn’t the greatest, but Eden doesn't fall or stumble as he touches down. Nikolai exhales. He’d been so invested in silently cheering for the boy’s success, he hadn’t been aware he’d stopped breathing while Eden was in the air. Now that Eden’s blades are back on the ice, Nikolai allows himself to cheer out loud.

Beside him, Beth-Anne sounds like she might’ve been holding her breath too. She visibly relaxes as she calls out, “Well done, Eden!”

Eden skates back to them and more or less tackles Beth-Anne in his effort to hug her. Understandably exhilarated from what he's just done, he exclaims, "Did you like it? Was I awesome?"

"Yes, you were awesome, sweetheart," she says. "I'm not letting you do that again for a while though, understand? You're brilliant, but it's not a good idea to rush you along. There'll be time to work on triples and quads when you're really ready, okay?"

He acquiesces. “Okay."

"All right. Your friends are going to start showing up for class soon, so we need to put the cones back. I'm going to grab my skates and put them on, and then I'll help you set the cones up. Sound good?"

"Sounds good," Eden agrees. He turns to Nikolai. "So...? Was I super amazingly awesome or what?"

"I've never seen anyone like you," Nikolai tells him honestly.

"You think I could be in the Olympics?"

"Maybe."

"That's my dream."

"I'll tell you what," Nikolai says. "Let's both agree that we're going to work really hard to learn everything we can and to be the best we can be. Then, when we're both ready, maybe we'll work on achieving that dream of yours together."

"So, does that mean you'd really want to be my coach?" Eden asks.

"We can't know the future, so I'm not going to promise anything," Nikolai says. "But if everything goes the way we want it to for the next year or so, and we get to know each other better, then yes. Some day, I think I'd really like to be your coach."

#writing #the art of redemption #thearteofredemption #nikolai pavlenko #beth-anne jones #eden seong #stargazersims

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