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scuderiahoney · 4 months

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Tangerine

Oscar Piastri x reader

Masterlist // Part 1 // Part 1.5 // Part 2

Summary: You’re definitely not an insomniac. But Oscar keeps finding you awake at all hours, and he’s starting to get worried. Or: I wrote this while actually being unable to sleep, passed out for 3 hours, woke up and finished it. So… here you go, I guess?

Word Count: 6.8k

Warnings: insomnia, anxiety/mild paranoia?, alcohol, limited knowledge of the actual structure of the MTC and the corporate structure of McLaren in general, a poorly researched night in Tokyo

The MTC lobby is empty, besides you. The lights are half turned off, motion sensors that have gone hours without detecting anything. You’ve stuck to your table in the corner. It’s quiet, just how you like it.

You look up from your notebook after who knows how long, blinking your weary eyes. Outside, the floodlights reflect off the inky black lake. There’s a car, pulling up in the drop off area outside the front doors. It’s Oscar, you think, his car one of a few that are easily recognizable. Sure enough, it’s confirmed when he climbs out of the driver’s side door. He leaves it running as he makes his way up to the door.

Oscar scans his pass and the doors swing open, followed by all of the lights in the lobby flickering on. You squint, fighting the urge to shield your eyes from the harsh lighting. Oscar is rushing through the lobby, a man on a mission, but he skids to a stop about halfway across the shiny tiled floor.

He turns, slowly, and makes eye contact with you. “Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.”

You hold back a laugh, thinking that might be a little mean, all things considered. “What are you doing here?”

He sighs, hands hanging at his sides. “I forgot my phone charger, and my laptop, and…” he pauses, frowning at you. “What are you doing here?”

You raise your brows right back. “Working?”

You watch his eyes flicker across your setup. You’re still in the same McLaren sweatshirt you’d been wearing when you saw him that morning. Your hair is piled atop your head. Your laptop sits open in front of you, the only source of light before Oscar burst through the doors. There are papers and notebooks scattered on the tabletop. Your pen is missing- you selfishly hope that as he scours your table, he’ll spot it.

“You got here at 8am,” he says, bewildered. “It’s almost midnight. That’s almost 16 hours.”

He says nothing about the pen. Why would he? He doesn’t know it’s missing. Logically, it must be here somewhere, probably under a paper or clipped to a notebook, but you’ve given up.

“Yes,” you answer, smirking. “You’re great at math, Oscar.”

He rolls his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, home? Sleeping?”

You shrug. “I took breaks. It’s not like I’ve been working all day straight.”

You’re not lying. You’d taken a good, long lunch break, and an afternoon walk around the grounds. You’ve gotten up to stretch a couple times, made runs to the break room for coffee. You hope he doesn’t see straight through it, though. Hope he can’t see the dark circles under your eyes, the paleness of your skin, the exhaustion weighing your shoulders.

It’s not that you weren’t tired. You just knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep. One of those days. So instead, you had decided to be productive. Which had led to this- you in the lobby of your office building, hunched over a laptop. Oscar, the driver whose data you’re scouring, staring at you with wide eyes.

“Go grab your stuff,” you tell him, nodding towards the doors he’d been headed to. “You have an early flight tomorrow.”

He blinks wildly. “We’re on the same flight.”

You nod, because you both know this quite well. There’d been a meeting this morning about who had to be where and at what times. You’re on the first flight out with the main team, headed to Singapore.

“I’m not the one who has to drive the car at very high speeds this weekend,” you remind him, pointing the eraser of your pencil at him. “Or the one who has to be in front of the cameras. You need your beauty sleep.”

Oscar laughs at that, a happy sound that makes you smile, too. “Okay, okay. I’ll be right back.”

You think about disappearing to the bathroom or the break room while he’s gone, just to avoid any further questions. You know Oscar relatively well, though, and knowing him, he’d just wait around until you came back. Or worse, come and try to find you. You can picture it- you pouring your third cup of coffee in the last hour, Oscar watching from the doorway with disdain. You stay put, sipping from your mug and scribbling notes.

He’s back within a few minutes, a backpack in hand. His keys dangle from his fingertips. You don’t look up from your laptop as he walks towards you, that is until he’s standing right in front of you. You blink up at him through your lashes. There’s a frown on his face- this close, you know your lack of sleep must be obvious.

He nudges the top panel of your laptop with a single fingertip. “C’mon. Time to go home.”

“I’m fine,” you tell him, shaking your head. “I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early.”

“What, you just gonna stay here until we all meet up in the morning to go to the airport?” He scoffs.

“That would be ridiculous,” you laugh.

“It would,” he agrees. He seems to see straight through you, though. “Come on. Close the laptop, close the notebooks. You can work on this on the flight, like a normal person.”

“I’m trying to improve your car, you know.”

“I’m not leaving until you do,” he finally says, and you scoff with wide eyes. “And remember, I’m the one who has to actually drive the car. And go in front of the cameras. I need my beauty sleep.”

You rear your head back, unsure how to even counter that. He takes the opportunity to close the laptop for you, and you bat at his hands. Then he’s sweeping your papers into piles, stacking your notebooks and gathering them up into his arms.

“That’s my intellectual property, you know,” you scold him, reaching for the papers. He holds them up above your head easily, and you groan. “Okay, okay, I’ll go, just- I lost my pen, earlier. It’s my favorite one. I just have find it and then I promise I’ll go- you can go home, really, I’ll see you-“

He’s reaching for your head, suddenly, and you freeze. When his hand returns to your view, he’d holding the pen between his fingertips. You blink once, twice, then reach for it, but he’s holding it above your head within seconds, too.

“We’re leaving,” he tells you, firmly. “Come on. Up we go.”

You get to your feet reluctantly and pack your things into your bag. Oscar helps, handing you your papers in neat little piles. He keeps you in front of him as you both exit the lobby, like he’s afraid you might take off running further into the office building. His car is still parked out front, still running, and you see him wince.

“Didn’t expect to be inside for so long,” he says sheepishly.

You laugh lightly, starting your walk towards the employee lot. It’s down a well lit path, but every step feels heavy this late at night.

“Wait,” he says, and you pause. “Do you want a ride? You seem tired. You know, sometimes that’s as bad as driving drunk.”

“I’m not gonna fall asleep behind the wheel,” you tell him. You say it with confidence, because it’s pretty likely you’re not going to fall asleep at all tonight.

He cocks his head at you, cast in the bright glow of the floodlights. “At least let me drive you to your car. Otherwise, how do I know you’re not going to just go back inside?”

You roll your eyes. “And how do I know you’re not trying to kidnap me?”

You end up getting in the car, because he makes it pretty clear he’s not leaving until you do. You contemplate just walking to your own car, but honestly your feet feel so heavy it’s just not worth the fight. Oscar, to his credit, doesn’t kidnap you. He also doesn’t comment on your very modest car, the only one left in the parking lot. He does try to offer you a ride home one more time, but he lets it go after your repeat refusal.

You say goodbye, climb into your own car, and start the engine. The heat kicks on quickly, thank god, and you start up a playlist. It’s only when you look up, ready to leave, that you notice his car is still sitting there. You can just barely see Oscar behind the windshield, and he waves at you. He’s waiting for you to leave.

You flip him off as you roll out of the parking lot, and you watch him laugh in response.

…..

You’re one of the first ones at the office the next morning, and therefore one of the first ones on a shuttle to the airport. Oscar’s chronically late, or as he would call it, chronically precisely on time, so you don’t see him until he’s climbing on the plane. McLaren’s rented out a charter plane for this trip, with the double header making it the easiest solution.

You’re already settled into a seat, laptop open on the table in front of you, headphones on. You barely even look up when you feel him looking over you, but then he’s tugging one side of your headphones off your ear.

“Did you even sleep?” He asks, brows furrowed.

“Yes,” you lie, raising your brows at him defensively.

Oscar raises his brows in return. He obviously doesn’t believe you.

Before he can say anything else, Lando’s behind him, leaning up over his shoulder. “Oscar, mate, get a move on.”

Oscar rolls his eyes but does as Lando’s urging. There’s not assigned seats, per say, but the two drivers are headed towards the middle of the plane where their trainers and other senior staff are sitting. That’s how these things normally go- it just makes sense. They’ll have meetings on the plane, talk about meal plans and strategies and get ready for the weekend. You’ll spend your flight going through the data just one more time, trying to unlock all of the secrets to give Oscar the best possible chance on Sunday.

…..

Singapore is good. Not great, not perfect, but good. For Lando’s team, it’s a huge weekend. And honestly, 4th place for Oscar in his rookie year is huge too. He’s thrilled, tells you as much after the race, after the briefing.

“I know you worked hard this weekend, put in a lot of hours,” he says. “Thank you.”

“Just doing my job,” you say with a shrug.

“Right.” He says. “Thanks, though.”

You smile up at him, knowing it’s wobbly and insincere. You don’t take compliments well. “No problem.”

When you get to the hotel that night, you lay down in the bed and try to fall asleep. It’s no use, really, because it’s not your bed, and because your mind is racing. There’s nothing even bothering you, that’s the stupid thing. Just… a billion thoughts flying by all at once. So you wander the hotel, up and down the stairs, down the halls. You make a pit stop in the exercise room, walk on the treadmill, try out the rowing machine. You’ve never been one for working out, but the internet says exercise can help with sleep issues. It’s worth a try, but it doesn’t work.

You contemplate sneaking into the closed hotel pool, but ultimately decide against it. You’d probably get caught, and then you’d get in trouble, and it would somehow make it back to your boss. Then you’d get fired in Singapore, left to find your own way home. So instead, you head for the vending machines on your floor. There’s got to be something in there that’ll cure the racing in your head. Or at least bring you some comfort in the dead of night.

What doesn’t bring you comfort in the dead of night is a face in the reflection on the glass of the vending machine. You nearly scream when you meet someone else’s eyes. You whirl around, arms in a defensive position, and come face to face with Oscar.

“Would’ve pegged you for flight, not fight,” he says drowsily.

“You can’t sneak up on people like that,” you hiss, dropping your hands to your sides.

“Payback,” he mutters, dragging a hand down his face clumsily. “B‘sides, I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. I was trying to get a snack.”

You blink at him. “Oscar, it’s 3am.”

He nods, blinks slowly. You almost expect his eyes to stay closed, almost expect him to fall asleep standing up.

“I woke up starving,” he says, shuffling towards one of the vending machines. “Promise you won’t tell Kim? I’ll buy you whatever you want.”

He’s cute when he’s sleepy. You want to tuck him into bed and tell him bedtime stories. You want to kiss his forehead. You blink hard, trying to reset your brain. The sleep deprivation is really getting to you. This is your coworker, your teammate.

You shrug and nod in agreement. “Would’ve kept the secret without the bribe, but if you’re offering…”

Oscar laughs, a quiet sound in the empty night air. “What’ll it be, then?”

He’s leaning against the glass heavily. He must still be half asleep. You can’t blame him. You point at the bag of chips you’d been eyeing, and then at the gummy worms in the corner. He nods in approval of both, selects them, feeds the machine his money. Then he’s picking his own snack- a poptart and a bag of Cheetos. He backs away, but you make a noise and point at the drinks machine.

“And a Red Bull?” You ask, pointing at your favorite flavor where it sits, lit up by fluorescent light.

He turns back, almost puts the money in, and then he pauses and looks at you. “It’s 3am.”

“Right, we established that.”

“Why would you drink Red Bull at 3am?” He asks, bewildered.

You shrug. “Because I like Red Bull.”

“Go work for them, then,” he suggests. You laugh. “Actually, I have a feeling that would be severely detrimental to your health. Too many free energy drinks. Do you ever sleep?”

“Those are big words for 3am,” you tease, nudging his shoulder. “Come on. The tangerine one, please.”

“I’m not buying you a Red Bull.” He shakes his head. “I am walking you back to your room and you’re going to bed.”

“I’ll tell Kim about your snacks.”

“No, you won’t.”

You let him walk you back to your room. He stands there as you swipe the key card, as you open the door and shuffle inside. He says goodnight from the doorway. You close the door after you echo the sentiment, lock all the locks, and lay down in your bed. You close your eyes and try to go to sleep. You really, truly try. But when the clock turns over to 4am, and you realize it’s useless, you roll out of bed and head down to the vending machine. You buy the Redbull with your own money, carry it back to your room, turn on the tv, and settle in until the sun comes up.

…..

Tokyo may just be your favorite city in the entire world. Everything is open all the time. You’ve never felt more seen by a city. The days that you and the rest of the team spend there between the two races are heaven. You have meetings during the day, but they’re short and easy. At night, there are plenty of places for you to roam, plenty of things to do and see.

You spend your nights in ramen bars, in arcades, in toy stores that seem to stretch on for miles. You collect so many souvenirs you’re worried you’ll have to buy a second suitcase. Frankly, you’re going on week two of sleeping only in one to two hour stints, and it’s likely you’re beginning to get a little manic. In Tokyo, though, nobody bats an eye.

You join the team for breakfast in the hotel lobby on Thursday. You’ve somehow ended up at a table with Oscar and Lando- you’d gotten here before anyone else, and Oscar had chosen the seat across from you. Lando asks what you’ve been up to. They’ve been busy with promo stuff, you’ve hardly seen the two of them all week.

You regale them with your stories and hand off your phone to Lando so he can scroll through your pictures. Oscar listens with rapt attention, leaning to look at the photos too.

“How do you do all this and find time to sleep?” Lando asks, an amused tone in his voice.

“She doesn’t, mate,” Oscar replies, pointing at your phone. “Look at the time stamps.”

You roll your eyes and snatch the phone away from them. Lando’s looking at you with wide eyes, Oscar is smiling amusedly.

“Sleep is for the weak,” you tell them, and you swear Lando’s eyes are going to bug out of his head. “We’re in Tokyo, I’m making the most of it.”

To Oscar’s credit, he doesn’t bring up the encounter at the MTC, or the run in at the vending machines. Still, this revelation seems to bewilder Lando.

“Sleep is like, the most important thing,” he says, shaking his head. “For your health.”

“Not all of us have to be in tip top shape,” you say, stabbing your fork into a waffle on your plate. “Some of us get to have fun. Exhibit B. Our breakfasts.”

Lando looks at your plate, filled with waffles and bacon and your cup of coffee, next to it. He casts his glance to his sad looking bowl of oatmeal, then, and sighs heavily. Oscar’s laughing at the two of you, though his plate looks just as sad.

“When you pass out halfway through the day,” Lando says, a retaliatory furrow in his brow, “I’m telling Andrea why.”

“That won’t happen,” you reassure him. “And besides, it’s media day. I have it easy.”

…..

Oscar makes it on the podium on Sunday. You scream your lungs out with the rest of the team, run to the pit wall, watch the podium celebrations. He’s wrapping everyone in enthusiastic hugs, slapping everyone’s backs and grinning so, so widely. All the lost sleep feels worth it, just to see him smile like that.

When he makes it to you, he hauls you into his chest, arms around your shoulders, holding you tight. You could stay like that forever, if he’d let you. He tucks his chin atop your head and you think you’d like to make a home right there, in his arms.

The celebrations go late, and so does the debrief. By the time it’s all said and done, everyone looks exhausted, including the drivers. They start shuttling you all back to the hotel for the night, back in Tokyo so you can get on the plane easily tomorrow morning. You’re just glad to be back in the city. On a night like tonight, buzzing with adrenaline and caffeine, there’s no way you’re falling asleep.

You somehow end up in a shuttle with Oscar. He smells like champagne and sweat, and you tease him about it when he sits down in the back row next to you.

He smiled sheepishly. “So I smell like a podium finisher, then.”

You watch as the city goes by out the window and listen to him chat idly with the others in the van. When you get back, you’re the last one out of the car. He’s waiting outside the hotel, leaning on the wall.

“So, what’s your plan for the night?” He asks, cocking a brow.

“No judgement?” You ask.

“No judgement,” he promises.

You shrug. “Not exactly sure. There’s a lot to do. I’ll probably get some ramen, maybe go shopping. Might just take a walk.”

He nods. “Sleep?”

“Not high on the priority list,” you admit.

He nods again. “Can I come with?”

You blank, staring at him. “What?”

“On your adventure,” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Can I come along?”

Suddenly your heart is pounding in your chest. He wants to come with? Why? There’s a part of you that doesn’t like the idea, that thinks your sleepless adventures are for you and you alone. The other part of you, the one that wins out, thinks it might not be so bad to have some companionship.

“… sure,” you agree, eyeing him carefully. “But you have to play along. No forcing me to go to sleep.”

“Promise,” he says, holding out his pinky.

You hook yours with his and seal the deal.

…..

You both head up to your hotel rooms to change clothes, and in Oscar’s case, to take a shower. He sends you a text when he’s ready and you meet him in the lobby. He’s in a casual outfit, jeans and a hoodie. You’re dressed similarly, in a pair of black jeans and a crewneck.

“Where to?” He asks, wide grin on his face.

It turns out that Oscar is the ideal late night adventure companion. You start your night out at a sushi conveyor restaurant, both of you joking about how Lando would never dare to eat there. You eat to your heart’s content and make comments about fueling up for the night ahead. He even joins you in having an energy drink, some Japanese brand that you’ve never heard of. Oscar reads part of the label to you, balks at the amount of caffeine in it, and drinks it anyways.

After the restaurant, the two of you climb into a cab and head to the Shibuya district. It’s crawling with people, buzzing with energy, and you feel right at home. Oscar sticks close to your side, hanging onto the back of your sweatshirt as you cross the busy crosswalks in a sea of people. When you turn, though, he’s smiling like he’s having the time of his life. The two of you climb the stairs to an observatory where you can watch the dance of pedestrians and traffic from above. There’s a glow to the city that feels akin to how your brain feels when you can’t sleep- like it never goes out, never turns off.

You tell this to Oscar, who gives you a contemplative look.

“Is it the energy drinks?” He asks. His hand is on your wrist, likely just to keep track of you in the crowds.

You shake your head. “The energy drinks came after the… not sleeping-“

“Insomnia,” he suggests.

“… not sleeping,” you repeat, narrowing your eyes at him. “Anyways. I was like a zombie. The energy drinks make it so I’m functional. I figure if I’m gonna be awake, may as well enjoy it.”

You head back out onto the streets and begin to wander again. Oscar follows along, always holding onto you in some way, always smiling when you look at him. The two of you wander through art galleries and museums lit up with neon lights. Somewhere in the middle of one of them, he slips his fingers between yours. You’re not complaining. There’s something grounding, leveling about his presence.

You stop for drinks at a bar- some sort of local beer that Oscar orders for both of you in Japanese. It’s followed by a vodka Red Bull, at your insistence. Oscar wrinkles his nose but drinks the whole thing, seemingly determined to match you.

Next door, there’s a highly American themed bowling alley. Oscar laughs about how Logan would love it and pulls you inside. It’s the first stop of the night that he’s suggested, so you go along eagerly. He’s snapping pictures, ones to send to Logan, ones for himself, ones of you smiling, renting out bowling shoes. He pays for the game, and you both do terribly. The worker puts the bumper guards up out of pity, because the two of you obviously have no idea what you’re doing. He’s a world renowned athlete, you’re a highly skilled engineer, and yet, you both suck at bowling.

“When did the in-“ you fix him with a glare, and he stops mid sentence. “When did the not sleeping start?”

You look up at the ceiling of the bowling alley and purse your lips, watching the disco ball spin. “Next question.”

He huffs and shrugs, rolling the ball down the lane. “I don’t have a next question.”

“What’s your family like?”’you ask him, and he smiles, softer than you’ve ever seen him smile before.

“Well, I have three sisters,” he starts, eyes lighting up.

Somewhere between the bowling alley, the next bar, and the shopping mall you end up in, you start to really get to know Oscar. It’s funny how the night opens people up. Everything feels safer in the dark, surrounded by other people. It’s creeping up on 1am- in theory, both of you should be sound asleep. The fact that you’re not makes anything okay. You learn about his family, his childhood, his friends back home and in the UK. You tell him about yourself, too. He listens with an eager look on his face, laughing at all the right moments, squeezing your hand at the right ones, too.

You end up in a store that’s packed to the brim with stuffed animals. He lets you drag him around the whole thing, pointing out cute ones and the ones you think are a bit odd. Then you gasp, pointing excitedly, pulling on his hand.

“It’s you,” you squeak, the delirium beginning to set in. It’s a stuffed Kangaroo, and he groans softly. “Look, you’re even making the same face.”

Oscar seems unable to argue with that. Both he and the stuffed kangaroo do seem to be scowling. He smiles instead, picks it up, and takes it to the register. He buys it before you can really even say anything, and the cashier packages it in a bag. The kangaroo’s head sticks out over the paper, your second faithful companion for the night.

By 3am, Oscar is starting to drag. He perks up every time you look at him and smiles brightly, but you can tell. His grip on your hand is looser lately, and his blinks are growing longer and longer. You turn to him, a sympathetic smile on your face.

“We can go back to the hotel, if you want,” you say, poking his cheek lightly.

He smiles. “Are you tired?”

You sigh. “No, but you are.”

“I’m okay,” he insists, shaking his head. “What about the batting cages you mentioned? That sounded fun.”

You pout at him. “Oscar, you’re half asleep. You’d definitely get hit by a ball.”

He nods in agreement. “Maybe I just need another energy drink?”

You cock your head at him, take in his heavy eyelids, his parted lips. “That would be your third one of the night. And that would be very unhealthy.”

He nods again. “Yeah. Okay. Just… I said I’d be along for the ride.”

“We can hang out at the hotel,” you suggest. “The pool area is open all night.”

“I didn’t bring my swimsuit.”

“Me neither.”

You somehow end up with a pizza on your way back, and the two of you plant yourselves in the pool area on one of the chaise lounge chairs, the pizza box in front of you. You eat the greasy, cheesy food, and even Oscar indulges in it. He has his hand planted on the chair behind your back. Every so often you lean backs against his arm just to feel his presence. His knee bumps against yours, and you smile.

The pool is clear and blue. Neither of you will be swimming, but this felt like a neutral enough place. You’d thought about inviting him back to your room but had felt weird about it. There’s something calming about the still water and the smell of the chlorine, anyways.

He leans his head on your shoulder. The heavy weight of him is nice. He’s solid, sturdy, grounding. You’re chatting idly about something that happened at the race, something he’d missed while he was driving the car. You break off in the middle of a sentence to yawn, and then you close your eyes for just a moment. Oscar’s breath hitches.

The two of you are silent for a moment. You stare into the clear water, aching to drift and float and fall asleep. You sigh and pull your knees up to your chest.

“It started when I was a kid,” you tell him. “I just… stopped sleeping. It comes and goes in cycles. Sometimes I’m fine, sometimes I just…”

“Can’t sleep,” Oscar finishes for you, his words contradicting the sleepy tone of his voice.

“Yeah,” you say, blinking slowly again.

Your head droops, resting against his. He’s so warm, so comforting. He must feel you drifting, must feel your grip faltering, because then he’s sitting up, tucking you into his chest.

“Is there anything I can do?” He asks, drowsily.

“M’so tired,” you admit, curling into him. “Justwannasleep.”

Tears are stinging at your eyes. You hadn’t expected this, hadn’t been prepared for this part. The moment when your lack of sleep catches up to you, and you become an emotional, distraught mess. You’re seconds away from full on sobbing.

Oscar seems to sense this. “Okay. Okay, how about- I have a pull out couch in my suite. Why don’t you- if you’re comfortable, you could come sleep there. Maybe it would help to know somebody’s there if you need it? Maybe-“

“Okay,” you answer, nodding against his chest. “Okay, yeah.”

He takes care of the empty pizza box and guides you up to his room. You know there’ll be questions to answer if anyone sees you, but you’re comforted by the fact that it’s 4am and nearly every sane person is sound asleep. He scans into the room, and you let out a sigh when he lets go of your hand. He moves quickly, unfolding the pull out couch, grabbing extra blankets from the cabinets. Before you know it, you’re sitting down on the bed, rubbing your eyes.

It’s strange, now that you’re here. You’re in Oscar’s hotel room. You’ve just spent the night wandering Tokyo with him. You’re exhausted, sleep deprived, still on the verge of tears. Everything feels hazy and blurry.

“I can… go, if you want,” he says, and you blink up at him through your blurry vision. “Or I can sit with you till you fall asleep.”

“That might take a while,” you tell him. “Like, you’re more likely to fall asleep. Even… when I finally get to this point, it takes a while.”

He shrugs. “We could put on a movie.”

That’s exactly what you do. He turns on the tv, spots Finding Nemo on the guide, and turns it on. He sinks down on the bed, leaning against the couch back. You crawl up next to him as he turns the volume low. At first, you just sit shoulder to shoulder. Then he reaches out, wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulls you into his side. You sigh against him. Cradled close, you let the exhausted tears flow. He can’t see you, probably, and even if he can, you can’t bring yourself to care. He leans down, brushes his lips against your forehead.

“M’right here,” he says, softly. “I’ve got you.”

You wake up at 8am with your head in his lap. His alarm is blaring from the side table, and you’re both springing apart. He fumbles for his phone, shutting the alarm off with the shaky hands of someone who’s just been woken up from not nearly enough sleep.

You, on the other hand, have gotten the most consecutive sleep of your last two weeks. You stretch, rubbing the blur from your eyes and blinking at him.

“Sorry,” you mumble.

“For what?” He asks, voice steady.

“For… I don’t know. Keeping you up so late? Falling asleep on you?” You shrug. “I… that was a lot, for me to put that all on you.”

Oscar shrugs, so nonchalant about it. “It’s what friends are for.”

You nod, though you’re not convinced. You pull away, and Oscar’s soft smile drops to a flat frown. He reaches for you, but you dodge his touch.

“I should go,” you tell him. “We have to leave soon, people are going to be getting up and- if they see me come out of your room-“

“We can be friends,” he says, again, brows furrowing. “We didn’t do anything wrong, everything is okay-“

He doesn’t understand. It’s fine for him, but this is too much for you. He wants to be friends, but you’re looking at him and thinking about how if you could curl up on his chest every night, you might never have trouble sleeping again. He wants friends, you want more. You can’t have more, though, because there’s no way you’ll keep your job. And he doesn’t want that, anyways. Why would he? You’re just his pity project, the poor girl who can’t sleep, who fails at counting sheep.

“I should go,” you repeat, standing up. You can’t look at him, can’t watch him watching you. “Thank you. For everything. I’m sorry.”

He stands up too, and he grabs your hand. You pause, stuck between ripping your hand from his and running, or whirling around and snapping at him. Fight or flight. Instead, you take a deep breath. You’re still sleep deprived, still exhausted. 4 hours doesn’t fix two weeks of little to no sleep.

“I’m sorry,” you breathe, shoulders sagging. “I have a hard time letting people take care of me.”

“It’s okay,” Oscar says. “Just- come sit down? Let’s talk, okay?”

You sink down on the bed, rest your elbows on your knees and your face in your hands. “Why do you care?”

Oscar sits down next to you. He reaches out, knits your fingers together. You’re reminded of the art galleries, of the crowds, of the bowling alley. You split yourself open last night, in the safety of the time when you should’ve been sleeping. He saw you and he’s still here, somehow, hanging on. Your bones are tired. Your head is pounding. You need caffeine.

“I care,” he says, gently, “because I care about you. Because I think you’re a good person, and I want to get to know you better. And because this whole thing is not healthy.”

You sigh. His thumb brushes over the back of your hand methodically, back and forth. The funny thing is, you could fall asleep again, just like this. You could lean into his shoulder, let the warmth of him seep into your skin, and fall asleep. You wonder if he knows it.

“I’m fine,” you tell him, rubbing at your face sleepily. “Osc, I’ve been like this for years. It’s not just going to change now.”

“Not overnight,” he says, softly. There’s a callous on his thumb, you can feel the scrape of it over your skin. It’s oddly soothing. “But I can try. I can be here.”

“Why would you want to?”

“Because despite all the craziness, last night was the most fun I’ve had in weeks,” he says, and you could cry. “I want to spend time with you. I want to get to know you. Take you on dates. The whole nine yards.”

You should’ve expected this. Oscar can be shy, and quiet, but he can be straightforward, too. He’s pretty easy to read. He’s blunt with Lando, almost to the point of contention sometimes. But you’d been so focused on trying to prove to him that you were just fine that you hadn’t considered he was feeling the sparks, too. That maybe he wasn’t holding onto you in the crowd just so he didn’t lose you. That maybe he liked the feeling of your skin on his, too.

“If you want that,” he says, voice low.

You blink blearily, pull away to look up at him. “I do.”

He nods, leans forward, kisses your forehead. The rest of it will come later, you think. You can work all the details out when you’re both more awake. Right now, he pulls you into his chest and flops back onto the bed.

“We have an hour before anyone comes looking for us,” he says, rubbing your back lightly. “Close your eyes? You don’t have to sleep, just-“

You blink once, twice, and then you’re fast asleep before he can get another word out.

…..

Oscar wins the sprint race in Qatar, and then takes second on Sunday. He’s nothing but endless wide grins all weekend, despite the heat and the dehydration and his obvious exhaustion. You laugh when you watch him lay down on the floor in the cool down room and smile when he gets sprayed with champagne on the podium. He chases you through the garage afterwards to give you a hug, despite your screeching about how sticky he is.

He tucks you into his chest. “Couldn’t have done it without you, baby.”

Later, you help corral a very tired Oscar and Lando to the shuttles and back to the hotel. They’re each stumbling over their own feet, giggling and laughing about the race, shoving at each other’s shoulders. For a minute, you’re walking through an empty parking lot, far from any other McLaren staff, and Oscar links his fingers with yours. They fit together like puzzle pieces. His fingers are sticky with champagne, but you can’t bring yourself to care. Lando sees and doesn’t say anything, just smiles.

You’re keeping it quiet for now. Time to figure it out between the two of you before you get your bosses involved. You have a feeling it’ll be mostly okay. You’ll figure it out, one way or another.

You follow Oscar up to his hotel room, saying goodnight to Lando as he heads further down the hall. He knits his fingers with yours again, leads you into his room, and collapses onto the bed.

“I’m exhausted,” he says, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Are you?”

You smile down at him, laid out on the bed. He should probably shower, at the very least change his clothes, but you can’t bring yourself to tell him that.

You sigh. “I mean, yeah, but if you’re asking if I’ll be able to sleep… probably not.”

He nods in understanding and purses his lips. “D’you think… would you just… stay, until I fall asleep?” He asks, blinking up at you. “After that you can take my card and get a Red Bull and go do whatever, just-“

“Yeah, I’ll stay,” you tell him.

It’s the easiest thing you’ve ever done. He gets ready for bed, and you do the same. You lean against the headboard and he crawls up the bed. He puts his head on a pillow in your lap, curls up into a little c shape. He’s very cat like, you’ve noticed, especially when he’s sleepy. You run your fingers through his hair, the tv playing quietly in the background, and he sighs and closes his eyes.

“Goodnight,” you murmur, leaning down to press a kiss to his temple.

He’s out within minutes. Oscar is a sound sleeper. You could move him, could shift his head and get up. You could wander the halls, take his card and buy all the energy drinks you desire. But you look down at him, his brow unfurrowed, lips parted, and you can’t bring yourself to do it. You could sit here and watch him breathe all night. It’s a terrifying and comforting thought, all at once.

You don’t sleep. It’s likely you’ll crash on the flight home, or maybe shortly after that. With your luck, you’ll pass out in a meeting when you get back to the MTC. Oscar doesn’t scold you when he wakes up and it’s obvious you’ve been awake all night.

He gets you coffee from the breakfast bar, exactly how you like it. And when he finds you in the backseat of the airport shuttle, he hands you a tangerine Red Bull. It’s early, the sun just peeking up over the horizon, washing the whole city with orange. He’s smiling at you, and you’re smiling right back.

When you fall asleep on his shoulder on the way to the airport, nobody dares to say a word.

…..

“Did you hear we’re gonna be sponsored by Monster next year?” Lando asks, throwing a tennis ball at a wall in the courtyard.

You sit up in the grass nearby, eyes lighting up. “You’re kidding. Free Monster?”

Oscar, whose stomach you’d been laying on, sits up behind you and wraps his arm around your waist. He rests his chin on your shoulder.

“Your consumption will be restricted,” he says, and you laugh.

You suppose that’s fair. Besides, Monster is fine, but nothing will ever top tangerine Red Bull.

check out the companion blurb, Glad You’re Here

thanks for reading, hope you sleep better than me! you can find my other fics here! sweet dreams y’all

#oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri x you #formula 1 fanfic #f1 oneshot #f1 fanfic #Oscar piastri oneshot #pls be gentle I am tired #honeywrites #op81 #Oscar piastri #tangerine!verse

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dreamgrlarchive · 7 months

Text

A Prissy Girl’s Guide to Fall

back by popular demand, i’m here with another prissy girl guide! this post is a bit late for the fall but it’ll allow you to finish the season off in a pretty fashion, and transition to the winter smoothly. i’ll be discussing the look i’ve been adorned in as of late and my fav products i’ll be using for the spirit of fall! 💓

what’s the look this fall?

the look this season is “divalicious barbie.” voluminous hair, tapered square nails and fur details + neutral color palettes. add in a few pops of pink and some sparkly detailz and you got my look this fall. “sexy chic.” i’ve been really leaning into the vibe of a runway supermodel diva emulsion. as you may have seen, my birthday outfit drew from many inspirations, focally the early nineties alaia runway shows. just immense glamour, class and girliness with a healthy dose of sexy.

“it's officially fall bbys. uggs, tracksuits, sew ins are in”

“in are warm scents, fur, leopard prints, brown lip gloss with voluminous blowouts for the fall to enhance my diva essence!”

- @realprissygrl on twitter 🎀

first and foremost…

the weather is turning so a lot of us are catching colds. take care of your health and rest. protect your immune system and dress according to weather. i almost always get sick around late september/early october and its because of the dip my immune system takes due to the change in climate.

preparation

some of you are in school like me. one of the reasons the fall is my fav season is because it’s time to get back to the basics. you should be developing new study routines around this time or perfecting the ones you have already

new school supplies + stationery. pretty girls deserve to stay stocked up on glitter ink and fuzzy pens

start saving money for the holiday season

get a handle on your halloween look early so not to scramble when the day comes

stock up on tea, immune boosters like emergen-c and medicine

start going outside in the morning to get the vitamin D and K you may lose out on as the seasons turn

set new goals and track them in a diary or planner

try to get well rested. the change from fall to winter can cause a lot of mood and energy complications due to lack of rest

essentials

a metallic pink starbucks tumbler or stanley cup

new books to read this season

chai tea and espresso for at home lattes + a pink thermos for travel (mine is a barbie pink micro shimmer one by starbucks)

hello kitty pencil caps and planners

velcro roller kit

super cute straw toppers

juicy couture laptop case for school

dry shampoo and clean paddle brush

pink ipad for productivity

victoria’s secret anything

cute hydrophobic jackets + umbrella

cute planner, i take my corset planner everywhere

clothes and accessories

warm neutrals + pink

layers, layers, layers! i’ve been pairing fur vests/cardigans, and sheer tops

cheetah and leopard print (yes they’re different lol) i’m going for the galleria chanel look this season

preppy looks! tartan, tweed and pleats have been such an essential for me on class days

cute little purses that are only big enough for your phone, lip gloss and keys. they come rhinestoned, fur trimmed or beaded and go very well with preppy lookz

chocolate brown accessories and layers

rhinestones and pearls add the perfect diva touch to any look

hoops 4ever

diamond studs for when your hair is pulled back, the prettiest detail ever

velour tracksuits

shimmery neutral pieces

feathers and gold jewelry to achieve that regine hunter/hilary banks aesthetic

fur trims on sheer tops

fuzzy trimmed half jackets

neutral toned designer tote bags

leopard print totes

blacked out shades

berets

sheer tights including tights with patterns like lace and stripes

ted baker arycon bags. they’re affordable and super freaking cute

fuzzy knitted pieces

knee high socks

cute little pumps + kitten heels

leather booties

uggs… obviously

medium telfar in either ballerina, bubblegum or gold

rubber boots with cute details like metal buttons or fur

furry moon boots

apple watch + charm bracelet stacking

beauty

brown + pink all season. cinnamon strawberry dessert girl

tape ins + sew ins or clip ins for a budget

soft matte makeup. not too matte (winter) and not dewy (summer)

neutral eyeshadow with a pink glossy lip

voluminous side parted hair with velcro roller curls OR

pin straight silk presses with a middle part

adequate moisture in hair is imperative to ensure hairstyles last long and stay sleek. if my hair reverts too fast i know it’s because its dry

sparkly hair clips

deep pink, mauve and berry blushes

lip balms like tree hut, summers friday and patrick ta

high ponies and half up half down stylez

long curly lashes. my favs are by kiss and lilly lashes or sold on amazon in the pink packaging

invest in a metal roller brush (ulta has super cute pink ones omg) OR a round brush blow dryer to add body to hair

makeup by pat mcgrath and patrick ta for sparkly lookz

beauty blender cleanser is my fav for cleaning my brushes

lip glosses + lipstick in nude pink, nude, deep brown, and baby pink

tapered square french tipz and nude nails

eyeshadow palettes with blacks, reds, browns, grays, and creams. my favs rn are naughty nude and new nude by huda, glam palette by natasha denona and the master mattes by mario

claw clips have been my fav for cute updos

warm scents with notes of wood, oud, musk, cinnamon, pastry, soft florals and brown sugar

smoky eyes + smudged liner + wings

#the prissy girl agenda #fall #dream girl beauty #dream girl fashion #dream girl journey #my posts #diva seasonz!

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paleprincessturtle · 6 months

Note

Heyy! I love your writing and was wondering if you could write a piece where Mike thinks Harvey is a loner so he goes and asks Donna, but Donna tells him he’s been in a super serious relationship for a while. Mike doesn’t believe her so she tells him to go see for himself. Mike goes to Harvey’s place and sees him being super domestic and fluffy with reader.

Aww thanks! And also thanks a bunch for the request. I'm sorry it took so long. But here we go and enjoy!

Note: I'm really sorry for others who already sent me other requests, it might take me some times to post again since I'm in the middle of writing my thesis. Thanks!

Sunny Disposition

Pairing: Harvey x Reader

Mike walked with spring in his steps. It's been approximately 10 hours since Harvey snapped in his face and gave him a direct order to not leave the building unless he found anything they needed for the hearing next Monday. Mike was bummed that he had to cancel tonight's dinner with Rachel. They made an agreement to always have dinner somewhere new every Friday. But here he was. Stuck with piles upon piles upon piles of documents. Nevertheless, he found it. This could be a breakthrough in court. They could win easily with this. But as he got closer to Harvey's office, he slowed down. Frown graced his face. The door to Harvey's office is closed, lights off. Donna was the only sign of life near Harvey's office. Even Donna was getting ready to leave. He walked faster to Donna's desk before she got the chance to leave. "Where's Harvey?" Mike asked, confusion apparent in his voice. "He left at 6," Donna said nonchalantly as if the information wasn't odd at all. It was odd to Mike. Harvey left at 6? Was his place on fire?

"He left at 6? Why did he leave at 6? I have a girlfriend at home, who had dinner alone because Harvey told me not to leave this building. He had a cactus you left him, just that." Mike said in disbelief. Donna chuckled and got back to gathering her things, ready to leave. "Why has Harvey never been in a serious relationship?" Mike asked, all curious. "Last was with Scottie, right? But it wasn't that serious. Though Harvey snapped at me over a pencil after the breakup. But it wasn't that serious from what I see." Donna watched the younger guy rambling. "I can't imagine being Harvey, get home only to a cactus." Mike closed his eyes and shook his head, imagining his home without Rachel. "Harvey is in a serious relationship, Mike." Mike opened his eyes so fast, his hand covering his mouth. "Get out," Mike said in disbelief. "He's been in this relationship for over a year. In fact, he just proposed to her last month, on her birthday, in Florence." Mike's brows knitted together as he tried to remember if there was anything different from Harvey last month. He did take a week vacation, and he dodged questions about his holiday. When he got back he brought with him a beautifully hand-carved pen for Mike. It did creep Mike out. Harvey and souvenirs just don't bode well. He shook his head. "Lies. You said that just to make me feel bad for getting pissed at Harvey because he went home early." Donna rolled his eyes, "If you don't believe me, why don't you give him a visit, and see it for yourself." Donna said as she left her desk.

Mike knocked after he tried the door and failed. He was ready to face Harvey with a glass of whisky in his hand. What he didn't expect was a woman opened the door for him. She dressed in Harvey's dress shirt, black leggings, and an apron. The smell of deliciousness came out as she opened the door. She smiled brightly at Mike. "I'm sorry, can I help you?" she said in all friendliness. Mike snapped out of it and offered his hand, "I'm sorry, I'm Mike Ross. I work with Harvey, I'm here to drop some important documents." Mike explained, confusion still thick in his head. Was Donna telling the truth? Before none of them could say anything, he heard Harvey call from inside. "Sweetheart, who is it?" Mike looked at her in surprise. Sweetheart? Now, sweetheart and Harvey Specter doesn't bode well even more. The woman in front of her ignored Harvey and instead of shaking his hand, she hugged him. "I've heard so much about you! Harvey won't shut up. It's great to finally put a face to a name, and please come in. We are just cooking dinner. Harvey must've confined you in the office. Come in, please," she moved aside to let Mike in. "Harvaroooo" she called out as they entered the kitchen. Harvey turned from the stove and locked eyes with Mike. Harvey frowned and seemed caught off guard. Mike almost laughed at the sight of Harvey standing over a stove, bare feet, holding a spatula. "Harvey baby, look who showed up on our doorstep!" she walked past Harvey as Harvey stood there in confusion. She retrieved a wine glass. "Harvey, why don't you sit down with Mike while I finish up dinner? He mentioned important documents," Harvey nodded, "Mike, you fine with red?" she brought the bottle over her head for Mike to see. "Yes, of course," Mike said slowly, eyes still locked on Harvey's. She brought the glass over to Harvey. "Here, go sit down with Mike," she said, and again, Harvey nodded. This woman can order Harvey around and she's not Jessica, Mike thought. "You sure you don't need help? I can help you finish dinner. Mike can wait. Right, Mike?" Harvey called out. "Yes," Mike answered shortly, still in a daze. "No, baby. You and Mike go out sit on the balcony, and talk about..." she trailed off then smiled, "Talk about whatever you need to talk about while I finish dinner. It shouldn't be long anyway." Mike saw Harvey look down at her. He whispered sweet nothings in her ears as she giggled. He pecked her lips before turning to Mike, he handed him the glass of red and gestured outside with his head. "Wow," Mike said in amazement as he leaned on the railing of the balcony. "Perks of being successful, I can afford this view," Harvey said, leaning on the railing beside him. They both have the view of the kitchen, with the mysterious woman taking an extra plate for Mike. "When are you going to tell me that you're actually engaged?" Mike asked, turning his head to look at Harvey. "I don't mix her with work. When I pissed people off and they found out about her, they will use her against me. I won't let that happen on my watch," Harvey said solemnly. A small smile crossed Harvey's lips as he looked inside at his girl. Mike didn't miss it. "She's beautiful," Mike said, patting Harvey on the back. "Congratulations," Mike said as he pulled him into a hug. Before Harvey could say anything, she opened the sliding door to tell both men that dinner was ready.

Harvey put his hand on his lower back as they walked to the dining table. "You should've told me to help you set the table," Harvey said and she waved him off. "It's fine, Harvey." Harvey pulled the chair for her and kissed the top of her head as she sat down. Mike smiled at the interaction. No matter how much Mike denied it, Harvey is his friend. Mike cared a lot about him and to know that Harvey found her, put Mike's mind at ease. "Oh, I hope we knew you'd come. I hope you're fine with ravioli?" she asked and Mike shook his head. "Please, if anything I'm the one ruining your night with Harvey." Mike gave her a reassuring smile. "It's not like Harvey is an angel and didn't keep you in the office away from your girlfriend," she looked at Harvey and swatted his shoulder, "You should stop doing that, Harvey!" Harvey laughed as he caught her hand and gave it a kiss on the inside of her wrist before letting it go. "Harvey never told me about you," Mike started as he took a bite of the ravioli, "Damn, this is the best ravioli I've ever put in my mouth." Mike closed his eyes as he savored the flavors. "My girl here is the best cook," Harvey said proudly and smiled at her and she laughed. "Harvey never told you about me because I'm a mere mistress," she shrugged as Mike laughed. Mike glanced at her ring finger, adorned with a huge diamond ring. Harvey must've spent a fortune on that. "Sunny, can you pass me the pepper?" Harvey asked her as she passed him the pepper. "Sunny?" Mike asked, eyebrow raised. "Sunny is his silly nickname for me," she waved him off. "Just like Harvaroo?" Mike joked and Harvey choked on his food. The two of them laughed at the even sillier nickname. "It's not a silly nickname," Harvey said after he regained his composure. "Harvaroo?" Mike asked, amusement glinting in his eyes. "That's a silly nickname," Harvey scoffed. "Sunny is not a silly nickname," Mike looked at Harvey, asked him to continue. "She's the ray of sun amidst my storm. I wouldn't know simple happiness without her." Harvey said as he leaned forward to kiss her. Mike watched the two of them and smiled. Relieved washed over him, knowing Harvey, the loner he thought, was actually very much in love.

MASTERLIST

#harvey specter #harvey specter fan fiction #harvey specter imagine #harvey specter fanfic #harvey specter imagines #harvey specter x reader #suits harvey specter #suits tv

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lemoncrushh · 28 days

Text

Tattooed Heart - Part II

SUMMARY: You are a cocktail waitress at a swanky lounge. Harry comes in one night, and you instantly dislike him. But another encounter eventually changes your opinion.

PAIRING: Waitress Y/N x Artist/Tattoo Artist Harry

TROPES: Enemies to Lovers

MUST BE 18+ TO READ

WORD COUNT: 3799

STORY PAGE

The pavement was wet from the rain as you stepped onto the curb. You cursed yourself for wearing your best shoes, knowing you’d have blisters by the time you got home. Looking up at the sky, you noticed the rain had let up, so you quickly shut your umbrella, eyeing the cafe in front of you. The HELP WANTED sign in the window caught your attention. With a sigh, you pulled open the door. If you couldn’t find a job today, at least you could dry off with a latte and a muffin.

“What can I get you?” asked the woman behind the counter.

“Yes, I saw your sign up front? What’s the job?”

The older man who had his back to you called out, “You got experience?”

“Uh, yes sir, if you mean waiting tables.”

The man turned around, his face expressionless. “What about cash register?”

“Yes, sir, I’ve done that too. All kinds of retail and customer service.”

“Any days you aren’t available? I need weekends.”

“Yes, sir. I mean…no sir, I’m free everyday.”

“Good. Fill this out.” The man reached behind the counter and pulled out an application, then grabbed a pen from a nearby jar, handing them both to you.

“Thank you,” you grinned. “Oh. And can I get a vanilla latte and a blueberry muffin?”

After paying for your order, you sat down at the nearest table to begin filling out the application. You were nearly halfway through it when a shadow fell over your paper and you heard a familiar voice.

“I don’t believe it.”

Looking up, you saw him standing next to the counter. He wore a black hoodie and shorts, his windblown hair pushed back by sunglasses.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” you muttered, gripping the pen tightly. If it had been a pencil, it would have snapped. “What are you doing here?”

“Um…it’s a cafe. I’m getting coffee.”

Pursing your lips, you shifted your chair so you were facing away from him. You heard him order a flat white before his sneakered feet squeaked past you to a table by the window. You grimaced as you watched him open his backpack and pull out a laptop.

“Here you are ma’am,” said the woman who had been behind the counter.

“Thank you,” you smiled up at her as she set your coffee and muffin on the table. Then she walked over to Harry, serving him his order.

“I can’t believe this,” you mumbled to yourself, knowing he had no plans to leave any time soon.

Trying your best to concentrate, you managed to get to the last page of the application before raising your head to find Harry staring at you.

“Do you mind?” you asked, narrowing your eyes.

“Looking for a job?”

You couldn’t tell if he was being facetious or genuine.

“What do you care?” you grumbled.

“I…” he began before changing his mind with a shrug. Then he took a sip of his coffee and returned his attention to his computer.

Signing your name at the bottom of the application, you rose from your chair to turn it in.

“Why’d you leave your last job?” asked the man after he scanned your paper.

Your stomach went sour, your throat closing up. You’d dreaded that question all day. Seemed no one wanted to give a smart-mouth cocktail waitress a second chance.

“It just…wasn’t the right fit for me,” you replied.

“After two years? Zelda’s huh? That some fancy joint?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you think this coffee shop is a better fit?” the man chuckled.

“I don’t know. But I’d like the chance to try.”

Hesitating, the man shrugged. “I’m gonna need a good reference. Is it alright to call your last employer?”

“Oh. Uh…” You thought you might throw up. “I don’t-”

“I can vouch for her, Stan.”

You swung around, incredulous to what you’d just heard. He was vouching for you?

“You know this young lady, Harry?” asked Stan.

“Yeah.” Harry stood up and walked over to you. “Celebrated my birthday at Zelda’s, and she was my waitress.”

“Oh?”

Harry looked you straight in the eye and said, “She was brilliant. Best waitress I ever had.”

If your knees hadn’t just about buckled then, you might have noticed your jaw dropping. What?!

“Well, that’s good enough for me,” offered Stan. “Tell you what. Come back tomorrow. Ten o’clock. We’ll see if it’s a good fit.”

You couldn’t believe your ears. Did Harry just help you get a job?

“Thank you,” you let out a breath and quickly beamed at Stan. “See you then.”

Although he remained standing near your table, you couldn’t bring yourself to look at Harry as you gathered your things, gulping down the last of your coffee. Then swinging your purse over your shoulder, you turned for the exit.

“Y/N,” you heard him say, but rather than make the situation more awkward, you merely muttered a quick thanks.

It wasn’t until you were out the door that you heard him call you again, this time louder.

“Y/N!”

With a deep sigh, you stopped walking. Harry caught up to you, something of yours in his hand.

“You forgot your umbrella,” he explained.

“Oh. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

As you took it from him, your hands brushed, sending an unexpected electric current through your skin. You finally looked at him then, his eyes sincere. For the first time, you noticed they were a light green, a darker circle lining the irises. The wind whipped around you, and you caught a whiff of his…cologne? Perhaps it was just soap or some kind of body wash. Either way, he smelled nice. Clean. Like he’d just showered, though he’d skipped the shave. You noted the facial hair on his top lip and along his jaw, and found yourself wondering how many unshaven days it took to grow.

Suddenly, you stepped back, worried that you’d been staring and that he’d noticed. Surely, he’d noticed.

“Um…good luck tomorrow,” you heard him say as you pretended to check for something in your bag.

“Oh. Yeah. Thanks.” Why was he being so nice?

“Well…see ya,” he gave a slight gesture of his hand before turning back toward the cafe.

“Harry?” you called after him.

“Yeah?”

You took two steps closer to him, but careful to still keep a distance.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why…did you do that?”

Harry shrugged as though the answer were simple. “I caused you to lose your last job. So I helped you get a new one.”

Unable to respond, you stood still as you watched him reenter the cafe, feeling completely bewildered.

You sat in the small room in the back of the cafe during your break, sipping on a nitro cold brew that your co-worker Jill had taught you how to make. It was only your third day, but so far you liked working there. It definitely wasn’t Zelda’s, but it was better than nothing. The clientele was different to say the least, but you were enjoying the somewhat pleasant and low-key atmosphere.

Stan, the manager, had seemed to take you under his wing. You wondered if it had to do with Harry, and what exactly his relationship was to him. You assumed he was a regular customer at the cafe, though you hadn’t seen him return since you started working there.

As you scrolled through your phone, you suddenly got a text message from Shae.

Look who’s having a special this weekend.

Underneath was a link to Fine Line Ink’s Instagram page. You’d told your roommate about the entire encounter with Harry and how he’d basically helped you get your new job. Shae had wondered why on earth you hadn’t just kissed him right there in the middle of the cafe, but she always was a bit dramatic.

The truth was, you didn’t know how to feel about Harry anymore. Your head told yourself you still hated him, that he was a dick who was feeling guilty and needed to cleanse his aura. But your gut told you that he was something more than that. That he truly was sorry for getting you fired, and wanted to make amends.

You scrolled through the photos on the Instagram page, beautiful and striking images of ink on skin. Everything from delicate bracelet tats to full back tattoos and sleeves, some in basic black ink, and some in a rainbow of colors. They were all exquisite. He truly was a good tattoo artist.

Checking the time on your phone, you realized your break was over. Tossing your phone in your bag, you returned them to your locker. After a quick stop to the restroom, you stepped out into the cafe to find him sitting at the same table as before, beside the window. This time, however, he didn’t have his laptop, but rather an iPad, a stylus pencil in his hand. Jill had just set down his flat white when she gasped.

“Wow, that’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed. Then looking up, she saw you. “Y/N, c’mere, you have to see this!”

You shuffled hesitantly over to Harry’s table where he sat with his back to you. Gazing over his shoulder, you saw that he had drawn a raven. The detail was so intricate, down to the branches, flowers and moon. You almost felt as though if you were to reach out and touch the drawing, you could feel the bird’s feathers.

“Isn’t it amazing?” asked Jill.

“Stunning,” you breathed.

“He’s a tattoo artist. I keep telling him I’m gonna come get a tattoo from him, but I’m too chicken,” Jill laughed as she made her way back to the counter.

A couple at a corner table got up to leave then, so you quickly walked over to clean it. As you moved the sugar container, you heard your name. You looked up at him quizzically, though you didn’t say a word.

“How’s the job going so far?” he asked.

“It’s good,” you nodded sharply.

“I’m glad. I come here at least twice a week. Have been for a long time. Stan and Carol are good people.”

“Yeah…I…I can tell.” Carol, you’d learned the other day, was the woman who had been behind the counter when you’d walked in. She was Stan’s wife.

The door opened then and a young woman entered. You secretly hoped you could go help her as an excuse to stop talking to Harry, but Jill beat you to it.

“Do you…need another coffee?” you asked him as he lifted his cup.

He gave you a smirk. “Just got this one.”

“Oh. Right. Anything else?”

“No, I’m good.” Taking a slow sip, he watched you over his cup.

You gave a curt nod before returning to the counter. It was a fairly slow afternoon, and other than a handful of customers who came and went with their coffees to go, you didn’t have much to do. Jill continued to train you on a few more things, and you were grateful for the distraction. Because even though he wasn’t doing anything other than drawing on his iPad and sipping his coffee, Harry’s presence was getting to you.

Making the rounds, you refilled napkin dispensers and Sweet & Low packets, all while sneaking looks at what Harry was drawing. You didn’t know why it even mattered to you, but something about his art was captivating. You watched as his pencil glided across the screen, how he’d sometimes use his thumb and forefinger to zoom in and out. Once, you caught a view of a scene he was drawing - not just one focal point, but rather a series of buildings along a city street, nightfall in the background. Each building had various windows lit up, as well as street lamps. If you hadn’t known better, you’d have thought it was a photograph.

Sometime in the process, you finally took notice of his fingers, how long and slender they were. You paid attention to the way they moved and flexed as he drew, and most importantly, how nearly each one was adorned with some kind of ring. Lost in thought, you almost missed it when he lifted his head to look at you.

“It’s so easy to watch him, isn’t it?” remarked Jill, saving you from embarrassment as she stood next to you. “Sometimes I forget where I am!”

Clearing your throat, you grabbed the rag you were cleaning with and stuffed it in your apron. Then as you finished with the last napkin dispenser, you caught a small smile curling on Harry’s mouth.

Finally, an hour later - an hour and eleven minutes to be exact - Harry slipped his iPad into his backpack and zipped it shut. Pretending to busy yourself behind the muffins, you watched as he slipped his arms through. Then shoving his hand in his pocket, he pulled out his wallet, grabbing a couple of bills and leaving them on the table. As he made his way toward the door, he gave a small wave.

“Goodnight, ladies,” he said.

“Bye, Harry,” Jill called. As soon as he was outside, she slumped against the counter. “Oh my God, I hate when he’s here. I can hardly function!”

Holding back a chuckle, you asked, “Does he just come here to draw?”

“Mostly, yeah. Or sometimes he works on his website. He doesn’t just do tattoos. Like, that’s his livelihood and he’s really good at it. But he’s like…a legit artist.”

“Oh,” you sounded. “You mean, like in a gallery?”

“Mmhmm. I think he had some sort of exhibit a few weeks ago. It’s on his website if you wanna check it out. Harry Styles art dot com.”

Huh. So there was more to Harry than just some drunk prick at a bar. You were anxious to get your phone and look up his website.

“Oh my God!” Jill gasped from the table Harry had just left.

“What?”

“Harry usually just leaves a couple bucks for tip. He left two twenties!”

“Seriously?” you asked, rounding the counter. Why would he do that? “He only had one coffee, right?”

“Yep. What a sweetie! Here!”

Jill handed you one of the twenties, but you shook your head. “But I didn’t wait on him.”

“Doesn’t matter. We split tips at the end of the night anyway. This saves us time.”

Taking the bill, you mentally added one more reason to your list of why this Harry Styles was more than he seemed. Mysteriously generous. Was it a good thing? Or did he have an angle?

You didn’t know. But you were determined to find out.

Shae had a date. For the first time in forever, you had a Friday night off. It was weird, being in the apartment alone on a weekend night. After making a quick, easy meal and watching a couple of episodes of SVU, you were bored. You thought about visiting your old pal John at Zelda’s, but you didn’t wanna take the chance of running into your former boss.

Tapping on your phone, you opened the last website you’d visited - Harry Styles art dot com. Over the last twenty-four hours, you’d opened it at least half a dozen times. Displayed on the main page were photos from an art exhibit in January, the one that Jill had mentioned. While the art itself had no doubt been exquisite, your eyes kept veering to the photos of the artist. He stood in a suit, much like the one he’d worn at Zelda’a. In fact, he looked very similar to the way he had that night, the main exception being that he didn’t appear to be drunk, nor was he frowning. On the contrary, he was smiling in nearly every photograph. You noted the dimples in his cheeks, the crinkles beside his eyes when he smiled, the five o’clock shadow. Even you had to admit - albeit secretly - he was a very handsome man.

As you had scrolled through the various pictures from that night, you soon came across a handful of him standing next to a woman in a long, champagne colored dress that fit her curves, her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Taking a closer look, you recognized her as the girl at the bar, the one whose ear was attached to Harry’s tongue.

Nicolette.

For some reason you felt a twinge in your stomach. Jealously? Shaking your head free of the notion, you continued to peruse the website. Eventually you came to a link that brought you to the site for Fine Line Ink. There you saw the announcement at the top, advertising thirty percent off all tattoos, and forty percent off body piercing, just like the text Shae had sent you the day before.

Setting down your phone, you thought for a moment. You figured he’d be pretty busy on any Friday, but particularly this Friday with the special. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea, but somehow you found yourself driving to Fine Line Ink anyway.

The familiar fragrance of incense wafted through your nostrils as soon as you opened the door. Classic rock seemed to be the genre of choice for the evening as Aerosmith pumped through the speakers. You were right in assuming the shop would be busy, as three other customers sat in the waiting area, filling out their forms.

“Hi, how can I help you?” asked a guy who emerged from the back.

“Yeah, um…I don’t really know yet,” you replied. “I just need to talk to Harry…for a second.”

“Oh. Well, he’s in the middle of a tattoo right now.”

“That’s okay,” you grinned. “I can wait.”

“You sure? It may be a while, and he’s pretty booked up. We have other artists who can h-”

“It’s fine,” you held up your hand. “Seriously. I just need to talk to him when he has a minute.”

“O-okay.”

When the guy shuffled away, you took a seat in the waiting area. You scanned the walls, various artwork adorning them until you spotted a large drawing of the Beatles. Had that been there before? Had Harry drawn it? It was really good, the artistic detail spot on.

You watched another man say goodbye to a customer and then bring another one to the back before Harry finally made his way to the front. To call the look on his face surprised when he saw you would have been an understatement. As he chatted a bit with the client he’d just finished, you suddenly felt butterflies in your stomach.

“Hey,” he said when the guy left. “Kyle said someone was waiting to talk to me. I didn’t know it was you.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” you let the words slip from your lips.

Harry shook his head, blinking slowly. “That’s not what I meant.”

You exhaled, hoping your quick response hadn’t offended him. Your reflexes were still on alert. Addressing the other customer who sat next to you, Harry smiled.

“I’ll be right with you, Carlo.”

“Yeah, no problem, man.”

Carlo and Harry both looked at you as Harry gave a tiny grin. “Wanna come back?”

Rising from your chair, you followed Harry through the shop, to the very back where he pushed open a door.

“Come on in,” he gestured.

As he shut the door behind you, you noted the desk in the corner, more artwork on the walls, and bookshelves. Pulling out a chair, Harry asked you to sit.

“Everything going well at the cafe?” he asked you.

“Oh, yeah. It’s fine. Actually, that’s what I came to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?” Harry leaned against his desk, his arms crossed. You noticed how tall he seemed standing while you sat.

“Yes,” you cleared your throat. “I realized I never properly thanked you…for helping me get the job.”

His lips twitched as he held back a smile. Or perhaps a smirk. “Alright.”

With a sigh, you looked up at him. “I’m afraid I haven’t acted very grateful. I let my pride and my ego get in the way when you-”

“Y/N,” Harry interrupted. “It’s okay. You have every right to hate me. Still. I said what I did to Stan because I regretted the way I treated you. You didn’t deserve any of it. It was…the only way I knew to make it up to you.”

“Okay…” you swallowed. “Still…thank you.”

“You’re welcome. But…”

“But what?”

Harry shrugged. “I reckon I should have tried to get you your job back at Zelda’s.”

You smiled, looking down at your hands. “It’s fine.”

“Really? ‘Cause…you can’t possibly be making the tips at the cafe.”

Biting your lip, you lifted your head. “Thanks for that, too, by the way.”

“What?”

“The extra tip yesterday.”

“Who said that was for you?” Harry teased with a smirk.

You couldn’t hide your chuckle.

“Listen…” he continued, placing his hand over his chest. “I feel bad. I was honest when I said that wasn’t me that night.”

You nodded, sliding your palms across your thighs. Were you sweating?

“You’re an artist,” you commented.

“I am.”

“I saw your website. You do beautiful work.”

“Thank you,” Harry grinned.

“I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

Shaking his head again, Harry pulled his chair in front of you and sat down. Then leaning towards you, he seemed to study your face.

“I gave you plenty of reasons to jump to conclusions about me. Can we start over?”

“Start over? What do you mean?”

His dimples dipping in his cheeks, Harry held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Harry Styles.”

Mimicking his grin, you gently shook his hand. “Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. I’m really excited to get to know you better.”

“Really?” you blushed.

“Yes. Do you work tomorrow?”

“I have a morning shift.”

“How about dinner?”

“No, I don’t work the dinner shift,” you shook your head.

Harry threw his head back laughing, startling you. His cackle rang through the office, vibrating every pulse in your body. What was happening? How did this guy suddenly have this effect on you?

“That’s not what I meant, love.”

“Oh,” you blushed again. Damn it.

“Will you have dinner with me tomorrow?”

“Oh.” Oh! “Um…you don’t work here tomorrow?”

“Nope. My night off.”

Though you tried your best to fight it, you couldn’t hold back the smile that spread across your face. “Yeah. I guess I can do that.”

After settling the plans for the next evening, Harry walked you out to the front where Carlo sat patiently waiting.

“By the way,” said Harry. “What happened with your friend? The one who wanted the tattoo.”

Biting the inside of your lip, you hesitated. “She um…went somewhere else.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Don’t be so disappointed, Harry,” you chuckled. “You forgot one thing.”

“What’s that?” he asked, holding the door open for you.

“I haven’t gotten mine yet.”

FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED

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ausetkmt · 8 months

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On this day in 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped to freedom and found his calling as a leading voice in the abolitionist movement. Douglass escaped slavery by boarding a train to Havre de Grace, Maryland.

He was dressed in a sailor's uniform, provided to him by Anna Murray, (he married her 12 days later, she was a free Black woman in Baltimore) she also gave him part of her savings to cover his travel costs, and carried identification papers which he had obtained from a free black seaman. He crossed the Susquehanna River by ferry at Havre de Grace, then continued by train to Wilmington, Delaware.

From there he went by steamboat to "Quaker City" (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and continued to the safe house of abolitionist David Ruggles in New York; the whole journey took less than 24 hours. Frederick Douglass later wrote of his arrival in New York: "I have often been asked, how I felt when first I found myself on free soil. And my readers may share the same curiosity. There is scarcely anything in my experience about which I could not give a more satisfactory answer.

A new world had opened upon me. If life is more than breath, and the 'quick round of blood,' I lived more in one day than in a year of my slave life. It was a time of joyous excitement which words can but tamely describe.

In a letter written to a friend soon after reaching New York, I said: 'I felt as one might feel upon escape from a den of hungry lions.' Anguish and grief, like darkness and rain, may be depicted; but gladness and joy, like the rainbow, defy the skill of pen or pencil."

Frederick Douglass first tried to escape from Freeland, who had hired him out from his owner Colonel Lloyd, but was unsuccessful. In 1836, he tried to escape from his new owner Covey, but failed again. In 1837, Douglass met and fell in love with Anna Murray, her freedom strengthened his belief in the possibility of his own.

Once he had arrived, he sent for Murray to follow him to New York; she arrived with the necessary basics for them to set up home. They were married on September 15, 1838, by a black Presbyterian minister eleven days after his arrival in New York.

#fredrick douglass #frederick douglass #Black Lives Matter

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vivi-designs · 2 months

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LIZZIE HEARTS content description below

Teacup, pencils, pen, gloves, wallet with a pic of kitty’s eye, sewing kit, lollipops, card with her mom on it. A perfume holder with 4 scents, “7:30”, “Loose change” “lick” and “Starshaped” what do you think they smell like ????? Idk. The clam’s pearls are lotion. A croquet ball. The colorful book is for school work. The red book is for fashion designs. The two pens next to it are what she uses to write they’re from wonderland. With a small clay ink container(not from wonderland.) Vodka shaped like an atomically correct heart. On the far left are cards her mother made for her with pieces of advice and the one on the top says “it is better to be gloved than bearded and better to be feareded than loved.” Which is cannon from “a wonderland world.”

Makeup: the two gold vials are lip stains in dark red and dark burgundy. We have a black mascara with a rabbit on it. And a dark brown lip liner with the Cheshire Cat ontop. A maroon blush with a clock with mushrooms and a bunny on it. Her brushes are chess pieces. And her comb is made out of bone and is a heart, her eyeshadow and foundation are basically like paint. With names like rubber duck, old tooth, fresh paint, scab, cirrus, storm, oz, royal tears, tea bag, tranquil, lavender dust, hamster holiday, berry, gem, feline, pig kiss, blushy widow. All makeup is custom made for Lizzie, she made the pallet herself though.

Her phone with a white rabbit sticker, strawberry, grey gloves, star, lips, lady bug, heart, a paper that says “home is not what you miss but the people there.” And a red bow with a gold chain.

This genuinely took 12 hours to draw and then I went to bed at 4 am and woke up at 4 pm…. PLEASE enjoy this has been my life for 24 hours.

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im-yn-suckers · 11 months

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ink

pairing-bf niki x gf reader

warnings-kisses, lotssssss, both of yall are soft asf, reader is up at 11 and niki gets home from dance practice at that time, crying, mention of snot, cuddles, mention of s*gag* sch*gag* school.*gag* not proofread bc im lAzy, lmk what i missed

why are you up at 11 with your computer on right in front of you? because of your fucking professor. yes, yesterday you had to miss class because you overslept. like its not your fault that school starts at 6 and they give you homework that takes you hours to do. anyway, according to your friends, you had an essay due tomorrow so you only had one day to work on it.

your pens and pencils were scattered all over the table. your notebook was open and your notes were written messily due to you being extremely tired. sticky notes on the edge of your laptop and notes.

dry tears stained your face and left a pink tint. your lips and mouth were sore from having them scrunched. your eyes were puffy, and your nose with snot coming out of it. you reached for your tissue, and placed it in the trash next to you, after cleaning your nose.

a minimum of 1,000 words for your essay, 100 done. stress was going in through the front door, sadness through the back and exhaustion through the windows.

you looked up to the ceiling to prevent crying, almost there. you can do it, you know you can. so why are you telling yourself you cant. it was dark out and you could barely see. 100 words, 10 tear stained tissues, and one coffee later, you took a two minute break. not enough. tears ran down your face while typing, your hands cramping and at the very moment you let out a sob-

-"Y/N!!! im home and i have some sna- baby, whats wrong?"- even though he was tired at this hour, he was always energized to see your face. he dropped the bags of snacks and drinks on the floor and went to hug you.

he saw your laptops screen, tissues, notes, pens and tear stained pages and started to peck your scalp.

-"its ok, my love. you'll be ok, i'm here. nothings going to happen"- he reassured you, rubbing your back and pressing kisses to your forehead.

he closed your laptop notebook and pencil case, wiped your tears, and put it all in a pile to the side. he put the snacks and drinks on the table.

after a bit of eating, laughing and reassuring, you told him your essay was due tomorrow. he set your stuff up and told you to take deep breaths to calm down before starting again.

you had one paragraph left, you're almost there. you can do it. you set your hand on the table to look through your notes. niki grabbed a pen and your hand. he started to doodle some weird figures. little giggles escaping his lips. he switched the color to red, holding your hand down so you wont look

you wondered what he was doing. he smirked mischievously, put the pen back and laid his head on the table to avoid your eyes.

you looked at your hand and saw two stick figures in black ink. they were holding hands and had big smiles on their face. in red ink, there was a heart surrounded by 5 little ones. flowers in the background as well.

you looked over at niki who was looking at you. he blinked in awe and you finished your essay. you closed you laptop and put everything in your backpack. you walked over to your room while niki was getting ready to sleep.

you looked at your hand again and nik just stood at the door frame. you quickly finished getting ready and laid down. niki plopped himself on top of you playfully, filling your room with laughter.

-"i'm so proud of you baby. i love you"- he said, kissing your head

-"i know, i love you too"- he leaned forward and kissed you softly.

he held you close to him and kissed you passionately. he fell asleep after a few seconds and you looked at your hand once more. you kissed his nose and fell asleep on his arms

an: wow, its longer than usual. woohoo. slayyy fr. sunghoon drabble coming soon yall

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 2 months

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AITA for repeatedly losing my temper at my kinda-friend? I (17F) have anger issues and I'm working on mitigating it, however, losing my temper always involves yelling and insulting people. Usually I think this is bad and apologize profusely when I lose control.

However, this kinda-friend (16F) who I'll call E, has absolutely no respect for other people's personal belongings, space, or time. She always grabs and plays with my things during class, or our mutual friend's items (16F), and as all three of us are artists, we carry around pretty expensive equipment. (Think Micron ink pens, Winsor & Newton paint, Derwent pencils, etc., just as reference. Thankfully no Copics lmao.)

The mutual friend will be referred to as J.

So, E has been told by both of us to stop taking our art supplies and playing with it, to the point where I'll yell sometimes, and she absolutely refuses to listen to us. She'll claim that she's forgotten what we've told her and put down the item just for her to pick it up again five seconds later. The problem is that she sometimes breaks these items or injures us - she'll play with my x-acto blade and cut me, or break J's graphite pencils, or push my watercolor palette off the desk. I've really tried to be patient about it, but it's proving to be difficult.

J is quite soft spoken, so I end up doing most of the reprimanding. E also brings up inappropriate topics that make J and I uncomfortable, as well as disturbing us when we're busy and then sulking when she doesn't get our immediate attention - once I told her three times to let me do my classwork before snapping, and E cried. She never does anything in school and hates all of our teachers, so she's pretty rude to them. All my work gets copied by her. She really annoys me, but I do feel terrible that I seem to lose control so often around E, since no one deserves to be yelled at.

However, this all came to a peak today when R (16M) and I won prizes for winning a mini-game and asking an interesting question during a seminar at school respectively; the gift was a black notebook that I didn't even like, which is an important tidbit to keep in mind. R left his gift still wrapped in his bag when he left the classroom for break time, so it was just J, E, and myself in there. Upon seeing what I had unwrapped, E went to R's bag and opened it - since all four of us are friends, we thought E was just being "jokingly" invasive as usual and were on alert, but didn't stop her.

J asked what she was doing and E said she was grabbing the gift out of R's bag. This caught my attention, so I asked why she was doing that. E told us that she wanted the book, and when J reminded her that the gift was, in fact, not hers, E said (and I wish I was kidding because this is replaying in my head in 4K HD right now like oh my god pls) "I know. It should be mine." Had she asked for my notebook, I would've given it up happily. I've got too many empty sketchbooks and notebooks at home.

I immediately stood up, but allowed J to handle the situation because I didn't trust myself not to react violently. J eventually lost her temper too and that's when I jumped in and started my yelling routine. I always feel bad whenever I do this, because it's not something I enjoy, but in this particular situation I just can't muster up the guilt? E is extremely irritating, but she tells us she has a horrible home life, so I try to be understanding. Except this was just completely intolerable. R even said that he'd predicted this would happen and to just give her the damn notebook - I vetoed that so we wouldn't enable E.

I really don't know if my reaction was overblown because I shouted a lot and said things like "you were given a brain - use it" and "you're a terrible person with no morals". It's ridiculous to say all that because it's (at the end of the day) high school drama, but I really can't understand why she acted that way. I don't know if I'm in the wrong in this situation. I wish she would listen when we tell her nicely not to do something, but even when I was blowing up at her, she was just smiling as if it was a joke. Should I apologize? I've apologized before when I lost my temper, but I have completely lost all will to be civil with her after this. The teachers are tired too - when she disappears from class or talks back, they just let her be. We can't really go to them because she'll feel betrayed and then get mad at us, which is a whole ordeal, because she's known to destroy and sabotage other people's items because of a grudge.

This is really lengthy. I apologize. I just feel terrible about the situation because I don't feel any guilt for my anger like I probably should. So, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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love4norris · 5 months

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ೃ༄ extracted from my newest chapter of my lando norris fanfic on wattpad, go check it out! I have the exact same user <3

ೃ༄ summary: where two ex-friends get mistaken as fiancés by her aunt and just decide to go along with it

The interior felt naked, bare of any sense of the upcoming holiday, also know as Christmas. Yet a soft blend of colours originating from the show that Nicholas was watching illuminated the room. Filling the walls surrounding with a comfortable warmth, one that nearly banished the wintry crisp that had taken over the village. Engulfing the miniature part of the Elores's family in the violent arms of Peaky Blinders.

Few candles continued to sway in the minimal air, the very candles that were described as Christmas melted softly and slowly into a wax.

A vanilla made its way to the younger woman, the same way it did when she had first entered her childhood home and that is when she realised that the scent did not belong to a candle but rather her mother, the woman that was so lost in a trance from the bareness of her home that she was yet to ask her daughter what she had intended when she had first entered the room.

"Belle, honey. I'm going to need you to run to the shops for me." Josephine's voice slotted into the room perfectly as though it were a figure skater although the request was an unusual one. She was such a control freak that it was unlikely that she asked her daughter to do something for her, instead doing it herself no matter the circumstances. Jo must of seen the confused look on her daughters face because not even second after placing the request, she was answering the follow-up questions.

"Your father and I have already had something to drink so we can not drive and i've got my first party tomorrow and I don't have anything in for it. And no I can't go tomorrow because I will not have the time no matter when I wake up." The words tumbled out of the woman's mouth, leaving no room for a breath just like she had left no room for any of Belle's responses.

"I'll go get ready and then I'll go." Isabelle responded, her arms slotting next to her sides to give herself the boost she needed to be able to get up and off the sofa.

"You'll take at least two hours to get ready and the shop will be shut by then. You need to leave right now if you are going to make it." Jo's voice was merely an echo due to the distance she had created, going to grab a piece of paper which could only be the shopping list she had prepared.

Deeming it pointless to hold up any more of a fight, Belle pulled on her wrecked uggs before exiting the warmth of her home.

Her eyelashes fluttered against the blow of the wind, the feeling of damp, stray snowflakes landing upon the mascara-less black hairs. They immediately soaked through acting as though lost tears dampening her dry eyes. Her lips felt moments away from being numb despite the little time she had been out of her car, the sight of softly exhaled extra air freezing the minuscule second it conjoined with the surrounding air.

The shop doors slid open upon sensing her closeness, the heated air escaping as though it was being held hostage. A faint sound of Mariah Carey's 'All I want For Christmas In You' playing as background noise for all the fellow shoppers which were few as the night continued on its rampage.

Isabelle took this peaceful time to read over her mothers list, "Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and red of any kind as long as it's on the top shelf and get multiple bottles of that, I will pay you back. Any kind of beer for your father and some whiskey as a just incase. Baileys would also be useful" She read under her now warmed breath, metaphorically parting herself on the back for successfully understanding her mothers illegible handwriting. Although Josephine was naturally a very neat and organised woman, those desired traits were not wasted upon a pen nor pencil. Instead, she used whatever energy that had not been snatched from her throughout the day and drained it on the innocent peace of paper.

"How much alcohol could ten people need?" Belle questioned no one in particular before setting off on the important mission, her steps taking her re long way around the shop, passing by everything that she desired before ending on the wine aisle. The slabs of white were covered in the dooming liquid, one wrong move or swing of the basket and the area that surrounded would turn into a bloody crime scene.

Filling her lungs with a hit of air, she began the walk of dread, her hands slowly twisting around the bottles before she lead them down one by one on the pieces of metal that provided support. Clinging and clacking began to follow her around, the sounds gripping onto her grinch pyjama bottoms as though they were the presents he was stealing.

A few extra items were added along the way, Isabelle's attempt at calming down her basket however her attempts miserably failed, instead only succeeding in annoying the metal even more. The lingering pain of the handles constantly digging into her upper wrist caused Belle extreme discomfort though she soldiered on, soon making it into her final personal and unnecessary aisle, sweets. The only though that kept her going was that every red mark and bruise would be worth it just to be able to eat some British chocolate, something she had been so heavily deprived of for too long.

"Isabelle?"

#lando norris x you #lando norris angst #lando norris x y/n #lando norris fanfic #lando norris x reader #lando norris #f1 imagines #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #f1 x you #extract

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genshinluvr · 1 year

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Irresistible

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: You invite Kaveh to lunch at the abode with the men! While at the abode, Kaveh notices how the men crave for your attention and affection. You and Kaveh have a small (playful) argument. You two can't seem to resist each other, huh?

Note: I've thought about making this story into one of those "Five times Kaveh has fallen for you" type of stories, but I ended up not doing that because... that idea popped up in my mind yesterday. It was too late for me to change the concept of it 🥹 but that doesn't mean that I love this story even less! Anyway, I figured out how to change the text from black to white for mobile, thankfully! I have no idea why Tumblr decided to make it harder for me, but here we are! Anyway, I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: None... other than a small bickering between Al Haitham and Kaveh... and the reader LMAO

Word Count: 10.6k

Here you are, sitting in House of Daena, reading through your textbook to search for the answers for your botany class. You’re so close to finishing your homework for the week! If you complete the assignment soon enough, you’ll be able to go home a few hours earlier than your usual time. You look away from your textbook and rub your eyes tiredly. You have no idea how long you’ve been staring at your textbook, but it’s long enough for your vision to blur just a little. You place your pen down and massage the palm of your hands, scrunching your face up when you see the marks your nails have left on your hands. Whenever you write with a pen or pencil, you have the tendency to dig your nails into the palm of your hands, thus leaving a mark behind after using the pen or pencil for a while.

“Oh, man. I’m so tired,” You whisper to yourself as you stretch your arms in the air and let out a quiet yawn. You blink the tears away and search for a clock to check what time it is. After a few seconds of scanning your surroundings, you realize that there’s no clock near you. “Great, how am I going to know what time it is?” You sigh, resting your head on the palm of your hand.

You look down at your textbook and notebook, puckering your lips as you debate on whether you should continue your homework or take a break for another few minutes to let your hands relax. You let out a reluctant sigh and grab your pen and flip through your homework to make sure the answers are correct. As you’re skimming through your textbook, you hear bickering from a distance.

“Listen, Kaveh. I’m just here visiting [Y/N] and making sure that they’re doing okay with their studies. Besides that, I’m the Scribe.” Al Haitham rolls his eyes, pushing past a fuming blond man.

Kaveh rolls his eyes. “Ooooh, the Scribe! Big deal, Al Haitham.” Kaveh scowls at the gray-haired man.

Cyno and Tighnari look over at each other, rolling their eyes simultaneously at the quarrel between the two tall men in front of them. While the bickering between Al Haitham and Kaveh is normal to the point where students and scholars are used to the argument, Tighnari and Cyno are getting tired of hearing the petty disputes between the two men.

“Can we please not fight right now? Arguing in House of Daena while students are trying to study is rude,” Tighnari says, glaring at Kaveh and Al Haitham.

Kaveh lets out a scoff. “Listen, I don’t care if any of you visit House of Daena. What I do mind is seeing a class of twenty people,” he motions to Al Haitham, Cyno, Tighnari, and the other men standing behind them, “visiting House of Daena at once,” said Kaveh, glaring at the large group of men with a dissatisfied frown on his face.

“Oh, come on, Kaveh! We’re not going to cause any trouble!” Aether says, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff of breath.

“Does anyone see [Y/N]?” Zhongli murmurs, scanning around the massive library, searching for your cute little head with a beret on top of your head.

Cyno furrows his eyebrows and looks at the men quizzically. “Does anyone know why libraries are so big?” Cyno asks, his red eyes scanning the tall shelves with scrutiny.

Venti shrugs his shoulders. “Probably because there’s a lot of things to keep track of? I don’t know,” Venti blinks at Cyno.

Cyno cracks a smile and presses his lips into a thin line to suppress his laughter. “It’s because they have many stories!” Cyno says.

“Did you happen to take the joke book from one of the shelves?” Kaveh asks. He turns and points at the tall bookshelves that hold numerous books before turning to look over at the Mahamatra.

“And what about it?” Cyno deadpans, crossing his arms over his chest.

Gorou’s ears perk up, and he points over at a table where you’re currently sitting, face buried in your textbook while writing something down in your notebook, occupied with what’s in front of you. “There they are!” Gorou says softly, his tail wagging fast after seeing you.

Itto laughs and pats Gorou’s shoulders. “Easy there, Gorou! The faster your tail wags, the more you’re likely to fly in the air because of that thing,” Itto says, trying to avoid getting hit by Gorou’s wagging tail.

“Gentlemen, let’s pay snookums a visit! I’m sure they missed us a lot while studying,” Childe says, pushing through the crowd of men with a victorious smile on his face.

Al Haitham makes a face at Childe. “That is the most ridiculous nickname I have ever heard,” Al Haitham says, causing Childe’s smile to slip off his face and shoot a heated glare over in Al Haitham’s direction.

Diluc rolls his eyes. “Children, always bickering with each other over the dumbest things,” Diluc mutters, shaking his head in disapproval.

Kaeya chuckles softly. “Let’s pay [Y/N] a visit, shall we? I’m sure they would much rather see us than stare at their textbook all day,” said Kaeya.

The men murmur in agreement before walking towards the table where you’re sitting. Before they reach your table, a boy with tan skin and jet-black hair approaches you. They all stop in their tracks and stare at you and the mysterious boy with their eyes narrow. You look up from your book and see Ali standing in front of the table you’re sitting at.

“Oh! Ali, what can I do for you?” You ask, putting your pen down on the desk and massaging your hand beneath the table. Sometimes you wish you had your laptop or tablet with you so you wouldn’t have to deal with hand cramps.

Ali gives you a nervous smile and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “I was wondering if I could borrow your notes for Professor Safar’s botany class. I wasn’t able to show up to class last week because I had a family emergency,” Ali explains.

“Sure!” You nod your head. “Let me find last week’s notes really quick,” You murmur. You turn to your backpack and begin searching through it. You pull out your folder for your botany class and flip through the pages in the folder, searching for the previous week’s notes. When you find the notes from the week prior, you pull them out from your folder and hand the notes to Ali with a smile on your face. “There you go! When you’re done copying it down, you can give it to me after,” You said, smiling at the flustered male in front of you.

“Thank you, [Y/N]! You’re a lifesaver!” Ali sighs in relief, grabbing your notes from your hands before scurrying off.

A few feet over, the men can see a group of male students patting Ali on the back and lightly hitting him on the back of his head. “You could’ve asked them out on a date while asking to borrow their notes!” One of Ali’s friends hissed almost too loudly.

Ali does a double-take and glares at his friends. “No way! I can’t do that!” Ali hisses back. “At least not right now,” Ali mutters under his breath, looking away from his friends, only to make eye contact with the twenty other men standing a few feet from your table.

“Oh? It looks like one of [Y/N]’s classmates has a little crush on them,” Dainsleif says, the corners of his lips quirking up. The men are about to walk towards your table, but Ali’s friends push Ali towards your table again, causing the poor boy to bump into the table, shoving against your abdomen.

Ali’s eyes widen in fear. “I-I’m so sorry, [Y/N]! My friends pushed me, and I didn’t catch myself on time,” Ali apologizes profusely.

You give Ali a pained smile and wave his apologies off. “Don’t worry about it, Ali,” You grunt. You clear your throat and push yourself out from under the table and stand up. “What can I do for you, Ali? It seems like it’s important from the way your friends pushed you to my table with that much force.” You said, looking away from Ali and making eye contact with your boyfriends and the blond man that likes to call you an Abyss mage to tick you off.

“I….” Ali trails off, his heart racing against his chest before gulping the lump in his throat. “I was wondering what courses you’re taking next quarter! Yes, that’s what I was wondering,” Ali says, nodding his head with a fake smile on his face.

You shrug your shoulders. “I’m taking geology as an elective course next quarter. I’m also taking upper-division biology courses as well and an upper-division botany course,” You reply.

“Oh! That’s cool! Uh, I’ll see you in class tomorrow!” Ali says before rushing back to the table where his friends are watching from behind their textbooks.

You sigh and walk back to your table, fixing its position before waving your boyfriends over with a smile on your face. The men give each other looks before walking over to where you’re standing and fixing your textbooks. While walking over to the table, Xiao, Childe, Ayato, Al Haitham, Zhongli, and Scaramouche look over at the table where Ali sits with his friends, almost glaring holes at the back of their heads.

“Hello, beautiful. How are your studies?” Ayato asks, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulders, peppering kisses on your shoulders and up your neck.

You giggle and let yourself melt in Ayato’s grasp, placing your hand over his hands. “My studies are going well! I’m almost done with my homework. Then I can go home after I complete my assignments,” you said, turning your head to press your lips on Ayato’s cheeks.

Heizou points his thumb over his shoulders towards Ali’s table. “Who was that guy that approached your table twice?” Heizou asks, his bottom lip jutting out cutely as he looks at you with puppy dog eyes.

“His name is Ali, and he’s in my botany class,” You reply, stifling your laughter when Ayato’s lips brush against the ticklish spot on your neck.

Scaramouche looks over at the table from afar. “Do you sit next to them in class?” Scaramouche asks, turning to look over at you.

You shake your head and get out of Ayato’s grasp. “I don’t sit next to either of them. Ali misses class a lot, and I’m surprised that he hasn’t been dropped from the class yet,” You said, sitting back down on the seat and beginning to sort through your notes and assignments.

“A slacker, I presume,” Thoma mutters, narrowing his eyes.

You shrug your shoulders. “I don’t pay attention to any of my classmates. I’m here to get my degree and pass my courses. Plus, I’m not much of a talker in school,” You mutter, shaking your head before looking back down at your homework. You’re almost done; you just have one more question to answer then you can go home and leave.

“Do you participate in class?” Kazuha asks, sitting down beside you and reaching for the pen resting on your homework. You blink at Kazuha and scratch your chin awkwardly. How do you tell them that you’re doing well on your assignments, but your lack of participation will be the downfall of your grades?

Albedo leans on the chair, gazing at you with an amused smile on his face. “You don’t participate in class, do you?” Albedo asks, cocking his head to the side.

You purse your lips and slowly shake your head, your cheeks heating up. “I don’t participate in class, but I do speak up whenever I feel like it!” You defend yourself, the heat in your face gradually increasing the more the men stare at you with their eyebrows raised and the corners of their lips curling up.

“As long as you participate in your class, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.” Baizhu comforts you, rubbing your back.

Xiao looks down at the stack of paper and textbooks on the desk. “Are you finished with your work? We can leave House of Daena now if you want,” Xiao suggests.

You sigh in defeat and shake your head. “I’m not done with my assignments yet, Xiao. I’m almost finished, but this last question is bothering me because I can’t figure it out.” You sigh, propping your head up on the desk, and glare down at the last question.

Tighnari’s ears perk up, and he walks around the table and stands next to you, looking down at your homework before he makes a face. “What in the world? This has nothing to do with botany at all!” Tighnari scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest with a look of distaste on his face.

“What is it about?” Heizou asks, trying to take a peek at your homework.

You scrunch your face up. “Architecture; Professor Safar is having the class build their own botanical garden and bring it to class as our final project. I’m no architect, so the math process is complicated for me since these formulas are foreign in my eyes,” You sigh, leaning back in your seat with a small frown on your face.

“Well, if you need any help, we can ask any of the students at the Akademiya for some assistance,” Thoma offers, placing the palm of his hands on the table and giving you the sweetest smile you’ve seen today.

You hum to yourself and debate internally if you should ask for assistance and complete your homework for the week or do them tomorrow instead and take a break for today. “As much as I would love to finish my homework for the week, I would rather take a break from doing my assignments. My eyes are killing me,” you said, rubbing your eyes with your index finger.

“Don’t do that; it’s not good if you rub your eyes too much,” Aether chides, lightly smacking your hand away from your face.

You snort and begin packing your things up. “I didn’t know you’re my eye doctor, Aether,” you joke, lightly poking Aether’s ribs, making him jolt and glare at you with his cheeks turning bright red.

“You know, if you need help with anything related to math or architecture, I’m sure Kaveh can help you with it!” Tighnari speaks up, looking over at the blond male that stood far from the group, his arms crossing over his chest as he looks at the group with scrutiny.

You nod your head slowly. “Right, I will keep that in mind! But for now, I want to take a break from my homework and my studies. We can meet up tomorrow at House of Daena to go over the last question on my assignment!” You said, getting up from your seat.

Venti claps his hands happily. “It looks like [Y/N] has a new tutor on the subject they’re not familiar with!” Venti cheers, rushing over to tackle you into a hug while snuggling up to you. “Maybe you’ll make a new friend after the tutoring session tomorrow!” Venti says optimistically.

As much as you wanted to push Venti off and tell him not to make a comment like that, Venti is sort of right. Even if you’re an excellent student, you hardly go to anyone else to help you with something you’re unfamiliar with. You usually go to one of the men to help you out with certain subjects for your homework, never someone that is outside of your inner circle.

Itto leans down to Venti before whispering loudly, “I don’t think he volunteered or agreed to this.”

Al Haitham crosses his arms over his chest. “Kaveh, be useful for once and help [Y/N] with the final question on their homework tomorrow. Tighnari, Cyno, and I will be keeping you two company to make sure none of you kill each other,” said Al Haitham.

Childe makes a face. “Wait a minute, are we not allowed to come along and help [Y/N] with their studies tomorrow?” Childe raises his eyebrows at Al Haitham. “I don’t think it’s fair for a small number of you to help [Y/N] out with their studies when we can help as well,” Childe huffs.

“Wait a minute….” You trail off, tapping on your chin as you zip up your backpack and sling it behind your back. “I just realized that there’s no class tomorrow because there’s a holiday or a celebration coming up, I believe,” You murmur, tapping on your chin.

Zhongli smiles and pats your head. “Unless House of Daena is opened tomorrow on a holiday, you and Kaveh can study in the library back at the abode,” Zhongli suggests. “Though, if Kaveh does come over to the abode to assist you with your homework and studies, someone is going to need to help Kaveh find the abode,” Zhongli murmurs, stroking his chin.

Baizhu crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t think any public buildings are opened on holidays or when there’s a celebration going on,” said Baizhu. “And since there’s a holiday or a celebration going on, you should take a break from your assignment and relax,” Baizhu suggests.

You sigh and cover your face with both of your hands, head tilting back and letting out a sigh of frustration. “You know what? I might as well finish it now instead,” You grumble, taking your backpack off and pulling your assignments back out.

Scaramouche furrows his eyebrows at you, giving you a questioning gaze. “I thought you wanted to take a break for today and finish the last sentence tomorrow,” Scaramouche props his hands on his hips.

You nod your head, pulling out your pen from the pouch in your backpack. “I was going to do that, but I changed my mind,” You sigh, leaning on your arm and staring at the paper in front of you.

“Oh no,” Gorou laughs nervously.

Kaveh cocks his eyebrow at Gorou’s reaction. “‘Oh no,’ what?” Kaveh asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

“[Y/N]’s getting stressed out and frustrated. It usually happens when things don’t go as planned,” Ayato murmurs to Kaveh, making sure that you didn’t hear a single word he said to the blond man.

You let out a sharp exhale and give the men a tight smile. “I’m fine. I’m just….” You trail off, pinching the bridge of your nose, and take in deep breaths. “I’ll be fine, it’s one question, and I’ll be done in no time,” you reassure yourself, trying to hold onto the last bits of your sanity. This quarter has been nothing but draining, and you want to get it over with already.

Albedo and Kaveh make eye contact with each other for a brief moment. Albedo gestures for Kaveh to assist you with the final question on your assignment. Kaveh sighs and walks around the table, and sits down beside you, scooting his chair closer to where you sit and leaning over your shoulders to get a better look at the question you’re having issues with.

“With Kaveh’s assistance, I’m sure he can help [Y/N] complete their assignment fast,” Albedo says. “It’s still early in the day, so there’s no need to rush,” Albedo adds.

You sigh and lean on your arms. “I just want to get it over with,” You rub your eyes. You feel Kaveh tap your shoulders, and you turn to look at him. Kaveh pulls out a spare paper from your folder and starts to write the equation down. You lean towards where he sits and look down at the paper that he places between the two of you. Everything Kaveh wrote down looks confusing to you.

“It’s okay if you don’t understand it. Kaveh will walk you step by step through the process,” Kazuha says softly, giving your shoulders a comforting squeeze.

For the next one and a half hours, Kaveh walks you through the final question on your homework. Kaveh is surprisingly patient—given the fact that he has no patience for Al Haitham at all. You couldn’t help but think back to the time when you and Kaveh met for the first time, and it was awkward. You can feel a slight tension between you and Kaveh; it wasn’t a bad tension; it just felt awkward between the two of you.

“Okay, I’m finished!” You sigh in relief, letting the pen fall on the table as you massage the palm of your hands. “Is it right?” You ask, turning to look at Kaveh, only to catch him staring at you.

Kaveh blinks and looks down at your answer before slowly nodding his head. You sigh in relief and lean back in your seat, rubbing your eyes.

Kaeya chuckles. “Since you’re finished with your homework now, let’s head back to the abode now, shall we?” Kaeya asks, holding his hand out for you to take. “It’s almost lunchtime, and I have a feeling that you haven’t eaten anything today aside from breakfast,” said Kaeya. He pokes you lightly in the stomach, and you nod your head slowly.

“And you are correct, Kaeya,” you sigh. You get up from your seat and stretch your arms in the air, almost letting a moan slip out when you stretch. “What are we having for lunch?” You ask, beginning to pack your things into your backpack.

Dainsleif points over at Thoma. “We didn’t know what you wanted to eat for lunch. Usually, we have all kinds of food for lunch, but I think Thoma wants to focus on serving dishes from Sumeru this time,” Dainsleif says. “Although, if you prefer eating something else, we can always change that,” Dainsleif adds.

“I’m okay with anything as long as I eat something,” You answer. You open your mouth to add another comment when the loud rumbling of your stomach cuts you off. Heat rushes to your face and to the tips of your ears; you place both of your hands on your tummy and clear your throat awkwardly.

Xiao smiles at you and shakes his head. “Looks like someone’s hungry,” Xiao reaches for your hands and gives your hand a light squeeze. “Let’s pack up and go back to the abode,” Xiao says softly, squeezing your hands.

You turn to look over at Kaveh, who is already walking towards the exit of House of Daena. You can’t help but feel bad that Kaveh is left out of the conversation and lunch plans. You release Xiao’s hands and quickly run after the blond man, causing the other men to cast each other questioning glances at each other.

“Kaveh!” You pant, reaching out to tap him on the back. Kaveh stops in his tracks and turns around, and looks down at you curiously. “If you’re not busy, do you want to join us for lunch at the abode?” You ask shyly, waiting for the blond man to respond to your lunch invitation.

“Looks like you’ll be making extra food for today, Thoma,” Diluc says, turning to look over at the Kamisato housekeeper. “We’ll need to make sure that there are enough seats for everyone joining,” Diluc murmurs, stroking his chin.

Thoma smiles and pats Diluc’s shoulders. “I’m sure there will be plenty of seats for everyone! As for the spacing of the dining area….” Thoma trails off.

“We can always dine outside of the estate! There’s plenty of space on the pavilion in the backyard that has a nice view of the garden and water fountain,” Aether suggests, leaning on the table with his left hand.

Heizou clears his throat. “Before we start planning anything, we need to make sure that Kaveh is joining us or not,” Heizou whispers, gesturing for the others to look over where you and Kaveh are standing.

“I’m sure he’ll join us for lunch,” Ayato says, his blue eyes locking gazes with Kaveh from afar. “Besides, who can resist someone as sweet as [Y/N]?” Ayato asks, the corners of his lips curving upwards.

Scaramouche scoffs and rolls his eyes. “He better not disappoint [Y/N],” Scaramouche says, “If he does disappoint [Y/N], do I have permission to zap him?” Scaramouche asks, looking over at Al Haitham.

Al Haitham nods his head. “Go ahead, be my guest,” Al Haitham smirks.

They hear a faint squeal coming from you, and they all turn to look over at where you and Kaveh are standing. You cheer and tackle Kaveh into a hug but then quickly release him after realizing what you have done.

Kazuha laughs softly. “I’m assuming that Kaveh has agreed to the lunch invitation,” Kazuha comments.

Itto whistles softly and nudges Scaramouche in the ribs with his elbows. “Darn, Scaramouche. It looks like you won’t be able to zap Kaveh any time soon,” Itto says, feigning disappointment. “Such a shame,” Itto crosses his arm over his chest and shakes his head with a fake disappointed frown.

Scaramouche stares at Itto for a moment without saying a single thing. A thought then crosses over Scaramouche’s mind, and a faint smirk appears on Scaramouche’s face. While Itto is distracted, Scaramouche inches his hand close to Itto’s bare torso, charging up his attack and zapping Itto in the ribs. Itto lets out a loud yowl and jumps in the air, clutching onto the area where Scaramouche has sent small bolts of electricity to his ribs.

Everyone in the library looks over at Itto with blank and mildly annoyed expressions, annoyed that Itto has disturbed the silence with his sudden exclamation. Itto gives the Akademiya students an apologetic smile, silently apologizing to them for disrupting their study sessions before glaring down at the snickering Harbinger.

“Oh! They’re walking back to us!” Gorou whispers, subtly pointing over at you and Kaveh.

You walk over to the men with a big smile on your face while Kaveh looks unamused. Well, he seems like he’s trying his best not to smile but is kind of failing miserably. The minute his eyes lands on Al Haitham, the strained smile slips off his face completely.

You clap your hands softly, making sure that the men are the ones that can hear it and not the other students that are trying to study. “Good news! Kaveh will be joining us for lunch!” You said happily. “Although he was reluctant on it at first, I insist that he joins because I didn’t want him to feel left out while all of us return to the abode for lunch,” you add.

“Well, we’re glad that you’re joining us for lunch, Kaveh,” Dainsleif says, smiling at the blond dendro user.

Kaveh sighs in defeat and points over at you with his thumb, his cheeks slowly turning bright pink. “I couldn’t say no to a face like that,” Kaveh mutters begrudgingly.

You flash the men an innocent smile before rushing to grab your backpack and pack your things. “Okay! Since we’re done with my homework now, with the help of Kaveh, let’s go to the abode for lunch!” You said. “I don’t think I can wait any longer,” you sigh, attempting to ignore your stomach, twisting with hunger.

Ali’s head perks up at the sound of your voice, and panic starts to set in when he sees you packing up your bag, getting ready to leave House of Daena with a group of unfamiliar men, Kaveh, the Mahamatra, Tighnari, and the Scribe. Ali scrambles to get up from his seat and rushes over to where you stand, almost tripping over the leg of the table.

“W-Wait!” Ali exclaims, holding his hand out to grab onto your Akademiya uniform, pulling you back suddenly.

Your eyes widen, and you stumble back, turning to look over at a distraught Ali. You give the men a look as if you’re telling them not to start anything. You clear your throat, fix your uniform and adjust the backpack around your shoulders.

“Is there something you need, Ali?” You ask politely, giving Ali a small smile.

Ali feels himself becoming flustered when you smile at him, his heart racing against his chest, causing Gorou and Tighnari to raise their eyebrows at Ali. Gorou and Tighnari look over at each other, looking unamused.

Ali clears his throat awkwardly and begins to fiddle with his thumbs. “I was wondering if you would like to study with me right now. I can’t seem to process the information that you have written down for Professor Safar’s class,” Ali mumbles, gulping his saliva loudly.

You blink at Ali and at the men, who are all looking at you, waiting for you to reply to Ali’s study date. You look over at Ali and give him a sympathetic smile. “As much as I would love to do that, Ali, I’m about to go back home to have lunch with the boys,” you said, nodding your head toward your boyfriends and Kaveh's direction.

“O-Oh!” Ali visibly deflates at your rejection. “Well, how about next time?” Ali asks in a hopeful tone.

“Yeah, we can study together next time!” You nod your head. Ali gives you a fake smile before walking away, his hands clenching at his sides. You sigh softly and turn to look at the men who are staring at Ali with scrutiny. “Okay, let’s go back to the abode now! I can’t wait any longer,” you said, grabbing onto the closest men’s wrists and walking out of House of Daena with the others following behind.

“You notice that Ali has a small crush on [Y/N], right?” Gorou whispers to Tighnari as they walk side by side.

Tighnari nods his head. “It’s very obvious with the way he acts and speaks around [Y/N]. However, I don’t blame him. [Y/N] is irresistible,” Tighnari says softly, his gaze boring into your back.

After you and the men have arrived at the abode, you sigh in relief and take your backpack off your shoulders. Finally back home, and now you have a few days to relax and not have to worry about completing assignments and studying for endless hours at House of Daena. Although you’re on break, you still want to review some course material as final exams are closing in on you and the students at the Akademiya.

“Finally home! Now you can finally relax and spend some time with me!” Heizou says, throwing his arms around your shoulders, nuzzling up against your neck, and pressing a small kiss on your jaws.

“Ahem.” The others clear their throats, staring at Heizou with their eyes narrowing, their hands propping up on their waist and others have their arms crossing over their chests.

Aether lets out a huff of breath, pouting at you and Heizou like an angry kitten. “You can’t hog [Y/N] to yourself! It’s not fair for the rest of us!” Aether grumbles, contemplating whether he should blast Heizou off of you or not.

Thoma laughs nervously and pats Aether’s shoulders. “Plus, we don’t want our guest to feel awkward now, do we?” Thoma says, looking at Kaveh from the corners of his eyes.

Venti snorts and pats Kaveh’s back lightly. “You’ll get used to the guys wanting [Y/N]’s attention. Like what Ayato said earlier at House of Daena, who can resist someone like [Y/N]?” Venti asks, looking up at the blond man who is staring at you and Heizou intently.

“That is if Kaveh decides to return to the abode after today,” Baizhu adds. Venti nods his head in agreement, unsure whether the men constantly wanting your attention would drive the blond man away from the abode.

You lightly push Heizou away after kissing his cheeks and give him a pat on the head. “As much as I love having you all fight over me,” you begin with a joke, “but I need to drop my things off in my bedroom and change out of the Akademiya uniform,” you said.

You all walk into the estate and take your shoes off at the entrance before putting them on shoe racks. You quickly rush up the stairs to change out of your Akademiya uniform and put your backpack on the seat at your desk. You walk over to your closet and pull out the comfiest pajamas you have in your closet to change into. For a moment, you stand in the middle of your bedroom, debating if you should go take a shower and change into your pajamas or just change into them and take a shower after having lunch.

“Knock, knock! Guess who’s here, onikabuto booboo bear!” Itto sings, tapping on your door with his knuckles as he peeks his head into your bedroom with a big smile on his face.

You look over at Itto and smile at him, motioning for him to enter your room. Itto walks into your room before plopping down on your bed, sitting at the edge of your bed, and scans your bedroom.

You look at Itto quizzically. “Is there something you need, Itto? I might shower soon, but I’m not sure if I should….” you trail off, pinching the fat of your chin. “It’s going to take a while for the food to be done cooking, so I might as well shower now,” you said.

You’re about to walk by your bed and Itto, but the oni reaches you and grabs your wrist, pulling you towards him. You fall lightly on the bed; Itto wraps his arms around your waist and his legs around your thighs, burying his face into the crook of your neck. You grumble and lay in Itto’s arms, letting the tall man cling to you.

“Really, Itto? This is where you ran off to?” You hear someone speak up from the entrance of your bedroom. You lift your head and peek over Itto’s broad shoulders, only to see Diluc and Childe standing at the door with their arms crossing over their chests, their eyes staring holes into Itto’s bare back. You writhe in Itto’s arms, trying to escape from the clutches of Itto’s iron grip, failing miserably.

“Itto, as much as I would love to cuddle with you, I really want to go take a shower,” you whine softly, patting Itto’s arms. Itto mumbles and shakes his head, continuing to bury his face into your neck. You move your face away from Itto’s head, trying not to get poked in the eye by Itto’s horns.

You hear Diluc release an exasperated sigh before walking into your bedroom, heading towards where you and Itto lay. Diluc grabs onto Itto’s ears and tugs on them really hard, making Itto let out a loud yelp, releasing you from his grasp. Itto gets out of bed and follows after Diluc while whining over Diluc being harsh on him.

“I wouldn’t be pulling on your ears if you didn’t sneak away to have a private cuddling session with [Y/N] while they’re trying to shower,” Diluc mutters, lightly slapping Itto on the back of his head. Itto makes a face at Diluc and Childe, letting the two of them escort him out of your bedroom to give you some privacy. Diluc and Childe give you an apologetic look before closing the door behind them.

While you’re in the shower, the men are downstairs conversing with one another while waiting for the food to be finished cooking. Kaveh sits on the couch, his eyes locking on the littlest design of the estate with curiosity. The estate is a combination of various regions; usually, combining many cultures in one space would make it look out of place and a little bit tacky, but you’re all able to make it work without it looking strange.

“What do you think of the estate so far?” Kazuha asks, approaching Kaveh with a glass cup of water and handing it to the blond man. Kaveh takes the cup from Kazuha’s hand and takes a sip from the cup.

“I hope you don’t feel overwhelmed by the estate and the number of people that resides here,” Albedo says softly, giving Kaveh a small smile.

Cyno lets out a soft sigh. “I’m sure Kaveh feels okay with being in an unfamiliar environment. If he wants to explore the abode, we’ll have someone show him around while the food is cooking,” Cyno says, patting Kaveh’s shoulders.

You walk down the stairs with a towel wrapped around your head while dressed in your comfortable pajamas and slippers on your feet. You rub your eyes and grumble to yourself while walking to the kitchen to grab something to drink.

“Done with your shower already?” Kaeya asks, leaning across from you on the island in the kitchen.

You nod your head and place a cold glass pitcher on the kitchen island. “I was going to take a shower after lunch, but I changed my mind,” you said. You turn and grab a mug from the kitchen cabinet and place it down on the island. “Now, I feel fresh, clean, and ready to eat something because my hunger has yet to be diminished,” you said, pouring water into the cup from the pitcher.

“You should dry your hair; we wouldn’t want you to get a headache or get sick because you didn’t dry your hair,” Zhongli comments. Zhongli leans onto the island beside you and gazes down at you intently.

You wave Zhongli’s comments off. “I’ll be fine, Zhongli! I never dry my hair with a blow dryer; I usually let them air dry,” you said, taking your towel off your head and running your fingers through your damp hair.

Xiao raises his eyebrows at you. “Didn’t you get a headache last time from not drying your hair?” Xiao asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

You clear your throat and shake your head. “That is false, Xiao. I never had a headache from not drying my hair. The last time I had a headache was when I was studying for way too long and didn’t give myself a break,” You said, scrunching your face up before placing the pitcher back into the refrigerator.

While visiting the abode and waiting for lunch to be made, Kaveh notices how clingy these men are when it comes to you. And, of course, you didn’t seem to be bothered by their clinginess at all. While waiting for lunch to be finished, you would sneak a couple of bites from the food while Thoma isn’t looking. When Thoma catches you, he makes you assist him with the cooking, and you don’t complain about it one bit because you continue to sneak small bites from the food.

Being the sweet person that he is, Thoma didn’t scold you for sneaking bites from the food that was laid out on the plate, ready to be served to everyone. Instead, he would lightly pinch your cheeks (the upstairs one, not the downstairs one) before pressing a kiss on the top of your head.

“Oh my gosh, these are delicious,” you mumble, both of your cheeks stuffed with food.

Thoma laughs lightly. “I’m glad that you like the food, beautiful. However, I don’t recommend eating this many while the others are waiting for food to be served. They’ll catch onto you when they see how little you’re eating,” Thoma says, poking your cheek lightly.

“They are not going to find out!” You protest, shoving Thoma lightly while holding back your grin.

Childe leans against the door frame of the kitchen. “Oh? Sneak eating while the others are just as hungry as you are, snookums?” Childe asks, pushing himself away from the frame and walking towards you and Thoma.

You gulp down the food in your mouth and lick your lips. “And what about it, Mister Fatui Harbinger? Going to pry the food out of me?” You stick your tongue out at Childe before taking another bite from the food in front of Childe and Thoma.

Childe takes the food from your hands and takes a bite of it before putting you in a headlock, rubbing the top of your head with his knuckles. You squirm in Childe’s hold and lightly punch Childe’s back, trying to escape Childe’s iron grip. Childe and Thoma bark out a laugh and give each other a high five before Childe releases you from his grasp. You mumble incoherent words to yourself and fix your messy hair with a deep frown on your face.

Aether and Heizou burst through the kitchen door. “Hey, is lunch ready yet? I would figure that lunch is almost ready, given the fact that [Y/N] is helping as well,” Aether says, cocking his eyebrows at you, Childe, and Thoma.

“Yeah, some of us are starting to get really hungry, and I can hear Itto’s stomach growl. He even said that he might sacrifice one of his onikabutos if he doesn’t eat anything soon,” Heizou chuckles, shaking his head.

You nod your head slowly. “Lunch is ready, actually! We were just distracted because someone,” you give Childe a small glare, “was putting me in a headlock,” you said. You let out a sharp sigh jokingly before grabbing onto the plates. “I’ll be bringing lunch out for everyone to eat now. Tell them to sit at the pavilion,” you said to Aether and Heizou.

They jokingly salute you before running off to tell the other men. You, Childe, and Thoma walk out of the kitchen and head towards the hallway that leads to the pavilion outside of the estate. It’s a grand pavilion that can hold up to about fifty people or more. You’re not sure if there will be fifty people in the abode, but it’s nice to prepare for an occasion like that.

You place the food down on the table and walk over to the sheer curtains that hang around the pavilion. You draw the curtains and watch the curtain unfurl itself, covering the table from the blinding sunlight and pesky bugs. You hear Itto let out a loud sigh in relief as he plops himself down on an empty seat, beginning to fill his plate with food.

“Man, I am starving! I was so close to sacrificing one of my onikabutos,” Itto says dramatically, taking a large chunk of bite from the golden chicken burger, moaning in delight when the food touches his tongue.

Venti laughs and looks over at Gorou and Ayato. “He’s joking, right?” Venti asks.

Ayato makes a face and shakes his head, sipping his water. “I wish he were kidding, but this is Itto we’re talking about,” Ayato says, placing his cup down on the table before grabbing his chopsticks.

Gorou nods his head in agreement. “Itto is an interesting guy, but that’s what makes him special,” Gorou says, patting Itto’s head lightly.

Scaramouche snorts and nods his head. “Real special, alright. He looks like he has never had a single coherent thought in his entire life,” Scaramouche says, pressing his lips into thin lines to prevent himself from laughing.

“Thanks, man! That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve said to me since the beginning of our meeting!” Itto says, patting Scaramouche’s back roughly, making Scaramouche almost choke on his food.

Lunch went surprisingly smoothly. The men who didn’t know Kaveh much took some time to get to know the blond man more. You sit to the side, eating your lunch while unintentionally staring off into space, drowning out the conversations around you while robotically bringing food up to your mouth and taking a bite out of them. When some of the men ask you questions, you would hum in response or give them short replies, still staring off into space.

“Oh, don’t mind them. They usually stare off into space when they’re getting tired,” Tighnari says, rubbing your back lightly from beside you.

You blink and slowly bring yourself out of your daydream. “Yeah, I’m starting to get tired,” you sigh, rubbing your eyes with your left hand. “I think it's because of me sneak-eating,” you whisper to yourself.

Cyno raises his eyebrows at you, leaning back in his seat. “Sneak eating, you say?” Cyno asks softly, the corners of his lips tilting up with amusement.

You clear your throat. “If you’ll excuse me, I am going to wash my dishes and take a nap,” you state. You get up from your seat with your plate in your hands, only for Al Haitham to grab hold of your wrist and pull you down on his lap.

“Do you not want to give Kaveh a tour around the abode?” Al Haitham asks, wrapping his arms around your waist while gazing down at you with his eyebrows slightly raised.

You blink at Al Haitham and look over at Kaveh. “Do you want me to give you a tour around the abode? If not, one of the guys can do it instead if you prefer that,” you suggest.

Kaveh sighs and slightly tilts his head back, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down when he swallows his saliva. “I guess I don’t mind having a little abyss mage give me a tour around the vast abode,” Kaveh says dramatically, letting his fringe fall over his eyes as he looks around the abode. You let out a choked gasp and looked at Kaveh, flabbergasted. You turn to look at Al Haitham and point at the blond man.

“Did you hear what he called me?! He called me an abyss mage!” You whine, tugging on Al Haitham’s shirt. “He’s indirectly calling me a gremlin, Al Haitham!” You said, turning to look at Kaveh with a glare on your face.

Kaveh smirks at you and looks away to hide the color pink that is slowly making its way up to his cheeks. Al Haitham sighs and makes you rest your head on his chest while giving Kaveh a look, his eyebrows raised and his eyes sharp as if he’s warning Kaveh to watch his mouth. You grumble and bury your face into Al Haitham’s neck as you start to question whether you should even give Kaveh a tour around the abode without being tempted to kick him over the edge for calling you an abyss mage.

“What is a gremlin, anyway?” Baizhu mutters, looking at you and Kaveh in confusion.

You slowly lift your face up from Al Haitham’s neck, about to answer Baizhu’s question, when Kaveh beats you to it. Kaveh looks over at Baizhu and points over in your direction. You stare at Kaveh with your mouth wide open, flabbergasted that he not only called you an abyss mage but pointed at you when Baizhu asked what a gremlin was.

“You’re lucky you’re Al Haitham’s roommate, or else I would’ve kicked you off the edge of the abode,” you scowled at Kaveh.

You grab a piece of bread roll and chuck it at the blond man sitting across from you. Kaveh quickly catches the bread roll and takes a bite out of it, smirking at you victoriously. You bristle with anger and jump out of Al Haitham’s lap, ready to lunge at the blond man that is mocking you from across the table.

“Don’t let him get to you, angel.” Diluc sighs, reaching over and pulling you down onto his lap. You growl and let yourself be engulfed in Diluc’s arms. You hold your hands up in front of you, making choking hand gestures at Kaveh while Diluc strokes your hair with his gloved hands, muttering comforting words into your ears.

Kaveh lets out an amused huff of breath, his shoulders bouncing as he laughs quietly to himself. Looking at you from across the table, you remind Kaveh of an angry feral kitten. Tail puffs up, back curving, hissing and spitting at him, trying to claw at him to fend for itself. But you know what reminds him of you the most? An abyss mage, especially the hydro abyss mages, because out of all of the elemental abyss mages, the hydro ones are the most annoying.

Xiao sighs and shakes his head. “I would advise you not to annoy [Y/N] any further. Childe has trained them in combat. Unless you want them to put you in your spot, I wouldn’t test [Y/N]’s patience if I were you,” Xiao states, shooting a small glare in Kaveh’s direction.

Kaeya chuckles and shakes his head. “I have never seen [Y/N] get this so worked up over someone. It’s cute but also a little terrifying,” the corners of Kaeya’s lips curl up.

Albedo looks over at you; you seem calmer now. You sit on Diluc’s lap with Diluc’s arms wrapping around you, his chin resting on the top of your head while stroking your hair. You slump against Diluc and let out a sigh through your nose, beginning to stare off into space. Albedo chuckles to himself and shakes his head.

“[Y/N], I think you should start giving Kaveh a tour around the abode now if you want to get it over with,” Albedo says softly.

You mumble and bury yourself further against Diluc’s chest. “I don’t think I want to give Kaveh a tour around the abode anymore,” you mutter. “He’s going to be calling an abyss mage the entire time during the tour,” you said.

Kazuha laughs and stands next to you and Diluc before giving your hand a gentle squeeze. “Come on, [Y/N]. It can’t be that bad,” Kazuha says softly.

“Might as well get it over with, you know? The longer you hold it off, the more you’re going to dread it,” Dainsleif says, wiping his plush lips with a cloth napkin.

You let out a long sigh and let your head hang low before slowly lifting your head. “I suppose that you’re right about that….” You trail off, slowly getting off of Diluc’s lap. “Fine, I’ll give Kaveh a tour around the abode now. In the meantime, I might contemplate dropping out of the Akademiya to avoid seeing his face,” you said, pointing at Kaveh.

Zhongli gives you a look. “You wouldn’t do that, especially when you went through the application process and took placement exams,” Zhongli says, taking a sip from his teacup.

“Yeah, you’re right,” you mumble, sighing in defeat. “Okay, come on, Kaveh. Let me give you a tour around our humble abode before you leave,” you said.

Kaveh gets up from his seat and follows after you, giving the men a polite smile before quickly flashing Al Haitham a middle finger as he walks off. Al Haitham rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

“Ah, how juvenile.” Dottore sighs dramatically, approaching the men with the other three Harbingers following after him.

Pierro watches Kaveh from afar, his arms over his chest. “Are you sure you want to leave [Y/N] alone with that blond boy? I don’t have a good feeling about him,” Pierro says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Scaramouche rolls his eyes. “And we don’t have a good feeling about the four of you,” Scaramouche retorts, narrowing his eyes at Pierro.

Diluc lets out a humorless laugh and rolls his eyes at Pierro’s comment. “You people should be the last ones to talk about who’s trustworthy and who’s not,” said Diluc.

Pantalone looks at Diluc, surprised by his comment, pressing his hand against his chest. “My, my. Still have trust issues?” Pantalone asks, giving Diluc a fake smile.

“If [Y/N] can put their trust in us, then all of you shouldn’t have an issue with trusting us,” Capitano says gruffly.

Tighnari frowns. “[Y/N]’s too trusting; that’s the problem,” Tighnari says softly, clenching his hands into tight fists.

Meanwhile, on the middle island of the abode, you and Kaveh stand three feet from each other. You point at the bathhouse that is surrounded by cat-shaped plants. “This is where we relax. You can either go to the bathhouse on your own or be accompanied by your friends,” you said unenthusiastically.

“Why would anyone want to go there with someone else other than to have company?” Kaveh asks, raising his eyebrows at you.

You let out a small “pfft” before answering his question, “Because who wouldn’t want to see shirtless, sweaty men?” You ask, narrowing your eyes at the blond man.

“Me! I don’t want to see shirtless, sweaty men,” Kaveh deadpans.

You make a face. “Well, you should because it will change your life,” you said, walking towards the garden where the men plant various flowers from different regions. Kaveh follows behind you and raises his eyebrows at your response to his comment.

“Change my life as in what? Traumatize me?” Kaveh asks, crossing his arms over his chest, letting the wind blow in his face.

You open your mouth to retort but close your mouth with a huff. There was no use in arguing with someone like Kaveh. Al Haitham has told you many things about Kaveh and the arguments that they would get into over the pettiest things. This was probably one of them.

“Aside from the bathhouse, we have a garden that consists of many flora and fauna of Teyvat! The Harbingers have a botanical garden as well, but we’re not stepping foot in their estate because….” You trailed off, giving Kaveh a fake smile, “because we don’t have permission to enter their estate!” You said.

Kaveh cocks his eyebrows at you. “You hesitated,” Kaveh says.

“I talk slow sometimes; it’s normal,” you reply, brushing off Kaveh’s comment. “I need to find the right words, or else I’ll stumble over my sentences,” you said. You clear your throat and continue to give Kaveh a tour of one of the biggest gardens in the abode. You’re not much of a plant parent, but you’re proud of how well these plants are growing in another environment.

Kaveh walks beside you, gazing down at you curiously. “Why do those four Harbingers reside here? Their presence feels out of place,” Kaveh says softly.

You shrug your shoulders and look at the field of glaze lilies, silk flowers, lamp grass, cecilias, and calla lilies. “They just invited themselves along,” you said, tapping on your chin. “It was a bit strange at first, but they’re nice!” You said, smiling up at Kaveh.

Taken aback by the sight of your smile, Kaveh looks at the garden and clears his throat, his cheeks warming up. “Their presence puts a damper on the bright atmosphere of this abode. I mean, look at their estate,” Kaveh motions his head towards the tall, black, and gray estate. “It looks ominous, as if it’s holding many secrets and experiments that go unseen,” Kaveh says.

You laugh nervously and scratch your arm lightly, goosebumps beginning to form on your arms. “You’re starting to freak me out a little bit with your comment, Kaveh,” you said softly.

Kaveh’s eyes soften, and he sighs quietly. Kaveh places his hand on your shoulders, “I didn’t mean to frighten you with the way I speak about their estate and their presence,” Kaveh murmurs. “I know that you’re in safe hands when living with Al Haitham and the others, but the Doctor is a dangerous man. I can’t fathom the fact that he is living in the abode with you, someone evil like him, living under the same teapot with someone as harmless as you,” Kaveh says.

You blink at Kaveh. “You said that I’m harmless, but you call me an abyss mage many times,” you commented.

Kaveh snorts and wraps his arms around your shoulders, pulling you close to him, and rubs the top of your head lightly with his knuckles. “It’s an endearing nickname! Kind of like how that big oaf of an oni calls you onikabuto booboo bear,” Kaveh smirks.

“I-” You’re rendered speechless and let out a scoff. You lightly hit Kaveh’s arms and let him continue to have his arms wrap around your shoulders, your head resting on his chest. “How is an abyss mage endearing?! They’re little shits!” You exclaim.

“Exactly! And that is what you are: a little shit!” Kaveh cackles, his head thrown back, his body shaking with laughter. Your jaw drops, and you elbow Kaveh in the gut, making Kaveh release you from his grasp. You glare at Kaveh and smack him upside of his head as he continues to howl with laughter. Seeing the immense joy on Kaveh’s face, the sound of his laugh, and his pretty he looks when he smiles so widely, makes you feel some kind of way. A smile slowly makes its way up your face as heat slowly creeps onto your cheeks and to the tip of your ears. Kaveh is undeniably beautiful, and you can’t help but admire his beauty. Kaveh wipes the tears from his eyes and looks down at you; you look away from Kaveh, covering up your smile with a dramatic pout while crossing your arms over your chest.

“You’re rude and have no manners. Maybe that’s why you’re single,” you mutter, walking away from Kaveh and heading toward the last floating island in the abode.

Kaveh stares after you, his mouth agape. “Rude!” Kaveh exclaims, following after you.

You plop down on the grassy field and lie down, staring up at the cloudy sky in the abode. You lay on your hands and close your eyes, releasing long sighs. Kaveh looks around the empty field of grass in confusion; there is nothing to see at all other than the distant view of the other islands. Kaveh sits down beside you and stares down at you while you lay there, eyes closed and basking in the sunlight.

Kaveh’s eyes scan your face, and he slowly raises his hand to trace your features. Your nose, your lips, your cupid’s bow, the shape of your eyebrows, the tiny imperfections that the loves of your life consider to be cute and perfect just the way they are. Before his finger can touch your face, your eyes snap open, and you grab onto his finger, startling Kaveh.

“What are you doing?” You ask, narrowing your eyes at Kaveh.

Kaveh stutters, his cheeks turning bright red. “I…” He trails off, unsure of what to say to you after getting caught red-handed.

You sit up and release his finger before wrapping your arms around yourself. “What? Cat got your tongue?” You tease, sticking your tongue out at him.

A small smile appears on Kaveh’s face, catching you off guard. You gulp and stare at him like a fish out of water. You couldn’t help but be mesmerized by Kaveh’s beauty and how the sun shined on him, making him look ethereal.

Kaveh chuckles and shakes his head. “Cute,” He says, leaning back on his hands and looking out into the distance. Archons, that man is mesmerizing without having to put effort into looking breathtaking.

You blink at Kaveh. “Are you saying that sarcastically or….” You trailed off, blinking at Kaveh owlishly.

Kaveh looks over at you and blinks. “You’re cute,” Kaveh states. He reaches over and pinches your cheek with a small smile on his face. “I meant it as a compliment, not as sarcasm or an insult,” Kaveh adds.

“But you called me an abyss mage,” you deadpan.

Kaveh rolls his eyes with a smile on his face. “And? Itto calls you an onikabuto— an insect. I think calling you an abyss mage is better than being called an insect,” Kaveh says, scooting closer to you.

“But bugs are innocent!” You exclaimed. Kaveh cocks an eyebrow at you. “Kind of… but abyss mages are evil little shits who ruin everybody’s day just by existing!” You whine.

Kaveh hums thoughtfully. “I mean, I can say the same for you,” Kaveh jokes.

You scoff and lightly shove Kaveh, suppressing a smile that threatens to appear on your face. “You’re rude! You’ve been nothing but rude to me ever since we first met!” You grumble.

Kaveh pouts at you dramatically and wraps his arms around you, and pulls you into his arms. Your face smushes against Kaveh’s chest while he pets your head like how Diluc was stroking your hair prior to the tour of the abode.

“Oh, don’t be a big baby, abyss mage. I tease you like this because I like you,” Kaveh says, patting the top of your head.

You look up at Kaveh, and you see nothing but his chin and up his nose. “You need to trim your nose hairs. They’re starting to peek out like those mora stealing weasels,” you said softly, reaching up to pull on one of his nose hairs that were peeking out from his nose to get a better look at its surroundings. Kaveh scoff and swats your hands away from his nose, glaring down at you. You giggle and pat his cheek lightly.

You move from Kaveh’s side to sit on his lap, wrapping your arms around his waist and rubbing his back. “I like you too, Kaveh! Other than the nickname that you’ve given me, you’re an okay person,” You said.

“Gee, thanks.” Kaveh snorts, rolling his eyes before looking down at you with a soft smile on his face. “You’re the only person that I can stand out of those people that live in this abode,” Kaveh says, pressing his lips on the top of your head, catching you off guard.

“Really?” You ask.

“Nah.” He shakes his head.

You gasp and push him away from you, climbing out of his lap with an angry huff. “Why are you leading me on?!” You exclaim.

“Wha— I am not leading you on! This is playful bantering, and you’re going to have to get used to it if you’re going to continue to be in my life,” Kaveh says dramatically.

You roll your eyes and rub your throbbing temples. “You’re lucky you’re cute, or else I would’ve kicked your ass off of this island a long time ago,” you sigh, looking up at the sky to remain calm.

“Ha! Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Kaveh says, sticking his tongue out at you.

You raise your eyebrows at Kaveh. “What a juvenile act for a man of your caliber,” You sass.

Kaveh snorts and shakes his head. “I can say the same thing about you, you little shit.” He pulls you down and traps you in his arms, rubbing your hair affectionately. “You’re irresistible. You know that, right?” Kaveh murmurs into your hair.

You glance up at Kaveh and nod your head, brushing your hair off your shoulders playfully. “Of course I do! How do you think I was able to get over twenty boyfriends?” You ask cheekily.

Kaveh rolls his eyes and covers your entire face with his hands, and shakes your head lightly. “You’re starting to get annoying, you little shit. Truly living up to the abyss mage nickname I’ve given you,” Kaveh mutters.

You grab onto his hands and smile up at him cheekily. “Admit it; you love it.” You grin.

Kaveh rolls his eyes and pinches your nose, making you squeal and try to unlatch his fingers from the tip of your nose. Kaveh laughs and releases your nose, laying down on the grassy field and bringing you down with him by wrapping his arm around your neck. The two of you lay there for a while, in each other's arms, while looking at the cloudy sky. Maybe adding another person to your growing circle wouldn’t hurt, especially when that person is one of your boyfriend’s roommate. It looks like they’ll be roommates again sooner than later.

Note: So, I'm thinking about typing out mini stories for each Genshin man in the harem for this series. It can be anything from smut to angst to fluff, etc. It's a mini fic, so it won't be over 5k words like my usual Isekai'd!Reader fics. I had this thought for a while and I might make it a thing! So if you start seeing mini [character] x Isekai'd!Reader fics popping up on your dash; it's part of the "Not What You'd Expect" series :> Anywho, to my new or returning readers, I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for "Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader" and my overall taglist: @xxkatsusjinsux, @huboi, @crazyrichdaughter, @sucker-for-angst-and-fluff, @patata52, @honeybedo, @thedivinepriestress, @pencil-of-ashes, @samarill, @bakuhve, @yukima, @chaosinanutshell, @emperatris-rinaka, @neilify, @ksjjkthpjm, @jaisithebird, @mouchie, @emerald-smile, @jixlem, @the-blob-fish, @jiminscarmex, @bananazzzen, @thelost-in-time, @kryloxen, @ayolk, @tomansimp, @lordbugs, @c-camellias, @chihawari, @lilliansstuff, @zhongloml, @sweethcnvy, @wolf-chan2134, @simp4-fictional-men, @dai-tsukki-desu, @trash-queen-af, @tamayakii, @stellaris999, @hispasian-otaku, @stygianoir, @crispynutduck (if you have not been tagged, it's because you have your settings turned off for people to tag you in posts)

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majesty-madness · 10 months

Text

A Past Encounter - Bucky Barnes x reader (nsfw)

Summary: Being in a relationship with Bucky, Y/N prided herself on knowing him quite well but when she’s accidentally teleported back to 1940, Y/N discovers that there is a whole other Bucky that she has yet to meet. The sweet flirt that had everything going for him before his unfortunate capture by HYDRA.

Word Count: 2400+

Warnings: 40’s Bucky & Steve, flirty 40’s Bucky, small 40’s Steve, slight angst, sage advice from good ol' Steve, massaging, flustered Bucky, fluff

a/n: not proofread.

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Chapter Ten

Two weeks have passed since Bucky gave Y/N a copy of the key to the apartment and the majority of that time was spent outside of it.

Y/N simply couldn’t stay in one place when she had the solution to returning home right in the palm of her hand. However, within those two weeks, she was beginning to understand a very important piece of information: how much she didn’t understand science.

The general stuff like Newton’s laws and the process of which plants grow is called photosynthesis, but anything out of range of high school science was beginning to irritate her.

Of course she hadn’t considered the possibility where she was utterly confused since she thought of herself as a decently gifted person; this little escapade made her reevaluate her actual intelligence.

If only Tony were here, he could help me… Y/N mentally sighed, slumping her hand onto the table she sat at.

Then she scoffed, If he was here I wouldn’t need to be doing this; he would have already fashioned up a device that time travels.

She sat up, staring at the notes piled around the table as well as the pencil abandoned a few inches from her hand. Her brain wasn’t reading any of the notes, simply staring at the combination of different subjected notes spread out around the surface. The lead of the pencil had somewhat smeared across a few of the pages while the pen she had also used remained bolded in its black ink.

To be honest, she felt a little tired looking out over all the scribbles causing her eyes to narrow a bit.

“Hey, Y/N.”

Like a train wreck, that one familiar voice sent her into an unexpected panic. She whipped her head to meet Steve’s eyes as he looked down at her, standing a few feet away.

She had to resist the urge to completely scatter her notes about because if she tried to hide them, that would only make Steve curious and she really didn’t need that. So instead of trying to cover up all the notes, Y/N opted to somewhat hide the ones sitting directly under her arms.

“Oh hey, Steve! Wasn’t expecting you here today!” Y/N smiled, trying to reel in her nerves.

Luckily, Steve was none the wiser to her internal panic. “What are you up to?”

Before he was done with his question, he was already reaching his thin hand out to pick up her notes scattered on the table. She watched his eyes inevitably scan across the page to read the words written on them.

She swallowed harshly. “Well I was just doing some research.”

“Research on what?” He asked, setting down one page of handwritten scribbles to the next.

“Just a curiosity of different sciences.” Y/N waved her hand back and forth while an anxious smile made a home across her face.

Steve hummed in response, blue eyes flicking up to glance at her before he continued reading. His eyes scanned over every word, not understanding all of it but becoming impressed all the same, and that was reflected in the way he would occasionally look up to Y/N with a smile.

“So you can understand this kind of stuff?” He asked after a minute or two.

Y/N resisted the urge to cringe at the question; the past two weeks have made it clear she only understood some of it. Nonetheless, she nodded. “Yeah, I mean most of it. Some topics take a bit of work to wrap my mind around it.”

“Still, that’s pretty incredible. You could use this for a job or something.” He praised with complete sincerity.

“Oh I don’t know about that…” Y/N immediately rebutted. “And anyway, I don’t think there would be much point; I probably won’t be here that long.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed Steve’s abrupt pause. He simply sat still, staring at a point in the table that Y/N could not see. For a second, she thought perhaps she had hurt his feelings.

He took a breath, like he was carefully choosing his next words. “You know, just because you might not be here for very long, doesn’t mean you can’t live the life you want.”

Y/N couldn’t help the furrow in her brow as she bit her lip, the remnants of a nervous laugh making its way up her throat. “I-I know, I guess I just….well, I’m afraid that if I let myself live my life here then I’ll forget how my life was, forget who I was.”

She couldn’t help the pang of despair hitting her heart once the words left her mouth.

“I understand.” Steve sympathized, “...and I’m not saying you need to forget, in fact, don’t.”

Her gaze snapped up to meet his earnest expression.

“Whatever has happened in your life up until now is what made you into who you are today. What’s important is to make room for other experiences to become more of yourself, and who knows? Maybe it’ll be a good thing.”

“Like meeting you and Bucky?” She said almost instinctively.

Then Steve laughed, not the kind of teasing laugh but one fueled by the compassion of friendship. “I suppose you could say that. It’s been fun having you around.”

Y/N smiled. “It’s only been a few weeks.”

He nodded, “It’s been a good few weeks.”

They both then hummed in appreciation of each other, acknowledging that they’ve both had some sort of impact on one another’s lives even if not much time had passed since they met. Technically, Y/N met them a long time from the current time, however this was a different Steve than she was used to and on some level, it was like they truly only met a few weeks ago.

Steve tapped on the table a few times, then stood up from the chair. “It’s getting a little late in the afternoon, want to pick something to make for dinner? Unless you’re still trying to study.”

Y/N followed suit, and stood up. “No, that’s alright. I was starting to get a little stir crazy anyway.”

“Well alright then.” Steve beamed, then gestured for Y/N to walk ahead of him.

She swiftly gathered up all her research notes, stuffing them inside a notebook before walking off in the direction of the front door of the library.

They both stepped outside at the same time, and headed off to the nearest supermarket, taking joy in each other’s company.

________

It had been around 5:30pm by the time Bucky got home from work. Per usual, he felt the soreness of working in a mechanic’s shop; bending in awkwards places and lifting ungodly heavy objects did nothing to help his muscles. The only good thing he could say that came out of it was his toned body (which he was not ashamed to admit). Though the aching left him wanting a hot bath to ease the pain.

He barely managed to open the door but as soon as he did, the smell of delicious spices hung in the air of the apartment.

Instantly, he forgot about the aching of his joints and instead focused on the smell permeating the air which led him to the tiny kitchen. There, standing side by side, was Steve and Y/N expectedly peering around the kitchen wall.

They heard him walk in as soon as he opened the door.

“Hey, Bucky.” Steve greeted first.

“Hi, Bucky! You have a good day at work?” Y/N greeted, quickly following it up with a question.

It was a normal question, one that no one even thinks about but he was thinking about it and reacting to it. The way she smiled up at him when she asked, the sweet tone of her voice like silk, and her eyes glowing as if he were the only person in the world. It all caused his heart to thump wildly while trying to keep his exterior looking calm.

Taking a breath, he answered. “Yeah it was good. I’m just a little sore.”

He could then see the flash of concern over her face as she continued to absentmindedly stir something in the pot on the stove. Though she didn’t say anything as Steve stepped in.

“We’re making beef stew; we picked up the ingredients before we got back.”

Bucky nodded his head, eyes finally jutting over to his friend. “That sounds good, we haven’t had stew in a while.”

“It was Steve’s idea. He told me that Monday’s are quite hectic for you at work so he said that a big meal might make you feel better or something like that.” Y/N explained, as she turned away from him to focus on the pot. “I thought it was a nice gesture.”

“Yeah, good ol’ Steve, acting like my mother.” Bucky joked as he turned away and headed toward the living room. Both Steve and Y/N watched as he dragged himself over to the cushioned chair, then plopped down with a thud.

He sat still for a minute, opting not to move so as to not upset his body and when he was comfortable enough, he rested his arms on his knees as he leaned his head down.

“Do you think he’s okay?” Y/N asked, taking her off of Bucky to look at Steve.

Steve had also still been looking at Bucky when Y/N turned to him, but he soon returned her gaze. “He’ll be fine, this is how Monday’s usually go for him.”

“I see.” Was all she said, looking back to the brunette.

After a few seconds of silence, Steve spoke again. “Here, why don’t you…” He paused for a minute as he grabbed a washcloth from one of the drawers, and put it under the faucet. “take this to Bucky and ask him yourself.”

His small hand squeezed out the excess water and handed it to Y/N, who seemed a bit confused but still took the cloth to walk into the living room.

She could tell right away that Bucky hadn’t sensed her approach because once she was beside him, he jerked a bit.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Y/N quickly apologized.

Bucky waved off the apology. “Oh no that’s okay, I was lost in my head is all.”

“Steve told me to give you this…” She mentioned extending the washcloth to him.

He chuckled as he gently took it from her hand. “Steve thinks I look disgusting when I come home from the shop.”

Soon he began to wipe off his face and hands, the dark grease and soot sticking to the wet cloth.

Feeling slightly mischievous, Y/N smirked. “Can you blame him? You do look gross.”

“Oh well thanks, I’ll make sure to clean up before I get home, Princess.” He playfully retorted, taking one final swipe of the cloth over his face.

Y/N quietly laughed, “Why thank you, sir.”

Neither said anything until Bucky went to rub the back of his next and he groaned in clear discomfort.

“Are you okay?” Y/N asked, stepping forward and subconsciously resting her hand lightly on his shoulder. Bucky immediately noticed but didn’t mention it.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Like I said earlier I’m sore, it hurts more now that I’ve finally had a chance to sit down and relax.”

“Would you like me to massage your shoulders for a little bit? See if that helps?” She kindly offered him.

Bucky had to force himself to not blurt out an enthusiastic yes at the idea the moment she suggested it. Thankfully, he was able to compose himself and think rationally. “Uh yeah, sure why not?”

Y/N stepped behind him and the not so tall lounge chair, briefly placing her hands on his shoulders then taking them away.

“Actually, do you have a shirt underneath this one?” She asked, gently tugging on the collar of his button up.

“Yeah, why?”

She hummed, “Because it’ll be easier to massage your muscles without the button-up.”

Bucky didn’t know why, but those words sent heat straight to his face. He mentally thanked the dull, orange glow of the lamps lighting the apartment or else Y/N might’ve been able to see his red cheeks. “It would, wouldn’t it?”

He brought his now sweaty palms up to his collar, beginning to unbutton each one down the expanse of his torso. Once loose enough, he shrugged off the shirt from his shoulders to reveal the raw muscle underneath. The moment they were exposed, Y/N carefully laid her hands on him and began to carefully press against the sore spots.

As soon as her fingers made contact with them, Bucky softly groaned.

“I’m sorry, did that hurt?” Y/N asked, ceasing her movements.

He shook his head. “No, please keep going.”

Without a word, she continued. She made sure to gauge his reactions whenever pressing down on any particularly knotted spots, pushing either harder or softer depending on the expression on his face. Overall, he seemed to enjoy the harder caresses of her hands as it released the tension considerably in his shoulders.

This went on for several minutes, and as each minute passed Bucky became sleepier and sleepier, falling into a hazy state of consciousness while Y/N massaged him. He still had awareness of the world around him, but could only focus on how good she was making him feel.

And Y/N got caught up in the habit of rolling her hands against his muscles, almost possessed by the action, that at some point dug her fingers into his brown rooted tresses. Now she began to rake her fingertips along his scalp, admiring the way he shivered and took in a sharp breath; eyes still fully closed.

He was beautiful.

She leaned forward, hands no longer moving, and pressed a kiss to his temple.

Her half narrowed eyes widened when she caught Bucky staring up at her in surprised awe, a gasp leaving her lips. She jumped back, bringing her hands flat on her flaming cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I did that!”

“Y/N it’s okay, I’m not-”

“Dinner is ready, you guys.” Steve shouted from the kitchen, dipping out of the small area to peer into the living room. He thought it was a little strange that the two of them stood several feet away and weren’t saying a word because the last he saw, Y/N had been standing right next to Bucky.

“Okay, Steve, sounds good. I’ll um…I’ll set the table.” Y/N stammered, making a b-line for the kitchen and fled past Steve.

Steve watched Y/N rummage through one of the cabinets for a second then walked over to Bucky, voice hushed. “What happened?”

Bucky stood up from the chair, eyes staring past Steve and into the kitchen. “She kissed me.”

________

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