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#and before that she meets a goat(
rainymoodlet · 5 months
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hee hee… horsey 🏜️
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incorrectbatfam · 5 months
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Do the batfamily members ever get too into their undercover work? (Undercover in an office and theyre worried about spreadsheets, working in a warehouse and coming home complaining about missing parts)
Bruce: Status updates on your undercover missions. Dick, you first. What have you got down at the docks?
Dick: I haven't confirmed the Killer Croc sightings yet, but more importantly, our catch hasn't been measuring up to last year's. Tuna we're doing okay on, but the salmon population seems to be on the low end. I've contacted the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries but it'll be another 3-5 business days before they can come down and check it out.
Bruce: At least you're doing something to help. Jason?
Jason: Class was okay. I think the kids are warming up to me as their substitute while Mrs. Maloney is out on maternity leave. The average on the last vocabulary quiz was 83.53% so either I'm doing my job right or they need to be challenged. I'm worried about Tristan Lancy, though. He's normally a good student but his grades have been dropping recently and his parents don't seem like safe people to tell. I'll talk to him tomorrow and try to pair him up with a peer tutor if he needs it.
Bruce: Also see if he has any alternate contacts besides his parents. Tim, any updates at the chemical plant?
Tim: If by updates you mean OSHA violations, I could go on all week. We got a batch of new recruits today and they were just thrown into the work—no PPE, no safety training, nothing. This is what happens when you place production over employee well-being. I'm gonna file a complaint after this meeting. Also, I think the union will have something to say about the manager cutting people's lunch breaks short.
Bruce: I see. Damian? Please tell me you found something volunteering at the zoo.
Damian: Depends on how you define "found." While I have not obtained evidence of a mutant larvae black market, I did help some of the animals at the sanctuary make progress with their recovery. Bobo the monkey is healing from his broken arms and we're gradually getting him re-acclimated to climbing higher surfaces. Suzie the black bear was born a little prematurely but seems to be catching up to her peers in terms of growth. Lastly, we got a grant for additional wildcat research and enrichment. As an aside, we are having an educational seminar on European mountain goats this Friday at 3:30 and I expect all of you to be there.
Bruce: I'll put that on our calendars. Steph?
Steph: It's not really undercover work for me, just work. Anyway, yes the newest Batburger location is being used for money laundering. But I really need to vent about the customers for a sec. We don't open until 10 and at 9:30 this morning some moron was banging on our door demanding Jokerized cheese fries. Then right in the middle of the lunch rush, Janie got sick so I had to fill in as the cashier and it was hell. After that, I had to step in between a fight at the drive-thru because the customer claimed we only gave him nine pieces of his ten-piece Robin nuggets and tried to beat up the kid who took his order. And to top it all off, an entire high school hockey team came in five minutes before closing.
Bruce: Cass?
Cass, blowing balloons: Can't talk. Arranging bat mitzvah.
Bruce: Duke, you're my last hope.
Duke: Margie's bringing a peanut butter chocolate cake to the bake sale. I swiped her recipe and we can easily beat her. Her ganache is way too watery and just runs off the top of the cake, which isn't even leveled. She's also trying to do something with a raspberry filling that isn't working at all. It's like she couldn't decide on what to bring. The bake sale committee also asked if we can bring some apple pies because the original baker has to go out of town for a family emergency. I think we'll win if we bring them with some ice cream and a touch of caramel, even though this isn't a contest.
Bruce: Thank you. At least our most critical case has been taken care of.
Barbara: ...I'll save my book launch for later.
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Yandere farm x farmhand reader 🌾
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A/n: this contains few nsfw mentions, mdni please! They're not all that yandere, just a bunch of dumb silly hybrids trying to catch their favorite humans attention. This is their intro
✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩̣̣̣̣̣ͯ┄•͙
★yandere farm x farmhand reader. I know this isn't original, but I always love the concept. Just minding your business, sweaty and hot from the sun, when suddenly a certain German Shepard hybrid starts sniffing you up and down, lapping up your sweaty skin and grinning when you swat him away. How did you end up here?
★maybe you came here for a summer job, maybe some relatives owned the farm, maybe you were always working here. Either way, it doesn't take long for the hybrids to notice you once you arrive.
★the bulls and cows watching curiously from the fields, the centaurs trying to peek from their stables, the merfolk living in the lake just down the property poke their little heads out. The dogs barking from their Little homes, and the cats watching from the windows. You couldn't help but gawk at the variety of hybrids, there were so many! Merfolk, avians, cattle, cats, dogs.
★your first week there was nice, the other farmhands were nice, and the owners were so sweet! Always speaking fondly of their pets, the old couple would watch them run in the field or play by the lake. You yourself found them a little annoying. Always sniffing, grabbing, nipping at your clothes. You've had to fight your overall bottoms free from one of the pooches one too many times. The cats were no better.
★your second week you meet the cattle and centaurs. And unlike the house cats and guard dogs, they're less handsy. Simply observing from afar. Occasionally sniffing you before nodding their heads and pulling away. Letting you do your job of combing, cleaning and fixing up them and their stables. The cattle would happily let you milk them, applying the breast pumps to the females and a cock pump to the males. You ignored how they looked at you strangely during milkings
★the third week you meet the avians. Odd little bunch, hopping around and puffing up their chests. They watched you enter their enclosure curiously, you were busy picking up their molten feathers because you thought they were pretty. So bright and colorful! Walking around bent over a little when you finally notice the peacock male standing right Infront of you. He gave you a pointed look before his tail feathers expanded. Looking prideful, tilting his chin up as if in an arrogant way. Swaying side to side and closer to you, while you just held the feathers in your hands, a little confused. He got closer until he let out an incredibly loud squawk. Turning around abruptly to glare at the cuckoo who bent down to poke his butt. The cuckoo gave you a grin before climbing back up the tree, using this time as distraction, you quickly escaped.
★on the fourth week, you meet the merfolk. Having been here a month, they were eager to meet you. Watching you walk on the dock with fish feed, eagerly Perking up and swimming closer. You shook out a good handful and chucked it out for the koi fish to eat. They swarmed the area until all the food was gone, simply staring up at you. One poked her head out, tilting it a bit and making a 'click' sound with her tongue. You mimicked her, doing the same. She seemed elated, making various whistles and clicks, splashing up and down the lake. The lake was manmade and filled with koi fish when it was finished, but then again there may be more fish not even the owners know about since it was so deep. How'd they get in there? You're not sure, but you just know it.
★on the fifth week your owners told you about how they had bought multiple sheep, and goats. One male for each group. Watching the loading truck approach the little barn they were finished building. So that's why it was there, they started construction when you arrived the first week. You helped the other farmhands get them situated, at first they were rowdy and a little aggressive but for some reason calmed down when you approached them. Your colleagues now called you the sheep whisperer. You quickly learned how to shave their wool and milk the goats properly. Sometimes braiding their long hair, you just wish the ram would stop headbutting the nearest male colleague for your attention.
★On your sixth week, you went for a walk in the forest when suddenly a little body of fluffy fur tackled you, growling with it's teeth barred. You looked up to see a Pomeranian hybrid, trying it's best to look intimidating. Their fluffy tail gave them away, it was wagging 100mph. They visibly deflated when you reached up a hand to pet them, letting you for A couple minutes before getting off. Walking back into the woods towards three wolves. Dissapearing with them. Not soon after you found a friendly garden naga. Just lounging on a rock and enjoying the sun. You asked to join and they let you, laying there for a good while until you had to go back to the farm. Noticing they had wrapped their tail around you, oh boy. It'll take a good while to get out. Welp, might as well make yourself comfortable and wait for the dogs to come find you
•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆
HYBRIDS AND THEIR NAMES:
Week one, cats and dogs;
Brutus, dog hybrid, 18, German Shepard, he/him
Dolly, dog hybrid, 26, doberman, she/her
bladviba, dog hybrid, 25, black Russian terrier, he/him
Molly, dog hybrid, 17, chow chow, she/her
Sweet pea, dog hybrid, 17, samoyed, they/them amab
bubba, dog hybrid, 37, borzoi, he/him
Princess, cat hybrid, 18, ragdoll, she/her
Prince, cat hybrid, 19, Norwegian forest cat, he/him
King, cat hybrid, 27, Khao manee, he/him
•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆
Second week, cattle and centaurs;
Miss bené, cow hybrid, 49, white park cattle, she/her
Miss blackberry, cow hybrid, 22, Aberdeen Angus, she/her
Miss Polly, cow hybrid, 26, Aberdeen Angus, she/her
Miss frufru, cow hybrid, 28, Aberdeen Angus, she/her
Miss Vivian, cow hybrid, 35, Aberdeen Angus, she/her
Big daddy, bull hybrid, 52, Aberdeen Angus, he/him
Johnny, bull hybrid, 18, Aberdeen Angus/white park cattle, he/him
Jacqueline, centaur, 19, shire horse, she/her
Timothy, centaur, 21, galineers cob, he/him
maya, centaur, 17, fjord horse, they/them
Casper, centaur, 23, ardennais, he/him
miguel, centaur, 18, Andalusian horse, he/him
harmony, centaur, 25, Breton horse, they/them
•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆
third week, avians;
Sydney, avian, 22, cockatoo, they/he
Evangeline, avian, 19, peacock, she/her
Gabriel, avian, 20, peacock, he/him
fajarah, avian, 24, indian ring necked parakeet, she/her
Foolish, avian, 26, owl finch, he/him
simon, avian, 28, tyto alba, he/him
•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆
Fourth week, merfok;
tancho, koi fish merfolk, 19, tancho koi, he/him
kiko, koi fish merfolk, 19, kikokuryu koi, she/her
hime, koi fish merfolk, 19, hirenaga koi, she/her
Tsu, koi fish merfolk, 19, doitsu koi, they/them
koromo, koi fish merfolk, 19, koromo koi, he/him
Mason, lake 'monster' (crocodile), 20, freshwater crocodile, he/him
•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆
Fifth week, goats and sheep;
Sally, goat, 25, angora goat, she/her
Opal, goat, 24, Tennessee fainting goat, she/her
Sasha, goat, 26, australian cashmere goat, she/her
kim, ram, 23, dutch landrace goat, he/him
Poka, sheep, 19, Valais black nose, they/them
Juniper, sheep, Valais black nose, she/her
violet, sheep, 18, harri, she/her
azucar, sheep, 17, Columbia sheep, she/her
Wehrner, ram, 21, American black belly, he/him
•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆
Sixth week, the forest creatures:
roxy, wolf hybrid, 19, grey wolf, she/her
Silas, wolf hybrid, 21, grey wolf, he/him
Milo, wolf hybrid, 20, albino Grey wolf, they/them
Kiki, dog hybrid, 18, Pomeranian, they/them
Coachella, naga, 27, garden snake, they/him
•°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆ •°. *࿐ ⋆
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rinhaler · 6 months
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i cant stop thinking abt noncon + stepcest Rin who cant control himself anymore after noticing how much his lil step-sister has grown since he was away bc of soccer n shit yk..
(btw your blog is goated)
GOATED WHAT A COMPLIMENT AKGHDSAKLH thank u very much I hope u enjoy this <3
warnings: 18+ MDNI, fem!reader, stepcest, dub/noncon, slight fingering, vaginal sex, nii-chan/rin-nii used, slight degradation, praise, dacryphilia, calls ur pussy 'she', shush kink?
words: 2k
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“You’re always flirting with me.” Rin speaks. It’s the first time he’s said anything to you since he got back from Paris. He’s always been cold with you, short-tempered and even cruel. But you hadn’t expected to hear him say something like that.
You scoff, shuffling your position on the couch to get more comfortable to read your magazine. He always notes how often you change your position when you read; you can never sit still for more than a few minutes. You often read with your bedroom door open, and if he passes by to go to the bathroom, you’re always in a different position by the time he walks back to his room again.
“What was that?” he asks, pulling a disgruntled face at your dismissive response. “You think you don’t? You only wear short skirts when I’m visiting. I see your socials.”
“Oh… so, you’re stalking me then?” you giggle. “Don’t flatter yourself, Rin-nii… I jus’ feel pretty like this.” you defend yourself despite knowing he’s right. He thinks you’re dumb, and the fact that you smile and giggle after every word is a dead giveaway. You’re a flirt, and you’re a liar.
He also hates that you’re absolutely right.
Not a day goes by where he doesn’t check your social media profiles. He likes to see what you’re up to and who you’re seeing. It’s only been a recent development, though, he saw a particularly sultry post on your Instagram and he quite frankly hasn’t been the same since. He hadn’t realised you’d grown so much and come into your own. He can’t get you out of his mind.
You gulp a little as he leans forward, his fingers lingering on your chin and guiding your eyes to meet his own. He doesn’t speak immediately. Instead, he opts to examine your responses. The way your forehead forms a tiny bead of sweat under the pressure of his gaze. The way your tongue quickly swipes over your plump lips when his eyes drift to stare at them. The way your breasts almost spill with each heave of your chest as you try and keep your composure.
“Be grateful, little sister. Good nii-chan’s keep an eye on their little sister’s, you know.” he tells you matter-of-factly.
“T- uh, thank you, Rin-nii…” is all you can muster beneath his intense stare. He smirks, too fucking coolly before withdrawing. You close your magazine and stand up, desperate to hurry to your room to calm your nerves. He watches you walk away as he flicks through the channels on the TV.
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“Oh God, miss you on my lips… hm-mm-mm…” you sing along with your record player as you listen to Lana Del Rey, following a muted makeup tutorial on your phone to pass the time. You grunt in annoyance when you realise that maybe you aren’t destined to perfect winged eyeliner today.
After locking your phone, you immediately tap the screen to see the time. You almost gasp as you realise it’s 7PM and five hours have passed since you last checked what time it is. Dinner will be ready soon, you grab a makeup wipe and begin to cleanse your skin. You should probably do your skincare, too, but it can wait until right before bedtime.
You examine your face to see if you’ve missed any makeup. Your eyeliner is stubborn but eventually comes off. And so with that, you get up to toss the wipe into the bin in your room.
“Jesus Chri— Rin! What are you doing?” you ask, spotting your elder brother in the doorway of your room. His eyes follow the stained wipe as you drop it into the bin, but his eyes linger on you once more as you wait for him to answer. “Oh… is there something on my face? Thought I got it all…” you tell him, leaning over your dressing table again to make sure your face is spotless.
“Tell me the truth.” he sighs, entering your room without closing the door. You look at him through your mirror before you turn to face him, an eyebrow quirked in confusion as he continues to close the distance. “You flirt with me.”
“This again?” you laugh. You lean back against your dressing table, fingers curling beneath the tabletop as you cross one ankle over the other. You feel heady as he gets closer and you smell his cologne. It doesn’t suit him, you think, but it’s nice. The scent is generic and sporty but Rin Itoshi himself is nothing close to generic.
Though it doesn’t matter, ultimately, not when it’s flooding your senses and drowning your mind.
“You’ve gotten so big…” he sighs, placing a hand on your hip. He smirks at how you shudder from his touch on your bare skin. Your watery eyes make his heart swell, unable to believe how trusting you are. You don’t stop him when his hand smooths over the curve of your ass and fingers dip under your skirt, though you’re trembling. Thick fingers prod at your panties and a tiny mewl escapes your lips. A condescending chuckle leaves him as you uncross your legs, widening them to give him better access. “Your panties are soaked. I knew you wanted me…”
You grab his wrist, urging him to stop when you remember the bedroom door is still wide open. It doesn’t deter him, though. His heavy fingers still press against the material covering your cute little cunt, his bulge growing tenfold when he pushes by your puffy lips to tease your throbbing clit.
“Don’t act coy, now. I know you want this, you opened your legs for nii-chan to play with you.”
“We can’t.” you whisper, biting your lip in a feeble attempt to stifle yourself. “Not l-like this! Not when they’re home… please nii-chan.” you beg, though it’s fruitless. Your eyes flutter closed as his head sinks, his lips meeting your neck to kiss you delicately.
You barely have the energy to fight when he encourages you to hook your legs around his waist. He carries you to the bed, mumbles of protest leave you but you don’t dare make too much noise and draw attention.
“Has to be now, princess.” he tells you. “Don’t know when we’ll get a better chance.” he continues.
You’re trapped beneath him, making a point of looking away from him as he humps against you pathetically. And you want him, of course you want him, but the risk is too high. He’s lost all sense, instead thinking with his cock rather than his brain. But you’re not too far gone yet. You can put a stop to this.
It needs to stop.
“Why are you being like this?” he wonders as he pulls out his length, jerking it slowly all the while still humping the tip against your clothed, wet panties. “I have to do this… little sister. I have to know how tight you are around me.”
“Another time, please! What if we get caught? P-Please stop, you’re smarter than this!” you beg once again, the request falling on deaf ears. You gulp as you feel his fingers hook under the gusset of your panties, moving the material into the crease of your thigh. Your voice breaks, a whiny moan following as he presses his tip into your sticky cunt. The stretch is heavenly, and you can barely catch your breath. His glimmering green eyes staring down at you as he inches further and further into your welcoming warmth makes you feel humiliated. You don’t want this, but fucking hell, you really do. “Aaah~!” you sob.
His palm flies to your mouth, the pressure almost suffocating as lust blown eyes turn impatient.
“Shut the fuck up,” he whispers, still bullying his cock into you. “Gotta be quiet, don’t want our parents to see what a little slut you are for nii-chan, yeah?” he warns you.
You don’t know what to do with yourself. You aren’t sure where to put your hands. They grip into the duvet below before you begin pulling at his shirt. He doesn’t have the patience to take it off, though, not when you’re sucking him in and squeezing around him like a fucking virgin. Are you? He doesn’t want to know. His head dips as your nails begin to claw up his back, marking your territory unintentionally.
He moves his leg, hooking his ankle around yours to keep your thigh pinned in place and open wide. You feel him hold your other ankle briefly, kissing it softly before he moves his hand under the bend of your knee. Your eyes cross as he pushes your leg until your opened up for him like a blooming flower. The new angle is monstrous, his thick, intimidating length reaching depths you didn’t even know existed.
He groans as he watches tears roll out of your innocent eyes. Those trusting eyes that didn’t think your nii-chan could be capable of something so salacious. He’s sure he won’t last long. Not when your clamping around him like this and looking at him with those pathetically wet eyes. You’re mumbling something beneath his dampening palm, but he isn’t stupid enough to free your airways and risk you crying out needily for your dear nii-chan.
You panic as you feel him withdraw his length, though deep down you know it’s for the best. But your eyes roll over white as you feel him stab it in again.
“Pretty little sister… want you to cream this cock for me…” he announces, repeating the motion again and again as he basks in the way you can barely look at him in your ecstasy. He can’t take his eyes off you, though. He doubts he’s ever seen a more beautiful sight. “I’m gonna cum inside, princess. I belong inside, yeah?”
You shake your head, his words stirring in your mind and bringing your senses back once more. Oh God, he can’t. You’re on the pill, all should be fine if he does cum inside but it’s so damn wrong.
“Did you just say no to your nii-chan? I don’t like that answer.” he replies, his hips picking up the pace again. His body shimmers with a sheen of sweat, and his breathless pants become heavier. “You should be begging me for my cum. I’m sure you didn’t mean it, don’t worry, I’ll give it to you.” he continues. Each thrust of his hips is deep and powerful and you’re sure your inner thighs might be developing bruises.
You whimper, again, knowing you can’t do anything to change his mind.
“Your pussy is so cute… think your clit needs some attention, though. Touch yourself for me, let me watch.” he requests. “Go on… she’s so swollen.”
It’s like being hypnotised. Your dominant hand flies to your cunt and begins to rub your needy clit. And it’s minimal, after barely any touching at all and you’re creaming for your beloved nii-chan. The sight is too much for your brother and the way your walls squeeze him for all he’s worth are an additional lure into his release. His own eyes turn white briefly before he looks down at where you’re joined. Your combined coupling forming a beautiful white ring around the base of his cock with every shallow impale.
“F-Fuck… don’t wanna pull out.” he tells you, finally uncovering your mouth to kiss your lips intimately.
You’re speechless. You aren’t surprised your brother is so experienced or so filthy with his words. Not when he’s travels and fucks girls around the world. But how are you meant to be without him now? When he goes away again… how will you stand it? His cock is made for you, of that, you’re sure. But you doubt he’ll keep it in his pants for your benefit.
Fuck, this was a mistake.
“Dinner’s ready!” your mother calls up the stairs, your nii-chan’s hand instinctively flies to your mouth and he shushes you before chuckling again.
You cry desperately as he withdraws his softening length from your twitching hole. But neediness turns to discomfort as you feel your brothers fingers move the gusset of your panties back into place. It’s so wet and sticky and gross, your face distorts at the unpleasant feeling.
“Come on, don’t want to be late, do we?”
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© 2023 rinitxshi
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nxrrislando · 17 days
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VILLAINISED ೯⠀⁺ ⠀ 𖥻 m.verstappen
𝐦𝐚𝐱 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 — ᝰ.ᐟ SMAU
PLOT ━━・❪ When her job is at risk and her least favourite person becomes her most trusted or in other words her enemy becomes her love ❫
WARNINGS ━━・❪ everything written is fake and for the purpose of entertainment, sexual innuendos, mature language, not proofread ❫
my fics!
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📍 - london, united kingdom
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yourusername ok?
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username snakeeeeeee
username someone’s in troubleeee
username know you were suspended from the italian and singaporian grand prix, but why are you in london? potential meeting with rbr in Milton Keynes?
username I heard a bunch of checos team who had been suspended are all there for a hearing this week and checo and max are gonna be there. username @ username why would checo and max be there? username @ username because apparently yn ln has been getting the worst of it from the media even tho everyone in the team is under investigation, and checo has been very vocal about media’s finger pointing at her. idk why max is here tho, cause they’ve never gotten along
username they could never make me hate you pookie
username what makes me laugh is that yn is getting the worst of the media surrounding the investigation just because she’s RUMOURED to have received an offer from another team, not confirmed to have been offered a position nor even rumoured to accept it. the media is absolute bs.
username no wonder max doesn’t like you. traitor
username get rid of women in motorsport
username nice take sexist moron.
username so many people more deserving of this position.
username using all my birthday wishes on you getting fired during the hearing this week🤷🏼‍♂️
username how pathetic, how old are you 7?
username dududu max verstappen
username lol this is what you get for disliking my goat
username max defo celebrating somewhere that he can finally get rid of you
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username yn ln has finally been cleared, WAR IS OVER
username the investigation has taken so long god. it’s been nearly a month
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yourusername brazil you are beautiful🤍
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username the 5th pic???
username FACTS
username max is in the likes, and has been on her past several posts…hmm
username he’s always relatively early as well, no longer fighting???
username are you really leaving at the end of the season???
username WHAT?? username @ username yeah she said in a live that months ago her life was hell with the media and that whole situation and that she wants to do engineering for road legal cars rather than motorsport, so she’s leaving at the end of the season to work at bugatti. but she also said that something great came out of the experience that’s making her really happy so she wouldn’t change it for the world (lots of people think it’s max and that they’re dating cause they seem to gravitate to each other in group settings which they NEVER did before)
username max and yn? i see you guys in the 5th pic 🫣
username please use the gf affect to get max to stop wearing redbull merch🙏🏽
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yourusername favourite person
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username I TOLD YOU ALL SO
username I love them so bad already my gosh
username enemies to lovers core🫡
maxverstappen1 hate sex does the trick ( love you btw)
yourusername WHAT DONT SAY THAT (love you too) landonorris mum pick me up I’m scared
username this was not on my 2023 bingo card unlike how max winning the world title was but nether the less i love it
charlesleclerc he’s only been obsessed with you since his karting days, finally!!
maxverstappen1 shut up yourusername aw username WHAT since the karting days??
maxverstappen1 mooisteee🤍 — (most beautiful)
yourusername 🤍🤍
dutch translation by my belgian pookie bear @edwardslvrr 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽
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shoot-the-oneshot · 1 month
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SOULMATE
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Lando Norris x Reader F1 as romance tropes Masterlist
If anyone asked Lando always knew he was going to be an F1 driver. It was his dream, his destiny. Not the words imprinted on his arm.
“At least he’s an F1 driver” were the words that appeared on his 16th birthday. At first, he was ecstatic it was proof not only he had a soulmate but he achieved his dreams. It wasn’t until he’d been at McLaren for a few years the words almost haunted him seeing the other drivers meet theirs and he was still walking down the paddock alone, well almost.
“At least you’ll know immediately when you meet her, mine says “hello” that could be anyone!” His best friend Max spoke seeing the dark look in Landos eyes watching Alex and Lily.
Lando scoffed shaking it off “And she'll only care that I’m a driver not about me.” That was the problem the longer you took to meet the worse his thoughts got.
“You don’t know that, she might just think you’re stupid,” at his friends' words Lando turned to glare at him who held his hands in surrender, “You say stupid stuff sometimes”
“You’re not helping you know.” Anything else Lando wanted to say got cut off by a new visitor.
“How’s it going gents, wait Lando what’s with the murder face?” George spoke as he joined the two men, the black Mercedes race suit a stark contrast with the orange of Landos.
“Lando is pouting watching the happy couple over there.” Max's thumb jutting over his shoulder towards the Williams garage and the other British driver understood while Lando tried to look anywhere but the the man now looking at him with pity
George knew how he felt, he felt like half of himself before he met Carmen. “Carmen has a friend in town for the race Lewis and I were going to all go to dinner why don't you come along and get out of your head for a while”
“Appreciate the offer mate but I don't think being a fifth wheel sounds that fun.”
“Lewis had a last-minute meeting he can’t make it now, you should come so Y/n isn’t lonely” lies George spoke before he thought, Carmen would kill him for this.
“He would love to text him the time and place! See you later George.”
Max shoved his friend who was silently thinking of an excuse so he could go home and drown himself in his sorrows so he was ready to go for the race.
“I'm not going,” Lando spoke as soon as they were alone and started walking again towards McLaren hospitality and into his drivers' room
“No, you’re not going home to sulk this dinner will be good for you, get out and socialize.”
“I don't need to socialize I’m fine where I am” the driver huffed stuffing his clothes into his bag ignoring the look his friend was giving.
“You like George and food this seems like a win-win to me!” Max spoke trying to convince him “And maybe the friend is hot plus you need to get out of this funk it’s depressing now go home and shave that god-awful goate and make yourself presentable”
Ignoring in insult Lando swung his bag over his shoulder and caved.
“Fine I’ll go but only to get as drunk as I can on George's tab” and maybe his friends were right and an easy night out would soothe the ache in his chest.
“I am so glad you’re finally here I’ve only been begging to get you at a race for years!” Carmen exclaimed from her spot on your bed while you picked through your suitcase for something the wear.
“Well this might be my last chance to meet Lewis so I figured I'd take it.” You joked, flashing the 44 hat you brought for the race waving it like a flag as she rolled her eyes at your behavior.
“Better not wear that to the garage George might feel offended.” Carmen sang a smile on her face showing she didn’t mean it
“Listen I love George but just like with Toto Lewis is first in my heart George second.” You laughed dodging the pillow she flung at you.
“Alright come on George will be here soon we can wait downstairs.” Grabbing her bag you followed behind her making small talk as you both waited for the Mercedes to pull up
You fake gagged as George immediately jumped you to open your friends' door with a kiss. “Y/n always a pleasure good to see you again.” He said giving her a quick hug while opening the back door for her to get in the car. Returning the sentiment
“I wonder if they have any shawarma at the restaurant” your friend spoke you could hear the smile in her voice as she teased you obviously payback for your comment earlier.
“Oh wow, that joke still hasn’t gotten old.” You deadpanned making George look at the both of you in confusion not getting the inside joke of your soulmate's words.
Choosing to change the subject you felt excitement filling you the closer to your destination you got
“George I cannot thank you enough for setting this up it’s a dream come true I’ve been watching Lewis race for years!” You smiled while Carmen laughed
“She’s been geeking out over meeting Lewis” she spoke as her boyfriend’s shoulders stiffened.
“Well about that….Lewis had a meeting but don’t worry I already took care of it everything is fine and I promise I’ll introduce you tomorrow.” He rushed out white knuckling the steering wheel as you deflated, you were disappointed but it wasn’t his fault.
“Who’d you invite?” You asked before he could answer he was already parked, he turned in his seat looking back at you.
“We’ve been friends forever… I’m sure it will be fine” You would’ve had more confidence if he didn't pause and have such a nervous smile on his face
Lando who was leaned against the building next to the entrance he’s pretty sure he’s accidentally scared off a few couples from entering with his brooding. He glances up hearing a car pull up his back suddenly straightened as if he was struck by lightning when the back car door opened.
His feet moved faster than his brain as he rushed to hold a hand out helping you out of the car.
A soft smile slid across his face uncharacteristically for his recent mood, but before he could dwell on it he locked eyes with you.
Shyly taking the offered hand you got out of the car slightly shocked by the turn of events not having expected George's friend to behave like that.
“Hi, I’m Y/N nice to meet you.” You spoke looking into a pair of awestruck brown eyes. “Umm hello?”
“Lando!” George shouted when you looked around the group when the other Brit failed to respond in choice of staring
“Lando yeah I’m Lando hi.” The man rushed out then mentally kicked himself when you nodded with a smile that made his mind go black again as you walked ahead with Carmen.
“Mate, what was that?” George spoke staring at the fellow driver whose face was covered with his hands “I don't know….” He groaned.
When they entered the restaurant you and Carmen were already seated Lando ungracefully jumped to the empty seat in front of you as if someone else would take it. Huffing out a smirk when you looked up at the sudden noise.
“Y/n this is Lando he drives for McLaren we grew up karting together along with Alex,” at the mention of Alex, Lando recalled the scene from that morning at deflated back into his seat.
“Nice to meet you I haven’t met to many of the grid yet so I’m glad to have started small.” You smiled across the table, still slightly in a mood he just politely nodded back
“You went golfing with Lily a few months ago didn't you?” George asked hoping to spark Landos' interest which worked flawlessly as the man perked back up.
“You like golf? I played in a tournament with the PGA guys for Netflix”
Out of all the things he had to brag about the Netflix cup is what he chose, god, Max was right he does say stupid stuff sometimes.
“You must be pretty good.” If Lando wasn’t proud of his previous answer his next one wasn’t any better. “Oh yeah, practically just hole-in-ones.” He smiled ignoring the look from the other driver, who tried to subtly yank on his sleeve to get his attention away from the two women who were giggling at his poor attempts at impressing you.
“Anyone who’s played golf with you knows that a lie pull yourself together” George spoke his tone hushed “I’m trying I don't know what’s wrong.”
The two men straightened up as if their little conversation never happened and looked over the menus. Lando who was reading over every sentence trying to collect himself.
“What in the world what is chicken shar-sharwarma chicken shar warma.” Lando stutters out thinking it was surely a typo.
George slammed his menu down on the table and looked over at Lando with the most disappointment he had ever seen on his face.
“What did I just say to you!”
“I’m sorry it’s confusing!”
“Chicken shawarma Lando it is not hard if you can’t say it don't order it!” George barked any rebuttal Lando had gets cut off by Carmens' loud gasp. Making both men turn.
“Oh my god!”
“I know he's a muppet” George who thought she was baffled by his friend just waved it off and went to change the subject before you spoke
“At least he's an F1 driver” Lando froze at your words swearing he felt a tingle on his arm where those very words sat. “Oh my god!” Carmen squealed in excitement at what she was witnessing.
“Plus he's pretty.” You lightly spoke still in shock at finding your soulmate who whined “See why wasn’t that part on there.” Lando threw his hands in the air wishing that’s what he stared at for years.
“Wait you think I’m pretty?” He smirked snapping back into the personality he was known for. His question made a flush appear on your cheeks and Lando is sure he just fell in love harder at the sight.
“Can someone tell me what’s happening?” George demanded seeing his girlfriend tear up and you and Lando doing whatever it was you two were doing.
Lando still on a high leaned his arm on the table rolling his white button-down sleeve to his elbow revealing the words you spoke, not taking his eyes off you the entire time.
“That George, was me meeting my girl.”
The rest of the dinner passed by in a whirlwind, all you could remember was the feeling of meeting your soulmate you never thought you’d say this but you’re glad Lewis had a work obligation or you wouldn’t be walking down the paddock hand and hand with Lando a brand new McLaren hat on your head.
“I’m still upset you threw my hat across the room.” Your words did little to dim the smile on his face, glancing at you from the corner of his eye.
“I’m sorry love, would a first-place trophy make it better?” He boasted feeling as if he was on top of the world with you by his side.
“Oh big ambitions today, huh, feeling good?”
“With you here, babe I'll be unstoppable, and once I win you have to throw out that dreadful hat I’m the only British driver allowed in your heart now.” He declared, his hand sliding down your arm to grab yours. Pulling you to a stop outside his garage.
“There’s the happy couple!” A new voice shouted from the sea of papaya. Max ran out, making Lando roll his eyes and you smile. You spent the last two days glued to each other so you knew all about his best friend.
“Finally so nice to meet you thank you for showing up and fixing this muppet!”
“I wasn’t a muppet, you muppet!”
“It’s very nice to meet you as well Max.” You interrupted the two before they could get started on the back and forth. Landos attention switching as you spoke threw his arm over your shoulder, a smug expression on his face getting to show you off.
“I know what lover boys words were but what was yours?” Max ashed almost bouncing on his feet in excitement. Lando groans immediately holding his head in your neck.
Rubbing your hand through his curls knowing this was going to be rough on him, you showed Max your other arm. “Mate you wonder why I said she probably thought you were stupid!”
Lando felt your head nodding in agreement making his shoot up to pout at you. “I’m sorry but come on it wasn’t your best moment neither was spilling wine all over the table.”
“He spilled wine! Come tell me everything.” Max gasped, pulling you away from Lando lacing your arm with his leading you down the paddock. Leaving the driver to trail behind the two.
A year later.
A hand came into your view as the car door swung open revealing your fiancé.
“For old times sake huh?” you teased refusing to the time he nearly tripped over himself to get to your door the night you met. Lando fondly rolled his eyes. “You act like I don't always get the door for you.” He bowed exaggeratedly pulling the large glass door open leading to the restaurant.
“Like how you acted like you were a golf expert?” Lando's jaw drooped in mock offense before collecting himself pulling you closer to whisper in your ear.
“Got a hole-in-one with you though didn't I?” You giggled hitting his chest as you reached the table. Lando left to greet George while you sat with Carmen and caught up.
Eventually, the men joined you both again, you only noticed when your chair was dragged to your right until you were pressed against Landos side, who held a menu for you to share. You smiled at his determination to keep you close.
Squeezing your arm which you now knew as his ‘watch this’ motion he winked.
“I think I’ll have the chicken shaworma chicken shar warma!”
“Mate not again!” George groaned while Lando laughed in mirth. Looking around the restaurant hasn’t changed a bit since the last time you were here and yet your entire life had, you now travel with your best friend around the world, and most importantly, found your soulmate
Hey guys we are back! After a very long break i got inspired to write again and while this one isn’t the best the other parts of this series are some of my favorites I’ve written so go check them out here but i do hope you all liked it
<< Charles Leclerc as brothers best friend
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leahswife · 1 month
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parent trap
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author's note: while i do enjoy watching football, do not ask me any rules, i'm a newbie and I'll write whatever even if it's a little delulu thanks :) also this is more of an introduction for what i want to do next and i struggled so much with it, not knowing where to start so im sorry. it's also my first fic so pls don't be mean 😭
summary: in which two little girls unexpectedly come into yours and leah's life and decide to turn it all around with some mischief in the way (and maybe with a little help from kyra)
it was a nice sunny day out. mornings were a bit chilly but for london weather, it was surprisingly tolerable. you had come to work today, knowing you were gonna have some visits to do around the farm to some kids, as your surpervisor had given you a heads up the days before. your farm slash retreat slash sanctuary was situated in a calm area, far from the city noises and it was very big on raising awareness to people, often having visits from schools and groups of scouts, etc.
today you were having a nearby school visit. you and your co-workers were going to be separated into groups so you could show the kids all the animals and activities they could do.
luckily, when the group of 5-8 year olds came by, you were assigned with a small group that was relatively quiet but very interested in what you had to show them and very eager to answer some of your 'trivia' questions about the animals. two little girls, who were very obviously twins, clung a little bit more towards you throughout the visit and while one was more shy to ask you questions, the other one was enthusiastic about giving answers. 
by lunchtime, you and your co-workers gathered all of the kids in the canteen for a much needed break.
in the afternoon, you gathered your group on a table outside, so you could explain what the next part was. "okay, so who wants to feed our little goats?" you said, with a smile and enthusiasm for their obvious answers. "i want to feed tigers!" one of the twins, alba, exclaimed. you opened your mouth in fake shock and put your hands on your hips "did you see any tigers around here, miss alba?" she excitedly nodded. "well I'm sorry to burst your little bubble but we've got no tigers here. what you probably saw was 
oscar, our very grumpy orange cat." she pouted but quickly recovered her giddiness when you all walked towards the goats.
about half an hour later, the groups were dispersing a bit and some kids from your group ran to other kids to help them with other activities they were doing. you were trying not to laugh when you saw some of your colleagues trying to control some of the most energetic children when you felt a little tug on your shirt.
you looked down to see one of the twins, aurora, "y/n, is it true the arsenal team plays around here?" she asked quietly, with a shy smile on her face. you crouched down to her height and alba joined in on your little group. you were about to answer when alba quickly whispered "can we go see them??". you chuckled "let me check with my boss and your teachers, yeah? but you gotta keep it a secret from your friends, okay? or else everyone will want to go and right now, that's not possible." they both pretended to zip their mouths and nodded.
after you got the approval from their teachers and your supervisor to take them away for a little while, with a warning to not cause too much trouble, you signaled to the two girls to come after you. you walked out of the farm and they both stood on your sides holding your hands. it was about a 5 minute walk from your little farm to the arsenal training grounds, you knew the girls quite well as they were regular visitors and have done some charity work for the farm so visiting each others' work place to hang out in your free time wasn't uncommon.
"who are you guys excited to meet?" you smiled down at them. "all of them!" they both answered and you were a little surprised at aurora's raise of voice but happy she was feeling more comfortable around you. you had worked with many kids over the years but there were always ones that, for some reason, tugged at your soft heart and these two little girls had done it today. 
as you reached arsenal's training centre, you smiled and greeted the staff as you moved with the girls towards the field you knew the girls were at. 
the first person to caught your eye was obviously your big crush, leah williamson, who was sipping on some water as you approached her. "hey, williamson!" you kicked her butt with your foot since your hands were still holding the twins. that startled her and she turned around with a frown on her face, "hey!" she argued, but her frown quickly dissipated when she saw it was you and pushed you playfully. "asshole." "leah!" you quickly gestured to the girls with your head.
"oh, sh–, sorry!" she grimaced as the little girls looked at each other and giggled. you rolled your eyes at leah and introduced them, "leah, this is aurora," you raised the little blonde's hand on your left "and this is alba" who raised her spare hand immediately with a toothy grin. 
leah leaned down with a smile on her face "hi, i'm leah, nice to meet you" they both blushed, intimidated by being right in front of england's captain but their shyness quickly went away when leah asked if they wanted to meet everybody. they quickly nodded with excitement and the blonde led them to meet the rest of team.
you sat on the benches as you watched them all interact, the twins thrilled to meet some of their favourite players. you knew they were in good hands, so you shifted your gaze to leah, who had the biggest smile on her face as she got to play some football with the children.
"staring, are we?" you jumped a bit as kyra sat down next to you with a smirk on her face. you rolled your eyes "uhh, in case you haven't noticed, kyra cooney-cross, i'm keeping an eye out for those under my care." she rolled her eyes at you using her full name, it was a joke between you two when you wanted to annoy each other, but went back to teasing you "oh, i think your eyes are out for someone else y/f/n." "oh, and i think you're supposed to be training, not here biting my ass." she groaned and leaned on your shoulder, "but it's so much fun to annoy you" you smiled at your best friend and tugged on her hair bun. "go meet some people your age" you headed towards the twins and let out a little laugh as she pushed you. "i can't help annoying someone when they're so annoyingly in lo– ah!" you quickly elbowed her as you saw leah running over to you two.
"are you two fighting again?" leah raised her eyebrow with an amused smile on her face. "no, i'm doing you all a favour and putting her in her place." you said, shoving kyra as she stuck her tongue out at you. "i'm off to meet my fans, excuse you." kyra stands up and runs over to the small blondes playing with alessia and katie but not before winking at you behind leah's back.
"they are absolutely lovely." leah chuckled as she turns back to you. "right?? honestly, some of my favourite kids to come by the farm." "maybe it's because they kind of look like me." leah smirked and you couldn't help but scoff, "oh please, you wish you were that cute." she huffed and put her hands on your knees, leaning towards your face to bite the tip of your nose, a habit she learned from kyra in her many tactics to annoy you. you scrunched your nose and pretended to be annoyed by it, hiding how much you wanted leah to bite you basically everywhere and anywhere. in a way, you wish she knew how she made your heart almost combust with the amount of physical touch she was prone to giving you, maybe she would be kind enough to put you out of your misery. however, you couldn't help but crave these little moments, you would take anything leah would give you, even if it meant keeping your feelings to yourself and being content with being just friends.
that moment didn't last long as you both turned your heads behind leah's back when you heard a little scream and you saw kyra, alessia and katie on the ground checking up on aurora. you and leah quickly ran over to see what happened and saw aurora had scraped her knee. leah asked someone to get the first aid kit to disinfect the wound and turned back to aurora to rub her back and console her. "hey little one, how are you feeling?" you asked softly, but she was quick to put on a brave face and say she was fine. "you sure? we can call your parents to come get you if you want." you said, wanting to make sure the twin felt comfortable and safe. 
"we don't have parents." alba said nonchalantly while holding aurora's hand. that caught you and the girls around you off guard. "what do you mean, alba?" you frowned in confusion. "we live in a foster home!" the little girl exclaimed as alessia came over with the first aid kit and gave it to leah, who started to disinfect aurora's knee. "ohhh… in that case, i can call your carers if you want." "that's okay, it doesn't hurt that bad." aurora gave you a smile that only grew bigger when leah gave her a high five and praised how brave she was.
soon enough it was time to go back to the farm with the girls as the school was about to leave. the team said their goodbyes and the twins thanked them all, still mesmerized by getting to play with them for a bit. as you returned with them to the farm, they both hugged you and thanked you too for taking them to meet the team. you were a bit caught off guard but quickly melted and rubbed their little heads. you felt a weird pang in your heart as you watched them leave but just brushed it off as you being emotional and went on with the rest of your day.
quickly after that encounter though, the twins did not take much long to appear again at the farm. they became regular visitors and your bond grew stronger, often taking them to see arsenal and the team quickly became used to them as well. it was also not a surprise to anybody that when the girls were around, you and leah stepped up as the responsible figures for them, always making sure they were fine and always the ones they came to when they needed something. 
one afternoon, after work, you had taken the girls to the training centre and they were playing with kyra as you were talking to leah. "you know you shouldn't cut your hair right after you have a bad game, right?" you giggled as you flicked the strands of her new fringe. "hey! it is not because we had a bad game. i am a fashion trender. i make things a trend." she took off her head band to fluff her fringe with her hands and posed for you. 
"riiiight, i almost forgot you were 'the powerful, the brilliant, the leah williamson'" she was quick to give you a mocking smile, clearly displeased with the overused quote. "well yes, i am brilliant and powerful but you can't deny i have an amazing fashion sense!" "i don't think impulsively getting a haircut after a bad game falls into that category, though" you couldn't help but giggle at her frown. soon, she took matters into her own hands and grabbed your waist to start tickling you at your sides, something that made you squeal and try to get away from her, screaming for help. "stop screaming, you baby!" she stopped the tickling but pulled you in close to kiss the top of your head.
meanwhile, kyra, alba and aurora had stopped their game and were watching you and leah interact. "are they girlfriends?" aurora asked kyra. kyra looked down at them and shook her head "as much as it pains me to say, no, they aren't." alba quickly looked at aurora with a mischievous smile in her face.
"you're thinking what i'm thinking?"
"i'm thinking what you're thinking."
a/n: also if you want to send in some requests regarding this fic, you're welcome to do so :)
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kraviolis · 11 months
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i told y’all. i told y’all i was gonna go crazy over this post made by @gummy-goat-galaxy​
full disclosure i drew literally all of this before looking into the details of the AU so this is 70% my interpretation of his original post but i need to explain my thought process so. here’s the post explaining the details of the actual AU!!! and below is what my brain made up on the spot
ok so belos finds tiny child luz and is like “fuck everyone. this is mine now” and treats her like a goddamn princess. to him, she is a Gift From God to remind him to stay on his Righteous Path. an innocent little girl who is just so bubbly and always tries to see the good in everything, including him. she is a reminder of how Pure and Good humanity is, and seeing as though she’s the literal only human he’s had any contact with besides caleb in 400 fucking years, he is never letting the demon realm corrupt her like it did to him.
she’s basically his Lamb and he the Shepherd, and because he’s so desperate to keep her “““pure”““ he strictly keeps her within the castle and even then not all of the castle is available to her. he keeps her contact with witches to an absolute bare minimum.
he entrusts her protection specifically to hunter, despite the fact he’s only 2 years older. his reasoning is “caleb did a pretty good job raising me so this’ll be fine probably.” when belos himself cannot keep an eye on her, it’s hunter’s job. luz and hunter end up being raised in a sorta similar situation to catra & adora from she-ra but they are actually siblings and not just best friends.
(if u havent seen she-ra, basically its their abusive caretaker creating a golden child + scapegoat dynamic, where one kid can do absolutely no wrong (which doesnt mean they cant still be abused/manipulated!!) while the other kid is blamed for literally everything that goes wrong. the caretaker also regularly pits them against each other to encourage competition & keep the all power in the caretaker’s hands.)
similar to catra & adora, the whole competition thing doesnt really work. luz is just too damn kind and too damn good for hunter to ever resent her, and she’s all he really has. because hunter is the scapegoat, he grows wise to belos’s manipulations WAY sooner. it’s easier to figure out when you’re being mistreated when you literally watch ur guardian treating ur sibling so much better than how they treat u.
unfortunately, because luz cannot help but see the good in absolutely everyone and can be empathetic to a fault, she doesnt realize belos’s game until she ends up sneaking out of the castle. she actually really loves belos and is thankful for him taking her in for a long time. she calls him uncle like hunter, despite belos nudging her towards seeing him as a father bcus he sees her as a pseudo-daughter. (but luz remembers her dad, and has no desire to replace him with someone else no matter how much she cares for belos)
belos does love & adore luz, he would do almost anything to keep her happy and “innocent” and “pure”, but not to the extent that he could still end up redeemed. he still manipulates & subtly emotionally abuses her to keep her in line, but it’s only when she sneaks out and meets eda the owl lady does she start getting clued into this. and once luz learns what belos has done to hunter it’s all fucking over.
hunter loves luz. she is his sister and always will be. but while he’s stuck to belos because of his duties as golden guard, she sees how green the grass is on the other side and doesn’t even hesitate to hop over there. watching her slowly grow more and more distant while she keeps sneaking out to visit with her new friends (eda, king, willow, gus, amity, etc.) is one of the most painful things hunter has had to deal with.
he feels betrayed at first, as if luz is replacing him with other people who arent broken like he is, and when luz actually leaves for good- belos lies to the public and says she was kidnapped- hunter is the one who leads the hunt to find her and bring her back home safely. when they confront each other, luz tries to do her whole dramatic speech about how wrong belos is and how he’s been lying their whole lives, but hunter already knows. the only reason he stayed was for luz, but she couldnt even stay from him? it fuckin hurts man.
they end up on opposite sides for a minute. hunter gains no satisfaction from trying to ruin this new life she’s found for herself but goddamnit, he has a job to do. he cant just defect. and then he defects after watching belos try to kill luz because she’s let herself become corrupted by the witches.
thats about all my brain got for this so far. TL;DR basically just listen to the “first time in forever” and “mother knows best reprise” and “broken crown” by mumford & sons and thats pretty much the gist of it.
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saintslewis · 5 months
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❝ 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐘 - 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 🪩 ❞ - 𝐋𝐇𝟒𝟒
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pairing: sir lewis hamilton x fem!oc; Nadia
summary: most of the social media post made throughout the miami gp weekend!
warning: twitter environment (you know the deal), cussing.
saint’s team radio: hi everyone! just wanted to give y’all a little something something before releasing ‘break my soul’ ! i’m a bit sick rn but i will get back into my groove very very soon 🤭
dividers by: @cafekitsune
pls like, comment and reblog! 🫶🏽
taglist: @queenshikongo3 @mauvecherie-writes @httpsserene @lorarri @goldenalbon @yeea-nah @non-stop-imagines (lmk if you want to be tagged!)
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nadiahamilton
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liked by lilymhe, badgalriri and 1,383,994 others
nadiahamilton yes i know where he keeps his music and no, i won’t be telling you where 🫶🏽
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nadiahamilton it was sooo nice meeting you guys this weekend 🥹
pinned by author
user i swear you’re his lucky charm
fransisca.cgomes mother ‼️
alexandrasaintmleux and if i ask for your hand in marriage?
nadiahamilton let’s run away
user i fell in love everytime you appeared on screen
user her energy is so refreshing, even if it’s through a tv or phone 😭
user where do you get your clothes???
nadiahamilton i’ll make a highlight for all the stores i shop at 🫶🏽
herstudent i hope school’s open soon, we need the tea!!
nadiahamilton you’ll be getting the pamphlets for the medieval times instead 😚
user his arm…dear lord
nadiahamilton i know, can’t believe it’s wrapped around me rn 🥹
user13 no way she just said that????
yungfilly bestie takin over miami!!
chunkz i think this is where you’re wrong brotha 🤨
niko you’re right, i’m the bestie
nellarose_ YOU’RE ALL WRONG 🤣
nataliatheedon and if i smack your ass, i’m wrong 😔
nadiahamilton bc it really hurt plus you were running behind me????
mercedesamgf1 Mrs Mercedes 🤍
user lewis is washed, never going to get that 8th
nadiahamilton watch your mouth 🙏🏽
lilymhe tinkerbell 🥹
liked by nadiahamilton
user is this a inside joke???? a fun nickname??? we need to know!
sza do you think your man will have a problem if i take you away?
nadiahamilton when and where? 🤭
lewishamilton ???????
hater ad21 was deserved 🤣
nadiahamilton i know where you live 🫶🏽
hater as if
nadiahamilton Glendale right??
hater oh shit
user now how tf did she find that man’s address 😭
user don’t question her mastery 🗣️
lewishamilton my angel 🤍
nadiahamilton my superstar 💗
lewishamilton
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liked by bellahadid, charles_leclerc and 3,383,929 others
lewishamilton miami, you’ve been good 🙏🏽
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nadiahamilton steal my captions why don’t you 🙄
lewishamilton it’s my job 😋
user blonde is so her colour
raye you both are so lovely 🤍
lewishamilton thank you Raye and btw, she’s crying because of this
nadiahamilton DON’T TELL HER OMG????
spinzbeatsinc king and queen of england
nadiahamilton do you want me to get deported??
user just accept your fate guys
user now i need to know if he speaks any south african languages
nadiahamilton he tries to but he says it in a british accent so i end up laughing at him
user mr, does this mean you’re the class dad?
lewishamilton i guess so?
herstudent YEAHHH OUR DAD’S SIR LEWIS HAMILTON!!!
user her face should be trademarked
user how many cars do you think they own together?
f1wags what a woman!
user petition for Nadia to be team principal!
mercedesamgf1 we back this 🫡
hater her tattoos were everywhere and stole the attention off Lewis! She’s so ugly
nadiahamilton never that 🙏🏽
user did you guys see that drake reposted her post?
user wasn’t he friends with lewis at some point???
zendaya see you guys soon 🫶🏽
racerbia mother and father
nadiahamilton my man is so fine y’all damn
user SHE’S SO REAL FOR THIS
nadiahamilton like he looks so delectable, my goat fr 🤭
lewishamilton nads 😧
f1 mother of the paddock ‼️
nadiahamilton pls not while Susie is right there ☹️
badgalriri i hope you do know there’s a group of us planning to take her
iamcardib heard she’s a stylist, need one rn
kehlani i second this !
latto777 if she ever needs flowers, i got her ‼️
nadiahamilton y’all 🥹
lewishamilton can you guys stop planning to take my wife away from me?
user idk, something’s fishy
user yeah bc where the fuck did she come from?
text messages !
♡‧₊ billionaire boys club
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miles the fencer 🤺: no way they’re stealing your wife from you in broad daylight?
pookie buddy lewis: pls don’t chat, it’s hurting my spirit rn
princess natalia: let’s talk about nads meeting pharrell (also i’m a genius for naming this gc after his company)
daniel is spinning: her face was just like 😧
nadia: 🧍🏽‍♀️
personal pillow amara: but nads, genuinely, how do you feel after this weekend? it was a big one for you bae
nadia: i do feel like ripping the earth in half and falling in but it’s cool because lew gets me ice cream after 🤭
pookie buddy lewis: i always got your back, nads. you know that. we’ll get ice cream whenever you want
miles the fencer 🤺: GET A FUCKING ROOM OMG
princess natalia: EWWWWW
charlotte (not tilbury): don’t listen to them, this is the cutest shit ever 😭
andrew with the camera: but if i expose miles’ 0.5x photos, i’m wrong.
daniel is spinning: DRAG HIMMMM
personal pillow amara: i’ve taught you way too much danny
miles the fencer 🤺: man whatever 🙄
charlotte (not tilbury): nads, i HAVE to see you in malibu
nadia: ofc, i don’t know what to expect from that place
princess natalia: don’t worry bae, we got you!
ೃ° 
The Avengers (niko made this)
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chunkz: nads, who’s this boy you’re chatting to? 🤨
filly felipe: “this boy” and it’s lewis hamilton 🤣
sharks: AND they’re married????
nadia: and i was going to invite you lot to my new place and show you my new car but ig you don’t want to
harry (pinero) potter: BOYS TAKE IT BACK
aj shabeeeeel: i personally never said anything 🙏🏽
niko: you know i’ve always loved f1, nads
nella loml: lying on a public platform, niko??
nadia: you lot are too funny i can’t 😭
nadia: but yeah, wanted to know when you guys are available so that you guys can meet him officially
fiily felipe: welcoming our brother in law aww 🥹
king kenny: how about we chat about the marriage??
nadia: how about no? 🫶🏽
chunkz: i’m just happy something so special is happening to you, nads. you deserve it
nella loml: it’s been a tough ride and already it’s looking so up for you bae
nadia: you guys wanna make me cry on a monday morning 🫵🏽
sharks: always the plan 🫡
niko: to make her cry????
sharks: 😐
king kenny: pls come back to London asap, Cench has been calling us up for a vid ever since the last two 😔
nadia: leave me out of that one, i have a husband 🖐🏽
chunkz: YOU TELL THEM NADS
filly felipe: nadia thandeka hamilton, it has SUCH a nice ring to it 😭
aj shabeeeel: and you guys look so leng together, already my brother in law 🫡
harry (pinero) potter: better get home quick for that debrief!
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saint’s team radio (once again!): hope you guys enjoyed this one! it’s got a little touch of how nadia interacts with people she knows and people she doesn’t, our social butterfly 🥹
we finally have a ship name for our favs ‘Lewdia’ coined by @mauvecherie-writes!
i’ve got a few more smaus ready but yeah, love you guys loads! 💗
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sebscore · 1 year
Note
rubyyy i have an idea for your gen-z driver series! when you are free, maybe you can write about when lil miss just got into f1 and had many people doubted her just for her to nail her rookie season like the goat sir Lewis Hamilton did in his. feel free to tweak it however you want. I just thought it would be cool to see more off the racing side of gen-z driver. :))))
and i really enjoy your writings, keep them coming but also don't stress out too much about them as well :)
WELCOME TO THE STRANGE WORLD
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pairings: f1 grid x driver!reader 
warnings: sexism. swearing. based this one on the 2018 grid, cause I imagine her joining the grid that year. christian horner & helmut marko. 
author's note: this got me immediately inspired!! It's also the first time I tackle the racing aspect of the series so I hope it's a bit accurate and that it is enjoyable x
• • • • • • •
''Do you feel the pressure going into this week's race?'' The reporter asked her, a polite smile on his face. 
Y/N carefully adjusted the mic attached to her cheek. ''Uh, definitely,'' she nervously chuckled as it was her first F1 press conference, ''there have been a lot of reactions, both negative and positive, so I do feel a lot of eyes on me at the moment.'' 
To say that there had been a lot of reactions was an understatement. The announcement of the female race car driver joining the F1 grid had become the #1 topic on several social media platforms and even international news channels had broadcasted about the ''controversial'' arrival of the young woman. 
Various notable figures in the motorsport world had also voiced their opinion on the new face on the grid. There were many positive reactions, for example, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff saying: ''It's a step in the right direction. Many young girls will see her race and get more interested in the sport, which will hopefully motivate them to start karting.'' 
Susie Wolff, former development driver for Williams, also showed her enthusiasm. ''I think Y/N is the perfect role model for all the young girls who watch F1 at home. We've been following her closely the last few years and she's proved that she can compete with the big guys, I'm very proud and I can't wait for her performances this season.'' 
Unfortunately, there had also been less positive feedback. Red Bull Motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, had questioned whether she would be able to handle the ''physicalities'' the sport asked of a driver. ''I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if she would be replaced by the second race.'' 
His Red Bull colleague, Christian Horner, had also made some sensitive comments about the young woman. He recalled his first meeting with her, stating he thought she was one of the grid girls and that it would be tough as she's ''entering a man's sport''. 
Y/N had been upset with key figures of the sport making such statements about her, but she had heard worse throughout her racing career. Men like Horner were stuck in old times. 
''Sebastian, how do you feel about a female joining F1?'' Both Y/N and Sebastian internally cringed at the rookie being referred to as a 'female', trying to not let it show on their faces. 
The German collected the right words before answering. ''I'm very happy that Y/N is sitting here next to us,'' he smiled at her, ''I think her being on the grid and competing alongside us, is going to bring a lot of positive changes that should've been happening a long time ago. I've known her for some years now, so maybe I'm biased, but I couldn't think of a better person joining the line-up.'' 
''Thank you.'' Y/N mumbled, grown shy by Sebastian's praises. He had been involved in her career since her humble karting beginnings, wanting to guide her as he knew a lot of people would try to stop her from flourishing in the sport. 
The journalist then put his focus on the other world champion sitting at the panel. ''Lewis, you share the same opinion as Sebastian?'' 
''I agree with Seb, it's nice to see that progress is being made in diversing the sport and she's here, because she deserves to be here.'' Lewis' answer showed his disagreement with the people who were convinced that the woman's arrival to F1 was nothing more than a statement to the FIA. 
Y/N wasn't ignorant and knew her claiming an F1 seat would bring a lot of publicity, not only to her, but her team as well. However, they wouldn't risk losing millions of euros, because they simply wanted to make a point that women can competitively drive as well. 
''I've seen her drive, we've all seen her drive and you can't deny that she has a huge talent.'' Lewis concluded his answer, sending a soft smile her way. 
The reporter who asked the question directed his attention back to the young woman. ''Y/N, it must be great to hear those positive words from such seasoned drivers.'' He said to her, his hands pointing towards the two World Champions. 
She shyly nodded her head, feeling the gazes of everyone in the room on her. ''Yeah, it's, uh,  very nice of them.'' 
''It's the truth.'' Sebastian chuckled. 
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''That's P11 tomorrow, Y/N! Good job, we're proud of you over here.'' Her engineer announced over the radio, letting the driver know her qualifying session was over. 
She pressed her radio button. ''Thank you so much, guys! A good start!'' She enthusiastically exclaimed, delighted about her team being happy with quali. 
They had greeted her back into the garage with an applause and many headpats, congratulating her on her first ever F1 qualifier. ''Let's discuss now.'' Her coach put his arm around her shoulder and guided her to the team's briefing room. 
It hadn't lasted long. The team was overall very satisfied with how the qualifying session had gone and didn't have much feedback for the rookie. 
''Of course it would be great to score points, but finishing P11 is the realistic standing tomorrow.'' Her team principal's words had taken her by surprise, expecting them to want to score as many points as possible at the race tomorrow. 
Y/N wasn't too sure if that was the genuine opinion her team had about the next day or if they thought that she wouldn't be able to make any overtakes. Whatever it was, the dilemma clouded her mind as she walked through the paddock, ready to go back to her hotel and unwind. 
However, an arm pulled her out of her thoughts, making the rookie flinch at the sudden touch. ''What the heck,'' she hastily turned towards the person, ''Seb, don't scare me like that.'' Y/N calmed down seeing the German man grinning at her, Britta standing next to him. 
''You looked like you were overthinking.'' He had seen the frown on her face as she passed the Ferrari hospitality, immediately knowing something was on her mind. ''Starting P11 is good for your first race, the best of the rookies.'' Sebastian figured it was related to the qualifying session. 
''No, I'm happy with my starting position.'' She assured him, shaking her head. 
The Ferrari driver furrowed his eyebrows, being confused. ''Then what is it? Did someone say something to you?'' 
Y/N glanced around the paddock, making sure no one of her team or a reporter was standing near them. ''I just, uh, well- during the briefing, they basically said that they don't expect me to make any overtakes and that I just need to try to keep my position.'' She explained to the duo, both listening attentively. 
''They're already underestimating you?'' Britta commented, shocked they wouldn't encourage her to at least try to overtake as many cars as she can. 
Sebastian agreed with his friend. ''A team telling their driver to not score points is the weirdest thing I've heard in years.'' He said to Britta, a frown gracing his face. 
He turned towards the young woman. ''Don't listen to them, okay? You pass as many fucking cars as you can, alright?'' It almost looked like he was scolding her. 
The girl nodded her head, an appreciative smile on her face. ''You know I will.'' 
''I love the confidence.'' Britta laughed, patting her back. 
''Don't think about it too much, Y/N. You're gonna do great tomorrow, I'm sure of it.'' Sebastian ruffled her hair, a sincere tone in his voice. 
Y/N simply smiled at both of them, and thanked them for their support. ''I'm gonna go back to my hotel now, but I'll see you tomorrow then.'' She bid them goodbye, waving as she walked through the exit gates. 
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She could see and feel the condescending stares as she waited on the grid before the start of the race, some people didn't know how to be subtle. She had her headphones on, blasting music through them so she could drown out all of the negative thoughts. 
A tap on her shoulder brought her eyes from the ground to the face of a semi-looking concerned Kimi. She paused her song and took the headphones off, ready to listen to what the older man had to say. ''Yeah?'' 
''I can hear your song.'' Kimi pointed at his own ears, visualizing his words. 
Y/N's eyes widened, her worried expression altering into one of embarrassment. ''Oh, sorry, I'll turn it down.'' She apologized, immediately grabbing her phone to change the volume. 
''No, uh, is okay,'' he told her, ''you good?'' 
She was stunned by his question, awkwardly staring at him for a few seconds before answering. ''Yes, I'm good.'' Kimi always kept it short, she figured she should do the same. 
''Don't be nervous,'' the Finnish driver continued, looking into her eyes, ''people want to see you do bad, prove them wrong.'' 
She had met the man a handful of times before, but they had never talked this much with each other. Kimi kept to himself and she wanted to be respectful of that, not wanting to accidentally cross one of his boundaries. 
He wasn't a man of many words (at least sober) so she appreciated his advice very much, knowing he wouldn't tell her this if he didn't think she could actually prove them wrong. 
''Thanks.'' 
''No worry.'' A small assuring smile was found on his face, making the grimaces of her critics seem like nothing. 
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''Y/L easily passes the Renault, moving up to P10.'' The commentary of David Croft sounded as she overtook Sainz, going from P11 to P10. 
Her team's pit crew cheered in the garage, watching the spectacle on the screen. ''Keep pushing, Y/N! We're in the points.'' Her engineer told her over the radio. 
''Hehe, understood.'' She chuckled, proud of her smooth overtake. 
She managed to pass the Mclaren of Vandoorne in the same lap, falling behind the Mercedes of Bottas and the Renault of Hulkenberg who was doing his best to keep his seventh position in the race. 
The pair was too busy challenging each other that they didn't see the car of the female driver coming through, passing both of them when they left a gap. ''Y/L jumps ahead of both of them! She jumped Bottas and Hulkenberg, moving up to P7! What a stellar performance of the rookie driver!'' 
People couldn't believe their eyes as she passed the Mercedes, undoubtedly one of the fastest cars on the grid compared to her team's midfield one. 
''Bloody amazing, Y/N! The Red Bull is too far up to catch, but defend for your life now!'' P6 wasn't possible anymore as she went into the last lap, Max's car being quicker and having fresher tyres than her. 
The last lap almost went by in a haze, the young woman scared something would ruin the beautiful moment for her, but that never came. ''Y/N Y/L comes across the line to celebrate her dream debut and she becomes the first woman in over 40 years to score points in a Grand Prix!'' 
She parked her car behind Max's, her hands on her helmet as if it were her head. Y/N sat in disbelief as reality dawned on her. You scored points in your first F1 race, the sentence played on a loop in her head. 
''Oi! Little Miss scoring points on her debut!'' An Australian accent pulled her out of her thoughts, several pats on her helmet making her look up. ''You passed the Mercedes? Fucking amazing!'' He exclaimed as he saw the silver car parked behind her. 
''Daniel, can you help me get out? My body is in shock, I think.'' Y/N awkwardly chuckled, a bit embarrassed about not being able to get out of her car on her own at the moment. 
Fortunately, the Red Bull driver didn't see the big problem and helped her stand up, supporting her underarms. 
The support turned into a congratulating hug, the Australian swaying her side-to-side. ''Welcome to Formula One, baby!'' He loudly exclaimed. 
Y/N laughed at his antics, touched by his excitement for her good result. ''Thanks, Ricciardo.'' 
''Good overtake there.'' Valtteri patted her helmet with his hand, complimenting her. She bowed her head in appreciation. ''Thank you.'' 
Her and Daniel followed the Mercedes driver into the cooldown room, the latter handing her an ice-cold water bottle from the table. ''What place did you get?'' Y/N asked Daniel, turning to him. 
''P4,'' he sighed, ''but I got fastest lap, so a little redemption.'' The Red Bull driver laughed it off, at least happy he got an extra point for the championship standings. 
A pat on her back made her look back, being met with a sweaty Charles. ''Hey, man.'' She greeted him with a side-hug.
''Saw you got P7, congrats.'' The pair had been teammates the year before at Prema Racing so they have a good friendship with each other. ''Thanks, how did it go for you?'' Y/N was curious about her fellow rookie's debut race. 
He shrugged his shoulders. ''P13, but only because 5 people retired.'' Charles downplayed it, glimpsing at the ground. 
''Cheer up, Charlito! It's only the first one of the season.'' She tried comforting him, not wanting him to be down about his result. 
Charles just smiled and moved on, ready to go back to his team and discuss everything. The rest of the drivers, except the top 3, followed swiftly. Y/N received a grand welcome back in her garage, it almost seemed like she had won the World Championship. She had a brief discussion about the race and her team prepared her for the post-race interviews. 
Surprisingly, the interviews had gone well and not one discriminating question was asked. She mainly received a lot of congratulations and one female reporter even thanked her for her race performance as it would inspire many young girls watching it. Y/N had almost teared up during the specific interview, not expecting anyone to do that. 
The rookie was walking to her driver's room when a call of her name stopped her in her tracks. Lewis jogged up to her, greeting her with a big embrace. ''Good job, you did so well!'' He told her with a huge smile on his face. 
''Thank you, Lewis.'' Her head felt warm, the older man making her a little flustered. 
''And this is only the beginning, you know? You showed everyone today that you deserve to be here, truly amazing!'' He continued praising her. 
Y/N grinned at him. ''Thank you so much, that means a lot to me.'' 
''The three of us were watching it back in the cooldown room, like waiting to see in which position you came in.'' Him, Sebastian and Kimi had attentively observed the screen that replayed the race, interested in knowing how the young woman had performed. 
She was touched by Lewis' words, honored that three World Champions had looked out for her and wanted to know her result. ''Oh my god, that's- wow, that's really cool.'' Y/N awkwardly laughed, not knowing how to give a proper response all of a sudden. 
''Anyway, congrats and celebrate it well,'' he made a move to leave before visibly remembering something, ''oh, yeah, Seb asked me to tell you that he'd come by your driver's room.'' Lewis conveyed Sebastian's message. 
''Oh, great, I'll, uh, see you in two weeks then.'' She bid him goodbye and she was on her way again, hoping the German wasn't already waiting for her there. 
Fortunately for her, Sebastian wasn't there yet and she had the time to change into her casual wear so she could leave the circuit and go straight to the airport afterwards to go back home. 
Three knocks on her door stopped her scroll through social media and she called for her guest to come in, not having the energy to get up from her couch. 
She watched an energetic Sebastian walk into her driver's room, practically running to give her a hug. ''I told you that you could do it! P fucking 7!'' He exclaimed, excitedly. 
''Congrats to you for winning!'' She retorted back, not having had the chance yet to congratulate him on his GP win. 
''Thank you, honey.'' He sat down next to her on the couch. 
''I would have loved to see the faces of everyone on your team the moment you passed Carlos, it must have been priceless.'' Sebastian smirked, thinking of what she had told him the day before. ''And the double overtake? You couldn't have had a better race.'' 
''Oh my god, I couldn't believe it, Seb! Like I finished in front of a Mercedes? Wow, just wow!'' Sebastian laughed at her enthusiasm, imagining how great she must feel now. 
The winner of the day scratched his voice. ''Kimi said how nervous you looked before the race and I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit worried about you,'' he had lowered his voice, different from his loudness of before, ''but you dealt with the pressure perfectly and you didn't let it affect your race. I'm very proud of you.'' His sincerity and expression of pride almost brought tears to her eyes, the words of her idol and mentor meaning a lot to her. 
''Thank you, Seb,'' a shy smile graced her face, ''that means a lot to me, I couldn't have done it without you.'' She thanked him. 
''No, it was your hard work that got you here.'' He argued, not wanting to take any sort of credit for her accomplishments. ''And maybe a little of my money, but you know.'' Sebastian jokingly added, not able to help himself from teasing the younger one. 
Y/N rolled her eyes at the comment. ''Always so humble! Red Bull Seb made an appearance for a second there.'' 
''He's still in here, I just need to keep him in check.'' 
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taglist :: @i0veless @missskid @missthem @rosesintj @evans-dejong @thehistoryone @dreamycloudsworld @formulazeesworld @muushmeg @topguncultleader @the-great-adventures-of-me @love13tter @xcharlottemikaelsonx @kiwisa @starkwlkr @nora_moon @princesselle2111 @valluvsu @thatsadsmallchild @babyyoda89 @milkbreadforlife @fxllfaiiry @hc-dutch @its-ash-not-grey @princessbetsy123-blog @mehrmonga @nyenye @screechingtrashkid @ahnneyong @holybatflapexpert @itsnotgray @beautycinders @scuderialavender @rowansshit @uhhevie @revengze @nylaslife @majx00 @multi-universe21 @jaydensluv @isasalom @gentlemonsterjennie1 @appledashhh @breathinfive @lighttsoutlewis
@champomiel @ooohmickiyoursofine @koufaxx @flannelforthetoads @helios-02
if you want to be added to the taglist, fill in this form!
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lady-ashfade · 2 months
Text
The trio
Day 11 of celebration marathon
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Platonic!Trio x reader
-£ ask: Can you do something about how Percy, Annabeth and Grover would be meeting a new mortal friend after the quest? Like Annabeth having her first friend outside camp and maybe having all the awesome kid moments she missed ie sleepovers, movies, school dance... stuff like that. Grover making a friend he isn't trying to protect or save and can just be himself. And Percy making a friend with the confidence he got from knowing he's different but not broken. (I loved tonight's episode and can't wait for season two! I hope your enjoying the books they were my favorite when I was 12) @poemfreak306
-£ Warnings: fluffy friendship, hcs, me just going with what my brain comes up with, I haven’t slept since yesterday.
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It’s funny how you were so excepting of their situation. Of course you were confused but you got over it pretty fast.
you had watched them defeat a monster on your way home from school and hid while they took care of it. You actually thought you were losing your mind.
They were just surprised as you when you went up to them, a normal human. I mean humans could see through the fog before but you were different.
“So…you actually have goat legs?” You point down at Grover as he blushes and nods.
“Awesome.”
You took them to your house and offered them a place to stay for the night, or some meals at first since they didn’t want to stay around you to long.
Annabeth likes to talk about things she feels like she can’t around anyone at camp, like girly things. Maybe you teach her a new hair style? Or show her a new teen magazine with cutes boys, then show her new movies she might like.
(I have a feel for wound either love or hate legacy blonde and you can’t convince me otherwise)
She likes when you gossip about your regular life and the problems you have, she likes to live through you. She also likes to teach you things to if you ask.
Grover is so happy to have you. He doesn’t feel the pressure. Not that it’s a problem with the other two but he likes to chill in your room. He’s a sucker for laying down in your room while you listen to music and play with his hair. Also, teach him videos games and battle him. He likes to visit you all the time to complain or rest up. You are his battery charger.
Also, Grover loves you because you always prepare snacks for him. He eats anything, Tin cans and random things he could find but you take the time to make him something. Makes him feel loved and cared about.
You are a blessing in Percy’s eyes. The other kids made fun of him for his whole like. But here you are, not a care in the world. You do scold him if he gets hurt and about being more careful tho he enjoys that. He had a kinda normal childhood with his mom so he knew a lot of things like you did so it was easy to bond. You got all his references!
Percy likes it when you listen to him rant on about his problems, about how camp is, or how he killed some monster. He enjoys how excited you get when he tells his stories. You call him and the others your hero’s.
Movie nights are always fun with them. Either you and Percy are showing them a movie you watched or you show them something.
If it horror. Grover will be watching intently while eating popcorn unlike what you thought the first time, he likes it. Annabeth is screaming at the tv how they are messing themselves up and somehow ends up rooting for the killer, (she never will admit she yelps at times) and Percy is in the middle. Sometimes his curling up and turning away, or laughing at the screen.
They get to be kids and enjoy a sleepover, eating snacks and throwing them around, laughing so hard they cry, staying up “all night” and then crashing.
Everytime they return to camp they have a new photo of you to hang up. Even as a mortal you are their best friend and they wouldn’t change it any other way.
taglist: @maria699669 @purplerose291 @itzmeme @ravenmedows
-£ this was edited poorly so many mistakes are made because I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes open.
302 notes · View notes
sandypelo · 1 year
Text
one piece made me realize how good the found family trope is,,there r so many found families in op that ican’t even fit them all if i wanted to.liek the way one piece masters the concept of “you can find your family anywhere”. if u love the found family trope and havent watched one piece literaly what are u doing
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one piece shows that you can still find your family even when you lose yours,, you arent forced to consider biological family your real family.sanji abandoning his terrible abusive biological family and finding zeff, and later joining the straw hats,, robin watching her mother and her community dying in front of her, having sauls parting words be that she will one day find friends who truly care about her,,years later meeting the straw hats, who literally declared war on the world to save her and would do it again,, law also saw his family and community die before his eyes and became consumed with hate ,,doflamingo found him and spent 3 years manipulating him and trying to mold him into a monster ,which then corazon takes law after hearing that law carries the will of d,,law and cora grow a bond , cora doing anything to save the terminally ill boy and protecting him from the hands of doflamingo,,when cora dies, law is determined to avenge his death, and he commemorates him through every single thing he does,, law learns that there was never a reason corazon loved him,and that you cant stick a reason to why somebody loves you
found family in one piece is important cuz it shows that a family can be anything. theres no such thing as to what a family is supposed to look like,, it represents many of the reasons why found family comes to be. loss, abuse, bonds,,your family is just people that genuinely respect and care about you
the lesson here is that the found family trope solos and one piece is goated
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writingonleaves · 3 months
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and all at once, you’re all i want (i’ll never let you go) - jack hughes
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pairing: jack hughes x original female character
warnings: literally nothing. fluff! some minor worship of nina hischier (the goat), a little love letter to my alma mater
title: "king of my heart" by taylor swift
word count: 10.3k
author's note: first fic in the new year is for @wyattjohnston 's winter fic exchange 2k24!! i had the absolute pleasure of writing for @wildrangers <3 taylor, i hope you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed putting it together and demi, thank you for your endless hard work for putting this on!!
four times where jack hughes and ashley grassie showed up for each other and one time where everyone showed up for them
*****
one - two months
“Jack, are you sure about this?” Ashley asks, fiddling with the silver rings on her fingers. 
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He responds confidently, sparing a look at her from the drivers seat before turning his eyes back on the road. “Everyone’s expecting you.”
“You told them?”
“That my girlfriend was coming with me to a New Year’s party? Of course.” He squeezes her thigh lightly. “They’re excited to meet you. And not while we’re working.”
“I’m excited to meet them too.”
“You sure?” He teases lightly. “You’ve been quiet all afternoon.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about.” They stop at a red light, and he leans over to kiss her cheek. “Ash, baby, they’re gonna love you.”
“But you don’t know that,” she protests softly. 
“I do, actually. Because everyone loves you.”
She rolls her eyes. “You can’t promise me that everyone’s gonna even like me.”
He shrugs. “I’ll prove you wrong. You’ll see.” He tugs at her gold sweater. “Is this new?”
“Yeah. Seems fitting for the occasion. Sparkles equals New Years, right?”
“I like it a lot.”
“I know what you’re doing,” she deadpans. 
He smirks. “And what might that be?”
“Distracting me.”
“Maybe so. You’re so smart, Miss Columbia Grad.”
“Jack,” she whines, making him laugh. 
He picks up her hand and kisses the back of it. “Trust me, okay? It’ll be great. And I’ll be with you all night.”
Ashley swallows, before forcing herself to nod. 
The thing is, after two months of dating officially (she’s not counting the month beforehand when there wasn’t a label on things even though there should’ve been), there are still important parts of each other’s lives they have yet to experience together. She’s gone to a few of his games, but has never met any of his teammates (except for Luke, but he doesn’t count), choosing to meet Jack back at his place after instead of waiting for him at the rink. She also doesn’t count that one Devils game she had to fill in for, which is how she met Jack in the first place. The few times he’s invited her along when he does go out with them, she’s been busy with other things. 
New Year’s is kinda a big time to be meeting new people. People that mean a lot to Jack. But that could just also be all in Ashley’s head. She’s never really done this before. The last serious boyfriend she had was in high school where everyone knew each other. There was no need for introductions. 
Jack squeezes her hand. “Thank you.” 
“For?” 
“Coming with me to this. Taking off work early. I appreciate it a lot.” 
She shrugs casually. “It’s about time, right?” She pointedly ignores the look he shoots her, because she doesn’t want him to know how nervous she really is.
Before they know it, Jack’s pulled into the driveway of the Toffolis and her hands start sweating again. She gathers the flowers on her lap and the wine bag as Jack rounds the car and opens the door for her. He grabs the bag, presses a kiss atop her head and hand in hand, they walk to the front door. She lets Jack take the lead as he just walks in. They walk into the kitchen area, as Cat pulls her into a hug and thanks them graciously for the flowers and wine.
It turns out that Ashley really does have nothing to worry about. Getting thrown into a whirlwind of introductions and new names is a lot, but she doesn’t mind. A wave of comfort crashes over her as Luke practically hauls her into a hug. 
She finds herself besides Nico after he hands her a glass of wine. “You’re a journalist, right?” He asks.
“I am.”
“Do you ever watch Jack’s media interviews?”
Ashley giggles. “I do once in awhile. Trust me, I have my thoughts. I also met him for the first time from that. And you, technically.”
“Right, right. Will we ever see you in the locker room again?”
“Probably not. I was just filling in for Danny. On the rare chance I do sports, it’s usually for the Jets. Besides, better to watch and support you all without any stake professionally.”
“What do you usually report on?” Nico asks with genuine curiosity. 
She perks up, like anytime she gets to talk about her job. As she talks, using her hands animatedly despite one of them holding a drink, Jack looks on from a distance with a lovesick look in his eyes.
“She is way too cool for you,” Dawson says, fixing his cap.
Jack rolls his eyes. “Shut up.” But Jack knows his teammate’s right.
Jack’s not clingy, perse, but it’s hard for him to watch Ashley just…be and not be touching a part of her. Even if it’s just sliding up against her so her body is pressed alongside his, he just wants to be near her all the time. 
(Quinn once sent some random thing he found on Instagram about love languages a few years back and Jack had remembered absolutely roasting him. But maybe he had a point)
“So,” Nicole starts, refilling both their glasses up with champagne a bit later in the evening. “Why Jack?”
Ashley snorts. “Your guess is as good as mine.” From beside his girlfriend, Jesper barks out a laugh and from next to Ashley, Jack pouts. Ashley laughs, leaning into Jack’s side. “I’m kidding. Mostly. I was hesitant at first though.”
“Oh, yeah. He told me about this,” Jesper says. “Said he chased you down the hall after post-game media and asked you out?”
“Sounds about right.”
“And you said yes to that?” Jesper asks. Jack whacks his teammate in the stomach. 
“Not right away,” Ashley admits. “He gave me his number and told me to text him if I was interested. And I ended up being interested.”
“Lucky for him,” Nicole chuckles. 
Jack squeezes Ashley’s waist fondly. “Lucky for me.”
She listens on in interest as Nicole talks about how she and Jesper got together. Somewhere throughout the conversation, she can’t help but let her mind drift. They’ve been together for years now, been living together for a bit and are looking to move into a house. She literally moved away from Sweden full-time for him. 
Ashley swallows as Jack asks about how their house search is going. There’s a very little chance that Jack will be leaving Jersey anytime within the next half decade. But her mother warned her that his career could take him places in the future unexpectedly. 
And in a way, so could Ashley’s. But it’s not as easy. 
She scolds herself for even thinking this far. They’ve been dating for literally two months. That’s nothing in the grand scheme of things. They’re celebrating entering the new year today, but she has no idea if they’ll even be together for all of it.
She’s hoping they are. God, she really fucking hopes so. But she could hope until the end of the world and have it fall short. She smoothes her sweater out with her suddenly-clammy hands, chugging the whole glass of champagne before putting the flute down on a nearby table. She excuses herself politely to use the bathroom, which she does, before getting some air. 
She definitely looks a bit crazy outside on the Toffoli’s porch in the dead of winter, but she doesn’t mind the biting edge of cold. It’s grounding her, actually. 
“Was looking for you.”
Ashley doesn’t even look at Jack, humming as she hears him walking out to stand next to her. “Did my sparkle sweater give me away?”
“No, Neeks did, actually. Said he saw you walking out.” She finally looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed. “You’re not cold?”
“Don’t even think about offering me your jacket,” she warns. “I know you’re only wearing a t-shirt underneath.”
“Then come back inside so we both don’t die.”
“In a minute,” she promises. 
He huffs, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to try and generate some heat. “Everything good?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Just, you know, minorly freaking out at her boyfriend’s teammate’s place about the fact that she might be falling in love with him even though it hasn’t been that long and what a future could look like for them and how that future could fall apart in an instant.
So regular New Year’s Eve thoughts.
“Unlike you, I don’t have a college degree, much less two,” Jack grins. “I can’t read minds.”
“And you think I can?” She jokes back weakly. He just chuckles. She continues. “Your friends are nice. I like them a lot.”
He lights up anytime someone he loves gets brought up in conversation. “Yeah, they’re cool. They like you too.”
“That’s good,” she says softly. 
He taps her forehead with his pointer finger. “Countdown’s soon. Come back inside?” He laces their fingers together. 
“You gonna kiss me at midnight?”
“Think so.”
“You only think so?”
Jack smirks, kissing her deeply. “Shut up.”
Ashley is absolutely floored.
two - one year and one month
Cam’s wedding crept up on her. 
Of course, Ashley knew it was coming, but still. Though she was surprised when Jack told her that he was free of games on that particular early November weekend somehow, only having to miss an optional practice and that he would notify the coaching staff far in advance. 
It’s not the act of bringing Jack that she’s nervous about. Cam and Amanda, his fiance, came into the city a few months ago and they all grabbed lunch before heading to a game at The Rock that night. She’ll never forget how ultimately “traitor-like to the Bruins” Cam felt, Ashley and Amanda finding it hilarious. They both had a good time though, and that’s all that matters, and Cam, who has always looked out for her even before she had ever asked, subtly gave his approval. 
(“I’ll admit my assumptions about him were wrong,” Cam had said. “He’s awesome, and he really cares about you. If he’s the one, I won’t be mad about it. He’s very lucky.”)
It’s more of a particular person that’s going to be at the wedding. 
Weirdly, when she and Alex broke up way back when, one of the thoughts that circled her mind months after was exactly this. If and when the day of Cam’s wedding came, and they were both still close to him, they’d both be there. And here they are. 
She’s over him — obviously, considering she’s in a happy, long-term relationship and it’s been four years — but how do you prepare to see your ex-boyfriend when the last time you saw him you had just broken up and you were in tears?
She and Jack drive up to Cape Cod early the day of the wedding and she feels a bit bad that he’s driving after he had a game last night and has one in just two days but he doesn’t mind, happy to be driving as long as she’s in the passenger seat next to him. They’re switching off anyways, and she had driven the first half. Cam and Amanda rented out a bunch of rooms at a few inns for their guests so her and Jack will get ready there before heading to the venue. 
From a quick rundown Cam gave her a month ago when they caught up over the phone, she’ll at least be familiar with a good amount of people at the wedding. She’s excited to see them all again and catch up, those memories that were bittersweet at some point, all water under the bridge so many years later. 
It’s what you get for dating within a friend group. Ultimately, at some point, sides are chosen.
At the end of the day, it’s Cam, someone who has always been there for her since they were 16, even when she didn’t necessarily do the same. He’s given his friendship selflessly to her for over a decade. The least she can do is come to his wedding to celebrate. 
And she has Jack with her. Nothing can go wrong with Jack by her side. 
“You okay?” Jack’s voice breaks her out of her thoughts as he squeezes her thigh, sneaking a look before focusing back on the road. “You’re quiet. You’re rarely quiet in the car.”
“It’s a 5 hour drive, Jack.”
“I’ve been playing country nonstop for the last half an hour and you haven’t chirped me once.” She starts playing with his fingers and his eyebrows furrow. “Alright. What’s going on, baby? What are you thinking about?”
“You know what I’m thinking about.” She shoots back with no malice. 
He sighs, linking their hands together and bringing them up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “Yeah. I got you though. I’ll be with you the whole day.”
“It’s dumb, really. Four years. And I haven’t thought about him in a long time.”
He shrugs. “He was your first heartbreak, and you haven’t seen him since. This is gonna be some sort of closure, even if it’s four years later.”
“You seem awfully cool about this, considering, you know, your current girlfriend is lowkey freaking out about seeing her ex again.”
“I’m not worried,” he replies easily. “You need this closure. I wasn’t smart like you back then and actually saw my exes probably way sooner than I should’ve. Besides, I’m the one on your arm now. Not him. I’m not pressed.”
She scoffs at yet another country song playing and skips it, snorting when ‘Suburban Legends’ by Taylor Swift comes on. How fitting. “I’m definitely hyping it up in my head. It’s nothing. And Cam told me that he purposefully put us at separate tables, in case Alex says some questionable shit while drunk.”
“No worries about you saying anything questionable?”
“Compared to Alex? No way.” He snorts, amused. But he knows enough about his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend to not push it. “I wonder if he’s bringing someone. God, I hope he is.”
“Why? Don’t want to rub it in his face that you’re happy and in love?”
“That’s mean,” she says airily. “No. I hope he’s bringing someone because I want to know what kind of girl can tolerate his ass. I did, but I was 20 and stupid. I wanna see what kind of girl can tolerate him at 26.”
“Does he know I’m coming?”
“Cam?”
He snorts. “No. Alex.”
“Who knows? Even if he does, he probably doesn’t care and isn’t overthinking it like I am.”
“I think you’d be surprised,” she looks at him, confused and he bites his lip. “Even if they play it off, guys are affected by that stuff more than you’d think.”
“What is there to be affected by?”
“You,” Jack says simply. “Not that I’m biased or anything, but you leave quite an impact on everyone you meet. And that lucky ass got to date you. As someone who also has had that privilege, I can relate a bit.”
Ashley chuckles before squeezing his hand. “Thanks for coming with me. I know your schedule is really busy with the season and everything-”
“You don’t need to thank me. Isn’t half of having a significant other just bringing them as plus ones to weddings?”
“Fair.” She leans her head on his shoulder momentarily as he pushes the sunglasses on top of his head to his face. “Thank you, though. I feel bad that you’re missing practice.”
He snorts. “Don’t.”
“They didn’t give you a hard time?”
“Not really. It’s an optional, anyways. Nico just told us to have fun and I think Lindy has a soft spot for you somehow. I’m excited. I like Cam. And I’m happy to be here with you.” He smirks, adding. “Come on, baby. Did you think I was gonna leave you to dry when your ex is gonna be there?”
“You don’t know anybody at the wedding. And Cam grew up in a hockey-loving family from Boston. There’s bound to be people who recognize you.”
“So I’m the arm candy for the night. That works perfectly for me.” 
They arrive at the inn just past 1, and decide to stop by a nearby cafe to grab a quick bite. Jack decides to take a short nap before they have to start getting ready and head out while she scrolls on her phone and plays with his hair since his head is on her lap. Occasionally she finds herself staring outside the window at the water with a smile. Even if not in the summer, the Cape is beautiful.
Once it hits 4:15, she figures that she should start getting ready, but she can’t move without disturbing Jack since he’s still sleeping soundly on her lap. She gently whispers his name and presses a few kisses on his forehead as his breathing changes, groaning a bit as he stretches and opens his eyes. 
“Time to go?”
“In like, an hour. I need to start getting ready.”
He hums, puckering his lips and she takes the hint, kissing him soundly twice before ushering him off her lap. She lays out the few makeup products she has, moisturizing her face before putting light foundation and concealer on. As always, she focuses more attention on her eyeshadow, deciding to add a bit of gold glitter to compliment her pink dress. She clips a matching pink bow in, liking the way it blends with the natural brown of her hair. She decides to save the lipstick for right before they leave and turns to Jack, who’s buttoning his shirt. 
“What do you think?” He looks up as he’s buttoning his cuffs. “Too much glitter?” She asks.
“Never too much glitter. You look beautiful.”
She looks at his blazer and tie that he’s laid out on the bed, looking at him with minor confusion. “Since when do you own that tie?”
“Since last week when I bought it.”
She looks at where her dress is hanging. “It matches my dress.”
“Yes it does.”
She looks towards him as he tucks his shirt in, a sudden wave of love rushing through her heart. “I love you.”
He looks up and immediately walks over to her, placing a hand on her waist and kissing her. “I love you too.”
She puts on her dress quickly, smiling when she doesn’t even have to ask Jack as he comes over to help her zip it up, pressing a chaste kiss on her shoulder. His phone ringing interrupts and she brushes her hair before she puts on her accessories. 
“Sup Quinny?”
Quinn’s voice crackles through Jack’s phone. “Where the fuck are you going all dressed up on a Saturday? I know for a fact you don’t have a game today, considering Luke just sent a snap of him playing Chel with Dawson 10 minutes ago.”
“I’m in the Cape, asshole. One of Ash’s friends is getting married.”
She peeks into the view of the camera and waves after putting in one earring. “Hi Quinn!”
“Oh! Hey Ash. You look beautiful.”
She beams. “Thank you!”
Jack scoffs. “I’m here too.”
Ashley leaves the brothers to catch up as she starts gathering her things and puts on her lip tint before sitting at the edge of the bed since they still have 15 minutes left before they have to head out and she’s mostly all ready to go. She chimes in once in awhile, always happy to talk to Quinn as Jack shrugs on his suit jacket, ties his matching pink tie and clasps on his watch.
“Looking good, you two.” Quinn says as they both stand in front of the phone. “Matching tie, eh? Good move, Jacky.”
“We look good enough to make an ex jealous?”
She just rolls her eyes as Quinn’s eyes lights up, immediately catching on. “Absolutely.”
“Don’t encourage him, Quinn.”
Quinn just laughs and bids them farewell as Jack smooths down his tie. She puts on her jacket and grabs her boots and slips them on. As she’s about to bend down and tie them, Jack ushers her to sit on the bed and kneels down. He does it too quickly for her to dwell too much on how much she loves him, but he probably knows, if him gently rubbing his thumb over her ankle and the kiss on the inside of her knee tell her anything. 
It’s only been a little over a year, but she really does think she could spend the rest of her life with him.
They end up running into Nick in the lobby and even though it’s been…four years since she’s seen him, she corrals him into a tight hug. She introduces Jack and Nick introduces Melanie, his fiancee. The only indication from Nick that he knows who Jack is is a subtle comment that’s delivered in a way that’s so Nick it makes her heart ache — “Jack Hughes. Only Ash would show up after almost five years in the flesh with a professional athlete at a wedding where her ex is gonna be at. Always gotta do some out of pocket shit.” — and makes Jack laugh as she slaps him.
The four of them walk the short seven minute walk to the venue together, with Ashley and Nick mostly leading the conversation. She can’t remember where they left their tentative friendship in their late teens and early twenties when the world was shut down and the future looked the most uncertain it had been. Even though they don’t immediately pick up where they left off, years of rust littered in their interactions and memories, she’s extremely happy to see that he’s doing well. 
(Jack’s just happy to be there, holding his girlfriend’s hand as she leads the conversation. It’s nice not having to lead for once. There’s not many situations where he’s the one tagging along) 
As they enter the ceremony space, Ashley immediately sees plenty of other people she recognizes. She chuckles to herself as she realizes many of the guys are from the soccer team. It’s touching to know they still keep in touch. Logan, one of said guys, greets Nick goodheartedly, before wrangling her into a hug. As pleasantries are exchanged and people are introduced, she does feel a bit out of place. But that’s natural, reconnecting with people after so long that clearly still hang out with each other and only hear about her through sporadic updates through Cam when they ask. 
Sides were chosen, even if not intentionally. Ashley’s learned to be okay with that. Even if she thinks it’s unfair that Alex got to keep a lot of their mutual friends and she didn’t.
As everyone settles down in their seats, she squeezes Jack’s hand, opening her mouth to apologize for…something. Not preparing him in giving the whole lore of how she knows all these people? How the only reason she knows the sport of soccer is so well is because of Alex? Not explaining clearly the mixed feelings of her coming to the Cape this weekend? 
But Jack’s enraptured in a conversation with Logan, and she smiles. Of course. Logan played hockey back in high school as well. 
(Out of instinct, Jack does squeeze her hand back though, even placing them in his lap even though he’s not looking in her direction at all)
When Alex comes into view, a pretty redhead’s hand around the crook of his elbow, Ashley starts sweating. Thank goodness she has deodorant in her bag. Jack, who’s still talking to Logan, notices, and she’s about to apologize for her clammy hands as he sends her a confused look but the nearby exclamations of Alex’s name answers his question. He just presses two kisses to her temple.
Logan, to his credit, grimaces. “You gonna be good, Ash?”
She waves his kindness away. “Of course. It’s been so long. And it’s Cam’s day.”
And it is Cam’s day, as everyone falls silent watching both sets of parents and the groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down — she chuckles when she sees Sean walking down, forgetting that he and Cam got closer in college even after going to the same high school — before grinning as Amanda walks down in her beautiful A-line, ball gown of a wedding dress. Ashley wipes a tear away watching Cam do the same and she thinks if only 16 year old them could see themselves now. 
(She has a moment when she looks at Jack where her stomach flips, thinking of the day they could be the ones at the altar. She quickly focuses her attention back to the front)
Cam and Amanda are pronounced husband and wife and she cheers as he dips her and kisses her, beaming and tearing up and laughing as she hears Nick wolf-whistle. People start dispersing, the large heated patio hosting a cocktail hour before the doors to the reception hall open back up again.
While she’s sipping on a glass of wine, she hears a familiar voice calling her name and she beams, carefully making sure she doesn’t spill any wine on Sean’s tuxedo as he towers over her and hugs her tightly. He introduces himself to Jack and she watches in slight amusement as they talk. 
Sean and her never really were friends, more friends by association. He was more in the popular crowd in the school that Ashley herself was never inclined to push her way through. Her and Sean shared plenty of classes together though, and always got along when forced to work together. And in another life, sometimes Ashley thinks that she would’ve had a crush on the blonde boy. 
Instead, she dated one of his teammates. And, well, that turned out the way it did.
(Ashley rolls her eyes when Sean makes a comment about how it “makes complete sense that you’re the one who ended up dating a professional athlete” because sure, Sean. Sure.)
Jack may be among many Massachusetts natives who live and die for the Bruins and are not hesitant in chirping him within 5 minutes of meeting him, but he smiles genuinely as his hand instinctively finds a way on her lower back. After dating Ashley for over a year, he’s used to the good-intentioned bluntness of New Englanders. She only starts rolling her eyes when high school gets brought up and stories about her start piling up. In contrast, Jack loves this and just eggs them on, eager to hear the stories. 
With a quick glance at the seating chart when they’re all starting to filter back into the reception hall, she finds that the high school crowd is split between two tables, and that Cam kept to his word and put her and Alex at different ones. The tables next to each other, but still. She won’t have to worry about making accidental awkward eye contact with him across her chicken. She’s the slightest bit surprised she hasn’t crossed direct paths with him yet. But there’s enough people that they wouldn’t ever be forced to interact. And maybe that’s for the best. 
Dinner passes by without incident, Ashley squeezing both Cam and Amanda tight as they come around to toast every table as Jack gives Cam a tight bro-hug and Amanda a polite kiss on the cheek. The dance floor starts to open up, and as usual, Ashley’s one of the first ones on, dragging Jack and practically their whole table out. She feels light on her feet and happy as she leans into Jack with a big smile. He ditches his suit jacket at the table and his pink tie is loosened and she thinks he looks so handsome. She’s happily tipsy enough where the curious glances and whispers from probably the entire fucking reception hall about why an NHL player is here don’t bother her. She knows he’s used to it. She doesn’t know how.
(Jack may not know everything of the lore and context behind Ashley’s relationship with the people she knows here, but he knows her and how deeply she feels and nostalgic she can get and how that can change her perception of her own memories and how that in turn, can make her extremely self critical. 
So this whole evening, he’s tried to make it as easy as possible, talking with her old friends and classmates — which isn’t much of an ask, they’re nice enough — and just squeezing her hand or waist or kissing her temple or cheek when he feels her focus trailing off. If she talks to Alex and wants him there, he’ll be right next to her. If not, he’ll make himself scarce. Whatever she wants)
Ashley’s resting at her chair while Jack’s in a casual conversation with Cam as Alex comes up behind Cam, tapping him on the shoulder. She swallows and sits up straight and Jack automatically places a gentle hand on her back. Cam and Alex exchange a few words she can’t hear before Cam turns his attention back to her and Jack feels a surge of gratitude towards Cam, who looks extremely apologetic. 
Jack watches as she stands up and steps towards Alex with a small smile. “Hey.”
Alex blinks. “Hi.” She gives him a quick hug before stepping back next to Jack as he stands up. “Alex, this is Jack, my boyfriend. Jack, Alex.”
“Nice to meet you, man.” Jack says with a firm, polite handshake and he doesn’t really see (or care about) Alex’s reaction before turning back to Ashley again, trying to read her. She gives him an almost imperceptible nod. Jack’s eyes flicker to Cam, who also nods behind Alex and he clears his throat. “I’m gonna get a refill. You two want anything?”
“All good, man.”
“Rum and coke, heavier on the coke?”
“You got it,” Jack presses a quick kiss to her hair before he and Cam walk to the bar. 
Jack waves to the bartender for a whiskey sour for himself as Cam gets a gin and tonic. They both lean against the counter and Jack sighs, watching Alex take Jack’s previous seat. “Was that a good idea? Leaving them alone?” Because he knows her, of course, but Cam’s known her longer. And he had a front row seat to her and Alex’s friendship before they got together, their relationship when they got together, and the fallout of their breakup. 
“Honestly? I don’t know. But they’re both 26 year old mature adults.” Cam’s eyes flit over to a redhead woman a couple seats away from the bar and waves her over. Jack’s trying to remember if he’s met her tonight
“Hi Cam,” she says lightly. 
“Hey yourself,” he nods over in the direction of her and Alex. “You initiate that?”
She snorts, “Of course I did.” She perches herself on a stool and sticks her hand out to Jack. “I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Francesca, but please call me Fran. I’m Alex’s girlfriend.”
Jack gives her a small smile. This is something. “Jack. Ashley’s boyfriend.”
“I’m aware,” she teases. “I grew up in Jersey and my brother’s a huge hockey fan. I’ve been to a couple of your games throughout the years.”
“Always nice to meet a fan,” He responds smoothly and genuinely. “Especially in a room filled with Bruins fans that could honestly poison my drink at any moment and I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re lucky there are no Rangers fans here.” Cam waves him off as Jack and Fran laugh. 
“What a way to meet someone for the first time,” Fran says.
“While our exes are talking for the first time in over four years?” Jack says and Fran and Cam both snort. “You could say that.”
She turns to Cam, “Cam, you can go off and mingle, you know? It’s your wedding. Jack and I will be fine here.”
Jack opens his mouth to agree but Cam just shakes his head. “It’s fine. I need a second to breathe anyways. And also make sure this doesn’t go downhill.”
“Ashley seems like a smart girl and Alex isn’t that stupid,” Fran says. “They wouldn’t make a fuss at your wedding.”
Cam sighs and Jack thinks about how thankful he is that Cam has been there for his girlfriend way before Jack even knew her. Jack then turns to Fran and asks how she and Alex met and the conversation starts there, all three of them turning to the two exes from time to time to make sure there’s no flames or glasses being thrown. 
Fran talks about how she and Alex met at work and laughs in amusement when Jack explains that it was the same with him and Ashley, talking about how Ashley had been filling in for a colleague for an interview and Jack practically fell in love with her the second he saw her and had to tell himself to not sound stupid in front of the pretty girl. 
And honestly, as Jack talks to Fran, he laughs to himself a bit ironically. She reminds him a bit of Ashley. A bit too much for him personally and harsh in a different way than his girlfriend, but decent company nonetheless. So maybe he and Alex are more alike than they think. 
Meanwhile, the conversation happening merely 20 feet away between two exes is not as casual. Not as comfortable. 
“Been a long time, huh?” Alex remarks. 
Ashley tries not to scoff. “Four years.”
Alex curses under his breath. “Yeah. How are you?”
What a loaded question. She goes along with it. “I’m good.”
“Cam mentioned you’re in New York?”
“I am. Moved out there about a year after college for work. Then went to grad school there.”
“Journalist?”
She shrugs. “More or less. The title’s changed a couple times throughout the years but all in that field.”
“That’s awesome.” He runs a hand through his hair and it looks so familiar yet unfamiliar. “I still remember when you told me you got into BU. Seems like the path was always laid out for you, huh?”
She’ll have to unpack that one later. “Guess so. How about you? I heard you were in Portland. Real estate, right?”
He nods, “Yeah.”
“That’s great. I’m really glad you’re doing well.”
“Thanks.” A moment of silence there. “For what it’s worth, it is really good to see you again.”
Ashley lets out a genuine smile. Small, but genuine. “Same.” 
The sound of his laughter kinda aches a bit, but not in a way that has her sad. Just nostalgic. There is some easy banter, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Ashley’s remembering a bit of why she loved him in the first place. 
There’s a pause in the conversation, before she continues, “I haven’t gotten a chance to meet whoever you’re here with yet, but-”
“Fran.”
“Fran, right.” she says. “But I’ve heard a bit. How long have you two been together?”
“Are we really going to do this?”
She swallows the urge to fire back, shrugging instead. “Why not? And don’t pretend like you’re not curious about Jack either. I figured I might as well just go first.”
Alex laughs. “Around three years for Fran and I.”
“You love her?”
“I do. A lot.”
She smiles. Genuinely this time. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
“How about you and Mr. NHL Superstar?”
Again, she swallows down her instinct to fire back. “A little over a year now.”
“You happy?”
“Very.”
Alex nods once and doesn’t quite smile but has a pleasant expression on his face. “Cam said that he likes him. Which is a lot, considering I’m pretty sure he used to think that he was a cocky asshole.”
Ashley knows it’s not meant in that way because she knows that her boyfriend has somewhat of a reputation, but she gets defensive. “People aren’t always what they seem. Even if he’s a pest on the ice sometimes, he’s a wonderful guy.” You should know, she wants to say. You were the exact same way in high school.
They’re trickling into dangerous territory. She wonders if he’ll take the bait. If he does, she wonders if she’ll be strong enough not to fall for it. She wonders if he’ll apologize, not because she needs it, but because she knows she deserved one all those years ago. 
Alex leans back casually, putting his arm over the empty chair next to him. “From me to Jack fucking Hughes. I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended.”
Ashley doesn’t know at all how she’s supposed to take that. Like everything he’s always done, he says it casually, taking a drink of water as she’s figuring out how to respond. She doesn’t. For the first time, she feels like she doesn’t have control of this conversation.
He notices she has no response and keeps going. “Hey, he’s a decent player and the money can’t hurt. I’m glad you’re happy.”
She swallows. A gold digger? Is that really what he’s hinting at?
Ashley almost sighs in relief when she catches sight of Jack, Cam and a woman who she presumes is Fran walking back towards them. Immediately she plasters on a smile and introduces herself to Fran, because it’s not her fault that her boyfriend still has the ability to get under her skin even so many years after their break-up. Jack presses a rum and coke in her hand silently and she thanks him quietly before making small talk with Fran. Just having Jack next to her has her blood pressure lowering. Soon enough, they all but shove Cam back into his own wedding and bid farewell as Fran excuses her and Alex and heads over to chat with someone she doesn’t recognize. 
Jack leads her outside of the main reception hall into one of the hallways, where there are people sporadically chatting and also getting away from the music for a second. 
Jack grabs her drink and faces her with a concerned look. “Ash? You okay? It seemed to get a little…tense at times.”
Ashley shrugs and chuckles. It’s bitter though, and he knows it, immediately placing a grounding hand on her waist. “I was how I always am to everyone.”
“Sure,” he responds skeptically. 
She sighs. “It was fine. I’m fine. It didn’t go badly. I don’t know if it was good. It just…was.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “It was fine. It’s not a big deal. It’s been four fucking years and it’s not like I love him anymore. I shouldn’t-”
“Hey. Stop. None of that,” Jack says softly but firmly, leaning in closer and kissing her forehead as she bites her bottom lip harshly. He holds her hand gently and presses it against his chest. “Open your eyes, baby. Take some breaths with me.”
She obeys, looking into blue eyes that have become another home for her and taking deep breaths. “Thanks.”
“Always. Wanna talk about it?”
She debates in her mind. “No. It’s a wedding. Let’s go back and have fun and dance.”
“You sure?”
She nods, before placing a peck on his lips. “I’ll probably be more in my feelings tomorrow about it. Or the next week. But for now, come dance with me.”
“Lead the way.”
Ashley doesn’t even look at Alex’s direction for the rest of the night, instead looking at Jack when she feels like the floor beneath her is gonna get pulled away. The stupidly romantic thing is, she knows he’ll catch her everytime.
three - one year and nine months
“What do you think?”
Jack looks up from where he’s sitting on her bed and his eyes pop open, jaw dropping with it. He tosses his phone to the side. “Ash. Holy shit.”
Ashley twirls around in the yellow ruffle dress. “I like this one the most, but I don’t think it’s fancy enough.”
She looks up to see him biting his lip, eyes scanning her body. She blushes as he beckons her to stand inbetween his legs. “Don’t care. You have to wear this one, please. It fits you perfectly.”
She smoothes down the ruffles. “Are you sure it’s fancy enough?”
“Honey, most of the guys probably won’t even be wearing ties,” she settles her hands in his hair. “Wear this one. I know you love it and you look beautiful in it.”
She lets out a breath. “Okay, yeah. I can pair it with those flower earrings and matching bracelet and I think Scarlett has white heels I could borrow and-”
“Woah there,” he chuckles, rubbing his thumbs on the fabric at her hips. “Did you have too much coffee today? You’re talking a million miles a minute.”
“No,” she drawls out. “I’m just…nervous? This is the first thing we’re going to that’s so…”
“Public?” He finishes for her. She nods. He pushes her gently so that she’s sitting next to him. “I get that. I’m a bit nervous too. But I’ll be there the whole time. And you’ll have my parents and Quinn. And Nico will be there too. Besides, you’re great with people. I’ve seen you in action.”
She shrugs modestly. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Then what is it you’re worried about?”
She swallows at his tone, because she doesn’t think he gets it. Why would he? He’s not the one that’s going to be scrutinized by his fans. At least not to the degree she would be. “Everyone else’s thoughts.”
Jack nods slowly in realization. He leans in to kiss her lips twice. She has to admit it makes her feel a bit better. His kisses usually do. “You know no one else’s opinions mean anything. Besides, it’s very clear to anyone that I’m happily taken.”
And he has a point. She’s made an appearance on his Instagram with two photos in his annual summer dump — one was just of her in the city and the other was of the two of them by the lake in Michigan — and he hadn’t tagged her, but it was clearly a message to the world that he wasn’t a single man. Social media doesn’t matter and it never will, but it had been a decision they both had come to, Jack approaching her gently and asking if he could post them. 
But having it through a screen and having it in real life is different. 
“I know it’s stupid,” she says. “But you know me. I don’t particularly enjoy being out of my element.”
“I know, I know,” he bumps her knee with his. “It’ll be fun though. We’ll get drunk the night before and maybe I’ll be hungover the next morning and you get to tell Luke if I do anything embarrassing.”
Ashley laughs. “That does sound fun.”
“Exactly.” He cups her face in his hands. “I gotcha, baby. Always.”
She trusts in that when she lands in Boston a few days later. She trusts in that as she gets swept in a world she’s not quite comfortable in, but finds there are a lot more similarities than differences compared to environments she’s been in. She’s a journalist after all. It’s her job in a way to blend into different lives in order to get the best and most impactful stories. She trusts in that as she’s rolling her eyes fondly at Jack, who’s chatting with practically everyone at the bar. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen this many hockey players in one room. She trusts in that as Jack then always drags whoever he’s talking to so that he can introduce her. 
For someone who has always valued their privacy, Jack is making it pretty obvious that the “stunning girl in the floral shirt” is his. Ashley can’t say she hates it, even if it’s a little bold for her particular taste. 
“He looks happy, doesn’t he?” Ellen asks as they both watch Jack across the room with Auston Matthews. Ashley’s cousins in Toronto would be freaking out right now. 
Ashley snickers. “Drunk or happy?”
“Both?” Ellen raises her glass up to knock it against Ashley’s in a toast.
“I’ll drink to that.” 
“Thank you for coming. I know it means a lot to Jack that you’re here.”
“Thank you all for having me,” Ashley responds, suddenly a bit shy. “It’s, been, uh, a bit overwhelming, to be honest.”
“I can imagine,” Ellen smiles sympathetically. “All this hockey stuff, business wise, is more Jimmy’s scene than mine.”
“Really?” Ashley thinks to all that Jack’s told her about his mother and all the warmth Ellen has emitted since they’ve met, not to mention how everyone they’ve talked to — player, coach, agent — has gravitated towards Ellen.
To her credit, Ellen chuckles. “That’s fair. Jack tells me that you know how to work a room, which is something that Jimmy’s always said about me.”
Ashley traces the rim of her glass. “I think Jack gives me too much credit.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Ellen says with a knowing smile. “I read your article the other day. The one about the family who’s had to travel across the country to get care for their child. Quinn sent it to me, actually.” Quinn read it? She doesn’t remember sending it to him. Did Jack send it to him? “It’s an incredible piece of work. How long did that take you?”
“From start to finish? Around two months.”
Ellen grins, placing a motherly hand on her shoulder. “You’re so talented, honey. I try to keep up with everything you write, but you do so much that sometimes I lose track.”
"You really don’t have to do that. But thank you, Ellen. T-that means a lot to me.” 
“What does Mom not have to do?” Jack asks, squeezing himself next to his girlfriend.
“Read my articles.”
Jack grins. “Why not? They’re so good. Our family group chat is filled with them. Dad always loves your profiles.”
Ashley swallows. She’s pretty confident that the Hughes family likes her, but the fact that they all keep track of her published articles is a bit too much for her to handle right now. She downs the rest of her beer and waves Jack away when he opens his mouth to ask if she wants his. Instead, he asks the bartender for a ginger ale. Ashley’s grateful. 
The next day, Ashley smiles as Jack’s walking the carpet. He’s up for the Hart trophy this year and as he squats down to greet a little boy and sign his jersey, Ashley can’t help but let her love and pride for him soar. She’s as out of the way as she can be, trying not to get overwhelmed with all the voices and flashes around her. It helps that Ellen and Jim seem to always be nearby and she makes fast friends with Nina and Luca, who are watching Nico do similar things. 
She gets pulled out of her own world with a familiar hand on her waist. “Hey,” Jack murmurs into her ear. 
“Hi.”
“Do you wanna jump into a few pictures with me?” Jack asks softly. “It’ll only take a few minutes. No pressure if not.”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.”
He beams, offering an arm as he leads them over to where the photographers are. She tries not to blink too much as the flashes hurt her eyes and hopes she and Jack are looking in the same direction. 
“You look beautiful,” he pairs his sincere compliment with a squeeze of her waist. 
She smiles at the cameras for a few seconds before turning to him slightly. “You already said that.”
“I know. It’s worth repeating.”
Thankfully, it’s only about 30 seconds before everyone else — Quinn, Jack’s parents and Nico’s family — are being ushered in for a group photo. She finds herself inbetween Jack and Nico and giggles as Nico tries to blow his hair out of his face. She takes pity on him after a few tries and she reaches up to fix it for him quickly, Nina laughing on the other side of her brother. 
“Stop messing with it,” Ashley scolds lightly through clenched teeth, smiling for the pictures. “You’re gonna make it worse.” She giggles when Nico pokes her side a few seconds later. 
When Jack wins the Hart, Ashley leaps out of her seat in excitement. To her, he’s always going to be the best player she knows because she sees firsthand how hard he works, but it’s nice that his peers are recognizing it too. He places a quick kiss on her lips before going up on stage and Ashley’s clapping and laughing to herself. He was dreading having to make any sort of speech. 
After the ceremony, she just follows everyone to whatever swanky rooftop seemingly the entire NHL is gathering at. She finds herself flocking towards Nina for a lot of the evening as they both exchange fun stories and memories of their own lives over drinks. Ashley thinks she could keep talking to Nina for the rest of her life. She’s just so damn cool. 
The next day, she drags Jack around the BU campus and is happy pointing out buildings that she had classes in, cried in, cheered in and lived her life in. They walk from one end of Com Ave to the other, Ashley dutifully pointing out Agganis Arena (“I’m sure Trevor has some good memories in this building”), their starting point.
She stands in front of the College of Communication building and stops. Jack dutifully stops next to her. “This building kinda looks like shit.”
Ashley snorts. “Yeah, I know. Especially compared to all the science buildings.” She bites her lip. “It all started here.”
“What did?”
“The dream.”
And yeah, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. But Jack said similar things when he brought her to Toronto earlier this year, so she knows he understands. 
Almost two years together now, she’s convinced that no one will really ever understand her like Jack does. 
He nudges her hip with his, the breeze blowing comfortably through her hair and rustling the plants around them. They watch as a student walks through the front doors. “Wanna go in?” 
She shakes her head. “Nah, I’m good.” She tugs at his hand while sipping the lavender lemonade from Pavement in the other. “Come on. I’ll show you Bay State. I lived there my junior year after I came back from studying abroad in Dublin.”
Bay State Road is beautiful as always in the Boston summer, Ashley’s hand in Jack’s. She drags him out into the middle of the road and only squeals once when a car is coming and he pulls her to the sidewalk. 
Campus isn’t the same when classes aren’t in session, but she hopes Jack can still feel some of the magic in the air through her stories. 
“It suits you.”
She turns to Jack. “Hm?”
“This city. It suits you.”
“Oh,” she blushes for some reason. “Thanks.”
“Do you miss it here?”
“All the time,” Ashley admits. “New York is great, but Boston will always be home.”
“Would you think of working here? If given the option?” Jack asks. 
“Maybe,” Ashley squeezes Jack’s hand, “But I also have reasons to stay in New York.”
He smirks, but it quickly transitions into something gentler. “Yeah?”
She could throw something snarky back at him, but she looks around the brownstones and lets out a deep breath. This is home, but flashes of Hoboken and East Village flicker in her mind and that’s also home. 
She looks at Jack and feels overwhelmed. Oh. It’s Boston. It’s Hoboken. It’s East Village. It’s him. Jack is home.
four - two years
“Big day, huh?” 
Ashley just smiles at Carissa, nudging her side. “We’ve come a long way since that phone call at 2 a.m.”
Carissa just snorts. “That phone call got us here.”
“True,” Ashley squeezes her arm as they make their way to their assigned table. “Love you, girly.”
“Love you more. I’m proud of us.”
Ashley grins, looking around as everyone is mingling amongst each other. There are past award winners here and Ashley’s already done some of her internal fangirling, especially when Lynsey Addario came up to her and wanted to talk to her. 
She’s still decently new in this industry and knows she has so much to learn, but it’s comforting to see that all of her hard work has paid off. 
People are starting to take their seats and Ashley looks around at her colleagues. Everyone’s dressed up and looks so lovely and Ashley smiles, looking down at her midnight blue dress. When Jack had seen her walk out of the changing room in it a few weeks ago, his eyes had popped out. 
(“Fuck,” he had said. “Now I’m even more pissed I can’t make it to the dinner.”)
And yeah, it would be nice if he was here. But the Devils are playing the Islanders tonight. It sucks that he’s so close but so far away, but after two years now, it’s just part of the gig. And they make it work. So Ashley isn’t too upset about it, even if Jack is. 
She’s a bit confused when there is an empty seat next to her, as it seems like the ballroom is filled. There’s no nametag there either, but her attention soon drifts off to the front. She has to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling too hard. 
The Pulitzer Prize Awards Ceremony at Columbia University, also her alma mater in a way. Her 18-year-old-self who was sitting in the front row of Introduction to Journalism in Boston could’ve only dreamed about this day. 
Opening remarks start and Ashley really does try to listen, but her eyes glaze over as her mind drifts off. She claps as the first few awards are being presented. She thinks about all the hours that it took to get this piece down, but also all the hours before — in her classes, at her college paper, in her internships, during her job search. The times she wanted to throw in the towel and just do something else. Anything else.  
“I didn’t miss too much, did I?” She blinks, turning to the voice next to her. She freezes. 
“Jack?” She breathes out. She hasn’t been sleeping much this week, so this could very well be a hallucination. 
He beams and she reaches to place her hand on his cheek and she realizes as she scans her eyes up and down.  Oh. He’s in her favorite suit of his. And he’s here. 
“Oh my god,” she wraps her arms around his neck as her whole table cheers. Thankfully, there’s a lull in the ceremony where the whole room is blanketed in a low buzz. “What the f-don’t you have a game?”
“Technically,” Jack says, nodding at her coworkers with a charming smile. “Took a personal day.”
“What? You can do that?”
“Yeah,” he shrugs, like he didn’t just skip a game to be here. He rubs his thumb on her shoulder as he kisses her temple. “This is a huge deal, baby. I wasn’t gonna miss it. I’m so proud of you.”
“Lindy’s not mad? Nico’s not mad?”
Jack snorts. “The second you won, I told Lindy to count me out for the game so he can do what he wants with that. Nico’s lowkey pissed he also can’t be here.” He turns to Carissa on the other side and beams. “Hey Care. Congrats.”
“Thanks, Jack,” Carissa beams. “Surprised you pulled this off.”
“Surprised we pulled this off.”
Ashley looks at Carissa. “You knew about this?”
“Of course. Who do you think made sure he would have a seat?”
She looks between her colleague and her boyfriend. Something creeps up her throat that feels a lot like love. 
When her and Carissa are recognized and they have to go up to accept the award and give a short speech, it’s kinda a blur. All she remembers is Jack’s kiss on her cheek and receiving a standing ovation as she and Carissa walk up together. So many hours with her eyes glazed over glaring at the laptop. So many hours interviewing with people and reconfirming facts. So many hours dedicated to this one piece. 
She wouldn’t have it any other way. 
As Carissa is speaking, she locks eyes with Jack. He’s beaming and his eyes are actually sparkling. His hair tousled and he’s so handsome and he’s hers. 
(She almost trips walking back to him) 
He chuckles, pulling her into another tight hug. “You’re amazing, baby. Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” she chokes out. “Thank you for calming me down all the times I was freaking out.”
“Of course. I’m sure all those glasses of cold water helped,” he jokes. She always said the ice cold water he would place next to her laptop would wake up her brain. 
She laughs into his shoulder. “They did.”
He pulls away and just stares at her, smile still on his face. Their attention is taken away by someone who wants to congratulate Ashley and has no recognition on their face when looking at Jack. 
(Jack looks on with pride)
plus one - three years and four months
Stanley Cups are interesting. Even some of the best athletes of all time have never gotten one. And some that are only slightly above average perhaps were just placed on the right team in the right season. 
But this Stanley Cup, in Ashley’s completely unbiased opinion, this one was fully deserved. By every single person on the team. 
She doesn’t think she’ll ever forget the absolute joy in Nico’s eyes as he lifted the cup in the air to a roaring crowd at The Rock, or how long the hug between Jack and Luke was when the final whistle sounded, or seeing Ellen cry as her two sons beckoned her in for a picture with the cup, her other son and husband standing close by with pride in their eyes. 
The picture of her and Jack by the cup as he’s kissing her cheek as she smiles so widely her eyes are shut might be her favorite picture of them of all time. 
Ashley had wondered if Jack was going to bring the cup to Toronto or Michigan. He ended up bringing it to Toronto while Luke brought it to Michigan. It ended up being all the same, since they were both present at both. 
Jack winning the Cup is obviously a huge celebration. But he’s not the only one with something to celebrate.
Yesterday, when they were out to lunch with some of his extended family, Ashley had found out by phone that she was just promoted to be a director of her team. After her phone call, she had just covered her mouth in shock as she sat down on a nearby bench. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when a concerned Jack came up to her and asked what was wrong, before she told him and he smothered her face in kisses. 
The parade around his pseudo-hometown is absolutely insane. Ashley doesn’t even know how she has a voice by mid-afternoon, much less how Jack has one considering that he’s been yelling all day. At some point, she forces him to sit down and chug a giant water bottle. 
But she can’t overthink too hard. Her phone’s filled with pictures of Jack with his loved ones and she just feels proud. 
Some of Jack’s extended family who still live in the area offered their home to host a party that night with just friends and family. Ashley did all she could to help prepare, which included coming over to decorate the night before and parking herself in the kitchen the second they got there to offer a helping hand. Well, she tried, before every single person pushed her away and insisted she go join the celebrations. 
She finds herself in a long, in-depth conversation with one of Jack’s younger cousins who’s thinking about working in media when she notices it suddenly becomes quiet. Suddenly, the light flickers off and Ashley is confused.
Jack then walks in with a circular cake with candles lit paired with his beautiful smile. Ashley blinks in confusion as everyone’s eyes fall on her and before she can ask what the hell is going on, Luke bounds over to her and swings an arm around her shoulder, shaking her. 
“Congrats on your promotion, Ash!” Luke exclaims. 
Her mouth drops open and she looks around as everyone in the room cheers and shouts out their congratulations. She chuckles in shock as Jack walks closer. And then suddenly, all she can focus on is him. 
“What are you doing?” She whispers, suddenly wanting to cry. 
“Come on,” he says with the softest smile. “You didn’t think I’d just keep the news to myself, did you?”
“But this is your day,” she chokes out. 
“My day. Your day. It’s all the same, eh?” Jack nods at the candles. “Hurry up. My arms are getting tired.”
A watery laugh from her before she blows out the candles at everyone’s cheers. Jack places the cake on a nearby table before smothering her in a tight hug. Ashley’s heart could burst right now at the love she feels from the people in the room and the person in her arms. She gets a chance to really look at the cake, which is white and sage with “Congratulations Jack and Ashley!” in beautiful script at the center. The lights turn back on and Quinn’s the first one who comes up to hug her. As Ellen is giving Ashley a kiss on the cheek, she sees Jack over Ellen’s shoulder, smiling at her. 
She swallows as she pulls away, before glancing at the ring on her left finger. Ashley’s never let herself want much in her life. But if someone asked her what she wants with her life, she would just place them in this room. Right here. Right now. 
(They cut the cake together. Ashley feels a buzzing joy throughout her bones)
297 notes · View notes
ultralightpoe · 2 months
Text
Tiktok Trouble 3 - Jake Seresin
Authors Note: This had been sitting in my drafts for wayyyyy loo long and now that's it's out I feel terrible.
Word Count: 2742
Warnings: Hints at some steamy stuff but just fun other than that.
My MAIN Masterlist
Part One - - Part Two
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(Thank you for the gif @unicornships )
Enjoy!
The first clip posted to his new tiktok account was an accident, one that remained nonetheless. 
It starts with the camera swinging back and forth, picking up a conversation being had behind it as whoever was holding the phone swung their hands out to walk. Jakes voice rings out “I’ll have you know-“ before the clip ends and the next starts. 
This time the camera is facing them and Jake is staring at the screen with narrowed eyes as Bob Floyd tries to explain it all. 
“So I press this button?” 
“Yes but it’s already recording.”
“How do you know it’s already recording?” 
“Because the ring around the button?” 
“What ring?” 
“Oh. My. God.” Natasha laughs off camera. “You are so losing to your wife. Can I get her in the divorce? Honest question.” 
“There will be no divorce!” Jake announces. “This park war ends in bloodshed.” 
“You been watching that Viking show again?” Rooster asks, coming into view with a disappointed look as Jake shrugs. 
“……yeah.” 
-  —-
COMMENTS:
“So pretty and still not a thought between those eyes.” 
“I’m on moms side in the divorce.” 
“You think he’s top or bottom?” 
“bottom fs”
-
You were in your shared bedroom, reading some book you had gotten today as Jake works around the kitchen, not really knowing what to do with himself on his day off. 
Then, like the genius he is, he realizes this would be the perfect time to prank you. So he starts setting up. 
First he hides his phone on the glass cabinet, giving it a wink before connecting his iPad to the speaker and hiding the speaker in a cupboard. 
He keeps the iPad close, beginning to peel potatoes before he yells loudly “Bubs! Can I get a hand?” 
And though you don’t yell back he hears your feet pad along the floors until you hit the stairs and come rushing to him. 
“Yeah?” You ask, moving to hug him from behind and kiss between his shoulder blades. 
“Can you start prepping the steaks? I got the marinade ready, I just need you to prep em.” He hears you hum and give his back one more kiss before moving to the cupboard to grab the larger plates. 
He quickly shoots out and hits play on the video he had pulled up. 
The second you open the cupboard door a horrific scream rings out like a demon and you jump back quickly, screaming yourself as you dash to hide beside him. 
Unable to help it he cackles, doubling over the counter at your scared face as you slowly piece together what just happened. 
“No way.” You gasp. 
“Uh huh. Got ya.” He smiles from ear to ear, winking. 
“You’re dead Seresin.” 
“Right back at ya, Seresin.” 
COMMENTS:
“The way she runs to his side has me WEAK!” 
“the kiss between his shoulder blades??? SHAHNDJTN
“Aw! Look who learned how to use a phone!” 
-
Your retaliation comes 2 days later, at 3 am in the morning of course. 
You had been tossing and turning all night when you got the idea, slipping from the bed to grab your phone and bringing it with you as you shuffle to Jakes side of the bed. 
He was out, sleeping like the dead with his face shoved into the pillow and one arm tucked under it to keep it close while his other arm is spread to your side of the bed as if he was reaching for you even in sleep. The muscled expanse of his back is exposed, and the camera gets it all on flash as you lean forward to tap his skin softly and wake him up. 
“Bubs. Bubs.” You whisper, sounding panicked which makes him blink groggily. “The laundry bird came and took the goat.” 
“What?” He slurs, blinking so slowly you’re sure he’s going back to sleep. 
“Bubs come on. The grim reaper broke the washer.” 
“Fuck. Why?” He sounds so upset by the washer, even half asleep, you do your best to contain your laugh. 
“The ladybugs are meeting and we gotta go greet them.” 
“Okay..,.,” he moans, sitting up slightly, swiping at his face like he was actually getting ready to get up. “Okay.” 
“We gotta hurry before the balloon hits the ocean floor.” 
“Okay.” He sounds more determined now, sitting up. “Let’s go.” 
Then, ever the loving wife you switch up quickly. “Why are you up? Go to sleep.” 
“W-what?” He blinks, eyes half closed. 
“You were sleep talking. Go back to bed.” You mutter, and he blinks before nodding. 
“I’m sorry. Come lay with me.” 
-
COMMENTS:
“He was so confused lmao.” 
“Mans was fighting for his life in those blinks.” 
“The switch up has me dead.” 
“Aw. He said sorry to you like it was his fault.” 
-
It was rare that Jake ate McDonald’s, he was raised southern charm style and his mother hated the company. Homemade meals and southern drawls were the way to go. 
That being said there were days like today, both of you sweaty and irritated, and the only choice was McDonald’s. You both had been helping your parents move, which was stressful enough before you added the drama all your siblings brought to the table. 
And though Jake never wanted to talk crap about your family today he was extremely frustrated with them, mostly how they all seemed to be treating you like dirt and he could see you beginning to crumble which always upset him. 
He decided that you both needed a break as your brother began biting about an antique watch your father was trying to sell, claiming it should be his, and somehow someway it became your fault and a huge fight. 
So Jake took you out of the house, planning on getting you both food before you got too hangry, only to get more frustrated by the fact that the only non expensive restaurant in the area was McDonalds. And neither of you were dressed, nor had time for the other places. 
So you sat in silence while you ate and he could feel the anxiety and anger easing out of both of you, and when you went to the bathroom he figured it was time to lift the mood fully. 
He took the lid off your cup, stabbing the straw into the sauce cups lid and shoving it all in your drink before making sure your lid was back to normal. 
He filmed the process of course, and when you come back he claims to be checking emails from work as he films you hum softly before taking a big swig of your drink only to gag. 
A small laigh breaks out as you laugh yourself, panicking a bit as another gag takes over. 
“Don’t puke.” He laughs, and you cover your face before taking your napkin and sliding it along your tongue. 
“Absolutely not. What was that?” 
“No clue.” He laughs, and you roll your eyes but the smile on your face was ear to ear. 
“That was disgusting.” 
COMMENTS:
“The way he laughs while she gags out a lung has me cackling!” 
“Not the Micky ds drink. Those are god tier.” 
“He’s kind of impressing me with the pranks.” 
-
Monday night is spent waiting for him to come home, still cranky with your weekend with your siblings and parents, sore and just not into life in general. 
You tried reading through some of the comments on your guys’ videos but those didn’t seem to help, you tried reading but the book you were reading was at a standstill and when you tried to clean the bathroom the bleach made you nauseated. 
Truth be told all you wanted was Jake. 
But you were his wife, which meant it was your actual job to torture him. And today you decided you would be torturing him. 
You hear his truck, filming yourself filling a spoon with salt and dipping it into the soup. 
When he comes in you smile. “Come taste this!” 
“How about I taste you….” He growls. 
“No bubs. I’m making dinner.” You huff, and he smiles before slurping the entire spoon into his mouth. 
He tries, he really does, blinking slowly before his face pinches up and he gags. He practically wretches, another gag falling from his lips as he leans over the sink to try and spit it out. Running the faucet and washing his mouth out the best he can. “Oh my god bubs,”
“It was that bad?” You ask, watching him. 
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to gag. I’m sorry bubs. I’m sorry.” He gags again, gulping down more water. 
You start laughing then, practically keeling over as he keeps washing his mouth out. 
“This…. This was a prank?” He sounds so betrayed that you feel a little bad laughing. “I….”
Then his face breaks into one of pure humor as he wheezes, laughing just as hard and moving closer to you until you are both wheezing in each other's faces. Just pure amusement. 
“I can’t br…eathe!” You laugh and he presses his forehead to your shoulder as he holds his ribs. 
- - - - 
COMMENTS:
“Just two people wheezing in eachothers faces lmao.”
“I want what they have.”
“Is no one gonna talk about him eating her comment???? Srsly?!”
“Okay, so there is this couple on here right….” You start, staring at him. He keeps casting nervous looks to where your phone is set up to record you both. Like he was waiting for the prank. 
“Yeah?”
“And they basically dressed up as eachother for this song. Like he wore her clothes and she wore his and-”
“I’m in.” 
“Really? No arguing?” 
“No. You’ve got that excited look in your eye and I cannot refuse.” He laughs and you can’t help but clap your hands and jump up to dash upstairs which makes him laugh and snatch the phone. 
30 minutes later you both are trying to concentrate on making the video, Jake dressed in one of your dresses and barely managing to walk in the heels. 
He is bent over, his hand on his knees as he laughs, the dress groaning at each movement. “I can’t…. Shit-“ 
You are no better, dressed in his military uniform as you try to keep standing, barely breathing as you laugh. “Who….. who said marriage would be boring?” 
“My mother. On our wedding day. When she tried convince us not to get married!” He laughs at the memory, hand shooting out to catch you when you keel over from laughing. 
“Okay. Okay let’s do this.” He clears his throat and stands straight. You both film the video and while you post it you begin compiling the behind the scenes which does indeed have a clip of him bending over and the dress completely ripping down the middle. 
- - - - 
COMMENTS:
“Great googly moogly.” 
“His mom said what?????? Need a story time.” 
“How many times did I watch this? Yes.” 
- - - - - - 
It’s during a shopping day when he gets the idea, after being dragged from store to store over and over again. 
It was in the middle of a target when he decides to give you absolute hell, irritated by the fact that you were paying more attention to their lame bedding collections than him. 
“Hey…. I’m gonna go…. Look at something.” He mutters, kissing your cheek and walking away as you hum out. 
At first he shuffles through the men’s clothing section, getting nervous when a woman in lulu lemons gives him a wink as she shops for what he assumes is her husband. He dashes to the candles after that, sniffing at all of them before texting you “there’s a girl hitting on me in the candle section”. 
He takes a screenshot of it for tiktok before setting up his phone to film, waiting patiently. 
It takes you less than a minute, out of breath as you swing around the corner with a wild look. “Where?” 
“She went that way?” He lies, pointing.
“I'm gonna kill her.” You snap, fixing your hair. “And why are you just standing in the candle section? This is where single men stand to get laid, slut.”
“What, back track-“ 
“It’s like the most basic rule of target.” 
“There are dating rules for TARGET?!” He laughs. 
“You really need to get with the program.” You laugh, smacking his butt before waltzing off. 
He merely blinks at the camera in pure shock. 
- - - 
COMMENTS:
“Bahahahaha. I love her.” 
“She came ready for a fight.” 
“It is the most basic rule.” 
“Girl was so stressed she didn’t even bother to smell a candle.” 
- - - - 
“Hey Jake?” You call, standing in the bathroom as the phone records from the counter a little hidden from sight. You keep your voice on the closer end of panicked. 
You hear his phone shut off as he gets off the bed before he comes into sight with worried eyes. “What’s wrong Darlin?” He asks, reaching to rub your forehead in concern. 
“I can’t get my tampon.” You mumble. 
“Sorry?” 
“I can’t get find my tampon.” 
“What’s that mean?” 
“It’s stuck.” 
“Then pull it out.” 
“I’ve tried.” 
“Darlin’, doesn’t it have that like…. String?” 
“It broke off. I need help.” His eyes widen, eyebrows shooting up quickly and his face going red as he blushes. 
“O….okay.” He nods, rubbing the back of his neck. 
“Yeah? You can help?”
“Anythin’ you need darlin’….” He mumbles, slapping his hands together. “Let’s do this.” 
“You sure?” 
“Y-yeah.” He nods. “I….. let’s do this.” 
“Okay…. Good because this was a prank.” You laugh which makes him splutter. 
“Oh thank Jesus, I was gettin’ panicked there. Not because it would be gross- but like- well I don’t know what the problem would be cause it’s not like we haven’ had period sex hundreds of times but- darlin’-“ 
“Jake Seresin is not a feminist everyone.” You laugh to the camera as he groans out. 
- -  - - 
COMMENTS:
“He would do it. He would kill for her.” 
“The way the southern accent comes out when he panics, lmao.” 
- - - - 
“Hey bubs! C’mere!” Jake calls, unscrewing the panel to the light from his spot on the step stool. 
His phone was set up to film him as you come into the room yawning, loudly as you swipe your eyes. “Hey bubs. I just need you to grab-“ 
He shakes his body, making it look like he got electrocuted as you scream out, rushing forward to grab at his thighs and try to help. 
“JAKE!” You scream, trying to pull him down. He starts laughing, hands covering his face as you breathe out. 
“Oh. That was so…. Oh my god.” 
“Oh bubs, you should have seen your face-“ 
“You’re sleeping on the couch tonight.” You snap, swiping the tears off your cheeks. “Wake me up from a nap just for that you son of a b-“ 
“Oh darlin’ no. I’m sorry.” He sighs. 
“I hate you!” 
- - - - 
COMMENTS:
“Oh that one hurt me-“ 
“Someone is not getting laid tonight…. Or any night.” 
- - - -
COMMENTS:
“Omg. Where did they go?” 
“Did they die? Why haven’t they posted?” 
“I misssss them!” 
“Mom…. Dad…… where are you?” 
“It’s been like 3 months. Come on.” 
“She probably killed him after the electric prank.” 
- - - - 
After 3 months of not posting you both return with a video. 
Life had been busy, with both of you moving because of his deployment and you having to find another job in the new space. 
But things have settled a bit, now back with his “Top Gun” crew and the house almost completely unpacked. 
You had been visiting his parents, and that’s where the video takes place. 
His mom and dad both had headphones over their ears blasting music, and the game is to guess what Jake is saying as you record. 
“You.” Jake says, laughing a bit. 
“TO!” His dad guesses. 
“You.” 
“TOO!” 
“You.” 
“YOU!” He yells and Jake nods. 
“Are going.” 
“Are going!” 
“To be.” 
“TOBY!” 
“To be.” 
“TOGA!” 
“To be.” 
“TO BE!” 
“Grandparents.” 
“Gray PARROTS!” 
“Grandparents.” 
“PIRATES?” 
“Parents” 
“You are going to be grandparents.” 
“You are going to be godparents?” 
“Oh Jesus Paul!” His mom snaps, pulling the headphones off quickly with tears in her eyes as she dashes to hug you. 
“Oh!” His dad smiles. “OH MY GOD! WERE GOING TO BE GRANDPARENTS!” 
When he rushes to hug you both the headphones get caught and he trips up before landing in the group hug. 
- - - - 
COMMENTS:
“No. Freaking. Way!” 
“Ugh.” 
“I’m so happy for you guys!” 
“Mom and dad fr fr.”
- - - - - 
TAGLIST::::::
@the-romanian-is-bae @mshistorylover @boringusername3 @dingochef @quillsandtypos @sunnysidesidra @eddiemunsonreader @sinners-98-world @rhirhikingston @imaginecrushes @80pairsofcrocs @themusingofagothicsoul @mshistorylover @quillsandtypos @mallerz @dtownclown93
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201 notes · View notes
ilguna · 3 months
Note
22 from prompt list 2 with Finnick please? Reader is taken by the Capitol after the Quarter Quell?
☼ anything for her (Finnick Odair) ☼
Tumblr media
warnings; swearing, mentions of sex trafficking and prostitution, death, death mention, bomb mention, torture mention, a noose mention.
wc; 4.3k
notes; 22. "They won't take you away from me ever again."
--
“How did you meet Peeta?” Cressida asks Katniss.
She’s currently sitting on top of a fallen marble pillar, a result of the bombing that took place four days ago. Finnick, as well as many others, stand in the crater together, watching the Mockingjay. She has one hand in her lap, the other rubs the smooth rock while she thinks.
Katniss takes a breath, readying herself, and then breathes it out. “When I met Peeta, I was eleven years old, and I was almost dead.” She starts, before going on to tell the story of the awful day. She tells the camera that she had been trying to sell her younger sister’s baby clothes in the rain because they had been starving. 
By the time the market had closed, the hunting jacket that Katniss was wearing had been soaked through. She’d been shaking so badly that she dropped the clothes entirely, straight into a mud puddle, but instead of retrieving it, she left it there, afraid that if she bent over, she wouldn’t stand up again.
She didn’t want to go home, so she continued to stumble through the muddy streets of District Twelve, until she found herself behind the shops that served the rich. She explains that the merchants lived above their businesses, so she was basically in their backyards. She recalls seeing the garden beds not yet planted, a goat or two in a pen, and one wet dog tied to a post, hunched over.
At that moment, she decided that she’d tried to search the trash bins because they were fair game. She was hoping to find scrap, something that no one else would want except for her family. Unfortunately, all the bins had just been emptied. She still tried, going from shop to shop.
When she had gotten to the baker’s—Peeta’s family’s bakery—she was stuck. The smell of the bread was dizzying, the glow of the oven peeked out from beneath the kitchen door, and the heat held her there just long enough. Then the rain brought her back, she lifted the trash lid, and found nothing.
Peeta’s mother, the baker’s wife, appeared to tell her to move on, threatening to call the Peacekeepers. She told Katniss that she was sick of brats from the Seam pawing through her trash. And despite how ugly the words that came from her were, she had no defense.
She went to leave, but noticed him. Peeta. He was standing behind his mother, and Katniss recognized him from school, knew he was in her grade, yet couldn’t recall his name. He spent his time with the town kids, there was no reason for her to know who he was.
Katniss didn’t go far, only to sit behind the pen that held their pig, leaning against the far side of a strong apple tree. The realization that she would go home empty handed again had finally hit her. With this, she felt sick, sliding down the tree to sit on the roots.
Katniss’s voice is low when she speaks, “‘Let them call the Peacekeepers and take us to the community home,’ I thought, ‘Or better yet, let me die right here in the rain’.” 
She pauses for a second, and then says that she heard a commotion in the bakery, the wife suddenly screaming, the sound of a blow. She thought that it was his mother coming out to drive her away, but it was Peeta. In his arms, he held two large loaves of bread with crusts that were scorched black.
“His mother was yelling, ‘Feed it to the pig, you stupid creature! WHy not? No one decent will buy burned bread!’.”
Peeta began to rip off chunks of the burned bread to toss them into the trough. His mother had been standing over his shoulder until the front bakery bell rang, which called her to the shop to help the customer. 
Katniss says that Peeta never glanced in her direction, but her eyes were on him. They were glued to the red mark that stood out against his skin on his cheekbone. While she began to wonder what she hit him with, he took one glance back at the bakery, returned to looking at the pigs, and then tossed a loaf toward Katniss. The second one quickly followed.
Without a word, Peeta went back inside of the bakery, closing the door behind him.
Katniss was stunned for a long moment, unsure if he’d actually meant to toss them at her feet. When she realized that he must’ve, she shoved them beneath her shirt, pulled the hunting jacket tightly around her body, and walked away before anyone could come forth as a witness. She says that the heat of the bread had burned her skin, but she wasn’t going to let them go.
The loaves had cooled by the time she got home, the insides still being warm. She made her mother and sister sit at the table while she cut off the burnt part. From there, they ate an entire loaf, slice by slice. 
“We had never even spoken. The first time I ever talked to Peeta was on the train to the Games.” Katniss finishes.
“But he was already in love with you.” Cressida says,
“I guess so.” Katniss has a small smile on her face.
"How are you doing with the separation?”
“Not well.” She admits, “I know at any moment Snow could kill him. Especially since he warned Thirteen about the bombing. It’s a terrible thing to live with. But because of what they’re putting him through, I don’t have any reservations anymore. About doing whatever it takes to destroy the Capitol. I’m finally free.” She tilts her head back, looking at the sky. At the same time, a hawk soars above. 
She continues, “President Snow once admitted to me that the Capitol was fragile. At the time, I didn’t know what he meant. It was hard to see clearly because I was so afraid. Now I’m not. The Capitol’s fragile because it depends on the districts for everything. Food, energy, even the Peacekeepers that police us. If we declare our freedom, the Capitol collapses. President Snow, thanks to you, I’m officially declaring mine today.”
Cressida holds up a hand, the recording stops. Katniss gets to her feet, brushing the debris from her butt while the camera crew regroups. When she glances in Finnick’s way, he gives her an encouraging smile.
A few feet away, Plutarch Heavensbee has a crease between his eyebrows, eyes staring at a chunk of the concrete a few feet away, gears turning in his head. While Katniss’s story about how she first encountered Peeta was sweet, it wasn’t captivating enough. At least to him. He needs a story that will keep the Capitol citizens glued to the television screen for every second.
His eyes physically light up, head rising. His eyes land on Finnick first, beckoning him over, and then Haymitch. Finnick starts forward, pulling his hands out of his pockets, but never letting go of the rope that keeps him occupied. He runs his thumb over the worn fibers, eyebrows raising.
“We need more.” Plutarch says as soon as they’re in earshot. His attention is set on Haymitch. “A story with more,” He motions with his hands. Finnick gets what he’s trying to say, he wants grand. Something that will have the Capitol scrambling. “I was wondering if you had anything like that.”
Haymitch’s face screws in. “What are you suggesting?”
“Something that the Capitol hasn’t heard of before. Your Games weren’t rerun the same way the others were. No one knows the full story.” Plutarch is trying to lay it on gently, but it’s fairly obvious what he’s asking for.
Haymitch’s stare becomes hard, eyes narrowing. “I’m not doing that.”
“Not even to save Peeta?”
“No.” 
Now Plutarch looks at Finnick. “I know you have some to tell, or at least one that will work.”
“He doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to do.” Haymitch says.
“This will help to get (Y/n) out of the Capitol.” Plutarch emphasizes. “Not everyone knows what happens to the victors following their win. Only the elite has access to information like that. If it gets out, then this will have the Capitol scrambling to silence us.”
Finnick can feel the blood run from his face and begin to pool at his feet. He knows what Plutarch is asking for. He wants Finnick to open up about what had been happening to him for years. What he was instructed to do as soon as he turned sixteen, and what he carried on doing from then on.
His forced prostitution—the sex trafficking. It’s not something that Finnick talks about openly whenever he wants. In fact, he takes care to hide it as much as possible, to make it a minor factor of his life. As if it’s not as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be.
Because of it, he purposely adopted the persona that everyone sees. It worked out in his favor, not even Mags knew what was happening to him. It wasn’t until he started to date his sweet girlfriend, you did the mask begin to fall apart. He had to tell you what was happening to him to keep you from thinking that he was cheating on you. 
For four years he had bottled that detail inside of him, and as soon as he spoke it out loud, the glass shattered. He couldn’t reel in the uncontrollable tears that overcame him, as you tried to console him. At the end of the night, he was sure he’d scared you off. But you came around the next morning, never speaking about his darkest secret until he brought it up himself.
It became easier to talk about the more you listened. It didn’t feel like a hot iron was burning inside of his body each time he thought about it anymore. When he was sure that he had passed the first hurdle, he finally told Mags. From then on, he was able to live with it a little easier because he finally had the support he needed.
That doesn’t mean it made it any easier to do. It was like a knife was being held to his throat. President Snow could destroy his life if he wanted to. One toe out of line and his family would be gone.
What Finnick never took into consideration was that he could turn it around to be a weapon of his own. Right now. He can expose Snow the same way he stripped Finnick down to his bare bones. And it would be a way to help his girlfriend, to bring her back to him.
“Okay.” Finnick slowly nods. “I’ve got one.”
Plutarch raises his eyebrows, holding a hand out to the pillar as a way to direct him over. “Good, good.”
Finnick moves to sit in the same spot where Katniss had been moments prior. The camera crew notices this, Cressida watches as Plutarch draws closer, telling them that it’s his turn to speak.
“You don’t have to do this.” Haymitch tells Finnick.
“Yes, I do. If it will help her.” Finnick balls the rope up in his hand. “I’m ready.”
The crew takes a moment to find the right lightning for Finnick, adjusting several times until it’s up to Cressida’s liking. When it’s perfect, she counts down from five, but Finnick doesn’t start speaking until the red light on the camera comes to life.
Regret hits Finnick like a truck.
This is for (Y/n), he reminds himself, this is to bring her home.
“President Snow used to… sell me… my body, that is.” Finnick starts slowly, wanting to get this right. He watches as Cressida stiffens where she stands. “I wasn’t the only one. If a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them for an exorbitant amount of money. If you refuse, he kills someone you love. So you do it.”
He presses his lips together, eyes wandering away. This confession does not feel the same way it did when he told you and Mags. Then, it was shameful. Now, there’s a drive of power behind it. And Finnick’s in control.
“I wasn’t the only one, but I was the most popular.” He looks at the camera. “And perhaps the most defenseless, because the people I loved were so defenseless. To make themselves feel better, my patrons would make presents of money or jewelry, but I found a much more valuable form of payment.
“Secrets.” He hisses the S, “And this is where you’re going to want to stay tuned, President Snow, because so very many of them were about you. But let’s begin with some of the others.”
There’s a ghost of a smile on his face as he goes over his experiences in detail so vividly that it’s impossible to think he made it up on his own. He tells stories of abnormal sexual preferences, betrayals of the heart, endless greed, and power plays that ended in blood.
They were drunk and high secrets that had been murmured in the dead of night. 
Finnick had been bought and sold for eight years, which he will never be able to get back. The innocence was stolen from him, and this is Finnick beginning his revenge. The longer he speaks, the more confident he grows. When he started, he didn’t want to list names, but once one slips, the rest begin to tumble from his mouth, followed by their offense.
Finnick knows he’s heading in the right direction when he watches Cressida’s eyes widen with every important name spoken. He knows how the Capitol works. All it takes is a bad tattoo or the wrong haircut, and a person’s reputation is temporarily tarnished as it’s passed around like a plague. 
What will come of accusations of incest, back-stabbing, blackmail and arson?
What will become of their leader? “And now, on to our good President Coriolanus Snow. Such a young man when he rose to power. Such a clever one to keep it. How, you must ask yourself, did he do it? One word. That’s all you really need to know. Poison.” Finnick emphasizes.
He starts from the beginning, using the pieces he put together throughout the years to paint a picture for those who will be listening. He points out every mysterious death that had happened surrounding Snow. Mainly his adversaries, but sometimes even his allies who appeared as threats in his eyes.
Figures that had died suddenly or slowly. Blamed on bad seafood, silent viruses, or overlooked weakness in the aorta. Snow would drink from a poisoned cup himself to deflect suspicion. Antidotes don’t always work. That’s why there’s a rumor on why the smell of roses is so strong. It’s to cover the metallic scent of blood from blisters in his mouth that will never heal.
They say that Snow has a list and no one knows who will be next.
Even when it’s clear to Finnick that there’s nothing else to tell, he has to be the one to say, “Cut.”
The camera crew hardly murmurs a goodbye before they’re scurrying inside to edit the material to weaponize it. Plutarch places a hand on Finnick’s shoulder, giving him a solemn nod. There were a few surprised reactions that came from Plutarch, himself. Despite the fact that he’d been a Gamemaker for years and might have known half of those facts.
“Thank you.” 
Finnick stands from the marble pillar. “Anything for (Y/n). Anything.”
“In that case, do you have any other stories to tell that might help with propo’s?” Plutarch begins to direct him to the door to go back inside of the bunker.
“I’d have to think about it.” Finnick says.
With their little quest being done, there’s nothing left for him to do besides wait for the volunteers to come back with the prisoners. Finnick spends his time with Katniss, as they move from place to place. They start in Special Defense, tying knots, chatting quietly. They push their lunch around their plates, appetite absent.
Together, they go to bother Beetee in the shooting range, where he’s shown a trident he’s never seen before. He learns how to properly wield a bow, albeit terribly, just to be able to send explosive arrows at the target. 
With how dangerous the mission is, no communication is allowed to or from the rescue team. In the evening, Katniss and Finnick gather back in Special Defense, standing on the far side of the room away from the screens and computer, watching as Beetee and his team go hack through. His usual twitchy demeanor is completely replaced by determination.
He uses as much of Katniss’s interview as he can, but it’s Finnick’s confession that is the main show. Beetee remarks that their counter-attacks are weak, they aren’t trying to silence the rebels as much as he thought they would. Still, for the next hour, they battle back and forth. With the Capitol trying to wall off the interview with the afternoon newscast or blacking out the feed altogether.
The black out fails, as the rebel team takes control of the feed and manages to control it for almost the entire attack on Snow.
“Let it go!” Beetee declares, throwing up his hands. He reaches to wipe the sweat from his face with a nearby cloth. “If they’re not out of there by now, they’re all dead.” He spins around in the chair to face Finnick and Katniss. “It was a good plan, though. Did Plutarch show it to you?”
No, he did not. So Beetee wheels in front of them to take them to another room, where the plan is fleshed out in full. With the victors being held prisoner underground, they had to get creative. They’ve used knockout gas distributed by the ventilation system, a power failure, the detonation of a bomb in a government building several miles away, and now the disruption of the broadcast.
Finnick and Katniss find the entire plan hard to follow, but Finnick gets the gist of it. With so many failures happening at once, that means the Capitol will be strung out and they’ll have to tackle each task one at a time. He’s just hoping that this was enough to give the rebels time to get the victors out of the prison without being shot down.
“It’s good news you found the plan hard to follow.” Beetee adjusts his glasses. “Because then our enemies will, too.”
“Like your electricity trap in the arena?” Katniss asks.
“Exactly. And see how well that worked out?”
There’s nothing else to do but wait, and this becomes glaringly obvious when they’re not let back into Command. They choose to stay in Special Defense, moving to the hummingbird room to wait for an update. 
It’s torture. 
Finnick tries to tie knots, going down the list of the ones he knows in alphabetical order. It’s a lot, yet not quite enough at the same time. He goes down the list five times before the dark thoughts begin to creep in. What if the rescue team failed, and no one’s coming back?
Haymitch comes in briefly to tell them that there’s no news, and then he leaves. About an hour later, dinner is served, but both of them deny having it brought up to them. Katniss begins to bleed from her knots, wiping the maroon liquid on her jumpsuit, continuing to tie her noose.
Finnick can’t go down the list again, otherwise he’ll go crazy. So, he stuffs the rope into his pocket and hunches over on the bench, teeth grit. Katniss begins to hum a tune, holding up her noose in the air to look at it, before dropping it down onto the bench.
“Did you love (Y/n) right away, Finnick?” She asks.
“No.” Finnick murmurs, because it’s the truth. 
When you first won the Hunger Games, you were fifteen years old. By then, he was already seventeen. He’d already had two years of experience regarding Capitol abuse. And all he could see in you was the exact same fate. This is why he took special care to keep a distance between you two.
With you being so young and naive—absolutely no clue that your actions could have consequences—you did what you thought was right. You were sweet, you were kind to everyone you met before and after your Games. You took every compliment with grace and took your time to return with one, even if it wasn’t heartfelt.
That doesn’t mean you weren’t smart, because you are. Enough to the point where you managed to trick the Gamemakers into giving you a higher score than you deserved, getting you sponsors. In the arena, you found out how to maintain the appearance that you knew what you were doing. Despite the fact that it was obvious to every other person from the districts that you were clueless.
And you were pretty. You are pretty, beautiful, gorgeous, every adjective under the sun. If Finnick could see it, the Capitol could see it. He heard your name mentioned almost every time he met with a client, and yet, you were never pulled aside by President Snow.
Finnick would like to say that he wasn’t jealous of you, but he was. Which became loathing, that only grew worse with time. You knew that he didn’t like you, and instead of taking the hint and leaving him alone, you purposely got close. You got to know him, his habits, his feelings. 
He hated it in the beginning, but the truth is that Finnick was lonely and he felt misunderstood by everyone because of the rumors. You never let judgement get in the way, you never let Finnick hurt your feelings. And you respected his boundaries. Whether he liked it or not, you were growing on him.
In the course of a year and a half, he went from considering you a pest to one of his closest friends. He was able to let down his guard. Before he knew it, he had feelings for you. Which he was sure weren’t reciprocated, but you surprised him. Ever since, you’ve been by his side. 
Which is why this doesn’t feel right. 
“She crept up on me.” Finnick tells Katniss.
It must be midnight when Haymitch finally pushes open the door. “They’re back. We’re wanted in the hospital.” Katniss opens her mouth to speak, Haymitch doesn’t give her the opportunity. “That’s all I know.”
She’s back, a voice whispers.
Finnick is frozen where he stands, staring at Haymitch with wide eyes. Katniss takes a step toward the door, but when he doesn’t move with her, she reaches back to grab his hand. Finnick lets her lead him through Special Defense, into the elevator, and on to the hospital wing.
As soon as they step foot through the doors, she lets go. The hospital is in chaos, with orders being shouted back and forth, the wounded volunteers being wheeled across the floor. Immediately, they’re sideswiped by a gurney holding an unconscious woman with a shaved head.
Finnick recognizes her, it’s Johanna. Her skin is blemished with bruises and oozing scabs, a price to pay for being a rebel. For not telling the Capitol what they’d wanted to know about the plan.
Is this how (Y/n) will look? The thought lights an intense fire in his stomach, and even worse, fear begins to creep up. Did they hurt you?
“Gale.” Katniss says, gravitating toward her friend. He’s stripped down to the wait to allow the doctors to work at his shoulder, pulling out shrapnel. There’s sweat dripping down his face. Katniss doesn’t make it further than three steps before she’s shut out entirely.
“Finnick!” A shrill voice calls—your shrill voice calls.
Finnick’s head whips in the direction, feet starting even without a certain direction. He finds you, throwing off a sheet, revealing that your delicate skin has been compromised with cuts. They must not bother you, because you’re on your feet, a wide smile spread across your face, arms out to him.
“(Y/n).” He breathes, picking up speed.
His body slams into yours, arms wrapping around your body to lift you in the air. He can feel your fingertips running through his hair, nails lightly scratching his scalp as you pull him closer. Finnick presses his cheek into your collarbone, feeling your kisses against his temple.
A swarm of butterflies escapes the cage in his chest when he hears your laughter, but they die quickly when he feels you begin to shake with sobs. Finnick lets you back down, allowing your feet to touch the white tile, yet he doesn’t let go. His heart squeezes when you look at him with tear-filled eyes, bottom lip wobbling.
“I’ve got you, honey.” He murmurs, brushing the hair from your face.
You’ve got a tight grip on the front of his jumpsuit. His eyes lock on your discolored knuckles, a sign that you must’ve gotten into a fight while you were being kept prisoner in the Capitol. His face screws.
“I was afraid I wasn’t going to see you again.” You admit with a wavering voice. “It was getting bad, Finnick.”
“I’d never let that happen, babe.” He whispers. “They won’t take you away from me ever again. I won’t let them.”
“I know.” A tear escapes, running down your skin. 
Finnick’s quick to wipe it away.
--
this was part of my 3k celebration!!
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sailor-aviator · 7 months
Text
Don't Hang'em Til Noon: Chapter Five
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Don't Hang'em Til Noon: Chapter Five
Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Reader
Summary: Jake "Hangman" Seresin is a notorious leader within the Dagger posse of the old western territories of the United States. You, a recently orphaned socialite from the eastern seaboard, find yourself swept off to live with your older brother who has set down roots in said western territory. Determined to to make the best of your situation, what will you do when said outlaw sets his sights on you?
Warnings: Swearing, Reader being angsty, Jake Seresin (flirting, jealous), Fingering, Dirty talk
Word Count: 4,766 (oops)
A/N: I am so overwhelmed by the amount of love you all showed Chapter Four! It was beyond anything I could have every imagined!! Side note, I also love how many of you come into my inbox and leave me asks either praising the stories, or just talk about them (*hint, hint*)! I'm honestly shocked you all aren't sick of me and these stories yet with how much I talk about them. Thank you all. As always, reboots, comments and likes are greatly appreciated!! 18+ ONLY!! Find me on AO3 under sailor_aviator!
Series Masterlist || DPU Masterlist || Jake "Hangman" Seresin Tag List
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A month ago, you didn’t jump every time a door opened to loudly in the other room. A month ago, you didn’t bolt up in bed in the middle of the night with the phantom stench of cheap liquor and stale tobacco. A month ago, you didn’t dream about grabbing hands and cold, black eyes that stared at you with the intention to possess. A month ago, the sight of the little, hand-carved horse didn’t fill you with an instant sense of comfort and warmth.
You had found it sitting on the railing by the steps of the porch the morning after the incident at the saloon. You had walked out the front door to do the morning chores, Benjamin having already tripped out the door with a promise thrown over his shoulder to come check on you in the later morning after his meeting. It wasn’t a masterpiece by any means, but it was clear that someone had spent a lot of time whittling it down before deeming it presentable. You had walked over to it slowly, taking it in your hands gently. Whoever had carved it had made sure to add in extra details. You could see the curve of the horse’s eyes and the strands of its mane that flowed down its back. Every detail had been painstakingly carved as if the crafter had wanted it to be perfect. Your breath caught in your throat and your heart swelled when you saw the final detail on the underside of the horse’s belly.
J.S.
The wooden horse had quickly found a home on your bedside table where you would pluck it from its perch during the late night hours, holding it to you tightly before drifting back into a comfortable sleep only to repeat the same cycle the following night.
The cattle had arrived shortly after the departure of the Dagger Posse from town, and both you and Benjamin found yourselves scrambling to hire workers to help with the overwhelming workload.
“I’ll put the word out, don’t you worry,” Maverick had smiled over dinner one night. Two days later, three young, new faces had made themselves comfortable in the small cabin behind the house.
“Isaac is a mean sonofabitch,” Penny had told you once she heard about what happened in her saloon. “But I wouldn’t worry too much about him for the time being, especially now that Pete and Tom know he’s in the area. He’ll lie low for a little while to try and wait’em out.”
Her words left you with little comfort, but you slowly stopped casting worried glances over your shoulder every couple of seconds every time you left the confines of your home. An easy routine had settled on your ranch. Get up, get ready for the day, feed the goats and chickens, tend to your garden, make supper for the ranch hands and Benjamin, work on mending the various articles of clothing that were handed to you, go to bed, repeat.
The subtle coolness in the air that had been present a month ago finally gave way to a full blown chill, and you soon found yourself planting winter vegetables.
“How are you today, miss?”
You looked up to see one of the ranch hands, Levi, smiling down at you from where he leaned over the fence. He was a handsome man, maybe only a year or two older than you. Brown hair draped across the golden skin of his forehead and baby blue eyes twinkled at you.
“I’m doing just fine,” you smiled at him. “And I’ve told you a hundred times now to call me Scout, Levi.”
He chuckled, grinning at you. “Of course, Scout.”
He walked around the length of the fence and through the gate to drop down beside you where your hands were digging up the cold earth.
“Anything I can help you with?” he offered, chucking the dead plants beside you into the bucket behind you.
“No, I think I’m just about done here,” you hummed, wiping your hands on your soiled apron, smiling at the handsome man. “But, I could use some help bringing things back from the market, if you don’t mind helping?”
“Of course,” Levi grinned, offering you a hand as you moved to stand. You took it, and he pulled you up gently, pulling you into him slightly. The two of you stood in silence as he stared down at you. He looked at you with a gentle expression, causing heat to rise to your cheeks.His baby blue eyes moving to closing as he began to lean into you oh so slowly. You wished they were green.
The thought alone snapped you from your daze, and you pulled away from Levi with a clear of your throat. Resting a hand on his chest, you refused to meet his gaze, eyes darting around the yard nervously. “I should go clean up.”
“Right,” he breathed, nodding slowly. “I’ll be here.”
You gave him a brief smile before pushing past him and into the house. Minutes later you were walking out the front door towards Levi, basket in hand. He offered you a smile which you returned shyly before the two of you made your way into town. There was a distinct lack of children running around, which you were grateful for. Maverick had announced to the congregation after the church service the previous morning that the first day of school would be held in the sanctuary the next morning. He had then introduced the new teacher, who appeared to be a shy little thing before the reverend had dismissed everyone for the day. This was of course after word had spread that the Dagger Posse was back in town. You had overheard two of the girls in the pews ahead of you giggling about the different men.
“Did you hear?” giggled a red head to her friend excitedly. “The Dagger Posse is back in town!”
That had caught your attention.
“Really?” the blonde had squealed, earning several disapproving looks from the older members of the congregation. The two girls paid them no mind. “When did they arrive?”
“Just last night!”
This was news to you. You were shocked at the wave of disappointment that rolled over you. They had gotten in last night? Why were you just hearing about it? You were shaken from your thoughts when the red head continued.
“Oh, that Jake is so handsome!”
That had caused you to let out a rather unladylike snort, drawing the attention of the girl who sat a few rows ahead of you. You rolled your eyes at the other two to your left. The blond man was very handsome, but if only they knew his true nature.
“He is,” the blonde nodded with a wistful sigh. “But that Bradley isn’t so bad on the eyes either. It’s been horrible going this long without seeing all those handsome men walking around town.”
Your thoughts soured at the reminder as you fought to keep your face neutral. You weren’t even sure why you cared so much. It wasn’t like you even liked the man. He was cocky, brash, pig-headed, thoughtful, brave-
You shook your head. You would not go down that road. Mercifully, the reverend had started the service moments later and you were given a reprieve from the ridiculous thoughts that insisted on taking up residence inside your head. Jake hadn’t come to see you that day, and now here you were; standing in the market and well into the next day.
You greeted Hondo where he stood behind the counter as usual.
“Mornin’, Scout!” he grinned at you. “What can I help you with today?”
“Was just coming to see if Joel was back with any sugar.”
Hondo gave you an apologetic grimace. “‘Fraid not, honey. He should be back any day now though, so you keep comin’ by and checkin’.”
“That’s alright,” you smiled. You turned to look at Levi. “Why don’t you go on down to the feed store and purchase some hay for the horses? I’ll finish up here and meet you at the stalls by the saloon.”
“Alright,” he smiled, giving you a lingering look before turning and walking out the door. You chatted with Hondo for a couple of minutes as he filled a container with salt and packed different preserves into your basket. You waved to him with a promise to check back in the following day before stepping outside. You had just made it to the stalls of the market when you felt eyes on you. A couple of girls walking by stared past you, and they giggled before you heard him speak.
“Mornin’, Scout,” Jake drawled. You turned to see him leaning up against the side of the butcher’s shop, arms crossed in front of his chest and a cocky smirk hanging from his lips. Green eyes studied you as you stared.
“Jake,”you greeted cooly, mouth pressing into a firm line. Jake’s smirk turned into a grin as he pushed off the wall, taking slow, deliberate steps towards you.
“Missed you, pretty girl,” he hummed, reaching up to dance his fingertips across your cheek.
You couldn’t stop the words that left your mouth. “Not enough to come and see me when you got back yesterday, apparently.”
Jake leaned his head back with a booming laugh, causing your cheeks to heat up. His laughter died down into a low chortle as he looked at you with twinkling eyes. “Is that why you’re being so cold to me, pretty girl? Y’mad that I didn’t come and see you?”
“Hardly,” you snapped, glaring up at him. His smile didn’t falter.
“I’m sorry, darlin’,” he chuckled, “had I known you’d be this upset, I would have come to see you first thing.”
You ignored him, turning to walk towards the stalls. He wasn’t far behind you, and when you stopped in front of a stall to inspect the apples, he pressed up against you from behind. He leaned down so that his mouth hovered over your ear. “I got something for you.”
You glanced at him from the corner of your eye, and he let out another chuckle, turning you slowly to face him. He reached into the pocket of his pants when you were fully facing him, pulling out a long, golden chain. Attached at the end was a large, cut emerald surrounded by a halo of tiny diamonds that sparkled in the late morning sunlight. Your breath caught in your throat as you stared at it, recognizing it from the jeweler’s shop just down the road. It cost a fortune, and many women around town had taken turns to stand in front of the shop windows to admire it.
“You like it?” he smirked, holding it up for you to see it closer. You nodded slowly, eyes wide.
Your hand moving on its own to reach up and stroke over the precious gem.
“Thought of you when I saw it, pretty girl,” he hummed, leaning in so that his breath fanned over your face. “Thought the green would help you remember me when I’m not here.”
“How did you afford this?” you breathed, voice so soft even to your own ears.
“I have my ways.”
Your eyes snapped up to his at that. Frowning, you took a half step back to put some distance between the two of you.
“You mean you bought it with stolen money,” you accused. “Or did you just force Mr. Benson to give it to you free of charge?”
“I bought it, if you must know,” he sniffed, looking more than a little put out at your sudden shift in tone.
“With money you earned?”
“Oh, I earned it,” he smirked ruefully.
You scoffed at that.
“You shouldn’t lie, Jake,” you said pointedly. “It’s a filthy, disgusting habit.”
“What does it matter?” he frowned. You narrowed your eyes up at him.
“It matters,” you seethed, “because I only accept gifts from men who earn their money in a respectable way.”
Before Jake could reply, you heard someone call your name.
“Scout?”
You both turned to see Levi watching you two with an uncertain expression on his face. He walked over to the two of you, and he placed an arm around your shoulder. Jake stiffened at the action, eyes blazing and lips set in a tight line.
“Is everything okay?” Levi asked. You flashed him with a quick smile.
“Yes,” you reassured him, turning back to glare at Jake who still had his eyes locked onto Levi, scanning him up and down with a look of utter distaste. “We should get going. I forgot to grab the goat’s milk for Penny and we need to get the cart to pick up the hay.”
Levi nodded, looking uncertainly between you and Jake. You turned and began to walk through the crowd without a glance back at blond behind you.
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Levi and one of the other ranch hands, Phillip, had dropped you off in front of the saloon with the promise that you would meet them by the bank before sunset. That had been a couple of hours ago, and you had fallen into an easy conversation with the older woman.
“She’s a timid, little thing,” Penny said as men began to make their way into the saloon. “I’ve never seen Bradley so sweet on anyone before. Calls her Birdie and everything.”
“That’s cute,” you smiled softly. “I hope one day someone will feel that way about me.”
“What on earth are you talkin’ about, darlin’?” she chuckled incredilously, stopping her movements to stare at you. “You’ve got that Seresin boy wrapped around your little finger.”
“Hardly,” you scoffed, rolling your eyes.
Penny shook her head and pointed an accusatory finger at you. “You may not see it, Scout, but everyone in town knows it. That boy would eat his boots if you asked him to.”
“I doubt that,” you frowned. “You know he tried to give me a necklace today?”
The older woman perked up at that. “He did?”
You nodded, humming at the memory. “You know that emerald pendant that’s been sitting in Mr. Benson’s window for forever and a day? It was that one.”
“Well where is it?” she asked curiously, eyes darting down to see the empty space by your collarbone.
“I didn’t accept it,” you said plainly, earning a look. “He bought it with stolen money, Penny. How could I accept it? I can’t. I won’t.”
Penny watched you thoughtfully for a moment. “What is it you want from him?”
You stared at the wooden top of the bar, chewing your bottom lip thoughtfully. “I want him to make an effort to do things the right way.”
“Alright,” Penny conceded, a knowing smile on her face. She turned to pull out some bottles from behind the bar, and stopped when her eyes caught sight of one of the windows. “Weren’t you supposed to meet your ranch hands at sunset?”
You turned to see what she was looking at and let out a low curse. It was clear that the sun had set ages ago, inky darkness resting against the windowpanes as lamp light filtered out.
“If you go now, they might still be waiting for you outside,” she said as you scrambled to your feet. You cast her one last smile over your shoulder before waving her goodbye. Practically sprinting out of the packed saloon, your warm cheeks were kissed by the cold, night air. Your breath came out in puffs as your eyes swept the street for any sign of the men you had come into town with. The streets were empty save for the few men who stood outside the saloon. Sighing, you figured they must have thought you had already gone home without them. You cursed again and began to make your way down the street. You had only made it three buildings down before realizing that footsteps sounded behind you, following you. The hair on the back of your neck stood on edge as a wave of terror washed over you. You quickened your pace, and tried not to panic as the footsteps behind you matched your pace. Your heart began to hammer as you heard more footsteps join in with the first.
You rounded the corner a few paces ahead of the group behnd you. You let out a yelp as a hand grabbed you from the shadows of an allyway, pulling you into a strong chest. You struggled as the man pushed you up against the wall, hand still covering your mouth.
“Hey, hey. Scout, it’s me.”
You opened your eyes, struggling to focus on the stranger in front of you as you adjusted to the darkness. Jake stood in front of you, eyes filled with worry as he watched you relax. The both of you stiffened when you heard a man shout from the front of the building, and Jake turned his head to look.
“She went this way!”
Jake looked back at you, seeming to weigh his options. He removed his hand from your mouth. “Do you trust me?”
“What?” you asked breathlessly.
“Do you trust me?”
You heard the shouts of the men grow closer as you studied the man in front of you. Slowly, you nodded.
“Then you better make this believable,” he said. Your brow furrowed in confusion. Jake reached down to grip the back of your legs, hoisting you up and pinning you againt the wall. You let out a startled gasp as he wrapped your legs around your waist, and you clutched at his shoulders. Jake gave you one final look before leaning down and pressing his lips against yours.
You weren’t sure what you had been expecting, but his lips were surprisingly soft against yours. Jake’s lips moved against yours slowly, urging you to respond. Slowly, unsurely, you began to move your lips against his and he let out a desperate sounding moan. His hands clutched your hips in a vice as he moved his knee in between your legs, slotting it against you. You let out a gasp at the action, and Jake took full advantage, slipping his tongue into your mouth. His tongue caressed yours gently as his right hand slid up the length of your body to rest under your left breast. Your hands moved on their own to tangle in the strands of hair that rested at the base of his neck, tugging lightly. Jake rewarded you with a strangled groan and a press of his knee into your core. You cried out at the action, feeling Jake grin against your mouth as he nipped on your bottom lip.
“Any sign of her?”
You moved to pull away and look at where the voice came from, but Jake’s hand moved up pull you back into him before returning to its spot on your chest.
“No,” came a voice at the enterance to the ally. “Just a randy couple back here.”
You heard him walk away, and the hammering of your heart in your chest was due only in part to the small fraction of relief at his exit. Jake licked into your mouth like a man starved, delving deeper with each pass of his tongue against yours. You felt your hips rock against his knee, and you let out a desperate keen when he pulled his lips away from you. He kissed from the corner of your mouth and down the expanse of your neck. Finding a spot below your ear that made you give out a particularly loud noise, he smiled against you before honing in. He left little nips to the spot, soothing the sting with his tongue before sucking a bruise into your skin.
“Jake,” you cried out, the pleasure clouding your mind. Jake pulled back to look at you, eyes blazing and darkened with lust. He studied you for a brief moment before a salacious grin broke out across his kiss swollen lips. His right hand moved to grab your breast, squeezing gently at the same time he ground his knee into your core. You let out a quiet wail, arching into his touch, desperate to have his lips back on you. He complied with a chuckle, leaning back in to bury his face into your neck. His left hand still sat on your hip, and he used it to help grind you against him. He left hot, open-mouthed kisses as he made his way from the base of your neck and up to your ear.
“I should take you over my knee, you know,” he ground out hotly, nipping at your earlobe. “Walking around here at night with no one to accompany you. Lucky for you I happened to be walking along.”
You let out a choked gasp as he removed his right hand from your chest, sliding it down and under your skirts. With expertise, he bunched the offending material at your waist before reaching his hand into your drawers. Your head hit the wall when you felt his finger press against your entrance.
“So wet for me already, sweeheart, and I’ve barely even touched you,” he murmured into your ear. “Nobody has ever touched you like this, have they, angel?”
You shook your head, too far gone to answer and certainly too far gone to care about the consequences. He pressed a finger into you, your mind going blank at the sudden intrusion. His finger felt so big inside of you, and you let out another choked gasp at the slight burn as he stretched you.
“I know, sweet girl,” he cooed into your ear, slowly adding a second finger and thrusting up into you. “Let me make you feel good, darlin’.”
Your cries grew higher pitched as he slowly began to pick up the pace of his hand, palm brushing the little bundle of nerves that had you seeing stars.
“You’re so tight, baby,” he moaned hotly into your ear, pressing gentle kisses to your cheek that served as a stark contrast to the way he moved his fingers inside of you. Your cheeks grew hot as you heard the squelch that sounded every time he pumped into you. “Do you hear that, pretty girl? You’re pussy is so gready, sweet thing. She keeps sucking me back in like she doesn’t want me to leave.”
He licked a strip up from the base of your neck back up to your jaw before giving the skin there a gentle nip.
“Feels good, doesn’t it, baby? Feels good to just lean back and let me take care o’ you lke this. Nobody is ever going to make you feel like the way you do right now. Only I can make you feel this good.”
“Jakey,” you whined, reaching down to draw him into a kiss. He moaned into your mouth, pulling back to stare at you hotly.
“Say it again,” he whispered against your lips, fingers moving faster as he chased your high. You felt an unfamiliar pressure begin to build in your lower stomach as you ground down onto his hand.
“Jake,” you gasped, but he shook his head, fixing you with a stern look. You felt the hot sting of tears kiss at your eyes, crying out when he slowed his movements down to a crawl. His eyes bore into you, and you tried desperately to move your hips against him, but his hand had you pinned. He tsked up at you with a borderline sneer at your pitiful attempts to get yourself off.
“Try again, sweet girl.”
“Jakey, please,” you cried, feeling a tear escape and roll down your cheek. Jake hushed you, once again resuming the pace of his thrusts. You clutched at him desperately, nails digging into the exposed skin of his chest. Jake let out a soft hiss and slipped a third finger into you, causing a loud cry to spill out past your lips. He crooked his fingers in a “come hither” motion that had you gushing around the invading appendages. He smiled. “There she is.”
“Tell me who this sweet, little cunt belongs to,” he demanded. You clenched around him at his words, a strangled moan slipping past his lips at how tight you felt.
“You,” you cried, more tears streaming down your cheeks, begging desperately for your release as you stared into his green eyes.
“What’s my name, sweetheart?” He demanded, focusing his fingers on that one spot inside you that had you crying out and clutching at him every time. “C’mon, sweet girl. What’s my name?”
“Jakey!” you cried wantonly, burying your face into his neck. His groans became breathless and constant as you began to press sweet, chaste kisses to the spot between his neck and shoulder.
“Again,” he ground out, feeling you squeeze him impossibly tighter as you neared your end. “Let this whole town know who you belong to.”
“Jakey!” you wailed at the top of your lungs. Your gaze flashed white as you came hard around him, biting into the juncture of his shoulder. You felt your release gush out past his fingers as he continued thrusting, riding out your high.
“That’s it, sweet girl,” he hummed into your ear, pressing soft kisses to your cheek as you calmed down. “I’ve got you, don’t worry.”
As your breathing returned to normal, Jake slowly pulled his fingers out of you, causing you to hiss at how empty you suddenly felt. Jake chuckled, holding your gaze as he brought his fingers up this lips. He sucked on them with a hum as he closed his eyes, savoring the taste of you. You choked out a breath at the sight, the fire inside of you returning with a vengeance at the sight.
He slowly opened his eyes to look at you, dropping his fingers back to his side. His gaze was affectionate as he leaned forward to nuzzle your nose with his. “Just as I thought.”
You looked up at him in confusion. A smirk played on his lips.
“Sweet as honey.”
Jake made sure your skirt was on correctly before pulling you by the hand out of the allyway. He walked you quickly to your front door, stopping you with a grab of your wrist before you went inside. You turned to him with a confused frown as he looked affectionately down at you, pushing a piece of hair behind your ear. He leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead, so quick you weren’t sure he had even done it. He let go of your wrist and took one step down off the porch.
“Goodnight, Scout.”
“Goodnight, Jake.”
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The next morning your brother greeted you with a scowl, chastising you for getting home so late.
“What were you even doing, Scout?” he griped. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks and you refused to look at him.
“I just lost track of the time while talking with Penny,” you answered him, quickly clearing the plates from the table. Benjamin’s scowl grew deeper at your answer.
“That was stupid,” he snapped, earning a glare from you. “You need to be more careful. Who knows what could have happe-”
“Benji, it’s fine,” you cut him off with a huff. Placing your hands on your hips, you watched him as he moved to put his work boots on to go outside. “I know last night isn’t what has you in such a foul mood, so what is it? What happened?”
He didn’t say anything as you followed him towards towards the back door.
“Benji?”
“We hired on a new ranch hand,” he said evenly, this tone worrying you more than the previous one. “Was real insistent he get a job here too.”
“Alright?” you questioned, following him down the steps and into the yard. You saw four figures hammering away at the fence posts down by the barn, and you took quick steps to keep up with your brother’s longer ones. “Do we not have enough to pay him?”
“Nothing like that,” Benjamin muttered, casting a quick glance your way before back at the figures ahead of you. “Just know I blame you for this.”
“Benjamin, are you going to tell me what this is about or-”
You were cut off as the men stopped their hammering to look at the two of you as you approached. Each one greeted you, but your eyes were glued to the newcomer. An easy grin hung on his lips and mirthful, green eyes stared at you as you gaped.
“Hey there, honey girl.”
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