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#and she keeps promising she’ll put in more of an effort
its-time-to-write · 10 months
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OOOO what about Jamie having a huge crush on the reader so much so it’s effecting how he thinks like how he was in the show where he played against Man City. So Roy and Keeley follow him (like in the show) and see him spying/ watching (he’d never admit it) the reader whos working either as a waitress or a bookshop owner because he’s too nervous to go in. Or maybe even secret girlfriend where they follow him and accidentally meet the reader whos been in a secret relationship with Jamie. Lol I hope you can understand what I was trying to say 😅
Pretty sure I picked up what you put down! Here ya go!
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don’t go wasting your emotion
Jamie Tartt is not acting like himself. 
The first person to notice is Roy, because it shows in his training. He seems… distracted. So he mentions it to Keeley, and asks her to keep an eye out. They have some big games coming up, and Richmond cannot afford a distracted Jamie. Keeley promises she’ll check up on him soon, but Jamie just keeps getting weirder.
He jumps and hides his phone when Dani plops down next to him on the locker room bench, passes the ball to the opposing side during practice, and keeps going offside. It isn’t long before the other coaches notice, as well as his teammates. The only one who doesn’t seem particularly worried is Sam. When Isaac asks him if he’s noticed anything off about Jamie, Sam just shrugs and says, “It’s probably nothing. I’m sure he’ll get over it soon.”
AFC Richmond does not have time to wait. They need Jamie to get his head out of the clouds and back firmly on earth. 
Shortly after Isaac’s talk with Sam, Colin catches Sam and Jamie whispering in the weight room. He catches snippets of words like, “can’t know,” “just do it,” and… “bookstore”? Surely he didn’t hear that right. Colin shrugs and heads to go see Trent. He’s an investigative journalist. He’s got to have some insight.
Colin presents this information to Trent, Ted, Beard, and Roy, none of whom have any real ideas. As they try to come up with plausible scenarios, Trent leans agains the door with his mug in quiet thought.
“You’ve been mighty quiet over there, Mr. Independent. What’re your thoughts?” Ted asks. 
“I’m not sure,” Trent replies. “We simply don’t have enough facts to come to a conclusion. What we need is someone to follow Jamie after work and see if that will provide any insights.”
“I’ll do it.”
The room turns to look at Roy. He looks uncomfortable. “Keeley and I have been meaning to talk to him anyway, and if he fucking catches any of you lot following him, he’ll never fucking trust you again. I’m your best choice.”
Beard looks at Ted, and they nod. 
Ted says, “Alright Roylock Holmes. You and Dr. Jones have fun tonight. Let us know what you find out,” and that’s that. 
Roy calls Keeley and tells her the situation, and it’s not hard to find a pretense for her to be with the team. It’s movie night, and she’s there more often than not. They have pretty much unanimously decided on Paddington, mostly to heal Dani’s trauma from hearing the Paddington Twitter account gave Richmond no marmalade sandwiches. That’s what they say, at least, but if they are crying within the first fifteen minutes, that’s not for anyone to say. 
Jamie sits in the back and he keeps looking at his phone. Sam pokes him and Richard catches something that sounds like, “Go- can’t expect- if you didn’t ask,” at which Jamie nods, looks around, and then slips out the door.
“Where’s he going?” Isaac asks Sam, who shrugs and says, “I would assume to use the restroom.”
Isaac turns back to the screen, but Roy and Keeley look at each other, nod, and quickly get up to follow Jamie. 
They trail him out the building and down the street, watching as he puts his hood up in an effort not to be noticed. They follow him for half a mile as Jamie makes a very purposeful trek through Richmond, unaware that he’s being followed.
Keeley and Roy turn a corner then stop, because Jamie has stopped. He’s just out of sight of some big glass windows. He checks the time, gives himself a shake, then removes his hood and pulls the door open. Keeley and Roy share a look and rush to the window.
It’s a bookstore. The sign on the door says they close an hour from now, at 9pm. Jamie is inside leaning on the checkout counter, talking and laughing with you, the cashier.
“Started that book you told me about,” he says. “You’re right. I hate it.”
“Right??” you reply. “Isn’t it awful? It makes no sense at all, and reading it makes you feel like you’re on drugs, and it’s supposed to be a classic! Thank god you only got it at the library and didn’t have to waste money on it.”
Jamie laughs. “Got any real recommendations this time? Trying to become more cultured.” 
You laugh too. “You know, you’re a lot more cultured than you think. You’ve understood most of my references, and you have an impressive vocabulary. You have a wonderful grasp on the difference between intellectual and conversational tone.”
Roy and Keeley can’t tell what you’re saying, but they’re thinking the same thing. Is Jamie blushing?
Before they can ponder this, you come out from behind the counter to lead Jamie to a shelf. You both look straight at Roy and Keeley, who duck. You turn to Jamie, humor on your face. “Friends of yours?” you quip.
“Un-fucking-fortunately,” he responds. “Oi!”
Roy and Keeley slowly pop back up and Jamie exasperatedly beckons them inside.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Roy, stoic as ever, just grunts. Keeley says, “We were worried about you! You were acting all weird and botching things at practice. We thought you were dying!”
Roy rolls his eyes. You’re doing your best to maintain a straight face. 
You know exactly who these people are. You know Keeley Jones because who doesn’t know about Keeley Jones? You know Roy Kent because he came up as a suggested search after you googled Jamie.
Jamie has been coming into your bookshop for a while now. At first it was to look for some book about forgiveness, but after you helped him pick that out he just… kept coming back. He’d lean against the counter, supported by his elbows, and stay from 8pm until closing. Usually, he was the only customer you’d get that time of night.
It wasn’t lost on you that he was a) gorgeous and b) definitely flirting with you. He wasn’t the first customer to fancy himself in love with you, but he was the first that you actually liked back. And the first who really read what you said you liked.
You just didn’t get why he hadn’t made a move yet, especially after looking him up. It didn’t make sense. You considered making the first move, but that freaked you out too much. Still, despite his inaction on that front, he kept coming back and talking to you. Sometimes he’d bring you coffee. He’d always help you close the store. You once joked that you should put him on the payroll, to which he looked at you, and deadpanned, “You couldn’t afford me.”
You’re pretty sure that’s the moment you actually fell for him. You’re a sucker for a good, stupid sense of humor.
“Why would you think I were dyin?” Jamie asks. 
Keeley shrugs and Roy answers, “Because you’ve been playing like shit.”
Jamie glares at Roy. “I have not, you dusty old twat. You take that back.”
Keeley clears her throat. “Well, actually babes, you kind of have. It’s been this whole thing. Everybody’s worried about you!”
Jamie pinches the bridge of his nose. “Jesus Christ. Why the fuck are you all in my business? Did Sam put you up to this?”
“Why the fuck would Sam put us up to this?” Roy asks.
“Because Sam caught Jamie looking at my Instagram,” you interject.
Three sets of eyes turn to you. “What?” you shrug. “Sam looked up my handle and messaged me about it. We’re friends now.”
Jamie shakes his head in disbelief and Roy says, “So Sam fucking knew about this?”
The tips of Jamie’s ears turn red as he says, “Uh, yeah, so Sam’s been telling me I need to ask her out for like fuckin ages now. Always on me about how it’s dumb to keep checking my phone for her texts, especially because I haven’t even asked for her number or some shit.”
You swear that is the dumbest, cutest thing you’ve ever heard. 
“You want my number?” your voice comes out an octave higher than you’d like it to.
Jamie turns to you. “Uh, yeah, yeah I do. Been meanin’ to ask you, but I dunno, I keep telling myself you’re just being nice to me ‘cause of your job. Didn’t want to be fuckin weird.”
You smile. “Jamie Tartt, for someone so intelligent you really are dumb sometimes.”
He looks pleased with the compliment, then offended, then he realizes what you’re saying. His face goes through those expressions in a moment and then your hand is on the back of his head, pulling him down for a kiss.
Keeley looks on with a smile and Roy stares at the ceiling uncomfortable.
You break apart and Roy says, “Oi, Tartt!”
You and Jamie turn to look at him, arms still around each other.
“This better mean you’re done fucking up practice.”
“Yes coach,” Jamie mock-salutes.
Roy gives him a singular nod, and with that, he and Keeley head out the door. Keeley gives you a little wave and a thumbs up to Jamie.
“Now, where were we?” Jamie asks. “Oh, right…”
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sunnyaelia · 2 months
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Masterlist
I currently write for Alexia Putellas, Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo, Aitana Bonmatí and Jenni Hermoso 💓
current wips
Alexia Putellas
Early Mornings
Alexia helps you wake up on early mornings, fluff
Selfcare Day
You and Alexia have a selfcare day that comes to a halt when you discover that she’s ticklish, fluff
Team Night
You’re new on the team, Alexia helps you calm down and integrate on the first team night, fluff
Pink Hair
Alexia promises that she’ll let you dye her hair pink if she wins the Champions League, fluff
Pink Hair Part 2
The teams reaction to Alexia’s new hair colour plus her making heart eyes at reader the whole time, fluff
Love and Loss
Alexia takes you for granted. As a result you fall out of love with her, angst
Love and Loss Part 2
Alexia tries to win you back, angst/fluff/happy ending
Morning Cuddles
You’re feeling extra clingy while Alexia is trying to get ready in the morning, fluff
Sweaters and Feelings
You keep stealing Alexia’s favourite sweater even after you’ve got your own, fluff
Warm Hands
Alexia helps you with your period cramps, fluff
Dates and Stares
Alexia and you going on dates though you’re mostly focused on her arms, fluff/bit suggestive
Love Hurts
You break up with Alexia because her family hates you, angst
Love Hurts Part 2
Alba tries to fix everything and Alexia wants you back, angst/comfort/fluff/happy ending
Annoyances
Alexia forces you to wake up early and go with her to a photo shoot, in return you try to be as annoying as possible so she won’t do it again, fluff
Meetings and Teasings
You like to tease Alexia, especially when she makes you come with her to boring meetings, fluff/suggestive
Laps and Regrets
In an effort to hide your relationship, Alexia gets too strict with you during training, angst/fluff/comfort
Insecurities and Drunk Talks
Alexia tries to tease you by not initiating any physical contact anymore - she doesn’t expect that you might misunderstand it and withdraw from her as a result, angst/fluff/comfort
Pokes and Showers
Alexia annoys you until you give her attention, fluff
Listener and Talker
You don’t think Alexia actually listens to you talking all the time - she proves otherwise, fluff
Listener and Talker Part 2
Alexia continues to be cute and you do some things for her to show your gratefulness, fluff
Jealousy and Sisterhood
Alexia loves how well you and her sister get along - until people start shipping you both. In an effort to stop the rumours, she drives a wedge into your relationship, fluff
Matches and Hickeys
Alexia is proud to take you with her to one of her games - until an opponent starts flirting with you, fluff/suggestive
Love Languages
Alexia’s different ways of showing her love for you, fluff
Left Out
You feel lonely at Barcelona and unwelcome in the team, angst
Left Out Part 2
Your plans to leave Barça are stopped by Alexia, angst/fluff/happy ending
Flirting and Posters
Alexia tries to make her attraction towards you obvious by flirting - you could not be more oblivious, fluff
Transfers and Teammates
Your teammates are certain that you’re transferring to the rival - it causes a misunderstanding while you’re dealing with some other issues already, angst
Transfers and Teammates Part 2
Everyone does their best to make up for their mistakes, comfort/fluff/happy ending
Clinginess and Kisses
Alexia gets quite clingy after national breaks, fluff
Sisters and Crushes
Alexia’s sister Alba is tired of Alexia’s crush on you and decides to flirt with you to make her jealous and hopefully speed things up, fluff
Hickeys and Concealer
Alexia likes to claim you by putting hickeys on your neck, she’s not a fan when you start covering them up with concealer, fluff/suggestive
Hip Thrusts
Alexia uses hip thrusts to prove to you that she can easily lift your weight, fluff/suggestive
Better For You
Seeing how much you struggle under the hate comments for being with Alexia, she breaks up with you in hopes of helping, angst
Better For You Part 2
more angst/comfort/happy ending
Love Or Game
You don’t tell Alexia that you’re injured since she has an important game coming up, she’s really unhappy with you when she finds out, slight angst/fluff
Love Bombing
You break up with Alexia because she doesn’t make enough time for you, she does everything to get you back, suggestive
Heart Eyes
You do an interview with your girlfriend Alexia who is distracted by you the entire time, fluff
Returns and Rewards
Alexia uses you to get rid of some stress post game, fluff/suggestive
Stolen Kisses
Alexia can’t resist kissing you as often as possible, fluff
Little Secret
To try and hide her true feelings for you Alexia insults you, you overhear, angst
Little Secret Part 2
Alexia grovels as she tries to make it up to you, angst/fluff/comfort/happy ending
Cats and Love
Alexia uses your cat to move your relationship from friends with benefits to actual girlfriends, fluff/suggestive
First Impressions
Alexia has a way of flirting that makes you feel like she hates you, she tries her best to fix it once she finds out, fluff/very slight angst
Forgotten
Preoccupied with her recovery, Alexia forgets your birthday and does her best to make up for it, angst/comfort/fluff
Fans and Meetings
You’re an Arsenal fan - despite that Alexia still takes an interest in you, fluff/suggestive
Leah Williamson
Movie Nights
Leah is distracted by you during move night, fluff
Grey Hairs
You find a grey hair on Leah’s head, it almost gives her a midlife crisis, fluff
Stupid Games, Stupid Prizes
Leah makes a dumb comment about how you’re clingier than her - she comes to regret it pretty fast, fluff
Old Lovers
Leah’s ex comes back to town, her lies putting a strain on the relationship with Leah and your teammates, angst/fluff/happy ending
Struggles and Proposals
Leah is ready to propose to you but her perfectionism makes it hard to decide when the correct time would be, fluff
Jealousy and Spices
Leah struggles with jealousy as one of your exes joins Arsenal, you two talk it out, angst/comfort/fluff/happy ending
Captain Orders
When someone else asks you out, Leah tries to use her captain status to prevent you from going on the date, very light angst/fluff/happy ending
Anger and Regret
After a tough loss against your team, your girlfriend is too caught up in her anger to be a nice loser, she makes it up to you, angst/fluff/happy ending
Jenni Hermoso
Physio Appointments
The new physio is flirting with you, Jenni is quick to shut it down, fluff/suggestive
Jocks and Jokes
Your girlfriend absolutely revels in making you annoyed, fluff/suggestive
Projects and Late Nights
Jenni stays up late to help you with a project, you feel horrible about her losing out on sleep but she comforts you, fluff
Aitana Bonmatí
Recipe for Love
Aitana does her best to get you out of your shell when you transfer to Barça, fluff/suggestive
Barça x reader
Laps and Regrets
Barça players comforting you when Alexia gets too strict during training - focused on Alexia x reader mostly!, angst/fluff/comfort
Left Out
You feel lonely at Barcelona and unwelcome in the team, angst
Left Out Part 2
Your plans to leave Barça are stopped by Alexia, angst/fluff/happy ending
Transfers and Teammates
Your teammates are certain that you’re transferring to the rival - it causes a misunderstanding while you’re dealing with some other issues already, angst
Transfers and Teammates Part 2
Everyone does their best to make up for their mistakes, comfort/fluff/happy ending
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stellar-skyy · 6 months
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OLDER SIBLING HCS: MONDSTADT EDITION. (PART ONE) - Platonic Jean, Rosaria, Lisa, Sucrose, Eula & reader
i. SUMMARY: Mondstadt characters with a younger sibling. ii. CONTENT WARNINGS: Implied death in Rosaria's part, mentions of food/eating in Jean's part. iii. NOTES: Fluff, slight angst, gn!reader, they/them pronouns used, 2.4k words. iv. A/N: i actually read rosaria's and eula's backstory for this, and wow... give my girls a break. i wanted to include everyone in here, before realizing how long it would get, so here is a part one for mondstadt girls! stay tuned for the rest of the nations (and maybe tell me who you want to see next?)
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JEAN
Okay let’s be honest, while Jean is an amazing big sister while she’s there, she is rarely… there.
It isn’t out of a wilful neglect, it’s rather that as the Acting Grand Master, her schedule is so tightly packed that she barely has time to breathe, let alone taking time off for personal reasons.
When she does manage to squeeze in room for you, it is usually a short slot of time between her usual tasks. Kaeya, noticing how desperate she was in rearranging her schedule to spend time with her sibling, did her the favour of crossing off some of her tasks and handing them away to other Knights.
(When she found out it was Kaeya who was messing with her schedule, she gave him a stern talking-to. She was secretly pleased that she got to spend more time with you… even if it meant chasing down some poor subordinates to make sure her jobs actually got done properly.)
Windrise is the first place that Jean likes to take you. If it’s a warm day out, she’ll pack a picnic and spread it underneath the shade of the trees. There, she’ll tell you stories; about Vennessa, about the origins of the Gunnhildr Clan, about her own adventures during her early years as a knight.
Sometimes she will reminisce with you about when you were a kid, clinging to her arm. She’ll tell you about how as soon as you learned to walk, you would follow her around like a little duckling, one tiny fist clutching the hem of her jacket. When you got a little older, you joined her in her preparation to become a proper noble, sitting beside her in etiquette lessons and observing from the sidelines during her knightly training. Even if the lessons were painfully dull, she’d always try and keep you entertained with little games to pass the time—or as much as she could without your mother staring in disapproval.
By the time she’s done with her stories, the day would have already almost finished.
It’s pleasant; peaceful in the way that one can’t grasp the flow of time until hours have past and the two of you are curled up on a picnic blanket under a sky full of stars.
She takes you for meals at Good Hunter too, letting you order whatever is on the menu. If there isn’t anything there to your liking (or if you’re just not feeling up for it that day) she is quick to whisk you home and cook you something herself.
It’s calming for her, when she’s able to direct all her focus into one manageable task like putting together a meal. She likes pizza best—a simple, delicious meal that she can put together with minimal effort and something she can easily share with her sibling.
When the day ends, and she must go home, she’ll give you a tight hug and kiss the top of your head, with a promise that you’ll spend the day together again soon.
ROSARIA
No. 1 protective sister right here.
Like, good luck to anyone who even thinks of hurting you. Their graves are already dug by the time they turn your way.
She made a promise, after all: no matter what happened, she would protect you.
It was first made when she was only a young girl, holding an even younger child in her arms. She brought you closer, squeezing her eyes shut and whispering the words into your hair. You were far too young to realise what the words truly meant, but you would come to learn their meaning as you got a little bit older and the remote village you both called home was massacred.
The bandits that took her in were apprehensive about the tiny child clinging to her leg. After all, it’s one thing to teach a little girl how to become a crook, let alone a literal toddler. But Rosaria refused to part with you, baring her teeth and yelling and screaming at anyone who even dared to suggest leaving you behind.
Your role was their errand person, mostly. While Rosaria made sure you were seen as the smaller and feebler of the pair, letting you drift away to the shadows of the crew, she also passed on everything she learned: lockpicking, thievery, and most importantly combat.
The bandits taught her how to fight, and she taught you. It was a compromise; keeping their contact with you minimal while also teaching you the skills you needed to survive in your new life.
(Even if you rarely got to use your newfound skills. Anyone who even tried to cause you trouble were swiftly taken care of by Rosaria.)
In her eyes she was doing you a favour; if you were treated as weak and insignificant, they would forget about you. And if they forgot about you, they were less likely to hurt you.
It was a blessing from Lord Barbatos himself when the group of bandits was taken down by the Knights of Favonius, and you were both swept away from the life of bloodshed and carnage that you had spent your entire childhood surrounded by. When you faced the Grand Master, you were considered young enough and inexperienced enough to be pardoned, while Rosaria began rehabilitation via the Church of Favonius.
These days, your lives are far less hectic than your youth.
During her free time (or rather the time spent slacking off on her duties) Rosaria slips away from the Church and sweeps you away for a day of bonding. If you need more clothes, she’ll drag you to every store in Mondstadt looking for something that fits you just right. It’s a sweet gesture, even if she brutally critiques your fashion choices. It’s out of love, I swear.
She also likes to just sit quietly with you, comfortably existing next to each other.  
Rosaria isn’t big on affection, but whenever she knows you won’t see each other for a long period of time, she’ll embrace you tightly and murmur a promise into your hair just like when you were kids.
“No matter what, no one will ever hurt you.”
LISA
When it comes to her loved ones, Lisa is a big fan of pet names, particularly the overly sappy ones.
Sweetheart, cutie, love—no matter who it is, anyone who is close to Lisa has probably been called at least one term of endearment in their life.
But while she has a variety of names for her favourite people, she has a habit of mentally assigning each person a different nickname that is exclusive for them.
Jean is her darling. The traveller is her cutie. Razor is her sweetie. You’re the only one to end up with two names.
There’s her most frequent one, dear.
“Oh, would you pass me that book, dear?”
If she’s feeling particularly affectionate, she’ll switch it to precious.
“(Name), my precious, are you feeling alright?”
Either way, there’s always a light teasing and subtle edge of fondness to her words when she talks to you.  
Good luck if you ever try going to her for romantic advice. She may give the most wonderful, effective guidance in the world, but it will be accompanied with heavy teasing and not-so-subtle prompts to divulge more details about your love life.
Even if you’re not interested in romance, she still finds ways to tease you.
Rest assured that despite her tormenting, she knows when to step back. She’s always been perceptive of other’s emotions, so as soon as she notices you getting upset at her words, she is already smoothly shifting the conversation to something more comfortable.
When you’re tired, she’ll let you take a nap in the library, either resting your head on your arms at her desk or curled up on one of the couches in the library. After chuckling at you (and making a mental note to tease you later about falling asleep so abruptly), she will fetch a blanket and tuck it over your shoulders.
Archons help anyone who even tries to wake you up. The library patrons learned to fear the wrath of the librarian a long time ago, and anyone who dares to disturb your peace will face the pain of Electro.
You become slightly feared in general, if only by being so closely affiliated with such an intimidating woman. If Lisa manages to get you to help track down some books, it only takes one threat of calling her to get the person to panic and hurriedly accept the late fee.
Lisa is thoroughly pleased with your work when you return, and might even treat you to some Sticky Honey Roast from Good Hunter if you’re lucky.
Overall, Lisa is a great sister. She adores her sibling more than anything, and that is what counts.
SUCROSE
Sucrose is such a sweet big sister!
She’s not the best at comforting others, but she is an amazing listener. Come to her with any of your worries, and she’ll nod along and consider your words carefully, only interrupting to suggest a solution to whatever is going on in your life.
She’s also willing to just give you a hug while you work through whatever emotions that you’re dealing with.
Speaking of which, Sucrose is a 10/10 hugger.
She will squeeze you just the right amount and rub circles into your back while she murmurs comforting words. Hugging her feels so safe and warm, like in her arms you’re sheltered from anything that could hurt you.
If you show even the slightest interest in her work, she will be thrilled. It only takes one question, a simple ‘what are you doing?’ to get her to vibrate with excitement and ask eagerly if you want to hear about her work.
She gets very rambly in her explanations but give her a little patience and she’ll go through her process, step by step. She’s more than willing to have you observe her experiments, and even participate in them if you’re confident enough to.
Sucrose is very insistent on you taking good care of yourself. She knows the detrimental effects a lack of sleep can have on a person’s health, so she makes sure you get a good rest every night, and lightly scolds you for staying up too late. On nights when you can’t sleep, she’ll make you a soothing cup of tea, and tell you stories to lull you into a slumber.
When you were younger, she would tell you all kinds of stories. With just her words, she could weave epic tales and colourful worlds, all from her own imagination. As she grew older and began her interest in alchemy, she strove to create a wonderland of her own, and make the fairy tales you loved become a reality.
Her research still has a long way to go, but rest assured she will keep going, to make your stories a reality.
EULA
Just like Rosaria, Eula is the sister who would not let anything happen to her sibling.
She won’t stand for anyone acting snobbishly towards you for your Lawrence heritage. When it comes to herself, she doesn’t care what others have to say about her. She accepted their distrust of her a long time ago, and their words do not affect her anymore.
But her sibling? Her precious, innocent baby sibling? Who has never done anything wrong in their entire life? Who doesn’t deserve a single one of the hostile remarks that they face simply for their lineage.
That simply will not slide.
She knows what it is like to be a social pariah—she was forced to become one ever since she was born into an aristocratic family—but she despises the fact that you have to go through the same thing. It only fuels her desire for vengeance, seeing someone who she knows is a good person being ostracised for no reason. She can’t help but wonder, ‘Why wasn’t I enough? If you must make someone your martyr, then why couldn’t you have settled with only hating me? Why do you have to drag another innocent person into it?’
She is well aware that her demeanour causes others to distrust her more, but at least it makes you look more palatable in comparison. Maybe if they do see her as the worst of you both, they’ll see you as a perfectly respectable person, rather than simply a Lawrence. Besides, she doesn’t owe anyone any kindness, not when none was shown to her.
Other than being a bit overprotective, Eula also adores teaching her sibling new things.
It started with bladework—an essential skill, as she called it. According to her, everyone should have at least one weapon they’re proficient in, and for you she chose swords. Catalysts were always too finicky for her, she’d never been fond of long-distance weapons like bows, and both claymores and polearms were too heavy for you at that age, so swords were the best option.
Soon enough, you were as skilled in Favonius Bladework as any knight. She was rather proud of how quickly you picked up the skill.
The one thing she is most enthusiastic for you to learn is dancing. I think if you asked her to teach you, she would have trouble hiding just how excited she is.
Despite having an open distaste for aristocratic traditions, the Dance of Sacrifice is one that she will always cherish. It is the one custom that feels close to her, and one that she only shares with the most important of people.
So of course she will share it with you.
Eula may act aloof and cold most of the time, but if you surprise her with a hug, she will simply melt. Physical affection (affection in general, actually) wasn’t given freely in your house growing up, so whenever she gets it, Eula doesn’t quite know how to react, other than embracing you back tightly.
(That privilege of being able to come that close to her without asking is strictly only tolerated by you. Anyone else, and she would have sworn vengeance ten times over.)
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reblogs and comments are appreciated! ♡
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lewmagoo · 5 months
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Waking up to find your cowboy not in bed with you. His boots aren't by the door but you can see footprints in the freshly fallen snow outside. You follow them to the barn to see Rhett, asleep on a haybale wearing just his jacket. His flannel is now a nest for the barn cat's new kittens with another fleecy blanket added in for extra warmth.
rhett’s a tender soul. always has been. despite the fact that his father tried to quash that part of him, in an effort to “toughen him up”. rhett always kept that tender part of himself when it came to animals. he’s always had a special connection with them. with his mare, june, despite her stubborn tendencies. with the mysterious crow (affectionately named john) that follows him around every time he’s outside. with the cranky barn cat that tolerates only him. he’s the cowboy snow white, as you’ve lovingly dubbed him. there are always animals in his vicinity. he’s always been good about helping animals when they’re in distress. one time, he stayed up all night with june when she developed a sickness that required round the clock care. he nursed john the crow back to health when he injured his wing. he’s been known to raise orphaned baby squirrels and rabbits.
and then there’s the time that misty the cranky barn cat becomes pregnant. rhett watches over her carefully. it’s really a sight to behold. you’ve always loved watching him interact with animals. when you’re working in the stable or going on trail rides you’ll hear the way he talks to june, a low comforting rumble, communicating with her as if she understands every word he’s saying. you suspect she does. and of course there’s the way he’s so loving toward misty. she’ll always linger around his feet when he’s in the stable, and sometimes she’ll even climb up to sit on his shoulder. that happens less and less the more heavily pregnant she becomes. and then there comes the time when she’s going to give birth.
the closer the time gets, the more rhett checks on her throughout the day. and then, one morning, he slips out of bed early, leaving a lingering kiss to your forehead as you sleep peacefully, before he shoves his boots and jacket on and trudges out through the freshly fallen snow. that’s where he finds misty huddled in a corner of the stable, in the beginning stages of labor. he knows he can’t move her into the house, it would put her into distress. so he sets up camp in the barn. all he has is his flannel, so he shrugs out of it and allows misty to lay upon it. he’s a loving and gentle coach as she births her tiny little kittens, and once they come safely into the world, he tucks an extra blanket that he found in the tack room around the litter to keep them all warm as their mama gets settled around them. not wanting to leave her alone, he leans back against some stacked hay bales, but inevitably ends up falling asleep.
that’s where you find him an hour later. after waking up to an empty bed you head out to the stable to find him fast asleep, and there is misty the barn cat on the floor beside his feet, curled up with her new babies. it’s a precious sight, especially when you see he’s given up his shirt in order for misty to have a soft place to lay. you sit beside him on a hay bale and gently coax him awake. “rise and shine, cowboy,” you murmur. he stirs awake, and as he catches you looking at him, he smiles sleepily. “had t’ come help misty give birth,” he mumbles. “i see that,” you reply. “you make a great cat midwife.” he smirks at that. “thank y’. been practicin’ my whole life for this moment.” which is partly true. he’s been involved in plenty of animal births. “well, now that you’ve helped bring kittens into the world, how about some pancakes and coffee for breakfast? i’m sure midwifing made you work up an appetite.”
the promise of pancakes and coffee gets him up and out of his bed of hay, food motivated as he is. “don’t mind if i do,” he says as he pecks your lips. he still checks on misty throughout the day, and if the temperatures drop too low during the night, he will bring her and her babies inside to keep them warm. soon, your house is full of kittens. rhett is attached to each of them, even though he knows you can’t keep them all. before you find homes for each one, this is what he constantly looks like:
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he gives one to amy. he keeps the rest, insisting that this is their home and he doesn’t want to uproot them from it. that’s how you end up having four barn cats. at least you can say you won’t ever have a mouse problem with them around 🤷‍♀️
(thank you @laracrofted for bringing up rhett covered in kittens because it’s awakened something i think)
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forever-rogue · 10 months
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Javi and Dulzura taking the kids grocery shopping and Dulzura leaves Javi with the kids(maybe she takes the youngest with her in like a baby carrier cause that’s just cute) because she forgot something a couple isles over and someone tried flirting with Javi cause they’re thinking “oh hot single dad” but Dulzura shows up just in time and is like nope.
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AN | Oh yeah, but no. No one messes with Javi when Dulzura is around! Can be read as a stand alone or part of the ‘verse! ❤️
Pairing | Javier x Fem!Reader 
Warnings | Language
Word Count | 2.7k
Masterlist | Main, Javier, A Good Man ‘Verse
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
“Javier!” you sighed as you looked through the fridge for a third time before turning back to the pantry and finding that it was just as empty as the fridge. This was definitely not good.
“What’s wrong, Dulzura?” he made his way into the kitchen, a smile on his face as he found you standing there with your hands on your hips, “I didn’t do it.”
“Oh? You don’t eat in this house anymore?” you snorted in amusement as you motioned for him to come closer. He raised an eyebrow as he came over and gave you a kiss, “we’re running dangerously low on groceries.”
“Uh oh,” he took a quick look through everything before groaning slightly, “we’re going to have to go to the store.”
“We have to go to the store,” you confirmed as a few shrieks of joy reached you from the living room, “and I think we’re going to have to take the gaggle with us.”
“The gaggle?” he couldn’t help but laugh as you nodded seriously.
“They’re like baby geese honking and running all over the place,” despite your best efforts you weren’t able to keep the smile off your face, “therefore they are our little gaggle of geese. And you’re Father Goose.”
“Does that make you Mother Goose?” he put a hand on your waist and pulled closer to his body, before wrapping you up in a tight hug.
“Nope,” you could feel him smiling against your lips, “I’m Queen Goose, and you’re all my loyal subjects.”
“And I would never dare to cross you,” he promised, taking a moment to kiss you properly, “do you think we’ll survive?”
“I can put Bella in her carrier and the others will be okay,” the two of you grimaced for a moment. It wasn’t that you didn’t love your children - you absolutely did, more than anything - but they were a lot. A whole lot, “they’re good kids. They’ll listen…they’ve been good before.”
“And we can incentivize with ice cream,” he suggested as you nodded.
“Like that was a question,” you grinned, “whatever it takes.”
“When should we go?”
“We’re going to have to feed them soon,” you playfully sighed, “unless you’ve got something else that you need to do first?”
“Never,” he pressed a kiss to the side of your head and that made you smile softly. He was always so tender and gentle with you, even after all these years, “you and the gaggle are always my number one priority.”
“Oh cielito,” you beamed at him, making his knees weak, “I love you so much.”
“I love you,” he promised, “now, let’s get everyone rounded up and get going. I have a feeling this is going to be quite an adventure.”
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
“Alright,” you and Javier jumped out of the car to quickly go over the game plan for grocery shopping. When you had a family of seven, planning was a must. It gave you some pause for a moment as you took in the scene in front of you. A large SUV filled with children and a hot husband  that were all yours. You’d never imagined that this would be your life, even when you’d first started your relationship with Javier this was never anything you’d imagined. But you wouldn’t change a thing either.
“You have your list?” you asked as he pulled the paper with the groceries he was going to procure out of his pocket. You mirrored him and held up your list, “okay, I’ll start with the kids, and then we’ll meet in the middle and swap.”
“And you’re okay with taking Bella?” 
“Yup - she’ll be strapped to my chest so she’s not going anymore,” you were very proud of your little plan, “but she’s also eight months old so she's not really going anywhere either way. You can get her next time.”
“Sounds like a deal, Dulzura,” he put his hand on your face and brushed his thumb over cheek, “you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” you could hear the small giggles from inside the car. That alone made your heart soft, “let’s get this done so we can all get some ice cream.”
“Now that sounds perfect,” he opened the back door so the two of you could start getting the kids out. Lucia hopped out, along with Diego who was much more tactful than his older sister. They clambered over to Javi as you took Bella out of her car seat and into the carrier you had on your chest. She cooed happily as you got her settled before you each grabbed out one of the twins. 
“Oh my little loves,” you grinned at them, trying to hold back your internal squeals. As they stood by Javi, you could see just how much they all seemed to take after him with their dark hair and soft eyes and bright smiles. You liked to joke that you did all the hard work with carrying them and birthing them and they betrayed you by taking after their father. Except for Bella who definitely took more after you. But you loved them all beyond words, “we are going to go grocery shopping so we can have food at home - and if you’re all good, we can go get ice cream afterwards and go to the park. What do you guys think?”
You were met with little cheers and bright smiles; alright - you had them reeled in.
“You’re going to go with your mamá,” Javier affectionately ruffled Lucia’s curls and then later on you’ll come with me. Si?”
“Si papá,” Lucia and Diego chirped happily as the twins nodded. 
“Inside voices please and stay close, okay? And remember your manners,” you gave Javi a look and he silently responded. The two of you didn’t even have to verbalize conversations anymore, you were so in sync, “okay, let’s go then kiddos! And no running either, por favor!”
“Good luck, Dulzura,” Javi punctuated his statement with a kiss as you both grabbed shopping carts, “if you want to trade off early, just say the word.”
“You’re a good man, amor,” you whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” and he gave your bum a small pinch which made your eyes widen as you tried to quiet your giggles, “and that never gets old.”
“Javier.”
“See you soon,” with that, he took off towards the other end of the store to start on his list. 
You shook your head with a fond smile as Bella babbled away, “your father is impossible, I swear. But luckily for all of you, you’re all so cute!”
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
Your children were definitely small agents of chaos, but you had to admit that they definitely listened and listened well when asked to. One would think that Javier, former DEA agent Javier, would have been the more strict parent, but if anything, it was definitely you. Luckily, there weren’t many times you had to pull out the strict mom card too often.
"Mamá?" Diego was at your side as his sisters and brother were up ahead, excitedly looking at all the bright packaging on the shelves.
"Yes, my love?" You reached down and touched his little cheek, "everything alright?"
"Mhmm," he grabbed your hand with his much smaller one, "can we get cookies?"
"Cookies?" You playfully scoffed at him as he grinned at you shyly, "you want cookies?"
"Yes please," there came your favorite little gap toothed grin, "I like the oreos! Abuelo likes them too."
"Well I can't say no to you and abuelo," you put a hand on your heart, "we can get some cookies, but you have to share with everyone."
"Even with Bella?"
"Maybe not Bella," the baby in question was already asleep again, "but your other sisters and brother and papá."
"Okay," he nodded eagerly as he padded up ahead to where he could see the telltale blue packaging. 
At the end of the aisle you saw Javier pop up and you felt yourself relaxing. He leaned against the cart and offered you a cheeky little wink accompanied by a wave. You stuck your tongue out in response as he shook his head fondly.
"Doing alright?" He asked when you made your way down the aisle. 
"Not a single hair on their heads harmed, no missing kids, and no meltdowns," you grinned as the kids all studied the different types of oreos that were available, "I promised your son some oreos. Made a sucker right out of me."
"My son?"
"Yes," you confirmed fervently, "when he makes a sucker out of me, he's your son. Other times I will take half credit for him."
"What about the others?" 
"They can be ours. But they're on thin ice!"
"You, Dulzura, are something else," he whispered before stealing a kiss. Lucia had gotten to the age where she called you both out for any sort of PDA. Diego was out at any age where he naturally agreed with his older sister. The twins were still young enough to be unbothered, "my turn?"
"Yes Daddy," you teased as his eyebrows shot up in amusement. It was your turn to wink at him as you herded the kids over to him, "all yours!"
"Two can play that game baby," you shrugged innocently, "I'll see you at the registers."
"See you soon!"
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
You were walking the rest of your half of the grocery store in peace, enjoying a few quiet moments to yourself. They were far and few in between - no complaints on your part - but nice when you got them. Bella remained sleepy, drifting in and out of a little nap, but that didn't stop you from speaking quietly to her. She was such a happy baby and so calm and sweet; she was more like Diego than her sisters and other brother. They were all unique in their own special ways.
"Alright mija," you grabbed the last of your fresh produce and set it in the cart, crossing the items off your list. You were finished now and even earlier than anticipated, "let's go see if papá needs help."
You made your way to the other end of the store, grabbing a few things that looked good on the way - going shopping when hungry was never a good idea.
You spotted Thea from around the corner and attempted to follow her to Javier when you heard him speaking to someone. It definitely wasn't one of the kids, so you wondered if it was someone you knew.
"Look at those curls," the voice was high pitched and screeching, causing you to cringe. This was definitely not someone you knew, "what beautiful children!"
"Thanks, I-"
"They're all so precious," well then, this was interesting if nothing else. You could just imagine Javier's face, "they look like you. What are their names?"
"I, ugh, ma'am-"
"I'm Lucia," you were giggling now, listening to your daughter speak up, "that's my sister Thea, that's Diego, and that's Santiago but we all call him Santi. We have a baby sister too, her name's Bella."
"You are just sweet as pie," you edged towards the end of the aisle to peek around, "and your daddy is just as sweet…and handsome!"
"Umm…"
"And to think, you're raising them on your own!" okay, now you were getting annoyed. She looked exactly like you imagined, box blonde with over the top makeup, too much plastic surgery and an outrageous outfit. And she had the audacity to flirt with your husband in front of your children! You looked at his hand and he was definitely wearing his wedding band, "you know there's something so attractive about a single father."
"I'm not-"
"I can't even imagine everything you have to go through," she put her manicured hand over her heart, "you know if you ever need anything-"
"Hello, my love!" You slapped on the biggest grin you could manage as you sauntered over to him. Relief flooded his features as soon as he saw, along with the heart eyes he always seemed to watch you, “I was looking for you! We got separated.”
“H-hey baby,” he sounded so thankful that it caused you to shoot him a quick wink, “glad you found us.”
“Me too,” you walked over and gave him a big kiss, careful not to squish the baby, “I hate being separated from you, even if its just for a few minutes. Oh, hello. And you are?”
“Millie,” her entire face fell as she looked you over. You could tell she wasn’t expecting a wife, let alone you, “y-you’re-”
“I’m his wife,” you confirmed with a sticky sweet smile, “and the mother of all of his children.”
“O-oh, I didn’t mean to…imply anything,” but yeah, you weren’t buying that for a moment.
“Oh? Well, he’s wearing a wedding ring and clearly not interested,” you were enjoying this a little too much, “but thank you for your comments on my children. They are very adorable and sweet. But we can handle them on our own, sweetie. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No,” and with that, she turned the corner and you could hear her high heels shuffling away. You let out a heavy sigh before turning back to face Javier. You weren’t quite sure what reaction you were supposed to be expecting, but it wasn’t the smug, proud expression he wore. 
“What was that?” he asked, as he watched the kids look at everything on shelves. He took a step closer to you and put a hand on your hip and gave it a gentle squeeze, “Dulzura.”
“It wasn’t anything,” you replied simply with a shrug, “I was just making sure she knows who you belong to. And to stay away from my children.”
“You’re always sexy, you know that,” he whispered close to your ear, “you’re even sexier when you’re jealous.”
“I wasn’t jealous,” you put your hand on his cheek and patted it playfully, “there’s nothing to be jealous of. You’re mine and everyone knows that. You know that.”
“I do,” he promised, “I am yours. I’ve always been yours, from the day we met.”
“Hmmm,” you mused as you pressed a kiss to his lips, “good man, Javier. I’m yours too, you know.”
“I know,” he growled as you smiled.
“Glad we’re on the same page,” you grinned, “if I ever see another woman try to make a move on you, I won’t be as nice. She caught me on a good day.”
“I doubt that’ll happen again-”
“I doubt that,” you insisted, “you’re fine as hell, Javier. Just because you refuse to see it, doesn’t mean it’s not true. You really don’t notice how all these women look at you, do you?”
“Nope,” he looked so proud of him, “because I’ve only got eyes for one woman.”
“You always know exactly what to say,” you sighed wistfully as you looked him over, “I am going to take care of you tonight, amor. Let me show you how much I love you.”
“Baby,” he groaned slightly at your insinuation, “I want to-”
“Papá!” Lucia waved at him from down the aisle, “come here!”
You laughed softly as he closed his eyes and let out a small groan. You gave him a quick kiss before nudging him towards his daughter. 
“This isn’t finished,” he whispered to you as raised an eyebrow, “I mean it, Dulzura.”
“I’m counting on that, cielito.”
“Papá! Hurry!”
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itsthewritergal · 2 years
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Birthday - Mob!Bucky x Reader
Hello hello, 
so this is my first mob!bucky... I hope I did him justice :) 
Love you lots xxx
Masterlist 
If there was one thing Bucky didn’t worry about it was money, he never bothered to check labels, checks or card machines and he had the same rule for Y/N, he had made some speech to her when they first dated that as long as Y/N was with him, and he had planned for forever, she would never have to worry about money. 
Y/N was grateful for Bucky looking after he, it wasn’t something she was used to but money was the one thing she had grown up worrying about and that and of anxiety didn’t just disappear instantly. With Y/N’s birthday looming she had made ever effort to save up as much as she could from her small cafe job for a shopping day with the girls. She refused to tell Bucky that she was already worrying about how much she could afford, knowing that he would just give her his card and tell her not to worry. 
Y/N woke up alone on her birthday, Bucky had told her that they would spend the evening together giving her the whole day to spend with her friends. Despite wanted to spend her entire birthday doting on her every whim he knew Y/N would want to spend it with her friends, so he backed off a little. By the time Y/N’s friends turned up at her door she had memorised the amount of money in her account, and just how much she could afford to spend after her train tickets and lunch. Her friends dragged her into shop after shop persuading her to buy more and more, Y/N was hesitant at first remembering her strict budget but after constant pressure from her friends she began to just keep spending. Bags upon bags were piled up on Y/N’s wrists and they continued walking around the shopping centre. 
“Where are we thinking for lunch?” One of Y/N’s friends asked, 
“Ooh well there’s this new super high market Italian restaurant over the road and it’s supposed to be amazing. We should try it!” 
“I don’t know about that” Y/N sad suddenly becoming aware of just how much she had spent 
“Come on we’re celebrating!” Her friend argued 
“I really don’t know” Y/N said, “Can’t we just get something simple?” Y/N pleaded, 
After a few comments from her friends Y/N gave in and they headed over to the restaurant, Y/N wished quietly that they wouldn’t be allowed in, or that they were full up but much to her dismay they were led to an even fancier part of the restaurant where her friends immediately ordered a bottle of champagne. 
After what felt like hours of Y/N putting on a fake smile and just wishing she had agreed to spending the day with Bucky, all of her friends had finally finished their meals. 
“Ok, so Y/N you get the bill and we’ll just go wait outside” One said simply standing up and grabbing her own bag 
“No we’re splitting this” Y/N said bluntly, 
“Come on, not everyone can have a rich boyfriend to give us money” Another laughed following the others out of the restaurant, 
“Guys you can’t do this, I can’t afford this”Y/N argued suddenly feeling a wave of despair drowning her 
“We all know you can” 
Then suddenly Y/N was left alone at the table, she half debated standing up and just leaving but she knew deep down she couldn’t never do that. 
“Here’s the bill” The waitress said with a smile, “Is that going to be on card or cash?” 
“Card please” Y/N said dreading the next few moments, 
“I’m so sorry, but it’s been declined” She said with a sympathetic smile, “Do you have another card?” She asked 
“No, I don’t” Y/N admitted “What about the girls you were here with? Where did they go?” “They wanted me to pay” Y/N admitted “let me call my other friend, I think she’s in town” 
Y/N grabbed her phone with a shaky hand and dialled Nat’s number, 
“Hey birthday gal” Nat called down the phone “Nat are you in town?” She said with shaky breaths  
“Me and Steve are, what’s up?” She asked
“I need you to come to the new Italian restaurant, my cards been declined” She whispered. 
“Two minutes darling” She said instantly, putting the phone down. 
“She’ll be here” Y/N promised the waitress, 
“Ok just give me a shout when she’s here” 
Y/N sat with her knee bouncing up and down waiting for Nat’s arrival, she knew that she would almost definitely have told Bucky the moment the phone had been put down, or if Nat hadn’t then Steve definitely would have. 
“Hey darling” Nat said pulling Y/N out of her trance, “What happened to your friends?” She asked, as Steve made his way over to the waitress, 
“Long story,” She whispered, “I’ll pay you back” She assured nat, 
“Don’t be silly, it’s the least Steve could do for you” She laughed “Are you going to tell me what happened?” 
“I don’t want to talk about it” Y/N said her mind instantly casting back to the way her friends just left, 
“They left you here alone didn’t they?” Nat said putting the pieces together, 
“No I agreed to meet them after I paid, I completely forgot that I didn’t have my other card, I should go and find them” Y/N said, 
“Are you sure? You want us to come with you?” Nat asked as Steve almost instantly materialised by her side 
“No it’s ok, I need to find them. I’ll see you guys tomorrow at Bucky’s?” 
“We’ll be there” Steve grinned, 
——-
Y/N pushed the door to her apartment open with a sigh, she had taken back every single item she had bought that day and already put the money she owed Steve into an envelope to give him the next day. She was exhausted and the last thing she wanted to do was see Bucky, knowing he would ask her all about her day and he would be able to see through her lies. 
“Hey doll” His voice rang through her small apartment 
“What are you doing here?” She asked turning around and meeting his stern gaze, 
“I can’t surprise my doll on her birthday?” He said with a raised brow 
“Sorry Buck, I’m just tired” She said wrapping her arms around his middle and breathing in his scent which instantly calmed her down, 
“Now are you going to show me what you bought?” Bucky asked as his hand tangled its way into her hair,  
Y/N den’t reply, instead she just pushed her head further into his chest 
“Doll?” He asked Y/N took a deep breath knowing that she wouldn’t be able to lie to Bucky for long without him picking up on it. 
“Didn’t get anything” She said, keeping her head buried into his chest, it wasn’t a total lie she told herself. But Bucky didn’t believe it, he lightly pushed her away form his chest and studied her face 
“What happened?” He said suddenly turning stern 
“Just didn’t like anything” Y/N said letting her gaze settle on the floor 
“Come on doll, talk to me” Bucky said manoeuvring himself to sit at one of the kitchen chairs with Y/N tugged onto his lap, and so Y/N told him. Every single detail, of her friends, the restaurant and how Nat and Steve came to save her; by the time she finished she was sobbing. 
“I’ll kill them” Bucky said 
“No Buck,” Y/N replied, knowing that he almost definitely would if she gave the word 
“They can’t get away with that” Bucky said, “They won’t get away with it, they don’t get to upset my girl on her special day” He snapped, 
“Please Bucky” She whispered “I just want to spend the evening with you”  
“Fine, but I’m not making any promises especially not if I see them” Bucky said, Y/N could sense his furious tone. 
——-
The next morning Y/N woke up in her bed alone, she had expected Bucky to be there but he wasn’t, she assumed something had come up. It wasn’t like him to use disappear, as she padded into the kitchen she heard the soft humming of the radio. 
“Buck?” She called 
“Kitchen doll” He replied 
Y/N shuffled her way into the room, her eyes widening at the sight of her kitchen full of bags of every size shape and colour. “Buck what’s going on?” 
“You took all your stuff back last night, but it was lucky I had some guys keeping an eye on you so they went and bought everything you wanted to get” 
“Bucky, you shouldn’t have done this. It’s too much” She said as he wrapped his arms around her tightly 
“I’ve told you before doll, you never have to worry about anteing when you’re with me. I’m just proving it” 
“I love you Buck” 
“I love you too doll,” He said pressing a light kiss to her lips “Now I want a fashion show” He demanded with a grin. 
Taglist :) 
@whitewineandpizzapuffs @planet-naptune@thefandomplace@sebby-staan  @poguesinablanket @witch-and-a-half@nojamsonmytoast @seanh-boredom@wanniiieeee@louweasleymalfoy @missryerye @big-galaxy-chaos@barnestatic@devilsbooksworld@lovesanimals0000@navs-bhat
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wildfaewhump · 2 months
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“It's okay that you ran.”
Irina stays where she is, more than an arms-length across the sidewalk, her hands still extended and empty. “Lourdes, I'm sorry. I scared you, and your reaction was natural.”
Lourdes knows she sees them trembling. How could she not? They're shaking so hard they're having trouble keeping a grip on the wall. Their appeasement was sour with it, unconvincing and rote. They know better. 
But she hasn't grabbed them to drag them back to the car, though they wouldn't have fought if she did. She hasn't touched them once since the bridge. 
“I'm– scared?” they echo, trying out the word. 
They're supposed to be. They're supposed to be alive with fear, a rabbit racing and racing until the cat finally tires of playing with it - but they're never, ever supposed to say so. This rabbit must smile for the claws that shred it, arch its body into death's grip like the eager whore it is. 
Irina doesn't understand the rules. She only nods, smiling a little sadly. “It's natural to be scared. The way I got you away from him was very sudden and violent. And you've had to be scared of him for a long time, I think. Is that right?”
“I–” Lourdes doesn't decide to sit down. But their good leg buckles under them, and rough cement scrapes their back open as they slide down the wall. Their breath catches against bright terror over and over, and in the blur creeping across their vision the warble of Irina's movement is too much. They fling up a hand, testing the distance between them. 
“Don't touch–”
Another rule broken, another forbidden phrase. When will she snap? When will she tire of pretending to let them say anything and run before they're told? What will it take for her to break the nameless, formless feeling burgeoning in their chest with a return to normal? 
“I won't,” she promises. 
Liar. 
It helps. Finally, something that they can understand, something to which they can shape themself in response. Of course she’ll touch. Everyone does. They breathe deeply, all the way in and all the way out. Their vision slowly refocuses. She's playing the long game with them. That's alright. They know how to play too. 
Someone skirts by their little tableau, eyes firmly on the street as they sidestep the sidewalk to get around them. People don’t look up in this part of town. 
Irina’s head turns, tracking them till they’re around the corner. She crouches across the sidewalk from Lourdes, tilting her head to watch as they start picking the glass out of their foot. 
“So, we need to get past the police line,” she starts softly, conversational as if they’re discussing dinner options. “I have some things in my car that might help. Different clothes, shoes, stuff like that. Bandages, too. For your foot. I think the best plan is to walk through, since they’ll be focused on cars, and then once we’re through I’ll get us a ride to where I was actually planning to switch cars. Sound doable to you?” 
Lourdes drops a bit of glass. It tings softly, barely audible against the underlying hum of the city. They run a testing thumb over the bottom of their foot. 
“And then what?” 
“Then I’ll tell you where I’m headed next. And you’ll tell me whether you want to come with me or whether you’d rather head out on your own.” 
Lourdes stills the flare of resentment before it can rise to twist their face. They know exactly where runaway pets with no real people to help them go. It’s the same sort of choice pets are always given. 
This time, they put effort into the tremble of their lip, the plaintive need in the way they lift their eyes to hers and extend a hand to ask for help up. 
“Okay. I can do that much, I think.” 
She gives them a too-long stare as she pulls them to their feet, but only offers her arm when they wobble through the first bright burst of pain as they put their foot down. 
They wish she’d just call them on it. They hope she doesn’t. If she tells them what she does want, they just might believe her. 
The car offers a welcome distraction from their circling thoughts. Irina pops the trunk and unzips the duffel bag inside it. 
“Here,” she offers, pulling out a dark pair of sweatpants, a long-sleeved tee, and hoodie. “You can put these on over the dress if you don’t want to change out here.” 
Lourdes’ flat look goes unnoticed as she continues diving for socks and a pair of sneakers. They strip quickly and flash a smirk as she bangs her head on the trunk at the sight of them. 
“Like what you see?” 
“I’ll like you not getting arrested for streaking,” she says drily. “Hurry up, it’s freezing out here.” 
They slip into the clothes without comment. Everything is baggy and a little too long, but the shoes stay on well enough once they wrap the laces around their ankles. Irina continues pulling things out of the duffel. Lourdes recognizes an array of makeup and wrinkles their nose. 
“This isn’t the right outfit for makeup.” 
“It’s for disguise. They’ll probably have a picture of you, but they won’t look as hard at a boyfriend.” 
Lourdes glances down across their outfit. Something feels… they shiver, willing their ghosts to stay where they left them in the white rooms. “You can do that with makeup?” 
“Yep. You ever heard of drag kings?” 
“...Queens?” 
“Yeah, same idea.” Irina turns on a small battery-powered light and guides Lourdes to sit on the edge of the trunk. She rattles through a bag of makeup. “Except people dress up as guys. I go out some weekends, have fun with it. I don’t have my full kit along, but with some contouring and a baseball cap I think you’ll pass. Try to think about the way your ex-asshole walks, like he owns the world.” 
“And drop my voice,” they try, slipping into a register they’ve never used with Geoff. It fits easier than every tailored piece he ever dressed them up in. 
“Yeah, exactly like that.” Irina flicks them a pleased glance, and for the first time since she pulled them out of Geoff’s car they feel like they’ve done something right. They tilt their head easily with her light touch along their face, letting their eyes drift over her shoulder to watch the entrance to the alleyway. Finally, she lifts up their hair and sweeps it up into a baseball cap. 
“Okay… take a look, tell me what you think.” She offers them the small mirror from her bag. 
Lourdes squints in the low light. The face in the little compact… they look at Irina, startled, waiting for a joke. She only smiles a little, refusing to give them a hint at how to react. They go back to the compact. 
“I look…” they glance at her again. It’s nothing like how they’re supposed to look. The angles of their jaw look sharper, their eyelids bare of color but heavier somehow. This isn’t the kind of makeup they were taught, which emphasizes their lips and cheekbones and clogs their eyelashes with heavy mascara. 
Geoff wouldn’t like it. 
“It looks good.” They grip the little compact tighter. They can like things without him. He’s not here to smother them with their need for him. 
“Yeah? I’m glad.” Irina tosses her supplies back in the trunk and shuts it as Lourdes stands up off the bumper. “Oh, one last thing. Can you get that bracelet off?” 
Lourdes fidgets with the hoodie’s sleeve until the long silver cuff is displayed again. “Why?” 
“I’ve got something that will cover your barcode. It’s just temporary, but it’ll fool scanners if the police line has any.” 
Lourdes inches the bracelet down over their wrist slowly, holding their breath against the discomfort of folding their thumb inwards enough to work the metal over their palm. 
“Eugh,” Irina observes sympathetically. “Did he make you put that on?” 
“We were going to a club with a no-pets policy.” 
“So he was going to just sneak you in anyway. Typical.” 
They lift a shoulder, noncommittal. It’s his right, isn’t it? They’re his pet. 
Are. Until another option is proven safe. They can’t let themself think of words like were. Not yet. 
Their wrist, proffered meekly to Irina, inks truth in stark lines across their skin. A product made for a purpose. 
She peels what looks like a square of clear plastic out of a paper sleeve, then smooths it over their wrist. It sticks like a bandage. As they watch, tilting their wrist a little to watch the play of light across it, the clear shine of it starts to melt away. They hiss a startled breath as the black of their barcode fades as well, disappearing into their skin as if it was never there. They yank their wrist away and step closer to the light, rubbing their thumb over the skin. Their skin feels… covered, slightly, but their thumb against it detects only a slight textural difference between the rest of their arm and where their barcode should be. 
“It’s not gone,” they confirm, looking back over their shoulder at Irina. “Is it?” 
“It’s still there. A friend of mine has been working on these for a while now, patches for temporary cover-ups. It’ll match your skin tone, but it’s specifically calibrated to ignore the shade of ink that WRU uses for their barcodes, and overlay the skin tone it picks up from the area around it instead. Scanners will read skin there, unlike if I were to just try to pack foundation over it until the tattoo was hidden. Lately they’ve been working for a full day, which is really exciting since it gives our people who haven’t wanted or been able to get the barcode fully removed a safe way to seek employment.” Irina grins and locks the car. “Now. You’re my boyfriend and we’re going to dinner. Ready to go scam some police?” 
Lourdes follows her out of the alley, still absorbed in watching the play of streetlamps across the skin of their wrist. As warm yellow flares with the blue and red of the police line, they snap to attention and yank their hoodie sleeve down. Irina’s fingers splay open at her side, inviting them to link hands with her. Her palm is warm and dry against theirs, as steady as her voice as she chirps a hello at the police officer watching pedestrian traffic. 
He glances across them, outwardly disinterested. “Where are you two headed tonight?” 
“Dinner,” Irina says brightly. Her voice is higher than a moment ago, her competent, brisk delivery softened into a more lilting, laughter-edged invitation. “We were thinking Chinese, right babe? Or maybe Thai.” 
Lourdes nods. 
“Got ID on you?” 
“Oh yeah, sure. What’s going on, was there an accident or something?” She pulls a slim cardfold out of her pocket and flips it open to show the officer the card in a clear case on the inside. “You brought your wallet, right babe?” 
Lourdes makes a show of patting their free hand across their pockets, hoping the movement will disguise the way their hand shakes. “Uh, no. Guess I forgot.” 
“Seriously?” Irina swivels to face them, exasperation painted across her features. “So I guess dinner’s on me again, right? You know, I’m starting to think you forget on purpose, you always do this, you call me up and it’s all, ‘hey, babe, you hungry? I wanna take you out babe, you deserve it, let me spoil you,’ and then you fucking leave your wallet–” 
“Alright, alright,” the officer interrupts. He hands Irina’s cardfold back, visibly annoyed. “Just show me your wrists, both of you, and you can take your argument elsewhere.” 
“Our wrists? Why– for fuck’s sake, fine, whatever.” Irina yanks her hand out of Lourdes’ and makes a show of shoving her sleeves up and baring her wrists for inspection. “Happy, officer?” 
“Him next.” 
Lourdes slides their sleeves up and proffers their wrists. The police officer glances at their face, then unhooks the scanner on his belt. The rush of blood in their ears partially drowns out Irina’s brassy protest. The scanner beeps over each wrist. 
“Move along,” he says, back to boredom. “And ma’am, keep your voice down.” 
Irina grabs their hand and tugs them up the sidewalk. “Yeah, yeah. Come on, I’m hungry. And if I’m paying, I’m picking.” 
She carries on until they turn the next corner. Lourdes follows, playing the chastised boyfriend with their head hung low and their free hand, with its hidden barcode, stuffed into the pocket of their hoodie. 
Out of sight of the police line, Irina drops her sentence in the middle and breathes out in explosive relief. “Fuck, it never gets easier. Are you okay?” 
Lourdes nods. They can feel their palm trembling against hers. They squeeze her hand tighter, hoping she won’t let go. 
“You were amazing,” she says, smiling as she squeezes them back. “The hard part’s over. You got out, and you’re safe. Now we’ve just got to call my ride and wait for them to get here, okay?” 
“Okay,” Lourdes echoes. They repeat it back to themself. They’re out. They’re safe. But the hard part’s just beginning: they might have to believe it. 
33 notes · View notes
kirislovelygf · 6 months
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something there (kiri sully x metkayina fem! reader)
contents: fluff, wlw flirting, shy kiri, black cat x golden retriever energy, neteyam + lo’ak being supportive brothers, kiri’s crushing HARD, wlw crushing <3
wrd count: 1.5k
a/n: hii my loves!! sorry i’ve been gone for a while, i was going through a breakup and wasn’t in the mood to write any romantic stuff, but i’m back now!! and feeling much better <3
✮ ✮
it’s been four months since the sully’s arrived.
the kids have started to grow accustomed to life on awa’atlu.
olo’eyktan tonowari’s daughter has especially grown closer to the siblings, having close relationships with all of them.
except kiri. y/n wanted to be friends with her, admiring her beauty and curiosity of the island but she never made an effort to talk to her.
because the first thing kiri noticed was that y/n became friends with neteyam first.
those two became best friends first, having many things in common.
one day, neteyam and y/n were hunting together in the reef and they began talking.
“hey, what’s the matter with your sister?” she asked him while pulling up a fishing net from the water.
they stood in the shallow water, observing the life that scattered all over the sand below.
“what do you mean?” he replied, helping her pick up the net.
“like… is she shy on purpose? she’s barely said two sentences to me since you got here.” she continued.
he laughs softly. “i’m serious, is something wrong with her or does she just hate me?”
“she doesn’t hate you. i think she actually really likes you but is intimidated by you.” he said.
“what? i’m not intimidating.” she scoffed.
neteyam side eyes her and scoffs quietly to himself. he thought she was aware but evidently, she wasn’t.
“yes, you are. i didn’t get a smile out of you until i spoke to you. up until then, you just glared at us.” he chuckled.
y/n sighs and turns around to throw the fishing net again.
“she seems nice. i just wish she didn’t look at me like she hated me.” y/n said, catching neteyam’s eyes as he stepped next to her.
“she’s like that with new people.” he shrugs.
“but i’m not new! you’ve known me for four months!” she laughed out.
“to her, you are!” he says. y/n sighs out and watches the water in front of her.
“i’ll put in a good for you later tonight. maybe then she’ll pay some attention to you.” he says.
y/n gasps as she looked up at him. “you’re the best!”
“don’t thank me till you get a date with her.” he chuckled, nudging her shoulder. she laughs softly.
the two friends continue to fish for their families before heading home later to eat them in the afternoon.
as neteyam sat in his bungalow with lo’ak and kiri, eating and talking, neteyam brought up y/n as casually as possible.
“y/n helped me catch all this, you know. she’s so cool.” he said.
kiri says nothing, just looks at him.
“oh yeah, she’s helping me make my own crossbow tomorrow.” lo’ak mentioned.
“oh cool. you should go with him, kiri.” neteyam suggested.
she stared at him for a moment, wondering why he would ask her to do that. and she asks him.
“why would i do that?” she asks, laughing almost.
neteyam keeps the act up and shrugs. “you could get to know her better. she’s nice.”
“i guess. she seems kind of like a mean girl..” kiri mumbled.
“she’s not mean! she’s super nice, i promise.” he responded.
“she doesn’t care i exist neteyam. i’d rather stay here.” she shrugged.
“fine, i’m telling dad.” he said quickly. lo’ak rolls his eyes. he’s heard that sentence in his life more times than he can count.
“fine! god, i hope you drown..” she muttered.
neteyam smiled to himself, now knowing there’s nothing else left for him to do except watch as their romance blossoms.
a couple hours pass and kiri was in her room in the bungalow and lo’ak was about to go into his when neteyam pulled him aside.
“hey, i need a favor from you.” he whispered.
“depends.” lo’ak responded.
“i’m trying to get kiri and y/n together. so, tomorrow, tell her dad kept you busy with something and you can’t make it. but don’t tell kiri, she’s still gonna go with y/n.”
lo’ak shrugs. “uh.. okay.”
“thanks. and don’t say anything!” he scolded.
“i won’t! i can keep a secret.” lo’ak argued.
to be clear, lo’ak cannot keep a secret to save his life. he’s too much of a gossip.
so. lo’ak was struggling being anywhere near kiri.
the next day comes and kiri is walking down the beach to meet up with y/n. she wasn’t worried about showing up alone because lo’ak lied and told her he’d be there later because their dad had asked him to do something.
kiri met up with y/n, who was fixing up her own crossbow while sitting comfortably on a woven knitted blanket draped over a boulder.
kiri watched her in the morning sun, as she calmly sharpened her knife that she used to make the said crossbow.
she starts to fidget with her fingers, hesitating before approaching her, but y/n looks up.
she smiled at kiri and waved her over. kiri sighs and walks over to her.
“good morning, kiri.” y/n gets up and gives kiri a kind hug.
“oh, morning, y/n.” she said, nervously hugging her back.
y/n pulls away, thinking she shouldn’t have hugged kiri with how tense she was.
“uhm, is your brother coming?” she asked her.
“yeah. but our dad asked something of him so he will be with us later.” kiri explained.
“ah.. okay. well, we can get started.” y/n smiled kindly. kiri blushed at her kind demeanor and followed her to sit on the boulder.
y/n gave kiri all the materials to make a crossbow and showed her step-by-step how to put it together and how to decorate it so others will know it’s hers.
“this reminds me of when au’nung taught me how to make mine when i was younger.” y/n smiled softly.
“oh yeah?” kiri muttered.
“mhm. i had carved a hole in the handle and tied a chain of seashells and pearls through it. it broke off a couple years later when i threw it on the floor too aggressively.” she chuckled.
“that happened to me once too. with my bow.” kiri chuckled.
y/n looks up excitedly, seeing kiri finally contributing to the conversation.
“oh really?”
“yeah. lo’ak and i were arguing over something and when i went home, i threw my bow at a tree and it snapped somehow and i had to make a new one.” kiri smiled.
she looms up and sees y/n staring at her, making her quickly try to end it.
“so.. yeah, i learned not to throw stuff around when i’m in a mood.” she muttered.
“not me. my siblings make sure to keep me away from shore when i’m mad so i can’t pick up any rocks to throw.” she shrugs.
kiri laughs softly at her joke. y/n smiles heading her laugh, it was like a little victory for her.
they finish up making the crossbows and y/n takes kiri to the outskirts of the jungle to test it out.
“uhmm.. oh here.” y/n pointed out a fruit tree with colorful fruit hanging down from the branches.
they stepped back far away enough so jodi could test out her new bow.
at the same time, neteyam and lo’ak were looking for fruit for their family to snack on.
they carried baskets against their hips as they walked and talked together.
“oh shit, look.” lo’ak chuckled. he pointed at his sister and his friend.
neteyam gasps and drops his basket.
“okay. go home, find dad’s tablet and run back here as fast as you can.” neteyam whispered.
“what? why?” lo’ak asks.
“so i can take a picture, hurry up! before they leave.” neteyam said.
lo’ak rolls his eyes but does it anyway while neteyam sits down by a tree trunk and waits for him.
“did you hear something?” y/n asked kiri, looking around the jungle.
“uh.. no.” kiri said softly.
“oh. alright, anyways. just pull this top thing back to get the arrow ready.” she instructed.
“see how the thing pulls back like a normal bow and arrow? it’s just the same but smaller and easier.” she said.
“yeah, i wonder why we never had these in the forest.” she asks softly.
“are you guys serious about traditions?” y/n asks, putting her hands on her hips.
“..yeah.”
“that’s probably why.” y/n smirked.
kiri smiled softly at her.
once they had finished and proved kiri’s new weapon worked, they caught a couple fruit and y/n walked kiri home.
“i had fun today.” kiri said softly.
“you did?”
“yeah. to be perfectly honest, i didn’t think you liked me. or even cared that i was here.” kidi admitted, turning to face y/n as they stood outside her hut.
“how could you think i don’t care? i was interested in you the moment you came here.” y/n responded. she didn’t know how it sounded until she saw kiri’s blushing face.
“oh.. so uhm..”
“yeah, uh.. i should get home. but we will hang out soon. maybe later tonight.” y/n said quickly. she was wondering why her heart was beating so fast.
“okay. bye, y/n.” kidi nodded. they stare awkwardly before turning away suddenly.
one hurriedly rushing down the woven dock and the other quickly jumping into the hut and scurrying into her room.
“kiri!”
“what, neteyam!?”
“i got somethin to show youuu…”
✮ ✮
131 notes · View notes
mercedesvince · 9 months
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Kenny McCormick, Wendy Testaburger, Bebe Stevens, and Stan Marsh with GN!Reader that loves doing pranks on them but they accidentally go too far so the reader now tries to make up for it.
Kenny McCormick, Wendy Testaburger, Bebe Stevens & Stan Marsh W/ a Prank loving Reader
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KENNY MCCORMICK
-Kenny usually laughs along with your pranks (although on a darker note a death or two of his have been caused by the pranks, not that you remember)
-He’s been agitated a few times but worst case scenario he’s just retaliated back with his own master plans
-However this time you did cross the line
-Whatever you did, it most likely involved his death for him to be extremely pissed off at you
-Of course you not being able to remember, your confused over why Kenny is so mad over a “harmless” prank
-He’s ignoring your calls, texts, attempts at face to face communication just everything
-Although most of his face is covered, you can tell he’s still pissed off
-Eventually he will forgive you, but you will have to work for it, nothing to extravagant, just something for him to know that you truly are sorry
-Make sure you let him know that you know why this time it crossed the line (you assume you just hurt his feelings), if it did any other damage, fixing it should solve the issue
-Once everything blows over your back to you being you, and Kenny returning the prank every now and then
WENDY TESTABURGER
-She may not be as tolerant with every prank but that doesn’t mean she’s no fun
-She has her fun with the more innocent ones, she’s even come up with her own to get you back a few times, and you have to admit that they were pretty good
-She likes the funny ones sometimes and they can make her have a good laugh
-But she’ll also be the first to reprehend you when you take it to far
-There have been times where a prank has bothered her and she makes sure to let you know what’s wrong
-When you take it to far though and ignore her boundaries, that’s when she gets upset
-You’d have to put in a lot of effort for her to forgive you, she isn’t going to put up with people disrespecting her, that includes her partner
-Of course, you didn’t have any ill intentions, but still
-A grand romantic gesture, and promise of never crossing her boundaries again and always respecting her feelings should go a long way on a road to forgiveness
-Even when she does forgive you, you’d have to still throw in a little gestures here and there for her, but of course as her partner you’d be more than willing
-Wendy’s a great girl, and she’ll always respect and support you, as long as you do the same for her
BEBE STEVENS
-Bebe isn’t the biggest fan of you pulling pranks on her
-She does find some of the ones you’ve pulled on your own friends funny
-One time she even helped you set one up
-If it involves her acting a part for it, she’d be more than happy too
-If you pull a prank on her that embarrasses or puts her in a bad spot, she will be extremely upset
-Bebe loves gifts, it’s her main love language, so spoiling her with gifts and a sincere apology will lead to her eventual forgiveness
-Promise to never pull a prank on her again
-Bebe does know that you enjoy doing pranks and that it’s just in your nature, but she asks that you simply keep her out of your victims list
-She’d be willing to help and even give you ideas, again because she knows this is something you enjoy doing, just how she enjoys shopping, but you have to respect her boundaries
-Listen to her talk about her new shoes, her ideas to spice up her hair, and her wardrobe, and she’d be more than happy to support you and your funny hobby (as long as she’s not the victim of it)
STAN MARSH
-Stan’s never really been a big fan of pranks (unless they’re pulled on cartman)
-He’s put up with a few for you, since he knows this is your passion, but at some point it starts getting on his nerves
-It earns you a lot of “dude come on”’s, but that’s just Stan being Stan right?
-Instead of letting you know what’s wrong, he chooses to just turn a cold shoulder to you
-In hopes of fixing things with him, you start thinking about why Stan could possibly be mad at you, then it hits you, the pranks!
-You apologize to him telling him that’s your sorry if you went to far
-He feels bad, again because he knows that you didn’t mean any harm, and your just doing what you like doing, hell it might even be your love language for him at this point
-He of course forgives you, saying that you didn’t even need to apologize and that he should’ve talked to you about what was bothering him
-You stop doing pranks on him for a bit, but Stan doesn’t wanna be the reason you lose the love of your craft, so he has a plan
-He pulls a prank on you, a small one nothing to original, but enough for you to start a prank war back with him
-You go off again, starting your pranking on Stan once again, and this time he’s not annoyed at all, just happy to see you doing what you like
Note: I’m so sorry about the long wait! I haven’t been able to write any of the requests in my inbox, but i did want to apologize for taking a long break, i hope that this was good though!
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lilis-doodle-dome · 5 months
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I have so many questions about every dynamic you can think of for this au im so interested in hearing more about the tenma siblings (toya included) and nene + emu's relationship with tsukasa
im also interested to hear how the dynamic between ena and mafuyu, emu and mafuyu, + rui and mizuki changes.
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There is not enough space in these charts for any real information aughh, sorry for the weird text sizing. Also I didn’t put that much effort into editing Kasa/Mafu in these images haha
But relationship charts between the group! Sorry it doesn’t answer every question, but hopefully it’s enough? Feel free to ask more if anything needs clarification!
Here’s a transcript:
Tsukasa- Emu: Always tries to make me smile, but should she really waste her energy on me?…Sometimes she reminds me of Saki when she was younger
Tsukasa-Nene: Stronger than she seems. The least chaotic of the others, when we’re together she doesn’t expect anything. It’s…nice, although it might not be good.
Tsukasa-Rui: Always has something new to try, but I think it’s more for his own curiosity than for my self discovery. He knows a lot, could be more helpful if he ever shared it.
Emu-Tsukasa: Someone important to me that I’ll help find the smile of, no matter what! You’re no oohm doom villain Tsukasa-kun!
Emu-Nene: The most wonderhoy singer! Thank you for helping me see what it means to be a leader, I promise to never lose sight of my troupe again.
Emu-Rui: He always has the best, most fun ideas! I really appreciate his support, we always do best with his directing!
Nene-Tsukasa: He can seem pretty intimidating, but he’s actually rather clueless. I hope he can figure himself out, just not at the expense of others.
Nene-Emu: You’ve grown into a person deserving of the title of leader and I’m grateful you brought us together. I know you’re determined about your goal, but don’t forget we’re here too.
Nene-Rui: I’ll get stronger, I won’t turn a blind eye to you ever again.
Rui-Tsukasa: He tests anything I ask of him without complaint, I wish I could say that was a good thing. Let’s keep using each other until we’ve found what we’re really looking for, okay?
Rui-Nene: I’m glad she’s standing up for herself more, but I hope she knows there’s nothing she needs to make up for. It’s just nice to perform with her again.
Rui-Emu: A truly admirable person, she’s dedicated herself wholeheartedly to other’s smiles. Your smile is something precious as well though, don’t forget that.
Mafuyu-Kanade: A musical genius to match my lyrical! Her soft mannerisms belie her unmatched stubbornness, she’ll ever so gently, tell me I’m doing too much, all while she neglects herself! How confounding!
Mafuyu-Ena: She reminds me of those small dogs that get a poor reputation for being aggressive, despite it being people ignoring their fear signals that cause those reactions. That being said, it’s rather entertaining how differently she responds to Kanade versus Mizuki.
Mafuyu-Mizuki: They’ve introduced me to many new styles I’ve never experienced before. It’s amazing how they can make the most intimidating outings seem approachable. I enjoy any and all time spent with them!
Kanade-Mafuyu: She can’t see how she’s hurting herself for the sake of others. I need to help her, someone who can actually save others- shouldn’t have to suffer for it.
Kanade-Ena: Her art is still filled with hurt, but I’m glad she’s found some peace in our group. If only I could do more for her…
Kanade-Mizuki: They always have the frankest opinions of everyone else and seem to speak their mind freely, yet rarely say anything about themself. Their perspective is always appreciated though.
Ena-Mafuyu: Aren’t the big headed types supposed to not actually be good at everything? How is that fair at all, and she’s even got the nerve to be a nice person! I’ll show her-
Ena-Kanade: She’s wonderful. The soft, patient voice-of-reason needed to reign in the group, listening to her music is like a miracle cure for bad days.
Ena-Mizuki: They’re an insistent pest, that won’t leave me in peace. I guess I don’t hate the company though and they are good at putting together outfits for photos.
Mizuki-Mafuyu: A willing dress-up doll, she’s pretty enough to be one too! Kinda reminds me of an old friend with how many questions she asks about everything, guess geniuses have that in common.
Mizuki-Kanade: Always makes sure everyone feels comfortable and safe. It’s really nice to have a space I won’t be judged…
Mizuki-Ena: She’s way too funny not to tease, but she’s just as capable as the rest of the group. It’s kinda scary how easy she is to talk to, wouldn’t want to say anything I regret.
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just-horrible-things · 6 months
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‘Verse: Resistance Story: Chewtoy AU, co-author @whump-sprite Timeline: The Resistance have rescued Connor from the feds -- skipping ahead slightly over a couple of things like meeting Alex, may or may not come back and fill in the gaps
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There's a bed for Ari in Connor's room, but she uses it as little as she can. Mostly she gets her sleep in snatches, sitting on the bed beside Connor with his head against her leg, or sitting on the floor leaning back against the side of his bed.
It’s easier to sleep when she doesn’t mean to, when she lets it creep up on her instead of lying down and trying to force it. It’s also easier to make sure she doesn’t fall too deeply into sleep.
If she sleeps too deeply she might miss the alarm for Connor's meds. 
If she sleeps too deeply, she might dream too deeply, and the last thing Connor needs is to hear her screaming. He already thinks she’s in 17 with him half the time.
If she only lets herself doze, she jolts herself awake almost as soon as the nightmares start, or else they stay shallow and formless enough that she knows she’s dreaming.
She’s down to the last of the pills and she’s spacing them out to make them last, and that means brief highs of twitchy nervous energy interspersed with long, painful stretches of exhaustion where she can barely keep her eyes open.
When she does give in, in the small hours of the night, and lay down on the bed, she stays on top of the covers and she tucks the alarm clock right into the crook between her neck and her shoulder so it can’t fail to wake her.
The sharp sound wakes her with a jolt what feels like only seconds after she’s closed her eyes.
She fumbles it trying to turn it off as fast as possible, drops it into her lap and has to grab it again. She knows it will have woken Connor too. She knows she should get up and comfort him. She knows he’s hurting, more than she has ever hurt even when he almost killed her, and she has the drugs that will make it bearable.
It’s still hard to prise her weight from the bed and force herself to get moving. It’s like she didn’t get any sleep at all, even though it was more than two hours.
“A-Ari,” Connor chokes out, laying eyes on her. “I’m safe,” she promises, hoping to head off the flood of protests that follow recognition. “I’m not hurt, no one’s hurting me. And you’re safe too, I’m here for you.”
She can’t find it in herself to put the warmth into her words that he deserves. He stares up at her with broken, pleading eyes, and she turns away to get his drugs.
Her hands are shaking so much that it’s hard to use the little dropper that measures the morphine from the bottle.
He’s breathing like it’s bad again, shallow desperate little breaths that he takes and holds and only releases with a rattle when he has to gasp for another.
“Better soon,” she promises, “I’m giving you morphine now. Gonna make it better, okay Connor?”
The few remaining pills in her backpack drag at her attention like a siren lure. She’d stop feeling sick from the sleeplessness if she took one, even just a half. She doesn’t need it, she tells herself, not now. It’s still nighttime, she’ll get Connor settled and then she’ll go back to sleep. She’ll save the precious boost for morning.
She sits by his head and strokes his hair. No one’s tried to brush it, but Morgen cleaned it with magic and the mats are slowly teasing apart through the steady work of Ariadne’s fingers. It needs cutting, but it seems weird to do that without him understanding. And Ari would only make a mess of it.
As the morphine starts to do its work, Connor’s breathing evens out and the desperation fades from his stare. He starts to look around a little, and Ari is able to relax as he does. Sleep claws at the back of her eyes, dragging her down, and it’s an effort just to keep her hand moving across Connor’s head.
She’s almost under by the time he speaks again. “... Ari?” “M’yeah? I’m here.” “Wh- ere…?”
Ari opens her eyes, blinking repeatedly to try and clear the sand from them. Anything even close to lucidity is worth being awake for.
“Safe,” she answers. “You’re out, we’re in… our room, in a place where they’re taking care of us.” Not the first time she’s given the non-answer, and probably won’t be the last. One of these times it might go in. “... how?” “I found some people who could help us. I’m sorry it took so long.” “You’re not – hurt?” “No, I’m not hurt, I’m just fine.” She forces a smile. It’s not fake, she really is more than glad that he’s looking around and not seeing a cell, not seeing her bleed and cry, or seeing Riven in her place. Just it’s hard, to make herself make any expression at all. “Everything’s… calm.” Not okay. Everything is far from okay. “No one’s gonna hurt either of us.”
He screws his face up, trying to think straight.
“I saw… I, I thought I saw…. Taryn Morgen?” Internally, Ari winces. “Yeah,” she agrees, trying to sound as chill as she possibly can. “But it’s okay. She’s… helping us.” “... Morgen helping us.”
His disbelief ought to worry Ari but all she can feel is the breathless high of relief that he’s finally understanding enough to have this conversation.
“Jesus, Ari, what did you do?” His head is tipped back to look up at her, and it’s finally Connor looking up at her, and this time she has to fight not to smile. “I made a deal,” she confesses. “I… what… what did they do to you?” He’s so lost, and so hurt, and still worried for her and her heart breaks for him. “Nothing. Nothing, they haven’t hurt me, I’m okay, I promise.”
A silence stretches between them. Ari wants so badly just to gather him into her arms and hug tight and never let go – but she can still barely touch him without hurting him.
“What was the deal,” he asks. “What… do you have to do?”
She closes her eyes, feeling her stomach drop through the mattress below her. She knew he’d ask, she had to know it, but she didn’t want to.
She wants to lie. She wants to tell him not to worry about it, the same way she’s deflected all his previous questions about where and why and who is helping him. But he was delirious then, and he wouldn’t have understood if she had told him.
“Ari… What did you promise them?”
He’s really here now, and she can’t justify lying. He has to know, sooner or later.
“I… promised them what you know.” “What I know,” he echoes, baffled. “About the department.”
His horror cuts deeper than the whip ever did. She knew they’d have to have this conversation, she just didn’t know it would be so soon.
“I’m sorry,” she says helplessly. Tears, an unwelcome surprise, itch behind her eyes. “I didn’t have anything they wanted, I’d have given them anything I could but all they wanted –” “I won’t,” he says over her. “I - I won’t do it, no.” “Connor –” “No. N-no, I won’t tell, tell them a-anything, I won’t do it.” He’s starting to panic. “Connor –” “No.”
He tries to push himself up on his elbows, and makes himself cry out with the pain of moving. Ari reaches for his head and he jerks it away from her. Wild eyes flick from her – off to the side – back to her.
“Hey, woah, it’s okay–” “No,” he repeats, and shakes his head, and even that hurts him enough to draw another choked groan from his throat. Ari’s heart is pounding. Her mind is blank. “Don’t,” she tries, “it’s, don’t, you don’t have to do anything now, it’s, we’ll talk about it –” “No,” Connor gasps. His gaze flicks back and forth again. She thought he wasn’t seeing things anymore, but maybe – “Okay,” she surrenders, “okay, I won’t make you, it’s okay…” “Please,” he whimpers, tears forming in his eyes. “It’s okay, no one’s gonna hurt you, it’s okay, just – just settle down…”
She really, really hopes it isn’t a lie. She’ll say it anyway, if it will make him calm down. If it might help him get through this enough to see reason.
He flinches from her hand again, hyperventilating painful shallow breaths. Whatever that sick, awful feeling welling up in Ariadne is, she pushes it down. She can’t afford it. She has to be calm, for Connor.
“It’s me,” she promises, “it’s just me, I won’t hurt you, it’s me, Ari…” He lets her touch his forehead, and exhales a low, wounded whine as her thumb brushes across the creased skin. He’s still far too warm, but not burning up like yesterday… “I’m here,” she says, “I’m here, I’ve got you. Lie still, okay? Don’t hurt yourself. Try to breathe slow…”
“Ari –” he croaks – “I – can’t –” “I know, I know. We’ll – we’ll take it as it comes, you don’t have to do anything right now. It’s nighttime. Just rest. I’m sorry. Just rest.”
It’s a long time before he settles. Exhaustion clogs Ari’s chest and weighs down her limbs. She’s desperate to sleep, but even when Connor finally falls asleep and she’s able to put her head back and close her eyes, somehow it doesn’t happen.
She can still feel her heart racing, drumming in her temples as another headache starts to set in. 
Morgen checks the IV, checks Ariadne’s notes on the doses she’s been giving, and nods approval. Ari swallows back a pathetic thank you.
She wants to ask her when her brother’s coming next, but she holds her tongue. They’re already getting so much more than the warlocks have to give them. She doesn’t want to seem ungrateful.
She checks all of Connor’s wounds, and changes the dressings and Connor cries and moans and whenever Ari isn’t needed as a second pair of hands, she holds his face so that he looks at her not at Morgen, and promises him that he’s being helped and that the touching will be over soon.
The fever’s still better, but he’s less lucid than he was overnight.
When they’re done, the witch motions Ariadne to join her outside.
Sweat creeps coldly down Ari’s spine. Her feet throb, and her fingers itch with nervous energy.
“I happened to overhear,” Morgen says, “that your friend doesn’t want to talk to us.” “He’ll come around.” Ariadne’s voice is steadier than her heartbeat. Full of conviction that she wishes she felt. “He’s not thinking straight, I don’t think he really understood what I was saying. Or what he was. He’ll want to help once he understands what happened, what you did for him. He’s just – scared.”
“I’m not the monster that he thinks I am,” Taryn says. “But if I were routinely this generous for free, we would cease to exist.” The threat is more than clear. They’ll get what they want – what they’re owed – even if they have to take it by force. “He’ll talk to you,” Ariadne promises. “He just needs time.” The please is on the tip of her tongue. “He can have time.” “Thank you.” “Unlike the feds,” a pointed look at Ariadne, “I take no pleasure in asking questions while someone is half delirious and I control their pain meds.” “Thank you,” Ari repeats, desperate. She didn’t need the reminder, she’s well aware of the power Taryn has over Connor, over both of them.
But she’s giving them time. Ari could fall to her knees just from the relief. She would fall to her knees if she thought Morgen wanted it, if she thought it would help. She doesn’t care about dignity. But Morgen expects her to have a conversation like a normal person, so Ari won’t beg at her feet. She can be normal. She can try.
“Once he’s a bit better, do you think he’d be more likely to talk to Alex?” Taryn asks. “He’s my better half.” Ari bites her lip, considering it seriously. She’s not fully sure what exactly made Connor panic, but Alex is much less frightening than his sister… “Maybe,” she hedges. “I’m, I’ll keep talking to him, I’ll figure out what got him scared… Once he understands, he’ll say yes, I know he will. I just need to make him understand.” “You let me know.” “I will.”
It feels like dismissal, and Ari starts to turn back to the door, back to Connor.
“Oh, and Ariadne?” “Yes?” She stops in her tracks, looks back to Taryn like a good little dog called to heel. “Do you need a break? There’s another bed you can use, in a different room.” “Oh, um,” she flounders. “I’m, I’m okay.” “I know it’s a lot, taking care of him.” Reluctantly Ari nods, but “I don’t mind,” she says. “I’m okay.” “You should take a break. I can watch Connor for you, or when I’m busy someone else can. I never meant you had to keep vigil 24/7.” “I’m getting enough sleep.” The hollows under her eyes give the lie to her words, but it is enough. She’s still functioning. “It’s okay, I – I prefer to be with him, he still doesn’t know where he is, so – when he wakes up I can be there…” “Alright,” Taryn allows. “Let me know whenever you do want to rest. I’ll make sure someone’s there. You won’t be leaving him alone.” “Thank you,” Ari repeats, just relieved not to be separated from him. “I, I will.”
She won’t.
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finerllines · 2 years
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love, rory [bestfriend!h]
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a/n: hiya thank you all for being patient and i hope this part gets you excited for the next part!! there's not too much harry in this one but i think it's still pretty fun!! please reblog and comment if you enjoyed the fic and if you wanna be tagged in the next part lmk :D
summary: richard is in his comeback era while harry has triggered his downfall
wc: 9.2k+
cw: none, a little angsty
prev part
///
This is bad. This is beyond bad, this is terrible. Everything is terrible.
Charlie hopes that her efforts to keep her panic eyes at bay are working, because they are in a crowded park with lots of families around. The last thing she wants is to attract any attention from ‘normal’ couples.
She has no idea how this happened. How she let this happen. It was just supposed to be lunch with Richard. Just one lunch for Richard to say whatever he had planned to say, and then they would go their separate ways and she’d finally block his number, forgetting that the meeting ever happened.
Instead, however, she finds herself seated across Richard, for the second time, with Rory between her legs, hands circling her waist protectively. She’s on guard, of course she is. Her daughter is the most important thing in her life. Her top priority, her only priority. She must put Rory’s needs before her own, and if that means giving her an opportunity to know her father then so be it.
The repeated reminders to herself that everything Richard says is bullshit were useless.  
“I know I’ve abandoned you, and her, but I want to make it right. She won’t remember all of this, and she’ll never have to know, because I’ll make up for all the lost time. It’s okay if you never forgive me but don’t give her a reason to need to forgive me. She doesn’t deserve it. Please don’t make me hurt her the way I hurt you.”
She forgets that they were at one point in a committed relationship, that they used to know everything about each other. The only good thing about your partner walking out of your relationship is that it’s easy to get over them, you are too blinded by rage to miss them or reminisce. But he keeps saying all the right things. And while her brain tells her to stay on guard, her heart is more than ready to trust again, eager to return to that confident and self-assured person she was before he left. More importantly, that’s how she wants Rory to view her mother, an accomplished and confident woman. Not someone who was abandoned by the people who were supposed to love her unconditionally.
So, when he asks to meet Rory ‘as a family’, all she can do is whisper a wary “okay, sure”, as if every other thought had fled her brain.
Her agreement brings them to the park, on a picnic mat next to the playground.
The wariness has subsided a little. Richard seems to be sticking true to his promise and letting her direct how this interaction would go. She doesn’t want to hand Rory to him and send them off to the playground assuming that the little girl would be okay with a stranger taking her away. Sure, Rory was comfortable with Harry almost instantly, but something in Charlie’s gut tells her that this isn’t the same. Maybe it’s because everyone knows Harry is good with kids, he is basically England’s most sought after godfather, and Richard happened to run away at the first inkling of a baby. Either way, she reminds herself to push her own skepticism away and take cues from Rory, who so far hasn’t really seemed to notice the new man sitting across from her, her attention fully occupied by the toy car in her grip.
How do you introduce a baby to a stranger, Charlie asks herself. It’s not like introducing a new pet to your home – Rory is not interested in climbing over Richard and giving him a good sniff to sus him out. The best she can do is try and help him get Rory’s attention by prying the car out of her hand and passing it to him. Sure enough, the little girl’s eyes follow the toy with confusion, but despite Richard’s waving and Charlie’s encouragements, all she does is crawl over to him to reach for the car, completely uninterested in reciprocating the greeting.
“Rory, you don’t wanna say ‘hi’ to mummy’s friend?” She holds Rory’s hand and waves at him, “Say ‘hi’ Richard.”
Rory’s arm falls limply in front of her when it’s let go off. She simply looks at him with wide eyes, not saying or doing anything.
Richard clears his throat. “Hi Rory, can I play with you?”
Lying down on his stomach, he peers up at her and slowly reaches for another toy car and starts driving it in front of her. After some hesitation, Rory joins him in pushing and pulling her car around on the mat. And as much as Charlie hates to admit it, the smile that emerges on Richard’s face is a little infectious. Relief and excitement are written all over his face. Having your daughter ignore you can’t be a good feeling.
While he doesn’t manage to go from zero to a hundred (like Harry managed to), he did get a wave back and a giggle out of her, and when he placed his hand palm up on the mat hoping for a high five, Rory did wrap her hand around his thumb instead.
When the playground got more crowded later in the afternoon, Charlie insisted on taking their leave. Richard walked them to the car and pulled silly faces over her shoulder as she buckled Rory into the car seat.
“Thanks for letting me do this. I had a great time with her, and I think she likes me.” His voice is soft, and his eyes portray a shyness that is not normally there.
Charlie lets him take a step towards her when she turns to face him. This is the closest they’ve been since … well since he left.
“You’re welcome. It went well I think.”
His eyes brightened. “Does that mean I can see her again? Does that mean I can see you again?”
She bites her lip. “We’ll see, we can text about it, I guess. But do not come to my house uninvited ever.”
“I promise I won’t. That was stupid of me, I’m sorry.” He shakes his head aggressively. “You can trust me. I made a mistake but I’m back to make it right.”
Unsure of what to say, she just nods. “Alright. See you next time, possibly.”
On the drive home, she replays the little playdate over in her head. Everything went fine. Father and daughter seemed to get along fine. But is fine enough? She can’t help but compare Richard to Harry, something she subconsciously did ever since meeting Richard. It’s a little hard to compare first interactions, Rory was groggy and hungry the first time she met Harry. But every time after that, she was more than happy to play with him. In fact, she was in Harry’s arms every day after that.
Maybe she’s being too harsh, Harry had the advantage of being in her home and being around them every day. Plus, a lukewarm reaction is definitely better than a negative one. She has to give Richard a fair shot, he is Rory’s father, and it won’t be fair to deny her of that relationship just because of some personal bias towards Harry. Giving her daughter a chance to grow up with both parents is more important than her own feelings, she could never take that away from Rory.
Just thinking about Rory growing up to realise that her father didn’t love her enough to stick around from the beginning, and that her mother didn’t love her enough to put her first made Charlie feel sick. She can protect Rory from feeling unloved and unwanted.
She will.
-
Somehow Charlie’s life has taken a sharp left turn in a span of a month. Not only is Richard not blocked, he is also one of the few people she texts semi-regularly. She has no clue how it happened. All she remembers is getting a text from him thanking her again when she was lying in bed after their little family reunion and scheduling another playdate together the next week.
She figured it couldn’t hurt, a little trip to Costa won’t hurt anyone. She was right, she and her daughter came back from the coffee shop unscathed. But it did lead to her agreeing to another meeting with Richard, and another, and another, and another. Now, as she sits on a towel watching Rory and Richard build a sandcastle, she sifts through every conversation, look, and gesture that brought her to the beach with her ex-boyfriend and her daughter.
The beach seemed harmless enough, it’s a public place and definitely child friendly, however the fact that he would be in a state of undress completely flew over her head. She either managed to overlook that fact somehow, or just took it for granted that she is incapable of being attracted to a man who made her feel small and insecure.
When he whipped off his shirt seconds after putting his stuff down, Charlie stood frozen, eyes glued to his chest for a good couple of seconds. He must have felt her eyes on him because when she fails to look away quick enough, he shoots her a boyish smirk, which sends a rush of heat up her neck and face, finally forcing her to snap out of it and look away.
Red flags immediately start waving in her head. This is dangerous territory, retreat. As much as she’d like to be rational and heed the warning, her heart is stubborn and won’t move on from how handsome he is. She hates to admit it but the time apart did his body good.
He was always a looker, that’s what drew her to him in the first place, but he somehow got more attractive. His body filled out a bit more, and the sun is doing him lots of favours by hitting his skin just right, making his eyes and smile brighter.
Annoyingly, Charlie finds herself sneaking glances at Richard throughout the day – when he holds Rory’s hand to slowly walk her down to the water, when he looks back at her for reassurance after making Rory laugh, and when he hands her an ice cream with a soft smile.
They sit around a cooler bag for lunch, picking at the sandwiches and fruit that Richard packed. He does up a little plate of foods she previously approved for Rory and guides her hands to encourage her to start eating. Charlie notes his movements are less timid. He still handles her watchfully, trying to gauge Rory’s reaction to being touched by him, except his movements no longer stutter.
Rory’s been exceptionally well behaved the whole morning, happily rolling around in the sand and kicking her feet up with excited shrieks when her feet get lowered into the sea. It’s been an action packed morning and she’s completely justified in whining and kicking up a big fuss, refusing to eat her food.
A long, high pitched whine escapes her lips as she pushes Richard’s hand away. Her lips form a deep pout, eyes widening to look at her mum as if pleading for something.
“What’s wrong? She hurt?”
Charlie smirks at Richard’s unease. “Nothing’s wrong, she’s just a baby, and this is what babies do. They whine and cry when they’re tired or hungry while also refusing to sleep or eat.”
His expression doesn’t relax.
She returns her daughter’s pout and opens her arms. Rory instantly takes the invitation and crawls over for a cuddle. “You’ll have to get used to it. Being a parent is more than giggles at the beach.”
“I’ll … have to keep that in mind then.”
The pair sit in silence as Rory drifts to sleep in Charlie’s rocking arms after stubbornly eating a couple of blueberries and a piece of bread.
Eventually, Richard gets bold enough to slide closer to them. He strokes Rory’s back once slowly. “She’s adorable.”
“I guess we did good.”
He chuckles lightly. “Yeah. Crazy to think that she’s half of me. Half of us.”
His words are weighty. They both know it.
When she doesn’t respond, he continues. “Is she like me?”
“A little. She’s quite outgoing, likes attention, likes to perform.”
“What are you trying to say then?” he asks playfully. It’s been a while since he joked around with her.
“You know I’m right. You’ve always loved telling your stories and getting a laugh from everyone and I liked watching from the side.”
“Hey,” he says, tucking a finger under Charlie’s chin to make their eyes meet, “I like hearing you talk about us, about what we used to be. We were good.”
She doesn’t know what reply would be appropriate, so she chooses to keep quiet. It has been a while since she’s properly looked into Richard’s eyes.
Maybe Richard isn’t as magnetic as Harry and doesn’t cause emotion to build and build in her chest, only to gently deflate the build back up again, but he’s familiar and comforting all the same. As much as she hates to admit it, it feels nice to see Richard shoot her flirty smirks and order her favourite ice cream without having to ask, it feels nice to have someone want to rebuild a relationship with her, even if it’s not a romantic one.
She decides to let herself lean in. They are just two adults trying to co-parent for the sake of their daughter, nothing more. So what if he makes her blush? Their daughter had to come from somewhere. This is good. Rory gets a chance to be raised by both parents, and maybe once she shirks off the abandoned single mother reputation her parents will see Rory as the blessing she is. Rory will get to have a full family, parents, grandparents, the works.
The only issue with committing to co-parenting with Richard is that she definitely can’t put off telling Harry about it now. No more secrets, she owes him that much.
-
Turns out the universe hates Charlie because again, the opportunity to deliver news to Harry is taken away from her.
“What’s this?” Harry asks as he holds his phone in front of his laptop camera. A grainy photo fills the screen.
“Good morning to you too.”
“Charlie.” His voice is short.
She squints trying to figure out what she is supposed to be looking at. Then, her jaw drops.
“Is that, is that …”
“You and Rory with Richard? Yeah.”
“Wh-what? H-how?” she stutters with bewilderment, “Who took that photo?”
“Some fan, I don’t know.”
“Why would they take a photo, you weren’t with us?”
Harry’s silent for the first time this conversation, seeming to have run out of answers. “H, why did they take a photo?” His hand holding up the photo starts to tremble ever so slightly. “H, what aren’t you telling me?”
“What aren’t you telling me?” he counters.
“Harry.” Her voice is stern now. “Look at me.”
With a huff, he lowers his hand to reveal his tense jaw and furrowed brows. Charlie doesn’t say anything. She’s run of words.
His hand drags down his face slowly. “Because people saw us at the park the last time, so they think monkey’s mine and you’re cheating on me.”
It’s Charlie’s turn to clench her jaw and furrow her brows. “What.”
“That day in the park, someone took a photo of us and we were holding hands and stuff so they think we’re together. You can’t make out Rory’s face they just, they recognise you, so they just assumed.”
“They?”
He clears his throat.
“The fans. The internet.”
The ground disappears beneath her feet. Every hair on her body stands up, her skin feeling cold and prickly. She hears Harry saying her name faintly, but she can’t make out his voice clearly over the ringing in her ears.
“When was this?” Charlie’s whispering now.
“I don’t under-“
“When did the park photos first get posted.”
“Um,” if she could get her eyes to focus through the tears, she would see the dread on his face, “the day after. The day I left.”
Harry could practically hear the wheels grinding in her head.  
“You knew,” she finally says. “You told me to stay offline because of promo. That was right after you left.”
“Love, I –“
“You lied to me. How long did you think you could keep this up before I found out?”
Her tone is so flat that he isn’t sure whether she’s asking him a question or making a statement.
“I was trying to get the photos taken down, I didn’t want you to get scared for no reason.”
Charlie snaps out of her reverie.
“No reason?” Her gaze is piercing, ice cold. “You know damn well I have a good reason to be scared. I think you’re just fucking selfish.”
“Selfish?”
He has the nerve to look offended, she thinks.
“You don’t want me to keep Rory away from you, don’t want me to realise that Rory being seen with you is dangerous. I said over and over that we have to be careful, we can’t just make last minute trips to the park in the middle of the day, but you insisted. Turns out,” she’s close to shouting now, “we were fortunate enough to not be followed home, to not have you walking into my home holding my baby plastered all over the internet, for everyone to see and speculate.”
“That’s not true and you know it.”
“Do I?” she laughs humourlessly, “Because I think, no, I know that if you didn’t see the photos with Richard, you would never have told me that millions of people have photos of my daughter.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t want to worry my best friend. And everyone would’ve forgotten about Rory if you weren’t seen parading around with Richard. Who the hell brings their baby on dates, with the man that walked out on them no less? You’ll just let anyone hold Rory then, huh? Have some self-respect, if not for yourself then for Rory.”
“Richard is Rory’s father, he has more of a right to hold Rory than you.” Harry’s jaw snaps shut. “And who I let be around my daughter is frankly none of your business. What, you spend two weeks with her and suddenly know what’s best for her? I am her mother. You do not have the right to tell me how to parent her. And it wasn’t a date, not that it matters. Heaven forbid that Richard had a change of heart and decided that Rory is someone worthy of love. At least he cares enough about Rory to suck up his pride and apologise, unlike you who doesn’t give a shit about her safety.”
He chooses to ignore the words directed at him, feeling too fired up to think rationally. He goes for the low hanging fruit instead. “C’mon, you can’t be stupid enough to think that Richard really changed that much in just one year. He obviously has some sort of motive and you’re dumb enough to fall for whatever bullshit he’s feeding you.”
A bitter taste fills his mouth the moment the words leave his lips. He opens his mouth to take it back, but he doesn’t get the chance.
“Fuck you.” All the bite in her voice is gone, reduced to something breathy and shaky.
She disconnects the call not trusting herself to keep it together any longer. Frankly, she’s surprised she’s still sitting up right because all she wants to do is curl up into a ball and will the ground to swallow her whole.
How the hell is she going to do literally anything else for the rest of the day.
Taking advantage of the lump in her throat, she calls work to take a sick day and cancels the sitter. Her head feels like it’s filled with static with her consciousness bouncing from one crisis to another.
But when she sees Rory smiling to herself as she plays in the playpen with the blissful obliviousness only a child can have, it seems like everything stands still. That smile is something special. Nothing else matters. Not her own feelings and definitely not Harry’s feelings.
“My sweet girl,” she coos, reaching to pick Rory up. Her cheeks are rosy and her little baby teeth are on display as she stares at her mother with an open mouthed grin.
The tension in Charlie’s body slowly dissipates as she rocks side to side, her daughter cuddled close to her chest. As if sensing her distress, Rory doesn’t wiggle or kick her legs, simply pressing her cheek firmly against her mother’s chest and reaching her little hand up to rest on Charlie’s neck, as if she’s trying to soothe. Charlie tries her best to repress the memory of what just happened, mindful to not squeeze her daughter too hard.
It’s only when Rory mumbles “mamama” that she breaks and starts to cry.
-
“Harry!”
“Huh? Sorry, I’m listening.”
Harry was in fact not listening, in fact he hasn’t been listening for the past couple of hours, or days really. It’s hard to be excited for a new era, new album, and new tour, when all he wants is to go home and grovel at Charlie’s feet until she forgives him. He can’t believe he was stupid enough to say all that shit to her. If he heard anyone disrespect her and her daughter like that, he would deck them immediately, cameras be damned. But he can’t punch himself silly, so he settles with mentally berating himself. It’s hard to absorb what everyone else is saying when every word he said to Charlie is constantly replaying in his head, only pausing when he does his daily internet browse to make sure no new photos of Charlie and Rory have surfaced.
Normally, he would tell himself to get lost in his work. It’s a little hard to do that this time when so much of the album is about the person he hurt, and it doesn’t help that there are a couple late additions that hit especially hard right now.
He reads through the prepared list of pointers on what to say to skilfully answer questions about the photos with Charlie and Rory yet say absolutely nothing. He sighs. He never wants to have to talk about them in public ever, especially not to Howard Stern.
“So, Harry, I want to talk about a couple of very interesting photos that have emerged over the past couple of weeks. This is, as your fans have deduced, your long time friend and who we presume to be her baby. This picture of the two of you holding hands looks particularly romantic.”
He schools his expression, trying to maintain his unbothered façade. “Sure,” he says simply, hoping that it comes across nonchalant rather than through gritted teeth.
The studio breaks out in polite giggles assuming that his reply is part of some bit he is doing. “Is that all you’re gonna give us I mean, the fans want to know.”
“Really? Well, like you said my fans know that the woman in the photos has been in my life since I was a kid, and they know that I care about the people in my life a lot.”
“Oh, so you’re confirming that the woman in the photos is your childhood best friend, Charlie? That’s good to know. For someone who’s been around you for so long we know very little about her.”
He hates that Stern knows her name. “Umm, well there isn’t much to know. She’s just a regular person, regular job, regular life. So, not much to talk about.” His non-statement is punctuated with a challenging eyebrow quirk as if daring Howard to say anything else about Charlie.
“Okay, I guess that is all Harry Styles wants to give us today everyone.”
Harry has never been so glad to talk about Sarah and Mitch. He’ll have to thank them for taking the heat off him later.
When he’s finally done with a long day of clenching his jaw and biting his tongue, he’s stopped in the carpark by his assistant. “Your apartment security needs you to pick up a package when you get back. They say it has to be by today.”
He assumed that it’s just a wardrobe item from Lambert that needs to be approved, so he’s fully confused by the bouquet of flowers awaiting him. He pulls out the little card.
Dear H,
Congrats on the new album! I know everyone will love it and love you just like we do. I’m proud of the star you’ve become, and Rory and I can’t wait for you to come home, she wants to celebrate with her Uncle Harry. xx
Love, Charlie and Rory
The fact that he made it into the lift before starting to cry is a feat. This wasn’t a breathy, body-wracking kind of cry. He doesn’t even realise he is crying until tears start falling onto the card that he can’t seem to peel his eyes from.
Friends fight all the time, but Harry and Charlie aren’t regular friends. She must have arranged for the delivery before the dreaded call because he isn’t convinced that she’s misses him right now. Why would she.
His heart plumets back to the bottom of his stomach. What is supposed to be a career milestone is now marred by his jealously and possessiveness over someone he has no right feeling that way towards.
He wants to celebrate with them, more than anything. He wants to dance around the living room with Rory in his arms while Charlie drinks in the album with his mum and sister on the sofa. Like a family.
With a restless heart, he squeezes his eyes shut and goes through the rollerdex of memories of the three of them to soothe himself to sleep. 
-
Charlie feels like a terrible friend when she needs to be reminded that her best friend’s third album is dropping via an email invoice from a florist, a florist that she doesn’t even remember engaging. 
She was excited for the release. The sitter has been booked for the night of the One Night Only show, where she intended to debut the Gucci flares Harry bought her to match with him a little, ever since the date got confirmed. Now, she supposes, it’d be stupid of her to assume that he even wants her there, tainting a celebratory night with memories of their falling out.
Was it just a falling out though? There was a finality about it that left a funny feeling in her chest. But there is no way she’s going to be the one to reach out and apologise first. Sure, she said some hurtful things, but so did he. After having forgiven Richard, a task she previously thought would be impossible, she’s frankly over being forgiving.
If she sits unoccupied in silence for too long, the fear that Fine Line may now be the last album release she gets to be a part of would creep in. If she had somehow foreseen this falling out, she would have made more of an effort to celebrate with him that year.
It doesn’t help that on the day of release, Charlie receives a package from LA addressed to her with no return address – not that it’s needed, there’s only one person who would send her stuff from LA. She’s hesitant to open it. Maybe he’s shipped her old books and things back, like an actual break up. That would hurt.
The offending package stays sealed on the coffee table all day, floating in the back of her mind as she moves through a long day of corporate work and mum work. When Rory waddles over and drags it onto the carpet with a thud, she knows that the package can’t be a coffee table fixture any longer.
“You want to see what Uncle Harry sent huh, lovie.”
Rory, wide-eyed and rosy cheeked, leans onto her shoulder for support as she mumbles, “Yummy.” That’s her new word of the week.
Sitting the package in her lap, she slices it open with shaky hands, pre-emptively wincing.
The first thing that greets her is a folded piece of lined paper, clearly ripped out of a notebook. Setting that under her thigh – she’ll tackle that later when she is at liberty to sob into her blanket – item after item gets pulled out of the deceptively small box. Unfolding the pieces of clothing reveals a hoodie with ‘Harry’s House’ printed on the right corner and a shirt with an upside down flowerpot plastered on the front. Accompanying them is a Rory-sized sweat set with the same branding, packed with a note saying, ‘Maybe seeing my name written on her pants will help her learn my name xx’.
A wave of emotion washes over her, breath hitching. She’s confused. He writes as if nothing had happened between them, as if certain he’ll be back to cuddle Rory the moment her bottom lip turns downward.
Leaning to the side to release the note, she unfolds it, which takes an embarrassing amount of tries because she is full on shaking now. Her chest is tight. Her lungs don’t fill fully with air.
Dear Charlie,
I promise to apologise for what I said but I want to do that in person. I understand if you don’t want to see or hear from me, so while I’ll miss you at the shows (you also have Manchester tickets if you change your mind), it won’t feel right if you’re not part of this release. It probably makes me even more of a prick to send you stuff with my face and name all over it but it’s a good thing that being a prick comes naturally to me.
I want you to have something from this release because a piece (a big piece) of the album is yours, just like all the previous albums. You’re my muse always, and now monkey is too. So many of these songs are for you. I’m not going to embarrass you, and me, by telling you which songs were inspired by you and the life we’ve shared. If you can bring yourself to, I want you to listen to the album knowing that there’s no Harry without Charlie, and there are a few songs that I wrote after spending those weeks with the both of you. They were too good to be true and I needed to immortalise those feelings somehow.
I’ll earn your trust again, swear on my life. I want to be in monkey’s life forever, even if it means sharing her with someone else. You can scream and hit me, send me a Christmas list every year, or make me play nice with Richard every day. I’ll do anything. Call if you or monkey need me, and I’ll be right there.
Please let me see the both of you again. I love you. Both of you.
Love,
H xxx
Charlie blinks furiously to try and hold the tears back, eyes stinging from how hard she’s been staring at the letter, reading his words over and over, only forcing herself to look away when her vision gets too blurry.
There’s a good couple of hours before midnight when the album comes out. Hopefully the nightly chores are enough to occupy her mind. She doesn’t know if she’ll make it to midnight if she has to sit in her thoughts for more than a minute.
You’re my muse always. There’s no Harry without Charlie.
That’s all she hears in the back of her head in between each song as she makes her way down the track list, back resting against her headboard. Her mind inadvertently scans each title and lyric for something, anything; anything to help her make sense of what Harry meant.
As It Was lulls her into a false sense of security. That must be the one about her, a song about childhood and change – she ticks all the boxes. A subconscious sigh of relief escapes her lips when the next track starts.
Honestly, Charlie’s not sure what she’s so scared of, this isn’t the first time he’s revealed that she’s inspired songs. He did tell her flat out that he started writing Falling after he woke up from their phone call during an extremely drunk and emotional night. Yet, none of that quite compares to the intimacy of being deemed someone’s muse, a prominent enough source of inspiration for this album to somehow belong to her despite having said or heard nothing. Like she lives in his thoughts, through the flings and the sold out shows, still lingering.
The next two songs are easier pills to swallow. She doesn’t love being reminded that Harry loves love and has good sex, but the years have taught her how to switch off the possessive part of her brain and just enjoy the good music. Needless to say, she’s a little blindsided by the chorus of Matilda.
It’s definitely not subtle. Vague, yes. But not subtle. Doesn’t help that he sent Rory a Matilda picture book like month ago.
It’s like a slap in the face.
She wants to dig up her anger towards Harry and feel offended and hurt, be mad at him for harbouring these feelings about her life as if she didn’t deserve to know. But she knows she can’t, the emotional turmoil and confusion wasn’t enough to turn off the rational part of her brain.
She remembers what he told her: you’re doing such a good job raising her, she’s such a happy baby.
She is starting her own family, with her, Rory, and maybe Richard. Richard probably doesn’t love Rory yet, but he must be on his way. So, Harry’s right, she is starting a family that will be full of love.
This new rush of motivation builds within her until the croon of Boyfriends registers and knocks all it down. She’s sitting up now, eyes narrowed and face scrunched as if the song is a nuanced piece of poetry filled with metaphors and symbolism, instead of a pop song that blatantly slags off shitty boyfriends and relationships.
It just seems a little too on the nose. He did call her stupid, and if she hadn’t hung up on him, he might have called her a fool as well.
Squeezing her eyes shut and pinching the bridge of her nose, she wills the creeping feeling that this song is about her and Richard away. He only found out about Richard a couple weeks ago, she reassures herself, there’s no way he wrote, recorded, and produced this song in time.
Unfortunately, one of the other possible explanations might be even worse – he wrote this before Richard was back in the picture, meaning, again, that he has felt this way for more than a month and he just failed to tell her, for whatever reason.
If Harry really thinks that she’s an idiot for letting Richard back in and wanting to be part of a loving family, then she’s crushed. Especially because that would make Rory a clumsy mistake. Collateral damage. A product of her stupidity.
A shiver shoots up her body as she jolts out of her reverie, finger hastily pausing the album.
No, there’s no way. How could she even think that? This is Harry, her Harry. All he’s done is love her, and the tenderness in his eyes whenever he looked at Rory simply cannot be faked. Also, he would never air his disapproval to millions before speaking to her about it. Despite how shitty his words were, he’s not that scummy.  
Tilting her head back to rest against the headboard, she shakily gasps through her mouth as if crying silently. Soon, her breaths quicken, chest rising and falling dramatically. She’s sobbing, but there are no tears. A pathetic sight, truly.
She hates herself. Truly. Turns out being abandoned doesn’t make you more independent. Just desperate for love and approval.
She feels alone and admonished, like she should have known better than to have her hopes pinned on two men. And when she feels like this, the only thing her heart craves is Harry. Her Harry. The Harry who begged her parents to let her come along with Anne to his X Factor audition because having her backstage would make him sing better.
Before she can second guess herself, she reaching for her phone and sends a quick message, not even thinking before pressing send.
It’s good.
With a sigh of resignation, she locks her phone and slides under the covers, ready for the day to end. She turns away from the side table before the screen awakes with a notification.
I’m glad. xx
-
“You wanna dance, Rory?”
Charlie’s making her morning coffee with a smiley baby standing by her on a little babyproof stool.
“Yay!” Rory wears a bright open-mouthed grin, showing off her growing teeth. She’s swaying back and forth, smacking her hands on the countertop.
She’s such a happy baby.
“Hey Google, play Late Night Talking by Harry Styles on Spotify.”
Gripping the safety bar in front of her, Rory starts giggling and bouncing along.
-
Another weekend, another play date with Richard. They’re going to farmers market to let Rory do some arts and crafts with the other local children. It’ll be their first time being co-parents in front of others. Charlie spent all night trying to decide how much of a couple they should be. Most of the other parents would know that they had separated, and because of that stupid photograph, everyone knows that they have reunited in some capacity.
She’s not looking forward to the watchful eyes.
Just when she thinks enough time has passed for the town to no longer find her little scandal exciting, fucking Richard comes back into the picture to invite another season of viewers.
“I’m going to get her cleaned up and changed. Make yourself comfortable, or … reacquainted I guess.”
It’s the first time Richard has made it through the doorway since leaving. He didn’t officially move in when they were together because he insisted on keeping his house as a ‘creative getaway’. In hindsight, that should have been a glaring red flag, especially since ‘creative’ is not how anyone would describe Richard. But it all worked out, in a way. Now that she trusts him to carry her daughter, she figures that he can be trusted to wait in the living room.
When Charlie returns to the living room, Richard is studying the coffee table book about photography she bought as home décor after he left, appearing to be midway through a lap around the living room.
Charlie checked every romance cliché after being abandoned. Cut and dyed her hair, blocked Richard and any mutual friends (or more accurately, his friends that later became ‘their’ friends), and did a deep clean of their previously shared house before redecorating everything – she tried looking at the bright side by constantly telling herself that being alone meant that she could finally decorate how she wanted, without having to accommodate his ‘boy junk’.
The easy to clean, minimalist aesthetic was swapped for a more eclectic one, one that felt her own and cosy. A mustard yellow footstool to accompany a burnt orange rug in the living room, a pair of cow mugs as ornaments on the shelf, and a High School Musical poster she found in at the bottom of her drawer. It’s not like she has one night stands to impress, so why not do her morning skincare next to a Troy Bolton poster blu-tacked next to the dresser. In hindsight, the minimalist living room would be easier to babyproof, but growing up surrounded by colour can’t be a bad thing for a baby.
As much as she hates to admit it, the romcom heroines were right.
Changing these things did feel like she was ridding herself of the past, ridding herself of the Charlie that people were okay leaving behind, the Charlie that was pitiful. It marked the start of a new life for herself.
Seeing a piece of her ‘old life’ in her new living room does feel strange. She can tell he feels strange too. Out of place. From the kitchen, she watches Richard move about as if he’s in a museum, inspecting and observing, occasionally picking things up to get a closer look, hands returning to their place behind his back every time. She tries to get a read on his expression. The coffee table book gets no reaction, his mouth staying in a straight, tight line. Her CD collection, however, gets a brow quirk and a scoff, the latter in response to the Harry’s House CD that accompanied the clothing.
Guess their little man rivalry is still not over.
He doesn’t comment about what she’s done to her house. In fact, he doesn’t say much to her the whole morning. He played nice in front of the other parents at the market, cracking jokes and skilfully skirting around questions about their relationship. He also did well with his daughter, who seemed to finally start to recognise him, helping her reach for markers and stickers, and giving her little high fives. His odd lukewarm energy was only directed at Rory when the radio playing throughout the market started playing a familiar song.
It took a couple seconds for the little girl to register and recognise the synth, but when she did, she turned to look at her mother, as if for confirmation that she is hearing one of the Uncle Harry’s songs. Rory shared a smile with Charlie and used the crafts table to stabilise herself as she bounces along to the music.
“Yeah Rory, it’s Uncle Harry. You like this song, don’t you? My clever girl.” Charlie pushed Rory’s hair away from her eyes. In her periphery, she saw Richard’s face drop into something unpleasant.
It was like his mask slipped for a split second, the change in expression so sudden and abrupt. By the time Rory turned to face him, hoping to dance with him, his features evened back out.
Despite how closely they were being watched, Charlie doesn’t think, or at least she hoped, that anyone else sensed that change in Richard. If not, the rumour mill would not stop turning, spinning some sort of story about a rivalry about these two men competing over her daughter.
Charlie decides to say something once they get back and has Rory’s lunch settled.
“Is something going on? You’ve been kind of quiet today, and at the market you became a little strange.”
 “Oh?” He raises his eyebrows. There is something in his tone that makes Charlie feel like she’s being challenged. “Yeah, you think?”
She fights hard not to roll her eyes. She doesn’t want this to escalate. “We were together for two years. I think I can tell when you’re a little off.”
“Okay, tell me then.”
“You have just been more quiet than usual and when Rory wanted to dance with you, you didn’t try to engage with her like I expected. On any other day I’d think you would have jumped at the opportunity to -”
“- jumped at the opportunity to what? Gain your approval? Win you over? Seems a bit too late for that.”
She’s confused by his sudden animosity. “No, not mine. Rory’s.”
“Hah. Seems like its too late for that too.”
“Okay, what’s going on?”
He leans against the kitchen counter and folds his arms. “Nothing, nothing.” He takes a sip of water. “I’ve just realised that Harry fucking Styles is always going to be one step ahead of me and I don’t know why I try.”
“Harry?” she asks. After a beat of silence, she asks again. “What does Harry have to do with anything?”
“You tell me because for some reason, even when it comes to my daughter, he wins. I thought that a couple weeks head start can’t be that much, I’m her father. Yet for some reason, he’s managed to win her over before I could get a fair shot.” He rolls his eyes then mumbles, “She must get that from you.”
Charlie takes a beat to stew over his words. There’s something about what he said that makes her stomach turn. At first, she thinks it’s his tone, that mix of condescension and arrogance, as if he was robbed of something, as if she robbed him of something.
“Richard, if something is bothering you just tell me what it is and stop speaking in code. Whatever weird competition you think you have with –“
She freezes midsentence, unblinking.
“What?” he asks.
Her head snaps to face the man in her kitchen. Rory, who appears to be oblivious to the tension in the air, continues to fist smushed blueberries into her mouth.
“How did you know Harry met Rory before you?”
He thinks for a second, then says, “Because you have his album lying around and photos with him on the fridge. And c’mon, one of his new songs play and Rory is somehow able to recognise it.”
“No, you specifically said that he met her a couple weeks before you.” A beat of silence passes. Then, the lump in her throat grows so large that she has to physically swallow before she can speak again. “I think,” she pauses to steady her voice, “I think you lied to me. You lied to me about not knowing that I kept the baby.”
“Woah, lied is a bit of a strong word Charles,” he says, still trying to keep his tone casual.
Charlie’s having none of it. She’s over being lied to and made to look the fool.
She goes straight in, sounding nothing short of accusatory. “Why did you come back, Richard? Because of some sick game you think you have with Harry, some sick game that you’ve decided to drag me and my daughter into?”
“Oh, so now she’s back to being your daughter is she?”
“Please, you don’t have to act like you care about her anymore. Tell me the truth. Now.”
“Fine,” he throws his hands up like he’s being accosted, “do you know how humiliating it is to find out about your daughter from everyone else? How much it sucks to be sent link after link of Daily Mail articles because your daughter has apparently been photographed with Harry Styles? For fuck’s sake.”
“Do you know how humiliating it is to have basically the whole town know that your long term partner doesn’t love you enough to stay and raise a child with you? You didn’t even stay long enough to talk about it, ask whether I wanted to keep or abort it. The minute you heard I was pregnant you took off spouting some bullshit excuse.”
“Look, I’m sorry, okay. Is that what you want to hear? But I spent years being compared to Harry. Your friends, family, neighbours, everyone. All they talked about was how sweet Harry is, how successful Harry is. He may have managed to charm everyone else in this town, but he has not fooled me. I see him for the cocky douche he is. I tried to be nice to him because he’s your best friend or whatever, but I’m tired of being the bigger person and ignoring his stupid smirks and snide comments. And because you decided to go parading around with him and Rory, all I’ll ever hear is how good he looks with her. I can’t let that fucker haunt me even after I’ve washed my hands off of you.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you,” she goes to pick Rory out of the highchair and hugs her protectively to her chest, “but doesn’t just look good with her, he is good with her. And whatever perceived rivalry you have with Harry doesn’t justify anything. I’m sorry your male ego is hurt but all of that is in your head, and if you thought that you could be a good father by being fuelled by your pride, then you’re more of an idiot than I thought.
“You lied to me, and you lied to my daughter. What was your plan? To play the role of a doting father until you got Rory more attached to you than to Harry, then disappear from her life again once you felt satisfied? Get a grip Richard, you’re almost 30. No one is playing these stupid games but you.
“I know those years meant nothing to you, but it meant something to me, and I’d appreciate it if you’d think about someone else for once and never come near me or my daughter ever again.”
Richard scoffs, face straining so hard that he’s almost vibrating. “Fine. Don’t come crawling back to me for help when Mr. Popstar gets too busy for the both of you. If you want to be delusional and think that he’s going to stick around this little town for you, you are more than welcome.”
His gaze on them as he leaves is so piercing that she instinctively cups the back of Rory’s head to shield her.
When the door slams shut, her daughter flinches in her arms a little. The silence is deafening, ringing in her ears as the weight of what just happened slowly sinks in.
Mindlessly, her body moves to wash the dried food on Rory’s face and seats her in the middle of the play area. Charlie’s body all but crumples onto the sofa, eyes staring straight ahead. Feeling tears start to well, she tips her head back to look up at the ceiling, willing them back into her eyes. She refuses to cry over that piece of shit ever again.
At least she managed to keep herself from screaming. The last thing she wants is to scare her daughter.
She’s such a happy baby.
She feels like she’s underwater. Everything around her is blurry, head filled with muffled voices. Her head feels like it’s rocking, being pushed and pulled by the rolling of waves as she slowly floats to the surface. Like the sharpness of taking a deep gasp of air, there is a pinch in her chest that forces her to come to her senses and digest the intensity of the last fifteen minutes.
Apparently, she is incapable of keeping people from walking out of her life. Even with her best efforts and best intentions, she managed to push away two people from Rory’s life - one person twice - all before she turns two. That has to be some kind of record.
It’s funny, she feels raw and wounded. Richard came and plugged this hole in her heart, the hole that he happened to leave behind. And yet now, she is in no hurry to mend that hole, to rebuild those walls and go back to not needing anyone else. Making amends is admitting defeat, admitting that Richard had the power to hurt her; trying to undo the damage means acknowledging that there is damage, and wearing her weakness on her sleeve.
She’s tired.
So what if people know that she’s unwanted goods? You can’t break what’s already broken. If people want to come in and out of her life, so be it. The only person she needs to protect is Rory. People can use her until they lose interest for all she cares. They just can’t use Rory. She’s more than happy to be an emotional punching bag if it means that she keeps her daughter sheltered from it all.
Harry was right. She is stupid. Stupid to think that Richard had a change of heart and stupid to be so ready to let people into Rory’s life. Good thing Richard left as soon as he came. Rory didn’t get a chance to get attached to him, unlike with Harry. 
Harry. She needs to apologise to Harry.
-
Charlie is a coward. A coward and a pushover.
All the pink cowboy hats and feather boas in the train carriage are mocking her. She keeps her head tipped downwards, staring down at her phone, hoping that none of the fans recognise her.
She knew this was a bad idea. But when Anne calls telling you how excited she is to finally be going to a concert with you again, how do you say no. She can’t exactly tell Anne that her son called her stupid and a crap mother, so she’s still too hurt to see him, but turns out he was right so she is also embarrassed.
The train to London was nerve wrecking. All she could think about was what to say to him when they finally met, if she should apologise first, and if they should talk then and there. Some higher power must have been working in her favour because the train got delayed just enough to allow her to make it for the concert while skipping the pre-show socialising in the friends and family area where Harry was sure to have made an appearance.
Leaning against the train window, the roughness of the tracks causes her head to jostle around. It’s a welcomed disturbance. It keeps her anchored to reality, stopping her from getting too lost in the mental image of Harry’s face when he spotted her in the crowd. If she had blinked, she would have missed it. Just the quickest flash of realisation, brows falling for a split second, almost impossible to read from so far away. She has no idea if it was relief or disappointment. It didn’t help that he proceeded to avoid eye contact with her for the rest of the concert.
So, she fled. Using Rory as an excuse, as per usual. She told Anne and Gemma she had to catch the next train home and couldn’t stick around to wait to see Harry. After smiling apologetically when Anne half-heartedly scolded her for not bringing Rory with her, she wedged her purse securely under her arm and legged it, making her way to the station amidst the swarm of fans who were still screaming and crying from the experience.
It is only when she locks the front door behind the babysitter that she lets her guard down, shoulders slouching and face falling, exhausted from contorting her face and body to hopefully emanate the vibe that she was happy to be there. She was, truly. She loves supporting him. Supporting him just becomes ten times more exhausting when you are constantly self-conscious about how you are being perceived by the thousands of people in the arena, and worried that you are unwanted.
Despite how drained she is, sleep does not come easy. She is restless, her head refusing to stop going a hundred miles an hour. She isn’t even thinking about anything really, it’s just white noise, refusing to go away.
Finally, she reaches for her phone. Squinting at the sudden brightness, the text is typed and sent in less than a minute.
Sorry I couldn’t stay, but I’m proud of you. Electric as always.
Her heart settles when the small ‘delivered’ sign appears.
When she wakes up, there is no reply.
taglist (lmk if you wanna be tagged in the next part): @harrysfolklore @behindmygreyeyes @suspectedstyles @celestial-holland @xcaitlin101x @outofthisworl-d @haz-nn @zaynshoes @lissymarie22
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sapphicsaints · 8 months
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omg i just discovered your blog and i’m in love 🥹 i instantly fell in love with tamar and i wish there were more fics about her out there (and tolya too, perks of being bi)
if you’re still taking requests, could you please write about reader possibly being a lantsov and grisha at the same time? maybe she’s super close with nikolai and tamar is like her sworn protector? idk, something with some angst (like reader getting hurt during an attack or something) but all ends well? i mean she’s the princess of ravka, she better survive 😅
thank you so much, and please, keep writing, i love your fics! 💙
I made a promise
Tamar x f!GrishaLantsovReader
A/N: Sorry this took me so long, I loved writing this thank you! I made this so it should hopefully fit with both the books and the tv show, and I'm still taking requests please send them :)
Warnings: Injury 
Word Count: ~2k
Summary: “She’s a handful.” He warned her.
“How bad could-” 
“Don’t say it.” He interrupted her, and she laughed. “You mean it, if she comes with us, you’ll swear to protect her?” 
“Yes.” Tamar looked a bit exasperated. “I will,”  
-
Y/n was the first Lantsov Grisha in a long time – but she was convinced by her mother to keep her powers a secret – and her heritage. Two bastards? Her mother had been busy. She was two years younger than her brother, and over time they’d bonded over many things, including their suspicious heritage. 
Unfortunately she didn’t gain his silver tongue. Her brashness and attitude got her into trouble at the Little Palace. As soon as she completed her military service, which she’d run away to do, just like her dear brother – they sent her to study in Ketterdam, at her insistence. The well compensated shipping clerk did put up a good effort, but she managed to get the truth out of him. Her brother got an earful when she tracked him down, mostly about how pissed she was he didn’t tell her, or let her go with him, and on and on. The guards that accompanied him were highly amused. Shu twins – she liked them immediately. Especially the girl, Tamar. 
“At least tell me where you’re headed next?” 
He sighed, “Novyi Zem.” 
“Take me with you when you come back?” 
“I’ll think about it.” That was a no. 
She set her best glare on him, “I guess I can’t follow in your footsteps forever. I heard they’re hiring in the barrel…” 
“No.” His voice was sharp. 
“Who are you to tell me what to do? You’re a pirate.” 
“Privateer.” He corrected me. “And that’s different from joining a gang.” 
“Renting out heart-rending services is different than actually joining a gang.” She rolled her eyes. 
“And how do you know they won’t hold you hostage?” 
“I’m good at hiding,” she blew it off. “Everyone thinks I’m in the southern colonies to recover from my ‘illness’.” He nodded, she had a point. “And I wasn’t exactly paraded around like you or Vasily. I’m the obvious bastard. Mother never cared” 
“Careful” he warned, she was treading dangerous ground. He still loved their mother despite everything, and she knew that. But she couldn't care less for them. They’d discarded her at the first possible opportunity, why should she waste energy on them? 
She took a deep breath. “I’m already doing it. There’s no point in trying to stop me now.” 
“Can’t blame me for wanting to protect you.” 
“I was infantry too” was her response. “I can take care of myself.” 
“And if you can’t?” 
“We’ll see just how much father thinks I’m worth.”
-
“She’s very insistent.” Tamar commented later that night. “You might as well let her come.” 
“She’ll be in danger with us.” Nikolai hedged. 
“But there is more danger in Ketterdam.” Tamar countered. “Especially for Grisha.” 
“Will you swear to protect her?” Nikolai said, half-jokingly, rolling his shoulders back and leaning against the railing. They’d set sail in two mornings. 
“I swear it.” Nikolai blinked once. The only sign of his surprise. 
“She’s a handful.” He warned her. 
“How bad could-”
“Don’t say it.” He interrupted her, and she laughed. “You mean it, if she comes with us, you’ll swear to protect her?” 
“Yes.” Tamar looked a bit exasperated. “I will, and I’ll teach her.” 
“You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.” His head shook. Y/n’s already quite good with a blade and pistol, but under Tamar’s tutelage, she’ll absolutely shine. If she doesn’t kill her first.
“I like a little challenge now and then.” 
-
Nikolai ended up eating his words. Tamar and Y/n got along incredibly well, and ended up being absolutely lethal together. He made her repeat her story a hundred times before she came within eye-sight of the ship. A stray heart-render Nikolai found. Her Kerch is fluent, so they passed her off as being from Ketterdam. Also speaks Ravkan and Fjerdan. Y/n seemed to understand the seriousness of it.  
“Stray. Like I’m a scruffy dog.” 
“At least you get to keep your name. It’s common enough.”  He’d reasoned. Not her real name, one she’d already made up for herself. He was, but shouldn’t have been, surprised to find his sister had a few fake persona’s ready. 
“A serious question,” he asked her. “How did you track me down?” 
She looked at him like he was the stupidest human alive, and he was transported back to their childhood. 
“Pirates need to swim, Nikolai!” Y/n had jumped in the lake, her boots discarded on the bank. “See.” She waved her arms above her head, treading the water. 
“I’m going to be a privateer.” He scowled, pushing out the small ‘boat’ they’d built together. Random bits of wood they found around the castle. What looked like the top of Y/n’s wooden nightstand, sawed off, and strung together with some ripped up curtains. 
“Same thing.” She huffed. “Get in.” He slowly waded in, glaring at her the entire time. Saints, the water is freezing. Why did he let her convince him to come swim anyways? Spring is barely here.
“Why do I always have to push the boat?”  
“Things were easy back then, weren’t they?” She murmured, as if she’d seen the memory too. Easy. They didn’t know what the word ‘bastard’ meant, or why Y/n’s ‘powers’ were a secret, even from Vasily. Vasily - who didn’t give a shit about them. Never asked after Y/n once in his letters. Thinking about him would put Nikolai in an unnecessary piss poor mood, so he thought about the future instead. What it might look like out on the seas, but with his sister by his side this time. 
-
“Tamar, would you defend me if Nikolai tried to turn me into a broodmare?” 
Zoya spit her tea out across the table, right onto Y/n’s shirt, who jumped, grabbing a cloth napkin to try and soak it up, glaring at the squaller, who only looked at her incredulously. 
“Did she just say that?” Zoya turned to Genya, who looked at the possible broodmare, sucking in her lips to keep from laughing. 
“It’s a genuine concern.” Y/n protested. 
“Saints, Y/n.” Nikolai spoke from the door. “You’ve asked her that every day for the last week, always when I’m in earshot. Is there something you’d like to ask me yourself? You’d make a pisspoor broodmare. For the record.” 
“No,” Y/n leaned her head back, tilting slightly to meet Tamar’s eyes with an easy grin on her face. “I’d rather ask Tamar.” 
Nikolai let out a long-suffering sigh. One he saved especially for her. Zoya had watched the whole interaction closely. Nikolai looked both annoyed and amused. Tamar went along with it, almost like it was a joke between them. Between them. No matter how much she’d poked and prodded, neither would say anything about a possible romantic relationship. 
“I’m sworn to protect her.” Tamar had emphasized. As far as she knew, sworn protectors didn’t need to stand that close. Or glare daggers at any men or women who looked at her a bit too appreciatively. Nikolai didn’t seem to care about it. 
-
Everything happened incredibly fast. One minute, she was on her horse, laughing at a joke Tamar told, the next she’s in her bed with a pounding headache, and pain radiating through every inch of her. Hushed voices spoke in the background, quieting as soon as she groaned. Her mouth was dry, and even opening her eyes felt like too great of a task.
“Can you hear me?” A strained voice sounded, “Y/n?” She can, she can hear them, but she can’t do anything - can’t move, can’t blink, can’t speak. With great effort, she shifts her hand slightly. By a sharp inhale, she can tell the motion is noticed. Saints, why can’t she just open her eyes? Her consciousness flickers out slowly, and she drifts back to sleep, the hushed, strained voice still haunting her. 
-
Tamar could barely sleep, could hardly think beyond how she failed. She failed y/n, failed her promise to Nikolai, and now she’s lying in her bed - deathly injured, and barely awake. Healers have been there around the clock, doing everything they can to keep the princess alive. 
“If you hadn’t gotten her back when you did …” One of them said to her, shaking her head as she walked off. Tamar could’ve throttled the woman. Was that supposed to make her feel better? If anything it made her feel worse. Knowing just how Y/n was, just how close she still is. 
“Any improvement?” Nikolai asked, hands in his pockets, strolling down the hall. To anyone else, he might’ve looked nonchalant, but she could see the tension in his shoulders, the tight lines in his face. 
“Based on how you’re still pacing like a trapped tiger, I’d say no.” The attempted joke fell flat, both of them staring at the other. 
“I don’t blame you.” Nikolai said quietly. 
“That doesn’t matter.” Tamar stared back at the door, at the room she’d been kicked out of an hour ago. I blame myself, went unsaid. He didn’t bother trying to convince her otherwise, knowing it’s futile. 
-
“It’s been a week.” An unfamiliar voice spoke in a hushed tone. 
“I know.” Another said grimly. 
“I didn’t know.” Y/n grumbled, her voice hoarse. A shocked gasp sounded, and if she could she would have rolled her eyes. Saints, people are dramatic. At the moment, opening her eyes felt like the hardest thing she’s ever done, later she might admit she’s a tad dramatic. White ceilings, she squinted against the bright light in the room, hearing the sounds of curtains shutting. “That’s better.” She sighed. 
A warm, calloused hand gripped her gently, “Y/n.” Her voice sounded like a whisper, or maybe a prayer. She turned her head slightly, Tamar. At that moment, she decided that’s her favorite view to wake up to. One she’d like to see for the rest of her days. 
“Hi.” A half laugh half sob emerged from the woman’s throat, a grin fighting its way onto her face. “Don’t look so sad.” She pouted. 
“We need to see her.” An irritating voice grated against her ears. 
“You can see me fine from here.” She snapped. Her throat already feels rough and sore. From a few measly words. 
“Glad to see near death hasn’t dimmed your spirits.” Nikolai.
“So that’s what happened,” she mused. The mattress shifted, and Tamar sat next to her, hand still gripping hers. 
“I have to insist you clear the area.” The same irritating voice sounded, tittering across the room. 
“I have to insist you shut up.” She’s a princess, she can get away with this, right? “And leave.” 
Blood pressure skyrocketed from her left. Good, she’s glad she pissed the woman off. 
“Very well, your highness.” Footsteps padded out of the room, good riddance. 
“She was trying to help.” Tamar chastised, but she could tell she’s pleased. 
“You heal me.” 
She hesitated, but Nikolai snorted. “You heard the princess.” Y/n could sense there was something else Tamar wanted to say. 
“Nikolai leave.” 
“Glad to see you too.” He muttered, but sauntered out of the room. 
“I- I’m sorry.” Tamar said quietly. She looked heartbroken. 
“You have nothing to-”
“No.” She said insistently, “I swore to protect you.” 
“You what?!” 
“I made a promise to protect you, and I failed.” 
“Tamar,” y/n said quietly, “how did I get back to the castle?” 
“I brought you.” 
“What happened to the attackers?” 
“They’re dead.” Her voice hardened. 
“You did protect me. I’d be dead if I was out there alone.” Her hand gripped hers tighter. Y/n managed to raise her arm, with some effort, and kiss the back of her hand. A smile crossed the other woman’s face. “You didn’t fail.” She emphasized, and could tell Tamar didn’t really believe her, but something in her seemed to relax, a bit of tension left her shoulders. Tamar’s thumb ran over the back over her hand, and her heart started pounding and she bit nervously on her bottom lip and decided to bite the bullet, pushing up on her elbows. 
One hand gripped the back of Tamar’s head, pulling her down. A calloused hand gripped her cheek, meeting her halfway.
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snoozingredpanda · 3 months
Note
Happy holidays! How are the girls celebrating this year with reader?
Happy holidays!! I haven’t written in ages so bear with me lol. I’ve also added my newest OC, Lockie :)
Holidays with the Girls [Benni, Nox, Fenix, Rudy, Lockie]
GN!Reader
Warnings: Loneliness, depression, anxiety, accident resulting in a physical disability
Benni
• Benni absolutely loves the holiday season. It’s her favourite, after Halloween. She loves Christmas traditions, such as decorating her dorm room, cooking lots of festive foods and gifting her friends presents.
• Before she met you, she didn’t have many people to gift, and often gave presents to people she knew were a little lonely like her, such as the collage dinner ladies, the principle, and even the weird kid who sat alone at lunch. She loves seeing their eyes light up, especially when they open it and find something that Benni had spent hours choosing.
• And when you came along into her life, she had even more fun with her holiday cheer. She loves going shopping with you to find Christmas jumpers and gingerbread house kits, piling the shopping cart with decorations she definitely does not need yet wants anyways.
• She loves picking Christmas films to watch with you, curling up on the couch together, wrapped in a million blankets to keep the cold out. Her favourites are Deck the Halls and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. She always says the grinch reminds her of her mother, laughing gently as she does.
• Baking cookies with you on Christmas Eve is one of her most treasured memories. The two of you flinging flour at each other, covered in cookie mix, taking minutes at a time to kiss whilst baking. It takes almost all night, but when you’re done, you leave the cookies and some milk out for Santa.
• And yes you do sneak out to eat the cookies and drink the milk to give Benni a little bit of serotonin the next morning and feed into her longing for a childhood, even if it’s a little late.
• On Christmas Day she gives you many gifts, each one carefully picked out to make sure you give her one of your special smiles.
• And when you give her your present, she finds herself grinning ear to ear, no matter what it is. Just the fact that you’ve given her something makes her happy, her heart bursting with love.
• And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, don’t worry! Benni will certainly celebrate whatever holiday you do, and put her best effort into it no matter what it is! She just loves spending time with you and doing all sorts of festive things.
Nox
• Nox doesn’t like holidays. She doesn’t like the lights, or the songs, or even the gifting. It’s all just such a drag to her. Too much fun and laughter and cheer. Or at least until she meets you.
• Whatever holiday you celebrate, she’ll put in an adequate amount of effort. She won’t go out of her way to do things on her own, but if she sees a decoration she knows you’ll like, she’ll buy it and sneak it into the box holding all the decorations, pretending it was there already.
• The only good thing about the festive season is the food. She loves your cooking, and if you cook a nice big Christmas dinner, she’ll be eating it up with gusto. Your cooking is just so good, and she can’t get enough of it. Munching on turkey, stuffing, vegetables, pigs in blankets, anything you cook.
• But if you want to meet up with your family, and force her to come… she’s not going to be the life of the party, that’s for sure. She’s awkward around your family, and doesn’t like when your mother puts on loud songs, or your father asks her to toast before dinner. She’ll put up with it, as long as you promise to call her in sick next year.
• As much as Nox dislikes Christmas and holidays in general, there is one situation where she’ll go all out: if you have kids.
• Whether they’re from a previous relationship or you’ve decide to have one together, Nox will make sure Christmas if the very best for them. She’ll decorate and bake, and put on songs, and move those stupid elf on the shelf things around while they’re in bed.
• You’ll find her reading stories to them, about Santa and reindeer and elves and puddings, laying them to rest on Christmas Eve. Afterward, she’ll fill their stockings and eat all their cookies and milk, even eating the carrots left for Santa’s reindeer. One year, she even got flour and walked around in big boots, making it look like Santa had come all the way to the tree from the kitchen.
• It’s adorable how much she loves the kids. 10/10 would recommend, but only if they’re your kids. Warning: Does not like any other kids.
Fenix
• She didn’t celebrate Christmas at the hospital, it just made her want to strangle people more than normal. Mostly the annoying songs the nurses would blurt down the corridors, and the stupid flashing lights that blinded her whenever she looked through the peephole of her door — all the small things about the holiday season irritated her.
• While all the other patients were singing and laughing on Christmas Eve, Fenix was locked away in her room, reading. By choice, that is.
• The only good part about Christmas was that the nurses would get her a new set of books as a gift, which she’d read obsessively due to having read all the others. But after a few weeks, that joy dies down, and she’s back to mopey old Fenix.
• When you come into her life, you force her to decorate her room. A small plastic Christmas tree, some fairy lights hung across her headboard, even a Santa plush on her bookshelf. It takes every single fibre of her being not to rip them down, but since you put them there, she can’t bring herself to.
• You bombard her with festive traditions, making her create cards with you, with glitter and stickers, help her wrap gifts (which you’d chosen out since Fenix honestly didn’t care about the other patients and often wondered why she should even give them anything), you even got permission to take her to the hospital kitchens to bake cookies.
• But then Christmas Day rolled around and Fenix was alone again. Hardly anyone worked today, just a few nurses who didn’t have a life, or just didn’t celebrate Christmas. She’s reading in her room, occasionally looking up to the window, watching snowflakes fall.
• When you open the door, holding a present, she’s incredibly surprised. Why? Why were you here, with her, on Christmas!?
• It was the first time that she wished Christmas wouldn’t end.
• Ever since then she’s loved spending the holidays with you. Even after she gets out of the hospital, she’s always excited for Christmas, and all other holidays. Just because she gets to spend them with you, and that she’s not alone anymore. You’re truly the best gift she could ask for.
Rudy
• Literally does not know what Christmas is.
• She’s a dragon, she doesn’t know about festivals and gift giving and decorations and all that. She simply has no clue about any traditions that humans take part in.
• However she does know that one month a year, all the humans in the town below her mountain like to hang up the prettiest of lights and shine them bright every night.
• She’ll fly down and hide in a tree, watching each house light up with whites, blues, greens and reds. Flashing and blinking at her as if to say hello! She loves these lights, reflecting off of the cold snow, illuminating the entire village.
• Most nights she spends watching them, feeling the chill in her lungs, but she doesn’t care. The lights are too beautiful for her to go back to the comfort of her nest.
• And when the snow starts to melt, the humans take away Rudy’s beloved lights, and she has to wait 11 whole months until they come back up.
• She’ll take you when you become her mate. She’ll fly you down to watch them with her, telling you all about how gorgeous the lights are, that they’re like the stars. But since you’re human, you soon grow cold, and she has to take you back to the warm nest. She’s a little sad, and no matter how many times you tell her to go alone, she doesn’t want to leave you.
• One day, however, you take a trip to town, and bring back a box. Rudy watches you as you hang strange black wire everywhere, and as night falls and you press a button, all of the wire shines bright, and she’s left open-mouthed, gawking at the beautiful lights.
• They’re so close, in her nest — she can even touch them. She stays up night after night, just gazing at the pretty lights, only falling asleep when she’s too tired to keep her eyes open. She’ll snuggle up next to you, a dopey smile on her lips. She’s the happiest she can be.
Lockie
• As a pilot for the air force, Lockie didn’t get a lot of time to spend home. Occasionally she’d get a few weeks off, maybe a day here or there, but other than that, nothing. Christmas time was one of the only times she got to spend with her family, and she was grateful for that.
• She doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but instead she celebrates Hanukkah, spending her whole few weeks off with her family, which she truly values. She knows that her job is dangerous, and that she has to savour her time with them, and despite not usually celebrating cultural traditions, she still participates in the festival of lights, since she knows it means a lot to them. Plus, she loves the food her step-mother makes especially for the season.
• It was her favourite time of year, those few weeks where all she needed to do was appreciate her loved ones, and watching her father light the Menorah each night.
• It changed after the accident.
• She had a lot more free time now to spend with her family, but Lockie was a changed woman. Being tasked with a newfound disability gave her a lot of mental struggles, and her ability to connect with her family was harmed. They still treated her as their beloved daughter, but it was still hard.
• It wasn’t until she met you did she spend Hanukkah with her family again. With you by her side she was able to overcome her fears of being different, and enjoy herself. It didn’t matter if you celebrated it or not, but she just loved having you there to help her along with her struggles, and help her calm down after a panic attack.
• Her family loved you, and thanked you for helping their daughter find herself again, and become confident, like she was before the accident. They know she’s scarred both mentally and physically, and that she won’t be the same, but they also know that you’re there to help and nurture her, and keep her going through rough times.
• As for Christmas, if you celebrate it, Lockie would certainly celebrate it with you. She’d put in her best effort, even though she’d never celebrated it before. It was more the aspects of love and gratitude she liked, and seeing you smile on Christmas morning while unwrapping the presents she got you. She loves you so much, and would do anything for you, no matter what.
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deanstead · 2 years
Text
Pieces (10): Work This Out
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Chapter 10: Work This Out
Chapter Summary: Jay keeps his promise to Chloe and helps Y/N make temporary arrangements for Chloe.
Word Count: 1,928
Warnings: canon-typical mentions of injuries
A/N: In Resa's effort to try to go to bed early I'll be pushing up the postings to 10PM (GMT +8), so just an hour earlier! Updates will still be on Tuesday and Fridays in my timezone! Hope you guys like this update, please drop by to let me know what you think!
SERIES MASTERLIST || JAY HALSTEAD MASTERLIST
Previous Chapter || Next Chapter
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Jay hoisted Chloe more securely onto his arm as he hurried into Med to look for someone, anyone.
It had been a hard decision, as Jay watched the paramedics pile you in and heard them say that he could come along for the ride. Technically, he could have had Hailey bring Chloe to Med but it didn’t feel like that would cut it. He’d glanced at you and turned back to the district to deliver his promise.
“Jay!”
Jay spotted Will and headed straight in. Will glanced at Chloe in his arms and nodded at him. “You should wait to talk to Connor.”
Will opened his arms. “Chloe, why don’t we go get something to eat?”
Chloe nodded slowly before she turned to Jay and Jay smiled, nodding. “Will knows the best snacks here.”
Chloe smiled and allowed Will to lift her from Jay’s arms.
Jay watched them disappear, just as Connor walked into the waiting room.
“Connor.”
Connor nodded, heading towards Jay. “Her injuries are extensive. We had to put in a chest tube when she first came in, she had internal injuries, two fractured ribs. Her arm is broken, and the stab wound caused even further damage.”
As Connor watched Jay’s expression change, he quickly added. “The surgery went well. She’ll need some time to recover, but she’s going to be okay.”
Jay exhaled.
“You can see her now if you want.”
Jay nodded. “Thanks.”
When Jay entered your room, he was glad he hadn't gone to get Chloe first. Your arm had been put in a cast and the bruises across your face were now more pronounced.
“Hey.” Jay greeted, as he reached your bedside.
You looked back up at him, glad to see him. “Chloe?” You whispered.
Jay smiled and nodded. “Will took her to get some food. I’ll bring her by later. You feeling up to talking?”
You exhaled, but nodded.
Jay got as much information from you as he could without pushing, clenching his fist as he felt the rage course through him while you recounted what had happened in the bodega. The only thing you were thankful for was that they were so hopped up, they hadn’t noticed Chloe, merely thinking that you’d been trying to run. So they’d taken their anger out on you, hitting and kicking at you, a few times with the baseball bat. You could hear the rage turn into shrieks of excitement at the violence they were inflicting as they pounded into you.
As you recounted the attack, you exhaled as the memory of the moment you'd felt the knife slice into your abdomen hit you and Jay reached out for your good hand, gently squeezing. “It’s okay, we can stop.”
You glanced up at Jay and squeezed back. “How’d you find her?” You asked after a while.
Jay smiled. “She found me. Kind of.”
You frowned in confusion.
“Apparently her school had taught them how to identify police station buildings, fire stations, that sort of thing. One of the patrol officers found her somewhere outside the district and brought her in. When I came into the building, Trudy was already talking to her. You got a brilliant kid.”
“I was scared, Jay. Putting my four year old out on the street like that? What if someone took her? What if something worse happened because she was alone?” You whispered, your voice trembling. “But she would be in far more danger inside, so I…”
Jay leaned forward to stroke the top of your head. “Slow breaths, Y/N. It’s okay, she’s okay. I promise.”
You met his green eyes and nodded, your breathing slowing again.
“Get some rest. Connor said they’re moving you to a room. I’ll check on Will and Chloe and I’ll bring her by, alright?”
You nodded, as Jay smiled at you and disappeared out the door.
This had thrown a whole wrench in your plan to not fall deeper into what you already knew were feelings for Jay Halstead. You’d told yourself, and him, that you weren’t ready, that you couldn’t deal with anything romantic. But this? You weren’t prepared for. The way Jay just swept in to take care of you and Chloe even though you were holding him at arm’s length, the way you knew that if Jay was there, Chloe would be safe, and so would you.
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“We got them, Jay. They were too high to worry about security cameras, Kim got them before they hit another store.”
Those were the only words Jay needed to hear right now. “Where are they?”
Jay heard his partner sigh over the phone. “Coming down from their high. It’ll be another few hours I think. Everything okay there?”
Jay glanced over where Will was bringing Chloe back in. “Yeah, I’ll be there as soon as I can. I want in on the interrogation.”
Jay hung up the phone as Chloe ran towards him. “Jay, can we see Mom?”
Jay glanced at Will but bent down to speak to Chloe. “Yeah, but can we talk first?”
Chloe nodded.
“Mom got a bit hurt. We can go see her but it might be a little scary, alright?”
Chloe studied Jay before she nodded. “I’m not scared.”
Jay smiled. “Alright, come on.” He picked her up easily, as Will led the way to your room.
Jay could see the relief on your face when you finally laid eyes on Chloe. “Gentle, okay?” Jay whispered as he put Chloe down next to you and she hugged you, burying her face into your neck. You held her close to you, finally feeling like you could breathe right.
“You okay?” You asked her.
Chloe nodded. “Jay kept his promise. And Will and I had pudding.”
You smiled, glancing back at them. “Thanks, guys.”
Will smiled, nodding before he joined Connor to peer at your chart. “I’m gonna have you here at least a week if not longer.”
“Connor… I can’t.” You said, glancing at Chloe who was lying comfortably beside you now.
Connor sighed. “Y/N, your injuries… you know this. There’s an equal chance of internal bleeding so close after surgery. A week is already pushing it, alright? Is there anyone… her father?”
Chloe’s eyes darted up. “No, I don’t wanna.”
Jay glanced at Connor, then Will, before back at you.
“Y/N, we’ll work something out, alright? Let me talk to Voight, see if there’s anything I can do.” Jay said, standing up. “I gotta go back to the district, but I’ll swing by later this evening?”
“What are you…”
Jay just smiled. “Trust me.”
He leaned forward to pat the top of Chloe’s head affectionately. “I’ll see you later, kid.”
Chloe grinned back up at Jay and Jay squeezed your hand discreetly. But not discreetly enough, as Will gave his brother a look accompanied by a small knowing smile.
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Jay’s idea of ‘work something out’ was the village. Natalie had come by to tell you that Owen would be more than happy to have a playmate for a few days, Jay had said that he had a few days he could take and he’d be more than happy to take Chloe home or stay with her, whichever made you more comfortable.
So you’d let Chloe decide.
You’d been trying to ease Chloe back into seeing Caleb more, especially since he seemed more interested in reconnecting with his daughter. But it hadn’t been easy and you weren’t keen on shipping her off there while you were in the hospital. You’d rather have Chloe choose who she wanted to stay with. Chloe and Owen had been on a few play dates, even though you and Natalie weren’t terribly close, but you kind of knew what Chloe would choose even before she’d said it.
To say you weren’t happy with it was an outright lie, because you knew that Chloe would be safe and happy. But it wasn’t helpful to you.
“You sure you can take the few days? I don’t want to put you out more than…” You asked Jay. He’d been gone for most of the day but he’d just come back from the district.
Jay gave you a look. “I already took the few days. They owe me furlough anyway and it’s a…” He shrugged. “Family emergency.”
You felt the breath catch in your throat. Here you were, practically dangling him on the line, not wanting to cross a line with him, but there he was willing to do almost anything just to keep you at ease and to keep your daughter happy.
Jay smiled, putting his hands up. “I didn’t mean anything by it, alright? I’m not pressuring you or anything.”
“Jay.” You stopped him. “I know.”
Jay let his mouth fall shut before he smiled. “Anyway, we got them. I went back to do the interrogation. They were high and just…” He sighed. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
You just gave him a small smile and turned just a little to look at your daughter who was busy drawing on some papers that April and Maggie had delivered up to you.
“At least she wasn’t hurt.” You whispered.
Jay headed over towards you, stopping just a little distance away like he was being careful about pushing the boundaries. “You shouldn’t have been hurt either.” His voice was low.
“Did she give it to you?” You asked.
Jay raised an eyebrow.
“Chloe? Weren’t you going to give Jay something?” You asked.
Chloe’s head jerked upwards and she grinned before she reached for her bag and took out the paper she’d been carefully carrying around all day, before she handed it to Jay, her little features scanning his face and watching his reaction.
Jay took it from Chloe, the four-year old handwriting of “My Hero” scribbled at the top, along with a drawing of what could only have been Jay in a police uniform.
“And that’s me and Mom!” Chloe said excitedly, pointing to the two small figures next to him. “Do you like it?”
Jay glanced at you, smiling, before he turned back to Chloe, bending back down to her eye level. “I love it. Thank you, Chloe. This is for me, right?”
Chloe nodded and Jay smiled as she threw her tiny arms around his neck.
“I'll keep it really well." Jay told her as she pulled out of the hug. "So what do you say we go home and let Mom rest? We can come back tomorrow.” He told her.
Chloe nodded. “Are we going to your house?”
Jay glanced at you and you pointed to your bag, where Jay found your keys so that he could go pick up some of Chloe’s things.
“Are you sure about this, Jay? You can still back out of this.” You asked him in a low voice.
Jay nodded. “We’ll be fine. Won’t we?”
Chloe smiled. “We’re going to have a sleepover!”
You laughed, feeling the pain from well, everywhere, shoot through your body and you winced.
Jay’s head snapped towards you and you shook your head. “I’ll be fine. Go on.”
Chloe came to the side of your bed. “Bye, Mom.”
“Be good.” You whispered, leaning out far enough to give her a quick kiss to her forehead.
Jay picked Chloe into his arms and grabbed her bag. “Jay.” You stopped him, as he turned to look at you.
“Thanks.”
Jay winked, before he left with your daughter, leaving you staring at the ceiling.
Everything hurt, and everything felt more confusing, but at the very least, you knew you and Chloe were in safe hands.
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m1d-45 · 11 months
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sorry i've been mia i was busy rizzing up the kaeya and diluc ais. anyways imagine reverse isekai with ur main. i personally would have a blast being able to talk about minecraft and mystery flesh pit national park and warrior cats with people who do not even have the internet.
also my diluc and kaeya plushes arrived and now i need to make clothes for them so they won't be naked but i have to make sure they have an equal amount of clothes with an equal amount of effort put into them so that it doesn't seem like i'm favoring one brother over the other (this is the same reason why i bought the diluc and kaeya plushes together in the first place) - teddy anon
1) it’s ok 2) kaeya ai? 3) this idea oml
aside from the fact that showing them all the weird and obscure shit in our world would make them lose their minds (speaking of nobody tell them about organized religion. barbatos is surprised ppl follow him after a few hundred years of no contact well look at this right here-) they’d be fascinated with how you control them.
i imagine they wouldn’t appear in game, and you couldn’t like use them for anything. makes logical sense to me.
if you’re like me and struggle to form teams at all, let alone ones without your One Good Built Character, they’re borderline going to be apologetic at seeing how you struggle. part of them is proud they’re so needed, but the other part is sort of sad.
i literally only run teams w/o kazuha for the abyss because his playstyle and the team i run for everything else is so ingrained in my head. i genuinely struggle if i don’t have an anemo character on my team and always fumble for a while if it doesn’t have kaz because it’s like i forget i don’t have him. it’s a problem—
if you’re not dependent on a single element like i am, they love seeing you work around them. it’s simple, you explain, swapping to an alternate team, and they watch in awe at how easily you adapt to change. they marvel at reactions they haven’t seen, at how much this new team differs from the one with them in it.
if you try and show them how to, they’ll immediately insist that they’re fine watching, that they wouldn’t dare touch such a holy object or manipulate teyvat in your stead.
for some, this is true. for others, they’ll cave with enough pressure.
itto treats your controls with the most delicate care, very gentle with everything as to not break it. not really prone to gamer rage, more so just “your grace, i can’t figure this out :(“ and watching over your shoulder as he promises “ok, i’ve got it this time, swear!” he doesn’t, but the smile on your face as you watch him die for the nth time soothes any anger he feels. refuses to kill rifthounds btw.
mona doesn’t know anything. you could tell her sixteen times how to access the inventory and she’s still asking you which button it is. don’t tell her about the wishing system she’ll quite literally lose her shit. she doesn’t understand the value of items like dream solvent but refuses to spend even a single coin of your mora or your food. collects her own ingredients and keeps track to cook her own food because “i wouldn’t want anyone else touching what’s mine.” pls tell her it’s ok and losing some of your 2k sweet flowers isn’t the end of the world.
ayato wouldn’t directly play, but he does sit beside you and offer semi-functional ideas. “run a team with x y z characters,” “fight this boss without the element it’s vulnerable to/full physical damage,” “take on this enemy without a healer,” etc etc. he likes seeing you solve problems, and likes watching you explore. if you have low mora he’s incredibly confused, but doesn’t comment on it once he sees how much it is to level a talent or ascend someone. if you have like 7mil mora and go “why do i have so little :(“ he’s asking a few more questions, but overall is silent about it. you don’t have a job in teyvat, and get most of your money from chests or leylines. it makes sense you guys would view mora differently.
alhaitham doesn’t touch your device, but kaveh (yes he isn’t out at time of writing no i didn’t ask) could be convinced into exploring a bit. he refuses to engage in combat and always uses his glider, never dropping more than a second or two at a time. panicks if your characters get hurt at all and either runs to a statue of the seven (give him time, he forgets he can teleport) or triggers your healers skill. if you run a character that has hp drain he’s flipping his shit and either demanding to know how to change the team so they don’t get hurt or runs them and three separate characters. loses his shit when you tell him about the teapot. that’s all he does now lmao.
zhongli will tap at stuff a bit, get a hold of the general game, and then just. not play. you tell him he can do commissions if he wants or run domains and he shakes his head, “i will not interfere with a world i don’t own.” so silly. doesn’t understand why shops don’t give you stuff for free. speculates on how monsters dying gives you mora. refers to everything by their full names no matter what silly nicknames you have for anything. if you have a well-decorated teapot/generally take care to plant stuff or collect realm bounties or similar, he’s happy. if you mostly neglect it, he’s asking why. it’s an adeptal art, and he needs to know if it isn’t satisfactory.
yae would love to manipulate a world of her own, but the knowledge that the world you control is real and has real actions is a bit too much. yelan asks to see, but only because she wants to know what you’re on about when you talk about lag, ping, or hitting the wrong button. finds it funny even gods can mess up. yanfei fusses over whether she should even be allowed because of like divine right to rule and whether her interference counts as idolatry since she’d technically be playing god. you let her worry about it in the corner and don’t ask questions about where she pulled that giant book of law from.
if you allow him to, venti sits in your lap while you play. he’s very much just a guy that’ll sit with you and maybe play his lyre if you’re getting frustrated, and adores the ingame soundtrack. give him youtube and point him in the direction of the ost and he’ll obsess over it. within a week he has everything memorized and has composed at least three ballads about ‘the song of the heavens’. wont actually do anything directly, but if you’re running abyss and ask him for suggestions on fun team comps, he’s already got ideas. is a bit unnerved at first if he recognizes some of the people on screen, but rationalizes it quickly enough. if you’re like me and leave your characters sitting at a bench or table before logging off, he insists you sit them in the statue in mond.
neither childe or scara even entertain the idea that they’d be allowed to use your device, and just kinda watches from the side. scara laughs a bit if you get hit by an enemy. childe asks about what his build is prior to his vanishing and probably studies meta and like crit ratios and stuff (no i don’t know what meta qualifies as yes i’m just sayin shit). xiao’s worried his karma could infect through the screen, and wouldn’t dare suggest anything. if you’re doing it, it’s good, if you’re not, you have a reason. ask for his opinion and he’ll bluescreen.
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