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bluesidez · 19 days

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GymRat!Miguel Part 5

content warning: very fluffy, PDA ➡️ something in which the reader is shy about and Miguel is hungry for, Miguel’s bday is 10/13 here, it gets suggestive so MINORS BEWARE, George O’Hara is NOT abusive in this story and he will be Mexican here idc idc idc, some mentions of food (deer meat at one point), some of the gym photos are white men (my deepest apologies, I just want y’all to have an idea of the pose 😔)

word count: 4.3k (just nod and smile. she's thicc like me😗)

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GymRat!Miguel who learns your schedule front to back. He’s always there to walk you to your classes and carry your heavy bags and purses. Sometimes he’ll meet you outside of your dorm, sometimes you’ll send him your location and he’ll come running. Now, you both walk into the lab building hand in hand and leave the building swinging hands. You used to despise those lovey-dovey couples who were stuck in their own world, but now you could understand them completely. They were still a little annoying, though.

GymRat!Miguel who makes a habit of sending you post workout pictures in the early mornings. His go-to poses are the worm’s eye under-chest, the standing mirror, the bench mirror, and the back mirror. The last one was specific to his dorm bathroom, too shy to take his shirt completely off. Your thorough praises made him feel warm, but sometimes you let more silly things slip.

“You could probably choke me with your thighs and I’d be thankful”

“Baby don’t say that. :(( I would never hurt you”

“Oh so you can want me to sit and lay on you but I can’t ask for the same? Wow. The double standards”

“That’s not fair. You should sit on me. I can take it and I want it. Thoroughly.”

“Oh! So you’re saying I’m not strong enough. Got it.”

“Baby I never said that!”

“Whatever Miguel 🙄”

“ㅜㅜ”

“You never answered me though. Will you sit on me?”

“Go get ready for class 😒”

“😞”

GymRat!Miguel who tells you that his birthday is coming up at the last minute possible. You berate him for telling you so late and kick yourself for not asking sooner, but you still manage to get a reservation at one of the fancy local restaurants.

You pull out all of the stops you could. A gift card from Smoothie King, a pair of slippers to match yours, the newest Final Fantasy game, and a muscle bunny keychain to match your muscle bear keychain. He was your big teddy bear, after all.

You handed him the gifts after the staff brought out a chocolate cake with sparklers on it while singing at the top of their lungs. The chocolate syrup read “Happy Birthday Miguel 🤎” around the plate.

Miguel’s smile got bigger as he took the gifts out one by one. He paused when he got to the cards: one a birthday card and the other a thick “open when…” manilla envelope.

The birthday card was simple and sweet. It was the other stuff you were worried about. You found these cute ideas about letters and notes to leave for your significant other. You had one for anger, sadness, needing a hug, sickness, boredom, and even one for wanting a kiss. You remember Jess walking in on you with your lips smashed against the cardstock, trying to get a bunch of kiss marks to cut out. She just sighed out a “young love” and carried on to her side of the room.

“It’s only been a short time since we’ve been dating, but Thanksgiving and Christmas break are coming up so I wanted to leave you with something for when you can’t reach me.”

Your heart is thumping as Miguel takes the cards out, reading their envelopes.

What you don’t expect is for Miguel to start crying.

You startle a bit, scared that the gift is awful, but he lets out a watery thank you, flustered from everything.

You quickly make your way to his side of the table and hug him. You wipe at his eyes and chuckle at his cuteness, telling him you were afraid he didn’t like it.

He shakes his head, breathes deep and slow to calm his emotions.

“No, I will definitely be using all of these. I really appreciate this. Everything. I’m not sure how you were able to do all of this, but I’m thankful that you did.”

You couldn’t take it. Here he was with dewey eyes and red tinting his cheeks. It was cuteness overload.

You face him towards you and lean forward, connecting his lips to yours.

GymRat!Miguel who stares at you stunned when you lean back. That was your first kiss with him. His first kiss with you and he was sitting here with his cheeks damp and nose sniffling away.

“I-” his heart picks up and he’s opening and closing his mouth. He was short circuiting.

“Can we- I mean if it’s ok, can we do that again?” Miguel stutters out.

You simply nod your head and lean in again, this time tilting your head.

The cards in Miguel’s hands drop to the table and his breathing stops. Your lips were soft and full. Another fraction of his dreams that were nothing compared to the real thing.

He could only hear his heartbeat and the soft jazz music in the restaurant when he let up for air.

This was definitely the best gift of the night.

GymRat!Miguel who doesn’t have the capacity to be embarrassed when the waiter comes and asks if you two need anything while he’s leaning down for another kiss.

He just got to kiss his dream girl. Who cares if the waiter saw him kiss you some more?

You jump when the waiter’s hands come close to you two as he picks up an empty dinner plate. You look to the waiter awkwardly to apologize and ask for the check.

This just makes Miguel want to pull you in his lap and kiss you as the entire staff goes by.

GymRat!Miguel who wants you to feed him bites of his cake. You happily agree, especially since he was the birthday boy. His eyes never leave you the whole time.

GymRat!Miguel who grabs the check before you can pick it up. He doesn’t want you to pay for the meal.

“Miguel, it’s your birthday. I picked the restaurant and reserved the seats,” you say a little whiney.

“But I want to pay for the dinner,” Miguel pouts as he holds the check out of your reach.

When he got like this, it was hard to change his mind.

“If you let me pay, I’ll give you another kiss.”

“Just one?” Miguel brings the check back to your level, squinting at you.

You sigh, “I’ll give you ten.”

“Deal.”

Miguel gives you the check with a giddy smile and you slap your card on it.

The kisses still don’t stop him from taking over the tip.

So stubborn.

GymRat!Miguel who texts Gabriel once he’s back in his dorm. He sends pictures of everything from the food to the cake to the gifts.

“Look at what my baby did for me 🤪”

“The same one you left at the party even tho you blew up my phone about her for weeks? 😕”

“Yes…I didn’t do it on purpose. Me and her talked about it already”

“jk jk it wasn’t your fault”

“No way she got you final fantasy. Dana barely got me a cupcake”

“This just proves that my gf is better”

“Tbf tho you and Dana are still in high school”

“Ohhhh my god. You turn one more year older than me and all of a sudden you have the wisdom of a sage. SHUT UP 😭”

“I’ll literally be in college next year”

“AND ANYWAY you’ve never shown me this so-called gf. How do Ik you haven’t gone insane?”

Miguel clicked the back of his teeth in annoyance. Peter walked by him with his eyebrow raised and Miguel just waved his hand.

He sent a picture he took of you from tonight. You looked amazing in that dress and your eyes were beautiful and deep. You were smiling at him from across the table.

“First you try to steal Dana from me and now you get her”

“It’s crazy how this world is so anti-Gabriel”

“What are you yapping about”

“And I didn’t take ANYTHING from you 🫵🏽”

“We were 6 and 7 and you couldn’t push her hard enough on the swings. When will you get over that?”

“It burns all the same”

“You should give me her number and I can let you experience that feeling”

“Gabriel.”

“Show her what a real O’Hara is like”

“Cabrón”

“You’re so lucky I’m not next to you right now”

“THE BIG C WORD?”

“I’m telling mom you called me that btw”

“All because I wanted to meet your gf ☹️”

“Bastard”

“I’M TELLING MOM YOU CALLED ME THAT! WTF?”

It wasn’t long before Miguel’s mom was calling his phone to berate him. He pressed the green button, air pushing out of his nose as his mom’s face filled up the screen.

Peter looked bug eyed as Conchata’s rapid fire words filled the room.

“Ma! That’s so not fair! Gabri called me a bastard!”

There was a quick pause as his mom made a face that he knew all too well. Miguel heard Gabriel yelp as a sandal made a loud impact with his skin.

Miguel heard Gabriel cry out as his mom took off her other shoe, ready to aim, “MIGUEL HAS A GIRLFRIEND!”

Miguel just threw his phone on the bed and groaned. He could hear Peter snickering from his desk.

“What girlfriend? Miguel! Where are you? Come back and answer me,” Conchata’s voice got louder and louder. “I can’t believe you two! You would think this distance meant that you two wouldn’t fight like you’re still sleeping in the same room.”

“We’re not fighting,” Gabriel said. He smirks as he gets in the camera next to his mom. “Miguel is still hiding things from you, though.”

Miguel picked the phone up again with a frown on his face. Gabriel just stuck his tongue out like the brat he was.

“Mijo, what’s going on?” his mom asked, concern in her voice. “First, it was the party and now this. Do you need to come home?”

“No, ma,” Miguel sighed. “Nothing is wrong. Everything is fine now. Great even.”

“Then why haven’t you told me about this girlfriend of yours?”

“We just started dating. It’s still very new,” Miguel chose his words carefully. Ever since his second seamster in high school, she’s been super sensitive towards him and his feelings. Knowing her, she might give you a hard time. He didn’t want that for you just yet. “I didn’t want to introduce you to her until we were more solid.”

“I think a girl that helps to organize the take down of a sorority in your honor is pretty solid,” Gabriel comments off camera.

“She did that?!” Conchata stares at Miguel with furrowed brows.

Miguel only nods, lips wound in a tight line.

“Oh well, mijo, I have to meet this girl!”

“I don’t think-”

“Let me know when she’s free to come home with you! Maybe over Thanksgiving?”

“Ma, she has her own family-”

“Ok I have to go now! I have to catch my shows. Call me more often or I’ll have to come up there!”

The room fell silent as the call ended and Miguel was met with his messages with Gabriel again.

“CHECKMATE!”

Miguel still wanted to throttle him.

GymRat!Miguel who’s super excited when Halloween comes and you want to wear couple costumes. He hasn’t done costumes since early middle school. Growing up meant realizing that some people your age want to grow up. Fast. No one wanted to dress up in silly costumes anymore or go trick-or-treating. Sure, the scary stories were fun but at that age, he wanted to eat candy all night, not teepee houses and run in the woods.

He’s hanging out on his bed chatting with Mary Jane and Peter while you get ready in the bathroom. The theater and art department collaborated together to host a costume party. This time, Miguel wouldn’t leave your side. Maybe if you had to pee, he would consider waiting awkwardly by the door. He didn’t want the same mistake to happen.

The two of you decide to go as Starfire and Nightwing grouping up with MJ and Peter who dress up as Raven and Beast Boy for a Teen Titans theme.

The costume is pretty tight but he has to admit, it looks great on his build.

You walk out of the bathroom with a cheery “I’m ready!”

It’s definitely not ideal that his suit is so tight.

The skirt is hugging your body in every which way. The cut-outs at your hips had his fingers twitching. To top it off, the diamond cut out for your chest left him internally screaming.

Peter whistled from his desk and MJ hollered about how good you looked. You smiled bashfully, doing a 360.

Miguel wanted to shove MJ and Peter out of the room to reenact what Starfire and Nightwing actually got up to when they were by themselves.

You walk up to him and flip your flaming hair back playfully.

“Do you like it?” you ask, peering up at him.

“I think he more than likes it,” Peter mumbles out in a stage whisper. MJ elbows him softly in the stomach.

Miguel spins you around, “Fuck yeah.”

Your laugh falls out of you, surprised at his curt reaction.

“Honestly, you two can go ahead to the party and we’ll just hang out here,” Miguel said, face as serious as ever as he wrapped himself around you from behind.

“No, no, no! You can do whatever you want after the party. Keep it in, buddy,” Peter says as he starts to guide everyone to the door.

Miguel keeps himself attached to you all night.

GymRat!Miguel who helps you bring your things to your car for Thanksgiving break. It’ll only be a week but he feels like he might not make it.

“You’ll see me again next Sunday, Miggy” you say to him as he’s bent over you with the biggest pout out ever.

“I’m still gonna miss you,” Miguel leans further with his forehead on yours. “Wish you could come with me.”

“Maybe over the winter break we can plan a time to meet outside of school.”

Miguel just sighs dramatically.

You decide to say fuck it and kiss him in the middle of the almost empty parking garage.

Miguel doesn’t let up now that you’ve given him an inch. He’s holding you by your hips, your face, your waist, anything to get closer. He moans a bit into your mouth as you open up.

You wrap your arms around his neck and whisper, “I really have to get on the road now, baby. And so do you.”

Miguel slumps as he guides you to your driver’s seat. You roll the window down and pucker your lips for another kiss.

Miguel obliges easily and asks, “Call me when you get there?”

“Of course,” you say.

He stands and watches you drive off, missing you already.

GymRat!Miguel who is almost knocked down when he opens the door to his home. Gabriel is wrapped around him like a koala, squeezing away.

Miguel laughs and rubs his back, relieved that he’s not heavy enough to knock him over.

“It’s good to see you too, Gabri,” Miguel laughs.

Conchata peaks around the corner and almost cries at the sight.

“My boys!” She coos while coming to the door. “George! Come help Miguel with his bags!”

Miguel waddles in with Gabriel still clinging to him. He’s glad to be home.

GymRat!Miguel who gets your call in the middle of Gabriel watching him play Final Fantasy. He pauses the game and runs to his room, Gabriel yelling at him to come back and unpause the game.

You tell that you made it home and that you’ll call him later.

You blow a kiss at the screen and he catches it with glee before you end the call.

Miguel is glad you left before Gabriel opens his door like that one big bird meme.

“Was that her?” he asks, voice excited. “Is she still on the phone?”

“Yes. No. Why are you eavesdropping like a creep?”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping! It just dawned on me a little too late that you left to go talk to her.”

“Whatever,” Miguel groaned. “Let’s just get back to the game.”

“You know you can’t hide her from me forever, right?” Gabriel says, skipping next to Miguel.

“I’m not trying to. But you being a weirdo will make me want to.”

Conchata passes by them with a laundry basket on her hip, “Who’s hiding something?”

“Nobody!” Both Miguel and Gabriel shout in her direction and run back to their game.

Conchata rolls her eyes and continues to her bedroom.

GymRat!Miguel who becomes overwhelmed on Thanksgiving Day. It’s as if every close and distant relative was here. The first floor was full of people. As much as Miguel puts on, he’s never been an much of an extrovert.

He’s up in his room taking a breather. He pulls out one of the cards you gifted him. The one for when he missed your kisses.

He opens and pulls out a letter. There’s instructions on it.

“Each shade is for a different feeling!”

There was a cute chibi doodle of you kissing him on the cheeks at the bottom of the letter. He saw that there was a shade for nervousness/being overwhelmed.

He pulls out a polaroid of you and opens the bag of glossy paper kisses. He flips one and it reads, “Breathe slow and steady 10 times. Kiss me when you’re done.”

He does as you say and brings the paper to his lips. It even smells like you. Sweet. Fruity.

He smiles to himself and takes out one more.

GymRat!Miguel who finally lets Gabriel talk to you on Friday.

“He can be a bit annoying. I’m warning you now,” Miguel says.

“Don’t say that, Miggy. He’s your brother! He’s allowed to bother you at least a little. ”

Miguel yells for Gabriel to come in and he’s running to snatch Miguel’s phone.

“Hi! My name is Gabriel, the better O’Hara. It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“Oh my gosh,” Miguel watches as you gasp. “It’s like another Miguel!”

Miguel snickers as Gabriel groans loudly in annoyance.

“I don’t look like him. He looks like me!” Gabriel pouts.

“Well, you both sport that same O’Hara pout.”

Gabriel and you chat for a long time. Miguel had to cut the conversation short when Gabriel started to tell embarrassing stories from their childhood.

“Alright, you’re done,” Miguel says and snatches the phone back.

“Aw, but we were just getting to the good stuff!”

“Yeah!” you say. “I wanna know how you messed up the science lab in middle school!”

“Nuh uh, Gabri is running his mouth too much. Get out.”

“I can’t wait to see you in person!” Gabriel shouts as Miguel pushes him towards the door. “You can meet my girlfriend too! She’ll love you!”

“I can’t wait,” you say, laughing as Miguel struggles to detach Gabriel’s fingers from the doorway.

GymRat!Miguel who talks to you on the phone until you fall asleep. You look adorable as you’re blissful to the outside world. Your cheek is squished on your pillow.

He has the urge to bite it like it’s mochi.

“Buenas noches, mi amor,” he whispers before he closes his eyes, falling asleep to the sound of your breaths.

He didn’t know that you were still partially awake to hear him.

GymRat!Miguel who picks you up and spins you around after the break. You squeal in shock, surprised that he could pick you up in the first place.

“Baby, I lift much heavier weights at the gym. This is nothing,” Miguel stares at you as if you have two heads when you comment on it.

You’re in a daydream the rest of the day because of that fact.

GymRat!Miguel who joins you on your late study nights in the library closer to finals. You two always sit at one of the tables hidden by the giant bookshelves.

It was nice and cozy. Quiet and roomy.

It was also a great place to makeout.

Every time you got a set of flashcards memorized, Miguel would pull you in his lap and devour you with kisses. It was a great motivation and a welcomed distraction.

It always ended up getting a little too heated and Miguel would have to excuse himself to go to the bathroom.

Sometimes you would feel so delirious that you wanted him to stay so you could crawl under the table and take care of his problems for him.

That was definitely the multiple late nights talking.

GymRat!Miguel who is super bummed out by the time Christmas break starts because you two can’t find a proper time to meet.

You have to visit several other family member’s houses and his biological dad wants his family to join him and his family at some ski resort before the week of Christmas.

George O’Hara was not turning down a free vacation.

You told him to cheer up and enjoy the snow and jacuzzis. Miguel couldn’t help but to think that the jacuzzi would be better with you on top of him in it.

And when Gabriel annoys him, he didn’t mind all that much because that was his baby brother whom he loves dearly. It was when Kron, his step-brother, would run his mouth that Miguel would seriously get annoyed.

He’s been competing with Miguel ever since he caught on to the fact that his dad had a secret love child.

Right now though, he was pissing Miguel off.

First, it was fighting Miguel over a snowboard. Then, it was taking the last elk burger and not even finishing it. Next, trying to knock him off balance right as he got off of the ski lift.

It was as if he was 8 and not 20.

His final straw was when he was being a dick towards Gabriel. All Gabriel was trying to do was bring them together and Kron cursed at him.

Even Miguel doesn’t tell Gabriel to fuck off.

“What is up with you? Don’t cuss at him. He didn’t do anything to you,” Miguel unlocks himself from his snowboard, ready to leave.

“It’s ok, Migs,” Gabriel held his hand out, knowing how this could end.

“No it’s not. He’s been nothing but a dickhead to you, to us, this entire trip. I’m sick of it. Go be annoying somewhere else, Kron.”

“Dad,” Miguel shouts out. Both George and Tyler looked over at him in concern. Miguel didn’t feel like directing himself towards a specific person. “I’m going to the room, I’ll be back down for dinner.”

Tyler wanted to run after him. George was eyeing Tyler for even reacting to Miguel’s cries. Nancy and Conchata just stood in confusion.

“He, uh, he probably just needs a breather. Maybe he’ll talk to his girlfriend!” Gabriel said trying to lighten the mood.

“Girlfriend? What girlfriend? I didn’t hear about any girlfriend,” Tyler says, saddened that he was being left out.

“Shit,” Gabriel mumbled to himself.

“You don’t live in our home, Tyler. Of course you don’t know,” George says, a bit peeved.

“What George means to say is that it’s all new. Fresh! Even I haven’t met the girl,” Conchata slides in matter of factly.

“Tyler should know her, being that she was the one who emailed him with our son’s case,” George grumbled out.

Tyler turned to Gabriel, “Jessica?”

“Uh, no.”

Tyler then says your name with a fondness. As if he knew you like an old friend. “She was quite compelling with her words!”

“So the two of you know of her and I still don’t even know what she looks like. I never thought this day would come,” Conchata held her gloved hand over her forehead like she was about to faint.

“Why don’t we host a small dinner next year? We can get to know her that way,” Nancy chimes in.

“Guys, I really don’t think that’s necessary-”

“Nonsense, Gabriel. If this girl was willing to do something so brave for Miguel we have to meet her,” Tyler grips Gabriel’s shoulder tight. A grip that could rival his brother’s.

“That’s a great idea, Tyler! Nice co-parenting move!” Conchata holds her fist out for him to bump. He does it proudly and they walk towards one of the cabins while Nancy follows behind, discussing dinner ideas.

George only scoffs and stomps off to his room mirroring Miguel’s mannerisms.

Gabriel was screwed once Miguel finds out.

GymRat!Miguel who waits until Christmas night in his bedroom to open the gift you sent to him. He smiles at your cute message and unfolds the paper to so much. It’s a Spider-man lego mask, a customized hoodie with a doodle of you and him, two picture frames with the two of you from his birthday dinner and the Halloween party, and some polaroids that you warned him to look at by himself later.

His breath shuttered as he took him in. They were all of you in your dorm room. They started off innocent. You were smiling, laughing, staring at the camera. Then they got a little more explicit.

You had on a tank top with no bra. Your cleavage was on display. Some showed your entire body on the bed. Some showed your torso and hips, curvy and full.

Miguel felt faint.

His final straw was the last picture in the stack. It was a picture of you from behind, “Merry Christmas XX” written in cursive across the top. You had on briefs but your ass was still readable, peaking out from the bottom. There was an arch in your back as you looked over your shoulder seductively. What a tease.

You were going to send him to an early grave. And who took these pictures?

All Miguel remembers was shuddering, hips lifting off the bed as he held one of pictures high. He had to bite his shirt as to not startle the entire house.

After he cleans up, he spreads the pictures across his bare chest and clicks a photo with a lazy yet satisfied smile.

You respond back with voice memos, so happy that he loved his gift. You also send some sounding a bit needy.

Miguel calls you and talks with you all night.

This Christmas wasn’t so bad after all.

dividers by: @plutism 🩵

a/n: This one was really fun to write!! I dove deep into my lover girl brain for this. Like full on immersing myself into the reader’s position. I hope you enjoyed! 🩵

As always likes and reblogs are super appreciated. PLEASE COMMENT OMG. 😭 Let me know how you feel or I get nervous 😭😭😭!

taglist: @ghost-lantern @miguelhugger2099 @slushycoookie @emelie-s-h @lake-lili @obsessed-with-miguels-ass @scaleniusrm @superiorspiderass @lexluvswriting @flordelalunas @froggygal @vmpz8sauceee @famouscattale @nixinluv02 @jada-of-arcadia @spideykid22 @what-the-jams @julia4today @tojishugetiddies @samjinxx @sleeklyalisha @the-pan-liquid @prongs-lover @kikaaauu @urlocallocachica @wanderlustingcastaway @peachey-pie @ch3rry-bl1ss @girl-of-multi-fandoms @love-kha1 @manlikemilesmyguy @sillysillygoofygoose @monticellohoe @kodzuminx @lauraolar14 @bruhhvv @m4dyy @farrowroyale @ce3stvu @ohara-whore @muneca-lemon-steppa @alexa4040 @amelialysm

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f1byjessie · 3 months

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A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS ━━ LN4.

sometimes the right words are hard to come across, and sometimes everything you need to say can be captured in an image.

( lando norris x photographer!reader )

━━ part one.

INSTAGRAM.

liked by mclaren, landonorris, and 505,281 others

tagged: landonorris

yourusername a smiley lando is the best lando in my books! to celebrate the end of the 2023 season, here's a handful of my favourite photos from throughout the year!

view all 3,171 comments

mclaren What a happy lad! We can't wait to see that smile again in 2024 😁🧡

↳ yourusername you and me both! 🤝🧡

user she's got the dream job omg

↳ user IKR??? imagine just getting to follow lando around and take pictures of him all day, i'd be dead within the first hour

↳ user he'd smile at me and i'd be asking “what are we” on god 😩😩😩

↳ user is that literally all she does??? she just follows him around and takes pictures??

↳ user there’s probably a technical term for what her position is and i just don’t know it, but bc there’s so much going on around the track at any given moment, sometimes the press and other media workers are focused on something or someone else, so she’s hired on by mclaren to specifically focus on mclaren to make sure that there is content for mclaren or mclaren sponsors to use. she’s not just lando’s photographer, she also takes photos of oscar, the pit teams, and the other staff that work in the garage, but she was hired on when lando started so her portfolio is pretty full of him. hope this helps!

user didn't know i could need so much orange in my life but here we are

user LANDO NORRIS SUPREMACY

oscarpiastri i see who the favourite is 🫤

↳ yourusername you literally SAW me picking photos for your post too

↳ oscarpiastri yeah but you posted his first 🫤

user guys this is the face of the 2024 wdc winner take it in now

user i could write a 50 page thesis on the importance of these photos and what they mean to me and how the serotonin they make me release could replace my depression meds

user lad’s like a mini danny ric with how smiley he is

landonorris best photog right here folks

↳ yourusername you're only saying that bc i always get your good side

↳ landonorris i'll have you know that all sides are my good sides 🤨

↳ yourusername whatev helps you sleep at night luv 😊

In 2019, when you took on the job of being McLaren’s lead photographer, you hadn’t expected it would garner you the amount of attention it has, or that it would slingshot your career to levels of success you never could have anticipated, or that you would get a best friend out of it.

When you first met him back in those early days, you’d thought Lando Norris was an arrogant, pretentious, self-righteous prick who thought he was hot shit because he was a Formula One driver. However, he’d quickly proven you wrong when he’d admitted to you that a lot of the confidence was an act━ carefully constructed to hide his insecurities about his performance both on and off the track.

“I mean, we’re drivers, yeah?” He’d said. “But we’re also actors. We’ve got these personas that we have to uphold even out here on the paddock, and I’m always worried I’m not playing the part well enough.”

It hadn’t made a lot of sense to you then, you thought he was pulling off the persona of Total Douche remarkably well, but in Shanghai, things changed.

After the Chinese Grand Prix, things were dour. Lando had DNFed━ the first in his Formula One career━ which contrasted greatly with his previous accomplishment of P6 in Bahrain. Carlos Sainz hadn’t been doing very well, either, and it didn’t paint a very pretty picture for McLaren so early in the season. You’d thought he’d throw a hissy fit, tear Daniil Kvyat apart for his role in the crash, or at the very least throw some shade his way, but he hadn’t done any of that. He’d accepted his fate with grace, joked to the media about how boring the race had been because of what had happened, and then gone on to congratulate Carlos for at least finishing.

What was even more shocking, was that despite his disappointment and the frustration he must’ve been feeling, instead of going back to sulk in his lonesomeness or drown out his feelings with booze and loud music at some club, he’d comforted you later that evening.

The morning of the race, as you’d been getting ready in your hotel room, you’d gotten a text from an unsaved number admitting to you that they’d been taking part in a months-long affair with your boyfriend but had been previously unaware that he was already taken and therefore wanted to let you know to clear their conscience. You’d managed to hold yourself together then━ mostly because you’d already done your makeup and, quite frankly, didn’t have the time to sob it all off and then attempt to salvage it━ but as the day drew to a close and the adrenaline of the race and its excitement wore off, and with nothing else to keep you distracted, you were struggling to keep yourself composed.

Lando had somehow noticed in that weirdly perceptive way of his that something was off, and he’d sat with you, asked what was wrong, and listened when you━ through tears━ explained the situation to him.

“He sounds like a total fucking muppet,” he’d commented after you’d said your piece, and he’d done it with such a deadpanned expression that it had startled a genuine laugh out of you. Because yeah, you’re (now ex) boyfriend had been a muppet.

After that━ and after all the rom-com and ice cream binging you’d both done in his hotel room afterward much to the chagrin of Lando’s nutritionist and the displeasure of his PR officer━ you’d rescinded your initial judgment of him. He was significantly less dickish than you’d originally thought, and it let you finally understand what he’d meant when he’d talked about putting on a persona.

The cocky, know-it-all prick that Lando pretended to be half the time was all just an act to hide his overly self-critical nature fueled by his insecurities.

By the end of the season, he’d gained a little confidence of his own and had subsequently toned down the assholery when he no longer needed to “fake it til he makes it,” and you were calling him your friend.

It’s 2023 now, and he’s since been upgraded to best friend status━ a role he takes very seriously, and constantly reminds you of.

“I’m your best friend━” case and point, “━you have to come to Bali with me. Literally, like, what am I gonna do without you there? Do you expect me to just go by myself? What if I get lost? Or what if somehow the mafia, who have unknowingly had a hit out on me for years, track me down there and I’m kidnapped and ransomed off for billions of dollars? What will you do then?”

“You just want me to take pictures of you,” you answer, rolling your eyes only because you know he can’t see you through the phone.

He gasps in mock offense. “I cannot believe you think I value you so little! I want you to take pictures of me and be here to help me make fun of awkward tourist spray tans so I don’t feel like a total asshole for being the only one who laughs.”

You laugh at that. “Well, unfortunately laughing at bad fake tans doesn’t pay the bills.”

“But taking pictures of me does.”

“Yeah, when McLaren is paying.” You turn back to your laptop, a photo put on pause mid-edit splayed across the screen. It’s of Lando, as most of your photos tend to be despite your attempts at keeping things even between the McLaren boys. It’s the last of the images you need to send over for their 2023 sendoff, and when it’s finished you’ll officially be without work for a painstaking two months. “I’m on break too, technically, until they need promotional shit for the new season.”

He huffs, and you can almost imagine the childish pout on his face. “What are you even doing, then?”

You hesitate, not because you don’t want Lando to know about your winter plans, but because you don’t really know how he’ll react, which means it could be anything between genuine happiness for you and congratulations, or abject horror and feigned screams of anguish. He’s always been dramatic like that, but even more so now that he’s comfortable enough with you and himself to have crawled a decent way out of his shell.

Even still, he’s your best friend and it would make you a pretty shitty person if you didn’t tell him.

“Believe it or not,” you start, wringing your hands together, “but Manchester City actually hit me up with an inquiry. Asked if I’d be interested in working with them on a project documenting their training throughout the winter months. I said I would love to.”

He pauses for a good long moment, and you prepare for the screaming, but all he says is━ “Man City? You traitor. I thought Man United was our forever!”

“Be so fucking real right now, Lando Norris,” you answer, laughing as you do so. You’re relieved, at least he hasn’t gone the feigned anguish route, but you also can’t tell if he’s happy for you or hiding his true feelings behind humor like he’s prone to doing. “You know damn well you only watched them for Christiano Ronaldo and he hasn’t played with United since 2009.”

“Technically he played for them in the 2021-2022 season,” he grumbles.

“Yeah,” you deadpan, “and he was dogshit. We both agreed to pretend it never happened.”

He groans, “I can’t believe this. My day is ruined and my disappointment is immeasurable.”

“Oh, get over yourself. It’s only for the winter. I’ll be back in McLaren Papaya by February when they need me snapping shots of you and Oscar next to the new livery,” you promise.

The reality is that it’ll probably be sooner. McLaren has always been good about getting you back at HQ pretty quickly, either to get some snapshots of the beginning of Lando and Oscar’s pre-season return or to just capture some material of the engineers at work to promote their readiness. You understand why they can’t keep you around all year━ no Lando and no Oscar means no you━ and with the sheer amount of content you capture and edit for them throughout the season, they’ve got enough to last them the handful of weeks you aren’t working.

Unfortunately, you aren’t working with a driver’s salary to keep you sustained over the break and rent certainly hasn’t been getting cheaper. In past years, your bank account has been chirping with crickets when you’ve returned to work after the winter, and that was before your landlord had decided to make your life a living hell.

You have an important job, but it’s by far the most important, and sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Working in sports media taught you that early on.

“Who knows?” Lando’s voice snaps you back. “Maybe Jack Grealish with his perfect hair and perfect calves will steal you away and you’ll be in sky blue forevermore.”

You laugh, “Jack Grealish is a happily taken man, and although he does have perfect hair and perfect calves, I’m more of a Haaland girl anyway.”

He guffaws. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this. You’re so far gone that you already have a preferred player. Jack Grealish is England’s poster boy! Everyone loves him whether they like City or not!” He heaves a dramatic sigh. “Christ, I can already feel you slipping through my fingers. I give it a week over there at Etihad before you call me up telling me I can find a new best friend because you’ve replaced me with Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez.”

“For someone who supposedly hates Manchester City, you’re certainly well-versed in their roster.”

“Well duh, I need to know my competition,” he says, like it’s obvious.

“Ah, yes,” you snark back sarcastically. “Because you, a Formula One driver, have to be worried about the football players of Manchester City.”

“Apparently I do if you’re calling yourself a Haaland girl now!”

You burst into cackles and he’s following shortly after with chuckles of his own that eventually peter out into a comfortable silence. You are really going to miss him for the few months you aren’t working with him.

The Formula One schedule is so jam-packed across the season that it typically means you’re getting to see him every day for an hour or two at least, if not for the entirety of the time he’s at the track. You follow him and Oscar to their sponsor obligations, their interviews, and everything in between. It’s honestly rare if you’re not getting a moment to goof off and dick around with one another━ and it’s even rarer for you to not actually see one another face to face in passing at the very least.

The off-season is your least favorite time of the year for this very reason, and though it makes you feel a bit full of yourself to think so, you imagine Lando doesn’t enjoy this time of year much either for the same reason.

“I promise I won’t replace you with any of the City boys,” you say after the silence has stretched on a moment longer.

He huffs again, but you can envision the smile tugging at his lips. “I suppose even if you do, I’ll just show up to a match and steal you away again.”

“As if. Have you seen Grealish’s calves?”

INSTAGRAM.

liked by user, user, and 517,472 others

footballfansofficial BREAKING: Manchester City Forward Garrett Ward caught with mysterious woman revealed to be well-known Formula One photographer Y/N L/N! The two were seen sharing a romantic evening on Friday, the 5th of January, ringing in a passionate start to 2024. Garrett Ward has been with Manchester City since 2021 but was out on loan to a lesser-known Championship League team until 2023. He has just recently begun to play for his team again, but an injury early into the season has seen him benched for a majority of his time back. Y/N L/N is a photographer for Formula One racing team McLaren and has been working with them since 2019. Recently, she has been working with Manchester City to help promote a new docuseries following the men’s team’s winter training. Check the link in our bio for the full article!

view all 12,971 comments

user OMG GARRETT WARD??? NOTORIOUS BACHELOR GARRETT WARD???

user who is she? like genuinely how is she relevant 🤔

↳ user no literally cuz like who even gives two shits about formula 1?

user girl works in f1 why can’t she stay there

↳ user i’m sure there are plenty of drivers who’d smash her idk why she needs to try and get footballers too like bffr 😒😒😒

user aint no way this bitch is kissing my man rn

user literally what does he even see in her??? she’s not even cute AND she’s wearing man united colors 💀💀

user Y/N L/N??? I THOUGHT SHE WAS WITH LANDO NORRIS???

↳ user LITERALLY ME TOO?? like she posts him all the time on insta so i just kinda thought they were an item or smth?? trouble in paradise maybe

user she’s fucking ugly wtf

user i wish these footballers who get with regular women would realize there are so many better girls out there that would ACTUALLY treat them well and would support them in their careers. like i bet this girl doesn’t even know anything about football. she works in f1 and that’s where she should stay bc nobody cares about that shit round here. she probably doesn’t even know the first thing about how football works, but i bet she’ll be at matches pretending like she knows what’s happening. garrett ward is gonna flush his career down the troilet for this chick bc she’s gonna convince him his busy schedule ain’t worth it and then city will be down a great forward for good, and it’ll all be her fault

user i mean she’s kinda pretty tbf

↳ user stfu she really isn’t

↳ user she gen looks like any random bitch off the street

user these comments are not it…. 😬

↳ user maybe you f1 fans just don’t know how to handle constructive criticism

↳ user is the constructive criticism in the room with us rn?? cuz all i’m seeing is bullying and hatred directed towards an innocent woman who’s only “crime” was going on a date

user ok so she can take photos?? 🙄🙄 maybe she should get a real job

↳ user she’s probably only with him so she can mooch off of him like a fucking gold digger

user AINT NO WAYYYYYY

user it’ll last a month max 😌 i’m calling it

user ayo lando come get your girl

━━ tags: @maih23 @urfavnoirette

━━ a/n: here we have it! took me a bit longer than the start of american smile did, but lando's story is officially here! (and it's a whopping 2.9k words to start us off). first and foremost, before we get started, garrett ward is 100% an oc and obviously does not play for manchester city, and this is bc i would feel absolutely horrible portraying a real person in the way that garrett will be later on. gather from that what you will haha! regardless, i hope you enjoy this first part and stick around for the rest!

#formula 1 #formula one #f1 #formula 1 imagine #f1 imagine #formula one imagine #f1 x reader #formula 1 x reader #formula one x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #social media au #lando norris #lando norris x reader #lando norris imagine #ln4 #oscar piastri

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jaegeraether · 3 months

Text

Sunsets and footballers (Part 65)

Jordan Nobbs x Leah Williamson (11) / Lucy Bronze x Reader (55)

Masterlist (other parts here)

Join our WOSO Discord chat! Link in bio :)

((** 4.6k**))

Mostly Leah and Jordan :)

Leah POV

“I didn’t wake you, did I? I completely blanked… you stopped replying and I didn’t even think.” Leah stressed as she drove.

“No, no, you’re all good. I’m a little too wound up to sleep for long until Luce gets home, I think. I’m just waiting for the next shoe to drop with this whole drama.”

“Is Ridley still there?”

“She left after I fell asleep, she has some meetings in town.”

“So you were asleep?”

“Barely… it’s okay. It’s probably a good thing you have someone to talk to for your drive…” She cleared her throat and yawned. “Oh shit, did you see Beth scored a brace?”

“No?! I was there for her first. First one back since her ACL, I was crying.”

“That’ll be you soon, mate.”

“Not this year,” she almost grumbled.

“Oh? January?” YFN’s tired voice piped up with excitement for her.

“I’m hoping so. I feel bad for leaving – I should be there to celebrate with Beth after the game.”

“Okay stop right there, that’s your anxiety talking. Beth knows that you needed to do go.” YFN’s support calmed Leah, and she knew she’d called the exact right person.

“Yeah… wait, did you speak to her?”

“I’m always chatting with the girls. A few of them are coming over after the game actually. It was last minute. I think Kyra got excited when she saw Lucy and invited herself and-”

“-and the rest of the girls jumped on board?”

“Something like that,” she laughed wearily. “So it’s a good thing I’m awake because I need to organise some food for when they get here.”

“Don’t you go over-exerting yourself mate.”

“Pfft, I’ve spent the last week laying or sitting… I’m happy to hop around and stretch my leg.”

Leah laughed at the way she’d said that. Her one leg. “You’ll have two legs next week!”

“Hopefully the doctor’s okay with me walking on it. I get to switch from a wheelchair to sexy walking stick. I really hope it’s okay enough to because I’m worried about Luce’s knee when she carries me everywhere.”

“Not surprised. Has her knee been acting up?”

“At the risk of getting her in trouble with her England Captain… yes. It’s been a bit swollen and I can tell it’s giving her pain. She tries to hide it.”

“She’ll never admit it’s sore, especially while you’re still healing.”

“I know, she’s a pain. I’ve been massaging it and insisting she ice it, though. She and Alexia have been working out and training together, so I just hope she’s being careful.”

Leah heard the worry in her voice and it made her think about Jordan. She was never nervous to watch anyone play… except Jordan. She couldn’t bear to watch her be pushed around. She was only small, after all.

“She’s been through this a lot, YFN. She knows her limits better than anyone I know. She’ll definitely be looking after herself.” Leah reassured her.

“Mmn. I know you’re right; I just worry.”

“Well let me distract you then. I spoke to Jill and Alex and they’re both excited for the podcast idea. They said you’ve been chatting with them?”

“Not as much as I’ve wanted to because of this drama, but yeah I’ve chatted to them a few times over the week. Alex is coming over tomorrow to talk a bit more about it all, and we’ll catch up with Jill when we go to Manchester next week.”

“Oh? Lucy’s missing home?”

“Always. Missing home and family so we’re going to see them.”

“When will you be back? I’m happy to do my interview whenever.”

She heard her clicking on what was potentially her laptop. “Uh… so next week I have pencilled in to bring a few of the girls into the office and do some interviews there.”

“Didn’t work out at your house?”

“Oh, no it definitely did,” she yawned again. “I figured it would build morale of my staff to meet some players, and we’ve set up a big studio there for content… and there’s a wall I’d like you all to sign.”

“A wall?”

“Just a little side-project of mine,” she chuckled. “It’ll make sense when you see it. Viv’s just been subbed on.”

“What minute?”

“Eighty-second.”

“Looks like overtime?”

“I missed most of the game but maybe three to five minutes.”

“A good ten minutes at least then. She’s been dying to stretch her legs out there.”

“They’re long enough.”

Leah laughed. She was glad she’d called her; their conversation was calming her at almost the same rate that she became more anxious as she got closer to Villa Park. YFN must have noticed.

“Are you far out?”

“Thirty minutes out. I was thinking of stopping and getting her some flowers. What do you think?”

“Well she loves flowers. I think she’d really like that Leah…” Her voice softened. “Just remember what I told you about when she sees you.”

Leah nodded even though she knew she couldn’t see it. ‘You watch her face when she sees you, Leah. In that first split second that it takes to recover her expression… you’ll see everything she’s feeling.’

This is why Leah thought she was so nervous. What if she was angry she hadn’t told her… or showing how heartbroken she still was? It would hurt, but Leah knew she’d accept whatever came her way, as it was all her own doing. She just wanted her, and their life back – though only if Jordan wanted that too.

“I will.”

“Are you sitting close to the benches?”

“Right near them in the family and friends’ section, yeah.” She didn’t know if she was imagining her voice wavering, or if it actually was.

“She’s going to be excited to see you, mate. I promise.”

Leah arrived just in time for the girls to exit the tunnel, having been delayed in the flower shop procrastinating over which was the best for her. She put it in the back seat of her black Mercedes, right next to the toy she’d bought for Blu.

She couldn’t believe how nervous she was, and YFN was right there with her, on the phone and then texting back and forth with her after they’d hung up. She knew she was busy with the Arsenal and West Ham girls dropping by, but she still made time for her. A few weeks ago, Leah would have thought she was doing it for Jordan’s sake, but she’d gotten so close to the Australian that she knew it was for hers also.

She sat in her assigned seat, saying a polite hello to the people she knew, and felt herself almost hyperventilate when Jordan entered the pitch in the starting line-up. She’d never had this reaction to her – or anyone before. It confused her, but at the same time, it made her realise just how much she meant to her. Jordan was looking too small for her clothes as always, her shorts and socks almost reaching each other. She wore that expression she did when she was on the pitch, her serious face. Football was serious for Jordan, and that was evident by just how aggressive and impatient she was on the pitch; a sharp contrast to what she was usually like in person. So sweet and kind and shy almost. Her Jordan. She felt her body tingling and her hands shake a little as she watched her taking their line-up photos and start to play.

Leah’s phone dinged and she looked down.

YFN: A bit of a healthy distraction for you.

YFN sent a photo.

The first was a photo of the group who’d invaded Lucy and YFN’s house. YFN had obviously asked Lucy to take a selfie of the group as they were all doing strange poses to the camera mid eating or talking, standing and sitting. Most of the Arsenal girls were there, along with half of the West Ham team. She grinned at the photo.

The second was a photo obviously taken from YFN’s position on the couch, pointing at Beth who was showing two fingers, Katie hanging off her with a ‘COME ON’ expression for Beth’s brace.

YFN’s efforts to distract her from herself were definitely working.

Leah: You’re not getting sleep anytime soon. *melting face emoji*

YFN: My bigger concern is that I didn’t order enough for a fucking tribe.

Leah chuckled. The girls were always extra hungry after games. She should have warned her. She looked up to see the ball nowhere near Jordan, and looked back down again to reply.

Leah: Why do I feel like I’m going to get home, and the party will still be going?

She looked back up to see Jordan crash into someone. She touched the ball, but was still warned by the referee and threw her hands up. That made her smile. That is… after she’d stood up and she knew she was okay.

Her phone buzzed.

YFN: Come 9pm I’ll be dragging them out kicking

YFN: That was Lucy ^^ but she’s not joking. *nervous laugh emoji*

YFN: She gets grumpy when she’s tired.

Leah knew that all too well, having been in many camps with Lucy.

Leah: She’s worse when she’s hungry!

YFN: I’ve learnt to sort that out before it becomes a problem.

YFN sent a photo.

It was a selfie of YFN sitting in the corner of the couch and angled up to Lucy not so elegantly stuffing her face. Regardless of Lucy’s full mouth, YFN looked at her with an expression of adoration. They looked so happy. Leah craved that happiness she’d once had with Jordan. For seven years they were the envy of the party and sitting in the stands now, watching her play from afar, she cursed herself for taking that… for taking her for granted.

She put her phone down to watch her play, again adoring the way Jordan jogged after whoever had the ball, her shorts almost falling off of her, and then attacking the players with the ball whenever she was close. It was evident just how much she loved the game. And as if all of that wasn’t adorable enough, she wore black gloves to fight the cold she felt. There wasn’t much to her, so she was always cold. Their house always needed to be hot enough that she didn’t feel the cold, but Leah had always sneakily liked to have it just the perfect temperature that she’d snuggle into her as they slept or tuck herself into her body on the couch or as she just went about her day. She too loved their hugs, just as much as Jordan. The way she fit into her body was like it was made for her. Jordan was so affectionate that she’d always kiss her neck in thanks.

Not recently of course. Recently there had been the soft hugs without the kissing, and without the talking. It was nice, but she missed all of it.

Jordan was knocked to the ground hard as she went for the ball and Leah flinched, leaning to the edge of her seat to get a better view. When Jordan didn’t get up straight away, she stood with several of the crowd and watched worriedly. As more people stood, she was up on her tip-toes to peer over everyone to see Jordan clutching her knee and the medics run over. Her heart sunk.

The teams used the opportunity to chat while she was being seen to, her face contorting in pain. Leah didn’t want to admit to herself that the smallest part of her wanted something to be wrong so she’d have time off and Leah could look after her. She felt so ashamed and shoved the thought aside as her other feeling took hold. ‘Not the knee,’ she thought. ‘Please not the knee. Get up Jord. Please get up.’

Someone tried to get her attention and she brushed them off, her eyes only on Jordan. The medics helped for several minutes until Jordan was standing again and hobbling across the pitch. She wanted to stay on.

Of course she did. She loved playing football.

They stopped for half time an even nil score, and Leah waited for Jordan to look up and see her as she wandered towards the tunnel, but she didn’t. To say she was disappointed would be an understatement. She let herself mingle with the people around her who she knew, and fifteen minutes later, the girls were re-entering the pitch. Jordan hadn’t been subbed, which was great, and although it wasn’t yet dark, it was even colder and she couldn’t help but stress about her getting sick. It was raining now, and so cold she could see her breath as she jogged back out. Her knee looked to be okay though, which was a good sign.

The first goal came in the 54th minute by an unfortunate own goal from Aston Villa’s Anna Patten. Jordan looked frustrated as she shook her head and jogged back to her spot.

It only took a minute for Rachel Daly to score an equaliser, Leah smiling as she watched Jordan jump and shout excitedly, though she didn’t run to celebrate with her team. There was something different about watching her with Villa. Leah had noticed watching Jordan’s games that she didn’t look as happy when she celebrated with Villa, and she’d always wondered if she was just biased, though seeing her not celebrate with them made her realise she wasn’t imagining it. She remembered the giant grin on her face as she used to run and jump into their group when she celebrated with Arsenal. She was always so light that Leah could barely feel her as she ran and jumped onto her.

Oh, Jord. She missed seeing her at training every day. But it wasn’t even that. As she watched her, she missed living together, driving in together, training together, going home together. They’d always sit next to each other when travelling and share hotel rooms.

She was ripped from her thoughts by Jordan stealing the ball in a clean move. She smiled. The game was back and forth pretty even following that, though Aston Villa were controlling the ball more. They just couldn’t seem to get past the Everton defence. It started raining heavier and Leah pulled her coat tighter around her. A penalty kick to Everton in the 74th minute had Jordan throwing her arms up again in frustration. The kick came… and it was a goal. It wasn’t looking good.

Three minutes later, Jordan was subbed off. She walked off looking defeated, though as she high-fived her subbed teammate at the boundary line, her head raised as if she knew she was there. Mid high-five her eyes caught Leah’s and she froze. Leah stopped breathing as she watch Jordan’s eyes widen with… yearning. Her eyes reflected the emotions Leah felt. Jordan recovered her expression and looked at the substitute, dropping her hands. As she stepped off the field, she let herself look back up with wonder. She could see the happiness in her eyes that she was there. Leah gave her a smile and a wave. Jordan didn’t wave back, but she did smile shyly as she ducked onto the bench where she could no longer see her.

Only then, could Leah breathe again. YFN was right. That surprised expression from Jordan had showed her everything. She wanted her, just as much as Leah did. She breathed a deep breath out and the built up anxiety disappeared with it. She should have never been worried. She knew Jordan.

The game ended 1-2 to Everton, and Leah stood in the stands until the girls disappeared into the tunnel. Jordan had looked up again only once… fleetingly, but Leah had seen it. She grinned to herself at that as she made her way outside to her car. She was hindered a few times by fans and autographs but by the time she stepped foot outside, her phone buzzed. She excitedly grabbed at it, assuming it was Jordan, but it wasn’t. She stopped at her car and looked down disappointedly at the notification on her phone.

“You’re here?” Came a slightly out of breath voice behind her.

She spun around to see Jordan standing all rugged up in her puffer jacket, her nose red and her legs looking freezing where they weren’t covered.

“I… came to see you play.”

Half of Jordan’s face was hidden beneath her collar, and Leah couldn’t tell if she was upset.

“Did I overste-”

She was interrupted by Jordan’s body meeting hers, her head finding her shoulder, forehead pressing against her neck. Jordan’s hands slid around Leah’s body inside her coat to keep warm. Jord. Leah’s arms were moving around her before she even told them to, holding her close and keeping her warm. It felt right to let them stay in their silence for a while until Jordan was ready.

“Thank you for coming to watch my game.”

She let her head lean against Jordan’s. “Of course I came. You pencilled in a hug, remember? I didn’t want you to drive so far after your game.”

She let out a grateful sigh and pressed herself further into Leah. “Thank you, Lea. I’m really tired.”

“Would you like to reschedule?”

A few fans must have spotted them then and Leah saw them getting excited and start to run over from the stadium.

“No!” She stressed and pulled back. “No… we can still-”

“-did you drive?” Leah cut off.

“One of the girls drove me…” She responded, unsure about Leah’s change of pace.

“Do you have all of your things?” She asked, gesturing to her backpack.

“Yeah.. I mean I think so-”

Leah took her bag off and opened her passenger door. Jordan hesitated, still unsure about Leah’s impatience. Leah saw her hesitating and softened. “Let me drive you home please, Jord.”

Jordan’s eyes wandered over Leah’s face before she nodded and slipped into the car. As quickly as she could, Leah placed her backpack in the back seat and jumped in the driver’s seat as the mob of fans were almost on top of them. She saw Jordan’s eyes widen in realisation as Leah started the car and put some distance between them.

Most of the time, she’d be open and welcoming and go out of her way for the fans. Tonight, she just wanted to protect Jordan from that. She just wanted to get her home into where she knew she’d be warm and comfortable and could sleep.

Leah stopped the car abruptly at the exit of the car park.

“Lea?”

“I…” She turned to Jordan. “I don’t know where you live…” she admitted. She hated not knowing that.

Jordan gave her a supportive smile and leant forward towards Leah’s phone mounted to the dash. She paused, looking for permission first, but Leah wasn’t worried at all. She had nothing to hide from Jordan, ever, and she showed that by looking at her with patience. Jordan hid a smile as she typed her address into Leah’s phone and soon enough, they were on their way.

“Do you want to have dinner?”

“Are you sure you’re not too tired?”

“I’d like dinner with you…”

Leah smiled as she drove. She dared not look at her, but knew Jordan was watching her. She wanted to have dinner with her.

“We can do that, Jord. Whatever you want.”

“And maybe we can watch the Lord of the Rings?”

“I thought it scared you?”

“Well, yeah, but you like it.”

It also meant they had more time together, as they’d barely gotten through any of it that last time they were alone. She also liked the idea of Jordan hiding behind her at the scary parts. “You’re okay to stay up late?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s only gone seven. It’ll be done by eleven.”

Leah frowned. “I’m confused… you want to go out for dinner?”

“God no, I think we should order in.”

“We only had an hour and a half left, Jord.”

“Well, yeah, but I figured we could start at the beginning because I forgot what happened.”

Leah chuckled. It wasn’t beyond Jordan to forget, but as she snuck a look at her, she looked more like it was a sneaky excuse for more time together. “We can do that. I don’t mind a late drive.”

“You can stay… I can take the couch.”

Jordan’s obvious willingness to spend time with Leah softened her. She hadn’t felt so happy in a long, long time. Over a year, when she and Jordan were previously together.

“YFN offered me her bed on the condition that you let me stay…”

Jordan laughed. “Of course she did. You can take her bed then, we don’t want you driving home so late. Did she say anything else?”

“I just have a few things to pick up for her… clothes and what-not.”

“She said she wants to stick around London while she’s healing,” she nodded. “I’ll help you pack her stuff up.”

“Thanks Jord.”

There were a few minutes of silence then as Leah went into her own headspace, her face falling into its natural grumpy look as she did so. Jordan noticed.

“What are you thinking?”

Leah considered brushing her off, but she knew better now. “I have something to tell you but I don’t want it to ruin the night. You just need to know.”

“Okay…”

“The video is handled.”

She waited for questions, for emotion, but there was none. She replied after a few seconds of thought. “Okay, Lea.”

Lea pulled into the driveway and put the car in park, turning to look at her. “Okay?”

Jordan nodded and gave her a little smile. “Okay, Lea. I trust you.”

“Okay…” she replied huskily and reached into the back seat. “This is for Blu,” she said as she handed her the toy. She reached back again. “And these are for you.”

Jordan took the flowers with an excited expression. “Thanks, they’re pretty. And you can give this to him if you want… I think he’s going to be excited to see you.”

She handed the toy back to Leah.

Blu was all over her when they entered the apartment. She chuckled and gave him love and pats before his attention turned to Jordan. Leah couldn’t help but look around her and take in the place Jordan now called home. It suited her. She recognised all of the photos and little trinkets she had around, and the smell was even the same with the incense she liked to burn. And it was warm… Jordan warm.

They ordered take-away and Leah played with Blu while Jordan showered and changed. As they waited for their food, they found a vase for the flowers and packed the few clothes and items YFN needed in London. They chatted, laughed, and caught up with the recent activities in each other’s lives. Jordan shared her frustrations about her game and Leah cheered her up with photos YFN had sent her of the chaos at her and Lucy’s apartment. It felt so normal. She was happy for them to be talking again, and their recent silent dates together had developed a sense of calm and comfort in those silent moments between them.

The food arrived and they settled onto the couch with blankets and began the movie. Jordan let Leah set Blu up in his little bed in front of them and he fell asleep quickly. He was always a big sleeper, tired from walking around on those little legs all day, Leah imagined with a chuckle at the thought. There were sat close enough that their arms were partially against each other and Leah relished the moments where Jordan had to pause eating to hide her head behind her shoulder at the scenes that scared her. Jordan finished eating first, obviously, as she was so tiny she barely ate anything and the next time she came up from her hiding place behind Leah, her head stayed on her shoulder, her hand gently holding her arm. Leah let her rest in that spot, trying to keep her movements small as she ate with her left hand. After only a few minutes, though, she felt uncomfortable. She put her food down on the coffee table and sat back again, Jordan laying back down on the spot she’d claimed. Leah lasted another ten minutes until she wriggled uncomfortably, unable to keep still.

Jordan lifted her head. “Are you okay, Lea?”

“I…” she paused and pulled herself in check. Honesty always. “It’s just the cramps. They’re bad today.”

“Your endo?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. The drive had been bad enough.

Another cramp seized her and she squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered in pain.

“Did you bring your medication?”

“It’s in my bag,” she groaned.

“Stay here.” Jordan said as she stood, pausing their movie and taking the food to the kitchen. She returned quickly and leant over the couch, giving her a glass of water and her painkillers.

“Thanks, Jord.”

“Is it your lower back too?”

She nodded as she swallowed the pills, angry at herself for again ruining a night with Jordan.

She disappeared again and Leah heard the microwave, and the fridge doors.

“Do you need help?”

“I’m fine, just putting the food away. Give me a minute.”

The microwave finished and Leah heard the door opening and Jordan padding back over with two heat packs. Her mouth parted in awe as she looked up into her eyes. Jordan was taking care of her.

“Lay down, Lea.” She said as she guided her down, pulling a pillow under her head. Leah did as she was told, letting herself be looked after by her. Jordan gently put her on her side facing the tv, and placed a heat pack on her lower abdomen, and her lower back, tucking them into the waistband of her pants and pulling her shirt back down.

“Feel better?”

Leah couldn’t speak, so she just nodded.

“Do you need anything else?”

She was about to shake her head when she stopped herself and instead tugged lightly on Jordan who smiled. She took the remote and pressed play, slipping behind Leah, under the blanket. She pulled another pillow over so her head was higher and hesitantly, her hand found her abdomen which she tenderly rubbed in circles above her shirt. They’d done this so many times over the years, but this time it felt more personal, and even more special.

“Can you see the tv?” She murmured, relishing the feel of a warm Jordan pressed up against her back, her arm slung over her.

“Yeah.”

Leah inhaled sharply again at another cramp. Jordan paused her circling to hold pressure against the heat bag over her lower abdomen. That always helped.

“Why didn’t you cancel?”

“I told you I won’t make another mistake.”

She’d thought back to the promise she’d left her in a note, ‘…that was the last fault I’ll make…. no more mistakes…’

Jordan was silent for a moment as she thought about that. Her hand began circling her abdomen again reassuringly. “How do you feel?”

“Comfy.” Leah responded, proud of her little inside joke as she felt and heard Jordan chuckle behind her.

And then she felt Jordan’s lips touch the nape of her neck and linger, pouring affection and reassurance into her. Leah leant back into the kiss and felt that feeling she’d been missing for so long.

She felt like she was home.

#woso #womens football #woso community #woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso soccer #engwnt #lionesses #lucy bronze #lucy bronze x reader #lucy bronze imagine #jordan nobbs #leah williamson #aston villa women #arsenal women #woso x reader

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mazeofyeni · 8 months

Text

(🔴) ... [ NOW PLAYING ] [NCTZEN-MADE] CECE BEING LOVED BY NCT !

❛intro❜ : if you ever think you’re the best cece stan , that you love her more than anything – remember you will never love her as much as nct does 🥰

CLIP ONE !

nct 127 simping over cece

*cece coming to visit the nct 127 members on set* “cece is on set today , she’s come to visit me” *doyoung side eyeing haechan* “she’s here to see everyone , stop lying to the camera.” *jaehyun crushing haechans delusions💔* *yuta wrapping his arms around cece* “are you on your way home?” *shaking her head* “me mark and johnny oppa are going to a concert.” *🐰 hearing this* “yah ! but everytime i ask if you want to eat , you’re alway busy.” *angry doie* *127 laughing at doyoungs pain once again* “we’ll get food soon oppa” *happy doie* “your outfit looks nice , you might get cold though.” *taeyong being a worried mother , fixing her shirt* “and this skirt is too short , be careful,” *cece is embarrassed* “oppa.” *127 cooing at her* “i’m embarrassed.” *johnny finally coming back* *handing her a jacket😭😭*!”dreamies have a schedule tomorrow and you don’t need to be sick.” “mark asked the staff for it don’t worry” *mark taking care of cece a never ending saga* “okay have fun , don’t stay out to long cece.” *mark and johnny are confused* “oh yeah you two stay safe , don’t let her go to far alone” *taeyong does not gaf about all that just that his child is safe😭*

CLIP TWO !

wayv trying to steal cece from nct dream

*preparing for nct 2020* *yangyangs first time talking about her ever on camera* “cece is here now.” *points camera* “where.” *ten coming from the wood works* “cece , my baby!” *ten and his i raised cece agenda* “come my baby.” *this was the first time we’ve seen cece and wayv in the same frame* “wayv!” *czennies were shocked , we didn’t think they knew each other 😭/hj* “she’s our new wayv member , we’re stealing her from the dreamies.” *hendery is deadass* “yeah i’m learning chinese , give me a few months , i’ll be in the new comeback.” *dreamies are across the studio sobbing right now* “i’ll be the maknae though , that means kun has to do everything for me and not you yang yang.” *kun is in shock* “i don’t mind.” *hendery tryna figure out why yangx2 isn’t being a menace* *ten peeping it too* “oh i have to go , i’ll see you guys.” *walks away* “our yangyang is growing up.” *yangx2 is embarrassed 😭*

CLIP THREE !

cece being too cute for the dreamies

*context: cece was in the states during the dreamies 7th anniversary so she couldn’t attend the live* *jeno actively talking**mark laughing* “cece is trying to facetime me.”*the dreamies completely forgetting the objective at hand* “answer it” *like okay haechan calm down😭* *answers it* “i just dyed my hair , does it look pretty?” *mark being the first person she calls is so cute🥹* *a little more context: she doesn’t know they’re live-streaming* “we’re live ce.” “i’m sorry , i’ll call you back .” *dreamies still hyping her up* “no it’s okay , you still look pretty” “thank you” “she’s so cute” *jisung forgetting he has a mic on* “cece say hi to the camera” “hello czennies , it’s our 7 years as nct dream , thank you for staying with us this long , sorry i can’t be there , i hope to see you guys soon.” *the staff behind the camera are confused but let go* “alright we have to go , i’ll call you later.” “mm okay , love you.” *mark we see that smile* “that was our cece” *our cece🥹😭*

CLIP FOUR ! (💬nia’s notes: text like this - eng)

cece and her representative oppa johnny

*cece doing a live* “i haven’t been able to do lives , so im glad i can do this.” *phone rings* “it’s johnny oppa” *look at that smile🥹* *answers it* “hello?” “where are you?” “on the 7th floor.” “oh you’re at the company , good.” *hangs up* *confused cece* “what is wrong with him?” *shrugs* “oh well.” *5 minutes later* “the door flys open , scaring her” *johnny cackling is so sinister* “oppa!” *she’s stressed* “your face was so funny” *cece rethinking her life choices* “what do you want?” *hands her a bag* “these are the snacks you wanted , i thought you left , i was gonna give them to manager to give it to you , but since you’re here i brought it so that i could see you.” *johnny please🥹* “ah , thank you thank you.” “did you settle in okay?” *talking about her moving into her own apartment* “i still need to put my couch together , i tried to do it with renjun but we didn’t get anywhere.” *johnny to the rescue* “i’ll come the next time i’m not busy” *princess treatment* “i’ll treat you for your help” “don’t worry about it , you need a couch , i have to go , i’ll call soon.” *head pats , look at the fucking head pats😭💔* “bye bye”

CLIP FIVE !

chenle simping for cece

*dance practice bts* “everyone take a break” *chenle sits down on the floor* *cece sees her target* “chenle” *get y’all someone who smiles at you like that😭* *lays down on the floor , her head in his lap💔* “i’m hungry.” *look at that pout , she knows how to play the game* “hungry , what do you want?” *chenle about to leave practice to get her food* “ramen?” *shakes head* “chicken?” *shakes head* “what then?” *cece shrugs* *his ass can’t even be frustrated because he’s so in love he can’t help but smile* *grabs her cheeks* “ah cute! i’ll get you something after okay?” *he’s so in love🥰*

❛outro❜ : there are so many more clips but i’ll leave it here , i’m just glad our cece has a bunch of people who love and appreciate her ❗️ , she’s so loved💔😭.

©️MAZEOFYENI

#fictional idol addition #fictional idol community #fictional idol oc #fictional kpop community #fictional kpop oc #fictional kpop idol #nct female addition #nct addition #nct dream female member #nct dream addition #nct dream 8th member #nct 24th member #nct female member #nct female oc #nct dream female addition #cece (content)

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delusional-dinosaurr · 1 year

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Nice Sleepover? (Alessia Russo x Reader)

After what felt like years you finally get off the plane in Manchester. You got loaned to City from Barcelona, being from Manchester it's a perfect loan for you, as you've been at Barca for just over a year and needed a little change of scenery.

Lauren was of course there to greet you at the airport with a sign which said "Queen of Nutmegs". You giggled and jogged over to her and gave her the biggest hug. "I'm so happy you're playing for us Y/N, I can't believe it still!" she says giddily whilst clinging onto you. "You'll be ready to play in the Manchester Derby as well!" "I can't wait to beat them with you, It'll take me back to the U19 days" you smile. Years ago you used to be an unbeatable force for the England younger squads, you with the assists and her with the goals. Being reunited was fantastic but also terrifying for those who faced you. After a long week of getting to know the team and staff at City alongside some training days, you crash on Lauren's spare bed at her shared house the night before the Derby. She slumps on it next to you whilst you both aimlessly scroll through your phones. You can't help but get stuck on an Instagram post by Alessia Russo, there is an audible gulp when you looked at the photos of her and Lauren spotted it instantly. "Now why is my best friend dribbling over Lessi?" Lauren said whilst looking at you with a big smirk on her face. "I'm not dribbling, it's just been a long time since we've seen eachother" You sighed and drop your phone on the bed. You used to have quite the crush on Alessia back in the day which hasn't really gone away, and haven't been interested in anyone since. You still talk every so often with national camps but nothing like you used to. "Now now young Y/N, don't go acting like this on the pitch, we need to win, yeah?" She slapped your hand gently "I'm off to bed, sleep well and don't dream about Miss Russo, you need to stay focused!" she giggled as she leaves the room, leaving you to sigh and get cuddled up in bed. ---- You're getting ready in the locker room after the warmups for the away game at Old Trafford. Feeling confident for your first game you pulled over your sky blue shirt whilst hearing a wolf whistle from Leila, you saluted her and gave her a wink in response. When you start to approach the tunnel the nerves hit, Lauren notices it and instantly puts her hands on your shoulders, gripping them tightly. "We will win, and I swear we will get a classic Y/LN-Hemp assist and goal for our first match together!" Lauren cheers whilst patting your shoulders firmly. You look over to your side to see the one and only Ella Toone grinning at you, you give her a nod and a smile. "Y/LN! Shame you aren't in red! Would look better on you" She cackles at you, you've missed her dumb laugh. "Never in your wildest dreams Tooney, red isn't my colour. Think you'd look pretty stunning in blue though" You wink. You and Ella used to play together for Astley & Tyldesley when you were younger. Your parents and her parents are close friends so you've always been fairly close. You still talk every now and then but since moving to Barca not so much. Not like it's in a bad way, more so that you're both very busy but will always be there for each other. She gave you a brief hug in the tunnel before you head out. "Good luck on your first game for City, shame you'll be losing" she chuckles whilst giving you a gentle smack on the ass which you instantly laugh at. You all start walking out onto the pitch and the game starts. As a midfielder you're already seeing loads of action in both attacking and defending. Around 20 minutes in you see a Alessia making a run to receive a ball in from Ella. Before Alessia can receive the ball, you cut in with a fantastic slide to clear the ball from her. This sends Alessia tumbling over you and she lands on top of you. You couldn't help but get a little flustered as she lifted herself off you whilst looking into your eyes. You shake it off and return to the game. You look to your side and see Lauren looking at you, very amused at what she had just witnessed. The game continues with a fair amount of back and forth between the two of you, she even fouls you when you're trying to connect a longer pass to Hemp, which you brush off as she gives you a hand up. As half-time comes around the score is 1-1, one goal from Toone and the City goal from Chloe. You get told that you'll be likely to stay on for the full 90 with Lauren, to try and secure another goal. You run back onto the pitch and into position feeling energised and ready to win. 74 minutes in you receive a pass and run it up the wing ready for Lauren when you feel a pair of boots collide with you. You instantly tumble to the ground and clutch your ankle in pain. One amused looking Alessia Russo stands over you whilst the ref is waving a yellow at her whilst she's protesting. She wipes the sweat off her face using the bottom of her shirt, you can't help but glance and melt at the sight "Oi, she's getting in your head, we've got this" Lauren gives you a quick hug from behind before jogging off ready for a free kick. The free kick is taken by Leila which you receive and effortlessly cross it to Lauren, who of course scored an excellent goal. She points at you and runs full sprint to jump in your arms. "I TOLD YOU WE WOULD DO IT! Y/LN-HEMP BACK IN ACTION!" Lauren screamed whilst the rest of your teammates are yelling and hugging you both. The game restarts and the goal has lit a fire in the United girls. They're playing more forcefully and riskier. You notice a Toone-Russo connection again which you pull off a bit of a dodgy tackle which earns some colourful language from Alessia in frustration. This earns your first yellow card for the team which you accepted as you knew it was a dodgy tackle. 2 minutes of added time and you're making a run up from the midfield, the United girls are playing ultra defensive to prevent a last minute goal from City. You receive a beautiful pass from Chloe and as you’re running closer to the box you see a flash of blonde hair. Knowing who is about to attempt to tackle you, you manage to nutmeg Alessia and run through the defenders, the city fans break out in loud cheers as your nutmeg was clearly well received by your club. You get to a 1v1 with Earps and chip the ball over her effortlessly. 3-1. Your teammates are going absolutely nuts over your goal.

The final whistle is blown after your goal. You couldn't be more pleased with your performance, especially after receiving the player of the match award. You walked around the stadium chatting with the United girls and swapping shirts with Ella for some photos, she takes a photo herself of you in a United shirt and makes a joke about it looking hot on you. You continue walking around the stadium and take photos with fans and chat with some of them for a bit before going and cleaning up. After getting clean and changed Leila pulls you aside "Hey Chica! We are all going clubbing tonight, coming? I heard your favourite player will be there" she gently shakes you with excitement. You knew you had to go as it would be your first outing with the girls, even though you'd rather go sleep at Lauren's. That and a chance to reconnect with Alessia is all you want to do right now. You sigh and nod at Leila resulting in her squealing. --- You enter the club which both teams and staff have hired out for the night and spot some of the team already here, who are waving frantically to get you to go over. You decided to just wear casual blue skinny jeans and a white shirt to keep it casual and comfy. Some of the girls dressed up but some went with the same theme as you. As the night goes on you spot Alessia and Ella at the bar, you quickly make your way over and pay for their drinks before they can tap the machine. They both turn to put a face to the mystery arm with a card and smile when they realise. "Thank you Y/N, you really didn't have to though!" Ella says whilst giving you a strong side hug. "Ah it's the least I can do after breaking your winning streak" You wink as you take a sip of your drink, to which Ella gives you a shove for. Alessia wraps her arms around you and gives you a squeeze. "I've missed you Y/N, we need a catch up later" She says and you agree to meet up with her later on in the evening. The night goes on, the drinks are flowing and everyone is fairly drunk, which has resulted in the majority of you dancing and chatting between the clubs. You and Lauren are throwing some wild moves which has both teams laughing. Leila has joined in but isn't dancing as enthusiastically as you and Lauren, but still enjoying herself. "God you're still awful at dancing" Alessia shouts in your ear with you laughing in response. "Speak for yourself, Leila thinks I'm a great dancer right?" You shove Leila who just throws her arms around you whilst still dancing, which results in you shaking your head laughing.

“Clearly I need to tell the Barca girls to teach you to dance like us Spanish do!” Leila sasses back whilst dancing away from you to go to the bar. She runs back to yank Lauren away from you and Alessia, very obviously trying to get the two of you alone at last.

"It's been so long since we've seen each other right?" She yells to you. You can barely hear her over the music and you give her a puzzled look in return. She drags you over to a quieter corner before you can answer her. "Well, it's not every day I get dragged around by a pretty woman" You say whilst Alessia shakes her head at you. "Always been a flirt haven't you?" She smacks your arm in response. You both talk for what feels like hours, you discuss the fouls on each other during the match and apologise, you buy her a couple drinks and seem to be gravitating closer to each other. Your hand is resting on her thigh instinctively which she blushes at. "Just fuck already!" Tooney yells in your ear, you cough at how forward she was about your not so little crush on Alessia back in the day. Back when you were in the youth teams you had a massive crush on her, Ella used to tease you for it but eased when Alessia had a boyfriend for a while. "Who says we haven't already" Alessia smirks at Ella whilst she's staring at you with her jaw dropped. Alessia also takes the opportunity to move closer to you and hold your waist. "She's joking, we haven't. She would've told everyone how great I was if we did" You joke with Alessia now blushing again. "I have a strict rule of no footballers actually. Especially if I have to play with or against them, too distracting for me. Conflict of interest or something like that" Alessia says to Ella who scoffs, not believing a word of it. "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever Less. You'll change your mind soon enough" Ella winks as she grabs her drink and dances away. --- All you feel is your pounding headache as you groggily open your eyes in the morning, or at least it feels like the morning. What really wakes you up is the one and only Ella Toone swinging open the door. "Morning Alessia!" She draws out the A's in her name until she gasps, noticing another person in bed with her best friend. "Well clearly you had a good night, and on that note I'll leave you both to it!" she shuts the door quickly. You realise you are pretty much naked under the sheets cuddling Alessia, who is also in the same predicament as you. "So... " She drew out the O. "Well, it was gonna happen sooner or later wasn't it" You mumble to her. "We don't have to tell anyone and can forget about it if you want" she says quickly. "No, no. I honestly just wish it wasn't a one night thing Lessi. Not like that but like a more official thing where I can take you out and spoil you and...yeah" You sigh. She kisses you gently, breaking you out of your rambling state. "Tooney was right" Alessia sighs back with you giving her a questioning look "My dumb rule for no footballers was my way to try and throw you off. I've had a bit of a crush on you since we were younger. I only dated others because I thought you weren't interested" "Well same goes for me! Ella used to harass me for when I used to crush on you" You laugh as you both chuck some clothes on so you can face chatting with your friends downstairs. You borrow Alessia's United jumper and some joggers, you bundle up your clothes from last night which Alessia brings you a carrier bag to put them in.

“So um, where does this leave us?” You ask her quietly.

“Well I’m looking forward to you spoiling me on some dates Y/NN. If you want a label we can always just say ‘dating’?” She smiles and gives your hand a reassuring squeeze, you smile and nod in response. You both head downstairs to see Alessia’s teammates and face Tooney after her walking in on the two of you.

"Nice sleepover?" Millie laughs as she spots you both entering the room. "Mmm was nice, didn't get much sleep though" You say whilst looking at Alessia, which earns you a smack on the chest. "I knew you'd fuck!" Ella sings whilst dancing around the kitchen like a lunatic. "I better head off, we've got some defensive training today. I'm also due a telling off for my yellow for fouling Alessia" You chuckle as you put your shoes on in the doorway. Millie grabs her car keys as she didn't drink the night before and she offers you a lift to Lauren's house. "Wait!" Alessia scurries over to you and gives you a gentle peck on the cheek "Dinner tonight or something? Like a date? I've missed you" she nervously rubs the back of her neck saying the last part quietly. "I'd love nothing more, I'll text you when I'm free beautiful. For the record, I've missed you too" You kiss her gently on the lips, a feeling you never want to forget. --- You arrive home and thank Millie for the lift. You open the door to see Lauren sat on the sofa, ready to interrogate you. You plop down on the sofa with a satisfied sigh. '"Now where were you last night?" She scoots up closer to you and notices your shirt "TAKE IT OFF" she yells whilst tapping the United logo, she starts yanking your shirt off for you in rage with you protesting. Leila had stayed over for the night so she walks into the living room with Lauren and you playfighting with your jumper half off. "Guys! Stop! What's going on?" Leila breaks up your playfight "Y/N do not wear that filth around us!" she then also starts tugging your jumper off successfully. You chuckle as you quickly go get changed for training so that you don't have to worry about it later. You sneak back into the living room hoping they didn't hear you walk back in. "Right go on then, spill. You better have a good reason to have been wearing a united jumper" Lauren says patting the sofa which you slump next to her on. Leila is watching the conversation intently, clearly wanting to know all the gossip. "So I spent the night with Alessia, and we are hanging out later" You say nervously, not knowing how your best friend would react. Luckily for you she's over the moon, slapping her legs in excitement. "I knew you guys would eventually do something! I'm so happy for you!" she squeezes you into a tight hug. "We have to plan a romantic night for you two, I've got so many ideas". Do we want a part 2 or should I try something else? It's my first fic so I'm still get used to how this all works! I'll happily take requests too:)

#alessia russo #alessia russo x reader #alessia russo imagine #woso imagine #woso one shot

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nitewrighter · 2 years

Text

Cindy Part 11

Oh boy this one's a doozy. Uh... content warning for... foot trauma. It's not as graphic as the whole "stepmother cuts off X" thing but there is stuff there, so you've been warned. Vaguely. Vaguely warned.

Welp, as always, for all previous chapters, please refer to the masterpost.

----

Admittedly the stepfam sucked so much that the prince more or less expected the house on haunted hill for their estate, but it turns out the estate is about equidistant between the palace and the village, and is snuggled up in a semi-wooded, semi-farmland area. As the carriage pulls up to the estate, the prince’s eyes fall on an oddly noticeable hazel tree at the side of the grand house.

“Welp,” Gabe huffs as he opens up the door and looks at Brad and the prince, “Let’s get this over with.”

The prince is scanning around the area as they walk up the path to the front door. This whole house is suspiciously nicer than he expected it to be, and it’s throwing him off. You can tell when any kind of domestic worker takes a lot of pride in their work, and that’s clear here, but what kind of person would be happy to work for assholes like these? Okay, settle down, he probably doesn’t have the whole story. Maybe they’re really nice to their own housing staff and assholes to everyone else? But where is their housing staff? He feels like he should have at least seen a footman or something with how well the estate looks, but it’s… unnervingly empty. They step up to the door and Gabe gives a brisk but polite knock.

The prince and co. plaster on their politest smiles when the stepmother opens the door.

“Madam,” Gabe sticks with his usual script that the prince pretty much tunes out at this point, “I am the king’s valet, and this is the captain of the guard.” (there’s no need to introduce the Prince, who, as far as anyone is concerned, is a footman), “We’ve come here on behalf of the palace to investigate your claim regarding the glass slipper.”

“Oh gentlemen,” the stepmother says, with a sweep of her arm, “So glad you’ve finally arrived! Please, do come in!”

As soon as the prince enters, the smell of the most delicious food in the world hits his nostrils. There’s pastry, and spices, and a rich, fatty, smoky-gamy poultry smell.. could it be… duck? His stomach audibly growls.

“This way,” the stepmother nearly sings the words as she leads them to the parlor where two okay-but-very-mean-looking girls are standing. On the table is a small pile of miniature pies garnished with nasturtium flowers and sprigs of parsley. Still warm, still fragrant. The prince is looking at the pies much longer than the stepsisters. Holy fuck he wants those pies so bad. There’s even a point where he’s doing that thing, where like, you flick your eyes really quickly down at the food back up to the person who has the food like, “do I have permission to take the food?” But he’s like, basically invisible to both stepsisters so he’s just stuck smelling the very rare food that’s managed to break through his stress-induced appetite barrier. Brad, meanwhile, has already started helping himself with an audible “mm!” Within minutes he’s already taken down four mini pies, and Gabe’s steady nibbles have taken down two. Two!! This is Gabe the Valet we’re talking about here! They cannot resist the curried duck mini-pies! And who can blame them!

“These are amazing!” Brad says with his mouth half full, “Where is your cook?”

“Ah, I’m afraid they’ve already… left for the day,” says the stepmother.

That’s kind of weird, the prince thinks, You’d think they’d want feedback from the palace…

“Do they have the recipe, at least?” Gabe perks up, “The palace kitchens would be very interested in serving this, themselves.”

“It’s a secret family recipe,” says one of the stepsisters.

“Very secret,” says the other stepsister.

The prince’s eyes narrow slightly at this. His eyes flick down the girl’s clothes and hair. No spots of flour anywhere, and not a whiff of spice on either of them. They’re densely perfumed. These guys were nowhere near the fucking kitchen! How can they call it a family recipe?

The stepsisters are now launching into this long-ass spiel about how it took the palace this long to find the real owners of the glass slipper, talking over each other, both talking shit about each other, both talking shit about all of the honestly delightful shoe candidates who came before them.

“Did you see that girl with the curly brown hair, big mouth and giant nasty feet? I mean, you didn’t think that idiot could have fit the shoe, right?”

“Or the girl with the massive ugly nose?”

“Or the girl who kept crossing herself and looked like she was about to piss herself and cry the whole ball?”

The prince stiffens where he stands. Oh no, they are not talking shit about Dutiful Winery Daughter, Eunice, and Amelia. Not on his watch! But he can’t say anything because he’s the goddamn footman!

“Well, as delightful as this food is,” Gabe says, shifting the subject, “We do have a schedule to keep—”

“Madam, may I use the washroom?” The prince suddenly pipes up, “All the tea from these meetings just goes right through me.”

“The servants’ privy is—” the stepmother starts and then catches herself, “I mean, obviously a footman of the palace should use our best washroom. Second door from the staircase.”

“…thank you, madam,” the prince gives a hollow bow and briskly walks out of the room. And like, of course now his hyper-observant detective ass is internally going ‘She is absolutely hiding something. Why would she direct a servant away from the servants’ quarters? I have to find the servants’ quarters now. This house doesn’t look big enough to really have a proper servants’ quarters unless it’s—” as soon as he’s out of sight, he pivots in the hallway near the stairs and glances toward the scullery and suddenly the voices of all of the servants he interviewed after the ball come flooding into his mind.

She fixed this button on that jacket.

She knew how to get a stain out with lemon juice.

She was really interested in how to make the food.

Her best friends are rats.

He walks down the hall. His ears are burning and he feels like he’s moving through molasses. There’s a door. There’s a door at the end of the hall. He can hear rats scuttling in the walls. He presses an ear to the wall—are they all moving in one direction?

But then there’s a bloodcurdling scream and the sound of a shatter and all of a sudden the prince's heart plummets into his gut. He sprints back to the parlor where Brad and Gabe are doing the fitting, except the older stepsister on the couch is wailing.

There’s shards of glass flecked with red all over the floor.

“She—she kicked It off—I didn’t have time to grab it—Oh god—” Gabe’s hand goes over his mouth.

“The shoe bit me, Mother, you must believe me, it bit me!” The older stepsister insists.

“You broke it…” the prince’s voice is more blank than angry as he hangs in the doorway.

“Because it bit me!” says the stepsister, and suddenly a horrified holler escapes her, “My TOES!”

“What?” The prince glances over and his own hand claps over his mouth. Her pinky and… ring? toes are missing. And the stumps are bleeding. Dripping and spurting all over the carpet.

The younger stepsister lets out another earsplitting scream. Oh my god it is not helping.

“You—you could have warned us there were such consequences for not fitting the shoe!” the Stepmother says through gritted teeth to Gabe.

“Madam, We swear, we had no idea—” Gabe starts but the Prince can’t contain himself. HE JUST LOST HIS ONE FUCKING LEAD.

TO ASSHOLES.

“Consequences?!” The Prince blurts out, “This is the first time I’ve seen this happen! With every other girl in the kingdom it’s just either been too tight or too loose! Ma’am this is the first fucking time I’ve seen anything like this! What the hell did you do to piss a shoe off!?”

“You have no right to speak to me like that, you lowly servant!” The Stepmother barks.

“You will address His Highness the prince with respect!” Brad says on reflex.

And the Prince huffs a breath through his teeth like, ‘Goddammit, Brad.”

“…what?” Says the stepmother.

“MY TOES!” The stepsister wails again and the prince flinches to attention, looking sharply to Brad, “Send one of the footmen to the palace, have them send in a royal surgeon on the swiftest horse they can,” says the Prince. It’s one of these princely lines that has always lurked ready at the back of his mind, but he never imagined himself really using, especially not for someone who pisses him off as much as this asshole.

“It shall be done, your highness,” Brad gives his shallow bow before hurrying off. The prince swears and pulls off the kerchief of his own servant’s livery, quickly wrapping it around the stepsister’s bleeding toe stubs and applying pressure.

“OW!” The stepsister cries out, “That hurts!”

“Just shut up and just focus on not passing out,” the Prince says darkly.

“You’re the prince?” The stepsister winces.

“Yes,” says the prince.

“…and you’re… worried about me?” The stepsister says breathlessly.

“Yeah,” the prince says, looking up at her sharply, “I’m the prince. It’s my fucking job to worry about the subjects of my kingdom.”

The stepsister’s lips purse together and there’s kind of a beat here where she’s almost, almost picking up on the whole, “nobility isn’t just a matter of birth” deal. I don’t know. Maybe give her a couple years. Maybe.

“I hope you will see our family properly compensated for this horrific incident,” the stepmother adds.

“Yes,” the prince says hollowly, his eyes flicking down to all the glass shards on the floor and the blood that’s now staining the knee of his servants’ livery, “Of course.”

It’s a whole thing. The surgeon does arrive extremely quickly because goddamn if the horse they sent them in on isn’t the fastest horse in the kingdom, he honestly looks a little shaken by the time he arrives because holy shit is that horse fast, but he’s able to stitch up the stepsister’s toe stubs—they do look for the stepsister’s toes to reattach them, but they don’t find them. The prince really, really doesn’t want to think that the shoe ate them, and neither does anyone else, but that is absolutely on everyone’s minds as the royal surgeon is carefully wrapping the stepsister’s foot in gauze. The prince apologizes for the incident, and, with everyone deeply uncomfortable and really not wanting to be around each other, they make the arrangements to leave.

The stepfam watches as the carriage takes off.

—-

Cindy, god bless her, has deeply, deeply hoped she is the dastardly criminal that the guard captain thinks she is, because a dastardly criminal would be able to pick this fucking lock. But she isn’t. She’s just a nice girl staring at no less than 9 sewing needles jammed hopelessly into a keyhole and she’s furiously trying to hold back tears. She’s heard a bloodcurdling scream and muffled yelling about toes but she honestly isn’t paying it that much mind because the stepsisters scream like that whenever they see a rat. She has to focus, goddammit but shit, shit shit, there’s no way in fuck she’s picking this lock. And like… why would she?? She’s never picked locks before! The village tinker’s shown her some interesting stuff so she knows tumblers exist but she doesn’t know how to make them do the thing without a key!

If I was half the girl the prince thinks I am, I would be out there, she thinks, If I was half the girl fairy godmother thinks I am, I’d be riding in the prince’s carriage by now.

But then this little furious fire lights up in her heart. The fairy godmother wouldn’t want her to give up. The fairy godmother would want her to go down kicking and screaming, and probably biting someone to the point of drawing blood. The fairy godmother is a manifestation of this goddamn column of PAIN in Cinderella and GODDAMN if Cindy is going to let that agony amount to nothing. She draws in a furious breath through her nostrils, gives a glance toward the cellar door leading to the garden outside and huffs it out. Her hands ball into fists and she descends the stairs.

—

“Highness…” Brad’s words are slow, unsure as the prince is walking back towards the carriage, “I—I know you really cared about her, wherever she is and whoever she is,” Brad casts his eyes downward, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” the prince says the words on reflex.

“If it’s…. worth saying, your highness,” Brad says slowly, “I think.. going through all this, as painful as it has been, I think it’s been really good for you. It’s… it’s been really good to see how much you care about people.”

“It’s one thing to care, Brad,” the prince says quietly, “It’s another thing to actually fucking do something.”

“You’re going to do a lot of things, highness,” Gabe says quietly, “I’m sure of it.”

“Mm,” the Prince just slips into the carriage and closes the door.

He leans his head against the glass of the carriage window as it rattles on, staring out at the woods surrounding the estate, then the fields beyond as the carriage rattles down the road. The prince is weighing Brad’s words in his head like… okay, maybe the idea of someone is enough to get you off your ass to try and put some good in the world, but at the same time… fuck, it hurts. It hurts so bad. Only remembering the idea of a smile, of a laugh…of someone grinning and calling you on your shit… it fucking hurts his heart more than any of you can fucking imagine. The scenery is rolling by, fallow fields, the odd handful of trees set up as a windbreak, and the fence that trails along the road. Wooden, and unassuming, bleached by sunlight. The prince lets his eyes bump over the fenceposts as they roll by. Fencepost… fencepost… fencepost… fencepost with a rat in a little green marching band jacket on it… fencepost…

The prince suddenly jerks to attention and smushes the side of his face against the glass of the carriage window, looking behind him. There is a rat, in a swanky little green band jacket perched on the fencepost that is rapidly rolling behind the royal carriage. Its nose is high and twitching in the air. The prince stares after the rat shrinking In the distance in awe and blinks several times. Just before it falls out of view with the carriage’s progression, it hops back into the grass.

“I suppose with the slipper broken, we’ll have to make an announcement that—prince?” Gabe the valet looks up from his agenda.

The prince means to shout “RAT IN A JACKET” but what comes out sounds more like “RAJACKINRAT” and Brad goes, “What” and the prince just fucking opens the carriage door and fucking jumps out and tucks and rolls out of the full-speed moving carriage, bouncing painfully in the dirt road.

“Your highness?!” Brad yells out the swinging carriage door but the prince has already sprang to his feet and broken into a dead sprint across the field back to the house. He vaults over a fence, clips a hedge hard with his shoulder, stumbles over the roots of several copses of trees, and then hops another fence to find himself at the rear of Cindy’s family estate. His shoes fucking skid hard to a stop in the dirt, and he’s looking around this cute little garden and farm yard. It’s an adorably kept garden for something owned by such horrible people, but he’s not getting too caught up on that detail. He’s feverishly looking around. Where’s the rat? Where did the rat go? The rat in the jacket—where is it??? And then there’s a… whispering, rattling sound and he glanced over to see a hazel tree that seems to be moving… a little too much for it to just be the wind. It’s swaying… pointing? He narrows his eyes for a second but then suddenly flinches hard at a loud, ‘WHUNK’ sound and a pained, muffled grunt, and he glances over to see a cellar door.

A cellar door barred with a criss-crossing shovel and rake.

He rushes over.

Now, okay, maybe the smart thing to do here may have been to yell through the door ‘Who’s in there?’ Or maybe ‘what happened’ or even just ‘Hello?’ But this boy is amped up on enough adrenaline and desperation to kill a younger, bedridden, asthmatic version of himself. So instead, he yanks away the shovel and rake barring the cellar doors and takes hold of both cellar door handles and flings them open, only for Cindy to fucking rush headlong into him.

And like, I need to stress here that the prince is all about horseback riding, fencing, and wrestling. Like, do you know how much that builds up your core and quads? Those are all VERY CORE AND QUAD-FOCUSED SPORTS. This dude is cute but he is STURDY, but now scrappy Cindy has just caught him hard with a bony shoulder/elbow combo right to the solarplexus like a goddamn axehead, so he’s making this “Phwoor” noise on contact and Cindy has maybe a 28% idea of what is currently happening because she’s just fucking SPRUNG UP meaning to literally bust open a cellar door and instead she’s… hit something… not quite soft-ish?? Definitely not a cellar door???

And then WHUMPF they’re both sprawled out with Cinderella on top of the prince in the chicken piss-drenched dirt of the farm.

“Guh..?” The prince makes a noise that’s half-suppressing a gag before glancing down and seeing hair clotted up with soot and ashes. Cindy’s covered in a fresh layer of soot after her last ramming attempt sent her painfully rolling down the stairs and into the ashes near the fireplace.

Cindy’s eyelashes flutter. Her head jerks up because she still has half a mind to race after the carriage that’s just taken off, but then she looks down because she doesn’t know what she just hit.

And then she sees the prince.

It’s him! It’s him! Sure he’s wearing (now crooked) glasses, and servant’s livery now, and his hair is all mussed up and there’s the five o’clock shadow (Wow she really likes the five o’ clock shadow), but she knows those eyes from when they were dancing together! It is fucking NOW OR NEVER. It is fucking GO TIME. So she just braces both hands in the dirt on either side of the prince’s face and this whole marvelous gracious script she had in her head goes right out the window and she just shouts, “I HAVE THE SHOE!” In the prince’s face, except it comes out more like “IVETHASHOE!”

“What?” The prince is staring up at her. Oh fuck I don’t know how to explain what he is currently going through right now. You know that whole ‘tip of your tongue’ sensation when like… you know something, you know you know something, but it’s not clicking? It’s just not coming? And it is the worst fucking mental itch. Imagine that, but a million times worse. The weight of her—he knows the weight of her from when they were dancing, from when he was obsessively running through every detail of that night through his head night after night. He knows the feel of her back muscles, and he’s pretty sure it’s the same feel as this fucking battering ram that’s sprung out of that cellar. This face. He has to know this face. He wants to know this face so fucking bad. He can see the fear in her eyes and he knows the fear in her eyes, the fucking timing of her expressions, but every human is capable of having fear in their eyes so there’s just this fucking tidal wave of “is it you? Please, please, is it you?” crashing against these walls of fucking despair.

“I—I have the other shoe,” Cinderella’s voice comes slow and dense to her.

But then there’s the sound of a door slamming at the front of the house and Cinderella flinches. And fuck, the Prince knows what her flinching feels like in his arms from the sound of that first midnight bell ringing.

“What are you doing?!” The stepmother barks, “Get off of him you wretched little thing!”

Another visible flinch goes through Cindy, but she stays still, her mouth pinches for a second before she says again, “I have… the other shoe.”

“Cinderella, did you not hear me? Do you know how much of an embarrassment you’re making of yourself?”

Cinderella winces, her eyes squeezing shut, but she feels a gentle hand touching her forearm and she opens one eye.

“You have the other shoe?” The prince is staring up at her. He looks like total shit compared to the ball, but she thinks she likes it more. The five o’ clock shadow, the eye bags, the mussed up hair… this is the fucking dork who snuck off with her and let her have half of his plate of food without hesitation.

“Yeah,” she says, pushing back from him. He props himself up to a kneeling position and she pulls the other glass slipper out of the pocket on her dress. And he recognizes it. This dude has spent hours and hours poring over the other glass slipper, he would recognize its partner in a heartbeat. Less than a heartbeat. It’s the other half of the pair, and this girl, this girl who is slamming against some wall in his psyche with the frustration and distrust of one’s own memory, has the other shoe. “Um… here—” she pushes the slipper into his hands and yes, yes, he knows the weight of it. He turns it over in his hands, just marveling.

The stepmother is going on like, “Cinderella, you will listen to me or so help me you will never—that is to say—” The stepmother can’t properly threaten Cindy the way she always does! Not when the prince is fucking there! Oh but the prince picks up on that. Dude has grown up with a complicated web of dynamics of servants and lords and advisors and tutors and he knows, he knows the exact fucking look on someone’s face when they can’t use their usual ammunition. He looks back at Cindy.

“…you have the other one…” he says, very slow, very quiet.

“Your highness, she’s not well, I simply must—” the Stepmother starts but the prince holds up a ‘Shut the fuck up’ hand and she falls silent.

The prince holds the slipper back out to Cinderella and she takes it.

“Show me,” he says, “Please.” It’s impossible to keep all the desperation in his voice out of that ‘please.’

She turns it over in her hands. So careful, so loving—trying to have as little finger contact as possible even though the Prince has determined through multiple experiments that the slipper doesn’t fucking smudge. The way she looks at this shoe—it’s just as much hope and despair for her—it’s a memory of the best fucking night of her life, and it’s also a manifestation of her fear that she will never again know happiness like she knew at that ball.

“Do you need more time?” The Prince asks but that just seems to prompt Cindy out of her daze and the complete three-way pile-up of hope and love and terror.

She shakes her head, then pushes back onto her butt, extends one leg, stubs her heel against the dirt to get off her normal shoe, and then stoops forward and pulls the glass slipper on. After so long of watching people furiously try to jam their feet into the slipper, or seeing the slipper awkwardly knock loose against heels, it is so goddamn surreal to see the shoe fit. Without a second thought. Like she’s just pulling it on in the morning like any other shoe.

The prince is still, dead silent, absolutely dumbfounded. She pushes back onto her hands and extends her leg again, now turning her ankle with a slight ‘Ta-daaaa’ gesture. It’s not bragging or smugness, it’s more like a gesture of respect to the slipper itself, and everything it represents. Brad runs in right at this point but basically the combination of being out of breath from running after the prince and the sight of a girl who he previously thought was a chimney sweep wearing the slipper has rendered him silent save fore some labored, buckled-over panting.

Cindy gives a glance to her Stepmother on reflex, the muscles of her shoulders and neck unconsciously tensing, ready to be seized by the hair and for everything she’s hoped and dreamed of to be torn agonizingly away from her again, but… there’s nothing. The Stepmother has just gone full blue-screen. 404 File Not Found. Mouth hanging open, stunned. Cinderella looks back at the prince, who is staring just as slack-jawed. She looks back at the prince, whose expression is unreadable.

“If you need to try it on other people to make sure, I understand, but I don’t think my stepsisters—“ Cinderella starts.

The prince lunges forward and hugs her. Just, all these years of all this gentlemanly training, all of these social defenses, ‘this spoon goes here,’ ‘maintain this distance and bow at 45 degrees,’ and walking with books stacked on his head just fucking disintegrate and he just whips his arms around her. His head is just a fog of, It’s you. It’s you. It’s you. You’re real. I knew I didn’t dream you. It’s you. And Cinderella just.. freezes. Leggy still stuck out. It’s almost a flinch. Just a few stunned seconds of registering affectionate human contact. He remembered her. He was looking for her. He was worried about her. He turned the entire goddamn kingdom upside-down for her. And somewhere in the midst of these realizations she becomes aware that her cheeks are soaked with tears and her chest is heaving with sobs and at some point they’ve both come together on their knees he’s pulling away like, “Oh god, I’m sorry, are you-? I didn’t mean to—”

And she’s pushing forward, clawing at the front of his jacket, fingers trying to find purchase—she’s so used to crying against a damn tree— and she’s like, “No—I mean I’m fine—I— mean—“ and then the sobs are rippling through her words and she just kind of slumps against him, arms winding around him like she has to think about where they’re supposed to go. God, how long has it been? His arms find his way around her again and he just kind of sits there for a long while, just letting her cry.

He strokes her hair lightly. His hands come away sooty and he doesn’t even notice.

After a minute, maybe two, she pulls away again to snort up a big glob of snot and wipe her face off a little, her tears streaking away the ash and dirt, and she has never looked more beautiful. Her eyes are all puffy and her skin is all red and blotchy but the girl at the ball doesn’t have shit on the girl he’s looking at right now. “I’m sorry—” she says, snorting again, “I’m trying to…” another sob falls out of her and she laughs at herself a little, “I’m really trying—!”

“You’re fine,” he says, and he tucks back a little strand of hair that’s stuck to her face with snot. Then he smiles, a gentle, lopsided smile, and he hits her with the same line she hit him back at the ball, when they were both at that buffet table and she had a mouth half-full of bacon-wrapped dates, but here it carries so much more weight: “Hey... do you want to get out of here?”

“Uh huh,” her voice is shaking with the force of her nods.

The prince cranes past Cindy and looks at Brad, who is still panting, buckled over from chasing after him.

“Uh Brad? Could you bring the carriage around?”

“Of—,” Brad huffs, “Course, your highness.” He briskly, but wearily hustles off.

“I—” Cinderella wipes at her face again, sniffles and swallows thickly, “Can I get my stuff? It won’t take too long.” “Yeah,” the Prince says and she’s standing up and pulling away and like… he realizes he isn’t holding her in place but he’s raising his hands to let her wrists slip from them, as if trying to keep the contact as long as possible before she hurries off.

And he’s just… kind of staring into space there in the dirt, like, Holy fuck, it really is her. That spell, that fog, all that unsureness has just been wiped away and now, ka-CHUNK, this girl is locked in—it is the girl from the ball. It’s mystery girl! Who has rat friends!! In clothes!! That she made!! He has never been more sure of anything in his life. And he’s never known a love like the one that is fucking surging up in him right now.

And the stepmother thinks this is a great time to speak up. “Um, your highness, if I may—“

“You may fucking not,” the Prince says with a pleasant blankness, not even looking at her.

And the stepmother makes a sound that would have been an assenting ‘Ah,' sound but it comes out more like a strangled, “Eh—“ And she tries to compose herself, “I’m sorry your majesty, I must have misheard—”

“You did not,” and the prince is now gracious enough to glance up at her, still kneeling in the dirt. There is something dark behind the pleasant blankness in his expression. Something that says, I am not going to ask why that cellar door was barred with gardening tools, and I hope for your sake you recognize that as a mercy. We are a progressive kingdom and we are very proud to have banned virtually all forms of corporal punishment. However, it is taking an ungodly amount of self-control to not bring back the most fucked up medieval punishments solely for you, so I suggest you do not fucking push me.

Because like… one thing to keep in mind with the prince is… sure, most of the time he’s a good-hearted (albeit kind of antisocial) dweeb: He likes his books, he likes his horses, and he sees his hobbies of fencing and wrestling as more exercises in athletic ability and camaraderie than really anything martial. However, he is also his mother’s son.

And the queen will not hesitate to absolutely destroy a motherfucker.

And the stepmother recognizes this and quietly clears her throat. “Right,” she says, glancing off again as the carriage once again pulls up to the estate with Brad hanging off the side of it all cool and shit like he didn’t nearly pop a blood vessel chasing after the prince. A breeze blows through the boughs of the hazel tree, and it sounds almost like a snicker.

“I—oof—I got my stuff!” Cindy comes up out of the cellar, hauling a heavy-looking chest. A rat is perched on the chest, and a rat is perched on each of her shoulders, with a final, fancy green-jacketed rat sitting sphinx-like on her head.

“Oh—!” The prince rushes over, prompting the chest rat to jump into one of Cindy’s apron pockets, “Here—I can carry that for you.”

“Your highness, I must insist—” Brad cuts in and takes the chest from Cindy, “And…” he looks at Cinderella, “Miss, if I may have a word?”

“Brad—” the Prince says in warning but Cinderella touches his shoulder in an ‘It’s fine’ gesture, and follows after Brad as he carries the chest over to the carriage.

“So…” Brad says, carrying the chest over, “You’re not a chimney sweep.”

“No, I’m sorry, I should have said so,” says Cinderella.

“No, it’s not your fault—I shouldn’t have made assumptions,” said Brad, “So all the ash is from…?” He studies her for a second and then glances off as they finally reach the carriage.

Cinderella is looking down at all the soot dusting her ashamedly. “It’s my own fault…” she says quietly, “It.. gets really cold down in the cellar, but I should know when I’m tired enough to get into my own bed.. but…” she trails off.

Brad’s face scrunches with guilt. “I would like to apologize,” Brad says, as he’s strapping the chest to the back of the carriage.

“A-apologize?” Cindy perks up.

“I was convinced you had sinister, ulterior motives, I made many assumptions about your character which I now realize to be unfounded.”

“Oh…” Cindy says quietly.

“I should have trusted his highness’s judgment.” Brad isn’t looking at her.

“But you were just doing your job!” Cinderella perks up a little.

Brad blinks a few times and tries to re-compose himself. “It was still unjust of me to assume you were… some sort of criminal mastermind.”

“Criminal mastermind…” Cindy breathes, “No one’s ever thought I was a criminal mastermind before!”

“Because… you clearly aren’t?” Brad really wasn’t expecting the conversation to take this turn? He was kind of expecting her to just accept the apology by now.

“Well, I mean, it’s just.. I get called ‘stupid’ a lot—It’s kind of flattering to have someone think I’m a criminal mastermind!”

Brad yanks on the last strap on the chest before saying, “Miss, would you please just accept my apology?”

“Oh! Sorry,” Cindy laughs a little, “I’m not used to people apologizing to me.”

There’s just a beat and Brad is putting 2 and 2 together of ‘I get called stupid a lot’ and ‘People don’t apologize to me’ and there’s this flicker across his face of ‘Jesus fuck we need to get you out of here.’

“er—I mean,” Cinderella straightens up, clearly trying to imitate Brad’s own impeccable guardsman posture, “I accept your apology, sir.”

“…thanks,” says Brad. He stares at Cindy for a second and makes eye-contact with the rat on her head.. “So the rats are coming—?”

“The rats are coming,” says Cindy, “And… if it’s possible… Chauncey isn’t as good a watchdog as he used to be, so I was thinking, maybe he would be more comfortable at the palace… but if stepmother wants to keep him I under—“

“You want the dog? Why take the dog, my dear! Why would you ever think I would stop you from taking the dog? Take the dog! Take him!” A terrified, manic laugh falls out of the stepmother and there’s a long quiet beat before Cinderella just kind of… shuffles over to Chauncey’s place in the barn and brings her formerly-carriage-driver-dog over to the prince’s carriage. His hips aren’t that good so both she and Brad help the dog into the carriage.

“Is that everything?” The Prince walks over.

“Oh—! One more thing!” Cinderella rushes away and comes back with one hazelnut from the tree her father planted, pocketing it and then clasping her hands together. “Okay. I’m ready.” The prince holds out a hand to help her up into the carriage.

“I hope you don’t forget all we did to get you here, my dear,” the stepmother coos, and a there’s another visible flinch in Cinderella’s shoulders as she’s pulling herself up into the carriage. The prince looks back at the stepmother, and that shadow passes behind his eyes again, and the Stepmother draws herself in with a prim posture. The prince can just… feel this roiling, seething anger in him, his mother’s righteous fury, his father’s love for all things small, and good and kind, and there’s a three-second beat where he wants to fucking scorch the earth of this godforsaken place.

But then he looks back at Cindy, sitting in the carriage.

And she just looks… so tired. So very, very tired.

So without a word the prince pulls himself up into the carriage, and closes the door. Brad hops on the back, and off the carriage goes. The green-jacketed rat finds its way into the prince’s lap as they ride and he mindlessly traces a finger along the line of its body. The dog is audibly snoring at their feet.

Cinderella leans her head on his shoulder, her eyelids heavy.

“Prince?” She says quietly, lifting her head.

“Mm?”

“Sorry for um.. tackling you like that.”

He snorts a little. “It’s fine.

“I didn’t give you internal bleeding, did I? You know,” her voice drops a little, “From the hemophilia?”

“…I… don’t have hemophilia,” the prince says squinting a little, “I’m not internally bleeding. I’m fine. Really.”

“You don’t?” Cindy relaxes and snuggles her cheek against his shoulder, “Oh… that’s such a relief…”

A short pause passes between them, filled only with the sound of the rattling carriage. Gabe, for once in his life, is not furiously taking notes. He’s also in the fucking, absolute blank faced ‘who the fuck are you’ mode while Brad is avoiding contact with everyone, staring out the window and quietly chewing on some of the extra pies that he quietly pocketed during all the horror of the shoe straight-up biting off the stepsister’s toes.

“Uhm… hey—” the prince glances at Cindy, “So… okay this is going to sound like… a really weird question, and I swear I’m not trying to be weird it’s just.. I put a whole chart together, but the shoe didn’t go along with the chart, so like—I know it doesn’t matter because the shoe fits but like… just so I don’t go crazy from all this… how big are your feet?”

“I don’t know,” Cinderella doesn’t lift her head from his shoulder, “Like…big rat-sized, I guess?”

“Big rat-sized,” the prince repeats.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I can live with that,” the prince settles against the carriage seat cushions.

He glances down at Cinderella and then follows her line of sight back to the estate shrinking in the distance. It looks like there’s a swarm of starlings spiraling above it. He glances back at her and her eyes are already closed. The prince leans his cheek on Cindy’s hair. She smells like ash and smoke, but beneath that, beneath the faint smell of sweat, even, there’s another smell: Vegetal, and sweet… pumpkin? He doesn’t dwell too long on the thought before closing his own eyes.

#cinderella #man i had multiple snarky tags for this in my head but i'm drawing a blank right now--#OH WAIT--#...Tarot nine of swords but it's just Cindy with the needles jammed in the lock #good luck you crazy kids you know i'm rooting for you

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robinhobiii · 8 months

Text

Piece of me

Rockstar! Joshua

She was the right person at the wrong time.

Song order : 505 by Arctic Monekys, I wanna be yours by Arctic Monkeys, Cheating on you by Charlie Puth, Company by Justin Bieber and Ghosting by TXT

Joshua Hong.

One of the best vocalist to exist. He was the lead singer of the band “Dust.” He had everything and could get anything. To others, he was on top of the world. However, his heart still had a gaping wound. No amount of money or fame could fill his heart. His mind always wonders back to his support. The woman that held him up when he wasn’t too sure of being a singer. The woman that he loves through and through. It’s been three years since he saw her and everyday was worst than the last.

. . .

“We’re up in 10, Joshuji.” Jeonghan said as he patted his shoulder. He had a glum look on his face. Some days were better then others but today he couldn’t hide his feelings. He still doesn’t want to accept the fact that she was the one that got away.

“Cheer up, hyung!” Dokyeom said with a smile.

“Yeah, we’re here to prove the professors that all those tardies and absences were worth it.” Seungkwan said with a determined look on his face. Joshua only half smiled at that as he remembered those days. They were doing a concert at the university where he had met her. He remembered how she had to cover for him and how she took extra notes for him to understand.

He could hear the loud crowd from behind the stage. He sighed. Maybe he’ll see her today.

The crowed cheered loudly as they all walked onto the stage and started to chant their names: Lee Jihoon! Yoon Jeonghan! Hong Jisoo! Lee Dokyeom! Boo Seungkwan! They got into position and the music started to play.

“But I crumble completely when you cry

It seems like once again you’ve had greet me with goodbye.”

“I can’t do this anymore!” She yelled as the tears fell from her eyes. Her usually calm demeanor was no where to be seen and all she wanted to do, was to come to a conclusion to what her and Joshua were.

His sharp eyes soften at her teared ones. “Honey. . We’ve talked about this and yet you always want to leave. Just trust me. We’ll get thro-“

“No”

I'm always just about to go and spoil the surprise

Take my hands off of your eyes too soon

“You’re leaving?!?” She said shocked.

“Wait, sweetie, I was going to tell you-“

“Josh, my parents finally wanted to meet you and you’re leaving?!”

“No, you weren’t supposed to find out like this.” He sighed out.

“What? You were going to stand me up at my parent’s house?! Huh?!? Joshua?!”

“Darling, it’ll be a quick three day trip. This could be big for the boys and I. We could go anoth-”

“If you leave, we’re done.”

I'm going back to 505

If it's a seven hour flight or a forty-five minute drive

505. Y/n’s apartment number.

“Y/nnie, no matter where I preform, I’ll always make it back here.”

She giggled. “Even if you’re across the globe?”

“Even if I’m across the globe.”

In my imagination, you're waitin' lyin' on your side

With your hands between your thighs and a smile

Every night, he knows that image. As she’s laying down, her sweet smile that makes it to her face when he finally comes back home after a long day of practice. The sight only beheld to Joshua’s eyes.

. . .

“That was great everyone!” Their manager said as they finished packing up. Everyone was congratulating each other for all the hard work today.

“Good job, hyung.” Jihoon said. “ I felt more emotion today. You doing good?” He questioned.

“Yeah, it’s one of those days.” He replied dryly.

“Well, we’re eating out so hurry and come along.”

They made it to the local diner where all of them used to spend so much time. “Woah, this place hasn’t changed a bit.” Seungkwan said as he looked around more. The boys and staff were talking and Joshua started to zone out.

“Joshua, stop it.” She said as she continued to type away. He smirked as he continued to gently poke her face.

“Josh!” She said a little too loudly and the other people in the diner started at them. Her face turned pink as she mumbled out a sorry.

“Pretty loud, are we?” He laughed.

She blushed again. “It’s your fault!” He huffed out.

“Mine?” He said offendedly. “I can’t talk to my girlfriend? Ooh, I’m sorry. Let me just leave.” He said as he started to get up. She quickly grabbed his wrist. He looked back and the smile automatically made it to both of their faces.

“Hyung!” Dokyeom shook him. Joshua looked at him. “It’s your turn to order.”

“O-oh. I’ll have a burger and some fries.” He said quickly

“Lost in thought again?” Jeonghan said as he bites into the fries.

“Yeah. .”

“Look Joshuji, it’s been over three years since you two broke up. You need to get over it.”

“You know I can’t!” Joshua said defensively.

Jeonghan sighed as his eyes signaled Seungkwan to take over.

“Hyung, I know you love you her so much, but if you don’t let go, you’ll never recover. Three years is a long time and I’m sure noona is a changed woman now. You need to change.”

Joshua didn’t say anything. He knows they’re right but he just can’t let go.

. . .

“You cheated!” Chan whined as Jeonghan snickered.

“Maybe, you don’t know how to play.” Seungcheol said while laughing.

“Hey, don’t bully him.” Seungkwan scolded them. “Only I get to do that.” He smiled triumphantly as Chan groaned.

Joshua really smiled for the first time in a while. It’s been three months since the talk at the diner and he forced himself to get better. It’s been going great and his friends where doing all they could to help. They were loving the results of his recovery.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow’s concert.” Mingyu gushed out. “I haven’t watched you guys live in a while. Being a model takes my perception of time away. The shoots are soooo looongg.” He whined out. Joshua laughed and patted his head. “Ooh, can we see the set list?” Chan said with a glimmer in his eyes.

“No” Seungkwan said courtly and a frown appeared on Chan’s face. “Wait for tomorrow, Channie.” Jeonghan said as he rubbed his hand on chan’s head.

Soon it was the next day and the boys were preparing to preform. For once Joshua felt great and didn’t really anything when he re-read the lyrics. The lyrics he poured his heart into after every feeling he had about Y/n. They finally walked onto stage and let the music start.

If you like your coffee hot

Let me be your coffee pot

“I just want to be there for you always. I could be anything for you,” She laughed as she blushed. “I like how you are now.” He smiled as he pulled her closer and rubbed his nose with hers.

You call the shots, babe

I just wanna be yours

“Where do you want to go next, love?” He said as he pulled out the parking lot.

“Home. I’m getting a little tired.”

“Home is anywhere with you.” He said smugly

“Smooth, Hong, smooth.”

Secrets I have held in my heart

Are harder to hide than I thought

“Want to know a secret?” Joshua whispered. She nodded. “Every time I look at you, I’m just bursting at the seams with love. I just want to shower you in with all my love.” She blushed as she hugged him close.

Maybe I just wanna be yours

I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours

“From the moment I saw you, I knew that I had to be yours, darling.”

“Maybe I wanted to be yours as well when I first saw you.” She said shyly.

Wanna be yours

. . .

Joshua picked up his phone and looked at the old pictures of them. Although he feels better than he did better, he can’t bring himself to delete those pictures. Those were the only proof of their love. He likes to remise about the good times. No woman could replace her. He can’t bring himself to go another date. Many women wanted him but he didn’t want them. He locked his phone and made his way to the studio and decided to write some lyrics for the new album. He hummed to get a feel for the lyrics.

Thought I could get you back any time of day

Shouldn't have been so cocky

Joshua, get a grip. Be better for her and be the best musician you can be. Make her proud. She’ll only be mad for a little bit and come back. Don’t call her. She’ll be back. She always comes back you.

Shouldn't have did you wrong (woah, oh)

And now I miss you bad, really, really bad

“This is the tenth date you missed, Joshua. I’m sick of this. I try to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t with this anymore.”

“I’m doing this for us. Trust me when we get a break through, you’ll be sitting on millions with me.”

“I don’t want that, I want to spend some time with you, that’s it.”

Guess you don't know what you got until it's gone.

With that she walked away.

Why did I run away, run away, run away? (Run away)

Oh, your love was everything, everything, everything (everything)

“I’m leaving!!” She finally said as picked up the suitcase.

“Don’t come crawling back when you see me on every billboard.” He angrily said

“I’ll never crawl back to you. You’re not the same man I fell in love with.”

“I’m still the same me! Stop being dramatic, y/n.”

I know it's getting late, getting late, getting late (getting late)

But can I still be on my way, on my way? Yeah

She didn’t come back. And she didn’t answer his calls either. She changed her Instagram bio and changed her apartment code. It feels like she disappeared from the face of the earth and he couldn’t find her anywhere.

I know I said goodbye and baby, you said it too

But when I touch her I feel like I'm cheating on you (I'm cheating on you)

I thought that I'd be better when I found someone new (found someone new)

But when I touch her I feel like I'm cheating on you (believe it, baby)

Jihoon walked in and saw Joshua was in the zone. He took a quick peek at his notepad was amazed by his lyricism. “Hyung, it looks good.” That snapped him out of his trance. Joshua smiled and said, “Do you think it’s going to make the album?”

“I don’t think, I know it will.”

. . .

Today marks the four year anniversary of their break up. It didn’t hurt Joshua this year like it did the last three. He smiled to himself as he felt himself getting better day by day. Today they were performing at their old college town again. He was excited to preform their new song that they just released. He wrote how the end of his relationship should’ve gone. Maybe the break up was inevitable with his wild schedule but he still wanted her in his life.

Let's end each other's lonely nights

Be each other's paradise

Need a picture for my frame

Someone to share my reign

Tell me what you wanna drink

I'll tell you what I got in mind

Just wanna have a conversation

Forget about the obligations

Maybe we can stay in touch

Oh that ain't doin' too much

Can we be, can we be, be each other's company?

Be each other's company

Just be each other's company

Be each other's company

It was an especially fun night as they saw old faces and the vibe was just right. He felt great and wanted to relish that feeling. He went to grab a drink with old friends from college and high school. It was a wonderful night and Joshua saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Towards the end night, he saw Jeonghan calling.

“Hey, you busy?”

“No, I was about to head home.

“Will you be busy tomorrow?”

“…No.”

“Okay, good. I need you to come to Sowon’s house.”

“Why? I thought she moved??”

“She wants to show us the new place, shuji.”

“Oh, wouldn’t her roommate mind?”

“Ooh, Joshuji, her roommate will be out the entire weeknd. The boys will be bringing their girlfriends too. So come. I wouldn’t want my favorite person to be alone.”

“Hmm . . Okay, I’ll be there. And I know you’re lying. I’m not your favorite person”

“What?! You are.”

. . .

The apartment was beautiful. It was much larger than her old one, according to her.

“We still need to put up the pictures, but other than that, everything is done!”

“Wow! The home decor is beautifully done.” Seungkwan’s girlfriend gushed as her fingers gently grazed the ceramics ornaments.

“Thank you! My roommate is really good at interior design. I’m surprised she’s not a real interior designer.”

They all fell into a comfortable conversations. Just talking about anything and everything. His band mates were telling stories from their high school and college days, making the girls laugh.

Sowon glanced at time and saw that it read 1:06 am.

“You guys should head out. I still have to work tomorrow.” She said as she stood up to stretch.

“Whyyy??” Jeonghan whined out. “Just take the day off. We were in such a good conversation, come on, babe.”

She only chuckled.

“No, you guys need to go.”

“Please, unnie.” Dokyeom’s girlfriend said with pleading eyes.

“Guys, I have work tomorrow, we can talk more another ti-“

Suddenly the front door opened. Sowon’s eyes widen. She turned around and everyone else’s eyes followed with her.

Her roommate walked in and Joshua felt all the air leave his body. He couldn’t breathe.

There she stood. L/N Y/N.

There was utter silence as she looked at all of the guest currently in her living room. The boys were looking at Joshua and his reaction.

“Y-you’re back early, Y/nnie. I thought you’d be back Monday.”

She smiled softly and said, “I thought that too, but there was a change in plans. Sorry for disrupting you and your guests.”

“No! You’re not. Don’t be silly. Here let me-“ Sowon grabbed her hand and dragged her so now she was face to face with all the guests.

“This is my amazing roommate Y/N. And this is my boyfriend, Jeonghan.” He waved and said, “nice to meet you.” Y/n reciprocated the action. “And these are his band mates. You know the band, Dust, yeah that’s them.” Y/n smiled as she waved to them.

“Don’t mind her, she’s a little shy. She’s also not into the same music as me so, she might not recognize you guys.”

“It’s fine. Nice to meet you, Y/n noona.” Seungkwan said. Y/n smiled fondly at him and said the same thing. Joshua eyes were stuck on her. Everything about her changed. Everything about her was more mature. Her tone of talking to her choice of clothing. He was enamored by her again. All those feelings were rushing back to him. Those months of him working on himself, was out the window. He didn’t care about healing. He just wanted her again.

“Well, I’m going to head to bed. You guys can stay, but keep the volume to a minimum, thank you.” Y/n said as she started to walk away.

Joshua stood up and said, “We were just leaving.”

She turned around and looked at him. There was utter silence in the room. He wanted to reach out and hug her, touch her, kiss her. But she only half smiled and said, “well have a good night.” And with that she walked to her room. He stared at the direction he was just in.

“Um, do you guy know each other?” Sowon said.

Joshua said nothing for a bit before making his way to the door and mutter out a “Thank you for inviting me.”

. . .

Two weeks passed and Joshua was the worst he’s ever been. He can’t even eat on time. He wants to be in her presence again. His band members were worried. He couldn’t even find it in him to even talk. Joshua felt drained even though he didn’t do much.

“Shua, come eat.” Seungcheol said softly as he rubbed his head. Joshua was laying down face first into his pillow. He couldn’t even formulate a sentence to answer him. Mingyu walked into the room and made eye contact with Seungcheol. They came to an agreement via eye contact.

“Here.” Seungcheol pushed Joshua up and Mingyu gripped his waist to hoisted him up. They forced him up and walked him towards Joshua’s and Jeonghan’s shared dining room.

“Hyung, you can do it.” Chan said as he helped feed Joshua.

The was a somewhat comforting silence between them all. But, Minghao broke it.

“You need to talk to her.”

There was silence but it was more suffocating. Joshua looked up at him. “Hyung, you’re never going to improve if one glance at her ruined your months of growth. There’s clearly an unresolved issue and you need to fix it. I’m sure she feels the same.” Minghao started. “Her presence was enough to make you crumble. I don’t want to continue to see you suffer. You suffered enough. Just talk it out with her.”

Joshua sighed. “What if she doesn’t want to talk to me?”

“It’s worth a shot. Express the feelings you’ve been feeling and tell her what you want the two of you to be. I remember noona being by your side like glue. I’m sure she wants some answers too.” Minghao replied. Joshua simply nodded.

. . .

He didn’t even know what he would even say to her. It’s been too long and he’s changed and he’s sure that she changed as well. How does he even go about it. Her face remains rent free in his head and how her smile from that night gives him the comfort that he so desperately craves.

Joshua thought maybe writing it out would help him come up with a better way of expressing his thoughts to her.

All of a sudden you disappeared, you disappeared

Like a faint ghost, disappeared

I sometimes ask into the void

What am I to you? (What am I?)

All of a sudden you disappeared, you disappeared

Like a faint ghost, disappeared

In this room where only echo remains

I'm wandering around alone all this time

I'm like a ghost

Joshua knew he had to tell her. He needed to see her now.

. . .

“Sowon, is she home?” Joshua said.

She looked at him as she leaned on her front door.

“No, she’s out right now. Why?”

“When will she be back?”

“Not for a while, now why do you need her?”

“I’ll came back in a bit.”

Sowon grabbed his collar from behind as he turned to leave. Joshua stumbled back and wobbled a bit having lost his balance.

“Why?” She said she crossed her arms.

He sighed. “You have time?”

“Plenty.”

For the next two and half hours, he explained everything about his and her relationship. Sowon was trying to process everything.

“How come she never told me anything??!?” She was perplexed since they knew each other since high school and she didn’t tell her anything. “I can’t believe it. She’s the one that inspired you to write those amazing songs!?”

Joshua gave her a look. She sheepish laughed. “Right, sorry.” She cleared her throat and said, “Well, she’s at work and won’t be done for a while and she’s usually grumpy when she comes back. She doesn’t work on the weekends. We usually go out or if I can’t, she goes out by herself.” Joshua nodded.

“So, here’s the plan.”

. . .

It was the weekend and Joshua was beyond nervous. The plan Sowon explain sounded easy enough, but he was nervous about messing up. He made his way to the busy city.

“She likes visiting the stalls on the weekends if she doesn’t make plans with anyone.” Sowon said.

He looked around and couldn’t see anything as it was so busy. Joshua made his way across all the stalls and there was no signs of her. He sent a quick text to Sowon saying he didn’t even get a glimpse of her. Sowon replied by calling him.

“She’s at the art gallery, right near the large restaurant.”

Oh, she must be at Minghao’s art gallery.

“Okay, I’ll make my way over there.”

He walked into the gallery and took in his friends art. While he was there, the least he could do is appreciate the man that pushed him to talk it out with the woman he loves.

“Hyung?” Minghao whispered out.

Joshua smiled “Eissa.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“What? Can’t enjoy one of my best friends art?”

Minghao squinted his eyes, trying to read his face. “Well thank you for coming. Means a lot to me.” He said as he hugged him.

Joshua looked around for a bit and couldn’t find her. He almost lost all hope until he saw her silhouette leaving. He made his way over to the entrance and was walking through the busy roads. It was currently 6 pm and many people were getting started on their night. He almost lost sight of her until he saw her walk into the small intersection for pedestrians. She walked towards the train station and Joshua finally caught up to her and gently grabbed her arm. She quickly turned around to see who was touching her. She froze as she recognized those eyes.

“What are you doing?” She finally whispered out.

“We need to talk, please.”

“About what? We’ve been done for four years, remember?”

“I didn’t forget about you the last four years. All you did was live in my mind and all I could think about was what we had.”

She was silent.

“Please let’s go somewhere and talk.”

. . .

They both sat down on Joshua’s couch.

“Honey, please look at me.” He said softly.

Her eyes couldn’t even meet his, afraid she might cry. She shook her head no.

“Just talk Joshua, please.” Y/n pleaded.

Joshua sighed.

“I don’t know where to even start.” He chuckled bitterly.

“I think I should apologize first. I’m sorry that I wasn’t a good boyfriend towards the end of our relationship. I guess being too focused on the band made me forget the woman that help me up. I should’ve been there for you more. You always were my shoulder to cry on and yet I did nothing to make you feel loved.” He paused and tried to collect more of his thoughts. “That night where you ended it, I felt so lost. Heck, I still do. I don’t know how even been living the four years. I feel like I can’t breathe sometimes. I regret everything. If I could go back and stop myself, I would. I would stop myself from ever even forming the idea of a band. I can’t live without you. I thought I was getting better but the moment I saw you, I relapsed.” He paused again before saying what he’s been wanting to say for the last four years.

“I need you in my life. I feel like I used to see the world in color and the day you left, all the color drained away and everything’s grey. I want us to work again. This is the biggest mistake I ever made. I need in my life and you don’t have to be my lover, but I just want to be in your presence again. Please Y/n. ” He pleaded.

She was silent. “Joshua. . . “ Y/n couldn’t even begin a sentence as she was trying to process what he just spilled to her. “ I don’t know what to say.”

“Please, tell me how you feel about me.”

She sighed softly before saying, “I also think about the old time. I also miss us and everything we did together. But, I don’t think it could even work out between us again. I’ve changed and you’ve changed. Josh, I’ve been yearning for you since I left but I knew that if I went back to you without changing myself for the better, we would still be miserable. I still never stopped supporting you though. I listened to all your songs and watch most of your performances online. However, I don’t know if this could be picked up where we left it off.”

“Then we don’t have to.” He said as he reach for her hand. He clasped their hands together and looked at her. Her confused gaze met his determined one.

“We can start over. We can do try again but this time we know what the other person is like. We know each other’s likes and dislikes. We can learn each others new likes and dislikes. We can start from the bottom again.” He said as he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Like friends?” She whispered out.

“Yeah, and if we like the progress, we can merge to lovers.”

“I don’t know, Joshua. We left off on a very ugly note.”

“Let’s try again, sweetheart. Let’s try to form a new bond, stronger than the last one.”

“Okay, let’s try again from the bottom.” She said as she leaned in for a hug. He hugged her and basked in her warmth.

“And this time I won’t let you go this time.”

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mmc-veronica · 2 months

Text

NeverEnding Story - A' English Translation

wow. its been a while. here's the final part to A''s Unlimited drama cd! this is not proofread and i'm a bit sick right now so sorry if some of the translation is inaccurate! translation is under the cut!

Well? How is it?

Right?! And on top of that, did you notice anything?

Wow! As expected of my Honey! This… I didn’t know which part I should spoil! Ermm… well as you heard, I tried to make a song based off of a day in the life with my Honey! Well you see, as the leader, I have to spread around a charged up happiness and doesn't turning a day filled with happiness into a song kind of sound perfect for that? Well to be honest I think I made it too personal, but I think the beauty of the E-tan world kind of drowns it out! Well either way, with the power of the happiness of this song, the Girls that will listen to this will have a freeing and indulgent type of happiness that’ll rain down on them, there’s no doubt…well?!

Right? Right? That’s the type of song that I wanted! How do you say… a song that makes you have fun just by listening to it! Well… putting aside the fact that the other members were drunk as hell while finishing up the song, it turned out the way I wanted so for now it’s okay! More than anything, I got to see my Honey’s smile, so it’s no problem and there’s still tens of millions of points worth of appeal!

Ehehe, what’s with that? But! But! With that included, it’s all going to my plan! As the Ambassador of Happiness, the most important thing is my own happiness, I’ve told you before!

Well of course I’ll let you listen to it! Um… but I’ll say this first, it’s not a sad song or anything, so don’t get any wrong ideas, okay?

Well to those who don’t know anything, probably. I think they’ll just think “oh lalala what a nice song,” I think even my own members think that but… I’ve already told you a lot so I’d feel bad if you read too much into it. On that note, if you listen to it until the very end, I believe you’ll know what kind of song it is.

Yay! Then I’m looking forward to it even more now! With that being said, the curtain is rising on the stage of A’, spreading happiness even further!

[Mirror House starts playing]

I would’ve changed it without being told!

Agh!!! Don’t bring my Honey into this conversation!

What’s some masked guy like you going to do about this?!

Ahh.. ugh! We’ve just unveiled our new songs and I wanted to have some fun with my Honey but that fucking bastard is so extreme! Ah, Honey-san, there’s a step right here so watch your step~

Fuck! I didn’t hear anything about an equipment inspection for the studio, give me a break!

Um… well… I guess I do want people to listen to our new song’s first performance in a good atmosphere. I guess that’d be a good thing!

Gasp Really?! If you say that my usual self confidence goes up exponentially!

Ehehe, that’s natural, though! If it’s not like that then there’d be no meaning to it, right? It has meaning because I’m the one singing it. It’s a song for me, right? But… the reason I wrote that song… is because I have you by my side.

Hehe! There you go again, saying things like that! You’re always so modest~ Well, even so my love for you is exploding

Heh! Just as I thought, you understand it properly! That song’s true meaning, I mean.

Well I wonder, where is it? But… I think that I should try to go everywhere that I can, as NSFW’s Charisma Vocalist and Ambassador of Happiness E-tan, or A’. I say all that, but of course you’ll be by my side, too. From now on, and on, and on, and on~! Yes! Thank you~ Kiss

Mmhmmhmm! This is it! The flavor that can make me the happiest in the world! It’s name is Honey~! How should I put it… I’m in the mood right now to pin you down right now but this is the staff entrance to the agency so there someone could come at any moment like another guy or another guy or a Momo-san who’s on his way to take a smoke break! What we need right now is a private place to escape to, I know~! So with that being said, Honey-san, let’s set forth to the Yamanote line to my place, of course! And with no delay, let's go!

#dear vocalist translation #dear vocalist #dearvo #dear vocalist unlimited #dearvo translation #エーダッシュ #ディアヴォーカリスト #ディアヴォ #a'#a' dear vocalist

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halfmylife · 10 months

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I Was Enchanted to Meet You

Pairing Modern!Osferth x reader

Summary you see the same guy in the coffee shop almost every morning and decide to finally pluck up the courage to speak to him

Warnings none just fluff as per, not proofread

A/N This is for @emilyhufflepufftlk 500 challenge inspired by the song Enchanted! It’s one of my favs and I couldn’t not combine Taylor Swift and Osferth it’s just a perfect fit!

It was like clockwork. Every morning at 8:00 almost on the dot, he’d come in order his coffee and leave not even five minutes later. He always smiled and was overly friendly to the staff, something not many people were.

There had been a couple of times you’d been in the queue together waiting in an unusual silence, neither of you paying each other much mind. Most of the time though, you were sat reading whilst you drank your coffee when he came in and were more than happy to observe but never approach.

It’s not like the thought hadn’t crossed your mind. He was cute and friendly but also cheeky. You had thought about approaching him and striking up a conversation but never acted on it out of fear he wouldn’t want to be bothered.

Then there was one morning he didn’t show. You were waiting in line when you spotted the time. It was almost ten minutes past the hour and you wondered if something was wrong. It was unlike him to not show. The minutes ticked by and it was almost your turn to order by the time he appeared.

Unlike the usual days, his hair was more wild, his cheeks flushed and he was struggling for air. Though with a quick smile he soon joined the queue right behind you. Lucky for him that there wasn’t anyone else, you thought.

As he stood trying to regain his breath, a thousand thoughts fluttered through your head. So much that you almost missed the barista ushering you forward.

“Oh.” You gasped giving an apologetic smile before turning back to the man behind you. “Would you like to go first? You’re in more of a rush than I am.”

“I really couldn’t.” He shakes his head and you’re able to look at him fully. His pale blue eyes that twinkle in an almost cartoonish way, it makes you wonder if he’s even real.

“Please, I don’t mind.” You step back slightly and allow him to step around, thanking you several times before placing his order. He’s fairly quick and waits around the side whilst they start making his drink. You’re quick to order your own and join him.

“Thank you again, normally I’m not this late.” He huffed a little, smiling to himself. Though you couldn’t help but notice the cautious way in which his eyes ran over your body.

“Oh I know that’s why I offered.” You tried to smile back but your expression dropped as you realised what you’d admitted. Of course you didn’t want to sound like you’d been watching the guy, which you had but that wasn’t the point. “I only mean that, oh god, that sounds awful, I just meant that…”

“I’ve seen you here before too, although you’re normally reading.” He cut you off as you scrambled for words and you couldn’t be more grateful for the relief. You didn’t want to seem like a complete idiot. Yet here he was admitting that he’d noticed you too.

“Oh.” Was all you could manage as your cheeks flushed.

“Not that I’ve been watching, I just happened to notice.” It was his turn to stumble over his words as he looked for a way to not sound overly creepy. Luckily for him, there was nothing other than adorable about him. “I’m in here almost everyday.”

“Me too.” You spoke softly as you smiled. Something in him switched. The boyish shyness dissipated and instead a wave of confidence washed over him as he adjusted to face you fully.

“It’s a shame we’ve never spoken before.” You could’ve sworn you saw his eyes flick down to your lips before meeting your gaze again. The way he looked at you as though you were the light in the darkness was enough to set your stomach in a rhythm of fluttering.

“Osferth, here’s your order.” You thoughts were cut off by the barista handing him, his takeaway cup, cutting in between both of you.

“Thank you.” The shyness came back as he thanked the server. He paused for a moment, as if considering what he was about to say next. “Maybe when I’m not rushing off we can share a coffee together, I’ll even come early and you can tell me all about the book you’re reading.” He smirked as he took a sip from his cup. How he could even drink it that hot was beyond you but you were a little distracted at the moment.

“I’d like that.” You smiled, trying to fight the urge to squeal in excitement.

“Me too.” He nodded. “I’ll see you around, maybe tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” You agreed, your smile wide and your cheeks burning. “See you tomorrow!” You called after him as he left the shop. Your eyes unable to leave him even as you were handed your drink. You hadn’t expected him to even give you the time of day let alone want to have a coffee with you.

Even after you left the coffee shop, he was all you thought about for the rest of the day. The way his voice sounded, the way he smiled. God, the way he looked at you like you were the very breath he craved. You were sure that when you saw him again you would be truly enchanted by him.

#the last kingdom #tlk #the last kingdom fanfic #tlk fanfic #reader fic #reader insert #x reader #osferth the last kingdom #osferth #osferth x reader #tlk osferth #osferth fanfic #osferth x you

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happyinjection · 1 year

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♠️♥️High Card Bonus Short Story “Dear My Frivolous Senior” (1/1)♦️♣️

(Limited SS distributed physically at s1e01-12 all-night screening.)

Author: https://twitter.com/poipheno

#09 BY YOUR SIDE “Dear My Frivolous Senior”

“This is farewell.”

I have a family to save.

For that reason, I’ve made up my mind.

It doesn’t matter what it costs.

Because there’s no such thing as miracles,

Should I be made to dance around by a bad bet,[*]

I was ready to pull the trigger.

From the moment we held each other at gunpoint,

we have been running on our lifeline.[**]

Even if the end has yet to come,

What’s important to me will always stay the same.

I only have one thing I need to protect.

No more girls, playing dress-up, or music.

It’s the same for you, isn’t it?

If we were just coworkers, perhaps it would’ve been simpler.

The two of us have been through a lot of things together.

Although there are times when I got mad,

I can’t deny that the time we’ve spent together is sincere.

I should’ve had one true purpose and nothing else.

So how could my feelings have changed so much,

We’ve made more memories than I can hold.

However, there’s no place I can return to.

Despite being so close that our hands are touching, I’m still unable to say it.

“Thanks for everything.”

#11 CHRIS “Dear My Beloved Junior”

---Instead of calling it the end--- Please read it backwards.

TL notes: Please do not repost this translation anywhere, or where the staff can possibly see! I’m in no way a professional translator so if you find any mistakes, please do not hesitate to inform me right away. Reading the text normally shows Finn narrating his feelings (after the door scene in ep 9), while reading it backwards shows Chris’ true feelings (from phone call scene in ep 11). Edit: This SS referenced the OP and ED songs, [*] this is a line from “Trickster”, while this [**] is a line from “Squad!”

#highcard #high card #short story #hcss #finn oldman #chris redgrave #translation

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duchesschameleon · 7 months

Text

day one (a kazansky for america fic)

summary: day one in the oval office for the Kazansky Administration rating: G for everyone warnings: none read this fic on ao3

a long awaited third installment in the kazansky for america series, my top gun west wing au. thank you as always to @qvid-pro-qvo for the beta. enjoy!

“Well, this is certainly the grandest office we’ve moved into,” Carole says, head on a swivel as she looks around the west wing.

“Probably going to be the last one we move into,” Ice adds on, leading the way through the hallways and towards the Oval Office. He tries to ignore the historical significance of this office, of this position, and treat it like any other move-in day, but it’s difficult. Everywhere he looks, there’s a piece of history staring back at him.

“Oh, Mr. President, I’d like to see the day you actually retire from work. You’ll keep doing something and needing an office, even after this,” Carole retorts as they wind through to the outer Oval. “You’ll be doing something and Maverick and I will be right by your side, helping out however we can.”

Ice rolls his eyes but stays quiet. He knows Carole is right. “You know it’ll be Mav’s idea, whatever comes next.” Carole nods her head, conceding the point.

“Hey, how about we focus on getting in here and doing at least four years of work before we plan on what’s next?” a voice says, right behind him. Ice stiffens at the sudden closeness of another body, only relaxing when he recognizes his partner.

“Hmm, but before we can do any work here, I believe we have some balls to attend,” Ice says, leaning back slightly into Mav, wanting to be close to him. He spares a moment of relief and wonder that this is his life. He still can’t believe he gets this, gets to have this incredible man by his side, and in this office with him.

Mav makes a face, looks at Ice apologetically. “Yeah, there’s actually a little work to be done before we party, Mr. President.”

Ice’s spine straightens instinctually at that, something about Mav saying it that triggers the reaction. It’s his title now, officially. Forever. A title that now refers to him, not a warning that someone’s coming he needs to impress and be on his best behavior for.

No, now he has to be on his best behavior and do the best job of his life. All eyes are on him.

“That’s gonna take some getting used to,” he mutters before shaking his head and meeting his partner’s gaze. His partner’s, his chief of staff’s, proud gaze. “Alright, then let’s get to work.”

The afternoon becomes a blur, senior staff coming in and out of the Oval, each of them pausing for a moment to look around and be a little awed by the room. If he wasn’t still adjusting to this being his office now, he would have laughed at them. Especially Bradley.

“Kinda crazy, isn’t it?” he says to his pseudo-nephew and deputy chief of staff once they’ve wrapped up their conversation.

“Kinda?” Bradley snorts. “It’s completely crazy. Can’t believe we’re finally here.” He pauses and looks around before meeting Ice’s gaze again. “Dad would have loved to see this. Woulda been telling us he told us so, that you would be here, and then have some ideas about decorating the place.”

Ice laughs, picturing Goose circling the room completely at ease. He could just imagine the suggestions he’d have to bring some relaxed, California flair to the Oval Office.

“We’d have palm fronds in here within a week, probably less if he got your mom in on it.”

Bradley chuckles, shaking his head. “Within a day. She’d never be able to say no to him.”

“You’re right, you’re right.”

They stand there, soaking in the room and thinking about the family who isn’t with them today.

“Mr. President, you’ve got -“ Mav pauses, seeing Bradley. “Hey, kiddo. Everything good?”

Bradley nods. “We’re good, I just had to see the Oval and go over something. I’m leaving now though.” He turns back to Ice, “Thank you, Mr. President.”

Ice just nods, a little overwhelmed hearing Bradley address him so formally. They’d tried to be as professional as possible throughout the campaign, but late nights and exhaustion from being on the road would creep in and no one stopped them from being more familiar with each other. Now, there was a constant reminder of his title all around them, a stark reminder of the position he now held.

It’ll take some getting used to the formality of the office, he thought again.

“Mr. President, you good?” Mav asks, interrupting his thoughts.

“I’m good, Pete,” he says, turning and smiling at his husband. “Just adjusting to the office. The title.”

Pete huffs out a laugh. “That’s what the transition period was for, ease you into the title and the office. Make sure we’re all prepared.”

“Yeah, well, talking about it and actually being here in the Oval and having everyone - including you and Bradley - addressing me so formally, it’s different.”

“This whole thing is different, Tom,” Pete says, dropping the title to make Tom really look at him and pay attention to his words. “This is the first day of the last job you are ever going to have. You’re the President of the United States, the biggest job you could have. You’re the first gay man in the Oval Office, that adds pressure and importance.”

Tom knows it’s true, had remarked on it himself when he stepped through the door earlier that day. But to hear Pete say it, to put it so plainly and point out just how important this job and his win back in November is, and that they somehow made it to today, to inauguration day, makes him pause.

He’s the President of the United States of America. The first gay president, and he’s married by common law to his Chief of Staff.

“Holy shit, I’m the president,” he whispers. “Pete, I’m the president. I got sworn in today. We’re here. We’re really here.”

Pete smirks and moves next to Tom, wraps an arm around him. “We’re really here, babe.”

They stand together like that for a moment, taking it all in. Pete rests his head on Tom’s shoulder, shifts his eyes to check his watch and notes the time. They can take this moment, this minute to revel in what they’ve accomplished.

“Okay, we gotta get back to it, Mr. President,” Pete says quietly, presses a kiss to Tom’s shoulder. “There’s a few more reports and memos to go through before we can call it a night and head back to the residence and change for the ball.”

Tom let out a sigh and nodded. “Before we get back to work, just give me one kiss?”

Pete smiles and obliges him, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to his husband’s lips. “C’mon, back to work. It’s day one,” Pete says again, “there’ll be time for that over the next four years.”

“Okay, then. What’s next?”

#charlie rambles #my writing #fic stuff #tg fic #tom iceman kazansky x pete maverick mitchell #iceman/maverick #icemav #icemav fic #writing

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nyxicnymph · 2 months

Text

In Honor of Lantern Rite

Today, I've decided to share a chapter from my Kaeya x Yelan fic, "Twelve months of Consequences", specifically Chapter Five, the Lantern Rite chapter! I will include the link to the AO3 fic at the very bottom <3 Enjoy!

(Side note, I did write this several months before this year's Lantern Rite, so the adeptus of the year is incorrect. However, I'm surprised I was even close, considering I selected the adeptus I did because Yelan is one of the main characters in the fic.)

Kaeya had known that it was getting colder, and he and Yelan had even gone to Mondstadt to celebrate one of the winter holidays there. So, logically, Kaeya knew what to expect. But it was still a surprise when he stepped outside and found the streets beginning to be decked out in red ribbons and lanterns.

Yelan stood beside him. “Lantern Rite is coming. I should prepare the teahouse for tourists. Would you like to assist me?”

Kaeya hummed. “Sure, I don’t think I have any plans for today.”

Yelan also tossed a red envelope over her shoulder. “Additionally, it seems we’ve been invited to spend the new year with your brother and brother-in-law.”

Kaeya caught the envelope, and pulled the letter from the opening, giving it a quick scan. “That would make sense, Zhongli does enjoy his traditions.” Kaeya bit his tongue as to the why, but a small smile lingered, the humor nevertheless finding him.

Kaeya pinned the envelope to his and Yelan’s personal noticeboard, setting it aside until they came back in the evening. He quickly was prepared to leave with Yelan, and when he joined her outside, she gave him an appraising glance.

“I think we need to go shopping when we’re done at the teahouse. You’re going to need some New Year’s garments.”

Kaeya nodded, casting his gaze around the crowd as the two of them walked. “All right, but I’ll have to rely on you to find the right garments.”

Yelan smiled. “Sounds fine to me.”

They made it to Yanshang Teahouse, and to Kaeya’s surprise, there were already people preparing the decorations and notices. He saw many red and yellow lanterns, sorted by what room they would be in, shape, and color. He picked up a small figurine, depicting a large man with wild hair and four arms.

“The Adeptus of the year?” He asked, showing Yelan the figurine.

Yelan looked at it, and her gaze saddened. “Yes. Bosacious. Not just an Adeptus, but one of the Yaksha generals. I was… actually on the expedition that revealed that he has, without doubt, passed now. As such, I recommended to the Qixing that we honor his memory tonight, as for the past couple of centuries, he has only been mourned by a small handful of Adepti.”

Kaeya nodded, setting the figure down gently. “I might ask you more about that expedition in the future. Not today, of course. We have work to do.”

Yelan nodded, and assigned him to decorating one of the front rooms, making sure he had a staff member to ask if he had questions. She also gave him a hasty illustration of what the room should resemble by the time he was done.

So Kaeya hung lanterns, pinned posters, draped streamers, and arranged furniture and statues, directed by the other person in the room and by the sheet of paper he was keeping close to him the whole time.

Yelan returned just as he was pretty sure he was done. He turned to her and raised his arms to show her. She looked around appraisingly.

“Hm, impressive. You did a good job.”

“I always dedicate myself to achieve the best,” he said, only half joking.

Yelan chuckled. “Alright. They don’t need us here anymore, so I think next, I’m going to make sure you get the proper garments.”

Kaeya nodded, following Yelan out of the teahouse, which had already gone under an extensive transformation. And as the two of them stepped outside, Kaeya noted that even the streets had been quickly decorated and made festive. They’d only been inside for a couple of hours at the most, and yet Liyue Harbor already looked like it was ready to launch lanterns into the sky tonight.

Kaeya let out a low whistle at the sight. “Now this is impressive work. I feel like I’ve been teleported elsewhere entirely.”

Yelan smacked his arm. “Don’t be absurd.”

She led him through the harbor, quickly finding a shop that sold the right clothes, and stepping inside. She brought Kaeya in with her, and to the desk in the back.

The lady behind the counter looked at the two of them with a slightly raised eyebrow, then quickly assumed a neutral, ready-to-serve expression.

“Ah, Miss Yelan. What can I help you and your friend with?”

Kaeya moved to correct her, but Yelan casually rested her arm across his chest, stopping him before he spoke. “Ah, you misunderstand. He is my husband, for now. And he’s not from Liyue, so he will need something for Lantern Rite. You can do something casual for him, just like my last set.”

The lady nodded, then stepped out from behind the counter, beckoning for Kaeya to follow. Yelan removed the barrier of her arm, and Kaeya hesitantly followed the lady farther into the shop.

She procured a measuring tape, and as Kaeya stood for the measuring, he noticed Yelan was perusing the store. Probably not to actually purchase anything for herself, he assumed, but to kill the time.

She pulled a top off the rack and looked at it, then put it back, continuing down the lane she was in. At the end was a small tray of jewelry, and Kaeya watched as she perused the shiny, golden baubles.

The lady who was measuring him grabbed his wrist, and he jolted back to awareness as she measured the length of his arm. He muttered an apology, and she just shook her head with a tongue click.

“You’re not the first husband to come in here and watch their spouse with that expression. It’s normal. Just don’t be so stiff!”

Kaeya felt his cheeks warm at her words, and nodded. Still, he found himself unable to look at Yelan anymore. Until she returned and stood right in front of him, holding a shirt up for him to see.

“What do you think? It’s casual, and it should match my dress decently. Plus, there’s not as much gold on it, and I know gold isn’t really your color.”

Kaeya looked at it, not really knowing what to say, but acutely aware that he couldn’t leave her hanging. So he attempted with a quiet, “It looks nice, I suppose it would work?”

The woman who had been measuring him laughs. “Make sure to grab some looser pants as well, even if you’re going for something casual.”

Yelan nodded, leaving the shirt behind as she went to go look for pants.

Kaeya wasn’t sure how to feel anymore. So he watched quietly as the lady picked up the shirt, and made a few notes on a nearby pad.

Yelan returned and offered a pair of black pants towards the lady, who took them without even looking.

“Miss Jia, do you have an idea as to when we can pick these up?”

“That depends on your next answer. The two of you seem to enjoy the color blue, yes?”

Yelan looked at Kaeya, somewhat puzzled. “Yes? What does that have to do with anything?”

Miss Jia sighed and looked between the two of them. “Put bluntly, I can make you a matching set in your shared preferred color. It might suit the two of you better, and you won’t have to worry about mismatched dyes.”

Yelan blinked. “I suppose that’s fine, yes. But-”

“I know it’s not terribly traditional, but, Miss Yelan, when have you ever been traditional?”

Yelan looked almost sheepish, but in the end, the two of them paid for the matching blue set, and picked it up the next day, just in time for the Rite to begin.

<break>

On the night before the first day of the Lantern Rite, Kaeya and Yelan found themselves at Zhongli and Diluc’s Liyue residence, and Kaeya hesitantly knocked on the door. As the two of them waited, Kaeya found himself wondering if he and Yelan would end up like the other couple, with a residence in each nation, always traveling between the two.

He shook his head. What an absurd thought, they’d be divorcing in just seven months. There wouldn’t be enough time for them to arrange for two permanent residences before they would no longer be needed. A pang struck his heart at the thought, but as the door clicked open, he attributed it to the nervousness of seeing his brother and brother-in-law.

Zhongli opened the door, in full traditional garb, as Kaeya expected. Without a doubt, Diluc was also draped in fine, traditional garments, looking every bit the phoenix he embodied.

Yelan elbowed Kaeya gently, and Kaeya bowed before Zhongli briefly, extending two oranges towards the older man, as Yelan recited the traditional greeting. Zhongli took the oranges with a smile, and as he repeated the greeting and handed the two of them a pair of envelopes. Yelan took one, and Kaeya hesitantly took the other. Yelan mouthed “Mora” in his direction, and some of Kaeya’s confusion was abated.

Zhongli invited them in finally, and Kaeya let Yelan enter first. Zhongli gave him a hug as he entered.

“You have been well, I trust?”

Kaeya nodded. “I think so. We’re getting along now, mostly.”

There was a twinkle in Zhongli’s eyes as he asked, “I’m sure the remaining months don’t feel too long now.”

Kaeya shrugged, not wanting to admit that he’d been thinking the same thing just a few minutes ago. Instead, he followed Zhongli further into the house, where Kaeya could smell something rather delicious.

As expected, Diluc was dressed very similarly to Zhongli, though with different patterns woven into the red with gold. Yelan was looking between the two of them, having clearly noticed the robes.

“So, Master Diluc is clearly the phoenix of the two of you, then. And that makes Zhongli the dragon, correct?”

Kaeya felt a moment of panic sear through his brain, before Zhongli spoke up. “Yes, that legend is rather special to us, so we thought to pay homage to it today.”

Kaeya looked around, and noticed there were extra dishes out and about. “Are you expecting more guests?”

Diluc nodded. “Hu Tao, and she’s bringing Keqing, as well as some of the Mondstadt kids. The older ones, Bennet, Fischl, and Noelle. Mika is off on an expedition again, and Lisa opted to keep Razor in Mondstadt this year, and if Barbara is celebrating, it will be with Jean.”

Kaeya paused. “Why would Jean be celebrating?”

The three other adults all turned to Kaeya. Yelan was the first to speak.

“Kaeya. How do you not know? You are Jean’s own top intelligence operator.”

Kaeya felt rather offended. “I’m not investigating my boss and friend! Not unless I needed to, and I never did!”

Diluc snorted. “Jean is being courted by the Tianquan, Ningguang, and her wife, Beidou. They exchange letters frequently.”

“I-” Kaeya found himself at a loss for words, and had to sit down for a moment. “At this point we might as well just mark the border off the maps! And, I knew they exchanged letters, but I never snooped, because I thought it was just business!”

Yelan laughed at him. “You’re ridiculous, Kaeya.”

Zhongli set a reassuring hand on Kaeya’s shoulder. “Do not feel bad. Ninggaung is a very private woman, and I hear Jean is as well. It is merely through some accidents that Diluc and I are aware, and as for Yelan…”

Yelan shrugged. “I’m buddies with Beidou, and she is not a private person with her buddies.”

Diluc laughed. “Oh, so I’ve heard.”

A knock was heard at the door again, and this time, Diluc went to go get it. He returned with Hu Tao, and Keqing. When Kaeya made eye contact with Keqing, her face went bright red, clearly remembering how he had been there on one of Hu Tao’s visits before.

He just smiled and waved, and after Hu Tao squished Keqing’s face, all seemed to be right with the world again.

Not long after the arrival of the two young ladies, another knock echoed through the house, and when Zhongli returned, he was followed by Noelle, Fischl, and Bennet.

As everyone gathered around the Table, Zhongli looked at the table and sighed. When Kaeya tilted his head in question, Zhongli just shook his head.

“I already knew Xiao wouldn’t make an appearance, he does not like being in the Harbor, even with Aether by his side. And as for Ganyu and Yanfei, well, they always spend the night with Madame Ping. I simply wish there were more of my family present.”

Kaeya nodded. “Maybe if you’re lucky, Aether can convince this Xiao to at least visit you on another day.”

Yelan had overheard, and she shook her head. “He’s a private person at best, and very prickly.” Yelan looked sharply at Zhongli. “I am surprised that you know Xiao.”

Zhongli laughed. “Ah, yes, I do. But it is an old bond, and we don’t see each other much these days, as we have since grown apart.”

Yelan raised an eyebrow, but did not press the issue.

Zhongli and Diluc were quite careful through the evening, and as it grew dark outside, the front door was suddenly opened. Basically everyone abandoned their food to see who was interrupting their gathering so rudely.

It was Aether, who was panting. “The Lanterns… They’re about to be lit…”

Zhongli’s eyes widened. “I see.”

Diluc immediately turned around to grab everyone’s coats, handing them out as each person passed, as well as handing out lanterns. Soon, everyone was outside, and Keqing and Hu Tao were guiding all the younger guests down to the harbor to get a good view of the big lantern, and a good place to launch lanterns.

Kaeya saw Aether and Zhongli hurriedly chatting off to the side. Yelan stood by Kaeya, also watching the exchange. They watched as Zhongli seemed to express surprise, and then as Aether turned and beckoned towards a shadowy corner.

As a young man slowly approached from the corner, Kaeya heard Yelan grasp, and she grabbed his arm in restrained excitement. “That’s Adeptus Xiao.”

The man briefly looked over their direction, but quickly resumed paying attention to the conversation he was a part of at the moment.

Kaeya tugged Yelan away. “Let’s let them be.”

Diluc joined them as they walked towards the docks. Kaeya didn’t say or indicate anything, but Diluc must have figured he would have questions, or maybe Yelan did something, because Diluc just shrugged.

“It’s not my place to be in that conversation right now.”

Soon, the whole group was together at the docks, Aether and Xiao included. Yelan went to go talk with Xiao, and they were briefly joined by a pink haired young woman with some sort of antlers, who was followed by Ganyu.

Eventually, a hush fell upon the docks, and Yelan quickly handed Kaeya a small lantern, one that she’d already lit for him. As he looked at her, the glimmer of hundreds of lanterns reflected in her eyes, giving her a warm gaze.

And yet, as the largest lantern of all, the memorial lantern to Bosacious, was lit and began to rise, Kaeya saw a different kind of glimmer. A glimmer he saw echoed in the eyes of Xiao, Yanfei, Aether, and even Zhongli. So, out of respect, Kaeya bowed his head, and at the right moment, he let his lantern go, floating free with Yelan’s and everyone else’s.

As he looked up, he fancied that he could see his and Yelan’s lanterns floating together for a good, long while.

The rest of the month passed with plenty of festivities and activities, though both Kaeya and Yelan were careful not to accept any wine, as they were still dealing with the ramifications from their last drunken decision.

#genshin impact #nyx writes stuff #kaeya alberich #genshin yelan #diluc ragnvindr #zhongli #lantern rite #kaeya x yelan #kaelan #genshin

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allthingsfangirl101 · 2 years

Text

Teacher’s Pet–Joe Keery

A/N: This one is in honor of me finishing my first year teaching!

I walked into our apartment, my bags falling to the ground with a loud thump. I kicked off my shoes and hung my keys by the door.

"Y/N? Babe, is that you?"

"Yeah," I answered shakily. "It's me."

"You're home late."

"Yeah, we umm. . . We had a staff meeting after school and then I had to finish some grading and planning and. . . and crying."

When that last word came out, I looked up to see Joe walking into the hallway. His eyes softened as he walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me.

I buried my face in his chest as tears started silently streaming down my face. He tightened his arms around me and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

"Your favorite chicken dish is in the oven and I already have a bottle of wine open," he whispered. "We can spend the whole night binge-watching every Sandra Bullock movie we own. And then we can do something that will make us feel like we're in high school again."

I giggled when as he said that last activity, Joe slid his hands down my back and slipped them into my back pockets. I looked up at him and teasingly chewed on my bottom lip. I snaked my arms up his chest and around his neck.

"That is exactly what I need to get my mind off of work."

* * * * *

This was my first year teaching and to say it was kicking my ass would be an understatement. After four years of schooling, teaching wasn't what I thought it would be. By the end of the day, I'm exhausted. I come home with no energy to do anything. If it wasn't for Joe, I'd completely fall apart.

I woke up the next morning to the sun shining through our window. I rolled over but sat up when the other side of the bed was empty. I got out of bed and walked downstairs. I leaned against the door frame and watched Joe make us breakfast.

It was amazing how much I loved this man. We've been dating for over two years. At our one-year mark, we moved in together and we didn't look back.

Joe turned around holding two plates and smiled at me. "Morning," he greeted.

"Morning," I smiled.

I walked over as he placed our plates on the kitchen table. He turned towards me and pulled me into his chest. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I instantly started kissing him back. We pulled apart when we couldn't breathe.

"Happy Saturday," he whispered.

"Happy Saturday," I chuckled.

Joe and I spent the morning eating breakfast as we talked about Joe's show.

"Y/N," he sighed, using the tone that always meant he was going to start talking about my work. "I love you, but I hate seeing you like this. You come home exhausted every day, baby. You come home so defeated, it breaks my heart."

"I love teaching," I shrugged, "it's just not what I expected."

"You've been working yourself so hard," he started, "I still don't understand why you won't. . ."

"Joe," I interrupted him. "Honey, we've had this conversation at least a hundred times. Please, can we not have it again?"

"Yes, we have to," he sighed. "Y/N, if you take a break, it could help."

"And I've told you that I can't take a break, Joe. Things are crazy and. . ."

"Y/N, you can't keep going on like this," Joe said, officially getting frustrated. "If you do, you could pass out. For crying out loud, Y/N, you barely eat. You don't eat in the morning. I know you only take nuts or fruit for lunch so you can grade or lesson plan while you eat. And I watch you at dinner. You barely eat. The last thing I want is to get a call from your school saying you passed out during class. I couldn't risk losing you."

I jumped when he quickly stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. Right before he grabbed our plates, he paused. I looked down to see that I had only taken two bites of my omelet. He sighed before taking my plate and throwing my omelet away.

Joe went over to the sink and started angrily washing our plates. I slowly stood up and walked over to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my chin on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "But they say that the first year is the roughest. There are only five weeks left of school. Things will start to calm down soon."

* * * * *

When the bell rang, I let out a sigh of relief as the kids started to leave. Once they were all out of my room, I leaned my elbows on my desk and put my head in my hands.

I took a few short breaths. Each breath that I let out, slowly sounded more like holding back a sob.

"Ms. Y/L/N, can we talk about my grade?"

My head snapped up but I smiled when I saw Joe leaning against my doorway. His smile dropped when he saw the look on my face. Joe quickly started walking toward me. He was already at my desk by the time I stood up.

As soon as he got to me, he pulled me into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned down to place a kiss on the top of my head.

"You need a break," he whispered.

"I can't," I stuttered. "We have state testing coming up and there is this crazy sub shortage."

I felt him shake his head as he shushed me. "I may or may not have already gotten you some time off."

"What?" I asked as I pulled out of his hold.

"I didn't just come to see you," he explained. "On my way in, I got chatting with Charlie."

"My principle?" I panicked.

"It wasn't bad," he tried to soothe. "We got to talking and I told him that I wanted to take you on a vacation but you didn't want to miss work. Charlie noted that you've been working your butt off and you deserved some time off."

"Joe," I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. "What did you do?"

"I got you a week off from work," he smiled cheekily at me.

"A whole week?" I stuttered.

"Yep!" He laughed. "And I have everything planned out."

"What did you have in mind?"

Joe smiled as he grabbed my hands. He sat on one of the student's desks and pulled me so I was standing between his legs. He wrapped his arms around my waist as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I thought we could rent a beach house for the week," he started to explain. "It'll be on a private beach. We won't be bothered by my fans, your students, or creeps on the beach. We can get groceries on the way there and spend the whole week in a gorgeous house to ourselves and soak in some sun."

"That sounds amazing," I sighed, dreamily.

"Good," he smirked. "Because we leave right now. I already packed your suitcase."

* * * * *

I stood out on the balcony and closed my eyes, focusing on the sound of waves crashing on the sand. I didn't open my eyes when I felt Joe wrap his arms around my waist. I let out a small sigh when he started kissing my neck.

"Good morning," he whispered before going right back to kissing my neck.

"Morning," I moaned when he bit my ear lobe. "What do you um. . . What do you want to do today?"

"I don't care," he whispered as he switched sides. He pulled away and smirked at me as he pulled me closer into his chest. "We could stay in the hotel room all day."

"We can't," I laughed. "We already did that yesterday."

Joe and I decided to go to the beach and spend the day tanning and playing in the ocean. After lunch, we hit the jacuzzi at the hotel. We were taking a nap when I felt someone shake me awake. I opened my eyes to see Joe leaning on his elbow and staring down at me.

"Hey, baby," he whispered. "I wanted to wake you up so you'd have time to get ready."

"For what?" I asked sleepily.

"I got us reservations at this amazing restaurant right on the water," he said as he rolled over so he was hovering over me.

"I don't have to get ready just yet," I said in a teasing tone as I snaked my hands up his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. I pulled him closer to me and started kissing his neck.

"Baby," he moaned. "The reservations are at 7 o'clock."

I bit his neck, causing him to let out a loud groan. "And we both have to shower," he said shakily.

I broke the kiss and smirked up at him.

"We could save water."

Joe laughed as he sat up, pulling me with him. With our hands intertwined, Joe pulled me into our bathroom. He turned the water on and with his back to me, I grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. He laughed as I started kissing his shoulder blades. Right before he turned around, I let my dress fall off my shoulders. He smirked before pulling me into the shower.

* * * * *

"This place is beautiful," I whispered as we walked into the beachside restaurant with our hands intertwined.

Joe leaned in and whispered in my ear, "It gets better."

He smirked as he pulled me and we followed the hostess. I glanced over at Joe as the hostess started to lead us outside.

"Joe," I whispered. "Where are we going?"

My question got stuck in my throat when we walked outside to see a beach gazebo gorgeously decorated.

"What is all of this?" I asked, my voice breaking. He pulled me into his chest and leaned down, pressing his lips to mine. He broke the kiss with a small smile on his face.

"I love you, baby."

"I love you too, Joe."

We ate a delicious meal in a beautiful setting. The whole night, I couldn't help but notice Joe staring at me strangely.

"Okay," I chuckled. "What is with you tonight?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, trying to come across as innocent.

"You've been staring at me weirdly," I said, my face burning.

"Because I love you," he said simply.

"Joe. . ." I cut myself off when he stood up. He sent me a strange smile before kneeling down.

"What are you doing?" I whispered. My breath got stuck in my throat when he pulled out a little blue box and opened it, revealing a beautiful yet simple ring.

"I love you," he said, his voice slightly breaking. "I can't imagine my life without you and I don't want to. I want to spend the rest of my life making you egg omelets. I want to spend the rest of my life making you smile. I want to spend the rest of my life over-worrying about your stress and anxiety. I want to spend the rest of my life by your side. So, Y/F/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I instantly said.

Joe smiled as he slipped the ring on my finger. I grabbed his hand as we stood up. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I had happy tears streaming down my face as our lips moved in sync. We broke the kiss and leaned our foreheads together.

"I love you, baby," he whispered.

"I love you too," I whispered back. "But I have one request."

"Anything, my darling fiancé," he teased as he tightened his arms around my waist.

"We can't have our wedding over the school year," I started to stutter. "We can do it this summer but it's only a few weeks away. We could wait until next summer but I don't know if you want to wait a year. But then again, you might be filming something. I guess we have winter break or spring break. But what if. . ."

Joe leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I couldn't help but smile as our lips moved in sync. He broke the kiss and smirked down at me.

"As I said," he whispered. "I want to spend the rest of my life over-worrying about your stress and anxiety."

"Good," I chuckled. "Cause there's a lot of it."

#joe keery #joe keery imagines #joe keery x reader #joe keery POV

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