Tumgik
#i can never let arthur have a break can i
pierregazly · 2 days
Text
i've got you ꨄ oscar piastri
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
oscar piastri x best friend!reader
warnings: angsty, arthur leclerc is the villain, oscar is in love w/ the reader but wont ever admit it, no hea [963 words]
request: 💗 can i request oscar with prompt 6? please and thank you!! 😽[6. "I've got you."]
Tumblr media
A violent sob ripped itself from your body, your hand clutching the phone in front of you, the incriminating photo in plain view as you tried to process what was so prevalent on the screen.
It had been so obvious that things were falling apart in your relationship, they had been for months. Date nights were cancelled, anniversaries forgotten, but you never thought he would lower himself to this. Never thought you’d be getting that ‘I think this is your boyfriend?’ text. 
But here you were, trying to contain the feelings flowing through you, the anger, the sadness, the heartbreak.
He had told you it was a small trip with his brothers, it was offseason for everyone, the only time they really had to relax. The lie was staring right at you, Arthur’s hands gripping the ass of an unnamed brunette, his lips connected with hers. There was no denying that it was him, the video that followed showing the two of them pulling away from each other, an intoxicated smirk on the lips of your long-term boyfriend.
You didn’t know how to react. Didn’t know if it was worth sending the proof to him, whether you should call him and ask him outright or act like it was all fake. The emotions were running through you so aggressively, you hadn’t even had the chance to properly think through everything.
How could he do this? Why did he think this was okay? How can he tell you he loves you, and then do this? Were you not good enough for him?
The variety of thoughts continued to cipher through your mind. Your body was begging your brain to stop, begging it to give you a moment to get a grip on reality, begging it to allow you a moment to think clearly.
You barely heard the repetitive knock on the door, the noises mixing in with the unrelenting thumping noises clouding your ears.
Oscar had a key to the apartment, always had. He always claimed it was a ‘safety measure’ and he needed to have one in case anything happened, or in case he ever had to get you into your apartment after a night out.
Most of the time it was used because you weren’t answering a message quick enough, and he wanted to spend time with you. 
He had been messaging you since this morning, offering to bring you pastries from your favourite bakery, asking if you wanted to get lunch, had asked more than once if everything was alright. It wasn’t until he saw the pictures, his brain taking a moment to catch up with his eyes when he realized why you weren’t answering him.
You had been friends for years, longer than any of your other friendships, had known him almost double the amount of time you knew Arthur. He had tried more than once to explain how disastrous dating the Monegasque could end up, but his attempts were futile. You were too stubborn to listen to him, too enamoured to believe that Arthur could be anything except lovely.
There was barely a thought in his mind before he was making his way to your apartment, aggressively knocking on the door; practically begging to be let in. He knew you were in there, could hear the soft sounds of you crying through the door, his heart breaking with every vicious sob he heard through the wood.
It didn’t take him long to find his key, pushing open the door with a bated breath, unsure as to the scene he was about to walk into.
You didn’t even acknowledge his presence, your body having begun the process of curling in on itself, trying to savour any sense of peace it could gather. Oscar felt his stomach drop when he finally made eye contact with you, the puffiness of them so obvious, the tears still clouding your vision.
“Oh, love. C’mere, I’ve got you.”
A small whimper left your lips as he sat down on the couch next to you, gently tugging your body into his. Your hand clutched onto his shirt, the tears still falling from your eyes instantly soaking the material when you pressed your head to his shoulder. 
“Why’d he do this to me, Osc? Was I not good enough for him? What did I do to deserve this?”
Every other word punctuated with a cry or a sniffle prompted a small grimace onto his features. The pit in his stomach grew worse and worse with every word that fell from your mouth, his own heart breaking again as he tried to console you.
“You’re more than good enough for him, I’ve been saying for years you’re too good for him. You didn’t deserve this, at all. He’s a piece of shit,” he said.
His hands continued to rub up and down your exposed arms, your tears subsiding as you melted into his comfort. The grogginess was still prevalent in your head, your eyes puffy, your brain still trying to get a grasp of what was going on; but all you could focus on was the calluses on Oscar’s fingers catching on your skin, the heave of his chest as he cuddled you closer.
He was always the first person there for you, even without having to pick up the phone and ask him to be. For him, you always came first, above racing, above his friends; he would drop everything he was doing and run to you if you asked. He would never admit that, though, ever.
“I wish it was you all those years ago, Osc. You would’ve never done this to me,” you said.
Oscar felt his own heart splitting in two. You were right, he wished it was him all those years ago, too. 
Tumblr media
i did NOT know where to go with this one!!!! so angsty and sadness it is!!!!! sorry!!!!
323 notes · View notes
nothankyoudear · 1 year
Text
If Arthur has learned one thing from his father's teachings, it is to not trust.
For friends all eventually part ways, and lovers all end in tragedy. They are both nothing but human, and if there is one thing that humans do best, it is to betray. 
Arthur carries that with him for the entirety of his childhood, and by the time he is well into his teens, he is alone except for a few that his father has deemed as suitable playmates.
It all changes when he meets Merlin.
Merlin is nothing like any of the friends that Arthur has had - He insults Arthur with a glint in his eyes, and is confident as he tells the crown prince off in aid of a servant. Arthur feels a pang in his chest and reacts the only way he knows how. By taunting Merlin and throwing him off into the dungeons.
Arthur turns in his bed that night, sleepless. He thinks of Merlin’s sarcastic remarks and blue eyes, and wonders if he might’ve ruined the only chance he had at something with the resemblance of a friend.
The next time they meet, Merlin shoves past Arthur at the market, and Arthur panics. He wants to reach out and apologize and offer Merlin gifts in sincerity, yet his mouth and pride act before his mind, and once again he goes back to taunting.
Arthur doesn’t sleep that night, for fate has given him another chance at befriending this strange boy, and he has failed her twice. Arthur has lost the privilege of being someone other than his title.
But she is continuously merciful, as by a strange series of events, Merlin is assigned as his manservant. 
Arthur cannot stop himself from smiling when he is insulted once more.
As the years pass, Arthur gets closer and closer to Merlin. And when he finds himself comforted by Merlin's presence as he is laying down logs in the fireplace one night, he is terrified.
Because Merlin treats him as Arthur, the royal prat and downright pain in Merlin's arse, and not Arthur Pendragon, the prince of Camelot. Arthur is treated like a human for what is possibly the first time in his life, and he reacts like one.
Arthur has broken the one rule given to him by his father, and with every time he sleeps next to Merlin or eats whatever Merlin has cooked for him, Arthur has silently and unknowingly placed his life into the palms of Merlin's hands.
Arthur trusts Merlin, and he is terrified.
He knows that Merlin doesn’t have it in his blood to be unkind (he stood up to a prince for a servant, for gods’ sake), yet he cannot resolve the thoughts of Merlin leaving him behind now that he has Arthur between his fingers. The idea of betrayal and sorrow drives itself into Arthur’s mind to the point of madness, and he knows it’s because he’ll be rendered helpless if Merlin really does turn his back on him.
Arthur thinks of distancing himself from Merlin, but even the thought pains him too much. So instead, he resigns to his fate and leans into Merlin like a moth to fire.
Merlin tells Arthur about his magic one cold night.
His voice is soft and his hands are shaking. His eyes never stray from Arthur’s expression. 
Arthur’s mind is muddled and although he knows he should be feeling a sense of betrayal, of how his father was and always had been right in his judgement not to trust, a raw feeling of elation dances across his skin instead.
Because Merlin trusts him back.
Arthur has handed his life over to Merlin through sips of stew and naps during hunting trips, and Merlin has handed it right back.
Merlin is a sorcerer, and instead of executing him, Arthur kisses him.
They lay in bed together that night, huddled underneath the thick red blanket in Arthur’s chambers. Arthur tells Merlin about his fear of betrayal and his father’s teachings. He tells Merlin about how he’s wanted nothing more than to be seen as a real, living person with something else other than his surname, and about the sleepless nights Arthur’s spent thinking about him.
Arthur tells Merlin he loves him, and Merlin says it back.
Merlin sleeps before him, and in the silence Arthur can’t help but think of his father’s teachings. He can't help but think of stories of anguish and sorrow and pain.
Yet it all dissipates as he takes one look at Merlin’s lips, and hears the soft inhale from his sleeping figure. And as Arthur lays besides Merlin, he wonders how his father had ever thought betrayal was the thing that humans did best, when it had always clearly been love. 
821 notes · View notes
f1version · 7 months
Text
26 BIRTHDAY KISSES ★ CL16
Tumblr media
pairing: charles leclerc x gf!reader ( she/her )
summary: 26th birthday, 26 pictures of you and Charles kissing. A kiss for each year.
notes: i’m back from my birthday trip!! i wrote this birthday special in like 30 minutes and it’s still charles’ birthday in a couple of places so… i’m not exactly late! enjoy <3
Tumblr media
26 KISSES: A GALLERY
By your beautiful girlfriend, in collaboration with a lot of people but mainly Joris and ourselves.
1. DRUNK DANCING: A month after we got together, we were at Arthur’s 18th birthday. We got drunk, singing and dancing to the worst playlist in existence (Lorenzo’s) and, somehow, Arthur got to capture this moment I barely even remember.
Tumblr media
Taken by Arthur Leclerc, 2018
2. AUGUST 2019: Summer break, so sweet so loving. You made me promise that if you jumped off first, I would jump too. It took me fifteen minutes to follow after you. Also your kisses were incredibly salty.
Tumblr media
Taken by Joris Trouche, 2019
3. THE MONZA INCIDENT: I had red lipstick the night you won in Monza, you told me it looked pretty, I asked you to kiss me, you did. Fast forward 8 minutes it was all smudged over your lips, you were 10 minutes late to the post-race conference, and Sylvia almost banned me that night. (I’m still kind of banned from your driver’s room)
Tumblr media
Taken by Charles Leclerc, 2019
4. UNDER THE COVERS: 2020, what a crazy year. This one was taken the day we decided to finish moving in together. You were so excited, wanted everything to be perfect. Today I can say it is.
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2020
5. WORDS: We were spending Christmas by ourselves, we face-timed our families, had dinner and watched movies. You gifted me three beautiful words I, of course, said back… and we also got a puppy!
Tumblr media
Taken by Charles’ phone timer, 2020
6. OCEAN BREZEE: Just a small escapade to take a breath. You were so cuddly that day, Joris was so done with you (he still took the pic though)
Tumblr media
Taken by Joris Trouche, 2021
7. CUTE OR HOT: I just wanted a cute morning selfie but, because of you, we ended up in a…promising mood. It was intense that’s all I have to say!
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2021
8. KISS KISS KISS: 24th birthday, 24 kisses. This kind of became a tradition, let me know if you still want them this year!
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2021
9. DRUNK AF: How did we got so drunk? Ask Pierre, he was the one hosting. Either way we got another amazing photo of us drunk-kissing!!!
Tumblr media
Taken by Pierre Gasly, 2021
10. UNDER THE SEA: I’m just going to say that you and your ‘photo ideas 📸’ folder are attached by the hip. I personally love this one (even if it took half an hour to take)
Tumblr media
Taken by Joris Trouche, 2021
11. NEW YORK: Thought you could scape this one? Never! Arthur and I didn’t spend a week listening to your complaining for nothing, babe. You must admit that this kiss was magical, everything was so pretty that day. And then it started snowing!
Tumblr media
Taken by Arthur Leclerc, 2021
12. EXPOSED: Remember how our amazing soft launch got ruined by our trip to Ibiza? Well, here it is, the image we couldn’t stop laughing at when it came out, we really thought we were sneaky.
Tumblr media
Taken by unknown, 2022
13. HARD LAUNCH: A week later we were kissing on live TV. It’s one of my favorite memories, I couldn’t stop smiling.
Tumblr media
Taken by F1 TV, 2022
14. BACK KISSES: Just a picture of the morning after I learned that you can convince anyone, even the CEO of Ferrari, to allow you to leave sponsor events early. I really don’t know if you knew those kisses were there, but I woke up to this, took a picture and then left you with them until we took a shower.
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2022
15. SPONSORED BY AIRMAX: That time your team forgot to book us a flight and you had to ask Lando to ask Daniel to ask Max if we could go back to Monaco with them. I’ve never seen Max talk so much, Daniel laugh so loud or Lando taking so many pictures. He even asked to take one of us, here it is:
Tumblr media
Taken by Lando Norris, 2022
16. SIXTEEN: I bet you thought this one would have something to do with racing. Number 16. Sorry to disappoint but it’s our beautiful puppy…Sixteen! I’m not gonna lie, I still hate you for persuading me into that name. Anyways if you kiss the dog you kiss the mom!!
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2022
17. 25 KISSES: Again, tell me if you want those 26 kisses this year. Look at us last year!
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2022
18. NEW YEAR, SAME LOVE: Sometimes the world feels unreal when I’m with you, this was one of those days. I felt in another reality, the world slowed down, it was just you and me. I remember thinking “I fell in love with the right person” and then you kissed me.
Tumblr media
Taken by Joris Trouche, 2022
19. BLACK SUIT: Remember when your fans thanked me for your “new” outfits? They repeated it was the girlfriend effect, you couldn’t stop talking about how stylish you are with or without me!
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2023
20. PHOTOSHOOT: You got Joris to take these shots just because you wanted a new wallpaper. I thought it was silly, until one day all of them were hanging around our home. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Charlie.
Tumblr media
Taken by Joris Trouche, 2023
21. FIVE STAR CHEFS: Not much to say, just sorry for being so distracting and thank you for the amazing (stolen from Ferrari) dinner babe!
Tumblr media
Taken by Charles’ phone timer, 2023
22. RED LIGHTS: This year’s addition to our drunk-kissing collection. I remember you drowning shots with Carlos and Pierre, asking me to dance with you, absolutely failing at that, and then kissing me. After that there’s blurry ferrari red, giggles and a hot bath.
Tumblr media
Taken by Andrea Ferrari, 2023
23. LAZY IN BED: Wonderful lazy days by the ocean, that’s how we spent the summer break. That morning in particular you didn’t want to get up, basically gluing me to bed. We got up at 1pm.
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2023
24. JUST ONE QUESTION: Can I drive the purosangue now? Please please please
Tumblr media
Taken by Me, 2023
20. LOVER: This day I woke up thinking about those dreams we talk about all the time, you even remembered me a couple of them throughout the day. Charlie, I do want to do this for the rest of our lives, never forget it <3
Tumblr media
Taken by Arthur Leclerc, 2023
26. TWENTY-SIX: We are just 26 but I hope our story keeps on writing itself. I love you, these have been the happiest 6 years of my life. Happy birthday bébé ❤️
Tumblr media
Taken by Joris Trouche, 2023
2K notes · View notes
messrmoonyy · 2 months
Text
- The gilded cage
Arthur Morgan x Fem!reader
Tumblr media
Request- how about some of the girls going along to the mayors party in Saint Denis. Have you seen the cut content of Molly when she was meant to be at the party? So Dutch takes Molly along, Arthur takes reader? And what if Arthur gets a a little jealous of reader mingling and then they sneak away for some smutty time together…
A/N- this is my first Arthur fic so he may be a lil out of character whilst I get to grips with writing him. I also have not written straight smut in like 2 years. But we vibe. Enjoy
Also shoutout to @devnmon for supporting and enabling my rdr2 brainrot. You’re a real one
Warnings- 18+ | smut: unprotected p in v, semi public sex ( wc - 7.7k )
Masterlist / AO3
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Saint Denis was a little too rich for your blood. You’d only ventured into the city a handful of times, but the times you had you’d decided you didn’t really like it. You felt too… common. You never had liked the wealthy, flaunting their security and safety that was wrapped up in dollars and gold. 
But. You loved money. God did you love money. And as much as you hated the residents of the city, you sure loved robbing them blind. You always had had a knack for making the rich mysteriously lose their dollars and their watches, it had been the sole reason you’d ended up in Dutch’s gang in the first place. 
You’d even tried picking his pockets at first.
But you were on best behaviour tonight. Under Dutch’s orders. And you figured as boring as that sounded, you’d oblige. Simply because the men rarely let the girls get involved with any of the interesting stuff in camp. There was only so much laundry you could do before your brain truly went numb from boredom. Only so much listening to Miss Grimshaw nagging at you to do some work or Micah antagonising someone over something stupid. 
So even with Dutch’s strict orders to behave and your dislike of the city, you had jumped at the chance to come along to the party. 
“ i can practically smell the money “ you sighed as you took Arthur’s hand to step down from the coach, already hearing the bustle of the party happening somewhere out the back of the mansion in front of you “ you sure I can’t go pickin? Just a lil “ you were half joking, half not. On the times you had wandered into the city, the stuff you’d gathered picking your way around the saloons and back alleys had been a decent haul. The stuff some of these people carried around on the average day was enough to fund the food for the whole of camp for a couple days or more. 
Who knew what kind of goodies they’d have on them in their finery. 
“ no miss “ Dutch’s stern voice sounded, but he was sporting a small look of amusement “ keep those talented hands of yours to yourself. This is about business. We steal nothing. That goes for all of you. Steal. Nothing. Unless it’s information “ 
“ don’t worry. I’ll keep her in check “ Arthur spoke with a small chuckle, placing a hand lightly to your back. 
“ this is why we shouldn’t have brought the women. They always cause trouble “ Bill complained, as he stepped out of the second coach with Hosea, making you scowl. 
“ I hope you aren’t grouping me into that Mr Williamson “ Molly piped up with a disapproving scowl of her own as she stepped out of the coach, seemingly more mad at Dutch for not helping her out more than at Bill though. Arthur offered her his hand instead, helping her step onto the path without breaking her neck in her extravagant dress. 
Always the gentleman. 
She looked wonderful and you had begun to wonder if she had owned that dress all along or had gone out and got it special. Maybe Dutch had picked it up for her. It wouldn’t surprise you if she had been lugging it around from place to place, waiting for some perfect moment to pull it out. She always did look more put together than the majority of camp. Though you really didn’t understand how she could walk in the dress she was currently wearing, skirts full and you guessed pretty heavy too. 
“ no need to bring you “ Bill continued. 
“ I ain’t even causin’ trouble “ you piped in, throwing your own scowl Bills way again “ When did you last contribute to the box anyways huh Bill? I don’t see you doin’ nothin’ but sit around all damn day. No need to bring you I say. Jus’ cause you ain’t got no lady on your arm you’re complainin’ bout me and Molly “ 
“ what? A lady like you? I should be damn lucky I ain’t “ 
“ why you- “
“ Bill I suggest you leave it “ Arthur murmured lowly, planting himself between you and Bill before you did in fact cause some trouble. Bill grumbled something, spitting on the floor with a look of disgust and turning away from you. 
Dutch sighed heavily, looking increasingly pissed off at the group in front of him and held his arm out to Molly. 
“ Miss O’Shea “ It pained you a little to know he was probably only being nice to her tonight for appearances sake. He’d been practically ignoring her recently. And wasn’t doing Molly any good. You hoped a night out of camp would do her well “ now would you all just calm. Down. We, are simple distinguished gentleman, here for business. So start damn acting like it “ you scoffed at that, making a pointed look in Bills direction as you did 
“ distinguished my ass “ 
“ play nice now “ Arthur said quietly, but you heard the smile in his tone as he did. He then offered you his arm as Dutch had done to Molly. But unlike Dutch the act didn’t feel performative, a way to blend in and appear far higher class than they actually were. Arthur actually was a gentleman. For the most part anyways. 
“ why thank you mister “ you said in a cheery tone, throwing him a coy smile and slipping your gloved hands into the crook of his elbow. 
It did feel a little funny to be walking beside him like that. All dressed up and in clothes that weren’t smeared with gun oil, dust or god knows what else. It made your mind drift a little to what life could’ve been like. 
Your group crossed the street, promptly being stopped at the gates 
“ gentleman “ the guard greeted, taking the invitation from Dutch’s hands “ the mayor doesn’t allow guns at official functions “ the way he looked at Dutch and the others was almost demeaning. Like he knew you were all riff raff and of course would be the sort to attend such an event armed “ Not after last years incident “ none of the boys seemed particularly thrilled to be handing over their firearms. Arthur in particular sighed heavily beside you as he handed his pistol over. 
He didn’t like being unarmed. Especially when he was out with you. You usually also had your gun belt permanently fixed at your waist. But it wasn’t exactly fitting with your current attire. 
Though you did note the guards didn’t even spare a glance to you or Molly, which in turn made you all the more smug knowing you had your knife tucked into your boot. Just in case of course. 
“ Luca here will take you gentleman to Mr Bronte. I believe he is expecting you “ 
“ I know you got that knife in yer boot “ Arthur said lowly so that no one else would hear. 
“ he ain’t said anythin’ about knifes. Only guns “ Arthur smiled and shook his head slightly, placing his hand over yours for a moment. 
“ that’s my girl “ 
You walked up the neat cobbled path to the mayors house then, unable to do anything but look in awe at the huge house in front of you. You’d thought Shady Belle was something spectacular, had walked around every room imagining what it had looked like in all its glory. Amazed at the vastness of the place and all the rooms it had. 
And yet it was nothing compared to this place. This was real money. 
“ I look okay? “ you asked, suddenly feeling ever so slightly nervous, smoothing your hand over your skirts. Even in your attempts to look as clean and put together as you did, some part of you felt like everyone would see you were a walking sham. 
All in all you knew you probably did look fine. The dress was the most lavish thing you’d ever owned, you didn’t even want to guess how much it had cost Arthur. It was still on the simpler side, skirts not quite as full as Mollys and not as detailed. But it was beautiful. Pale pink and ruffled shoulders and details on your skirts, gloves up to your elbows in a material so soft you’d sighed when you’d first pulled them on. 
It all made a nice change from the usual simple clothes you wore, hips weighted by skirts rather than your gun belt. And skirts that didn’t have a million holes darned over. 
And Arthur had picked it all out. Had picked it himself especially for you. 
It did make you smile to imagine him in the tailors, completely out of his depth when it came to women’s fashion but determined to find you something nice. Your big, tough cowboy staring blankly at fabric swatches and fancy hats. 
“ gonna be the prettiest girl here “ you smiled warmly at his words, hand smoothing over your dress again. 
He’d turned up that morning into your shared room of shady Belle, finding you hiding away from Miss Grimshaw on the balcony, the dress draped over his arm along with some fancy suit and tie get up for himself. He’d looked almost sheepish as he’d shown you it, promising to go get you something else if you hated it. Which of course you hadn’t. 
You’d practically jumped with joy at being able to go out on a job. The boys so rarely let the girls do anything meaningful other than tend to camp. Though this particular outing you knew Dutch had only brought you and Molly along because it would make your group seem a little more agreeable. Something about women making them look a little less intimidating. And of course Dutch and Arthur’s partners were the most obvious of choices. 
Much to Mary-Beth and Karen’s dismay. Though they had very quickly changed their mind at the idea of having to hang off Bills arm all night. 
It wasn’t exactly the reason you wanted to be brought along. But you took it. 
The inside of the mansion was as glorious as the outside, it almost made you angry that people had such wealth. That these people could sleep in a new room each night of the week if they felt like it, when people were starving outside of their gates. 
“ Hosea, Bill. Take the ladies out and enjoy the party. We’ll join you after we pay our respects to signor Bronte. Arthur, with me “ Arthur gave a curt nod 
“ I won’t be long “ he assured, hand slipping down around your back and leaning down to your ear “ hands to yourself “ you scoffed as he said it, looking up at him as he stepped away from you. 
“ I can’t promise “ you caught his smile as he walked over to Dutch and the staff. Disappearing up the stairs. 
“ it’s just this way “ one of members of Lemieux’s staff spoke, gesturing the four of you in the direction of some doors leading out into the party. 
“ let’s go ladies. You fancy a drink? “ Hosea said cheerfully, following closely behind you and Molly as you headed outside. You were ushered out into gardens, a mass of the rich and wealthy of Saint Denis all crowded around. Drinking and laughing at things you were sure were not as remotely funny as they were making it out to be. 
Bill quickly made himself scarce, disappearing into the crowds to do lord knows what, much to your joy. 
“ right. Champagne? “ Hosea excused himself to collect some drinks and you stood on the back porch looking down at the groups of people. 
So far removed from what you were used to. You wondered how they’d react knowing you and your little group were currently sleeping in a barely standing plantation home, half of you out under the stars. That you were frauds. Not glamorous and wealthy like them. 
In your experience the rich liked to pretend the poor didn’t exist. Unless they were hiring them as help. 
“ oh I missed this “ Molly said beside you, almost dreamily in tone. And seemingly more to herself than to you. It was quite possibly the happiest you’d seen her look in days. 
She fit right in. Her gorgeous dress rivalling that of some of the other woman down in the courtyard, her hair piled up on her head and her fancy jewellery that was actually hers. Not something stolen from an unsuspecting lady in town. This was Molly. Money and wealth. It still baffled you how she had ended up with Dutch, how she could leave that all behind for a life wandering. 
“ you go to party’s like this a lot? Before Dutch I mean “ she gave a small shrug, searching in her small purse for a moment before placing a cigarette between her lips. You could imagine an even younger Molly, a bright eyed teenager done up all fancy and weaving her way through a party just like this one. 
“ sometimes “ her eyes were scanning the crowds, practically sparkling at being surrounded by the upper class again “ wonder what kind of people are here “ she seemed to be talking more to herself than you again and very promptly dismissed herself, heading down the stairs and gliding between the guests. Like some true social butterfly, decked out in her finest. 
Hosea returned with three glasses of champagne and a slightly confused look noticing Molly had vanished. 
“ eh more for me “ he said with a smile, handing you your glass before promptly finishing his own and moving onto what would’ve been Mollys “ I’m going to do some snooping. You’ll be alright? “
“ I’ll be jus’ fine Hosea “ you said with a smile and watched him too disappear down into the crowds. 
It was interesting to watch them, to see them behave as if this entire event was a normal evenings activity. Maybe for them it was. But it all felt so… false. People who appeared to be friends but didn’t seem to even really like each other, some silent competition between everyone to have the better dress. The better hat. The biggest house. 
You’d take your creaky cot under the stars with Arthur any day, would much rather sit around the campfire getting tipsy and singing. Surrounded by real family. Real friends. Relationships built on loyalty and protection. Not on trying to out do each other. 
You walked between the small crowds, eavesdropping on conversations in hopes to find something useful. Something to take back to Dutch to prove bringing you along wasn’t a useless endeavour. But it was mostly women discussing their elaborate hats, sharing stories of the terrible jobs their maids did, or complaining about their husbands poker habits. Or gossiping about how they had heard one of their friends was in delicate condition. 
You heard mentions of Leviticus Cornwall, but nothing concrete enough to warrant telling anyone about. 
You tried hunting down Molly, simply to have a friend to stand beside and not feel so…out of place. But she had vanished into the crowds somewhere. So you planted yourself on the side of an ornate water fountain, simply hoping Arthur would return soon. Maybe he’d dance with you, or take you walking around the vast garden laid out ahead of you. 
You two never really got the chance to do things like that. Romantic things. Arthur had his ways, of course. He’d take you out riding or sit with you on his lap by the fire, telling you about whatever interesting thing he’d discovered that day. He’d bring you flowers he’d pick from time to time, find you interesting things when he went wandering, let you read aloud to him with the excuse he wanted you to get better at it. When in reality you had seen him confess to his journal that he simply just liked to listen to your voice. 
He was far softer than he appeared. With you anyway. And as much as you didn’t like the kinds of people in attendance, you thought it might be nice to pretend for the night. To be two wealthy young oil tycoons, dancing and drinking champagne together, gushing about your money and your jewels. 
You made your way through another flute of champagne before he returned, interrupting your frivolous daydreaming. 
“ there she is “ you turned your head with a beaming smile at his voice, relief at a familiar face “ been lookin for ya “ he sat down beside you, looping an arm around your waist “ you behavin’? “
“ course I am. Ain’t took as much as a pearl “ you said quite proudly, though decided not to mention that the temptation had truly been hard to deny. Not only were these people rich, they were getting drunker by the second. They were practically begging to be robbed. 
“ good girl “ 
“ it go okay with ugh.. what’s his name? “ you asked, turning to face him. He looked just as uncomfortable with the entire situation as you did. This wasn’t his scene. It never had been. He’d grown up just as poor as you had. 
Arthur robbed the rich, he didn’t fraternise with them. 
“ Bronte. Yeah. Fine. Dutch he’s tryna find the mayor or somethin “ he ran a finger between his neck and collar of his shirt, clearly growing uncomfortable with it. It made you laugh a little. 
“ you ain’t cut out for the finer life “ 
“ no. I ain’t “ he was looking around at the guests in a similar way to you. With a mild sense of disgust “ saw some woman back there, hat so big she were topplin over “ you smiled and leant your head against his shoulder, he tucked you in closer to his side and dropped a kiss to the top of your head. 
“ was daydreamin whilst you were with Dutch “ you mused. 
“ yeah? About what? “ 
“ playin’ pretend. Bein’ fancy for the night. Y’know dancin’ and pretendin’ we got buckets of money “ the small sigh Arthur let out made you wonder if he thought that was a life you pined for. It wasn’t. Not really. Yeah, you liked money but.. you just wanted to be comfortable. Little ranch or a cabin some place quiet. Not poor. Not rich. Just. Existing happily “ ain’t us though “ 
“ you and me we… we ain’t like these people. We ain’t ever gonna be like these people “
“ we don’t gotta be. Me, you. Some pokey lil farm someplace out west? Now that’s the dream cowboy “ he chuckled and nodded, dropping another kiss to your head 
“ that’s the dream darlin’ “ you both sat quietly for a short while longer, watching the rich get drunker and more foolish. The odd person acknowledged your presence, greeting you as they passed or tipping their hat. But mostly they left you alone. It was at the point that one man drunkenly stumbled into a bush a few feet away that made you speak up again. 
“ never thought I’d miss that damn swamp. But lord above… these people “ Arthur scoffed as he too watched the fool try and right himself again, leaves sticking to the pomade in his hair 
“ yeah. I think I need a drink “ he patted your side lightly so you’d stop leaning on him and stood up “ champagne? “ 
“ oh well ain’t you just so kind sir “ you said in your best attempt a dramatic upper class drawl “ and you gonna dance with me after mister? “ you asked with a teasing smile and he rubbed a hand at the back of his neck for a moment looking almost sheepish. But he was smiling, the sweet genuine kind he only really seemed to show around you. 
“ sure darlin’. But I’m definitely gonna need that drink for that “ he ventured back into the crowds then and you stayed put, continuing to watch the guests laugh and talk about how incredible their lives were. 
“ I don’t recognise you “ an inquisitive voice spoke, tinged with that accent that the wealthy had started latching on to in some attempts to make themselves sound more superior. Smarter. Whatever. You thought it was quite ridiculous. You turned your head to look at the man, seeing if he was in fact talking to you. 
“ talkin’ to me mister? “ he was eyeing you up and down like he was somewhat intrigued but amused by you at the same time. A stupid top hat on his head adored with plumes and the chain of a pocket watch hanging from his pocket. It almost made you laugh at how your brain immediately began thinking about how you could steal it and how much it was worth. 
“ I am indeed miss “ he stepped closer, puffing on his cigar and not taking his eyes off of you for a second “ I have frequented many of the mayors parties but you… I do not remember you “ a small wave of panic flushed your skin but you remained calm. Not recognising you was far easier to work your way out of than if he had recognised your face. 
“ I’m new in town. My… uncle. He’s friends with Mr Bronte “ the man hummed, sitting himself down beside you. 
“ so you’re here with your uncle? “ you shifted slightly at his closeness but remembered you needed to keep up appearances so forced a smile onto your face 
“ yeah. And my husband. He’s around here someplace “ the man’s eyes immediately darted down to your gloved hands, probably noting the lack of a ring on your finger. You and Arthur weren’t married. But you may as well have been. He often referred to you as his wife, and he as your husband. 
He’d ask you one day. 
“ a lucky man “ the man said, blowing smoke in your direction and still looking you up and down. You decided at that moment you very much wanted to steal his watch. Dutch be damned. Having to put up with the likes of slimy rich men for more than ten seconds… well you figured that warranted you at least getting something shiny in return. 
“ oh well ain’t you just a charmer “ you said with a smile, placing a hand to his arm “ you here with your wife mister? “ the man laughed and shook his head, scooting a little closer to you.  
“ I’m more of a… free spirit “ you gave a small laugh, trying not to crinkle your nose at the smoke blowing in your face again. 
Arthur often smelt of fresh smoke, both cigarette and fire, and that fresh air smell that clung to your clothes after being out in the open air for hours. And you loved it on him, because it was well… him. The smoke from this man was far from appealing. But that watch…
“ ohh I see. You ain’t one to be tied down huh? “ your fingers inched closer to the man’s pocket, wrapping lightly around the chain. 
“ everythin’ okay here? “ Arthur appeared behind you, a glass in each of his hands.  
“ ah is this the fine man that brought you along? Well aren’t you lucky sir “ the man spoke and you noted he didn’t even glance in Arthur’s direction as he spoke, you were now looping the chain of his watch around your wrist. Just one small tug…
“ Mr Callahan “ Arthur murmured, handing you a glass and standing behind you with a hand to your shoulder
“ wonderful to meet you sir. Me and your wife were having a delightful conversation weren’t we dear? "The pressure of Arthur’s fingers increased as he spoke the sweet name, though you weren’t entirely sure it wasn’t because he’d noticed the man’s watch was now safely hidden in the fabric of your skirt. 
“ oh yes. Wonderful mister “ the watch discreetly made its way into your boot and you were ready to get away
“ where’d you find a beautiful thing like this sir? I may need to frequent the place myself “ he placed a hand onto your arm and finally looked up at Arthur rather than at you. He made your skin crawl. You didn’t hold a single ounce of remorse for the stolen watch 
“ oh no where you’d like “ his tone was a little snippy, the kind when someone was starting to piss him off but he was trying to keep his cool. And Arthur kicking off in the middle of the mayors party wasn’t exactly a part of Dutch’s plan. 
“ now I am so sorry but i believe my husband did promise me a dance “ you rose to your feet, sipping your champagne before placing the glass down and taking Arthur’s from his hands “ ain’t that right my love? “ 
“ yeah… need ya to come with me “ he said lowly, offering you his arm. His face had gone slightly dark, not entirely able to read him, you frowned slightly. But let him lead you away from the man, completely bypassing the area with couples twirling to the music. 
“ where we goin? “ you asked with a small laugh, latching onto his arm again and having to take quick steps to keep up with his purposeful strides “ Arthur?”
He didn’t answer immediately, simply led you away from the crowds and around the side of the mayor's house. 
“ You mad cause I took that watch? Look he deserved it- “
“ ain’t mad “ he mumbled, still leading you along. 
“ okay… so we stealin’ somethin’ else? “ you asked with excitement filtering into your words, already trying to figure out what it could be “ need me to act like a maid? I can do that real good y’know. Is it money? Papers? Oh, is it jewellery? Gold? “ Arthur chuckled at your excitement and shook his head, bringing you to a halt between some elaborately trimmed bushes and trees in planters. 
“ we ain’t stealin’ a thing “ you pouted with a mild disappointment and he chuckled again, advancing on you and backing you up against the wall behind you “ don’t gimme that look “ he tucked his fingers under your chin, nudging your face upwards to look at him. He was a god few inches taller than you, but he always made you feel ten times smaller when he looked down at you like that. 
“ what’s gotten into you? “ you asked with a giggle, hands slipping under his jacket to slide over his waist. 
“ just wanted some time alone with you is all “ 
“ behind some trees? You are a strange man sometimes Arthur Morgan y’know that? “ he gave a heavy sigh and brushed his thumb across your cheek softly, watching you intently. He always looked at you like you like you were the only woman on the planet “ you sure you ain’t mad about the watch? “ 
“ no. I ain’t mad. Feller flirtin’ with my woman and only loses his watch sounds like a good deal to me “ he grumbled, leaning forward to press a kiss to your lips. 
And a light bulb suddenly pinged on in your head. 
“ are you jealous? “ you asked, unable to hide your complete utter joy and amusement as the realisation hit you. He grumbled some kind of an answer and tried to kiss you again but you turned your head to the side, so he settled for your neck instead “ why Arthur Morgan. You are jealous “ 
He didn’t answer you again, simply tilted your head so he could get at your neck more, his other hand splaying over your lower back to tug you close against him. A mischievous streak ran through you and you chewed on your lip for a moment deciding whether or not to push his buttons. 
“ he was kinda nice to me y’know. He seemed a nice feller “ Arthur’s teeth grazed your skin at your words and your smile grew bigger “ kept me from bein’ so lonely with you gone “ 
“ he wanted to do more than keep you company “ your fingers ran through the long strands of his hair, sighing softly as he continued to kiss your neck 
“ you think? You gonna keep me company now? “ 
“ oh I’ll keep you company “ you had said it only really to tease. Thinking that actually, a sordid little moment with your lover behind the bushes would be an incredible improvement on the evening. 
But it was hard to simply just kiss Arthur. He had wandering hands, had lips as addictive as whiskey. Even when you assumed he wasn’t particularly trying to work you up, he did. But the way he was tugging at your body to keep you pressed against him, the way his lips were burning a trail along your neck and across your jaw…
“ Arthur… y’know anyone could come round here “ 
“ stay quiet then and they ain’t gonna be none the wiser “ your skin prickled with heat at his words and your hips involuntarily rolled against him. Maybe it was the thrill. Maybe it was the fact that he was so… needy. Desperate to remind himself that you were his and not some stupid rich man in an equally as stupid hat.
He groaned against your hot skin as you pressed against him, the sound igniting something deep in your bones. Flaring up through your veins and cursing like lava through your veins. 
Your hands found themselves back under his jacket, fingers tugging at his shirt to free it from where it has been neatly tucked into his pants. You knew you couldn’t get it off of him but you still wanted to feel. 
You hummed softly when your fingertips met his skin, as hot as you knew yours must be. He loved to feel you touch him, loved when dragged your nails across his back, sunk your teeth into his shoulder to quiet your moans when you were dangerously close to other members of camp. 
You wished you could do it in that moment. Wished you were back in your room, truly the only good thing to come out of Shady Belle was the fact that you had a room. 
But Arthur didn’t seem keen on waiting. Seemingly having some point to prove to himself. And you were more than happy to let him. 
His hands drifted down to the floaty material of your skirt, reluctantly pulling himself away from your neck to frown at the material in front of him. 
“ why you gotta have so many damn skirts? “ he grumbled, fumbling with the layers of fabric hanging from your waist. 
“ you picked the dress “ you reminded him with a smile, chasing after his lips again. Desperate to kiss him properly now that he had stopped his assault on your neck. He kissed you with a energy that demanded your attention, that drew you in and locked you in place. Hot. Wet. Addictive “ least it ain’t as big as Mollys “ you said when you let yourself pull away. 
“ yeah well I weren’t plannin’ on keepin’ you in it when we- god damn there’s enough fabric here to dress the entire camp “ you couldn’t help the giggle that fell past your lips, watching him try to figure out how he was going to play out whatever sordid thoughts were running through his head. 
Your own mind had quite ungracefully fallen into the gutter itself, realising exactly what Arthur wanted. And your constant desperation for the man in front of you overruling all your concerns at the location. 
He seemed to be getting a little agitated with your dress and you held back the urge to giggle at him. Instead opting to try sooth the frown lines worrying at his forehead, reaching forward to palm at him through the material of his pants. In hopes it would be some kind of incentive for him to hurry up as well. 
As much as you needed him as badly as you needed air, you were also still aware of exactly where you were. And how long it would take until Dutch came looking. 
“ c’mon Arthur “ you whispered, desperation beginning to fill your words “ ‘fore they notice we’re gone “ it had been his idea to take you away, and yet you were seemingly the more desperate of the two of you now. But how could he or anyone else blame you? When he was all gussied up like he was. In truth you liked his normal attire a little more. Liked him a little more… rugged. But lord did he look handsome in his suit, his hair and beard all neat and tidy. 
Arthur’s breath audibly caught in his throat from your touch and it seemed to effectively spur him on. 
“ yes ma’am “ He spun you around with strong hands to your waist, your own hands bracing yourself against the wall. The next moments were a flurry of his hands hitching your skirts over your hips, grabbing at your undergarments before a strong arm looped around your waist to pull you back against him. 
His hand disappeared under your bunched up skirts making you gasp softly as his fingers dipped into the warmth between your thighs. 
“ this all for me darlin? “ you could hear the smirk in his words, feel it as he brushed his nose against your cheek. The short stands of his beard tickled at your skin, sending a shiver snaking along your spine. 
“ course it is “ the sound of a lady drunkenly laughing a little too close by made you freeze, hand reaching around to grab at Arthur’s arm. 
He didn’t seem discouraged by the idea of someone stumbling upon you both, simply moved his hand up to grasp gently at your jaw, turning your face towards his to kiss you. His other hand was still between your thighs, and you sighed softly against his lips as he drew a thick finger between the wetness of your folds “ oh Arthur…“ 
Your cunt clenched around nothing. As if silently begging for his fingers to just push inside of you, take you in a way you had always found so much more personal than just sitting on his cock. His fingers that held his guns, that he used to beat people to death more times than either of you could care to count. Those same fingers working you open, covered in the slick evidence of your desire for him instead of gun oil. Fingers that cause pain and damage, but also sent you spiralling into mind blowing pits of pleasure. 
And paired with the current location? It just felt… dirty. Erotic. You felt no better than a common whore loitering in a saloon for custom. You wanted him so desperately, needed him. 
“ Arthur “ you sighed, pushing your self against his hand as he toyed with your swollen clit. 
“ tell me what y’need pretty girl “ he said softly, tickling your skin with his beard and dragging his tongue across your neck before sinking his teeth into the flesh, making you whimper. 
“ you- Arthur. You. Please “ his hand continued its gentle movements as he worked at your neck. You pushed your hips back against him, grinding against the hardness still trapped by his pants in a way that couldn’t be comfortable. His breath shuddered against your skin as you did, holding you flush against him to let you wiggle your hips in a silent invitation to just take you already. 
A smashing glass drew your attention briefly away from him again. And as much as you could let him do that all evening, you were still hyper aware of your surroundings. 
You silently wished he’d just waited until you were back at camp, could take his time with you on that shitty little bed in the privacy of your room at Shady Belle. 
But there you were. And there were hundreds of others only a few feet away too. 
“ stop teasin we ain’t got the time “ at any other time he’d have worked you into a mess with his fingers, even dropped to his knees and disappeared under your skirts, have you coming on his tongue over and over again just because he wanted to. But he hadn’t planned the situation well at all, and you weren’t exactly in the best of locations. If anyone so much as peaked around the corner of the building a little too far you were certain you’d be spotted. 
And wouldn’t that be a tale. 
“ ain’t you bossy “ you opened your mouth to snip back at him, but your words evaporated into nothing but a soft whimper as Arthur followed your demands, pushing past his desires to take his time with you. Truly it was his own fault that he couldn’t though, as he withdrew his fingers and fumbled with the buttons on his pants. 
“ Arthur “ you whimpered softly, breath stuttering at the feel of his swollen tip brushing between the wet folds of your cunt. 
“ quiet now darlin’ “ He pushed in slowly, in the way he so often did. Making sure you felt every single devastating inch, your back arching against his chest as your body flushed with warmth. Even after so many times the stretch was still a lot, a deep burning ache that eventually melted away into a blinding hot pleasure that burnt its way through your veins. 
He pressed on until he was flush against you, the material of his opened pants scratching against your soft skin as he held you there a moment. He exhaled slowly, his breath warm against your skin. 
It was never fucking with Arthur. Not very often anyways. It was love making. Soft. And slow. And a brutal pace that made sure you remembered he’d been there the next morning, but oh so drawn out. He was gentle. Tender. It had always shocked you how violent he could be and yet become so careful and soft with you. And even there, concealed by a few perfectly trimmed bushes and planters, he was taking his time. Reminding you that you were his. And maybe reminding himself of the fact too. 
Reminding himself that maybe there were men only a few feet away that wanted you. That would pay for the pleasure of your company. But only Arthur could have it, that he was the only one you would ever offer it too. 
That this deep rooted instinct to protect what was his wasn’t entirely necessary but god was it wanted. That his desire made your blood boil with lust, skin burn under his touch. 
“ That’s my girl “ he whispered, tone low and steady as he set himself into a bruising pace, still tightly holding onto you as he did. His face had fallen to your neck again, lips latching onto every inch of exposed skin they could. 
You were certain you were going to walk back into the party looking like you’d taken a dip with some leeches. 
You tried your best to be quiet, teeth sinking into your bottom lip in some hopes that mixed with the sounds of the party happening only a few feet away you wouldn’t be heard. But it was so hard to be silent when he was fucking you like that. So determined, so strong, pulling out almost completely before pushing back in hard. 
Your hand was still gripping at his arm, blunt fingernails digging at his skin through his jacket. His pace increased a little, settling into a steady rhythm that carved a devastating stretch inside of you. 
“ y’know I think that feller- that feller back there. He wanted you like this “ you couldn’t help the smile that pulled its way onto your face, still flushing with joy at his jealousy. You knew Arthur desired you carnally. Always had done and always would. But a reminder like the present one was always nice. 
“ y’think so? “ 
“ I know “ he grumbled, his pace increasing a little more, clearly attempting to take out his frustrations with the handsy man. But also maybe simply trying to assure himself in the process too. 
Arthur didn’t like to admit it but he was a little self conscious. You’d heard him talk down to himself in the mirror countless times, had seen the way he spoke about himself when you peaked over his shoulder at his journal. Had an almost crippling fear of abandonment that sometimes he did need to be reminded that you wanted him. 
“ poor feller “ you said with a small sigh before pushing lightly at Arthur’s arm so he’d let you go. You winced slightly as he pulled out, immediately missing the heavy feel of him there, and spun around tugging him back towards you by the lapels of his jacket “ ain’t got nothin on you “ you hitched your skirts up in your arm and wrapped your spare hand around the now slick length of his cock making him stutter a breath. 
His face was flushed, bottom lip shiny from kissing you. You wanted to absolutely devour him, strip him of his fancy clothes and remind him just how much you wanted every part of him. 
The look in his eyes was almost primal. Desire and lust burning so brightly it made your chest ache, to feel so wanted. To feel so desired. 
To have a man so usually controlled and put together, be reduced to not being able to even wait until you got home. That he had to have you there. Right there in that moment. He couldn’t wait. 
You needed him to pull you apart. To worship every inch of you in the way he so often did. 
But the side of the mayor's house was truly not the place for such a thing. 
“ no one could make me feel the way you do “ you whispered, stroking him softly in your hand as you tried to stoke the fire under his ego. Make him realise he truly had no reason to be jealous “ and him back there? He thought he could huh? Poor feller “ 
“ poor feller “ he echoed, sliding a hand over your leg and hitching it over his hip, sliding back into you with a welcome ease that made your head fall back against the wall. 
“ Thinks he could fuck me better than this? Man must be damn crazy “ you said with a smile, breathless as he fucked into you. You were practically dripping around him, the lewd sounds between you enough to make your skin flush. 
“ you’re mine darlin “ you nodded immediately. Not a single doubt in your mind on the matter. You were his. And he yours. That was how it would always be “ all mine, you hear? “ 
“ all yours Arthur. Ain’t no man in this whole damn country could replace you” 
He moved with more determination, thrusting into you harder in a way you knew was going to bruise your back from rubbing against the wall. His all too familiar deep, hard pace. You pulled him down by the back of his neck, muffling your whimpers with his mouth cautious again that you were getting a little reckless. 
“ that good? Makin me feel so good darlin’ such a good girl “ the entire thing felt almost animalistic. Desires so strong they couldn’t be withheld. Dirty. Filthy. Perfect. 
“ God Arthur “ the look on his face alone made you clench around him, never wanting him to leave, needing to feel the heavy bruising sensation as he split you apart for the rest of your life. He hitched your leg higher, hitting some new devastating part inside of you that made you see stars. Eyes rolling to the back of your head and unable to contain the sounds escaping your throat any longer. 
“ There she is, jus’ like that darlin I got ya” his grip on your leg grew restless, fingers dancing over your skin and trying to pull you as close to him as he could get you. He always wanted you close. Always wanted to feel your skin against his own. A moment later his thrusts became sloppier and you knew he wasn’t far off. Though quite frankly neither were you “ so pretty for me like this ain’t ya? My girl “ his words only pulled you closer to the edge, knot twisting tighter. 
“ Arthur I- “
“ I know. I know darlin, can feel it “ he almost cooed, lifting a hand to cup your face gently “ that’s it look right at me. That’s a girl right at me “ with his gaze so intense you couldn’t hold it any longer, biting down on your lip as you attempted to conceal your sounds of ecstasy as you came over his cock. 
He was barely a second behind you, a stuttered groan of a sound leaving him as he dropped his forehead against yours, painting your slick walls with rope after rope of come as you clenched around him. Holding him in place so that not a single drop of him would go to waste. It was a risky business letting him finish inside of you, truly it was. But in your sex drunk haze you didn’t care, couldn’t give a damn because it simply felt too good to give up. 
He nudged his nose against yours, brushing his lips against your own and kissed you softly. So tender and gentle, his hand carefully lowering your leg back down, slipping his softening length out of you making you wince. He kissed the crinkles it caused to show at the corners of your eyes, whispering a gentle sorry. He soothed his hands over your waist with a care very few men had for women those days. 
“ my girl “ he murmured, littering kisses across your cheeks and nose. 
When he pulled back you couldn’t help but smile. The dopey, soft kind. He was looking far less put together than he had done when you’d arrived, the pomade in his hair no longer serving its purpose after your fingers had gotten to it. He’d broken a sweat too, his forehead shiny. His skin flushed. 
The smugness was overwhelming though, could see it in his eyes. In the small smirk pulling at his lips. He seemed incredibly proud of himself. 
“ you are somethin’ else “ he mumbled as he finished readjusting his clothes, reaching forward to slip the ruffled strap of your dress back up your shoulder from where it had slipped. Pressing a kiss to the skin there for good measure. 
“ I ain’t the jealous one “ you teased as you combed your fingers through his hair in some attempt to tidy it. 
“ ain’t jealous. No idea what you talkin about girl “ he said with a small clear of his throat in some attempt to hide the obvious lie, you simply smiled again and pressed a kiss to his cheek 
“ mhm sure “ 
There was something about having to go back out into the party with the light ache between your legs, with the evidence of Arthur’s jealousy slowly dripping down your thighs. And Arthur seemed to think so too 
“ now. I believe you wanted to dance? “
Tumblr media
544 notes · View notes
norrisreads · 11 months
Text
illicit affairs #CL16 #MS47
PAIRING: charles leclerc x ex-gf reader! mick schumacher x reader!
SUMMARY: he was once the man you’ve always dreamed of, until one day a decision made drunkenly by him made you realised you were never the chosen one
WARNING: angst + cheating, fluff at the end
masterlists
Tumblr media
‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵
2018
being in a relationship has it’s ups and downs, not everyday is full of smiles and laughters, some times it’s deadly silence just like the situation right now between you and charles
you were in a relationship with charles leclerc eversince 2016, you’ve seen him won the formula 2 championship, jumping to formula 1, you were there when he went through hard times, there were days you had to put him over yourself and you’ve never once regretted it.
But here you are, in a relationship that’s full of rocky roads. Charles and you met through his younger brother arthur, you were just a year older than Arthur, and the both of you used to hangout at the leclerc’s apartment daily as the both of you were and still has a close friendship. Arthur had given an advice to you in the early stages of dating with his brother, an advice you should’ve listen clearly.
“i’ll pack my things later, and i’m moving out tomorrow charles” the both of you is currently in the kitchen, you sitting down sipping on your warm honey lemon tea and him just munching down on the breakfast you’ve made for him
“i’m sorry, i swear i do not know what came on to me. she just happened to be there, i should have pushed her, cherie” you heard the metal fork cling as it came in contact with the marble counter top, you refused to believe the news that was trending everywhere
Formula One driver Charles Leclerc caught cheating on his fiancé, y/n l/n last night
When you were woken up by Arthur calls, you were confused of course until you clicked on the link that was send to you from Arthur. Ironically last night, you were on the call with him frantically worrying on Charles whereabouts, other than being woken up by Arthur’s morning calls, you were greeted by the sight of Charles sprawled out on the sofa in the living room.
All the times you were asking for signs if he was made for you, and even though the news did broke your heart, it showed the truth to you and made you realise that you wouldn’t want to spend your precious moments crying and fixing a relationship that is probably isn’t even worth it anymore.
“Sorry doesn’t fix the heartache i woke up to this morning, Charles. If this relationship isn’t worth the fight for you, you could have ask for a break and not cheat on me with someone else. That is so low of you, you knew how cheating affects me, you promised you will never do what he did and here you are proving me wrong”
“i know mon cherie, i am aware and i am so sorry. all i can do right now is to apologise to you, i am so sorry. i love you, i really do. you’ll always be the person my heart beats for cherie, please listen to me” you could hear Charles footsteps approaching you
“sometimes i wish you are able to see how much i sacrifice myself for you, when you were devastated from losing races, i would drop every single thing i was doing and run to you, calm you down.” you could feel tears running down your cheeks, reminiscing the memories the both of you have made together, from bad memories to good memories
“i supported you in every races no matter how exhausted i was, i would pray everyday that you wouldn’t crash and hurt yourself or blame yourself. I had to turn down job offers because i know that i am your number one support system, and i’ll always have to be there” his hand reached yours and tightly gripping it not letting you go
“but I’m exhausted Charles, I’m exhausted that i am always the one putting so much more effort in the relationship, i know you’re fighting for your dreams but what about mine? You’ve never asked about it, i know so much of you yet you know so little of me. I’m sorry Charles, if this happened a year ago, i would have accepted you back in my life but i’m not her anymore.” you let go of his hand, walking to the sink of the shared kitchen and washed the mug
Charles of course had nothing to say because he knew how badly he has been treating you, especially when whatever you’ve spilled your hearts out were accurate, he knew too little of you.
“where are you going to stay, will you be at Arthur’s ?”
“i will crash over at Arthur’s until i found a place, you shouldn’t be concerned where i am staying, be more concerned with Arthur, he’s fuming Charles. He’s your brother, fix the relationship”
with that, you walked to the shared room and started packing your items while Charles left the house to give you space.
what Charles doesn’t know is that you had been blessed with a gift, but for now that is just for you to know.
Tumblr media
‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵
2021
Just 2 and a half years ago, on the 14th of February 2019, your baby girl was born into the world. Of course, Arthur, Pascale and Lorenzo knew about the pregnancy and promised to keep it a secret from him.
When you left the house, you were 2 weeks pregnant, you managed to settle in to an apartment nearby Arthur’s apartment due to safety reasons. You were glad that you’ve rarely bumped into Charles, because as of now you’re unsure if you would wanna let Charles know of the child that the both of you shared.
Pascale would constantly come over to provide assistance and you were glad she was there for you even when you aren’t apart of the family anymore.
Just a year after you’ve left, Charles had gotten in-to a relationship, Arthur would always talk to you about how she wasn’t you and it’ll end with you lecturing him on how he should’ve been happy for his brother instead of hating his relationship.
“she’s not you, y/n. she’s just so different” Arthur shouted across the living room while entertaining your daughter, Valentiné Aurore Hervé Leclerc.
Your lovely 2 and a half years old babygirl, Valentiné Aurore Hervé Leclerc, is the greatest gift to you, she was your strength and the reason you are still in this world.
Of course, you did struggled being a single parent but the support you’ve received from your family, friends and his family was never-ending.
“don’t say that thur, i’m sure she’s great and just shy. he’s happy, let him be thur” you lightly hit the back of Arthur’s head
“look baby val, your mum just hit me on the head” all val did was laughed and continued playing with the toys Enzo had gifted, with the exact same eye-smile Charles had
“would you ever let Charles know about val?” Arthur asked, taking a seat beside you
“of course, i wouldn’t mind because val deserves to know his dad too” you smiled while looking at your baby-girl playing
“though i prefer Charles to just be an uncle, rather than a dad. Furthermore she loves the existence of him, sooner or later she’s gonna call him papa”
“I’m glad you’ve found someone that truly treasure you, he’s a great person though you have to seriously stop dating drivers.”
the both of you laughed, and as you were speaking about him, you heard the keypad of your house door being key-ed in and just a minute later the door of your house opened.
“miiiiiicckkkkkkkkyyy” val dropped her toys and ran to mick.
mick placed his items on the counter top and picked up val, “how’s my favourite girl doing?” while giving kisses to your baby-girl
mick walked towards you and Arthur, “ thanks thur for your help, you’ve been nothing but nice to us”
“it’s alright mick, though i’ll prefer you to be away so val will start loving me more” arthur joked knowing before mick came into val’s life, arthur was her favourite uncle
“hello baby, I dropped by the restaurant and bought the soup that you were craving for, i hope it’s still hot though” Mick gave you a forehead kiss while holding val on the other arm of his.
Thur picked up his bags and said his goodbyes.
you are currently dating Mick Schumacher, the relationship has been since end 2020, you’ve met him when you were working at your cafe and happened to serve him and he happened to take a liking towards you. Mick knew of Charles and you history and have assured you that he does not really mind and he truly appreciate both val and you.
When val turned two years old, mick had brought her to one of val’s biggest dream place ever as all other kids calls it, Disneyland and spend the whole day with her and you’ve could see the look on val’s face that only lights up when she’s around Mick and realised that this was the man that you would want to build up your future with.
Charles knew about your relationship, with the presence of you you standing beside mick supporting him during the races.
You weren’t always there for the races but since it was mick’s first few races, you wanted it to be special for the both of you. Val was sleeping over at your best friend for the day, inviting her would’ve caused a huge mess between the both of you especially with the first glance of your daughter, anyone could tell she is related to Charles Leclerc.
Of course it was a surprise to him, leading him to text Arthur right after the both of you had a 5 minute conversation together.
Tumblr media
‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵
2022 MONACO GP
“okay baby, stay by mama and don’t run anywhere else okay? papa is gonna be busy for a while and you’ll able to see him on this track” you were instructing val to not run away, val has turned out to be a daddy’s girl ever-since Mick came in-to her life, being away from Mick for a few days was torture to her(us), face-timing was the usuals for the three of us.
of course, hiding val on the way to the paddock was hard enough, you had to ask gina’s help which she did assist in and came by earlier than you and Mick in order to avoid the assumptions.
“but will papa see me here? will he wave at me and you, mama?”
you’re now carrying your daughter on your other arm, while she’s fidgeting with the lanyards around her neck.
“i’m not sure baby, papa’s car pass by super fast val. they’re faster than the cars we have at home,baby”
val nods her head and snuggled her head onto your neck, signalling that she was sleepy.
“baby, you sleepy? wanna head back to the room?” she agreed as she had spend her afternoon nap being awake following Mick around everywhere.
On the way to the haas paddock club, you were on your phone, single handedly texting gina if she could bring out the blankets that was in your bag as she was still at the club waiting for Mick’s team meeting to be done.
until you bumped on-to someone, and that someone just happened to be him.
just when you’re holding your daughter, what a great timing
“mama, why stop?” Val’s rubbing her eyes wondering and snuggling back on to your neck
“a moment baby, just get back to sleeping okay?” rubbing val’s back soothing her down to get her back to sleeping.
Charles was shocked yet confused on why you’re holding a child and the said child was calling you mama. Charles knew your relationship with Mick had just been ongoing for 3 years and he knew that the little girl that you were carrying is more than 3 years old, but what he didn’t know was that the little girl on your arm was his own daughter that he had no clue off.
“y/n, you’ve never told me you had a daughter?” charles stopped in his tracks and you could see behind him was arthur and lorenzo, with a shocked face.
“oh look charles, you’re late to your team meeting. Let’s go carlos is probably finding for you” enzo distracting him, but it was no help because he was still there staring at you and your daughter.
at this point you were looking at arthur for help but from the facial expression on arthur’s you knew he had zero plans to back you up.
“yeah haha it’s something i’ve kept private” you tried to walk away but he stopped you and take a look at val’s lanyard that was around her neck.
and one thing you didn’t realise was mick had given the staffs val’s full name to print out on her paddock pass, and that is when charles realised he has a daughter.
“valentiné aurore herve leclerc?”
oh yeah we are so fuck, by we it’s lorenzo, arthur and i.
you were looking at arthur and lorenzo with wide eyes.
“the both of you are aware of this?” charles turned to both of them and questioned the both of his brothers with disbelief
“it’s not their fault, i made them promised to not tell anyone”
“why didn’t you tell me? i am her father” at this point you could see people were curious on the conversation that was happening, because why would mick’s current girlfriend be seen having an intense conversation with Charles Leclerc?
“let’s talk later, she needs her nap. i’ll come over to arthur’s apartment and explain everything ” and charles knew that tone of your voice, the one where you would always use when you’re anxious or nervous and charles agreed on meeting you at arthur’s apartment
Tumblr media
‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵
ARTHUR’S APARTMENT
Mick knew what had happened when you bumped you onto Charles, Mick wanted to accompany the both of you to Arthur’s apartment and be there for you while you explained things to Charles, and of course you agreed.
You knocked Arthur’s door, and you were greeted by pascale.
“i’m sorry darling, I tried but he was too persistent” she apologised to you, holding your hand giving you comfort
“it’s fine, it’s time i guess” you smiled at her
when you’ve reached Arthur’s living room you could feel the tension between the three brothers, you took a seat beside Arthur and Val automatically went to Arthur’s Lap.
Mick sat beside you, rubbing your back, calming down your nerves.
“val baby, come to papa. don’t bother uncle thur” mick called out to your daughter which she listened and walked over to Mick’s lap and mick carried her to arthur’s guest room which pascale followed behind.
Charles cleared his throat, “tell me from the start”
“when we broke off and i left, i found out I was 2 weeks pregnant”
“and you didn’t think of telling me?”
“it was hard Charles, i didn’t want you to stay with me just because i was carrying your daughter”
“continue” charles head in his hand, stressing over this situation
“i kept it of course as you can see, but please don’t blame it on lorenzo and arthur. i’ve made them swore they wouldn’t tell you, i didn’t wanna ruin your career. I was gonna tell you, just not now. I was thinking of telling you when val’s gonna understand the situation more. Mick knows about us and he was there for me for everything”
“I could’ve helped you, y/n. as a friend I could’ve helped you. she has my dna, she’s mine, i deserve to be in her life too, does she know?”
“she knows her father’s absence in her life, but she doesn’t know it’s you. we’ve never really talked about it”
“why the name? why did you used my last name, if you didn’t want me to be in her life y/n?”
“She’s apart of you, of course i had to include that and she looks exactly like you, no matter how much i refuse to believe’s she from you i had to accept it”
Charles walked over and sat beside you and held your hand.
“please let me be in her life. not as a father but as someone she deserves to know. i don’t mind Mick being her father, he deserves that title, but just let me be in my daughter’s life”
you agreed to charles, because as much as you disliked Charles, you didn’t want your daughter to grow up not knowing how does her biological dad looks like and starts questioning if she ever did something wrong.
Tumblr media
‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵
2023
Charles took the time to get to know val more, Mick and you would allow Charles over to let him have his own time with his daughter or they would sometimes have a day to their own.
Val knew who charles were but wasn’t really keen in calling him papa, as for the past few years Mick was more of a father figure to her rather than Charles.
As much as Charles was disappointed, he understood where she was coming from but he was glad Val had accepted him in her life not as a father but as some she would like to keep close contact with.
As for you, you’ve still kept the news of you having a child private, though there were rumours speculating around which you didn’t really pay attention to but you felt that it wasn’t a need for you to go public that you had a love child with their favourite driver.
Mick’s gotten signed to Mercedes and since he was a reserve driver, he would spend most of the time at the paddock with val and val has never been much more happier being close to her papa.
She would sometimes be in the Ferrari’s building or Mercedes’. Of course other than P, and the other driver’s children’s, val is currently the favourite especially amongst Charles and Mick’s circles of friends.
You were glad that the heavy weight on your shoulders was lifted off. Though, it took you a while to let Charles know about val, it’s all sorted out and you’re glad.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
—✩࿐ end note: thanks for reading! wanted to end it off more angst less fluff but dad! mick just warms my heart, i’m still finding for good ig post templates or twitter templates! other than that, i hope you enjoyed reading! ♥️
2K notes · View notes
javier-pena · 4 months
Text
embers
Tumblr media
Pairing: Arthur Morgan x f!reader
Word Count: 9.5k
Rating: Explicit
Summary: You're engaged to be married to a man you've never met. Arthur Morgan is supposed to escort you across the country to meet him. You should keep your distance, but the dangers of the road bring you closer and closer together with each passing mile.
Warnings: smoking | drinking | canon-typical violence | allusions to rape | reader is a virgin | loss of virginity | descriptions of injury and medical procedures (Arthur gets stitches) | reader has hair that can be pulled | hand job | oral (m receiving) | masturbation (f and m) | mutual masturbation | dirty talk | voyeurism | exhibitionism | praise kink | fingering | (unprotected) p in v sex
Notes: So there's this post ... and It has been on my mind for months so I had to write this exact scenario with Arthur, naturally. Again, this is way longer than it was supposed to be, but working on this fic allowed me to daydream a lot, so I can't complain. As always, I wouldn't have been able to do it without Dani @alexturner, who pushed me in the right direction and came up with the ending (because I'm not good at writing those)!!
***
You’re not pretty. At least that’s what everyone told you from the moment you could understand those words. Your mother, the maid she hired to look after you, the boys working for your father, the marm, the people in town. Since you were little, you’ve been hearing it over and over again. “It’s such a shame she ain’t pretty, what’s she gonna do with brains?”
The thing is, you also don’t feel very smart. If you were, you’d have found a way to leave your godforsaken town for one of the big cities in the east as soon as you could read the timetable down by the train station. You would’ve found a way to get out of this marriage your father arranged for you. Ambrose Longabaugh was his name. Ambrose Longabaugh. From what you have heard, he shares your lot: anything but handsome, but at least he has money.
No one was sad to see you go, save for your little brother, who held you tight and made you promise to come back if you didn’t like your betrothed. You had promised, knowing you were lying. It didn’t matter if you liked him or not, he was the man you were going to marry. You weren’t getting out of this. Your father had made sure of that.
Mr. Morgan is riding ahead of you, sitting in the saddle with his shoulders slumped, a cigarette dangling between his lips. You can smell the smoke on the crisp fall air, even though you’re trying to keep your distance. It’s not that he scares you – not as much as other men do, not as much as your future husband does – but you don’t like him very much. Your father is paying him to take you out west where Ambrose Longabaugh will one day take over his father’s cattle business. And Mr. Morgan is doing it without complaint, hardly acknowledging your presence. He talks more to his horse than he talks to you.
You let your eyes wander across the mountains around you and sigh. The first time you had seen them, your mouth had hung open in awe. Now you feel trapped by them. You can’t go back, and there’s only one way forward. You sigh again. No, you’re neither pretty nor smart.
“Break?” Mr. Morgan asks from up front. It’s only the fifth word he has said to you today; the others were good morning and let’s go.
“Yes,” you agree, not because you need it but because it gives you something else to do.
You stop near a small river with a shallow bank where Mr. Morgan can refill your waterskins. While he’s busy, you stretch your legs and pick up a few rocks from the riverbed to toss them into the water. The rushing of the water fills your ears, drowning out both thoughts and sounds. You take a deep, calming breath and close your eyes.
When you open them again, Mr. Morgan has taken off his lambskin coat and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He’s washing his face and neck in the cold water of the river, a wet stain forming on his collar, drops running down his lean, muscular forearms that are still tan from working outdoors all summer. Your face heats up with an emotion you don’t quite understand, and you turn away from him, pretending to be interested in some moss-covered rocks. You’re not supposed to look.
He startles you when he touches your arm lightly, making you turn around. You hadn’t heard him coming over the sounds of the river. His coat is back on, but you can see his neck glistening in a few places still.
“You shouldn’t wander, ma’am,” he says. That’s four more words for today.
You look around. “Indians, right?” you ask with a small laugh.
His face remains serious. “No. White men. Gangs. They like to hide out here.”
You watch his Adam’s apple move as he swallows and your throat immediately mimics his. “Then why are we taking this road if it’s so dangerous?”
He shrugs. You realize he hasn’t let go of your arm yet. “It’s fast.”
“My father –”
“Your father planned this route.”
You swallow again. “I’ll be careful, sir. Thank you.” He lets go of your arm then, and you walk back to your horse, your face now heating up with an emotion you definitely recognize: embarrassment.
You make camp later that day where the trees are standing close together. While he builds a fire, you pick at a pine cone you found on the ground. Somewhere in the distance you hear a howl, but you’ve learned that if it’s not loud enough to make Mr. Morgan look up from his task, then it’s nothing to be worried about. And he stokes the fire, eyes fixed to the flames.
After dinner, he hands you a small bottle and when the sharp taste of whiskey makes you cough, he smirks. So you take another sip, holding his gaze. He looks away first, pulls a torn-up pack of cigarettes from his coat, and offers you one. You accept, surprised.
“Don’t let my father find out you’re corrupting me,” you tease.
He only makes, “Hm,” in response.
The smoke from the cigarette burns your throat, just like the whiskey, but this time you manage to suppress the cough. “Do you have family, Mr. Morgan?” you ask, watching how he uses a branch to stoke the fire.
“No,” is his simple reply.
Now it’s your turn to make, “Hm,” before you add, “No one you’re sweet on?”
You don’t really care about the answer, why would you? But when he gives you another, “No,” a careful one, it makes your heart pound faster. Until he turns the tables.
“What about you?”
“Oh,” you say, “I don’t know, I haven’t met my fiancé yet.” And you don’t want to be thinking about him right now.
Mr. Morgan looks at you, his head cocked to one side. “Come now,” he pushes, as if you’re being evasive on purpose. “That ain’t what I’m askin’.”
You sigh. “It’s not? I’m spoken for. I have no business thinking about other men.” You don’t mean to be so frank, but the words are out of your mouth before you can stop them. And you can tell from the look on Mr. Morgan’s face that he still thinks you’re not honest with him.
“Hm,” he makes, and you dread what might be coming next.
“I’m going to bed,” you tell him, putting an end to your conversation. He opens his mouth to add something, but you don’t give him a change. You lie down and pull your thin blanket over your body, face hot with embarrassment. The last thing you see before falling asleep is Mr. Morgan staring at the flames, a quiet smile on his lips.
Later that night, you wake up to shouts. What pulls you from your sleep entirely is a gunshot that reverberates through the forest. “Mr. Morgan?” you shout, because he isn’t sitting next to the fire anymore and you can’t see him anywhere. Then you hear a sound that makes your blood run cold, a snarl, a growl, but animalistic, wild, unlike anything you’ve ever heard. You jump up from your bedroll, ready to run, but then you remember Mr. Morgan’s warning. It’s better to stay here, in the light of the dwindling fire, than to take your chances out there. “Mr. Morgan?” you try again, this time a hiss, as you frantically search the darkness beyond your camp. It gets so dark out here at night.
A shout is your answer, a deep, “Hey!” Short and fast. The horses whinny, and you’re only now realizing they’re stomping the ground, tearing up the soil with their hooves, the whites in their eyes visible, ears pressed tightly back. You try to swallow your panic, but it gets harder with every passing second.
Then something moves between the trees and Mr. Morgan stumbles back into the camp, a gun in one hand, a torch in the other. He has a wild look in his eyes too, just like the horses, but when they land on you, he relaxes, his face assuming its usual, stoic mask. “Mountain lion,” he says. “It’s gone.”
“What does that mean?” you ask, your voice trembling.
“Chased it off,” he explains. “It ain’t coming back here.”
“The horses …,” you start.
But he walks toward the fire, toward you. “You did good,” he says, dropping to his knees next to you, so close, too close. You can smell the gunpower on him, and the sweat; you’ve never been so close to a man before, not even your own father. “Here.” He hands you the whiskey again. “It’s gone, I promise.”
You wish your hands wouldn’t shake so much. He grabs yours with one to steady, his warm skin like fire against yours, unscrews the stopper with the other, not with impatience but oh so gently. You manage to take a sip on your own, but he watches you intently for any signs of distress.
“You’ll have to get used to it,” he says, stowing away the bottle. “This land out here … it’s wild.”
You nod. Now that the initial burst of panic is dulled, you feel tears sting your eyes.
“But you’ll manage.” His voice is so calming. “You’re a brave girl.”
*******
The hooves of your horse pound out a slow, steady beat against the hard ground. You’re tired, every muscle in your body is sore, but you push on without complaint, following Mr. Morgan up a winding mountain and back down on the other side. The days are so similar they’re bleeding into one – the mountain lion … did it attack three nights ago? Five? You don’t remember. All you know is that your heart picks up speed when he looks at you, that every evening your conversation around the fire becomes a little bit longer, that you wish you could go on like this forever, never to arrive at your destination.
Sometimes at night, when you can’t sleep but you pretend to, you can hear him sing, sometimes to himself, sometimes to the horses. Your heart almost flies out of your chest when he does it. He hasn’t touched you anymore since the night of the mountain lion attack, but you wish he would. Even though everything else about him confuses you, you wish you could feel his skin against yours again; such longing, it almost consumes you.
Is this what it’s supposed to feel like? Did your cousin feel like this when she ran off with that cowboy? Did your mother and father feel like this; is that why they got married? Are you supposed to feel like this when you meet your fiancé? Or is this something else entirely? Is there something wrong with you?
“Break?” he asks once the ground is beginning to even out.
“You know, you keep asking for breaks so much I’m starting to think you don’t want us to reach our destination,” you tease.
He just shrugs and stops his horse. You halt too and climb off, your legs steady when they hit the ground. It wasn’t like that in the beginning; the first few days he had to help you off your horse and you could barely stand. It’s astonishing what a difference a few weeks can make.
You stretch, then begin to walk up and down the path. It’s cold, sitting so still up on that horse, and you flex your fingers, trying to get some feeling back into them. Mr. Morgan, meanwhile, sits down on a tree stump to write in a leather-bound notebook. You’ve seen him use it before but you don’t quite know what it’s for. He’s probably tracking your progress or taking notes on the weather.
Careful to keep him in sight, you veer off into the underbrush, looking at the trees and the different kinds of plants growing on the ground. You pretend you can read the language of the forest, looking for tracks of animals or some mushrooms you might be able to eat. Just like you’ve seen Mr. Morgan do countless of times. When you do find something, you’re not sure what to make of it.
“Mr. Morgan?” Your voice is raised as you try to keep it steady.
You hear his footsteps immediately but you don’t dare to turn around, your eyes fixed on the sight before you. He stops next to you, and you can hear his steady breathing. The knot in your chest immediately dissolves.
“Hm,” he makes.
“What happened here?” you ask. Now the tremor in your voice is all too audible.
He hesitates just for a second, weighing his options, but then he says, “Some people were camping here, a family by the looks of it.”
“Where are they?” you ask, finally turning toward him. The cold, calculating look on his face sends a shiver down your spine.
“Ma’am …,” he says slowly.
“You can tell me. I can handle the truth.”
You look back at the burned-out wagon, the torn clothes hanging from tree branches, all that blood on a log next to a cold fire pit. You don’t need him to tell you. You just want him not to confirm your suspicions.
“They’re dead,” he answers. “Killed. For money.”
“All of them?” you ask.
He winces. “If there were women …”
“Can’t we help them?” You know you can’t, but you wish there was something you could do.
“Stay on the path next time,” he growls. “No more wanderin’ ‘round … ma’am.”
“Mr. Morgan …,” you try, but he’s already trudging back toward the horses.
You spend the rest of the day in silence, riding next to each other but avoiding each other’s gazes. You shouldn’t have called out to him; it was obvious what had happened in that camp. They were a group, and you’re just two people … your father couldn’t have known about the dangers of this journey, or he wouldn’t have made you go. He would’ve found another way. At least that’s what you’re telling yourself. Because you don’t want to even consider the other option and what it would mean. When the sun slowly disappears behind the mountains around you, dread settles onto your heart, the heavy kind you haven’t felt since you were a little girl, afraid of the dark.
Finally, Mr. Morgan stops his horse. “We camp here tonight. No fire.”
“It’s so dark,” you whisper.
“The darkness ain’t what’ll kill you,” he growls.
You can’t sleep; of course not. So you watch him all night, sitting up straight next to you, not so close that you could touch him, but close enough so you’ll always see he’s there. He doesn’t sleep either but he sits very still, keeping his eyes on the path, making sure nothing evil comes out of the dark. And you wish all you had to worry about were mountain lions.
*******
Two days later, Mr. Morgan’s face is pale and you’re frozen through. You haven’t had a warm meal since you found that destroyed camp, and Mr. Morgan has barely slept. You haven’t talked at all, apart from the necessities. And still you haven’t left those mountains and woods behind you. At least the daylight makes you feel less afraid.
“Is it far still?” you ask when the silence becomes unbearable.
“A week,” he answers, looking up at the sky, “if it doesn’t snow.”
The weather is the least of your worries. “And how long before we’re past the mountains?” You hate them now as much as they awed you at first.
“Three days maybe.”
Three more days without warm food. You straighten your back. “Have you come this way before?”
“Yes.”
“Has anything ever happened to you?” You don’t know if you’d prefer confirmation or denial.
“You’re safe with me, so don’t you worry about that.” There’s something in the way he says it that makes your grip tighten on the reins.
“I’m not worried,” you lie. “Just curious.”
“Hm,” he makes before going back to observing the surroundings with caution. “Bad people are everywhere. Not just here.”
“That’s a grim way to look at the world.” You try for a teasing tone, but it sounds like you’re reprimanding him instead.
“You ain’t seen much of it then,” he replies.
“More than you know.”
He looks at you curiously, just for a moment. “You –” he starts, but a shout ahead on the path interrupts him.
“Hey!”
You almost jump out of your skin and stop your horse reflexively. That’s your first mistake. The second one is to shout, “Arthur!” Because it costs him valuable seconds, that distraction. He turns around to look at you, and then suddenly two men are on him, pulling him out of the saddle. Two more appear next to you, a young, handsome one with a dark mustache and darker eyes, and a man your father’s age, but scrawny, with a mouth full of yellow teeth that he exposes to you in an ugly grin. You pull on the reins and your horse dances nervously, ears pressed tightly against its head. And then you hear a shot.
A fifth man stands in the middle of the path, a smoking gun held high over his head. His thick, gray beard quivers as he shouts, “Everybody stay calm and no one is gonna get hurt!”
You look at Mr. Morgan for guidance and see him struggle against the two men who are restraining him by holding his arms tightly pressed against his back. His pants are dirty from where he hit the ground when they pulled him off his horse.
“Get her down from there,” the man with the gray beard barks, and before you can do anything, thin but strong fingers have closed around your arm and you tumble out of the saddle with a shout.
The man who is holding you stinks of rotting things and nicotine. He twists one of your arms until it is pressed flush against your back and uses his other hand to hold your chin, so you’re forced to look straight ahead at the man with the mustache.
“Pretty little thing, ain’t she?” he snarls, and the other man licks his lips.
“We just want your valuables,” Graybeard says to Mr. Morgan.
“We ain’t got any,” he growls.
“I’m sure you don’t,” is the calm answer as Graybeard starts going through the saddlebags of Mr. Morgan’s horse.
You roll your shoulders but the man with the rotting teeth only tightens his hold on you. His companion takes a few careful steps toward you. A lump is forming in your throat as you begin to realize just how dangerous this situation is. You try to kick back, like a horse, but you miss your captor. It only earns you a cruel laugh and a pinch to your cheek.
Somewhere to your right, you hear a dull thud and a pained groan coming from Mr. Morgan. You try to look at him, but you can’t move, not because you’re being restrained but because fear has taken over your body and you can’t do anything but relinquish control.
“Check her horse,” Graybeard orders, but the man with the mustache doesn’t move. He’s only a few steps away from you now, his eyes hungrily roaming over your body. “Now!” Graybeard barks.
“There isn’t -,” you start, but the man who is restraining you clamps a hand over your mouth. You could vomit when you taste his skin.
“There’s this,” the man with the mustache says, holding up a cheap necklace your mother gave you as a parting gift.
“Take it,” Graybeard orders.
“What about her?” the rotting man asks and shakes you.
“Her too,” Graybeard answers with a nod. “Shoot the man.”
“No!” you shout, even though it makes the disgusting man get more of his fingers in between your lips.
The man with the mustache stuffs your mother’s necklace into the pocket of his jacket, then walks over to you. You can hear the blood rushing in your ears as he grips your skirt and begins to pull it upward so your boots and then your drawers are slowly exposed. A hot tear rolls down your cheek but it only makes him smile.
“I bet you’re lovely.” His voice is deep, almost as deep as Mr. Morgan’s, but hearing him speak only fills you with revulsion. “I bet you’re all tight …” He lightly strokes your cheek, then uses his free hand to unbutton his trousers.
“No!” you shout again, but it’s muffled, and your feeble attempts to free yourself are met with an evil snicker.
Then you hear a shot and all the life goes out of your body. It’s done. You’re alone now. And if you’re lucky, you’ll soon be dead too. Two more shots ring through the forest, each one as painful as if you’ve been hit by the bullets yourself. The man with the mustache doesn’t even flinch. His trousers hang open now, and you can see dark hairs peek out from between the fabric, before he cups one of your breasts hard and licks a broad stripe up your neck.
The other man moans, low, wetly, and it’s the most disgusting sound you’ve ever heard. He lets go of you, but it’s too late; you can’t run anymore. A wet, dull sound is followed by another moan, and you know exactly what he’s doing. You’ve heard people talk about it, even though you don’t quite know what it means when a man touches himself. All you know is that you feel bile rise at the thought of it.
The man with the mustache freezes and looks behind you, his eyes wide with shock. Maybe they have a different bargain, maybe he wants to keep you for himself and feels threatened. But then, so fast he’s only a blur, Mr. Morgan rushes past you, grabs the man by his collar, and pulls him off you, landing a punch against his jaw. You blink a few times as both men go down, not sure if what you’re seeing is real or if it’s a vision your panicked brain conjured up to calm you. The man with the mustache lands a kick between Mr. Morgan’s legs, gaining the upper hand. He pulls a knife from his boot while he straddles your companion to pin him down, but Mr. Morgan doesn’t hesitate. He grabs the man’s arm and bites down until he lets go of the knife. You catch a glimpse of Mr. Morgan’s eyes and where you expected him to be all feral rage, he’s cold and calculating. It sends a shiver down your spine and you stumble back a few paces until you step into something soft that squelches on impact. You don’t have to look down to know what it is.
Despite the loss of his knife, the man with the mustache is putting up a good fight. He lands a blow in Mr. Morgan’s face, then scrambles off him, grabs the knife, and pushes himself upward. Mr. Morgan moves faster than you’ve ever seen him move, jumping up while dodging the glinting blade of the knife.
“Stay down, big boy,” the man sneers.
Mr. Morgan shoves into him with such force the knife ends up in the dirt again, right next to the two men. But this time, Mr. Morgan has the upper hand, landing blow after blow in the face of the other, grunting with grim satisfaction when he draws blood, continuing even when the man retches up blood and spits it in Mr. Morgan’s face. He doesn’t stop until the man doesn’t move anymore and his face is nothing more than a bloody pulp, entirely unrecognizable. Only then does he grunt in pain and rolls off his opponent, lying on the forest floor, breathing labored and hard.
*******
You make camp that night as far away from that spot as you could travel before the light faded. Mr. Morgan gets a fire going while you sit on a log, trying to hide your trembling hands in your lap. You haven’t cried yet but you know it’s coming. He hasn’t said anything yet, and you’re not sure he will.
In the flickering light of the fire, you can see the cuts and bruises in his face, the sleeve of his shirt drenched in blood. And when you close your eyes, you can see the five dead men, their broken bodies left in the dirt for scavengers to feed on. He did that, all on his own.
You force yourself to stand up and walk over to him. He’s not the man who calmed you down after a mountain lion attack anymore; you’ve seen him beat a man to death today with his bare hands. No, he’s someone new now, someone you have to get to know first. And when you crouch down next to him, he looks at you with dark eyes like he’s never looked at you before and you feel all the air being pressed out of you.
“Let me take a look at your arm,” you say, pulling it toward you by his hand. The dried blood on his knuckles is rough against your skin.
He doesn’t protest, just watches as you carefully roll up his sleeve to expose a deep cut, undoubtedly left by the knife. It must have happened so fast you missed it. Even though it’s not bleeding as much as it used to, each pump of Mr. Morgan’ heart pushes some more blood out through the cut.
“You need stitches,” you tell him.
Before you can second-guess what you’re doing or change your mind, you’re next to your saddlebag, looking for the sewing kit your bother gave you. Only you’ve never used it for something like this before. You don’t even know if it’ll work, only ever having read about it in books, but it’s better than doing nothing. You also grab the bottle of whiskey from Mr. Morgan’s bag.
“Drink this,” you order, handing it to him once you’re next to him again.
He takes one big swallow, then another one, his throat working to get the liquid down. You pretend not to notice. Then he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand while you stare at the cut with much more focus than necessary. Taking back the bottle, you pour some of its content on the cut, drawing a low groan from Mr. Morgan that heats up your cheeks.
Your hands are shaking as you try to thread the needle. “Have you ever done this before?” Mr. Morgan asks, his face stoic as if he’s ready to accept his fate no matter the answer you give him.
“Technically, no,” you answer, finally pushing the thread through the eye.
“Huh,” he grunts.
“But I’m very good at mending stockings.” You offer him a feeble smile and he nods. “This might hurt a little bit,” you warn before pushing the needle through his skin. Holding his arm in place with your other hand, you can feel his muscles flex at the intrusion, and a short burst of breath tickles the top of your head. He doesn’t complain.
“Have you ever been stitched up before?” you ask him to distract him.
“No,” he replies through gritted teeth.
“Oh, good. Then you have to believe me when I tell you I’m doing a very good job.” What’s wrong with you?
He grunts again, but maybe, possibly that sound could be hiding a laugh.
“Still, when we arrive at our destination, you should have a doctor look at this,” you instruct.
“Eager to hear from a professional how good of a job you did?”
Your cheeks ignite and you drop the needle. “Shit.” He is laughing now, a low chuckle, as you try to locate a glint in the flickering light from the campfire. Luckily, you don’t have to look far – the needle fell straight down and is lying between Mr. Morgan’s boots. You wipe strands of hair from your face, then wipe the needle clean on your dress before getting back to work.
“No,” you answer his question, forcing your voice to sound steady. “Because I have no idea how to prevent an infection. Or if I’m even doing this correctly.”
Mr. Morgan leans down, his big hand closing around the bottle you discarded earlier, and he unscrews the cap with his thumb and forefinger. “Looks to me like you’re doin’ fine.” A big swig, then another one.
You glance up at him just to see his face looking unusually pale. “Does it hurt a lot?” you ask carefully.
“I’ve had worse,” he answers, but flinches when one of your stitches comes too close to the wound.
You blink fast a couple of times, trying to shake the image of him on top of that man, punching and punching until no trace of life was left. The memory of the sheer brutality makes your hands feel clammy. No, this wasn’t his first time getting hurt, just like it wasn’t his first time killing someone. And now the same hands rest peacefully in his lap, cut and bruised, yes, but a far cry from the deadly weapons you saw today.
“Thank you for what you did today,” finishing up with two final stitches, then quickly add, “There,” and pet his arm before he can acknowledge your words of gratitude.
He lifts his hand from his leg and flexes his fingers. “Thanks for this,” he replies, examining the stitches.
Your gaze lands on his knuckles that are covered in blood, his own and that of the men he killed. “Do you want me to take a look at your hands?” you ask, your throat tight all of a sudden.
“I’m used to that.” He stretches out one of his legs so it rests next to you, close enough that you feel the ghost of a presence next to your hip.
“I’ve never met a man who was used to so much violence.” Your eyes are still on his hands, bruised darkly.
“It was either them or us.” He shrugs.
Us. “I was sure they had killed you when I heard that first gunshot,” you tell him, lowering your gaze to your own hands that have some dirt on them, some streaks of Mr. Morgan’s blood, but that look so clean compared to his.
“And break the contract with your father?”
You laugh. “A father who selected this route knowing full well about the dangers we would face?” The silence that follows your question is filled only by the crackle of the campfire and by the sounds of creatures moving through the woods. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you,” you finally say.
“This ain’t the first time I had to save someone,” he says with a dismissive wave of his hand.
“And how did those other people repay you?” you ask, eager for his answer. Being indebted to him puts you on edge.
“Money,” is his short reply.
“I don’t have any,” you say, feeling a tug at your heartstrings. But maybe that doesn’t matter; maybe when you arrive, you could talk to your fiancé. He’ll want to reward the man who defended your honor and saved you from a horrible fate. Still, you wish there was something you could be doing for him right now. “There’s also other ways,” you say, very slowly.
“Hm,” he makes, a sound that has started to fill you with a certain warmth for reasons you can’t quite explain. Then he shifts, moves his legs a little further apart. And you’re there right between them, looking up into his face that betrays nothing except for the smallest glint in his eyes.
You’ve never even kissed a man, but you’re not stupid. You know what certain gestures and movements mean. You’ve watched your father’s hands when a woman walked past them, you’ve attended dances where everyone around you was getting drunk … growing up on a farm, you’ve seen things. But you also know that those things are wrong and they should only be happening between husband and wife behind closed doors, no matter what everyone else is doing.
It's getting harder to breathe, and you feel a tug low in your stomach, almost like an ache. You’ve never felt anything like this before and you can’t quite place it, but the way he looks at you, mouth slightly opened, his eyes deep and dark, only fuels that sensation. And when you think back to this afternoon, it becomes so strong it makes you shift on your knees.
“You’re a pretty little thing.”
It’s the second time today someone has said that about you. Whereas the first time made your skin crawl, the second time makes your cheeks heat up and your breath get stuck in your throat. You notice that Mr. Morgan unbuckles his belt, eyes locked to yours, and you make sure your gaze stays on his face. It’s only when he groans and his eyelids flutter shut that you look down and see he has his hand wrapped around himself, moving it up and down his length with sure strokes. Something in you is released at that sight.
“Here, let me,” you offer, shuffling closer on your knees until you’re trapped between his legs.
Before you can think better of it, you wrap your fingers around the base of his cock. It’s warmer than you expected, feels heavier than you thought when you move your hand up in the same move you saw him use. He groans again, louder this time, and removes his hand, resting it on your arm. You tremble.
Back home, you were taught that what a wife does in the bedroom is fulfilling the duty to her husband. It sounded neither pleasant nor enjoyable, and so far, you’ve managed to push the thoughts of what is awaiting you at your destination from your mind. But your mother couldn’t have meant this, because this doesn’t feel like duty at all. You stroke the tip of his cock with your thumb, he tightens the grip on your arm in return, and you feel a surge of pride well up. No, your mother couldn’t have been talking about this.
Eager to try more, you twist your wrist on the downstroke, then lower your head and kiss the tip of his cock. He growls this time, and his hand lands on the back of your head, pushing you down. You have no choice but to open your mouth further and take him in. The weight of him presses down against your tongue, the tip of him brushing the back of your throat makes you gag as tears shoot to your eyes. He grips your hair, pulls you off, then pushes you back down again, and you got it. It’s not so different from the hand.
Steadying him at the base with a tight grip, you pull off him again, but let your tongue run along the underside, the sharp taste of him filling every corner of your mouth. It will take some getting used to, but you’re determined to get this right, and from the way his hand trembles at the back of your head, you have a feeling you might be.
You close your eyes, focusing on taking him as deeply inside as possible because he seems to enjoy that. Sometimes, when you think there isn’t any room left, he pushes you onto his cock that little bit further and then groans contently, a sound that tightens parts of your body you didn’t know could tighten. You run your tongue over the tip of him, hum around him when your mouth is full of him, just to find out what kind of sounds you can draw from him. If this is what it’s like, you can’t imagine why anyone would call this a duty.
Mr. Morgan stiffens and pushes his hips upward so you take even more of him into your mouth. This time you can’t help the gagging sound pushing past him. But instead of forcing you to take more, he grips a handful of your hair and pulls you off. Your mouth feels strangely empty for a moment, even though his taste lingers, and you blink in confusion. Was that it?
You lick your lips and look up at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. But he’s quiet, only placing his forefinger under your chin to tilt your head back a little more. For some reason, that gesture leaves you breathless. And you know why a second later when his lips lock onto yours and your breaths mingle, and you suddenly understand why people would kill for this. Why he killed for you.
You can’t help the moan that comes out of your mouth, don’t even realize at first that the sound is coming from you. His hand glides to the back of your head to grip you and hold you in place, and you push yourself toward him, one hand on his arm, the other on his thigh. He licks into your mouth and you try to mirror him, feeling a strange sense of pride when he opens up for you.
He pulls away, holding you in place by the hair at the nape of your neck. “Did you like havin’ me in your mouth?” he asks and his voice is so low you barely recognize it.
“Yes, Mr. Morgan,” you answer, and you also almost don’t recognize your own.
“Oh, you’re somethin’,” he says with a wicked smile, then stands and pulls you with him.
Your legs are trembling and your knees threaten to give way when he kisses you again, pressing his entire body to yours. Just when you think you could spend eternity like this, he closes his arms around your backside and lifts you up, so you don’t have any chance but to sling your legs around his middle. You squeal against his lips, but he just carries you past the campfire toward your bedroll. Beneath your palms, you can feel the muscles in his shoulders and arms flex and tighten with each step. Something in your stomach flutters as you remember he's strong enough to beat a man to death.
Before you know what you’re doing, you’re kissing his jaw and neck, biting down on a tendon that’s jutting out with the effort of keeping you in his arms. When he rumbles deep in his chest, you flick out your tongue to lick across the spot in apology, but he drops you to your feet. You both stand there for a second, looking at each other with heaving chests. His hands come up to grip the neckline of your dress, and he pulls, a tearing sound echoing through the trees. Your torn dress crumbles to the ground around you, exposing your undergarments, and even though your first instinct is to cover up you don’t because he pulls his shirt over his head to expose his naked chest beneath, and that sight is enough to distract you from any embarrassment you might be feeling.
His pants are next, and then he stands before you stark naked. You try to touch his stomach with a trembling hand, but he grabs your wrist and pushes you down to the ground. With precise movements, he pulls off your drawers, taking your shoes with them, then tears open your corset to expose your breasts. Your breath hitches when he cups one in his calloused hand and squeezes, making pleasure spike through your body.
You kiss him again, lean into his touch, and then you discover you can make him tighten his hold on you by licking over his bottom lip. You can make him press his hard length against you by moaning in pleasure. It feels so, so good to have this effect on him, to be able to do that to him without words. Never, in a million years, would you have expected that giving yourself to a man would feel like this, would make heat blossom at the base of your spine, would make you ache between your legs. You shove your fingers into his hair, deepening the kiss, and he sighs against your lips, a sound that makes your knees weak. How can all of this make you feel so good yet fill you with a hunger you don’t know how to satiate?
You run your nails over his scalp, testing to see what other sounds you can elicit from him, when he suddenly shifts both your bodies, pushing you to the ground while caging you in with his body. Your heart hammers in your chest so hard it’s almost painful, but even when your back is uncomfortably pressed against your thin bedroll, you still crane your neck to keep kissing him. God, why can’t you get enough of him?
With a sharp slap against your knee that sends another spike of pleasure through your body, he pushes your legs apart, then draws back to look at you. His lips are red and swollen, and both shadow and light are dancing across his face in quick succession. You reach up to touch his cheek, but he catches your wrist and pins it down next to your head with so much strength it steals the breath from your lungs.
“You’re the prettiest little lady I’ve ever seen,” he mumbles.
You feel your face heat up, but he doesn’t notice how flustered you are. With his free hand, he grabs himself, then lines himself up between your legs. You watch, eyes wide, breathing so fast your head is starting to swim. What comes next is a pressure that is not painful but not quite pleasurable either. And the more it pushes, the more it hurts.
“Stop,” you say, your voice not more than a whisper.
Either he doesn’t hear you or he’s ignoring you, but he continues to push up into you, and now it’s so painful you’ve lost all sense of pleasure entirely.
“Stop,” you try again, bracing your hands against his shoulders, trying to push him off you. He’s too strong for you. “Arthur, stop!” you bellow.
And he hears you. He immediately withdraws, and you scramble to sit up, pulling away from him as best as possible on the small bedroll.
“Did I hurt you?” he asks, and the concern in his voice makes you look at him.
“Yes,” you answer, hugging your knees to your chest. You wish you weren’t so naked.
“Have you ever …?” He doesn’t need to finish the question for you to know what he means.
You shake your head.
A deep, red flush creeps up his chest and neck. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t –”
“It’s alright,” you interrupt him, his apology embarrassing rather than harming you. “You didn’t know.”
“The way you were kissin’ me …” He trails off again.
Your ears prick up at the compliment. “It all felt … good,” you stutter. “More than good. It’s just …”
“I can … we can slow down,” he offers. “If you still want …”
You look at him, kneeling before you, his skin glowing orange in the light from the fire. His dick is slowly softening between his legs, goosebumps are covering his arms, but he is showing you all of himself without shame. That bold display of his body makes your blood heat up again, but you hesitate. Touching his naked skin is one thing, giving yourself to him entirely is something you’ve been warned of your entire life. And yet … now that you’ve pushed through the initial shock, you slowly realize your body is demanding to feel him again.
You nod. “Yes. I still … I want you.”
Your cheeks are fever-hot, but the way his eyes light up is worth the embarrassment you feel. Arthur moves toward you, loosening the hold you have on yourself, and you relax, dropping your knees, letting him come even closer. He smirks, his eyes darting to your lips and then back up again before he leans in for a searing kiss, and it feels like the last few minutes didn’t happen at all. Without breaking the kiss, he reaches for your wrist, then slowly guides your hand between your own legs, while you tremble in anticipation. He doesn’t touch you, but when he presses your own fingers against all that heat and wetness, you moan deeply.
Arthur breaks the kiss first. “I want you to play with yourself,” he whispers, his breath hot against your ear.
“I don’t …,” you start, suddenly unsure.
“Yeah, I know.” He kisses your neck. “You’re gonna figure it out though.”
You take a deep breath and nod, and when he captures your lips for another kiss, you move your fingers over yourself in a motion that makes pleasure shoot through your entire body. A shaky pant escapes you and lands on his mouth, turning his lips into a smirk even while he’s kissing you.
“There you go,” he whispers.
You find a rhythm and pace that makes you feel like you’re about to explode but that doesn’t light the final fuse, and he continues to kiss you for a while before drawing back to watch the hand between your thighs. Any shame you could have felt is replaced by pure lust when you see the arousal in his eyes; you shift to open your legs further, and he raises his eyes in surprise. You shift under his searing gaze and moan when you notice his hand closing around the base of his cock.
You’ve never felt like you’re feeling right now, completely in control but also like you’re surrendering yourself to him. It’s so addictive it makes you wonder how people don’t want to feel like this all the time. “It feels so good,” you groan, struggling to get the words out because your teeth are clenched.
“You’re so pretty,” is Arthur’s answer as he moves his hand up and down his length.
You can’t help but believe him. “I love you strong you are,” you return the compliment, and before you can think better of it, you raise your free hand and cup your breast, squeezing your nipple.
His eyes lock onto your chest. “Fuck.” Pleasure shoots through you from the tip of your toes to the top of your head. “You’re such a good girl,” he adds, and it makes your heart flutter so painfully you feel like it’s about to fly out of your chest.
“Say that again,” you demand, not recognizing yourself at all.
Arthur shifts closer until he’s right between your legs, fisting himself eagerly. You can smell the sweat and arousal on him, a scent so overpowering you wish you could bury your nose in his skin and inhale it forever. “My pretty, brave girl,” he says, and when you lower your gaze, too overwhelmed by what his words make you feel, he grips your chin and lifts your head. “Oh no, you’re gonna look at me.” You blink once but don’t lower your head again. “Yeah, that’s it.” He smirks. “Look at you … so eager to please me. You should see yourself right now … goddamn prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”
You do lower your gaze then because it feels like too much. Your eyes land on his cock, on the tip that’s glistening wetly, and you lick your lips, remembering the feeling of him in your mouth.
“You want me inside of you, don’t you?” Arthur asks, and you nod. His rough, calloused hand closes around your throat and you can’t help it – you move your own hand faster, a crescendo building in the pit of your stomach. “Use your words, pretty girl. I know you can.”
You swallow hard, knowing he can feel your throat move against his grip. “Yes, I want you inside of me.” Your face doesn’t heat up this time as you realize you’re not only saying that to please him. It’s exactly what you want.
He rewards you with a deep kiss, then mumbles against your lips. “Are you ready?”
You hesitate. “I’m not …”
But Arthur doesn’t let you finish. “Let’s find out together.” He leans back. “Finger yourself.” The way his eyes darken when he says it isn’t lost on you.
You shift and move your hand lower, his eyes fixed to your movements. He has stopped moving, his hand grabbing his cock, holding it between his legs. You feel yourself flutter against your fingers in anticipation at the same time as he licks his lips. And then you push the tip of your finger inside of you, past the initial resistance, deeper and deeper until you can’t go any further.
“Breathe,” he instructs and you exhale sharply. “Did that hurt?”
You shake your head before remembering he likes to hear your voice. “No.”
“How does it feel?” he wants to know.
Carefully, you pull your finger out until only the tip remains inside of you, then you push it back in. “Good,” you manage. “Really good.”
“You’re sweet when you can barely talk,” he says with a smirk and the muscles inside you clamp down on your finger. You moan and close your eyes, unable to keep them open. “You like that, don’t you?” You hear him shift closer. “You like hearing my voice. Bet you’d like me to talk you through it, too.”
Your chest rises and falls rapidly as you feel something building inside you. It’s like a wave that will drown everything out. You lean back further and further until your back connects to the ground, until you can raise your hips to meet your finger, trying to get it as deep inside you as possible.
Then his hand is covering yours and he pushes you to the ground, stilling you. When you open your eyes, you’re met with his, dark with lust, and you’re rewarded with the sight of his chest, flushed so deeply red it looks almost purple. His cock is leaking onto his fingers. “Not yet, sweet girl,” he says in a voice that sounds familiar to the one he uses to calm down his horse. “You’re doing so well, but wait until …”
Arthur removes his hand from yours, but then you feel the tip of his finger right where yours is disappearing inside yourself. You steel yourself for the pain you’re about to feel, but when his finger joins yours, stretching you open, all you feel is pleasure so intense it makes it hard for you to stay conscious.
“Fuck,” you groan, a short outburst, almost like a bark.
“You can say that again.” Arthur’s voice is so husky it’s almost impossible to understand. He cups your hand with his, and then moves the both of you in tandem, pulling back out and pushing back in. You tentatively meet his thrusts by rolling your hips and he growls. “Look at you, spread open just for me.”
You don’t know why his words make you feel like they do, but the muscles between your legs are working hard to keep both your fingers buried as deeply as possible. That earns you a smirk from him and you smile back in return.
“I think you’re ready.” He grips your hand tightly and pulls the both of you out, making you sob. To calm you, he cups your cheek and presses a soft kiss to your lips. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna fill you right back up again.” All you can do is nod.
He positions himself above you, stroking himself a few times, then lining himself up. It’s easier for you to relax this time because you know what to expect, but when he breaches that resisting wall of muscles, you still feel a burn and hiss.
“Shhhh,” he makes and kisses your forehead. “You’re doing so good.”
And then he’s inside of you, stretching you open as much as you can take. His eyes flutter shut and he groans, shifting to adjust himself. “You feel perfect.”
“You’re … you’re big,” you manage, drawing a chuckle from him.
He shifts again, then pulls back out before slamming back into you, making you see stars. “Fuck, I’m sorry,” he apologizes immediately.
“No,” you press out through gritted teeth. “Do that again.”
He does, and you grip his arm, burying your nails in his muscle, slinging your other arm around his back. There’s a strange taste in your mouth and you only slowly realize it’s blood from biting down on your bottom lip. He kisses you, licks over the wound, pulls a sharp moan from you. And then he slams into you so hard you scream, clawing at his skin, leaving bloody streaks down his arm and back. The pain only seems to spur him on and when you pant, “Harder,” he doesn’t hesitate.
You clench around his cock in return and he whispers, “I like you like this.” You feel yourself clench again and he groans. “You’re perfect,” he repeats. You kiss his neck, then bite it, until he pushes you back down. “I bet you’ve never had an orgasm before, have you?” You shake your head and he mimics that motion, tapping your bottom lip with his thumb. “Use your words, sweetheart.”
“No,” you manage to say, your voice hoarse.
He rocks into you, not as hard and fast as before, but it makes you pant helplessly nonetheless. “Yeah, I thought so,” he mumbles more to himself than to you.
“Please,” you whisper.
He smirks down at you, then shifts his knees ever so slightly to change the angle. Suddenly, he’s brushing against something deep inside of you that makes a sob erupt from deep in your chest.
“Do you even know what you’re asking for?” he teases, but there is a strain in his voice now, as if he’s struggling to hold onto something.
“Please,” you repeat louder, unable to fully grasp the meaning of his question.
Arthur’s thumb is back on your lip and then he pushes it inside your mouth. You swirl your tongue around the tip eagerly, then suck on it, grazing your teeth over his skin. His breathing turns ragged, and the warmth of pride erupts in your chest. With a wet sound, he pulls his thumb out from between your lips and pushes his hand between your bodies until it comes to rest on that small spot you were toying with earlier. You howl and twitch and your whole body erupts. You spill over, you lose sense of where and who you are, you’re shaken by forces beyond your control. All the while, Arthur pounds into you, strokes you inside and out, and you think you hear him say, “That’s it, just let go. You’re so fucking beautiful – just let go.”
As soon as you feel like you can breathe again, he pulls out of you, leaving you aching and empty and cold. Through hooded eyes, you watch as he moves his hand up and down his cock fast until he spills all over his hand and the edge of your bedroll, gaze not directed downwards, but staring at you with insatiable hunger in his eyes. And you return that gaze just as hungrily, wondering what it would feel like to taste his release on your tongue.
Arthur stands unsteadily and retrieves his coat from the other side of the campfire. You feel the cold of the night now and hug your knees to your chest, still trying to make sense of the world. “Now, no more of that,” he says when he gets back, draping his coat over you, the weight of it making your limbs grow soft. He lies down next to you, pressing his front to your back, one arm possessively slung over your chest, the other shoved under your head for you to use as a pillow.
*******
The morning sun is warm on your face as you ride through a slowly thinning forest. The plains and your destination cannot be far from here. Your thoughts are though; they’re still somewhere behind you, stuck at a campfire, busy chasing the feeling of the man next to you between your legs.
When you reach a fork in the path, you stop your horse and look off to your right, back into the forest and the mountains. “What’s back there?” you ask.
Arthur stops his horse next to yours and looks down the path. “Never been over that way,” he answers.
“Do you want to find out?” Your voice is firm, but you don’t look at Arthur.
He’s quiet at first. “Your father –”
“– already paid you,” you finish the sentence.
Arthur nods. “Alright,” he says, then looks back at the path you just put behind you, then off to your right again. “Let’s find out what’s over there.”
***
arthur morgan taglist: @cjillian97 | @hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmsstuff | @imaginativefanatic | @joelmillers-whore | @misspearly1 | @spacecowboyhotch | @tortor-mcgee | @wickedscribbles
perma taglist: @alexturner | @amneris21 | @din-jarhead | @harriedandharassed | @martellthemandalor | @nyfeeer | @nobodys-baby-now | @od-ends | @pedrorascal | @radiowallet-writes
852 notes · View notes
emi-love · 10 months
Text
All I want in my merthur is Arthur to trust Merlin to toxic lengths and Merlin to never, ever misuse that trust. I want Arthur to be slapped with one hundred evidences against Merlin but not believe in Merlin’s fault because Merlin said he didn’t do it, and he actually didn’t. I want Arthur to not know but know about Merlin’s magic, and Merlin to know that Arthur knows but doesn’t know because he cannot know because Uther is the king. I want Arthur to have absolute faith at all times in Merlin, that Merlin is able to save him and his kingdom, and Merlin being unsure of himself, but never giving up, because he knows that Arthur trusts him, even if he cannot say it, because he doesn’t know, but knows, and Merlin cannot let him down.  
I want everyone around them to see how they constantly bicker and banter and have that thought that they hate one another, that they think each other stupid, but at the same time to know not to come between them, because you’ll be lost if you take Arthur away from Merlin, or Merlin away from Arthur. I want the nobles to think that Merlin is stupid and incompetent but treat him with kindness because they are scared of what Arthur will do to them if they dare disrespecting Merlin. I want bitter sorcerers once in the while come in with the plan to finish Arthur, but back away, because they recognise Emrys, the greatness of his power, and they are too afraid of what he would do to them if they attempted to hurt his king.  
I also want Arthur to be badass, and Merlin to have trust in Arthur’s badassery. I want Arthur to actually be the greatest king to ever live, not just some vaguely okay king with good intentions and pure heart, and I want Merlin to actually be the saviour of magic, not a cute twink manipulated by bitter dragon and a little corrupted physician. I want Arthur to actually be that skilled knight he always claims to be, not a one who can be defeated by that one random blonde sorceress with little to no effort, I want Merlin to actually know something about magic except for how to use it, not to being forced to run between Gaius and the dragon and Freya and Catha and the druids to find everything out.
I want them to be so epic and so unhealthy (but it's okay because they are that way only about each other and Arthur would never break Merlin’s faith and Merlin would never break Arthur’s trust) and so skilled (I'm still thinking about that one secret room full of magical books that was introduced in the episode with the goblin and then never brought up again- like why was Merlin not getting any education. like I mean, the spells are important part of magic, but there’s other stuff, too, that Merlin should know. Merlin should have received the same education Morgana did. like, Morgause had Morgana for a year and Gaius had Merlin for ten. why is that twink so confused. and we all know how eager Merlin is to learn magic stuff. Gaius had completely failed him) and I want Arthur to be a fucking high king and I want Merlin to be his court sorcerer and consort and most trusted advisor at the same time.
1K notes · View notes
starkwlkr · 1 year
Note
Can I request Ruby getting her period for the first time and her mom's not at home so Charles has to take care of her? If you're comfortable writing it ofc
we’re all girls here | charles leclerc
I know not everyone woman has the same period story (this is a safe blog and if someone starts judging about PERIODS I WILL COME AFTER YOU)
also i changed it up a little because surprisingly i had another story like this in my drafts before it was requested 😭
Y/n decided that a trip to her home country would do her some good. She hadn’t been back home in a while so she missed everything about it from her family to the delicious food. She missed home. Charles knew how much she wanted to have a vacation so he bought plane tickets just for her so she could have a stress and kid free vacation back home. She loves her kids to death, but it seemed like everything she sat on the sofa to take a break, one kid always yelled for her and with Charles gone, she just had to get up.
There was a month break from the season so Charles was home with his son and daughter. Arthur and Lorenzo were coming over soon. Ruby mostly spent her time in her room reading or watching some movie. But not this time. She was on a FaceTime call with her friend, Cassie, who was talking about the latest rumor in school.
“Don’t tell anyone I told you this but Elliot West has a crush on you. I heard Elizabeth from Art class say that. But don’t tell anyone!”
“Elliot? I thought he had a crush on you?” Ruby asked, letting out a low groan as her stomach began to hurt. All day she had been feeling sick, but she didn’t tell Charles.
“No, he likes you. His friend likes me. I think.” Cassie said.
Suddenly Ruby got a sharp pain. She never experienced it before so instantly her mind started thinking of the worst possible ideas.
“Are you okay?” Cassie asked over the phone.
“I don’t know. Bye, I have to call my mom.” Ruby ended the call before Cassie could even say bye. She quickly called her mom, but right when she needed Y/n the most, she wasn’t home. Immediately the call went to voicemail no matter how many times Ruby called. Ruby threw her phone to the ground in frustration and got up from her bed.
She paced around the room, holding her stomach in pain. She didn’t have a fever or felt like throwing up so she was extremely confused on why she had stomach pains.
Since Ruby’s door was opened, Mathéo peeked inside just to ask why she was pacing.
“Get out! You’re so annoying! Dad!” Ruby yelled, pushing her brother out the door and slamming it shut.
“Hey! Don’t slam the door! Be nice to each other!” Charles yelled back from his spot on the sofa. His brothers had arrived and now they were watching a movie on the tv.
“You’re such a dad.” Arthur laughed.
“Just wait until you have kids.” Charles teased.
Mathéo strolled into the living room with his toy car in his hand. He look unfazed by his sister’s actions. “Ruby is being weird.” He told his papa and uncles. He walked to his uncle Arthur and hopped onto his lap.
“Why’s that, Théo?” Charles asked.
“She looks like she’s in pain and I asked why she was going in circles and she kicked me out then she slammed the door.” Mathéo explained.
“Is she sick?” Lorenzo asked Charles.
“No, she didn’t mention anything. I’ll be back.” Charles said as he got up and walked to Ruby’s room. He knocked on the door several times, but got no answer so he opened the door and saw clothes scattered all over her bedroom door.
“Papa?” Charles heard Ruby call out from her bathroom.
“Baby, what did you do to your room?” Charles walked to the bathroom door. “Théo said you were in pain. What’s hurting, Ruby Jules?”
“My stomach. But . . . Papa? There’s blood on my pants.” Charles instantly knew what she meant by that. Sure, he didn’t have any sisters, but he did have girl cousins and a wife that went through it each month. (Unless she was pregnant, which she was glad she didn’t have to buy pads during that time)
“Okay, um . . I- shit. Okay, don’t panic. You’re okay, baby, everything’s fine. I’ll be right back.” Charles didn’t think his baby girl would get her first period when Y/n wasn’t present. He wasn’t exactly prepared for the moment. He left Ruby’s room in a hurry. He needed to call the only person who knew about periods that was still in Monaco.
“Is she okay? Is she dying?” Mathéo asked, still on Arthur’s lap.
“No one is dying! No!” Charles frantically looked for his phone all over the sofa. “Where is my phone?!” Mathéo pointed at the cracked phone on the coffee table. “Thank you, Théo.”
The three Leclercs watched as Charles looked like he was about to pass out. Was Ruby actually sick? They needed to know.
“Maman! You need to come over right now. Please, Ruby needs you. No, she’s okay, but Y/n isn’t here and I don’t know how to explain to her that she’s going to bleed every month without freaking her out.”
Lorenzo and Arthur both understood now. Ruby Leclerc had gotten her first period.
“Ruby is bleeding? Is she dying?!” Théo asked his uncle.
“No! Your sister isn’t dying!”
After what seemed like forever, Pascale had arrived to her son’s house. Charles led her to the bathroom Ruby was in. Unknown to them both, the other three Leclerc boys followed them.
Pascale lightly knocked on the door. “Ruby, amour, it’s grand-mère.”
“Hi.” She heard Ruby say in a whisper like tone.
“Your maman isn’t here to teach you about what’s going on, but I’m here. Can you let me in?” Pascale asked.
“But . . .”
“Amour, we’re all girls here. I promise you this isn’t something to be embarrassed about.” Pascale assured the girl.
Suddenly Mathéo laughed. He looked up at his two uncles and pointed at them. “Grand-mère called you girls!”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “She said all of us so that means you too.”
Mathéo stopped laughing. “This isn’t funny.”
Pascale sighed. “Ruby darling, unlock the door. You and I have to talk.”
“Can they leave first?” Ruby asked. She referred to all the men in her room.
Charles understood that his daughter felt more comfortable with his mother at the moment so he took Mathéo in his arms and left along with Lorenzo and Arthur.
While Pascale was busy teaching Ruby about periods, Charles was able to talk with Y/n. He caught her up on everything.
“You do know where the pads are, right?” Y/n asked.
“Can’t she use yours?”
“I forgot to stock up before I left. I didn’t think she would start early.” Replied the worried mother.
“Okay, no problem. I know which ones you get so I just need to go to the store. Should I get chocolate? Where do you keep your heating pad?”
It was safe to say that whenever Ruby would start her period and her mother wasn’t around, she was in safe hands with Charles. He was always a sweetheart whenever Y/n was on hers, bringing her all her snacks and letting her stay in bed. Ruby had nothing to worry about.
2K notes · View notes
6emo6zombie6 · 5 months
Text
RDR2 relationship/sexual headcanons -- F!reader
(Arthur, John, Dutch)
I've been seeing these a lot, and it would be fun to share my own. So, here you go! Warning for NSFW stuff though ;) I might make more of these in the future but I'm out of ideas for other characters at the moment.
__________________________________________________________
Arthur:
Absolute sweetheart, will do anything for you.
Can’t stand to see you crying. Usually, he’s reserved, but around you, he’ll coo softly and hold you in his arms.
“Shh… hey, I’m here. You’re safe.”
Always shares his food when he’s around you. And if there is no food, he’ll share his cigarettes.
He won’t admit it but loves it when you pick flowers for him. Usually, he keeps them in an empty whiskey bottle beside his bed.
Will ask you to help him pomade his hair, though you both know it’s because he likes getting scalp massages.
He’ll somehow always find a way to escort you.
“I’ll walk with you to your horse” “Need me to come with you?” “You sure you’re okay goin’ on your own?”
Not a fan of holding hands, though he’ll have his arm over your shoulders or around your waist most of the time.
Looooovessss hugging you from the back.  
Not opposed to you grabbing his ass once in a while.
Loves forehead kisses, whether it is receiving or giving them.
~~~~~
Not rough in bed—rather thorough. He won’t break the bed or have it slamming against the wall, but he spends a while preparing you. Foreplay lasts an hour minimum until he decides you can take every inch of him.
Will overstimulate himself if it means you’ll cum.
Not loud, but he takes pride in hearing you moan his name.
If he doesn’t have the energy to have full-blown sex, he’ll sit you on his lap and finger you until you’re trembling.
Not the biggest fan of receiving head, since it makes talking practically impossible for you, and he hates silent sex.
Enjoys handjobs while making out, though usually he’ll only accept one if he’s drunk.
Constant compliments.
Lap sex??? To Arthur, there is nothing better than holding you close while you bounce on his cock.
John:
Not all too touchy, but he’ll stare at you like you’re an angel 24/7.
Likes it when you hug his side, especially if you're shorter than him so he can tuck you under his arm.
Will randomly polish your shoes or your saddle.
Never forgets to give you a kiss when he leaves camp.
Usually confused when you’re upset or angry, but he’ll try his best to talk you through it.
Very protective of you, especially around other men. He's constantly worried that you might get hurt.
Stubborn as a bull, though he means well. The two of you always seem to be making up for arguments.
Always the big spoon.
Never skips out on a night of drinking with you.
Lets you sit on his lap, though usually only when he’s tipsy.
~~~~~~
Obsessed with hearing you plead. He’ll make you beg for absolutely anything.
If you’ve misbehaved in any way, he’ll punish you with abstinence.
On the other hand, he praises you for everything you do right.
“Yeah, that’s it, good girl.” “atta girl…” “You’re doing so well.”
Always on top. Probably because his ego is a little fragile.
Likes to switch between quick sex and passionate sex every once in a while. One day he’ll be ramming into you for twenty minutes, while the other he’ll spend the same time just getting you undressed.
Dacryphiliac—he loves watching you cry for all the right reasons.
“You look so pretty like that, sweetheart.” “Look at you, such a mess for me.”
Only loud when you are.
Very courageous in bed, but he gets shy the next morning when the majority of the gang starts teasing him for the marks on his neck or the foul noises they heard coming from his tent.
Dutch:
(This one is for the girls with daddy issues, bear with me.)
Almost exclusively calls you pet names, never your actual name.
Stuff like “Sweetheart”, “sugar”, “My girl”,,, etc.
He’ll make sure everyone knows you’re his, usually introducing you as his girlfriend right away.
Likes picking out your clothes for you.
Tells you about the books he reads whenever he can.
The absolute master at calming you down. Whenever he sees that you’re upset, he’ll take you to his tent and sit you on his lap, then he’ll calmly talk things over with you until you’re calm again.
Yeah, loves having you on his lap.
Enjoys braiding your hair or pinning it into a bun.
Loves hugging you from behind when you’re doing your chores or talking with other gang members.
Will bathe you whenever he gets the chance.
~~~~~~
Rarely ever takes his clothes off, but forces you to be completely naked all the time. It adds an extra layer to the power dynamic that the two of you have In bed.
Bends you over his lap and spanks you whenever he feels you pay too little attention to him.
Also loves fingering you on his lap, though it’s more to tease than to make you cum.
Will go absolutely crazy if you sit on his lap and grin your ass into his bulge. It doesn’t even matter if anyone’s around because he’ll just excuse himself and drag you into his tent.
He wants everyone to know how good he makes you feel. If you’re not moaning his name or whining under his touch for everyone to hear, he’s not interested.
He expects you to follow every order that he gives you. You’re not getting his touch if you disobey.
You calling him “sir” makes him instantly grow hard.
Always leaving scratches and hickeys on you for other people to notice.
Enjoys lightly choking you when making out, just to show what could happen if you were to misbehave.
604 notes · View notes
fangirl-dot-com · 6 months
Text
Logan Sargeant - London Boy
Welcome to the “Besties for the Resties” series, the backstories to the reader’s friendship with the other drivers. Now, I won’t be doing a single chapter all of them because that’s a lot, so some of them will have a joined chapter. You can’t please everyone, but for the sake of the storyline, there needs to be a few chapters as to how you became good friends with the grid! Enjoy and don’t forget to comment! 
PA - I also did the head cannons before I wrote these so they might not exactly match, so I apologize!
It had been a few weeks since the winter break started. Which meant it was time to hunt for apartments across the world. Well, in two countries. 
Max and Christian had been able to convince you to find a small place in Monaco so that you wouldn’t be too alone all the time. It was nice and comfortable. Way better than the one you had in Nice. That apartment had never felt like home to you. It was just a place to sleep whenever you had to go to Dams for testing. 
Arthur was thrilled when he also heard the news. You strategically had found a place that was in between Max’s place and where Arthur lived. The area was clean and a few cafés littered the shops around you. You knew that you’d spend most of your time there when you were there. 
But right now, you were back in London, trying to find a flat for when you needed to do team testing. As of right now, there were two more places that you needed to look and you wished that one of them would be perfect for you. 
However, as you were walking, your nose picked up on an amazing scent. Turns out, there was a Starbucks around the corner and you were in desperate need of some coffee. You pulled your jacket closer to your chest as you entered the store. You were immediately hit with the smell of coffee beans and pastry items. You stood in line in front of a tall blond. But your ears must have been tricking you because you definitely heard a familiar American accent. 
The barista asked for his name. 
“It’s Logan.” 
You let out a quick gasp as he turned to the left to go wait for his coffee. You took a step and ordered your favorite drink and a chocolate croissant. When the barista asked for your name, you told her a little quietly. You glanced over as you paid, eyes on where Logan stood. You shuffled over after you paid. 
Not drawing attention to yourself, you stood a little behind him. You had the most amazing plan. 
You tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Sir, can you tell me what a kilometer is?” Before he recognized it was you, he stiffened and thought the worst, a fangirl had found him. 
But as he turned to answer, his eyes lit up at the sight of you. 
“You are ridiculous.” He brought you in for a hug. You squeezed him tight before he let go. “What are you doing here?” 
“I am trying to find an apartment, but I needed coffee before I went to the next one,” you said as you grabbed a straw. 
Logan laughed before grabbing his coffee that had been set on the counter as the two of you talked. “How long are you here for?” 
“Just until I find somewhere to stay. Pre-season testing doesn’t start for another couple of weeks, but I need it by then. Nice is too far and my apartment in Monaco won’t be ready until later.” He nodded as you went ahead and grabbed your drink, pushing the straw into it. 
Logan took a sip of his drink. “You have any other plans for tonight?” You shook your head and that got him thinking. “Ok hear me out. I will go with you to the two other flats for you to look at, and then we need to go get pizza or something. And we still have a movie to finish.” 
Your eyes sparkled at the mention of pizza. You were a bit hesitant to accept. But, Max’s voice echoed in your head. “Kid. You need to get out of your comfort zone. The drivers aren’t bad and they’ll love you as much as I do.” He was right, and you found yourself admitting that too often. 
“Sure! We can get going if you’d like to. Or did you want to stay here for a little bit?”
Logan hadn’t planned on staying anyway, so the two of you made your way to the first destination. 
It’s safe to say that you would not be bidding on this one. It was too far from where you needed to be and the area was sketchy, Logan was glad that he was with you. He’s sure if you told Max where you had been alone, he would have flipped. The staircase was practically falling apart and the door lock was broken. The windows were old and the house smelled like a smoker had lived there before. The bedrooms were too small, same as the bathrooms. You and Logan hightailed it out of there before the landlord even had time to speak with you. 
On your way to the next one, Logan began to see some familiar sights. “Hey, can I see the address real fast?” his accent was a nice contrast. 
“Sure!” You handed him your phone as you looked around for a trashcan. Logan’s laugh brought you attention back to him. “What’s up?” 
He gave you your phone back. “It’s just that, the apartment you’re going to look at is right next to mine.” 
You gawked at him. “No flipping way!” 
“The building is nice, much nicer than the last one. I know the way back.” You turned off your navigation and followed the blond. You could definitely see that the area continually got nicer the closer you got. The streets were getting a little more crowded and you found yourself clinging to Logan’s sweatshirt. You felt like a child and probably looked like one too. 
When you got to the building, you were amazed at the size. It was much cleaner than the last one. The landlord was able to give you and Logan a tour of the place. Logan gave some good feedback, since he swore that his flat was the same exact layout. 
You could definitely see yourself living here. You quickly gave the landlord your price and you walked out the door as a new owner of a London flat. 
When the man left, Logan looked over at you with a mischievous smirk. “Celebratory pizza?” 
“You bet!” You were thankful that you found Logan or you think you’d still be flat hunting by now. 
The bright light of the sign illuminated the darkening street. It seemed like the owners new Logan pretty well as they greeted him by name. They stopped and asked you a bit about yourself and to see if you’d be hanging around. When you said yes, they seemed ecstatic and it made you wonder how little business they got. 
The pizza was to die for. At first, they didn’t have your favorite pizza, but Logan was quick to order you something that he’d think that you’d like. And he was absolutely correct. You ate the pizza very quickly. 
After dinner, the two of you found yourselves walking around. 
“How are you liking the city?” Logan spoke up first. 
You shrugged your shoulders. “This is the first time I’ve really had the chance to get to see it. The only other time I’ve been here was for testing before Vegas. So, yeah.” You took a breath. “It’s nice though.” 
Logan looked around at all the lights, “It gets really pretty around this time. I don’t like it when it rains all the time.” 
You looked up at him, brows furrowed, “Aren’t you from Florida? Doesn’t it rain like every single day?” Logan let out a big laugh. 
He licked his lips before responding, “Yeah it does. It’s a different rain. It’s more humid. The rain here is cold and just clings to you.” 
After walking around for a bit, Logan invited you back to his apartment. When you walked, in you were thinking that it would be like a typical male domain. Something like a Mojo Dojo Casa House. 
But you were presently surprised with how nice it was on the inside. You whistled as you looked around at the interior. “Damn Logan. Did your mother decorate for you.” 
You heard a groan from behind you. Turning around, you saw Logan looking at you with hands on his hips. 
“For your information,” there was the white valley girl, “I did this all by myself.” 
“Which translates to ‘my mom picked everything out and you just put it all up’.” Logan pouted. 
“Oscar helped as well.” 
“Ah, that makes more sense.” 
“Y/n!” You laughed and continued walking around the apartment. Your eye caught a small picture hanging on the way. 
“Logan? Can I see this one?” You pointed at it, but couldn’t reach it. 
He quickly came over and took it off the nail and handed it to you. Your fingers glided over the image. It had perfectly captured Logan, and then the boy on the other side must have been Oscar. But what surprised you was that you were also in this picture. 
Logan must have seen your longing glance. “Yeah, my mom took that for me and Oscar. It was the first time the two of us had podiumed together. Oscar would have been first but…” 
You cut him off, “I overtook him on the last lap.” 
Logan’s eyes bulged and he yanked the frame out of your hands. He brought it close to his face, a little too close to really see anything but he was dramatizing it. You rolled your eyes at his childishness. 
He brought the frame back down and looked at you. “I didn’t know that was you!” 
“Yeah. I’ll tell Oscar sorry for taking his win.” 
Logan looked at you as though you had grown three heads. “Excuse me! Oscar could not shut up about how cool the overtake was. And how much cooler it seemed because you were the only girl.” 
You looked up at him with a surprised look, but Logan continued. 
“Yeah. I actually don’t remember much of it. I was shaking so much and couldn’t concentrate. I almost dropped my trophy.” He looked over at you. You looked back up at the other pictures and sighed. 
“I lost my godfather the afternoon before the race.” 
Logan went quiet, silently wanting you to continue. 
“I needed to win for him. That race I also debuted with the number 89. It was his number when he did karting. I felt like I owed him a win.” 
Logan placed the picture back on the nail and brought you in for a hug. The two of you stood in silence for a moment before you backed up. Logan looked at you with a sad smile. You looked back up at the picture. 
“Do you think your mom could print me one out?” 
Logan ruffled your hair. “Sure! I’ll have her send it to me and I can just do it.” 
“Thanks Logan.” 
“Are you ready to watch a movie?” 
“Can we finish Cars 2?” 
“I thought you’d never ask.” 
After that night, you and Logan seemed to be closer. You were still quiet with the rest of the grid, but Max and Logan knew how to bring you out of your shell. 
Your debut race was a big one, and everywhere you turned a microphone was pushed into your hands and you were finagled in front of a camera. This is where you found yourself 85% of the time that day. 
“Hi Y/n, how are you doing today?” You had the urge to roll your eyes. These journalists should have been able to come up with different questions. But you didn’t or Riggs would have an aneurism. 
“I’m good! A little overwhelmed but that’s expected.” 
The reporter continued, “How was your break? We saw that you posted pictures of your new places on Instagram, why don’t you tell us a bit about those.” 
You smiled, now that was a question you hadn’t heard yet. “I love my new places. Max had been pressuring me to get a small place in Monaco so that he could quote-on-quote look after me. I think he would just miss me too much.” The reporter laughed and so did you. 
You kept going, “And then I was able to find a small place in London for when I have to go for sim training and what-not. I like it a lot.” 
“We loved your pictures from London. Seemed like you and Logan Sargeant were having a good time.” 
“Oh yeah, speaking of which,” you trailed off as you spotted Logan. You brought the microphone with you as you walked up to the blond. You pulled his sleeve and dragged him back with you. 
“Uh hello to you to?” he questioned with a laugh. 
“I was about to talk about our time in London.” Logan’s eyes lit up. 
He all but whispered, “You didn’t tell them.” You now rolled your eyes. 
“I haven’t had time yet.” You looked at the camera, “We’re neighbors!” 
“Yeah, I’ve had to deal with seeing this child all the time.” You gaped up at him. Whack. Logan didn’t even flinch. “See what I’ve had to deal with?” He pointed at you.  
The reporter’s eyebrows raised at your bickering. They interrupted, “How did you two find out that you were neighbors?” 
You shushed Logan, “I was apartment hunting and I needed some coffee and found him at Starbucks. And then we went and looked at a different one first.” 
Logan leaned into the microphone, “It was sketchy as heck. I’m glad I went with her.”
“And then I gave him the address to the second one and he was all like ‘dude, that’s my address’,” you mimicked his accent. It was his turn to roll his eyes. 
“Yeah and then we got pizza and finished Cars 2.” You heard a gasp behind the two of you. When you turned around, you were met with an Aussie look of betrayal. 
“You finished Cars 2? With me?” He put his hand to his heart as if he was shot. You shot him a sheepish smile. 
Logan looked at his best friend, “You weren’t there mate” 
You looked at Oscar. “I promise we will finish it with you at some point. Maybe during the next red flag?” Oscar nodded and then was on his way. 
You noticed that you had taken a lot of this reporter’s time and were quick to wrap things up. 
“Final question. What is your favorite part about London, now that you’ve lived there for a while?” 
You glanced up at Logan. “Well you know what Mother Swift says. You gotta love a London Boy.” You winked at the camera.  
Tumblr media
Tumblr media
Tag List : @awekbachira @lightdragonrayne @leilanixx @angsthology @digitalizeduniqueness @topguncultleader @landosgirlxoxo @gods-menace @itsjustkhaos @thefandomswhre @alwaysboredsworld @vellicora @bintuabbas @sam-is-lost @empress-kimiko @assholeinatrenchcoat @kagatinkita @glitterquadricorn @zyonsay @tsukishimawhore @treehouse-mouse @ashy-kit @agent-curt-mega @julesbabey @lydialawrence @stopeatread @claudia5912 @nichmeddar @blueberry64857959 @laura-naruto-fan1998 @leptitlu @alessioayla @badassturtle13 @kaaale @wcnorris @cool-ultra-nerd @hockeyboysarehot @agent-curt-mega @myxticmoon @cmleitora @sam-is-lost @misartymis @boiohboii @alexander-hamilhoe @jayda12 @indesicivelyconfuzzled @fangirl125reader @itscrzy @xcharlottemikaelsonx @fionaschicken
638 notes · View notes
russellsppttemplates · 3 months
Text
Sharing is caring (George Russell)
A long weekend with the Russells
Note: english is not my first language. I know this is very very very overdue, but hopefully it's still enjoyable!
Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!
my masterlist
Tw: pregnancy
Tag list: @myloverjk-blog
"Are you guys doing well back there?", you asked the kids as George drove the four of you up to his parents' house. According to the screen display, you still had a little over an hour until you arrived at George's parents house where you would be staying for the long weekend to enjoy some family time before the season picked up again.
"Does anyone need a bathroom break?", George asked, looking at Olivia and Arthur through the rear view mirror, "I'm fine", Olivia chirped in, "me too, I'm okay", Arthur added.
"You're doing okay, too?", George asked you, hand on your thigh as he drove, "I'm fine. I never want to say it too loud, but I think morning sickness stopped two weeks ago", you added.
"Little one has had enough causing raucous", George whispered, turning his attention back to the road ahead.
"We're nearly there, right, daddy?", Arthur asked as he recognised the streets as the car approached his grandparents' house, "yes, we just turn here and at the end there", George replied as you texted your mother in-law, letting her know to open the big gate so no one had to get out of the car.
"Guys, you're here! Did you have a good trip?", Allison welcomed you into the house, hugging the kids who immediately ran and hugged her legs, "grandma!!", they excitedly said.
"We did, it was fine. There was a little traffic at the end, but we were so close I think it barely bothered us", you said as you greeted Steve, walking inside the house and making sure the kids left their shoes by the door.
"I'm going to take the bags upstairs", George said, kissing your forehead, "I'll be right back", he smiled as you ushered Olivia and Arthur to the bathroom, "Y/N, here, darling, our some slippers on!", Allison offered.
Since Allison and Steve lived on their own again, as every child had now fled the nest, they updated the bedrooms, you and George staying in the guest bedroom with a double bed and the kids occupying the room they had for whenever the grandchildren stayed over.
"Lunch is ready, so when you can come down, we're waiting for you", George's mother called him as he helped you sort out the room for your children, "we'll be down in a little, thanks!".
After eating and helping tidying the kitchen, George took the kids out to the garden, hoping to use up their energy since they spent the whole morning inside a car.
"Is the swing alright, dad?", George questioned, "yes, me and Benjy sorted it out a few weeks ago. It's good as new", he answered, prompting George to take the kids to the renovated swing set.
When he was younger, he didn't spend too much time at home since racing required him to spend a lot of time away, but the times he did spend back home were filled with memories os this swing.
"Is this the old swing you told us about?", Arthur said, unsure of the whole apparatus since he heard stories from when his father and his uncle and aunt were much younger.
"Yes, me and uncle Benjy used to spend a lot of time here with auntie Cara, too! Who wants to go first?", he said as Olivia volunteered.
"It's safe, Arthur, see?", she said as she balanced her body back and forth, making her brother feel a little more comfortable with the whole thing, "I'll share it with you later, okay?".
"Sharing is important", George began, "and the fact that you guys always share is very nice, me and mummy are very proud of you", he said as Arthur picked some flowers from the grass and gave some to Olivia.
"We're siblings, of course we share everything", Arthur said naturally. It was true. For him, even if Olivia picked on his buttons a few times, he wouldn't ever not want to share something with her.
"Would you want to share your things with somebody else?", George tried as the kiss both looked at him like they didn't know what he was on about, "what I means is, would you mind having to share your things with someone else?", he clarified.
The pregnancy news were still between you and George, excluding your doctor. Because the kids could easily spill the news to somebody else and you had been specially careful so the news would stay between the people you wanted to until the doctor considered it was okay.
"I always share with my friends, too. But yesterday I had all the grapes mummy cut up for me because they were really good and I really wanted them", Arthur admitted as Olivia quirked a brow, "I think we could, yes. Even our toys, we share them too", Olivia added.
George seemed satisfied enough with the answers, hoping that when you broke the news they wouldn't have a complete meltdown.
"C'mon, Liv, it's Arthur's turn", George requested gently, the girl hopping off so her brother could have a go.
"What is mummy doing?", your son asked, "she was helping grandma with tonight's dinner when I asked if she wanted to come with us", George offered.
When they arrived back in time to have a quick shower and get ready for family dinner, you and George dressed them in comfortable clothes since it was just close family. Once they started arriving, the kids found their spot on the floor of the living room, playing with toys and colouring books while the adults caught up with eachother.
"Y/N! I haven't seen you in so long!", Cara said as she came up to you for a hug, "we've been busy, but we managed to sort some time out to come up here", you smiled, offering her the little pastries you had been working on with your mother in-law, "these are delicious!".
Excusing yourself from the group, you went to check on the kids, sitting on the sofa and getting a few cuddles from your nieces and nephews, "auntie Y/N!", one of them gasped, "you almost fell asleep while I was showing you my drawing", he said as Arthur snickered, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, you can show me again, please", you offered, rubbing the sleep away from your eyes.
"Darling, do you want some wine? We found your favourite in the shops the other day, Steve bought a couple of bottles", your mother in-law smiled as she stretched her arm to receive your glass when you were all in the dining room, "I don't, thank you for thinking of me, though", you smiled, exchanging a look with George that wasn't missed by his sister.
"I saw that!", Cara pointed out, "what was that?!", she questioned her brother, knowing he would break under her stare.
"Y/N has something to tell you", he quickly offered, passing the ball to your court as you felt everyone's eyes on you.
"This is not how it was supposed to go, but there wasn't a proper plan either, so... we are having a baby!", you announced, unfolding your leggings and letting your small baby bump show.
"Oh my goodness, another baby!", Allison cooed as your children looked at George for confirmation, "you're going to have a little brother, guys!", he said as they ran to hug you baby bump.
"I noticed your tummy was bigger, but I just thought you had a big lunch!", Arthur said, delighting everyone as they laughed, George watching everyone congratulate you before also congratulating him, "congratulations, darling", his mother kissed his cheek.
"We've been a little more careful this time around, did all the tests and in the blood test, the doctor told us were having a little boy", you smiled, kissing the top of your kids' heads as they latched onto your sides.
"Well, we can celebrate with the wine still! Some juice for you, Y/N", Steve poured in your cup.
When it came to bedtime, the kids didn't want to sleep in a separate room from you, and since the bed was big enough, you allowed them to sleep with you and George.
"That's what I'm saying, guys. It doesn't mean mummy is sick, but it means she needs our help more, she won't be able to do all things at once and it's our job to make sure she rests, as well", you heard your husband tell the kids while you brushed your teeth in the en suite bathroom.
"Time for sleep, kids", you said, lying down on the mattress, you and George brushing each of their hairs as they switched off, almost like a button, "they used up all their energy today", George began, "Did you know these two were wondering how they could help you, because they were worried that you are tired. You even fell asleep on the sofa..!", George tried his best to mimick his nephew shocked expression, earning one of your beautiful laughs.
"I love them so much", you sighed, "and I love you", you kissed his lips.
Kissing your forehead, George's hand managed to reach your bump despite the little boy latching on you like a koala and your daughter lying on top of him, drawing random shapes on it, "not as much as I love all of you".
251 notes · View notes
mcmactictac · 1 year
Text
I love bbc merlin so much because despite the variety of plot points that drive me insane they’re all needed for everything to play out correctly.
I hate that Merlin’s magic isn’t revealed till the very end but also recognize how incredibly powerful he is that if everyone knew their external threats just. Wouldn’t be a threat anymore.
And I hate that Arthur never repeals the ban on magic but if he did than Mordred wouldn’t have had a reason to turn and the finale would fall flat.
I can’t stand Agrivaine but I understand that Arthur being betrayed by him is necessary in order to make Merlin’s perceived betrayal hurt more. That it serves to break down Arthur’s confidence in a time where he only trusts Merlin, who brings him back to himself. Then to realize that foundation of trust he’s had has been wrong and that he has literally been deceived by every single person he lets get close to him.
I hate how they ruined morgana’s character and while I still think it could have been done with more nuance, there is literally no major antagonist besides her. Plus she’s such an interesting one because of her connections to everyone before she slipped.
I hate that merlin tries to kill her, especially like that, and so early on. I get why he does it, and I get that it’s necessary to break morgana’s trust in him. I get that the whole point is that every choice he makes is to try and stop things and he does the best he can every single time, and it’s still never enough.
I don’t always like how we get there but GOD do I love the tragedy of it. For a show that’s so happy on the surface the tragedy of knowing there’s nothing any of them can do to stop the ending is SO GOOD.
It’s devastating to watch merlin lose huge pieces of himself, watch his morals change and shift, watch as the lines he won’t cross get pushed farther and farther away. He loses so much of himself to save Arthur and he STILL LOSES ARTHUR.
And listen I can and I will complain about some of the goofy ass plots but it’s so important to me that people recognize the seriously tragic narrative at the Center of it. I could go on for AGES about how each and every one of the leads is doomed by the narrative.
1K notes · View notes
larluce · 28 days
Text
Arthur thinks Merlin was raped (but he wasn't)
This is kind of a prequel to this post, click here if you want more context -> LINK
Tagging @cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu , @odinjm , @hssmaureader , @daniella0 , @stressed-but-chill , @smileytrinity
When Arthur finds Merlin in the woods after being lost for 3 weeks, he feels so much joy. He doesn't remember feeling so much joy in his life. Merlin is dirty, his clothes riped and with dry blood, but alive. And that’s all he cares right now.
Arthur: (more than happy and relieved) Merlin! I thought we lost you (goes to him to give him a hug, thinking) That I lost you.
Merlin: (Backs away quickly before Arthur can hug him, wide eye and terrified)
Arthur: (confused) Merlin?
Gwain: Merls, it's us, relax (extends a hand)
Merlin: (shakes his head, frantic, and goes limping to hide behind a tree)
Lancelot: (worried) Merlin... (aproaches carefully) Merlin, it's okay. You're safe now (extends his hand, gently, with a reassuring smile).
Merlin: (shakes his head again and tries to say something but he can't, so he whimpers quietly)
Lancelot: No touching, alright. (Lifts his hands in surrender) No one is going to touch you.
Arthur: (approaches as carefully as Lancelot did) Do you recognise us? (Thinking, begging) Please, say you do.
Merlin: (Nods and tries to speak again, but closes his mouth, frustrated)
Arthur: (realises, heartbroken) You can't speak.
Arthur and the knights can only imagine the horrors Merlin endured. It's obvious he was tortured but they didn't know how much of his new behaviour is result of physical damage or trauma. For example, is Merlin too traumatized to speak or is he physically unable? Did his tortures cut his tonge? Damaged his vocal chords? And what the hell have they done to Merlin to make him so afraid of human touch?
With a lot of reassuring and patience, they manage to bring Merlin back to Camelot. It was difficult not to touch him when he kept limping and falling. And Merlin refused to use a horse for some reason, no matter how much they insisted, so they had to get a cart to transport him. When they finally arrive, they bring him to Gaius immediately so the physician can check him, but Merlin doesn't let him touch him either and he locks himself in his room. It takes days for Gaius to have a formal diagnosis for the prince.
Gaius: (reports painfully) He was starved, beaten, cut, whiped and burned several times for what I could see.
Arthur: For what you could see?
Gaius: He wouldn't let me see all the wounds (sighs). He was also immobilized with chains by the wrists, ankles and neck. He must have struggled a lot because the marks of the chains are actually worse than the torture itself.
Arthur: (his heart aching for Merlin and burning in fury for the bastards who did this, composes himself just enough to ask again) His voice... did they...did they cut his-
Gaius: No, sire. He's physically able to talk He's just too traumatized to do it. It might take a while for him to talk again.
Arthur: (sighs releaved, but still fill with sorrow) Why? Why would they do this to him? Merlin never hurt anyone, who would want to- (stops when he sees Gaius apprehensive expression) You know something.
Gaius: (hesitantly) Merlin can't speak but he can still write, sire. He... he managed to write me some things.
Arthur: (raises his voice, angry) And you tell me this now?! What did he write?
Gaius: ...
Arthur: (demands) Gaius, I order you to tell me.
Gaius: (sighs) Apparently the bandits that captured him wanted... information sire. To know all the weak spots of the castle... and everything related to you.
Arthur: (open his eyes wide, horrified and devastated, and sinks in a nearby chair) No...
Gaius: He didn't say a thing, sire. You don't have anything to wo-
Arthur: (explodes) I know he didn't! That idiot! He should have told them everything! I wouldn't have blamed him, but of course he didn't. I whish he had (breaks down and cries) This is all my fault.
Gaius: (comforting him, a hand on Arthur's shoulder) This is no one's fault but theirs. You can't prevent every conspiration, attack or attemp murder directed at you. You're the king. It's expected.
Arthur: I should have protected him better, found him sooner. I should-
Gaius: Dwelling on what if scenarios won't help you. And it definitely won't help Merlin. What he needs now is for you to be there for him, be strong for him
So Arthur does just that. When Merlin keeps locking himself in his room and refuses to leave, Arthur visits him at the door and slide pieces of paper through the door crack so Merlin can write the words he can't speak and they can have a small talk at least once a day. Arthur can hear things being thrown and broken constantly and, the first days, Merlin doesn't even pick up the paper. When Merlin finally does, the paper is returned with a short messages along the lines of "Go away", "Leave me alone" to which Arthur reponds firmly he won't, he never will, every single time. Then Merlin's messages turn longer little by little and Arthur's one sided conversations with the door are over.
The day Merlin finally leaves his room and resumes his duties is a blessing as much as it is a curse. Arthur is glad and greatful at Merlin's progress, but seeing him doing his chores silently, just noding or shaking his head when asked something, and without sharing a single smile is painful. Merlin still doesn't let anyone touch him, which everyone respects, but is specially difficult for Arthur since, he realises, he used to manhandle his manservant a lot. They still comunicate through papers when necessary, but is just not the same.
A particular day Merlin almost falls down the stairs and Arthur, forgetting his manservant boundaries for a second, catches him in reflex.
Merlin: (separates from Arthur in full panic mode, screaming) NO!
Arthur: I'm so sorry, Merlin! I didn't mean-wait (open his eyes wide in surprise) You talked?
Merlin: (unsure, repeats) No? (brings a hand to his mouth in surprise and repeats, fearful) No? (his hand goes to his neck, nervous, as if expecting something bad to happen, but then he smiles brightly and shouts, very excited) No!😃 NO!😄
Arthur: (laughs in excitment, so happy he might cry) Your voice is back! You can talk again! (about to go for a hug)
Merlin: (lifts his hands, warnly) No!😠
Arthur: (lifts his hands too, quickly) Right, sorry. (They both lower their hands at the same time) Ahm... Is 'no' the only word you can say?
Merlin: (shrugs)
Arthur: Come one, try something else.
Merlin: (hesitanly) Ar...thur?
Arthur: See? You can talk.
Merlin: (smiles softly, and says fondly) Arthur. (tries to say something more elaborated, but in the end only manages to say again) Arthur. (Purses his lips, frustrated)
Arthur: (smiles at him fondly) One word at a time, don't force yourself. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's good to hear your annoying voice again. (thinking) And hearing you saying my name and smiling. How much I missed that smile.
After that, Merlin is able to give short answers. First from 1 to 3 words and later one sentence or two. He's also more expressive now with his features, not as much as he was before, but he makes small frowns and gives small smiles from time to time. Arthur craves those moments. Even if Merlin's face contorts in fury because Arthur tried to exclude him from going on trips with him to protect him, or because Arthur doesn't do things like throwing things at him anymore because he believes Merlin's made of cristal. Arthur can’t help feeling happy because Merlin's face is finally wearing some emotion.
Then comes the day Arthur sees Merlin having a nightmare.
Arthur finds Merlin fallen asleep in his bed. Before Arthur would have get mad, but he knows through Gaius that Merlin hasn’t been sleeping well so he lets him. He starts checking his informs when suddenly he hears Merlin crying for help. Arthur runs to him inmediatly.
Merlin: (begs in his sleep, moving and crying desperatly) No! Anything but that, please.
Arthur: (tries to wake him up without touching him) Merlin, it's just a nightmare. Wake up.
Merlin: (doesn’t wake up and cries more painfully) Please! Hurts too much! Please! Stop!
Arthur: Merlin-
Merlin: Arthur! Arthur, I'm here! Please! Arthur!
Arthur: (shouts) Merlin!
Merlin: (wakes up abruptly and checks desperatly his wrists and neck)
Arthur: (comforting him) You are safe. You are in Camelot. You are safe.
Merlin: (wipes his tears and looks around) I fell asleep in your bed. I'm sorry.
Arthur: (smiles) It’s okay. (Wants to put a comforting hand on his shoulder but restrains himself) You were having a nightmare.
Merlin: I... I don't want to talk about it.
Arthur: Alright. But if you ever want to. Just know that I'm here to listen.
Merlin: (Nods in understanding and sighs) I'll get back to work. (Stands up)
Arthur: (complains, but not really) As you should. Those chores aren’t going to make theirselfs, you know?
Merlin: (smiles a little, cause he knows what Arthur is doing) Right away, sire. (Leaves)
After that, Arthur asks Gaius if he knows what Merlin's dream are about exactly, because it seemed there was a especific type of torture Merlin dreaded the most, but while Gaius seems to know, he refuses to tell him, even when he commands him. "It's not my place to tell" It's all physician says. It bugs Arthur the rest of the day. It's not until Arthur leads a trial of a rape victim that devasting realisation hits him.
That girl, that poor girl acts just like Merlin. Not letting anyone touch her, barely speaking. There are marks on her wrists of ropes the inmobilized her while she was... Just like Merlin's chains. "He must have struggled a lot because the marks of the chains are actually worse than the torture itself" Gaius had said. Merlin's nightmares. Merlin limping when they found him in the wood. Merlin not wanting to ride on a horse.
Arthur's world crushes all over again. His Merlin, his best friend was raped. Arthur can see his knights came to the same conclusion, because of the devasted expression they have when he meets them in private.
Elyan: (still in denial) It can't be... not Merlin.
Leon: It does make sense though. If none other torture seemed to work...
Percival: And Merlin has always had... very delicate features for a man.
Gwaine: Those sick bastards!
Lancelot: (no quiet believing this theory yet because he knows Merlin has magic to defend himself, but he can't share that so he just stays silent) ...
Arthur: (with deadly and serious expression) As soon as we find them, we'll make them pay. For now I want you to keep taking turns in watching over Merlin.
All knights: Yes, sire!
By month 3, Merlin talks almost as frequently as he did before, maybe with less jokes and smiles, but he's getting there. Arthur is glad some of their usual banter is back.
Merlin: (asks, shyly) Arthur? Could you... it's just I want to try something, but... you don't have to if-
Arthur: (throwing whatever he's doing inmediatly) Of course, anything. Just ask.
Merlin: (blushes a little) Could you... give me your hand?
Arthur: (his heart stops with emotion for a moment, but composes himself) Sure (he extends his hand)
Merlin: (slowly but surely joins their palms and smiles. After a moment, he says relieved to himself) Nothing happened.
Arthur: (joyful at feeling Merlin's touch again, but his heart breaking at Merlin's words) Of course nothing happened. I would never hurt you, Merlin.
Merlin: (smiles a little) I know. (Lets go of Arthur’s hand)
Arthur: (missing his touch already) If you need to... you can ask me to help you again, you know? With the whole touching thing.
Merlin: (surprised) Really?
Arthur: (nods) Whenever you want.
Merlin: (smiles a little) Thank you.
And Arthur finds himself craving those moments too. He always waits for Merlin to initiate the touch. Arthur doesn't risk doing it, fearing he could scare Merlin. So he waits. First Merlin just asks to join their hands from time to time. Then, one blessful day, Merlin tell him is okay to touch his arm or his shoulder like Arthur used to do. Arthur does it gently though, enjoying and appreciating it as he never did before. Arthur feels sense of achievement when Merlin stops tensing at his touch completly, at easy with him again.
Gwaine: (while training, sighs) I miss Merlin's hugs.
Lancelot: (sad) Me too. He's making a great progress with touch though. And he smiles more.
Percival: Remember when he asked me if I could carry him in my back?
Elyan: And you said "I could carry you with a single finger!" And then you picked him up (All the knights except for Arthur, laugh)
Arthur: (suddenly very sternly) stop chatting and get back to training.
Gwaine: Relax, princess. We were just talking about all the times Merlin-
Arthur: (raises his voice, mad) I said get back to training!
Leon: (worried) Are you alright, sire?
Arthur: (harshly) I'm fine.
Gwaine: (realising) Wait... you've never hugged Merlin before?
Arthur: ...
Gwaine: (laughing) Oh, gods! That's what it is. You're jealous!
Lancelot: (warns) Gwaine.
Gwaine: What? Is not my fault mister I'm-too-great-to-show-affection didn't get to hug Merlin before.
Leon: (seeing Arthur's increasinly furious face, warns too) Gwaine, stop.
Gwaine: And he doesn't get to be mad at us just because he'll never get to hug him now.
Arthur: (shouts and launches himself at Gwaine and they start fighting)
The rest of the knights: (try to stop them but is useless).
Arthur: (about to throw the finale punch)
Merlin: (enters the training ground and aproaches, confused) Arthur? Gwaine? What's happening?
Arthur: (gets distracted at Merlin's appearance)
Gwaine: (takes advantage and makes Arthur trip)
Arthur: (Ends with his face in a puddle of mud)
Gwaine:... 😨
Elyan:... 😧
Lancelot:...😓
Percival: ...😰
Leon: ...🤦‍♂️
Merlin: (burst out laughing) OMG! Your face! I can't! 🤣😂
All the knights, specially Arthur: (stunned but mostly mesmerised cause Merlin hasn’t laugh, properly laugh since they found him in the woods and they have missed his beautiful laugh so damn much)
Merlin: (wipes his tears of hapiness) Sorry. I'm done now.
Arthur: (Thinking, almost in panic) No, you aren't! (Turns to Gwaine and orders) Gwaine, give me your face.
Gwaine: What-
Arthur: (smashes mud in his face)
Merlin: (starts laughing again, but not as hard as before)
Lancelot: (understanding what Arthur is doing, thinks) Is not enough. (Makes a ball of mud and throws it at Elyan's face)
Elyan: Hey! 😠
Lancelot: (pointing at Merlin) Look!
Merlin: (is laughing harder)
Percival: (shouts) Mud fight! (And everyone starts throwing mud at each other)
Merlin: (still laughing) What are you doing, you idiots! Now I'll have to wash all your armors!
Arthur: Don't be dull, Merlin! Join us!
Merlin: (giggles) You're worst than children, I swear. (shakes his head but joins the fight)
Arthur's finally got his Merlin back and he'll never lose him again.
180 notes · View notes
padfootdaredmetoo · 4 months
Note
Can you write something for: "being Tommy's wife"? Please. The girl would have been raised by Polly, who raised and loves her like a daughter. She grew up with the boys, especially Tommy. She witnessed Finn's birth and everything. When he goes to war, he promises to stay with her when he returns. Another, Tommy's brothers have her as a sister so they will defend her as one, Ada and her are best friends and Isaiah had a crush on her as a kid... Kisses, sorry for the long thing, I love your stories, see u later 🩷.
Hey Love,
I am deeply sorry this took a million years to write. Thanks for sending this in and for being so kind. I'm so happy that you enjoy my writing. Hope you like this one <3
Tumblr media
Warnings: Peaky related themes like violence, murder, drunk dads, beatings, suicide, childbirth - and of course kissing and cuteness
You had always been close with the Shelby Family. Your mother died in childbirth leaving you without siblings, something that was easily remedied with the constant chaos of your next-door neighbors. You were often lumped in with them as your father worked constantly. You traded what extra things you had for their company. You weren't rich living on Watery Lane, but you always had extra bread which was kind of like being rich. 
As you got older you started to understand what happened down at the Betting Shop. You remembered Arthur taking Tommy aside and telling him to keep you as far away from there as possible. So he took you down to the cut and you spent most of your time with the horses in Charlie’s yard. 
Those moments were your happiest. Tommy was always around to get into trouble with. One night when your dad had laid a beating on you for ruining a pair of shoes in the stable he’d helped you climb out of your window across the ledge and into his bedroom. He’d fixed your swelling cheek with some ice wrapped in a kitchen towel. 
There was an unspoken easiness between the two of you. John and Arthur were different. John was always teasing you loudly and Arthur was always laughing. Always fun and games until someone was giving you a hard time, then they were all business. 
You’d been there for Finn’s birth. A memory that was both happy and sad. You normally avoided the Shelby parents at all costs. Mrs. Shelby had a dead look in her eyes and she would twirl around the kitchen talking to ghosts, other times she would cry out in the night so loud you could hear her in your own apartment. Mr. Shelby was mean. Not much to him other than that. Finn was special, he was the first baby you ever held. You had to help Polly clean him off and get him sorted when he was born. You remembered sitting down once he had been fed and fallen asleep. You sat down covered in after birth swearing you would never have children. Ever. 
Watching Tommy come into the room and hold his sleeping brother with a look in his eyes, something deep inside you reconsidered. 
Polly was alright, she’d always put bows in your hair and read your tea leaves. Out of all the adults in your life, you had the biggest soft spot for her. She had all the juiciest stories that made you want to go out and start living your own life. 
Something you were just on the cusp of doing before the war started. 
The boys left and you tried not to let it break you. The unmovable safety they had brought you was gone and the city seemed vicious. Tommy wasn't there when your father was drunk… Tommy wasn't there at all. You’d stayed awake all night before he left. Laying there with him talking about everything you wouldn't be able to talk about while he was gone. Well, almost everything. You held his hand and laughed till your ribs hurt at all his jokes about what it would be like and what he would do while he was gone. Anything to keep the truth of it at bay. You wanted to tell him how you felt but you didn’t want him to carry more burdens with him when he left. You promised him that Ada, Finn, and John’s kids wouldn't starve and he’d kissed your cheek and promised he’d come back for you. Those words haunted your every moment.
To avoid your father and the emptiness of missing Tommy you threw yourself into your job as a mid-wife. At the end of the day you would sneak food out of your pantry and bring it over to Polly. She ran a tight ship void of all the things you had enjoyed about her when you were a kid. She was hard on the kids and they were mostly Ada’s responsibility as Polly shouldered the betting shop. There was a balance, most of your money went to the household and Polly was always grateful for your help. Things were fine until they weren't. Young boys who weren't quite yet fighting age had started up gangs and more drugs and conflict swept through the streets of Birmingham. You ended up working while also causing lots of trouble. 
The worst night of it came just before Tommy had come home. You’d killed another stupid idiot pushing his wrapped body into the cut in the middle of the night. It was exhausting, for every life you brought into the world you ended another. A cycle you didn't think you would ever end up in. You knelt by the side of the river letting the rain soak through your clothes. Looking down into the black water you could feel the same pull that took Mrs. Shelby. It was calling out to you softly but you shook your head. You had a lot more fight still left in you. 
______________Tommy’s POV 
Coming home wasn't the relief he thought it would be all those years ago. He came home and you hugged him tightly. While you looked like you were bursting with life he felt like like he was dead on the inside. Your cheeks were flushed and your eyes bright. Your fingernails had a pink tinge to them. He’d hoped it was from your job as a midwife but he knew how bad things had gotten here. He could feel it in the way people looked at you on their walk home from the train station. Settling in was awful. The nightmares that kept him up at night, the sad sense of rejection that was growing around you. But the weight of the business is what was crushing him. He needed you and Polly out of it, he needed to step up as a man should. You especially should have never had to get your hands as dirty as they were. But there you were all those names etched into your soul, and you still looked at him with girlish adoration, as if he wasn't the man who had commended your life. 
Things between him and Polly had never been worse, any move he made she would disagree. You still kept looking at him with your big eyes full of emotions he didn't know how to feel anymore. 
Ada was a few years younger than you but you were both old enough now that it wasn't noticeable. He saw the both of you sitting on the front step watching some men moving furniture out of the house down the street. There were glasses of wine between you and the sun made the flush of your cheeks look so red. Ada mumbled something and waved to Isiah as he passed by and both of you burst into giggles. That’s when he realized if he didn't make good on his promise, you wouldn't be around. Men looked at you with fear, but they also acknowledged the fierce competence and loyalty you have. By the time he got the business up, and then got it legal, you would probably be married off. He hated the sense of panic he felt bubble up in his stomach. Just once he would like to feel something pleasant. 
All day he thought about what to do. They were drinking beer around the table. He was always happy listening to John and Arthur tell jokes. It made him happy that they had managed to keep more of themselves alive than he had himself. 
“Going to head out for the night. I’m on call tomorrow so I can only help around the house.” You looked at Polly who nodded. Your eyes flashed to him for a second before wrapping your wool shawl around your shoulders. 
“I’ll walk you home.” He could feel John and Arthur’s eyes narrow in on him as the silence rolled through the room. 
“You haven't forgotten I only live next door have you?” You smiled at him and gestured for him to come along. He followed you down the stairs and out the front door. Three steps to your front door and you turned to look at him.
“Well, this is me.” You pointed at the door giving him a smile. “I’d invite you in for a drink but my father wouldn't approve.” 
“Walk with me?” He asked and he wished there was more emotion in his tone. You raised your eyebrows and he almost wanted to laugh. 
“A private meeting with Mr.Shelby. Wow.” You linked your arm in his and he could tell that there was hurt under your humor. 
“Things-” His voice trailed off as he lost all the things he had thought about telling you. He wanted to tell you to marry him but that was much to forward you deserved something nice and for it to move at your own pace. 
“Are different” You finished. “You're not you, Polly is pulling her hair out, and your secret-keeping is making it impossible to help with the business.” 
“Precisely.” He said in a cold tone. He wanted to explain but the words were still gone. 
“Well, fix it then.” You said in a short tone. “You came home and made a mess of things, so fix it.” 
“It’s not that easy.” He pulled a cigarette out and offered you one. You nodded and he lit one, taking a drag then watched as you took it from him. Your lips perched where his had been a moment before. His eyes focused on your mouth and he could feel the tension become obvious. 
“I want to make things right between us. I’m just not sure how.” He said the words slowly finally dragging his gaze from your mouth. Your cheeks had flushed again and he fought the urge to stroke your cheek. 
“Thomas. All you have to do is trust me. Then talk to me. We spent our whole lives that way. Only four years were apart.” There was pleading your eyes and he wondered if he would ever be able to deny you anything. 
“Alright. I want to shoulder most of the business.” You sighed and he continued on. “Not because you and Polly aren't competent, but because things are even higher risk than they have been. I want to shoulder the consequences. To do that I need to keep you out of it.” 
“I don’t want you to face things alone. Not the risk or the consequences.” It was his turn to let out a sigh. 
“I know you don't, that’s why I -” He what? Was in love with you, wanted to marry you? Wanted to build you a life that would make any other woman on the planet die of a jealous heart? 
“You what?” They were by the cut now and you turned to look at him. You were angry and you had every right to be. 
“I want to marry you.” He blurted the words out and ran a hand through his hair. Your hands flew to your mouth and you looked at him with wide eyes illuminated by the moonlight. Was this positive or negative? The regret and embarrassment started to creep up his neck when you lunged at him. 
He stumbled slightly before properly handling your weight. Your arms were tight around his neck and all he could smell was the perfume along your neck. He took a deep breath, the first real breath he had taken since leaving France. He wanted the weight of you pressed up against him all the time. The feeling you brought him was enough to keep the demons at bay. How selfish was it of him to take this easy path out. He should have worked out a proposal and should have courted you properly. 
“We don’t - we could -” He tried to figure out what he wanted to ask. 
“Shut up and let me have my moment.” You said before pulling away enough to kiss him. It was soft and slow and he knew without a doubt he was yours forever. 
After a good amount of kissing, he smiled at you and meant it. He walked you home and then took his beating from Arthur and John. 
“I don’t care if God himself descended from the sky to claim her. She’s my sister and you won’t hurt her Tommy.” Tommy couldn't remember the last time he heard his brother’s voice sound so lethal. 
“You’ll be held to the same standards as any other dumbass wanting to date her,” John added. 
“Trying to do the opposite of hurt her.” He said wanted them to see he was trying to make you happy too. 
“That’s what they all say,” Arthur said with pointed eyes before bursting out into a booming laugh. “I want this to happen, brother I do. Just don’t mess around with her.” Arthur gave him a rough pat on the back and John started to make jokes about all the ways Tommy could disappoint you. 
Eventually, they let him go up to his room. You had already climbed across the ledge to his window and gotten into his bed.
“Took you long enough.” You said it as a joke but there was something in your voice that gave you away. You were starting to think he wasn't going to show up. 
“Boys had to rough me up a bit first.” Tommy shrugged his jacket off. 
“Why? what did you do?” Her eyes looked him over with concern. 
“Showed an interest in you. They had to do the usual.” He said absently changing into his pj’s trying to seem unbothered by your gaze watching him closely as he undressed. 
“What’s the usual?” You whispered.
“Bit of a beating, the usual threats. Part of dating someones sister.” 
“You mean any guy that’s wanted to date me has been roughed up by the three of you?!” 
“Yeah.” Tommy leaned against the wall looking at you laying in his bed in your night clothes. Head propped up on your arm. 
“I thought I was ugly.” You whispered still in shock over this news.
“What?!” Tommy laughed again. 
“None of the boys ever asked me out over the years. I thought I was ugly.” Tommy moved across the room and into the bed to assure you that you were never ugly.  
_____________________________
It took a lot of time to get out of that house on Watery Lane. Your father had passed before your wedding and Arthur walked you down the aisle. Ada and Poly felt all was right in the universe once you joined the family properly. They had a lot of fun planning the whole thing out. Your honeymoon was in the new house, a massive thing that Tommy had built for you.  It was large but warm.
263 notes · View notes
imthebadguyyy · 8 months
Text
Something Just Like This II
Tumblr media
pairing - charles leclerc x reader
fandom - f1
summary - a look into your relationship
part - ii (part II) (part III )
a/n - more angst??
"everyone, I want you to meet charlotte”
never before had a single sentence made your head whirl the way it was. never before had you felt nauseous at the sight of your best friend, but that day, the wine you had drunk threatened to make an unpleasant comeback. never before had you felt your heart shatter at the sight of a person before, but you swore you heard your fragile heart shatter into a milllion unfixable pieces, as you stared at the gorgeous brunette with the sweet smile, currently greeting charles’ family.
it wasn’t just you that stood shell shocked. pascale stared openly at her son, confusion and sadness visible in her eyes, but nevertheless, the matriarch of the leclerc family greeted the young girl with a smile, kissing her on the cheek and welcoming her to the home that suddenly felt so cold to you. lorenzo stood up to, ever the kind hearted one, greeting her and offering a glass of wine to her.
arthur was the only one that sat shell shocked, mouth agape, and it wasn’t till lorenzo nudged hum gently that he stood up to greet the woman.
the smile on charles’ face made your already hurting heart ache a little more. he looked so happy, and you hated it. you felt the easy tears rising again, threatening to spill over, but you forced them back. no. you were not going to have a breakdown in front of charles and his family, and his new girlfriend. girlfriend. the word had never seemed so painful before.
but you put on your camera smile, flashing charlotte a warm smile, and giving her a small hug. “Hello, I’m y/n” you smiled softly at her, admitting to yourself that she really was a beauty. "hello, I’m charlotte, I’m a big fan!” she exclaimed, and you forced yourself to keep the smile on your face. “always a pleasure to meet the fans” you joked half heartedly, and she laughed. much to your relief, pascale, sensing your discomfort, pulled the girl into a conversation on the other side, leaving you, arthur, lorenzo and charles in her drawing room.
"so charlotte sine huh?” arthur asked, face blank of any emotion. he recognised the girl well, having grown up quite near the family. “yes, I met her the other day on my run and figured I might as well ask her out on a date” he smiled, grinning it himself at the memory. “she seems nice, n’est ce pas?” lorenzo asked, throwing you a sympathetic smile. “oui, elle est tres gentile” he affirmed, and you fought back the urge to cry once more. “mais, y/n, you didn’t tell me you would be here?” he said, pulling you in for a hug,
y/n. not cherie. that was your first thought. of course you wouldn’t be cherie anymore. no, you’d have to give up that title, you reasoned, inhaling a shaky breath.
"i wasn’t supposed to. but i met maman in the afternoon and she invited me over for dinner, and i missed you guys so i thought i might as well” you said, quite honestly. “lovely, that way I can introduce you to charlotte too, no?” he smiled, and you faked a smile once more, before politely excusing yourself.
taking deep shaky breaths, you slipped into the balcony, glass of wine still in hand, sipping on it slowly to keep you grounded, you recognised the sound of feet softly making their way to you, and before you knew it, arthur’s blue shirt came into your line of sight.
how are you holding up?” he asked, wrapping his warm around.
you let out a shaky breath, taking another sip of your wine, and throwing him a watery smile. “simply splendid, tur” you whispered, and arthur swore he felt his heart break for his older sister.
"il ne sait pas ce qu’il ressent cherie, donne lui de temps, je sais qu’il t’aime” he doesn’t know how he feels darling, give him some time, I know he loves you he said, and you let the first tear drop, feeling it roll slowly down your cheek and drip onto the railing.
“no don’t cry” arthur mumbled, feeling such sadness on your behalf. with a soft sigh, he pulled you in for a proper hug, letting you bury your face in his shirt, and balancing your wine glass on the balcony railing.
how had it come to this? this wasn’t how you expected your night to go. you had hoped at the end of it you and charles would have been the ones cuddled up on the couch, laughing and chatting with his mother.
but unfortunately, fate had different plans.
dinner was an oddly quiet affair. pascale’s delicious dinner received multiple compliments from the five of you, but there was an odd tenseness in the air. and you knew it was because of your presence, that the atmosphere was so tense.
"merci maman, pour le diner, mais, je pense qui je vais rentrer chez moi, maintenant, je suits tres fatigue” thank you mum for the dinner, but I think i will head home now, I’m very tired you said, giving the woman who had been a second mother to you all your life a tight hug. you saw your own sad smile reflected on her face, and she gave you a bowl of chocolate mousse to take home.
"leaving already?” lorenzo asked, pulling you in for a hug as well.
“oui, je suis tres fatigue, enzo” you whispered, and he dropped a kiss to the top of your head. “d'accord, bonne nuit ange” he said, and you smiled at him. arthur insisted on walking you all the way to your car, and you let him, grateful for his company.
“is he gonna be with her forever?” you asked, the childish question slipping past your lips, voicing the fears you had in your heart. you knew it was silly to ask. but you had to ask, you just had to.
"no, don't be silly ange. of course he won't. i know he's my brother and i do love him unconditionally but he is terrible at maintaining relationships. in fact he is utterly hopeless. you know why? because he isn't with the woman he truly loves" arthur stated, helping you into your car.
you just sighed, leaning up to kiss his cheek and then starting the engine. the roar of your ferrari brought a small smile to your face, and waving him goodbye, you drove out.
yes, you were distraught but no, you were not going going to let it wreck you. but even as you forced yourself to be strong, you could feel your heart cracking into a million pieces in your chest. you had felt heartbreak before but never had you felt so absolutely wrecked over someone. not just someone.
your best friend. your bestest friend in the whole wide world.
and you had never told him you loved him.
the thought brought bile rising to your throat, and you had to pull over to throw up.
finally, you stopped resisting the tears, and let yourself break down completely in the car, parked near the dock in monaco. you sobbed and sobbed and wailed, lashing out at the wheel of your ferrari, releasing all your pent up hurt.
you turned the radio up, trying to muffle out the sound of your tears. the last thing you expected was the knock on your window, that had you reaching for the pepper spray and slowly lowering the window.
"hey, you doing okay y/n? i saw your car and i heard what sounded like crying so i thought.." your eyes met lewis' sweet ones, currently displaying concern for you.
lewis hamilton leaned down, taking in your red eyes and nose.
he knew you quite well, he had seen you with charles and lorenzo and andrea very frequently around the paddock, and had even spent time with you in monaco when charles invited him for dinner.
he'd never admit it, but he had always thought you were beautiful. but a few stories from pierre suggested to him that you and charles were a thing so he never said anything to you.
but here you were, tears streaming down your face, blasting someone like you by adele on the radio and he knew something was wrong.
"oh! hey lewis. didn't think anyone would be here, i just wanted a minute" you smiled.
"i can leave if you want, just wanted to make sure everything was okay" he said, and you were touched by the sincerity in his eyes.
"im okay" you spoke softly, not trusting your voice to go above a whisper. "but i could do with some company" you admitted, chuckling.
"anytime" he smiled back at you. you opened to door to your car, letting him slide in the passenger seat.
"out on a jog were you?" you asked, driving down to your favourite icecream store (vegan of course)
"yep, i had a lot on my mind and i just wanted to run it all off y'know" he said, and you noticed the shift in his eyes and the sadness reflecting in them.
"this season's getting to you isn't it?" you whispered, and felt your heart go out to him when he nodded.
"lewis, one season doesn't define you...and you've been performing marvellously considering the car you have. im not exactly an f1 whiz but you're still the best. without a doubt" you said honestly.
lewis chuckled, and then turned to face you directly. "don't let charles hear you say that" he joked, and immediately he noticed the shift in your demeanour.
"uh yeah i won't" you mumbled, with a tight smile. "is everything okay with you two?" lewis asked, concerned.
you sighed, stopping at the store and looking determinedly out the window, trying your hardest not to cry.
"yeah it's all okay. im just a little overwhelmed right now is all" you sighed.
lewis nodded, not pushing you to tell him anything you didn't want to.
"c'mon, let's go and get some ice cream" he smiled at you, getting up to open your door.
your story
Tumblr media
caption : late night snack 💗@lewishamilton
replies -:
@.yourbestfriend - girlie pop is that lewis hamilton you've tagged?!?!
@.arthurleclerc - icecream without me? :(
@lorenzotl- icecream with lewis?
@lewishamilton - had so much fun! definitely trying the biscoff one next time💜
@.charlesleclerc - is that our icecream spot y/n?
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧
sighing, you let your hand crash against the piano, wincing at the discordant notes.
this stupid melody had been playing around in your head for weeks and you couldn't put it into a proper song.
at the same time you had also decided the best thing you could do was put space between you and charles, and so, your communication had decreased significantly.
arthur still spoke to you regularly and visited you almost every week. he often brought carla along, who you adored, and who thought of you as an older sister.
he kept you updated on how everyone was doing, and you spoke to lorenzo and pascale over text when you could.
but of course it was hard to avoid your best friend when your social media feed was full of posts about him, now more often with his girlfriend, and you were having a hard time ignoring it.
letting your head drop back, you stretched, hearing your back crack like bubble wrap. the ding of the text notification from your phone made you sit up, smiling when you saw lewis' contact pop up on the screen
lewis h 💜: hey, just wanted to check in on you and make sure you're doing okay?
you : hello, I'm doing okay, thank you for asking 🫶🏼
lewis h 💜: what have you been upto?
you : just trying to figure out this melody, it's driving me insane
lewis h 💜: don't dress about it. i've heard your music and it's absolutely phenomenal. just relax, breathe, and let the music flow.
you : thank you. i can't thank you enough
lewis h 💜: anytime darling 💗 hope to see you soon?
you : ill be there at the monaco grand prix!
lewis h 💜: ive been meaning to ask, would you like to come as my guest to the mercedes hospitality?
you : id love to but..i don't want to cause a media storm..
lewis h 💜: fuck the media honestly. if i want to bring a friend to the paddock, ill bring a friend to the paddock.
you: lewis hamilton swears? 😯
lewis h 💜: hahaha. so ill see you there?
you : yes. ill be there 💗
lewis h 💜: looking forward to it y/n 💗
smiling, you put your phone down, almost giddy with excitement.
like magic, the melody seemed to fall into place and you called your friend jack.
"hey jack, I've got this idea, but ill need some help" you said.
jack antonoff laughed and said, "on it. another pop hit in the making?" he smirked and you laughed. "i sure hope so. ill see you soon then"
you smiled to yourself.
maybe life wasn't so bad after all.
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧
Tumblr media Tumblr media
@kymillman- @yourinstagram arriving at the monaco grand prix, but not in her usual manner with @.charlesleclerc, but rather with @lewishamilton, with a mercedes cap. she also made her way past the ferrari hospitality and went to the mercedes hospitality, but always a pleasure to photograph her.
@predestinato - oh dear what did charles do :( she's always supporting charles at all the races and she's been at every monaco grand prix since he got into f1. i miss her :(
@charles16monaco - she's with lewis now? i was hoping to see her at monaco with the leclercs.
@ynfan23 - mother is serving as always!! but i do wonder where charles is...
@ynlnisaqueen - serving looks and badassery.
@charlesbanana - charlie noo :( but yn looks gorgeous as always but i don't want to lose her to mercedes 😭
@lh44fanbase - sir lewis?? shooting his shot?? with our resident popstar queen?
pushing your sunglasses up your nose, you took in the sight of the monaco paddock, smiling as the sun warmed your skin.
the buzz and chatter and roar of engines felt like home, and you felt so excited to be back.
you spotted lewis, walking with roscoe to the media pen, and you watched as he turned towards you and shot you a bright smile.
you didn't expect him to turn and sprint towards you, and wrap you in a hug. you heard the click of cameras behind you but you didn't care. you were glad to have a friend in the paddock.
it felt a little strange to not walk into the red, bustling ferrari hospitality, and instead into the calm atmosphere of the mercedes one. it felt strange to walk past the sea of red, and you did feel a tinge of guilt.
lewis noticed. and he nudged you, bending to whisper, "it's okay, we're just here as friends. and it's just one race. let's just chill okay. ill treat you to more icecream too" he smiled and you giggled, walking into the hospitality.
across the paddock, charles frowned. he hadn't known you would be at the paddock. you were always at the monaco paddock with him, ever since his first grand prix.
he was used to seeing you wearing some element of red, a cap or a shirt or pants. but you were wearing a mercedes cap, and you hadn't even bothered to tell him you would be at the gp.
he pursed his lips, and decided to make his way to the car. he just needed to be focused on the quali and not on how you were with lewis-
no. he shook his head vigorously. he did not need that image in his head.
from the corner of his eye, he saw carlos approaching, and he sighed. he knew what he'd ask.
"cabron, where is y/n? why is she at mercedes? what did you do?" he asked.
"i did not do anything and i don't know why she's there" he said, sounding more put off than he meant to.
"are you sure? she always supports ferrari.." he trailed off, noticing how sad charles looked.
"what do you think happened?" carlos asked, leaning against the wall. the spaniard hadn't know you for very long, but in the time that he had, he had become one of your closest confidantes. he knew he would have trusted you with anything.
"i don't know, but she has been distant lately ever since..." he trailed off, unsure of the conclusion he had come to.
"ever since what?" carlos asked, growing impatient.
"ever since i introduced charlotte to her and my family.." he trailed off, eyes clouding over.
"ah. i see" carlos said. he didn't have to say anything else. he knew that charles knew, what exactly he wanted to say.
"mate, i know that you and charlotte broke up, and I know that it's because of a very strong reason. don't mess up mate. she's something special and you know it." carlos told his friend.
charles sighed, eyes dropping to the floor.
"best of luck for quali mate" carlos said, clapping him on the back and leaving to get ready for his own quali.
unfortunately for them, quali was shit for ferrari. engine issues meant that charles was p10 and carlos as p12, and much more irksome was the fact that lewis qualified p1, and the cameras had planned to your grinning and clapping.
he stormed off to the drivers room, slamming his helmet on the ground and sinking down onto the bed, roughly grabbing his own hair.
"tu es tellement stupide charles, tellement stupide et maintenant tu perds l'amour de ta vie"
sighing, he reached for his phone, and opened up instagram. he instantly wished he hadn't.
the first post he saw made his heart shatter into a thousand pieces.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
@yourinstagram - delighted to announce my new single 'it's nice to have a friend' is out now on!! to all my friends who've been there for me, new and old, i love you to saturn and back. thank you for being my people and for loving me and guiding me through everything. i love u all 🫶🏼💗
tagged - @yourbestfriend @lewishamilton @carla.brocker @lilymunihe @kika.gomes
@ynfans77 - OMG WHAT A MEW SJMGLE I AM LISINF MT MIND
-@ynisabadassqueen - same girlie sameee!! 😭 miss maam really just dropped a banger out of nowhere.
@ynrules - OH MY GOD ITS SO GOOD YAS KWEEN SLAY!!
@kika.gomes - forever proud of u my love 🫶🏼so glad to have seen you make this song and see u power through life. honoured to be your friend and ill love u forever. always wanna hang out with u.
@lewishamilton - honoured to be on your team. my support is with you always. so proud 💜
@yourbestfriend - my favouritest friend. my babygirl. my love. my sweetheart. my talented darling. forever proud of you. forever glad i gave u my glove. 🩷
@lilymunihe- my darling u are a force and i adore u. you're my favourite person ever. so proud and i'm always there for u. ps alex has been sobbing for half an hour I think u broke him
-@alexalbon- no I am not lily 😭😭 but gorgeous job y/n. many congratulations 🎉
@carla.brocker - congratulations mom soeur. i love u always 🩷💗🫶🏼 so glad to have u in my life and have u guiding me. you're an icon and a force to be reckoned with. forever grateful for u.
@arthur.leclerc - you are truly a wonder. congratulations cherie! 🩷
@yncharles2216 - she didn't tag charles :( all those years of friendship...
@charlesfans - she's two faced. forgot charles already.
-@ynfans - we don't need u here. mother slays and you're a loser.
liked by @arthur.leclerc @.kika.gomes @.yourbestfriend and @carla.brocker
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧
charles took in the sight of the blue waters surrounding the boat.
his brothers, their girlfriends, his mother and their friends had all decided to spend the day on the boat. lorenzo and arthur were enjoying the football game on the tv, and carla and charlotte (lorenzo's girlfriend) were enjoying a sunbathing session on the deck.
charles sighed. he missed your presence on the boat. in fact, he missed your presence overall. usually, the both of you would be chatting away to glory, or playing games or just lounging about together.
he hadn't realized exactly how much your presence meant to him until you had slowly begun to pull away.
he felt tears rise up and he blinked them away furiously.
from the corner of his eye, he saw his mother approach him.
"salut maman" he smiled, kissing her cheeks.
"charles, pourquoi as-tu l'air si triste?" charles why do you look so sad?
"je ne sais pas maman, je... elle me manque tellement" i don't know mum, i... i miss her so much.
"mon fils, tu sais, je sais, nous savons tous que tu aimes y/n. pourquoi tu ne lui dis pas chérie ? elle t'aime tellement aussi et ça me fait mal au cœur que deux personnes destinées l'une à l'autre ne soient pas ensemble." my son, you know, i know,we all have known that you love y/n. why dont you tell her darling? she loves you so much too and it hurts my heart that two people destined for each other aren't together.
"mais... et si elle ne m'aime pas, maman ? je ne veux pas ruiner notre amitié et je ne veux pas la perdre. et c'est égoïste, mais je ne veux pas être blessé" but.. what if she doesnt love me back mum? i domt wamt to ruin our friendship and i dont want to lose her. and its selfish, but i dont want to be hurt..
"charles, l'amour est une douleur. dire à quelqu'un dont vous ne savez pas qu'il vous aime, que vous l'aimez est terrifiant, mais c'est ça l'amour. mais tu ne peux pas laisser cette peur t’arrêter. ne manquez pas votre chance de trouver le véritable amour. souviens-toi de mon fils, un amour comme celui-ci n'arrive qu'une fois dans la vie" charles, love is pain. telling someone you don't know loves you, that you love them is terrifying, but thats what love is. but you cant let that fear stop you. dont miss your chance at true love. remember my son, a love like this comes only once in a lifetime.
"je le ferai maman. merci" i will mum. thank you.
pascale pressed a kiss to her middle son's forehead, and left him to his thoughts. she knew he had a lot to think about.
charles knew he had a lot to think about too. he knew he had to tell you that he loved you, because damn it, you were his sun moon and stars and he would be damned if he let you go.
he smiled, a plan forming in his mind. he called carla and arthur, knowing you had a soft spot for the two of them.
"les gars, j'ai besoin de votre aide" he said.
"how can we help charles?" carla asked, smiling at him.
"i want to tell y/n that i love her"
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧*:・゚✧
a/n - part ii finished!!! i hope you guys liked it 🩷🫶🏼 comments, feedback, opinions, reblogs are always appreciated! my comments and inbox and are always open so feel free to drop in any time!!
part iii should be up soon too!!
TAGS
those who responded to part i - @chanshintien @eternalharry @janeholt3 @magicalcowboyarbiter @oneafterdark @leclerc13
f1 tags - @theonly1outof-a-billion
all writing - @roslastyles420 @hopefulinlove @bluesongbird
TO BE ADDED TO THE TAGLIST SEND ME AN ASK OR A DM 🩷
622 notes · View notes
zablife · 3 months
Text
Now You Know the Truth (Part 3)
Tumblr media
Summary: After your accident, a distraught Tommy waits for news about you and the baby.
Author's Note: Since there's been interest in a continuation of their story, here's another part. Credit goes to @pono-pura-vida for her help brainstorming this one!
Warnings: mention of miscarriage
Part 2
“Is she…” Tommy’s voice faltered halfway through his sentence, turning away from the uncertainty of what was to come. His forehead rested against the cool tiles briefly before Ada came to stand by his side, listening intently as the doctor explained you had survived your injuries. Though extensive, you were expected to make a full recovery in a few weeks time.
“And the baby?” Ada ventured, voice barely above a whisper.
The doctor shook his head, casting his eyes to the ground as he offered his condolences. “We did everything we could.”
“Thank you,” Ada mumbled as she placed a hand at her brother’s elbow for support.
“When can I see my wife?” Tommy asked on a shaky breath.
“The moment she wakes, we’ll let you know,” the doctor promised before disappearing behind the heavy swinging door.
——————————-
“It’s been twelve bloody hours,” Tommy growled as he continued pacing the corridor.
Stirring from his place on an uncomfortable wooden bench, Arthur joined his brother. “She took a hard fall, Tom. They said it could be days,” he reminded him. 
“I have to see her. I need to make it right,” Tommy ranted, unable to eat or sleep until he could be with you once more.
Arthur clapped a hand over his brother’s shoulder to anchor him momentarily. “She knows you love her,” he assured Tommy.
Tommy’s face contorted in pain, eyes darting about the room, unable to calm himself as he replayed the last moments you’d spent together. “You heard what I said last night. Told her I should never have married her,” Tommy recalled.
“You didn’t meant it,” Arthur quickly dismissed with a shake of his head.
“She wanted to leave,” Tommy added in a distant voice, somewhere far away from where Arthur now stood eyeing him with deep concern.
“Is there a Thomas Shelby here?” a nurse called out, breaking Tommy’s trance. He broke free of Arthur’s hold to sprint toward the open door, eager for news of your progress. “Your wife is conscious,” she began, but her face held a look of uncertainty.
——————————-
Tommy entered your hospital room as gingerly as if her were walking across a frozen pond about to crack and plunge him into its icy depths. The sight of you bruised and bandaged stole his breath as he asked, “How are you feeling?”
The throbbing pain inside your skull made his words reverberate with a slight echo and you recoiled from the harsh noise. Wetting your parched lips you begged, “Could you speak more quietly please?” Swallowing harshly Tommy nodded, reaching for your hand slowly so as not to startle you. He watched as your disoriented gaze drifted down to your interlaced fingers and back up into his crystal blue eyes, waiting for a reaction.
“Why have you come?” you asked forlornly. 
A shudder ran down his spine as he attempted to find the words to apologize to you properly. You deserved more than the lonely nights and harsh words he’d offered lately. He would make it up to you now though, he’d made a vow to himself as he paced the hospital corridors, images of your broken body lying at the bottom of the stairs enough to convince him of all his wrongdoing. 
“I-I wanted to start by saying you were right, love. When I lost Polly, I lost sight of how to care for this family. I forgot I had you by my side,” he said, squeezing your hand gently. 
You cocked your head as you noticed tears collecting at the corners of his eyes, proof of his sincerity so you sat silently, waiting of him to finish. 
“I never wanted my child to become collateral damage. Can you forgive what I've done?” he asked, looking into your eyes with a pain stricken expression. As the moments of silence ticked by, Tommy’s inner panic grew. You could tell by the trembling of his hands before he spoke again. “Y/n, do you believe me?”
You held his gaze for a moment, biting the inside of your cheek as you made your decision. Then you spoke up, quietly and earnestly.  “Yes,” you nodded, reaching up to catch the tear falling down his freckled cheek. “I believe you,” you whispered to him as he breathed a sigh of relief.
“But I have one question,” you asked, furrowing your brow slightly.
“Yes, of course, anything,” Tommy responded eagerly.
“Who are you?”
Part 4
————————
Tag List:
@peakyswritings
@evita-shelby
@shelbydelrey
@lovemissyhoneybee
@kittycatcait219
@callsign-fangirl
@red-riding-wood
@polishcrazyone
@elenavampire21
@little-diable
@tommydoesntpayforsuits
@look-at-the-soul
@kpopgirlbtssvt
@watercolorsky
@cillmequick
@moonshooter
@mrs-bellingham
@the-fangirl-diaries
@allie131313
@peakyscillian
@runnning-outof-time
@babayaga67
@kmhappybunny240
@babaohhhriley
@noforkingclue
@murderousginger
@garrison-girl-08
@dearshelby
@embystarr-blog
@fairypitou
@sunnypatchfriends
@brummiereader
@call-sign-shark
@ladespedidas
@mysticalbouquetwolf-posts
@skydisneylover
@aesthetic0cherryblossom
@cece45450
@julesandro
@stevie75
@mrsnbradshaw2023
@scarlet-sunflowers
@peaky-as-a-peach
@multifandomwriter56
@reader-hes
@wisteriaandwafers
@cycbaby
@trixie23
331 notes · View notes