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#i've been thinking about this a lot for the past two days for some reason
da-proti-toku-grem · 3 months
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#genuinely why am i like this?#i think i never said it here but (if you've seen my posts about wanting to quit uni)#i actually decided i was definitely going to quit for real#i just don't like what i'm doing and i made up my mind. talked to my parents and everything and i made the decision#i still haven't talked about it with my uni and i actually don't know what i'll have to do to make it official#but that's not what i was going to say here#what i mean is that i didn't go to any of my exams right?#and the thing is that i haven't talked about this with any of the people at uni. not my professors and not any of my classmates#i mean i didn't really make friends there tnh#but there where 4 girls that i sat with in class and i talked to them and all that#so yeah i wouldn't consider them my friends but i've talked a lot with them the past few months#mostly with two of them because we were in the same group in all of our practices#and these two girls have texted me to ask me what happened bc i haven't been to any of the exams and the haven't seen me in uni#and since i didn't say anything they were probably worried about me#the first one texted me 8 days ago and the other one 5 days ago#and i still haven't answered any of them#why? i don't fucking know#but my social anxiety doesn't let me for some reason#i don't think their going to judge me for quiting or anything tbh#but for whatever reason my brain doesn't let me answer some simple text saying “hey i haven't seen you at uni. are you okay?”#just thinking that i will have to explain to them the whole situation scares me#(well maybe not the whole situation but at keast the fact that i'm quiting y'know?)#and all this is already making me feel like shit#but then the thought that they're worrying about me and i haven't answered and maybe that is making them worry more quicks in#and i feel like such a shitty person right now bc they don't deserve me ignorning them when they're just being nice#i'm just so fucking tired of this shit and idk what to do#“answer those fucking texts. they just want to know you're okay” one half of my brain tells me#“but i just.. can't” another half cries#venting#maca speaks
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princeoftheeternalbog · 6 months
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Where op characters like to kiss you :)
I'm not sure I like this one so much but I've been a little busier this week so I hope it's enjoyable anyways.
Established relationship, suggestive in some parts(Law, Kid) so mdni.
Might have some very minor spoilers if you aren't past the timeskip, in Robin's part and it's a brief mention of someone the strawhats team up with. There's also a slight reference to some details about Killer but no specifics.
Luffy
Your entire face! Especially while you're smiling, he just cant help the giddiness that bubbles up inside him when he sees you smiling or laughing...so he has to let it out by giving you lots of little kisses on your face ://). His arms stretch out to wrap around you, bundling you two together while he grins and starts his onslaught, once he's got you there's no escape.
Also when he kisses you on the mouth he always cups your entire face with his hands and pulls you into him, pressing his lips to yours in-between soft giggles.
Zoro
Forehead/temple. It's easy, it's quick, he just swoops in with a little mwah and then he's gone before you can even register it. Especially loves to do it before a fight because he thinks it's good luck. It really can throw him off if he hasnt kissed you at least once that day so usually he tries to get one in every morning when you wake up. Absolutely melts if you kiss him on the forehead back.
Once he gets used to you kissing him then he's constantly asking, but instead of asking normally he just stares at you for a long while before leaning towards you and tapping his forehead very pointedly.
Sanji
Cheek. (Not that kind of cheek...although-)
Anyways he thinks it's a very sweet place to kiss, and he likes it because it can be both chaste and teasing. For example if it's just a quick soft kiss then it'll be closer to the apple of your cheeks, but if he wants to tease you he'll kiss directly next to corner of your mouth or right by your jaw.
Sometimes purposefully teases you in front of others because he knows it looks innocent from an outside perspective so you can't tell him off for flustering you. Though it's easy to turn the tables, just wear a little bit of shiny lipgloss and he won't be able to concentrate at all, this is when you give him a nice chaste cheek kiss of your own and go on your way. He stands still for so long his cigarette ends up burning out.
Usopp
Your hands. It's subtle but intimate enough that he feels comfortable doing it in public. Usually you link pinkies while walking around or sitting together so whenever he has to let go, for whatever reason, he'll swing your joined hands up to kiss your knuckles. The way he does it is so different from how he reacts to affection normally that it makes your knees go wobbly, it's probably about the only thing he does with full casual confidence.
Eventually he notices the effect this has on you and it actually really helps him develop confidence in other areas too. And if you do it back he gives you this lovely warm smile and he's just so so pretty.
Nami
Shoulders. I'm not sure why but i can just imagine her dropping a delicate kiss to your shoulder as she walks past on deck, or her rolling over in the morning and just giving you lots of light little kisses on your decolletage. Especially loves it if she's taller than you, even if only by a few inches. She also loves standing with her arms tossed over your shoulders, torsos as close as possible while she leans on you.
She really loves to kiss you here in public too, she feels like it's not too exposing but definitely can't be mistaken as platonic, she'll have you sat on her lap in a bar or something and after every sip of her drink she just leaves a gentle but sticky kiss.
Robin
Your lips. She's a woman that knows what she wants alright, and she is highkey obsessed with your lips. She thinks they look so soft and inviting and she's constantly fighting off the impulse to kiss you whenever you converse. It was a pretty serious problem for her before you got together. She just thinks they're so pretty and your beautiful voice and smile come from there too.
She also always kisses you at inappropriate times. After the alliance with Law began, she once kissed you while he was explaining a plan and the glare he levelled you both with was unreal.
Law
...stomach. He's obsessed with the shape of your body in general but there's just something about your stomach that makes him want to bite you(lovingly). If you wear a crop top and/or low rise jeans he practically explodes, he just can't help it. Fully spends hours sucking love bites into the skin there. Loves making you stand in front of him while hes sat, hands tight on your hips, leaving a trailer of wet kisses as he gets lower. He only makes you stand because he likes to see your knees tremble.
Now he's very reserved but he will kiss you in public if he can 1. do it stealthily and 2. inconvenience you in someway like making you too flustered to talk.
Kid
BASTARD! Neck. He has no shame and his kisses are always very intense so he will absolutely give you a hickie while you're talking to someone. You've learned to ignore him but you've also learned that makes him worse. The correct route is to give him a hickey in return, his neck is very sensitive so he folds so quickly. Though he will take revenge later so keep that in mind.
Absolutely hates it when he wants to kiss you but can't, like if you're out of his reach or asleep. Will sulk until he gets the chance to kiss you again and then he's all over you, doesn't let you leave his arms until all your exposed skin is covered in his signature lipstick.
You two would so do that one tiktok trend yk the one-
Killer
Now there's minor logistics problems here so I'm going to talk about it in two ways.
At the beginning of your relationship, he absolutely adores it when you kiss his mask. Thinks the sentiment is so cute and the first time it happened he blushed so hard that you could practically see steam coming out of the gaps in his mask.
If you've been together for a really long time and he's comfortable enough to take his mask off then he loves just kissing you anywhere he can reach. He's just obsessed with being able to actually touch you when you're alone. Though the incidents in wano would set him back quite a lot in terms of insecurity, he still finds comfort in hiding away with you in his room, exchanging soft words and softer kisses.
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ginevrapng · 3 months
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𝐈'𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃
pairing: fwb!james x reader
word count: 1.5k words
warnings and contents: for my friends with benefits james there is no smut asdfghjkl, hurt, jealousy, FLUFF
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you're sitting in the great hall eating breakfast and you spot james across the hall with all the other gryffindors. you're unable to stop your lip quirk upwards as you hear his boisterous laugh, which you guess is due to some joke or prank he's retelling.
your small smile drops as you see lily evans walk up the marauders. you've never had a problem with her, she is a popular gryffindor that is friendly and works well to get top marks but the way she's walking up to the marauders, looking at james determined and with a mission, fills you with slight dread. if you were completely honest you felt she spent more time with james then necessary, especially considering how they've got their own friends and how many times she turned him down in the past.
the hall is already pretty quiet due to everyone already have eaten and a lot of people stop their conversations or lower their voices as they see lily go up to james. everyone in every house knows that's irregular. for the previous years of hogwarts james followed lily everywhere like a lost puppy always asking her out and coming up to her but he had stopped. no one knew why. it was because of you.
because the hall became so silent you heard what evans asked james and you wished the hall was louder, you wished you didn't hear, you wish you were somewhere else, anywhere else, you started to become sick as she asked james if he's free this weekend to go to hogsmeade. "i don't know, i think remus has to study but i know sirius and peter are free too. are all the other girls going?" at that moment it's hard to tell if he's actually oblivious or if he knows exactly what she's asking him but he's choosing not to answer. he has a smile on his face but even from a distance it looks a bit forced to you.
if you were anyone else you would lean to the fact he's being oblivious but you're not anyone, people always underestimate james and you have a feeling james knows exactly what she's actually asking but for some reason he's pretending that he has no clue what she means but you don't know why he'd do that. james is kind and wouldn't want to embarrass someone so publicly but at the same time you're unsure of why he'd be so sure of turning her down but the fact that he is does makes you incredibly happy, you won't tell him that though.
"oh, i don't actually know what the girls are doing. i meant just us two. like on a date?" lily asks him, not wavering at all even with what james has previously said.
james sighs under his breath. "i've got things to do, you should go with someone else."
"what about another weekend?" lily asks, hopeful and you don't blame her for that, anyone would be hopeful asking out someone who in the past asked them out every other day.
"lily, i'm sorry if i'm hurting your feelings but i don't want to go on a date with you," he tells her and you can see that he's trying to be as nice as he can be in a situation like this. no one caught on to the fact that james said that he's only sorry that he's hurt her feelings, he's not sorry for not wanting to date her though, like it's not even an option on my mind, he's not entertaining the thought about going on a date with her, you don't catch on, lily doesn't, the marauders don't, no one does.
everyone is stunned, they thought for sure he'd say yes, he has been pining after her for so long and most people just thought he started playing hard to get, giving her some distance until she recognises how much she misses him but that wasn't true at all. lily never crosses his mind anymore, why would she? he has you. you're all he thinks about. yeah at one point he fancied lily but he loves you.
after a couple beats lily replies with an, "oh, alright then. i guess i'll see you in the common room." this time it's lily that forces a smile. james doesn't respond. she has just been rejected and it's making her feel dejected, not only does james not want to go on a date with her but he doesn't want to hang out with her either. the whole time she thought this was some ploy from james to get her attention but she realised she was wrong. he has no interest in her at all.
as soon as lily's out of earshot and going out of the great hall you hear the loud voices of james' friends. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT PRONGS? DON'T YOU WANT LILY ANYMORE?"
"that was mean james, you didn't have to reject her in front of everyone."
"YOU DON'T WANT EVANS? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD COME. CAN I GO FOR HER?"
"i've got to say i'm surprised to prongs, i never thought you'd shut lily down like that. she really does like you and if this is some trick to get her to like you more, don't do it. she talks about you a lot."
james interrupts his friends knowing this could go on all morning and knowing that you're definitely hearing all this, worried you might be getting the wrong idea. "you can go for her pads, it's none of my business." they all look even more shocked as they hear this but he carries on, "i have no interest in lily whatsoever, yes i used to but i moved on from that. i didn't try to be mean peter but she wasn't taking a hint, i kept trying to tell her no and to let her down gently and moony honestly you shouldn't be surprised if anything it's more surprising that this hasn't happened sooner, me and lily have absolutely nothing in common and we can barely hold a conversation together that last more than ten minutes."
they're all rendered speechless at james as they realise he is 100 percent serious about this. no matter if lily chases james just like he chased her his answer will always be the same, no.
in james' eyes lily doesn't hold a candle to you.
he flicks his eye to where you're sitting and you briefly make eye contact. james was feeling in a bit of a negative mood after what happened but that immediately changed when he glances at you to see that you're already looking at him. you see a stupid grin appear on his face, uncontrolled and automatic, you quickly look down knowing that you've been caught watching him. as you're looking down you smile at the whole situation. james told lily no, and he said it so certain like nothing could change his mind. that absolutely stopped the sicky feeling you had. no one would notice you smiling as you're looking away from everyone but james knew that's what you'd be doing.
james wants to grab your face and lift it up so you're looking at each other again, he already misses your face and the colours of your eyes and it's only been a second since you've looked away from him. he wants to see your bashful smile as you try to look away from him again but he'll just place hundreds of kisses all over your face instead. he wants to desperately tell you that lily doesn't mean anything to him, you have gotten jealous on occasion due to lily even if you deny it, hopefully this might help. he wants to tell you that there's nothing to be jealous about. although you both know that he'll likely tease you about how you was "staring" at him the whole time when he turned down lily.
"what the fuck are you grinning about james?" remus asks, he seems the most annoyed with james about how he handled the situation, remus and lily are study buddies so they are actually good friends and he's known for awhile how lily has felt about james he's just always thought james still feels the same way, he thought it was mutual.
james snaps out off his thoughts of you, not wanting the marauders to question him about you. "nothing important," james replies, not looking back at you.
he hopes that he'll have the chance to talk to you today, even if it's for five minutes. maybe you'll talk about your plans for the weekend and you can try and find time to get together, maybe you'll tease him and say lily invited you to hogsmeade while you were at dinner.
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theminecraftbee · 6 months
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Also, shoutout to Impulse for getting stuck in two of those worlds in ONE DAY. Joe revealed that the recording for what we now know as vault hunters was also last monday. Impulse is really going through it.
Impulse sweats. For the past several minutes, Iskall has been staring at him and "hmmm"-ing for some reason. His only solace is that he's also doing it to Etho, but it's still making Impulse feel like he's got something weird on his face. That, or Iskall has suddenly and unexpectedly transformed back into his original villager state. One or the other.
He glances at Etho, who shrugs awkwardly at Impulse. He looks back at Iskall, who is still 'HMMM'-ing, increasingly furiously.
"Do you think he wants us to say something?" Etho asks.
"I mean, I guess?" Impulse says. "He could just ask."
"He's just going to keep humming at us, though," Etho says. "That's scary."
"Scary?" Impulse says, blankly.
"HMMMMM," Iskall says with an irritated expression.
"Scary," Etho confirms. Impulse sighs.
"Okay, I'll handle it. Hey, Iskall," Impulse says.
"Oh, I didn't see you there," Iskall blatantly lies.
"Right. You're, uh, sounding a bit concerned, buddy," Impulse says.
"Right, yes. Very concerned. Did you know you and Etho are already claimed? And, like, super cursed."
"Uh, I got a divorce with Cleo, you know," Etho says, completely straight-faced. "I'm a bachelor now. Not claimed by anyone."
"I'm not sure Bdubs and I ever got a divorce," Impulse says.
"No, no, not claimed like that! Claimed like--I did warn you all, yes? That my patrons would not like it if you came with other gods all over you? They get jealous of each other, let alone whoever you have... doing that to you."
Impulse and Etho glance at each other again. Impulse looks back at Iskall. "Yeah, I think I'd remember if I were claimed by any gods. I don't really... worship any, these days."
"If I worship any gods, Iskall, they're not the kind yours can do anything about," Etho says.
"What?" Impulse says.
"I mean, I'm old! I'm old, Impulse! I've met a lot of gods! Some of them I have opinions on!" Etho says.
"No, I've met yours too, they won't cause problems, yeah?" Iskall says.
"Thank goodness," Etho says.
"Sometimes I forget how old you two are," mutters Impulse. "That doesn't answer the whole... already claimed?"
"Yeah, like, it stinks off of you to me. It's like... you've got... someone's already claimed you to kill players, not mobs. And your health is all wonky. And you're keeping secrets or... kept secret? And don't even get me STARTED on how much time you have. All wrong. Who did you even find to do that to you?"
Impulse freezes.
"...the time was last season," he says, finally.
"Last season? What?" Iskall says.
"Yeah, that was--you know what, tell your gods not to worry about it," Impulse says. "I'm sure it's. Fine? Hey, wait, how can you tell?"
Iskall shakes his head like he's trying to knock something out of his ear. "They're annoying about it. Make whatever curse you're under go away while you're here or they're going to make it my problem. Mine! As though I can do anything about it. Go to the mortal world, they say. Bring your friends back here, they say. We want to meet them, they say. They're so annoying."
Etho, without skipping a beat, says: "Yeah, are those gods or the mother I saw last night?"
There's an ominous roll of thunder.
"Oh, definitely your mom," he says. There is a second, even more ominous roll of thunder happens, somehow entirely focused on Etho's location. Impulse decides to ignore it.
"I'll bother Grian about it," Impulse decides. He somewhat doubts Grian is a god--man, he really, really hopes Grian isn't a god, actually--but maybe he knows that Secret Keeper guy. That feels like the kind of guy who probably did this to them.
"Do that," Iskall says, and he wanders off to bother Stress.
Etho watches him go. "You know, maybe we should worry about the fact we're cursed because of the Life games. That seems, uh, bad," he says.
Impulse thinks about it and shrugs. "Eh, what's the worst that can happen?"
A long silence.
"Don't answer that," he tells the silence, before it can ominously thunder again. He knows the kinds of things that will lead to gods mocking him, after all.
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n3ptoonz · 4 months
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Hello! Can you write Baraka, Syzoth, Kenshi and Liu Kang reacting to an s/o who likes to trace their tattoos. (Also tattoos are hot)
hiya and i certainly can anon! (i fully agree. whenever i see THAT raiden skin i literally want to jump through a closed window)
mk1 hcs: how baraka, syzoth, kenshi, and liu kang react to their s/o tracing their tattoos
warnings: none; fluff
Baraka
Would be confused at first. He had lost most of his sense of humanity since his affliction, so he'd think you just got bored or wanted his attention
When you explained how his tats were interesting and wanted to know the reasons/origins of them, he was genuinely surprised. Nobody has ever asked him such a thing, let alone pay that much attention to him or his tattoos
Now he doesn't mind it and lets you do as you please. He purposely wears sleeveless shirts around you all the time just so you'll get the idea to trace his tats later
Syzoth
Since the first noticeable tattoo is on his face, he'd get startled the first time you did it. You were waiting for him to wake up one day and became interested in them suddenly
He'd ask what's so cool about tattoos in the first place since he's not originally human. It's not that he doesn't value them, but to him they are more important in the sense of they reminded him of his family (i made that shit up don't quote me), not necessarily "cool" and you had to explain you took interest in all the above
Now he fully welcomes it and would probably go as far as being around you more often to get you to notice and engage in some form of physical touch that ends up in tracing his tattoos
Kenshi Takahashi
I feel like sometimes he didn't like his own tats. Being a former Yakuza and all, he wouldn't get why you think they're cool. You tell him despite their origin they objectively look really cool and make him look even cooler/finer and now he's a happy camper
Whatever his thoughts were slowly vanished out of his own mind. Though he can't really see them anymore, he likes that someone he's in love with is for one not scared away by his past but also thinks they make him look cooler? After a while he'd start appreciating them himself
Also the type of man to walk around the house either shirtless or a tank top more often because "he gets hot easily" righttt righttttt. He loves the sensation of your touch on his body too. I'll never stop advocating for him appreciating other senses more post losing his sight!!!
Liu Kang
He has a lot of tats so like, he's going to think you're asking for a lil alone time wink which he doesn't oppose to but sometimes you simply just find interest in appreciating his ink
He will not shy away from telling you the origins and history behind each and every one. He'd even show you the ones he got for fun. He may be a god, but he was human first who lowkey liked to have as much fun as his comrade, Kung Lao, he was just better at hiding it
He now offers you to do it while you're cuddling or just chilling around each other; in reality he looks forward to it since he's never heard of such a fascinating with something like tattoos and it brought you two closer
a/n: i hope this was good enough! i've been writing so much lately just in general my brain is kinda mush ngl but i ain't no bitch! plus i gotta think more for smut so i went for fluff lol
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paper-mario-wiki · 26 days
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alright so, i said a few days ago that i might do a sponsored stream as a fun way of making some money. this was due to my upcoming move, and i was thinking about ways i could put together the inevitably huge moving costs, though i wasn't worried too much about it so this was more of a fun idea than an actual idea.
HOWEVER. yesterday was supposed to be the day that the roommates and i finally decided on the place we'd be going. we had 3 options, and ALL of them fell through for different reasons within a span of 5 hours. Plans A, B, and C all became unactionable seven days before our lease ends. as you can imagine, most of last night and this morning has been a lot of scrambling to put together a new, less advantageous solution out of (truthfully) desperation. and the one we have come to is costly, but unfortunately it's the only winning hand we can play right now. and we HAVE played it, and we HAVE secured a place to live, though only a month after our lease ends. before then, we'll need to pay for two months of a four-person rent, with only 3 people (since one person is moving home at the end of the lease).
with that in mind, in the near future (within the month probably), i'll likely be hosting a fairly straight-forward fundraiser stream. it's something that i've been avoiding for the past year on principle, as it's been important to me to make all of my money from an employer and not through the goodwill of strangers online. and i have been so far, which has been great! but my income (and the income of my roommates) is not the kind of pay that can account for sporadic $2,000 surprises with a one-month deadline out of nowhere, ya kno. granted, i'll still be busting my ass at my job, but the thing about working at a small company is that sometimes there's only so much work and so many hours to go around.
this stream won't be a followup to any previous Big Series streams (so no homestuck, sorry), but i will only move forward with it when i have an idea that i feel is actually worth a $2,000 stream. or at least the one that gets closest before the deadline comes knocking.
i apologize for needing to ask again for help like this, and i thank you for understanding.
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mizuseyebrows · 2 months
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I'm... a monster —mizu x reader
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warnings: not proofread. fluff. she/her pronouns for mizu. slight angst. insecurities.
includes: sweet and compasionate reader. 'weak' and vulnerable mizu. word count: 2.2k (the shortest i've written so far, make a wish)
summary: you two were playing roll around, you kissed and mizu felt insecure when you called her 'pretty'... and you gave mizu her first hug ever 😭
a/n: i love writing vulnerable mizu... someone give her a hug
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You've been traveling for a while with Mizu. Although at first she refused, as the days went by you showed her your skill with archery. Now when she had to defend herself from those who stood in her way, you could defend her back with your bow and arrow.
This has led to develop your relationship and become closer the more time you spent together. Maybe one night, resting in an eater, you went a little too far with the sake and let out a loving and clingy side that Mizu didn't fully know. And maybe, you stole a kiss from her that night that caught her off guard, she didn't know how to react… for almost a week.
But against all odds, that led you to have a certain joking and mischievous attitude towards each other. On more than one occasion, you both stole some kisses to see which of the two of you would be more flustered. It was all very innocent and playful, and that seemed to allow Mizu to let go a lot more.
However, you could still see that there were things that Mizu avoided telling or confessing. You assumed there could be a turbulent past, it was something you suspected due to certain comments that reflected her poor perception of herself. You wanted to help but how do you do that if she wasn't ready to talk about it yet?
Still, not being very clear about what happened in her life before you —not including the reason why she is on a journey of revenge— did not prevent you from seeing what was hidden beneath that cold and ‘impenetrable’ mask.
Under that layer of snow, there was a warm girl with a softer tone of voice who usually laughs at your flirtatious and affectionate comments. Sometimes she didn't even know how to respond to you, her mind seemed to freeze the second she tried to flirt with you back.
But it was adorable, she is adorable.
Mizu’s so adorable when she laughs as you two roll around playing some wrestling near the campfire. She’s so adorable when she grasps your wrists to settled them both sides of your head. She’s fucking adorable when she pins you against the floor and you can feel her pants brushing above your nose and mouth.
And, oh… She’s way more adorable que she gives you a little smile while her blue eyes looking over your features breathlessly as her chest heaves up and down.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" You asked with a giggle. Your face slowly took on the color of the cherry blossoms as those sapphire orbs scanned you intensely.
"I'm... thinking." Mizu mumbled as her cheeks flushed pink too, her lips parting in a slight smile.
But she kept quiet after that, as if she didn't know what else to say. She didn't move, looking down at you with a soft expression. She remained like this for a few seconds before she broke the silence, leaning in a bit closer.
"May I... have a kiss?" She whispered as she looked up at you, her eyes darting down to your lips and back up to your eyes. There was something hidden in her gaze, almost like a hint of insecurity or fear.
The hairs on your body stood up as you heard the tone she used and how soft her question sounded. Also those hidden feelings had made your limbs tense a little, "…a kiss?"
"Yes," She breathed, leaning closer to you. "Please." Her voice was breathless, her eyes closing as she inched towards you. Her blue eyes looked right through you as her breath tickled your nose with a small smile. She paused, waiting for you to make the first move.
Your heart raced as you couldn't focus on Mizu's face very well due to the proximity between the two of you. Her eyes closed so gently, creating a pair of crescents that made an excited scream want to escape from your throat.
You shortened the distance, initiating a shy and soft kiss. Your lips pressed against each other, their warmth clashing together. Her mouth softly opened up now sharing a passionate kiss with you. Although your breathings were getting heavier, there really was no ulterior motive in this display of affection. Not even because Mizu pressed herself more against you as the kiss continued.
When she broke the kiss she looked away from you— her cheeks flushed pink as they glowed a dark red in the dim light and her eyes darting away from yours. Now her expression seemed conflicted: she frowned and pouted while it seemed like she was thinking about something. Her breathing was still heavy but you didn't think it was because of the kiss. With concern, you raised your hands to caress her cheeks, seeking to distract her or take her back from wherever her mind was on her.
Mizu remained still as you caressed her cheeks, her heart beating faster with each touch you gave her, but she turned her face to look at you again. Her eyes were snapping back to yours as you could see deep into her blue eyes. There was a certain weakness in her gaze, however, she gave you a relieved smile, enjoying this moment. She felt a strange sense of calmness wash over her... as if she finally found the light to help see through the dark.
"You look so pretty." You said without thinking much, admiring her.
"I'm not pretty. I'm far from pretty." Her voice sounded a little raspy despite how calm she looked.
"No, don't say that. You're very beautiful, Mizu. Seriously." You smiled warmly, unable to stop looking at her face.
"That's a lie." Mizu muttered, turning away from you. She looked at the ground. "I'm not beautiful. I'm just a scarred, vengeful assassin whose lost all sense of beauty. I'm... a monster."
You blinked in disbelief at what you heard. Those words were too harsh to describe a person, you couldn't believe what you heard. You wanted to ask who dared to make Mizu think that about herself. You wanted to have all the details about why she has that concept about her. But you didn't want to disrupt the moment, you didn't want to make her feel worse. So you just cupped her face lovingly and made her look at you again, rubbing your thumbs in circles.
"Whoever made you feel those ugly things about yourself is the real monster. And as a child I wanted to be a monster slayer. I'm gonna kill that monster."
You could see Mizu's eyes widen slightly, her breathing suddenly stopping briefly as she looked right at you. "I... you..." She mumbled, her face heating up as tears quickly welled up in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" You asked in a soft tone, wiping her tears.
Mizu was still silent as her breath hitched in her throat. Your affection was making her... emotionally vulnerable. She hated that. She couldn't let you see that weakness of hers. "Nothing, it's nothing. Just forget about it." She mumbled as she separated from you to sit a little away and turn her back to you, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Mizu?" You sat on the floor watching her, concerned about her reaction. You gently caressed her shoulder, wanting to comfort her.
Mizu's hands clenched into fists to keep herself from bursting out in tears as she sniffed back. She didn't like the way you were so caring and worried about her... because she liked it. "I'm fine... really. Just... don't mind me."
"How do you ask me that? You're crying, I can't get past that." You moved a little closer to her, stroking her arm. "What's wrong? Tell me."
Mizu shuddered when you got closer to her... she wanted to push you away with all her strength but she couldn't. She couldn't break the warmth that she felt when you caressed her arm. She hated feeling weak. She had the feeling that you probably thought she was pathetic for crying in front of you like this. "I-I'm fi... it's just that... no one's ever... He—"
Mizu's cheeks flushed red as she looked down at her lap, trying her hardest not to look at you while still being next to you. She felt like she had lost all sense of self-control, and she hated every instance of it. She wanted to push you away from her, to stop the feelings of warmth that were washing over her body, but she couldn't. Her arms hung loosely, her hands starting to tremble slightly.
"Do you feel overwhelmed? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" You stayed at her side, you wanted to hug her but you wouldn't do any of that if it was too much for her.
Mizu remained quiet for a few moments, her breathing shaky and her cheeks flushed a dark, deep red. It took her a while but she finally found her voice again, her eyes still unable to look at you. "I just need a minute more... then I'll be fine." Mizu mumbled softly, breathing quietly. She hated showing this kind of weakness especially in front of you. She didn’t want you to think she was a weak and vulnerable girl.
"Take all the time you need." You smiled lovingly but you didn't move, you would accompany her until she felt better and that stupid that she was a monster faded away from her mind.
Mizu closed her eyes as she leaned her head back against your chest, breathing slowly. You could feel her chest rise and fall against you, trying to compose herself. She didn't know why she was revealing such a vulnerable side of herself right now but she felt so tired... as if she wasn't going to be able to hold on any longer. She needed you at this moment without even realizing how much she actually depended on you.
You caressed her back gently. You wanted her to understand that you were there for her, that she wasn’t alone and that she will never be alone when she needs it most. You didn't say anything else either, you felt like talking right now wasn't going to do much for her. Maybe in silence you will provide her with the answers she needs.
A small smile crept over her lips when she realized how safe she felt with you. You gave her a sense of calmness just by being next to her, your touch and breath giving off an aura of warmth. The warm sensation that was radiating from you made her heart beat faster than before, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. Your touch did something to her... something she didn't quite understand. It was like everything around her felt so quiet and still...
"Do you want a hug?" You asked her in a soft and calm tone. "Would that make you feel better?"
Just by hearing you ask this question made her heart skip a beat. A hug... that was all she had been wanting. The way you were caressing her back made her want to lean into you more, her body practically begging to be held. "Please..." She mumbled as her hand slowly reached for yours.
You smiled softly and approached her to put your arms around her body, wrapping them around her torso. You clinged her to you with some force. Then you raised one of your hands to rest it on the back of her neck, making her head rest in the crook of your shoulder.
Her breath hitched as she buried her face into your neck, her shoulders shaking slightly as she held onto you for dear life. She had wanted this— needed this for such a long time but could only admit it to herself now. Your warm body embracing her made her feel safe. She felt so vulnerable and weak. She felt like she could cry right now.
Again you were just silent and hugged her body lovingly, tightly. You leaned your head against hers, smiling at what you were doing. It was not only hugging Mizu's body, it was also hugging her soul with yours, wanting to convey to her that she was loved and appreciated.
She felt safe with you— a sense of calmness that swept through her in your embrace made her feel at ease. This was the type of feeling she had been yearning for, craving, a feeling of comfort.
"How do you feel, Mizu?" You asked in a whisper, stroking her back slowly and gently.
Mizu's body tensed up at your question, her breath suddenly becoming shaky. "I... feel..." Mizu mumbled as she bit down on her lip momentarily, trying to figure out what she was feeling right now.
"Don't put pressure on yourself." You tried to lull her and held her tighter to you, clinging to her a little.
Your comforting touch was all she needed right now. The way you were holding her tighter to you had her heart beating fast. She was surprised that you were so affectionate and comforting, and it was doing something to her. Her breath hitched in her throat once again as you held here tightly to yourself, your touch giving her a sense of happiness that she thought she would never felt in her life again. It was as if she had been drowning for so long and your hug was a glimmer of hope which she was finally grasping right now.
second part
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lets-just-daydream · 7 months
Text
i wanted more to astarion's storyline at cazadork's palace so here we are with my overactive imagination. also a hug for astarion because bro needs it
Summary:
It's almost time. Beyond the large ornate doors you'll find Cazador; you steel yourselves but a whisper of your name catches your attention from one of the prisoners behind the gate. An old flame.
(aka imagine you run into an old friend instead of astarion running into sebastian)
"No really, tell me more," Astarion said, barking out a laugh.
You hid behind your goblet of wine and laughed at his curiosity. "Have I really never told you about him?"
You had offhandedly mentioned an old flame of yours from a couple of years ago and this piqued Astarion's interest. The two of you sat side-by-side in front of the campfire, the rest of your company already retired to bed and as per usual, you and Astarion were still up.
"No, you haven't. So go on, tell me everything," Astarion said.
How to explain your strange relationship with Xavier. "Well, he's from a more or less noble family in Baldur's Gate and his father never really approved of our friendship. You know, with me being not at all noble."
Astarion kept quiet, sipping his wine as you explained.
"We spent a lot of time together and one day, I stopped seeing him as a friend and I fell in love with him, I think. He felt the same, too. He was walking me home one night after we'd been out at a tavern and when he saw me to my door, he kissed me."
You smiled and your cheeks flushed slightly at the memory. Astarion raised a brow and felt an unfamiliar pang in his chest at your expression. He couldn't help but wonder. Who was this man? Why wasn't he around anymore? Did you still love him?
You cleared your throat and continued. "After that night… I never saw him again. I assume his father found out about us and had him sent off and married to some noblewoman."
"What? He kissed you and then he disappeared?"
"Yes. I still don't know what he's up to now but I hope he's happy and out of his father's clutches."
Astarion put his wine down. You had fallen in love, kissed him and he had disappeared after the fact and you weren't cursing his name to the hells and back? Astarion figured you'd be at least a little bit slighted but you only wished the best for this Xavier.
"Do you still love him?"
You looked up at the pale elf and let out a laugh. "No, that was a long time ago. I still get a bit sad when I think back on it because we were so naïve and full of hope for the future," you said, a wistful smile on your lips.
Astarion knew this man could still be out there. You could still find him and return to him and at that thought he felt his chest burn. He didn't want you to find Xavier. Astarion wanted to be the one you thought of when you had these small wistful smiles on your face.
Sure, the sex you two had a couple times since meeting was great and Astarion had told you that his feelings were more than superficial at this point. But in an act of self-preservation he hadn't told you just how intense his feelings for you were. He figured you felt at least a little bit the same but this Xavier revelation threw him for a loop.
The elf played it off and held his hand out to you which you took. "Still, that must have been awful for you."
You nodded and didn't much feel like reminiscing on the past anymore. Instead, you decided to look to the journey ahead and what you were doing tomorrow. The real reason Astarion was still up tonight.
"Are you sure you're ready for this, Astarion?" You asked as you stared into the flames of the campfire.
Astarion raised a brow at you in question.
You sighed. "Tomorrow. Cazador."
The vampire's gaze flicked to the fire then back to meet yours and he shot you a sure grin that you had learned to see right through a long time ago. "Of course I am. I've only been waiting 200 years for this."
You didn't have the heart to tell him off for the mask he slipped on. Normally you'd tell him that he didn't need to hide his true feelings from you, that you understood him and would never exploit his trust. And with time, he really had learned to trust you. You got to see a side of him he rarely ever showed and you were grateful. It made your heart beat for him in a way you had never experienced before.
But tonight, the tension and uncertainty in the air with how tomorrow would go down, you granted him this.
"I know you've been ready forever but, just know that if it gets too much at any point, I've got your back. We all do," you reassured him. "Just say the word."
Astarion gave you a rare, soft smile in appreciation and leaned over to drape his arm over your shoulders.
"I don't know what tomorrow will bring," Astarion said, his voice serious. "I don't even know if it will happen how I've forever dreamed it would. Pissing on his ashes, enjoying his screams as I tear each digit and limb from his body." Astarion sighed. "Maybe I'll die before I even get to lay a finger on him."
Your heart dropped. "Perish the thought," you said sternly. You turned to face him fully and you rested your hands gently on his cheeks. "I will never let anyone hurt you. Especially not Cazador."
Astarion's lip curled into a slight smile at the way you spat his master's name. You seemed like you hated Cazador as much as Astarion did without ever meeting the man. Not that you needed to. Astarion had told you countless horror stories of his life under his master that made your blood boil and tears threaten to spill.
You stroked his cheek with your thumb. "I'm sorry he took so much from you, I feel awful for what he did to you over these 200 years. I can't even begin to imagine it. And I… I feel strange to say it but I'm glad I met you."
Astarion's brows shot up in surprise and you thought you had gone too far. Too intimate. You dropped your hands but he grabbed one and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly before letting out a sigh. "I'm glad I met you too, you're remarkable and I sometimes feel…" he trailed off. Now it was his turn to get flustered.
"What?" You coaxed.
"No, it's stupid," Astarion muttered as he looked at the ground. A very rare moment of insecurity.
You turned his face back to you and held his gaze, your eyes boring into his. "If you don't want to continue, that's alright."
"It's just…" He struggled. "I don't know. There's some moments, when we're talking like this or even in the middle of our romps, I feel as though I've lived this long because I was meant to meet you."
His words caused you to still and you felt your eyes water as he held your gaze, unsure of how you'd react to his candor.
"Oh, Astarion," you gasped as you leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug.
He held you in his arms and buried his face in your hair, inhaling your scent, committing it to memory. He didn't know what tomorrow held. He didn't know if he'd make it out alive. But he had you and that was enough for tonight.
~
You awoke in Astarion's tent the following morning, his arms wrapped around you tight and one of your hands in his hair. Before he had even properly risen you could feel the tension in his body. You can't imagine the stress he must have felt all night. Today was the culmination of 200 years of misery, pain and torture and you meant to end it.
You stroked your fingers through Astarion's hair and he stirred, his eyes opening and landing on you.
"Good morning, beautiful," he greeted, his voice deep from sleep. "What a sight to wake up to."
You smiled and stroked his soft hair, wishing you could just… lean forward and give him a soft, loving kiss.
When you moved to get up, Astarion held you firmly in place, his eyes never leaving yours. Words on his lips that he didn't know how to formulate. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours softly. Soft enough that you could escape if he had misread everything. But he hadn't. You leaned into the kiss and slid your hand down to cradle his head as you pulled back. He chased you and held you firmly in place as he deepened the kiss, his movements almost desperate as he rolled you over and landed on top of you.
"Astarion," you breathed.
This was happening. Intimacy. Outside of just having sex. Or maybe this was leading to that but this kiss just felt different.
"Gods, I love the way my name sounds coming from your lips," he whispered against your skin before ravishing your lips once again.
He slipped his tongue inside your mouth and you granted him entry. You were mere putty in his embrace and you moaned softly as he cradled your head in his hand, his movements gentle but with an undertone of urgency. Like this would be the last time he would get to kiss you. You could understand the sentiment and tangled your fingers in his soft hair, pulling him close and taking his bottom lip into your lips, causing him to let out a breathy moan.
You had to eventually pull away to catch your breath, your heaving chest, flushed cheeks and parted lips made quite the sight and Astarion wasn't ready to let you go just yet. He leaned down to claim your lips again.
"Astarion, are you awake yet?" Gale called from outside his tent.
Astarion let out an annoyed huff before looking down at you, hoping that his actions could speak where words failed him today. He gives you one last soft kiss. "We'll finish this later."
You could only nod back dumbly as he stood and offered you a hand. Astarion stepped out of his tent and shot Gale a glare, holding the flap open for you to leave.
"Ah," Gale said to you. "Sorry about that, didn't realise that you were also in there…"
You waved him off and moved to your tent where you dressed and readied yourself for today's stomach-churning quest.
~
Getting into and around the Szarr's palace was surprisingly easy. Astarion charmed the guards on the way in and you were met with little resistance when you entered.
"Being back here…" Astarion shivered. "Can we just get this over and done with as quickly as possible?"
You made eye contact with Gale and Shadowheart and nodded.
You searched the palace as quickly as possible while Astarion sadly explained his memories of the places you wandered. You wanted to stop and give him a hug at every discovery you made but you'd be here forever if you did. You painfully kept your hands to yourself until you found an ornate ring that looked rather important.
After some more exploring, you found an elevator that even Astarion didn't know existed. But as soon as you all stepped in and started descending, he became even more nervous. His body stiffened and his eyes became steely. You stepped closer to him and offered him your hand which he took with a hint of a smile.
You descended into one of the most ornate but cold hallways you'd ever seen. It was grandiose, but uncomfortable and with a sense of foreboding. You all knew Cazador was somewhere down here preparing for the unthinkable. None of you could say a word. No funny quips about the architecture or loot you found.
You slowly descended the stairs and stepped towards the doors in front of you. Astarion's grip on your hand tightened slightly and you rubbed your thumb against his skin, trying your best to soothe him. You didn't think anything could soothe him right now.
Your heart beat intensely in your chest and you felt like you could vomit. You can't imagine how Astarion is feeling right now, about to walk back into the clutches of his master, not knowing if he would prevail. No. He would prevail and you would help him.
Astarion glanced around and you opened the doors, holding your breath and peeking through. You didn't see Cazador, but you could hear murmurs. Voices. You cautiously stepped through and were met with two large cells either side of the hallway, all filled with dirty, ragged looking people.
Astarion dropped your hand and it flew to his mouth. His eyes widened as he looked at the people in the cells. He recognised these people. He knew these people. These were people he had killed years and years ago. Or so he thought. He approached a cell and looked in at the countless people he had brought to Cazador. People he thought his master would feed on and then discard. But no. There were hundreds of ragged spawn.
"I… I don't believe it." Astarion gasped. "I never knew… Cazador was doing this."
At hearing Astarion's voice, the spawn in the cells turned to look at you and it was clear that a few of them recognised him. But to your surprise you heard a soft call of your name. The voice was vaguely familiar and your heart dropped.
You turned to the source of the voice and found yourself face-to-face with a haggard, red-eyed Xavier.
"X-Xavier…?" You asked, shocked. You felt like you were about to faint. "What are you doing here?"
You stepped towards the cell and he mirrored you, gripping the bars with his dirty fingers.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. "They didn't get you too, did they?"
You glanced at Astarion and if it were even possible, he was paler than usual.
"No, I'm– We're here to help you," you replied softly. You let your hand slide up the bar and come to meet Xavier's hand. Tears welled in your eyes and your voice became strained. "How long have you been here?"
Xavier's face scrunched as he tried to remember. "Hmm. I think… That night I walked you home and we kissed. I was so happy and unaware of anything around me. On my way home one of Cazador's spawn took me. It's all I've been able to think about. It's one of the only things I remember."
Your head spun and you felt like you could throw up. "No," you gasped. "T-Two years… You've been here all this time?"
The tears you'd tried to hold back fell all at once as you looked up at the man you once loved. "All this time," you sobbed. "I'd hoped your father had forced you off to marry some noblewoman."
Xavier smiled and rubbed your whitening hands where they still held the bars. "No. But even so, I would have come back to you. Somehow."
You stood back up and wiped the tears from your face. "I'm going to get you out of there, you're going to be okay."
Xavier nodded and looked over your companions gratefully until he landed on Astarion. "No…"
You sensed Astarion stiffen behind you and you hoped the dots you were staring to connect weren't true. You prayed, you hoped, you begged silently. But Xavier's next words pierced through you like an icy lance.
"You brought me here…"
You turned and looked at Astarion and he couldn't meet yours nor Xavier's gaze. He stared down at the floor and nodded, his eyes hooded and unreadable. He knew what he'd done. He knew what he'd caused you to lose. The words you spoke last night could only extend so far and now that you knew it was Astarion who had caused Xavier's disappearance. How could you forgive him? He couldn't bear to look you in the eye.
Shadowheart stepped forward and put a hand on your shoulder. "Come on, let's go deal with that monster and free your friend, okay?"
You nodded, your body moving in slow-motion as you approached the large ornate doors that held Astarion's fate on the other side.
~
It was a hard battle, made harder when you had to dodge through Cazador's minions to free Astarion from the binds of the ritual. The whole time you fought, you thought of the pain Xavier had gone through, the agony and torture Astarion had gone through and quickly enough, the pale elf had his master on his knees.
Astarion was right on the edge of having it all. Being an ascended vampire. He could walk in the sun after the tadpole had been dealt with, he wouldn't have to fear anyone again. He'd be a greater vampire than Cazador ever was. He asked for your help. But you know such great power never came free. There was always a cost.
What toll would sacrificing thousands of souls take on Astarion? Sweet, tortured Astarion who had been through hell and back and had made leaps and bounds to start becoming a better man. Someone you had grown to love. You couldn't bear to see him ripped apart like this.
But then again. You could help to give him this awesome power so few could ever be granted. You did want this for him, really, but your thoughts wandered back to Xavier and the countless other spawn who were waiting to be freed. Who you'd promised this to.
You looked back up at Astarion and shook your head. You imagined the life he could have. "Please don't do this, Astarion. Don't you want to live a life you can be proud of? I know you're better than him."
At your words, the fog in Astarion's mind cleared and he looked down at Cazador, blade in his hand. "You're right. I can be better than him." Astarion's gaze flicked down to a pleading Cazador. "But I'm not above enjoying this."
Before you knew what was happening, Astarion stabbed Cazador, hacking at him over and over until the former master was nothing but a lifeless, bloody corpse. You felt a fraction of the gratification Astarion must have felt as Cazador's screams filled the chamber before slowing into a gurgle and finally stopping. The pale elf dropped the blade and stepped back, a pained cry ripping through his throat. He'd done it. He was free.
He was free.
At this astronomical realisation, Astarion dropped to his knees and cried. He cried for the man he was when his heart still beat, cried for the centuries of torture he'd endured and cried for the life he'd had stolen from him. The culmination of 200 years of torture beyond belief and the aggressor was finally dead.
Astarion cried out again and you stepped toward him and knelt beside him. He suddenly felt warmth as you enveloped him in a hug and he held onto you, turning to face you and sobbing into your neck.
"My sweet Astarion," you whispered. "It's over now. I'm so proud of you."
At this, he sobbed harder for a moment and you ran your fingers through his hair and rubbed comforting circles into his scarred back. You didn't rush him, Gale and Shadowheart said nothing and let him take all the time he needed. After another moment, Astarion leaned back and caressed your face, his own face streaked with tears, blood and dirt. You saw how teary he was and the mixture of disbelief and hope for his future and your heart squeezed.
His brothers and sisters were freed from their magical shackles and one of his sisters approached, asking if it really was finally over.
"Yes."
Astarion then explained to his brothers and sisters what to do, where to take the freed spawn and wished them good luck. As they left, he stood and took Cazador's staff in hand, the following movements came to Astarion instinctively as he pressed it to the ground to free the thousands of trapped vampire spawn.
You smiled as you watched him. You truly were proud of Astarion, he would still be self-preserving and perhaps paranoid after you left but you hoped as time went by, he would be able to relax. Truly enjoy his freedom. You heard voices from the other side of the doors as Astarion's brothers and sisters greeted the other spawn. Your mind wandered to Xavier. At least he would have a chance at a new life, whatever that life may be.
"I think we're done here," Astarion said, tired. "Let's go."
You draped his arm over your shoulder and helped him up the stairs as Gale and Shadowheart led the way. They stopped at the top and shared a look before looking to you and stepping aside. The spawn had started filtering out but one remained near the cells. Xavier.
You approached him slowly, Astarion still hanging off your shoulders. Gale stepped forward and took Astarion off of you so you could have a moment. Astarion shot him a look but they lingered within earshot much to Gale's dismay.
"You did it. You freed us," Xavier smiled.
"Of course we did. I promised you that I would," you said. You swayed slightly on the spot and Xavier stepped forward, taking your hand in his.
"Will you come with me?" He breathed.
You almost weren't sure what he said but the way Astarion bristled and lowly hissed, you figured you'd heard correctly. Your blood ran cold and you were thrown back to 2 years ago, Xavier's kiss and the smile he gave before he left, promising to see you soon.
"Look, I," you didn't even know where to start. Your heart broke for him and the life you could have had together but you had closed that chapter long ago. You knew who your heart belonged to now, if the pale elf wanted it.
You tried to form into words your thoughts. How to explain that while Xavier's life was at a standstill, you continued living, loving and growing. Your heart ached as you tried to form the thought of, 'you know that vampire spawn who brought you here? Well I'm actually in love with him now, so…'
"Don't tell me it's him," Xavier gestured to Astarion who looked about ready to rip the former's head off. "He… he ruined my life, our lives."
You felt tears well in your eyes. You knew how hard this must be for him. He's thought of you nonstop for 2 years and you were about to tell him the man who ruined his life is the man you were choosing. But you knew Astarion. He wasn't that man anymore.
"Xavier, I can't go with you," you said. "I still have so much to do and… it is him." You sighed. This wasn't how you wanted to confess your love for the vampire spawn. You imagined it on a night you were alone and having a gentle moment. But here you were in front of your former love, your companions and the object of your affections all hanging onto your every word. "I know it's hard to come to terms with, Xavier… But it's always going to be Astarion."
You didn't see it but Astarion smiled and his face gained a bit of colour once again at your words. Xavier nodded and pursed his lips. He understood. He didn't like it, but he did understand and the finality in your voice told him that you weren't changing your mind.
"Well," Xavier said, lifting your hand and pressing a light kiss to the back of it. "If you ever do change your mind I'll be somewhere in the Underdark. I'll wait for you forever."
"Please don't do that," you whispered, your voice hoarse.
Xavier smiled and gently dropped your hand, turning to follow his coven of vampires to start a new life.
You sighed and watched as he left, years welling in your eyes. No one moved an inch until Gale and Astarion shuffled over to you and you felt a hand slip around your waist.
"Darling," Astarion breathed.
You could form no words and now it was your turn to cry in Astarion's arms. His skin was still caked in blood and sweat but you didn't care. He held you and stroked your hair as you sobbed into the crook of his neck.
"H-he was down here all along," you sniffed. "And I didn't know. I could have looked for him or… I don't know."
Realistically you knew you could never have done anything but you still felt like Xavier's fate was somehow your fault. Well, it wasn't your fault. Really it was Cazador's fault… Astarion's fault.
"Why him?" You asked, pulling back and looking up at Astarion with watery eyes.
He knew this was coming, honestly. You'd want to know why. How could Astarion pluck someone so innocent from the shadows who he knew was having such a wonderful night? You knew Astarion watched his victims, picked them carefully. He'd told you so himself. So, of course you'd want answers. And he knew that you knew it wasn't personal - he was doing what Cazador told him to. But it didn't hurt you any less.
"Let's get out of this dreadful place, clean ourselves up and we can talk," Astarion offered.
You nodded silently and stepped away from him, leading your small group out of the castle and to the tavern the rest of your group organised upon entering the city.
No one spoke another word the whole trek from the castle to the tavern. The rest of your companions swarmed you at the door but fell short when they saw your grief-stricken face, Astarion's unreadable expression and Shadowheart and Gale's awkward side-eyes.
You stepped past everyone, gathered some of your clothes and retreated into the bathroom wordlessly. Astarion watched you the whole time, wondering if this was it. Was this the straw that would break the camel's back? Would you send him away? He supposed now that he was free, he didn't really have anyone to fear anymore, he might be able to make it alone.
Alone. Not a feeling he was used to anymore. Not a feeling he wanted to experience, especially if it meant losing you.
In the bathroom, you were pleased to see that the bath was already filled with warm water, so you stripped your dirty clothes off and entered the bath. A sigh escaped from your lips and you let the water rush over your body, your thoughts stilling for a moment before you let out a choked sob once again.
You rested your head behind you on the tub and stared at the ceiling. What possible explanation could Astarion even give you? Xavier was one person in thousands that had fallen victim to Cazador's plot, Astarion included. But it didn't hurt any less.
The door to the bathroom opened slightly and you saw white curly locks poke through the gap. "May I come in?" Astarion asked.
"Sure," you said, your voice monotone. Flat. Not something he was used to hearing from you.
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, standing in front of it. His movements were careful, unsure. He stood by the door with his hands clasped together as his eyes shot from the floor, to you, to his surroundings and back to the floor.
He took a deep breath. "I know there's nothing I can say to make this better. I can't take it back and I can't fix it."
You said nothing, waiting for him to piece his thoughts together.
"I've told you what it was like, being Cazador's slave. I did what I had to, to survive and that included bringing people to him that didn't deserve it," Astarion stepped towards you and knelt by the bathside, finally meeting your eyes.
You'd seen true sadness in people's eyes before and you had caught Astarion in moments of sadness previously. But this was different. He wasn't just sad, he was sorrowful, and fearful. You almost reached out to smooth out the wrinkles on his brow but he continued talking.
"I know he meant a great deal to you and I… ruined so much. I'll do anything to show you I'm sorry. And if that includes…" Astarion trailed off and gulped before continuing. "If that includes me leaving this camp, then I will. I'll leave and that will be that."
"No!" You cried, leaping onto your knees and wrapping your arms around him. "No, I don't want you to leave, ever."
Water splashed onto the floor and dripped all over Astarion but he didn't care. He wrapped his arms around your naked torso and held you close, squeezing slightly as if you might float away and disappear.
You craned your neck back and looked at him. "I am upset. And… It is sad to learn Xavier's fate, but I did mean what I said down in those dungeons," you whispered. "It's you. It's always been you and for as long as you want me, it's you I want."
You hardly knew what was happening before you felt Astarion press his lips to yours in a searing, passionate kiss. It took your breath away and he poured his love for you and fear of losing you into it, never had you ever been kissed like that and you couldn't help but return it. His lips captured yours and you felt his fangs nick your skin but you didn't care, you opened your mouth up to him and he didn't hesitate in slipping his tongue in, tilting your head back so he had complete control over you. It felt like if your bodies could meld together they would and your breathing turned heavy as you fought with not wanting to break the kiss but needing to pull away for air.
You eventually broke the kiss, your chest heaving as you gulped for air. You eyed the pale elf in front of you and looked like he was ready to pounce on you again. You let out a light chuckle and sat back in the bath again.
"Would you like to join me? I'll clean you up."
"My love," Astarion whispered as he stood, removing his clothes. "I'll join you anywhere."
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hey y'all, i pretty much know that i'm the asshole big time- but i'm not sure what to do about it. i know i need to shift my perspective, especially because i'm not sure what to do going forward... or how to meaningfully apologize, so I think i need some outside judgement.
AITA for wanting to possibly return to speaking terms with someone i cheated with?
about 1.5 years ago one of my best friends (i'll call him R, we're all 20 now) confessed to me while I had a bf- R said he knew i wasn't into him but asked me to kiss him once. i felt really bad and didn't feel anything for him, so i said yes and we briefly kissed. I didn't think it was going to be a big deal until I told my boyfriend right afterwards and he got really upset in a way i now see i was really understandable. i've come to see the situation as cheating, but I think fundamentally we had a different view of it at first. my bf asked me to not be alone with him anymore or talk to him outside of groupchats (i was in a friend group of 3 people, R me and another guy). I tried really hard to follow through on this but in reality- i just didn't want to cut off one of my best friends- there were times I went against my boyfriend's wishes and slowly I let up and saw him/talked alone more. I would tell my boyfriend about it and he would be hurt by it and I would feel horrible, but I didn't put up a hard boundary. I hated myself for it, but I didn't feel like R was actually a problem, rather that the problem was my lack of respect for my bf. A month or two later, all of us moved away to different colleges. After two months of long distance and continuing to talk to R on the phone sometimes, my boyfriend left me citing that as one of the reasons.
I realized I should have valued my bf more and I stopped talking to R (basically ghosted him), but he contacted me on another platform and asked if I was okay and I realized that he was a true friend in a lot of ways. When we hung out on winter break at home, we were chilling and he kind of made a joke asking me to sleep with him. I said no very loudly because I'm not into him like that and I was still hung up on my bf. Meanwhile, after 2 months of no contact, me and my bf had started to talk again very tentatively (i had tried really hard to instigate it which, sometimes i feel bad about not leaving him in his peace- but I was having a really hard time accepting the breakup). I realized there was something I really needed to do to show him I was serious and I sent R a text saying we couldn't be friends anymore citing some lame reasons and the whole 'sleep together' thing.
After that, R didn't contact me and I felt like it was sad, but kind of a blessing because I got to focus on building trust between my bf and I and we eventually got back together.
Anyways, in the past year, the relationship has been steadily getting more comfortable and I hadn't had any contact with R or cheated since (I kind of believe once a cheater always a cheater, so this is an accomplishment. I really don't want to hurt my bf like that again.)
Okay here's the sucky part though (as if the rest wasn't already sucky of me) i was posting tiktoks for the first time this week and, little did i know, the algorithm was showing them to people who had my number. I got a call from an unknown number and a text that said "can we talk." I realized from the chat history it was R, whose number i deleted. I didn't answer, but a part of me really wanted to.
I missed him and I felt bad for leaving the friendship the way it was, I was also really curious as to why he was contacting me now?? But I knew I needed to tell my bf before I did anything. He said he would feel more comfortable if I didn't respond and I kind of agreed- but I said I was going to think about it and that I would tell him explicitly before I did anything.
Then the next day I got another call from a random number with my hometown area code- I thought there was a possibility it was R and decided to just act in the moment and let fate decide- I answered and it was him. It was kind of scary, but also exciting and didn't feel wrong in my body. He was weirdly casual just saying hi and that he saw my tiktoks and missed me, we ended up talking like old friends- like the time that had passed had healed some of that old stuff. He told me i was the best friend he ever had, and I remembered all kind of good things about our friendship. I also was able to apologize for ghosting him- if not super well. I knew while we were talking that my bf was not going to be comfortable with this and that I was unsure about what to do going forward and I think R kind of knew that was the case too, so it was also very awkward. when we hung up, it was clear I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to be his friend again.
When I told my bf as soon as i got off the phone, he was understandably very upset, even more so when I said I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep talking to R in the future. I feel really bad for hurting him, I was really mainly thinking about my own feelings. Now he and I are trying to resolve things, but I'm ashamed to say I don't know how I can make it better. I've told him that, even though it's not necessarily what I want, I'm willing to block R again, but I don't think it feels satisfying to either of us. my bf and I have been dating for 4 years now (with that break at 3 yrs) and he means so much to me, I don't want to bring us back to a place of distrust, but part of me feels like this was kind of pent up while I had R blocked. i've never ended a friendship with anyone before or blocked someone, so it all feels really weird to me, but I can imagine that my bf must feel really betrayed by my continued unsureness.
also R and my bf used to be friends for like 5 yrs- then R and I were close for 1 yr. my bf has said he felt left out by that and that he felt like R was a jerk to him while they were friends, so that's an element of it as well.
if you've read this far, thanks so much- advice? AITA? I've spent so much time feeling like scum for the way I handled the situation and while I have to love myself through it- I don't want to keep mishandling it- was answering the call all that bad, do I need to totally forget about talking to R?
What are these acronyms?
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sapphixxx · 4 months
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there's a lot of reasons more people aren't into yuri that are troubling to consider, but equally, I genuinely think it cannot be understated how much of it comes down to most yuri being boring as hell. Like truly. I've been reading the front page of Dynasty Scans like it was the newspaper for 15 years I am not exaggerating I can show you the download file data 15 years.
You know what the complaint about yuri by yuri readers was back in 2009?
"wow that really was just 5 volumes of them blushing at each other and then they don't even kiss"
You know what the complaint about yuri by yuri readers is today in 2023?
"wow that really was just 5 volumes of them blushing at each other and then they don't even kiss"
Don't get me wrong, Yuri has grown a LOT in that time, to the point that most people today wouldn't even understand a Maria-sama reference if it were dropped in front of them (thank God). It's expanded and evolved to encompass more stories about adult women, wider varieties of scenarios, a greater acknowledgement of real life lesbianism, and is more comfortable showing girls kissing with tongue and having sex.
Yuri Manga is maybe the best is it's ever been, and it's also getting the widest readership it's ever had in the English speaking world. The titles we carry at work are always on back order with long queues, and, when I've asked them, most weebs of all gender or sexualities report keeping up with at least a few Yuri series.
At large though? Most of it is still really boring. That's not a bad thing necessarily. I like it because it goes down easy. For the most part any series you pick is gonna be pretty chill. Even shit from Sal Jiang which is PRETTY EDGY for yuri is a pretty breezy read. More serious ones like How Do We Relationship? cover some pretty real subjects about how intimacy is actually quite difficult even when both of you love each other, but it's not like... Exciting. Yuri isn't where you go to pump your fist or get perched on the edge of your seat.
So when the comparison is made to yaoi, well, I mean, have you READ any yaoi? Even in some of the more restrained titles those boys are likely to be sucking and fucking balls and all within the first volume or two. There's gonna be drama, intrigue, shit is gonna get messy, passions are gonna get heated, clothes are gonna be ripped off, people are gonna get sold to One Direction, it's stuff you can sit down with a bowl of popcorn with you know? Stuff you can message your friend and gush Hey Can You BELIEVE? A lot of it is pretty trashy, but that's the appeal. The generic state of yaoi is torrid and exciting and sexy. Ultimately, as a species many of us like to see pretty people fuck. In yaoi you'll get that. In yuri you won't. Nothing wrong with that, but it is gonna be a major contributing factor to their relative popularity.
It's also worth making the comparison to hetero romance manga, which has undergone a renaissance of it's own in recent years. There's now a whole meta around crafting a handful of mean shitty grouchy dysfunctional bully women and flinging them at the protagonist of the day who, unlike in years past, may actually have a face and personality. Most of these are also very trashy and truly scrape the bottom of the bucket in terms of writing.
AND YET?
I would bet money on the fact that you'll have heard of these women and probably even have a good idea what they're like without ever having touched a page of their manga.
I'm sorry but the straights are whipping donuts around the yuri girls in terms of delivering a wide variety of weird compelling fucked up women. How many yuri leading ladies by comparison can you point to as standout recognizable characters even divorced from their story? There's definitely a few, but not many. I'm not talking quality or depth of writing, I'm talking straight up pure recognizability. There are many beautifully written women in yuri, now more than ever. I can't think of many who'd like, get a figure made or have their face splashed on merch, though.
I don't really have a conclusion here. I love Yuri a lot, but at the end of the day this is just kinda the state of things right now.
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genericpuff · 7 days
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I've been seeing you say/speculate Rachel Smythe has been cut loose from webtoon, could you elaborate what you mean by that?
It's only a tinfoil hat theory that people should take with MOUNTAINS of salt (seriously, I'm more likely to believe that Rachel really is just done with LO), but there's a general suspicion that LO wasn't meant to end here and that Webtoons decided to cut the cord. I've made a post about it before but some new stuff has surfaced since then.
1.) The announcement the series was ending was made quietly at NYCC and not shared to either Webtoons' socials or Rachel's socials.
The only way fans initially knew about the series ending was through a screencap from the Discord where someone else who had been attending NYCC passed on the info from a Q&A that LO would be entering its final arc.
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For a good while the only other way to know the series was ending was through the Discord, a Cosmopolitan article, and my own post.
Though it sounds odd for a series to get cancelled halfway through its third season, it's not uncommon for Webtoons to suddenly axe series while they're on their midseason hiatuses, it's happened before. So there's a general suspicion that Rachel may have found out during NYCC that LO would only be given one more arc.
2.) The actual finale announcement was made in a text post on Instagram that suddenly announced it would be ending on May 11th, despite the fact that there was still lots to wrap up in the story.
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What this implies is that Rachel was given one more arc, with no concrete end date... until Webtoons told her to wrap it up in a limited number of episodes, hence why despite us knowing it was in its final arc, the end date still felt too soon. This is also supported by the fact that her initial announcement was vaguely "early/mid 2024" - she couldn't give a more accurate end date because she didn't plan for the actual ending.
3.) Things that Rachel has said implies that she was either hoping for the final arc to go on longer, or that she didn't think LO was going to be ending now.
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(that "nothing is set in stone" quote further supports the theory that she may have been hoping to get renewed in spite of the lukewarm ending announcement - that the only reason the announcement was so quiet was because WT hadn't fully committed to it yet and wanted to see how the series would do upon its return; now that they see it falling behind to other series, it might mean WT became more sure in their decision to cut it and gave her an actual deadline to wrap it up by.)
4.) Webtoons has stopped promoting Lore Olympus despite it ending.
Any promotional spots that it has gotten have been stuffed into the dead zone of the banner reels (seriously, anything past the 3rd spot is practically useless because it takes actual committed scrolling to get there vs. the first 1-3 banner spots which can be seen as soon as you open the app/site) and the banner art itself does not in any way advertise the series being in its final arc. These banners also only seem to be appearing for a day at most, compared to the days upwards of weeks they used to get.
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Webtoons also hasn't been doing any sort of promoting on their socials for it. Considering The Mafia Nanny has been consistently beating out LO in the top rankings for weeks now, and that LO's rating and view count is still dropping, it appears that Webtoons has finally given up on shoving it down people's throats and put their focus elsewhere.
Again, this is all tinfoil hat speculation, so take it with massive doses of salt. Considering this is Webtoons, I wouldn't be surprised if they finally decided to put LO out of its misery, but this is also Rachel and I wouldn't blame her in the slightest if she finally wanted to be done with it after the past two years of people clowning on it. And I say that knowing I, myself, am a clown LOL
Either way, I feel like either outcome is plausible in its own ways, but whatever is the true reason, it doesn't change the fact that LO is ending and has 3 episodes left to wrap itself up. And whatever comes after will likely involve the launch of Inklore which was estimated for the spring.
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strawnarrries · 9 months
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because im sad about the last show, here's a little imagine about y/n and harry reminiscing the past two years the night before the last show :(
warnings: mentions of sex but nothing graphic
Your eyes fluttered open and you realized it was still dark outside, a sign that it was not quite morning just yet. You're not sure why you woke up. It was like your body knew something was off because when you turned over, the bed was empty beside you.
Rubbing your eyes to clear the sleepy haze, you noticed light coming from under the closed door of the bedroom in the villa you and Harry are staying in. Getting up out of bed, you opened the door and the sudden change in lighting burned your eyes. After getting used to it, you walked towards the kitchen and spotted your husband, leaning up against the counter, sipping on something inside of a mug.
“Harry?” you hummed, walking up to him.
“Oh hey, did I wake you up? I’m sorry," he looked up at you with doe eyes and messy hair sticking up in every direction.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t sleep.”
You popped your bottom lip out and wrapped your arms around his bare waist, his instinctively wrapping around yours after setting his mug on the counter, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just can't believe the last show's tomorrow night.”
“Aw, I know. You wanna talk about it?” you hummed, looking up at him with tired eyes.
"I'm gonna miss it. A lot," he whispered, "but at the same time I'm excited for a long break."
"It's bittersweet."
"Yeah," he nodded.
"It's gonna be weird not getting to watch you on stage every night in your sparkly outfits."
He chuckled softly, "You don't get those outfits at home, do ya?"
"No, I get you either naked or in the one stupid shirt that you refuse to throw away even though it's practically in shreds."
"Thought you loved that shirt?" he teased.
You glared up at him before changing the subject, "What'dya think you'll miss the most? Just being on stage?"
"Yeah. Performing. It's one of my favorite things in the world to do. I just get such a rush from being out there and interacting with the fans and hearing them scream my lyrics."
"And hearing them bark at you," you added.
He giggled, "Yes, that too."
"You'll be back though. It's not the end."
“You're right. I feel like this tour was just special for some reason, I dunno. I fear I’m gonna get really emotional tomorrow on stage though. I was holding back tears at the show the other night," he chuckled.
“It’s okay to get emotional. You know me and your mom will be sobbing the entire night."
He smiled softly as he cupped your jaw and rubbed his thumb back and forth across your cheek, "I've been reflecting a lot recently. So much has happened in the last two years. It's wild."
“You've done, like what, 150 shows?”
“169 tomorrow."
“Holy shit, Harry. Most of them were completely sold out too. Do you realize how incredible that is?”
“It's mad. I think this has been the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”
“Oh, by far.”
“Gonna miss seeing everyone every day. Gonna miss the fans and being up on stage. I've had some of the best shows of my life on this tour.”
“Harryween,” you giggled fondly at the memory that popped into your head.
“That was fun as fuck,” he giggled back.
“You’ve done more than just tour though. So many award shows, Coachella, music videos, you starred in two different movies, Harry.”
“I have,” he nodded, smiling proudly at himself, "Looking back, the amount of love and support that I've gotten from everyone, the fans, my team, my friends, and family, and from you is just - it's - it's so overwhelming like I can't even explain it to you. Like my mind can't comprehend that this is my life. Been 13 years and I still can't believe it."
"'cause you deserve it, baby. With the amount of love you give out and just the type of person you are in general, you deserve everything that's come your way. Have I ever told you how proud of you I am?" you teased, being the fact that those words leave your lips multiple times after every single one of his accomplishments.
"Never. Not once," he chuckled.
“Well, I am,” you hummed pressing a sweet kiss to his sternum, just under where his cross necklace lay, "It makes me feel so prideful that I get to call you my husband."
“Thank you, my love. You know I wouldn't be here without you.”
You rested your head on his warm chest, hugging him tighter, embracing the sweet silence before breaking it, "Can I be honest with you?”
He nodded as you looked back up at him.
“I know it's selfish but a big part of me is excited that it’s over because then I get you all to myself and don’t have to share you with the world.”
“Finally don’t have to hear you nagging for my attention all the time,” he chuckled.
“Heyyyyyy,” you whined.
“I’m joking, baby.”
You rolled your eyes teasingly.
“We have a lot to look forward to.”
“Like what?” he asked, although he knew exactly what you were referencing to, he just wanted to hear you say it.
“You becoming a daddy.”
“Really lookin forward to that. I can’t wait ‘till you have a cute little baby bump.”
“Gotta get me pregnant first.”
"You don't gotta worry 'bout that. We’re gonna be goin' at it all day every day when we’re on holiday next month,” he smirked.
“I can't even explain to you how excited I am for that. Vacation Harry is my favorite Harry."
He grinned, “I love you, Y/N."
“I love you too.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to yours for a few sweet kisses before you hummed sleepily, “Will you come back to bed with me now?”
“Yeah, c’mon.”
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lvis44 · 1 year
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Sweet Escape - Pt. 1 // LH44
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Lewis Hamilton x Y/N
Warnings: Alcohol consumption, swearing, jealousy, flirting while with someone else (kinda cheating but we won't go that far), age difference, insulting/derogatory language, 18+ (no smut thus far but suggestive themes), not edited
Word Count: 5.6k
Summary: Paradise is supposed to be fun and relaxing... a Sweet Escape, but when unspoken feelings and jealousy rise to the surface, everything can be turned upside down in the blink of an eye.
Notes: This is the official Part One of Sweet Escape, you can read the Prologue here, but this can also be your starting point if you don't want the backstory. Do your best to look past any errors in the surfing section, I've never surfed a day in my life lol. It may seem like we get into the drama quick but there's so much more to come, buckle in folks! I am not a professional writer and all of this is a work of fiction and is strictly for fun. Enjoy!
---
As the van pulled up to the massive estate, you couldn’t help but gasp. Charlotte laughed from beside you, taking in the property herself.
“Well, he’s never been one to do things halfway.” She chuckled, rolling her eyes slightly.
The home was the size of a small hotel and the property sprawled on for ages. You were somewhere in the Caribbean on an island you had never even heard of, it had taken three flights just to get there. Lewis claimed it was one of his favorite places on earth, but he's said that about more places than you can count.
“My girls!” Miles' voice came loudly from the doorway as you unloaded yourselves from the van.
You turned just in time to see the large man bounding down the driveway like a child, arms open with a massive smile on his face. He crashed into you while wrapping an arm around you, grabbing for Charlotte with the other. You both laughed at the aggressive affection as he squeezed you both tight. Anyone watching the scene would think it had been months since you’d seen him, not two weeks. He’s a lot like Lewis in the sense that he loves extremely, but he’s by far more open with it.
“Hello!” You laughed, your voice muffled against the tall man's chest.
When he finally let you go, he quickly moved towards the back of the van, collecting your bags.
“Heads up, Talia’s here.” He mumbled to the two of you, an unamused look on his face.
Miles had also not been a fan of Talia when he met her. You’ve never been sure if he noticed how she treated you, or if it was for an entirely different reason, but you knew for a fact he didn’t particularly enjoy her. 
“Oh, we know.” Charlotte said, raising her eyebrows in an equally annoyed expression. 
You couldn’t help but giggle as you all made your way toward the house. You took solace in knowing you weren't alone in your displeasure of the extra guest. Miles showed you each to your rooms and told you to come say hello to everybody once you’d settled in a bit. Before he left your room he pulled you into another tight hug.
“It’ll all be good, we’ll have a blast.” He said quietly into the top of your hair, planting a kiss there before making his way out of your room. 
The bedroom was larger than yours at home, there was an attached bathroom and a large closet. In the middle of the room sat a king size bed that looked like it was made of clouds, it faced a balcony door, looking out over the Caribbean Sea. You had the feeling of not belonging for a split second, being surrounded by more luxury than you could fathom. You quickly had to remind yourself that if you didn't belong, Lewis wouldn't have made sure you were able to come. You really had to thank him again for all that he had done. You made your way into the bathroom to freshen up a little bit, hoping to splash away some of the long plane ride. As you got ready to go downstairs and greet everybody you heard movement in the hallway. You truly hoped it was one of your friends as you stepped out of your room, unfortunately you weren’t that lucky. Talia was walking down the hallway towards you, dressed in a bikini fit for Sports Illustrated. You understood why Lewis had been interested in her, he wasn’t looking for anything more than physical, and how she looked right now made it easy to look past her attitude. 
“Hey.” You did your best to be kind, hoping to avoid any tension.
She said nothing, just looked you up and down and kept walking, making her way out to where you assumed everyone was. You rolled your eyes at her childish behavior and trailed along behind her, hoping to find your friends. As you stepped out the large door you were greeted by the sound of laughter and conversation, the warm sound like music to your ears. There was soft music playing as you looked around at the scene. Your friends were sprawled out on expensive looking patio furniture, facing toward the large infinity pool that showcased the beautiful view of the sea down below. Your eyes searched the group, hoping to find Lewis. You spotted him, over by a bar on the balcony, Talia already attached to his hip. As if he could tell you were looking at him his eyes found yours, a big smile gracing his features as he saw you. He brushed Talia off, much to her annoyance and made his way over to you. 
“I was starting to think you’d fallen asleep up there.” He laughed warmly as he pulled you in for a tight hug.
Hugs from Lewis were always amazing, he would squeeze you so tight you almost couldn't breathe. His big arms completely engulfed you in the most comforting way, he would never let go until you did. 
“Sorry,” You laughed as you pulled away, “just wanted to freshen up a little bit, long flights.”
He smiled in understanding before grabbing your wrist and pulling you along towards everyone. He had a habit of dragging you around when he was excited.
“Look who finally decided to show her face.” He announced loudly.
You were greeted with big hugs from everyone. The second that Lewis wasn’t next to you, you couldn’t help but notice Talias possessive touch had been returned to him. You weren’t sure if you were imagining it, but you almost felt like he looked annoyed. You decided to ignore her and catch up with your friends, some whom you haven't seen in quite some time.
The afternoon carried on uneventfully, everyone drinking and joking around. You had changed into your swimsuit, hoping to catch the last few rays of Caribbean sun. You had felt his eyes on you when you walked out of the house, he had Talia perched on his lap but his attention was fully on you. You wanted to be disgusted by the man but you couldn’t find it in you, instead you added a purposeful sway to your hips and made your way over to one of the lounge chairs. It didn’t take long for him to appear next to you, thankfully alone.
“I feel like I haven’t gotten to see you at all since you got here.” He said, placing his sunglasses on his face as he settled into the chair beside yours.
You couldn’t help but giggle a bit, “I wonder why.” You didn't look at him but you could see the confusion on his face in your peripheral 
“What?” The confusion was evident in his voice.
“Nothing,” You pushed the topic aside before turning your head towards him with a smile, “How have you been? It’s been a while.”
His face lit up, ignoring your previous comment. He filled you in on everything that had happened over the last few months, talking about races, his new training routine. You couldn’t help but laugh as the beautiful man beside you rambled on like a little kid. He noticed your amusement, cutting himself off with a bashful look.
“Sorry, sorry,” He chuckled, seemingly embarrassed by himself, “it’s just easy to get carried away with you.”
He settled back into his chair, his head rolling towards you to keep eye contact.
“Okay, it’s your turn, I wanna hear every single thing that’s been going on in your life.” He then settled even further into his chair, crossing his arms behind his head as if he was getting ready for you to read him a book.
“Well, not much to tell really, life has mostly been work and more work.” You told him, glancing over at him.
“Come on, something must be going on in your life. You're young, fun, attractive, you can’t possibly be just working. You need some fun every once in a while.” He frowned over at you.
You couldn’t help but catch the comment about you being attractive, you knew he was just being kind but it still made your skin heat up ever so slightly.
“I did go on a date…” You trail off, waiting to catch some sort of reaction from him.
“Oh?” His tone is inquisitive yet almost harsh.
“Yeah, he kinda sucked though. He talked about himself most of the time, asked at the end of dinner to split the bill, and then still tried to get me to go back to his place. Needless to say I won’t be seeing him again.” You laugh to yourself, thinking about how much you had hated the night.
“Don’t, he sounds like a proper tool. Dickhead didn’t know what was in front of him.” He says gruffly before letting out a deep sigh, “Y/N, you can do a whole lot better than that. You deserve so much better than that.”
You smile over at him, “I know, that’s why I went home alone and blocked his number.”
He gives you a bright smile, extending his fist to meet yours, “Atta girl!”
You hear her before you see her, a loud scoff coming from behind the two of you. When you look up she’s partially kneeling on Lewis’ chair, clearing her throat obnoxiously.
“I could use a little help here.” She says in an annoyingly sultry tone, waving a bottle of sunblock in the man's face.
Lewis lets out a small huff, so quiet you could have easily missed it before pushing himself up from the chair.
“Yup,” His tone comes out clipped before turning back to you with a gentle smile, “I’ll see ya in a bit, yeah?”
You return his smile, simply nodding before he’s trailing off behind Talia like a lost puppy.
You didn’t end up seeing Lewis at all for the rest of the night, only during dinner with everyone while his attention was directed elsewhere. You only knew he had gone to bed when you heard her calling out for him later in the night.
“Lewis,” her whiny voice carried through the large house, “come to bed! I’m lonely!”
Miles rolled his eyes so aggressively at that, you worried they might get stuck in his head. At least you weren’t the only one who was disgusted.
. . .
The next day was spent down at the beach, the water was so clear you almost couldn’t believe it was real. Lunch and drinks were packed in various coolers as everyone toted their way down the narrow path to the sand.
“Holy shit.” You mumbled to yourself, stopping at the bottom of the trail, causing Lewis to almost run into the back of you.
You only realized you had blocked him rather abruptly when you heard his warm chuckle right behind you, much closer than expected. 
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it.” He said quietly, placing his hand on your back, guiding you forward slightly so you were no longer blocking the path. 
“It’s stunning,” you said, eyes wide as you turned toward him, he was still close to you, standing just by your side, “thank you again, so much. I really never thought I would ever be somewhere like this.”
He shook his head with a soft smile, “No need to thank me Y/N, this trip wouldn’t be the same without you here. Besides it was me being a bit selfish, I missed you.” 
You couldn’t help but blush slightly at his comment, you had missed him too but to hear him admit it made you feel some type of way. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it. You always felt honored to be the recipient of his attention in any way, much less his affection. 
“Come on, it’s even better up close.” He said, grabbing your hand and pulling you along toward where everyone was already setting up blankets and umbrellas.
You could feel Talias eyes on you but you did your best to ignore it. Lewis is an adult and he is allowed to interact with his friends, she doesn’t own him. As far as you're aware they’re not even really together.
You dropped your stuff next to where Charlotte and Miles had put their own. Miles hadn’t wasted a minute, bounding toward the water like a lanky child before throwing himself into a large wave. You and Charlotte exchanged a look before bursting out in a fit of laughter.
“We’re friends with absolute man children.” Charlotte said through her laughter, shaking her head as she went to lay down her blanket.
“Maybe, but you love us.” Lewis piped up, a cheeky smile on his face, teeth on full display.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you keep telling yourself that grandpa.” She sends back at him, sticking her tongue out.
“You watch it young lady, I’m only two years older than you. You’re gonna be just as ancient as me soon enough.” His tone is playfully stern and he can only hold his fake scowl for a second before breaking out into a big grin.
Out of the corner of your eye you see him settle down on the blanket next to Talia as he takes off his shirt. They look like they’re ready for a photoshoot, two perfect bodies on the most perfect coastline. You turn your attention back to laying out your own blanket as he turns his attention toward her, talking quietly in her ear. She lets out an annoying giggle, one that seems to be more for show and less a reaction to whatever he just said.
“Alright, y'all are boring, who’s coming in here with me?” Miles shouts out from the water before falling back into another wave.
“Gimme just a sec.” Lewis hollers back, moving to stand up.
Daniel is already making his way down to the water and Charlotte is taking off her cover up, ready to head down herself. You do the same, putting on some sunscreen and tying back your hair.
“Come on, just for a few minutes, the water here is incredible.” You hear Lewis attempting to persuade Talia into the water.
“No, I told you, I don’t swim.” She half scoffs at him.
You almost want to roll your eyes, it would be such a shame to miss out on the beautiful sea. Lewis is shrugging as you turn toward him, obviously not in the mood to try any harder.
“Y/n?” He says, you can tell he meant to say more but stopped short when he saw you. Even through his sunglasses you can tell he’s checking you out much more than he should be, especially with the company sitting just behind him.
You’re not wearing anything particularly fancy, just a black bikini that you’ve had for a few years. It has the most support of any that you own and buckles instead of ties so you figured it would be best for the ocean. You raise a slightly accusing brow at him, urging him to continue.
He shakes his head ever so slightly, breaking himself out of what seemed to be a trance, “You comin’ in?”
“Hell yeah.” You say enthusiastically, jogging toward the water without waiting to see if he’s following. He appears at your side rather quickly, much more adept to running in the sand, or really running at all. You both slow down slightly. Once you're sure you’re far enough away you mumble to him “She’s fun.”
He looks at you with a small smirk but still manages to look like he's reprimanding you, “Leave her alone, it doesn’t matter.”
Once you’re close enough to the water that the tide is lapping at your toes you let out a shriek. Two large arms have wrapped around your torso from behind, picking you up in the air. He’s now running at full tilt into the water.
“Leewiiiisssss.” You scream out through a fit of laughter.
Just as his name comes out of your mouth, he’s throwing the two of you directly into a wave, the water completely engulfing you both. As you come up, sputtering slightly, you’re still in his arms. You free yourself, turning around to slap him in the chest before pushing your now drenched hair out of your face.
“Warn a girl next time.” You curse at him, still blinking the salt water out of your eyes.
You're met by nothing but boyish laughter as he takes in your slightly distraught state, “Aww it’s okay, you won’t melt.” He fakes a pout at you, making you flip him off before turning to swim over to where everyone else is, laughing themselves.
You don’t make it very far before the same arms from before are wrapping around you again, facing you toward the shore as another large wave crashes over the two of you. You managed to prepare yourself for it a little better than the last, this one actually making you laugh.
“Sorry, didn’t have time to warn you for that one.” Lewis says into your ear, his voice quiet and light. You can feel his warm breath against your skin, making you shiver despite the sun and warm water. You detach yourself from him, very aware that everyone can see you.
“My hero, thank you sir.” You tease him with his title as you swim away.
He follows after you, joining the rest of the group. Everyone swims and plays around for a good hour before deciding to head back up to the beach. Lewis and Miles share a look before Miles grabs you, pulling you further down the beach.
“So Y/N, Lewis and I have decided we’re gonna teach you how to surf.” Miles announces proudly
“Oh, hell no.” You start to protest, trying to pull away.
Lewis has already made it up to a part of the beach where you see an array of surfboards and kayaks that you can only assume belong with the house he’s rented. You see him selecting the perfect board, not paying particular attention to your dismay.
“Yup, sorry, it’s ain't up for discussion.” Miles simply shrugs, still pulling you along.
It takes them only a few minutes before you’re caving, they’re both well aware that you rarely say no to them.
“We already worked on your stance while we were in Malibu, now we’re just gonna try that in the water.” Lewis says as if it's the easiest thing in the world.
“Just watch and learn baby, watch and learn.” Miles is yelling out as he's already jogging toward the water, surfboard under his arm.
You watch miles paddle out, trying and failing to catch more than a few waves making you laugh slightly. You can feel your nerves subsiding a little bit but they’re definitely still there. Lewis can tell, he sees the tension in your body.
“C’mere.” He says, his hand outstretched towards you, gesturing for you to come to the board he has laid out in the sand.
You do as he says and let him arrange you on the board in the proper stance, so you can remember what he taught you almost six months ago.
“So you want to bend your knees and lean into it a bit.” His voice is soft and reassuring, he places his hands on your hips, pulling them back slightly to get into the proper position.
His hands are large and warm on your bare skin. As he pulls your hips back you notice how close he’s been standing, your ass just barely grazing over the front of his swim trunks. It's only a moment but you notice it, making you gulp. He must notice it too because he’s immediately stepping back as he clears his throat.
“Looks good, it's all about balance, you’ll be fine.” His tone is shorter now, but still offering the slightest bit of comfort that you need. 
The boys finally get you out into the water after showing you multiple times how to push yourself up on the board. You had thought surfing was supposed to be relaxing, Lewis always explained it as his form of meditation, but the more you run drills with them the more you realize it’s a proper workout. You know you must look like a sweaty mess as you all head into the water. Lewis shows you a few times again how to work with the board in the water before you’re being sent off to try it on your own. They both watch, sitting back on their own boards, as you try and fail multiple times. You’ve wiped out more times than you can count and only managed to actually get up on the board twice.
“It’s not gonna happen guys, I’m not meant for surfing.” You call out to them as you struggle your way up onto your board once more.
“Come on, it’s your first time, it takes some getting used to.” Miles tries to cheer you on.
“Look, there’s a perfect wave coming in right now. We’ll take it with you.” Lewis offers, paddling his way over in that direction.
You’re still not quite sure how you managed to pull it off, but somehow it did end up being the perfect wave. You managed to get yourself up and ride it a short distance, it was maybe fifteen seconds but you were proud.
“She did it, she fucking did it!” Miles is already cheering as you make your way toward the shore.
Lewis quickly scoops you up in a big hug, pressing a big kiss to your cheek. It’s not an uncommon thing for him to do but it still makes you rather flustered. He places you back down giving you a big high five.
“Seeee,” He draws out in a teasing tone, a big smile on his face, “we knew you could do it.”
“Well I barely did it, but that was a ton of fun.” You laugh, overjoyed that you managed to do it at all.
“Barely is better than not at all.” Miles says, clapping you on your back.
“Come on, let's go cool off and then we can head back over to everybody. We’ve accidentally abandoned them.” Lewis says with a laugh.
The three of you make your way back into the water, floating your way over closer to where your friends sit. Miles makes his way back up to the group quicker than you and Lewis, the two of you bobbing around in the beautiful water a few minutes longer.
“See, this is what I mean,” He starts, looking up at the clear sky with a squint in his eye before looking back to you, “today wouldn’t have been nearly as fun if you weren’t here.”
“What a sap.” You tease him, shaking your head.
“Nah, Y/N, I mean it. I’m really glad we met you.” His voice is sincere, his eyes holding so many more emotions than you can even try to decipher.
“Me too.” It’s all you can really say but you truly mean it, you’re so grateful for this little chosen family you’ve become a part of.
You could tell Talia was in a mood as you made your way back from the water. Lewis simply throws a towel at you, making her roll her eyes. You noticed how she moved away from him as he settled down onto the blanket next to her. She seemed jealous. You could hear her whispering to him in a harsh tone but you couldn’t hear what she was saying.
It didn’t take very long for Lewis to stand up and start packing their things, announcing that they were heading back up to the house and they would see everyone later. You heard Daniel make some off handed comment, telling them to use protection. You didn’t hear either of them respond, assuming Lewis had chosen to flip him off instead. The rest of you chose to stay down on the beach for a little while longer, waiting the short while until the sun started to set.
As you made your way into the house you could already hear the yelling, everyone exchanging uneasy glances as you headed toward the kitchen to unpack your coolers.
“If you want to fuck her so bad why the hell am I even here?” Talias shrill voice cut through the house loudly.
“Jesus christ, she’s one of my closest friends. How can you not understand that?” Lewis was harsh in his response.
You glanced at Miles, unsure of what to do. There was nowhere to go to avoid listening to their conversation, if that's what you could even call it. He shrugged back at you, equally unsure of how to navigate the situation.
“You think I’m a fucking idiot? I see how you look at her, she gets all of your attention any time she’s around. You think I don’t notice?” Somehow Talias voice has managed to get even louder, “And what the fuck was that with you two in the water, huh? All giggly and flirty, like she doesn’t know how to swim? Showing her how to surf just so you could touch her?”
“I haven’t seen her in months and I barely got to even speak to her yesterday because you were jealous. Anytime I was even remotely close to her you found a way to pull me away.” Lewis is fully shouting now, something you have never heard from him in nearly two years of friendship. Sure you’ve seen him upset, but never have you heard him yell at anything other than a football game he was a little too invested in. 
You can feel your friends glancing at you sympathetically. It’s not lost on anyone that they’re arguing about you. Everyone is trying to busy themselves, starting on making dinner, but it’s barely working, everyone is interested in the fallout of the fight happening down the hall.
“She’s a fucking gold digging bitch, how can you not see that? She wants to fuck you just as much as you evidently want to fuck her, so why don’t you go right ahead. She’s just as much of a whore as all the other ones you seem to keep in rotation.” Talia spits back at him, scoffing at the end.
You widen your eyes, frozen as you hear the way she's speaking about you. You feel Miles come up next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you in against him.
“Don’t listen to her, we love you.” Miles mumbles into the top of your head, pressing a kiss there.
“Don’t you dare, ever, speak about her that way again. I fucking mean it. I’d also keep in mind that you're, as you say, part of my rotation.” Lewis’s voice comes out harsh, threatening, “I want you gone.”
“Oh you want me gone? She’s the one that shouldn’t even be here, I paid for my ticket here, we all fucking know she weasled cash out of your pocket for a nice vacation.” She just about screams back at him.
“Gone. Now.” His voice is icy, sending a chill down your spine. That’s not the Lewis you know.
You can feel your eyes start to well up as their bedroom door slams. Lewis appears at the end of the hallway, still in his swim trunks from earlier. He quickly looks around the room as everyone stares wordlessly at him. He doesn’t meet your tear filled eyes, almost grimacing when he sees your face but saying nothing.
“Lewis-” Charlotte tries to speak before getting cut off.
“I’m going on a run.” He says abruptly, already walking away from the kitchen toward the front door.
He’s still barefoot and shirtless as he walks out the front door, slamming it hard behind him. The silence in the house doesn’t last long as you hear more commotion from the bedroom at the end of the hall. She’s swearing to herself and it sounds like she’s dropping things. It doesn’t take long until Daniel see’s her down the hallway.
“What the hell are you doing?” He shouts, already making his way down the hall.
This quickly gets everyone's attention, straining to look where he’s headed. You see her with an arm full of her stuff, making her way toward your room, throwing things into the doorway.
“If she wants him so fucking bad, she can fucking have him.” Talia screams back at him, not stopping for a second as she makes her way into your room.
This quickly catches both yours and Miles’ attention, heading down the hall yourself. When you make it to your door you see her grabbing your things, throwing them into your suitcase. You can’t help but be confused. What the hell is she doing? 
“Hey, chill out. Everyone’s just upset, let’s take a breather.” Miles is trying to reason with her but it evidently isn’t working as she continues throwing your stuff into your bag, still muttering to herself.
With your bag in hand, she pushes past the three of you, tossing your stuff into Lewis’s doorway. When she turns to face you all you finally see her cheeks are covered in tears, snot running down her face. She looks genuinely hurt and you almost feel a little bad but you quickly push it aside, thinking of all the things she just said about you.
“I’m pretty sure I heard Lewis tell you to leave.” Charlotte says from behind you, her voice calm but cold.
“Yeah? Where the hell do you want me to go? It’s almost eight o’clock at night, I’m kinda stuck here. So sorry to be a burden.” Her voice is riddled with sarcasm as she throws her hands up in the air.
She doesn’t wait for a response as she once again pushes past you and into what used to be your room, slamming the door shut and locking it. You stand there, outside the door, absolutely stunned. It’s not until you feel Miles and Daniel guiding you away, back towards the kitchen that you snap out of it, finally getting mad.
“What the hell was that? How am I the bad guy?” You ask no one in particular, heading towards the bar just off the kitchen.
“You’re not the bad guy, she’s apparently just bat shit crazy.” Steph pipes up.
It makes you feel better hearing that from her, you two have never been all that close and only hung out a few times. You always have a good time together but really don’t have much in common. So if even she can see that it's not your fault, that must mean something.
“I mean she’s certainly crazy, we can see that, but Lewis shouldn’t have brought her here if was just gonna flirt with someone else the whole time.” Someone else says.
“He’s not flirting with me, he’s just like that.” You try to defend yourself, and him.
Charlotte looks at you with sympathetic eyes, “Hun, he’s definitely been flirting with you. Yes, he’s flirty with everyone, but it’s different when he’s flirting with intention.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” You feel a little flustered at this point. A little embarrassed that everyone seems to know, confused as to why he would possibly be flirting with you, and almost excited that this crush you’ve had might just be reciprocated.
“Honestly, I’ve seen him flirt with countless women to get in their pants,” Miles starts, giving you an apologetic glance at his wording, “but it’s pretty rare that I see him flirt because he actually likes someone. Char’s right, the way he flirts with you is definitely different. And I love the dude, but it’s not fair to either of you.”
There are nods of agreement from your other friends and you feel your cheeks get hot.
“Okay, okay,” You put your hands up, trying to deflect away from the topic, “where am I supposed to sleep tonight? She just locked herself in my room and put me in a very much occupied room.”
“Well, I mean you could always sleep with Lewis and see where it goes.” Daniel says with a smirk.
It takes all of a second for Charlotte to make her way over to him and slap him on the back of the head, hissing at him, “Not the fucking time.”
“You can sleep with me, I know it’s not perfect but we can be cuddle buddies.” Charlotte says kindly, giving you a gentle smile.
Noone ends up eating dinner, dispersing from the kitchen rather quickly to avoid the awkward air that has set over the house for the night. You, Charlotte, and Miles end up in the living room doing your best to ignore the situation through means of alcohol. By the time eleven o’clock rolls around all three of you are more than tipsy and both Charlotte and Miles get up, ready to head to bed. Lewis still isn’t back and you can't help but be a bit worried. He would usually be in bed by now but he still isn’t even home. You send them both off to bed, telling them you’ll be up just a little longer. You sit in the living room in silence, nursing a drink, for almost an hour as you start to get drowsy. You try your very best to fight it off, hoping to stay away until Lewis is home, but you can only fight your exhaustion for so long.
As you drift off to sleep, the clock nearing twelve thirty, Lewis is still nowhere to be seen.
564 notes · View notes
waldau · 5 months
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hi!! i really love the way you write for wonwoo♡♡♡ could i request wonwoo+friends to lovers(something like she fell first but he fell harder kinda trope?)
thank you so much anon! also you're my first ever request! i hope i did this trope justice, because as much as i love established relationships i don't think i've ever really done much for friends to lovers.
crush — jeon wonwoo | 2,193 words | fluff
gender neutral reader. warnings: none.
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it hits wonwoo like a sledgehammer.
he's glad he's already sitting in his usual seat at the table, because there probably couldn't be a worse time to realize he's in love with you. when you're out on a date with someone else, and when these dates look like they're going to become a steady fixture in your life; something that he's going to have to learn how to make peace with.
wonwoo doesn't just love you. he's in love with you, and he's grappling with the realization of how many months he's missed without knowing the extent of his own feelings for you.
he wishes there was some manual that told him what to do when you had feelings for your roommate. when said roommate happened to be your best friend you'd try to ask out if you weren't so afraid of ruining the friendship.
since the end of high school and the beginning of college, wonwoo's always had you by his side — whether it be in the same classes, or the same friend group — hell, he's lost count of the number of nights you spent together, watching movies instead of trying to get some sleep for the next day.
(maybe there was a reason why he chose horror movies sometimes, even though you were scared of them.)
he thinks back to all the times your friends joked you were practically dating — that never annoyed him. he was merely surprised at the idea of dating you. you had always been his best friend; nothing more. you were a constant fixture in his life that he didn't see in any other way.
but now? wonwoo wishes he could turn back time and see what could have happened. would you have had the same inside jokes you do now, the same ease that comes with learning to co-exist by carving each other's shapes into your lives?
he looks up from his laptop at the sound of the wind rattling the windows. but he's the only one home.
you're out on your second date in the past two weeks with this guy named seungcheol. for the past two weeks, wonwoo hasn't been able to put a finger on why he hasn't been so keen on this guy you're seeing, despite the fact that seungcheol sounds like nothing but a gentleman.
and now he knows why.
he's heard a lot about how funny and smart and nice seungcheol is, from taking you to your favourite restaurant for a date to leaving you at your doorstep at the end of your night out.
wonwoo wants to argue that he, too, does the same thing for you. he holds doors open for you and gives you his beanie when you're cold and lets you have his popcorn when yours is done, but you just don't see him that way. and he doesn't know what to do to make you see him that way.
he focuses on his laptop again. the words all seem jumbled, and he's pretty sure he's been on the same page for the past half hour. so he takes his glasses off and lets his eyes rest. only to remember the time you took his glasses off when he was almost about to fall asleep on the sofa.
you're loving. it's something he's learned from you. you're always looking out for others, always concerned, wanting them to know you're there in the subtlest ways possible.
wonwoo always wants you around, and now has an irrational worry that he won't have you for much longer. his heart starts hurting — really, physically hurting, like a deep pain in his chest that can't be satiated by anything. he didn't know it was possible, but it's all he can feel right now.
he tries to think about anything else. those few people he'd dated back in college, whose names he can't even remember now. he hasn't dated anyone in the past two years since you graduated, got a job and moved into this flat together.
wonwoo hadn't known what to expect when it came to living with you, because as much as you were best friends, you'd never shared a living space together beyond a night's time. now over the course of the last twenty five months, he's become accustomed to you, and he's afraid he's ruined it all by realizing he's fallen in love with you far too late.
part of that is definitely your fault, he reasons. he wouldn't blame seungcheol for falling in love, either.
the thought of you on your date hurts him enough that he picks up his pen and scratches something on the notepad lying next to his laptop. his strokes are harsh and drawn without care, but when he stops, it's a rough sketch of your favourite flowers.
he lets out a bitter laugh. everything always circles back to you, in the end.
you don't ask for anything on your birthday, but wonwoo always gets you a bouquet of your favourite flowers alongside your gifts, because he knows how much you love them.
he wonders if seungcheol knows they're your favourite.
he's shaken out of his thoughts when you open the door to your shared house and step inside, almost tiptoeing, like you're afraid of making noise. you freeze when you see him looking at you. he wonders how long he's been sitting there, mind blank but also filled with thoughts of you. it's eating him up like a slow poison from the inside, but he forces himself to hold your gaze.
you look amazing. more than that, you look happy.
he's not jealous. he's never jealous when you're happy. but he just wants you to be happy with him, and he doesn't know if he's enough.
he wants to know what it'd be like to take you out. he wants to know everything that makes you smile, because he still learns something new about you almost every day. he wants to know what it's like to hold hands with you, kiss you goodnight, and wake up every morning knowing you're there by his side and his side only.
he wants more than he can possibly have.
"hey, wonwoo," you say, shutting the door behind you before you take off your shoes. "couldn't sleep?"
"no. i wanted to wait till you came back."
you frown at him. "i told you not to."
as if he could ever do that. whether you go out on dates, or to parties with your friends, wonwoo can't relax till he knows you're back home, safe. he just shrugs. this is one thing he'll always be stubborn about.
"did you have dinner?" you ask, ruffling his hair and moving past him to presumably fix yourself a snack before you go to bed.
"yeah," he says, looking back at the laptop. the letters are still jumbled, so he cleans his glasses before putting them back on. "unless last night's pizza doesn't count."
"that's a lot of words for no," you say. "are instant noodles okay?"
"of course."
wonwoo watches as you move around, putting back today afternoon's dried dishes into their respective places and filling a glass of water for yourself.
"did you have fun tonight?"
"yeah," you say, a smile on your face. "cheol picked out this movie i've been wanting to watch for a while. then we went to this hole-in-the-wall cafe that was surprisingly nice. and then he dropped me home."
wonwoo tries not to react at the nickname you already have for him. he's not jealous, but it's getting harder to convince himself of that. he looks at your jacket. it looks...not quite your style.
"is that new?" he asks, pointing at it.
"what? oh, this? seungcheol asked me to return it to him the next time. it was pretty cold today."
wonwoo's hand crumples the note before he realizes. next time? why couldn't he have realized how much he loved you before all of this had to happen?
"you okay?" you ask, turning around to look at him. "come here and tell me if it tastes fine."
"it's just instant noodles," he pretends to grumble, but waits for you to feed him some. he can see you're a bit tired. he wishes you'd fall asleep on him, the way you do when you're stubborn enough to want to keep him company with whatever he's doing.
"tastes good," he hums, licking his lips.
did he just imagine your eyes looking at them before they moved back to his face?
"great. hand me those bowls from there?"
you using him for his height is a running joke he hopes never gets old. wonwoo takes out the cutlery too, but stops when he sees an angry red line on your hand.
"what happened to you?" he asks, holding your hand so he can see it clearly. he tries not to think about how much bigger his hand is. the cut isn't bleeding, but it's still there, starkly visible against your skin.
you hesitate. "i'm not sure. i remember my hand hit something in the cafe, but i didn't see it till now."
"and you didn't bother checking it once you got home?"
you look at him. "i didn't even feel it that much, woo."
"you could have tetanus for all you know!"
"it's just a cut! it's hardly that ser—"
you stop talking when wonwoo switches on the tap and turns off the stove. "take this off," he says, pointing to the jacket. it shouldn't even be in your home. he shouldn't be feeling like this in the first place.
you comply wordlessly, hand limp in his as he washes it thoroughly, before patting it dry with the towel near the sink and finding a bandaid in the cabinet above. you have a propensity for getting hurt randomly and wonwoo's glad to be prepared.
"done," he says, letting go of your hand. you're still looking at him.
"kiss it better?" you ask. there's a mischievous look in your eyes.
and who is he to refuse? he takes your hand back, gently pressing a kiss to it, making sure it's not too forceful. when your eyes meet again, he gets the feeling there's something in the air. even you seem to be aware of it. it's like the tipping point before the scales lose their balance, like the calm before the storm; it's now or never.
"one more time?" you ask, moving a bit closer. wonwoo swears he forgets how to breathe. and he definitely isn't imagining your eyes on his lips this time.
"always," he says, before he leans down to press his lips to yours.
it's magic. there's no other word for it. wonwoo feels like he's transcending worlds when he feels your lips against his, trying to press yourself into him when you wrap your hands around his waist.
when you pull apart, wonwoo swears you're the most beautiful thing he's ever seen in his life. this is what he wants, and he'll be damned if he doesn't try to find out what could have been.
"please don't go out with him again?"
"...what?"
wonwoo swallows, letting go of your hand. his bravery now comes and goes like waves on the seashore, tides threatening to spill out everything he feels about you in one careless motion.
"i don't want you to go out with him again."
"because...we kissed?"
"because i'd never let you get hurt if you were with me."
"you...what?"
"i like you," he says, taking a step closer. "i don't know what that meant to you, but i like you so much, and i hate that it took me this long to realize it. i want...i want you to give me a chance."
"you like me?" you ask, voice smaller than before.
he nods. "i want to...take you out on a date. wherever you want. i want to make you laugh. it's been killing me, thinking about you with him."
"oh, my god," you say, burying your face in your hands. wonwoo's heart drops. "why would you— i've been trying to get over you all this while, going out on dates with him so i can stop thinking about you that way, and now you're just...giving me what i've always wanted?
wonwoo feels like he's been drenched in ice-cold water. "you like me?" he parrots. he doesn't know what to do with his hands, so he pulls you in for a hug. even this simple gesture suddenly feels like a brand new thing in the light of your recent confessions.
your hands find their place around his waist again, your chin on his chest, looking up at him. "of course i do. i'm surprised you didn't realize earlier. it's been...a while."
this is news to him. "how long, exactly?"
you bow your head, not meeting his eyes, "i'm not telling you now."
"you can't hide anything from me, you know."
he can feel your smile against his chest. "i know. let me just have this for now?"
"forever."
you tighten your grip around his waist and just stand with him.
wonwoo makes a mental note to get you a bunch of real flowers.
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spiritually-a-blorb · 8 months
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headcannons for Apollo and Meg after all the books beacuse all I've been doing for the past days are spinning these scrunkly guys around in my head at terminal velocity <3
- Meg always carries a pack of sunflower seeds with her when she goes to school.
- Whenever Meg takes ancient history and they cover Greece, she manages the worst grade beacuse Apollo tells her facts that the book literally dosent know and he thinks it's blasphemy that's she's failing.
- Apollo will literally never shut up about his kids now. he hears literally the smallest detail that reminds him of them and he talks for hours about them
- Artemis is around Apollo a lot more, and she's definitely more protective/worried about him. Apollo likes the extra time he gets with her.
- Apollo returned Paolo's bandanna, but definitely not before finding one for himself. he wears it everywhere, Artemis has tried to burn it like 20 times, but somehow it always returns to Apollo in one piece.
- Apollo cannot physically hear or look anything in a shakesperian accent without wanting to commit mass destruction/cry
- Meg never gets sunburnt. like ever. plus, her crops always manage to get the right balance of sun without her help.
- One day, Meg manages to teleport directly to Apollo. As it turns out, since Apollo got himself up out of Chaos, no one ever really broke the master/servant bond. Apollo conveniently does not mention this until the last moment possible, beacuse he likes feeling connected to Meg, even when he's away.
- Apollo kept his scars. In doing so, older scars seem to pop up, that he was definitely sure he didn't get while he was mortal. They cover his body, and he can't seem to get rid of them without the ones he got while being mortal going away too. So, he hides them, and only shows off the ones he got as a mortal.
- Apollo is allowed to visit Rachel, beacuse he wants to prevent something like Python from happening to his oracles again.Zeus buys this, but only beacuse he weighs in with Athena first. Athena was totally not bribed into this by Apollo with actual intellectual discussions, no sir.
- On a totally unrelated note, he tries to connect with Athena more. They have little discussions about different topics every week or two.
- Apollo likes trying to connect with all his Olympian family. He realizes that they all suffered under Zeus, and if they are closer, like an actual family, maybe it will lessen the blows.
- Meg somehow never gets sick. it is both a blessing and a curse, since she always has to care for her siblings when they are sick
- For some odd, very mysterious reason, whenever Apollo visits Rachel, his kids or Meg are ever-present, and after he visits for some time (some days he visits longer, others it is shorter) they just pop in. weird, but since he's here visiting his Pythia, and technically not his kids, Zeus isn't gonna pay that much attention to mortals
- Since Apollo's sacred animal (one of them, anyway) is a red cow, it's totally not far fetched that it falls within his duties to check on the herd at the Waystation. After all, what God wouldn't check on their sacred animal! some mortals might mistreat them, after all!! and since he needs to talk to the owners,, he might as well catch up with them, right?
- Camp Jupiter is totally in need of more renovations, right? and it makes sense that such a devoted group should deserve some kind of reward. plus, since Apollo made the mess with the whole war thing, it makes the most sense for him to go and help! and later, he needs to check that his work is top notch!
- Apollo always visits Meg on Sundays. Technically, he's visiting Herophile, since he needs to check on her too! she's an important oracle! but Meg lives there, so they are bound to run into each other, and it's totally not weird that these meetings take a day (or two) beacuse that's a mere blink in the eye, for a god, anyways.
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Caught In The Bliss | Lucy Bronze x Reader
pt. III of the Lucy fic. a little angst... a little suggestive... a lot of fluff
hopefully the different moments and progression of their situation makes sense. I've enjoyed this whole Lucy fic... so I hope you do too :)
pt. I | pt. II
It has been eight months. Eight months since you told Lucy that the two of you shouldn’t get caught up in bliss, and then doing exactly that. Eight months of first times and stolen moments, vulnerability and comfort, and pure joy. You couldn’t remember the last time before Lucy where you felt so genuinely happy.
The first time you make an effort to give things a try is a month after you left her in a Tilburg hotel room. You were fighting hard to let whatever happened between you two stay in the past, but Lucy refused it. Flight information for a long weekend in Barcelona popping up randomly on your phone in the middle of the day. A text attached, ‘I’ve got a free weekend coming up. Make some time, I’ll see you then’. 
A week later you were on a flight to Barcelona to spend five days with the defender. She greeted you at the airport like one of those videos of long-distance couples meeting after time apart. Arms around your waist, spinning you with a joyous smile on her face. “I knew you would come,” she tells you, planting a kiss on your flushed cheeks. 
The whole trip felt like a fever dream. Frankly, it all scared the hell out of you. Lucy was so domestic in her actions around her apartment. She had made room for your things to go in drawers, even though you assured her it was fine to stay in your suitcase. She would wake up in the morning and pull you closer, asking for just five more minutes of cuddles. You’d cook breakfast together everyday, well you’d cook and she’d give you kisses while wrapping her arms around you at the stove. You’d send her off to training while you did some work from her apartment. 
Then she lets it slip that you were meant to be her date to a teammates birthday dinner over the weekend. You spend way too much time thinking of what it means if you meet her friends. Did that mean she had told them about you? Were the two of you at that point, admittedly you had definitely talked endlessly about her to yours, but that was different right?
“Don’t be nervous,” Lucy squeezes at your hand. 
“What if they don’t like that I can’t speak Spanish well?”
“I speak it well enough for both of us,” another squeeze. 
“What if they don’t want some random lady at their party?”
“I want you here,” she assures you.
“What if they don’t like me?”
“Baby girl, look at me,” Lucy stops in her journey to the front door, turning you to face her. “You will be fine. They will like you and even if for some crazy reason they don’t it will still be okay. Do you know why?” You shake your head, “it will be okay because I like you and that won’t change.”
Lucy had a way of assuring you, that washed away all your anxiety. She was confident as she walked in the home, a chorus of Spanish greetings reaching your ears. People you had never met were pulling you into hugs and kissing at your cheeks. Lucy’s protective grip around your waist never leaves. She introduced you and with how things were going you half expected her to call you her girlfriend at that moment. You heave a sigh of relief when she sticks with just your name.
The dinner party was very low stress after the initial shock wore off. You spent most of your time under Lucy and sipping wine. The girls made you feel welcomed, Aitana was sweet and chatted your ear off, Mapi reminded you of Lucy with how she would joke around, but your favorite was Patri she had your stomach aching from laughter every time she spoke.
Then there was Alexia, she had a protective nature you liked. She gave Lucia, as she called her, a firm talk about making sure to treat you well. “Alexia is fit,” you tease on your way back to her home. 
“Yeah maybe, but I’m still the fittest,” Lucy is sure of herself and you couldn’t deny it.
You leave Barcelona two days later and fall right back into your habit of trying to push her away. You don’t know why, but you are preparing for her to leave you. Trying to protect yourself from the inevitable only creates a frustrated Lucy. Two weeks is all it takes for her to have enough…
It was a normal phone call, you two ended nearly every day talking to each other. An off-handed comment you make causes Lucy to snap. “You will move on by then,” you try to play it off as a joke, but Lucy doesn’t laugh.
“Why do you say things like that?” She sounds genuinely curious when she asks.
You chuckle, “It’s fine Lucy, you can admit it.”“I am trying (y/n),” you can tell she’s tired by her voice.
“Why?” 
“What kind of fucking question is that?” this was what you wanted. You could hear the anger in Lucy‘s voice. She was finally going to prove you right. 
“I just don’t get it, I’m sure there are plenty of women in Barcelona who will fuck you Lucy. You don’t have to keep flying me out just to get laid.” As usual a poor argument on your end. There had been very little intimacy on your last trip, Lucy opting to fill your nights with conversation. 
She huffs, composing herself before she speaks, “this is a joke right? You are having a laugh.”
“Not everything is a joke. Tell me why? Why do you care to try Lucy?” There’s silence on the other end.
“Jesus,” Lucy finally sighs, “she really did you in. She did such a number on you that you can’t even see when someone might actually care about you.”
It felt like a low blow for her to bring up your ex, she knew it still hurt. “Fuck you Lucy. Next time you want someone to fuck just call your little teammate and leave me alone.”
“Yeah, fuck me,” you hear her say right before you disconnect the call. 
You feel nothing immediately after. However, a Lucy sized hole carves itself into your heart over the following days when you don’t hear from her. You know you miss her, but pride refused to let you text her first. 
Two weeks. That’s how long she makes you wait before you finally hear from her. As usual flight information and a short message, ‘sorry I got upset. I want to talk it out in person. Please come baby girl’. 
A shorter stay this time only for the weekend. You didn’t reply to her message, but you never doubted if you would be on that plane. Lucy was addictive. She could tell you to meet her halfway across the world and you would go. 
She’s waiting for you at baggage claim again, she knew just like you did that you would be there. There’s no exciting reunion this time. She just grabs your bag and offers her hand silently. 
The drive is tense and there’s no hand resting on your thigh like usual. Soft music floats through the car as she travels the Barcelona roads you are becoming familiar with. 
“I’ve missed you,” she finally breaks the stalemate once you’ve reached the confines of her home. “I’m sorry for not reaching out. I just needed to think a minute.”
“Okay,” you whisper, afraid of what conclusion all her thinking brought her to. 
“I’m trying because I care. I’m trying because I like you. Maybe it’s hard to believe, but that night we met is still my favorite memory of you. I saw you dancing with your friends and you looked so carefree. I was mesmerized by you. Every moment since then I’ve been hooked on you. What I said…about her doing a number on you was wrong. I just want you to see that I’m not looking to do that to you. I don’t fly you out here for a good lay and I don’t know what you meant about sleeping with my teammate, but I swear I’m not. There’s no one else I’m interested in sharing these moments with. I’m not looking to play around (y/n).”
You’re unsure if she even meant to say all that. She looks a bit shocked at herself. You on the other hand are barely keeping it together. You take a few tentative steps in her direction and she is quick to grab hold of you. Her strong arms wrapping around you as you let yourself break. 
“I’m scared of how happy you make me. I’m scared you will leave,” you’re sobbing and if it was anyone else seeing you like this you’d feel ashamed at how weak you look, but it was Lucy. Lucy who only pulled you closer and leaned down to attempt to kiss away every tear as they fell. Lucy, who had been nothing but gentle with you from the moment she took you home. 
“I’m not going anywhere, baby girl. Just please stop trying to push me away.”
That was probably the worst and best time during the past eight months. You learned a lot about yourself through being vulnerable with Lucy. She was patient with you as you worked to be able to trust her. She listened when you just wanted to vent and gave you space when everything became too much. 
You were falling, and it took you three months to realize it. Every weekend trip, every dinner date, every phone call, every quickie in airport bathrooms, it was all perfect because it was with her. Your mind told you to run, but your heart craved more. You wanted the fairytale to last forever.
Five months in and Lucy was finally visiting you in Amsterdam this weekend. It was only for two days, but you planned to make the most of it. You were getting ready for dinner at your favorite place, followed by a night on the town. “What color ya wearing?” Lucy asks, walking into your room in just a sports bra and shorts.
It felt intentional, she knew exactly what she was doing as your eyes drank her in, “b-black,” you reply meekly. Lucy hums, turning to rummage through her luggage. That view does nothing to slow your filthy thoughts, “we don’t have to go,” you suggest.
“What?” Lucy laughs, looking over her shoulder and noticing your state.
You really didn’t want to explain, “we can stay in. We should stay in, order takeaway.”
She pouts, “but I wanna match outfits with you and hold hands as we walk through Amsterdam.” She’s teasing and you know it. 
“That’s very cute, but you walk in here like that and now all I want to eat is you.” Lucy’s jaw drops, eyes darkening as she takes two calculated steps to get to you in a hurry, “but if dinner is what you want I’ll get ready.” You slide past her to your wardrobe. 
Lucy molds her body against your back. You can feel every ripple, and you have to suppress a moan at the feeling, “that can be dessert.” She licks along the shell of your ear causing your knees to wobble, she was definitely better at the teasing game than you were.
Once you arrive you are a bit embarrassed by the fancy restaurant you chose, it felt very date-y. Well technically it was a date, but it felt like a place for couples and that’s not what you and Lucy are. You don’t actually have a single clue what you and Lucy are.
“This was a good choice, I like it here.” Lucy grabs at your hand across the table, your worries eased instantly. 
“(y/n)!” You recognize the voice calling you, hand stiffening in Lucy’s. The panic sets in Lucy’s eyes immediately as she run’s a thumb across the back of your hand. “I thought that was you,” the girl says, reaching the table.
“Hi,” you reply politely, eyes flicking up to take in the sight of your ex who you hadn’t seen in what felt like a lifetime. She hadn’t changed. You used to melt under her intense gaze in the best way possible, but now all you feel is insecurity. 
“Look at you. How have you been?” You straighten up at her words, removing your hand from Lucy’s grip. You begin to fuss over yourself, fixing out your hair and brushing down your already straightened top. A terrible habit you had fallen into while dating her.
“Good, yeah good,” you respond. You can’t look towards Lucy, you know she is judging you. You can feel the piercing gaze, burning into you. 
A hand reaches for your shoulder, “you look good. Amazing actually, what are your plans later?” she squeezes and your whole body tenses. 
You go to respond, but Lucy beats you to it, “I’m Lucy,” she nearly shouts.
“Okay?” your ex brushes off barely sparring her a glance before her eyes are boring back into you. 
“We have plans and you are interrupting our dinner,” Lucy presses on. 
Finally picking up on the situation, your ex looks back and forth between the two of you before laughing, “oh this is a date. Sorry to interrupt, just call me when you get done with…that yeah?” 
You don’t know why, but you nod as she walks away. “Let’s go,” Lucy commands as the waiter returns with her card.  She makes her way to your side of the table, gently pulling back your chair and wrapping your coat around you. If it wasn’t for nearly being able to see the steam coming from her ears you would think everything was fine.
She grips your hand, a calming thumb stroking along the back as you stand waiting for the valet to bring your car, “I’m sorry,” you tell her just as they pull up. Lucy furrows her brow, but doesn’t respond, opening the door and ushering you inside before hopping in the driver seat. 
“Look at me,” your glossy eyes meet hers. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m just upset I couldn’t do more baby girl. I’m upset she ruined a great night, but not at you. Never at you. You are perfect.”
“The night isn’t ruined, we still have dessert right?”
Lucy smirks, dropping her hand to your thigh and gripping firmly. It stays there the whole drive, occasionally moving up to brush against your center. 
The moment you enter your apartment Lucy has you pressed up against a wall, teeth nipping at your neck. “I didn’t like it.”
“What?” You question, attempting to stretch your neck to give her more access.
“The way she looked at you. I didn’t like the way she looked at what is mine,” Lucy is fevered in her movements, a moan falling from your mouth at her words. Lips moving to devour yours in a needy kiss. Hers, you love the way that sounds. 
“Tell me again,” you pull away stroking gently at her cheek to calm her movements. “Tell me I’m yours.”
Lucy smiles, softening as she pecks your lips, “you are mine baby girl.”
There was a shift after the weekend she spent in Amsterdam. You didn’t wonder what you and Lucy were doing anymore, it was blatantly clear. There was no question about it, you were actively dating the Barcelona defender. While it was news to you, it seemed she had known that much longer. 
From then on, every Monday morning like clock work there would be a flower delivery. A sweet note attached telling you to have a good week. Your days would be full of cute and flirty text. Every night ended with you curled up in one of her hoodies and a phone call that always kept you up too late. 
You were done fighting it. This was so much better than anything you could have imagined. You were introduced to new sides of Lucy. The passionate side, the shy side, aggressive, motivated, focused, all these different parts of her that made her whole. Your favorite was jealous Lucy. The distance flared this side a bit more. You’d seen it before on her trip here but over the phone it was just adorable. 
“Who else was there?” Lucy cuts your story off to ask her question. 
“No one. Why?”
“So it was a date? She asked you on a date?” She presses on and you try to gauge if she’s serious. 
“No,” you keep your answer short. 
Lucy grumbles, “I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like what?”
“Her.”
You hold in your laugh. You were in the middle of telling Lucy how your new coworker asked you to lunch to get to know one another. “She didn’t do anything to you Luce.”
“She took you on a date. That’s my responsibility not hers,” her statement is firm and you melt. 
“Babe,” well that was new. You try to control the panic after the term of endearment slips for the first time. “It wasn’t a date and if it was in her mind it was the world's most boring date.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. No dates unless they are with you,” you send her a wink through FaceTime. “Even if I have to go all the way to Barcelona to have it.” 
Lucy watches you silently for a moment, “you can just move out here and I’ll take you out every night if you want,” she shrugs as if it’s a casual thing. 
This was an ongoing conversation, she always brought it up. Never in a pressuring way, just an if you wanted to, you could kind of way. You’d thought about it. You’d thought a whole lot about it, but last time you stayed in a city for someone you were dating it didn’t turn out great. You weren’t eager to run off and do it again. 
“I like when you called me that,” Lucy changes the topic seeing the wheels turning in your head. 
Your cheeks blush knowing exactly what she meant, but you feign ignorance, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 
“Sure you don’t baby girl. Just know I liked it a lot,” you nod grateful she’s letting you off the hook. A soft smile rests on both of your faces, just staring at one another for a while. As soon as the smirk begins to spread across her face you prepare for the cheeky comment, “tell me what you’re wearin.” 
The drop in her voice makes you laugh, “you can’t ask that on facetime where you can quite literally see what I am wearing. I thought you were better at this.”
“I just wanted to hear you laugh,” she shrugs, leaning back on her bed and letting out a yawn.
“Get some sleep,” you whisper out.
“Not sleepy,” she mumbles. She never wanted to be the reason the call ended, always finding a reason to prolong it. 
You chuckle, “yeah I know, but I am. I will text you in the morning, yeah?”
“Fine,” Lucy tries her best to sound mad. “Good night, beautiful.”
You smile so hard it hurts your cheeks, “good night babe.” Lucy flushes, the childlike smile taking over her face showing her pure joy at the term. She nods, refusing to hang up and waiting for you to do it.
There was nothing you could do, you had to accept the fact you were at Lucy’s mercy. After eight months your heart was hers to break and you couldn’t even begin to think what that actually meant. 
You talked to Alexia via Instagram, you wanted to plan something for Lucy for a change. A surprise, but you needed help and she seemed like the most logical option. You hadn’t seen Lucy in person since she last came to see you. Three months felt like such a long time at this point. 
Alexia picks you up from the airport, and you’re nervous. You didn’t necessarily know her that well, but you were happy she was willing to help. You get in her car and she drops a package in your lap, “a gift,” she says in her thick Spanish accent.
You pull back the paper wrapping and pull out the Barcelona jersey. BRONZE adorning the back makes you blush, “thank you.”
“I know you want Alexia on back, but Lucia will be mad,” she jokes and it does well to calm your nerves. 
Barcelona played tonight and you hadn’t seen Lucy play since the night in Tilburg. Alexia drops you at her apartment and introduces you to her girlfriend. She lets you know she will take you to the game seeing how Alexia had to be there early.
The atmosphere of the Barcelona match was even more exciting than the first match you attended. As usual you watch only her from the moment she steps out the tunnel, definitely the fittest. Again it’s not until the teams line up and Alexia points in your general direction that Lucy notices you. 
When your eyes lock with hers it feels like time stops. You can’t decipher what the look on Lucy’s face means, but you’re very sure what the racing of your heart means. You couldn’t say those three words, but you know they were true. It seems like Lucy finally snaps out of her trance and she sends you a wink. 
Several times throughout the match you catch her gaze drifting your way. Every time she lifts her shirt to wipe sweat from her face she makes sure she’s turned your way. Your core clenching each time, but then you quickly feel jealousy rise at everyone else getting to see that as well. “Jesus,” you mumble frustrated at the arousal you feel.
The match couldn’t end quick enough for you. It feels like Lucy is taking her time going around and greeting fans just to torture you. It’s embarrassing how turned on you were at a football match. When you finally see her head back you are quick to text her, ‘hurry up please!’
Her response is cheeky of course, no words just two simple emojis, 😏💦. You're sure Alexia’s girlfriend thinks you're a psycho. Nearly bouncing in your seat on your way to meet up with Lucy at her apartment. 
You see her car pull up and nearly sprint to it after saying your thanks.  Lucy goes to get out, but you are quick to open the back door and throw your luggage in, “do NOT get out yet.”
“Hi baby girl. What a surprise,” Lucy’s cocky smirk resting on her face as you slide in. 
“I didn’t like it,” you copy her words, pulling her into your lips by the strings of her hoodie. Your hand slides up the front resting against her abs that she flexes under your touch. 
She tries to take control of the kiss, darting her tongue in your mouth only briefly before pulling away, “What didn’t you like, baby girl?” 
“Keep your shirt down next time. There’s already enough videos of these out there,” you tell her running a hand down her stomach. 
“Oh, have you been watching edits again?”
“Shut it, hi babe surprise,” you blush realizing you hadn’t even properly greeted her. You take a deep breath, calming yourself from the lust that took over you during the match.
“Hi beautiful. Feeling alright?” You nod accepting the kiss she puts on your forehead. “Come on, let's get inside.”
Lucy carries your bag as she guides you towards the apartment. Your nose is hit with the overwhelming scent of Lucy the moment the door opens and you realize how much you’ve missed it. You wish you could bottle it and take it back with you when you leave or better yet never have to leave. “How was the flight? Are you tired? Have you eaten? Sorry it’s messy.”
Lucy speaks rapidly until you walk into her arms, wrapping yours around her neck, “I’m fine, everything is perfect. I’m just happy to be here.”
“Sorry, it just doesn’t feel real that you’re here. I’ve missed you. I nearly ran off the pitch when Alexia pointed you out.”
“I thought we were long overdue for some date nights and cuddles. Did I ruin any plans you had by coming unexpectedly?” You place a kiss on her lips as her hands trail up your sides. 
“You do know I would cancel every plan just to spend even an hour with you right?”
“You have to stop saying things like that…”
“But I mean it. I can’t explain to you how I felt when I looked up and saw you today,” she’s giving you that smile that caused all this. The one that made you absolute putty in her hands. 
“Lucy…” it’s said like a warning. You can feel yourself close to slipping. A confession you were so sure of, but scared to admit. 
“(Y/n),” she gives right back, pulling you closer. You fight it by taking a step out of her grip. Those eyes and that smile were too much for you. “It’s okay, you know.”
It feels like your heart stops. She knows, of course she knows. It was like she always knew what you were thinking before you even had time to process it. “I can’t do this.”
“No,” Lucy’s voice is firm. She makes her way back to you, a gentle touch placed on your waist. “We aren’t doing that anymore, remember? I won’t let you run away baby girl.”
“I’m scared,” you admit. This wasn’t how you planned this trip going, at least not right away. You weren’t supposed to get here and feel all these things. She wasn’t supposed to look at you like you were the most precious thing and smile at you like you were the only person capable of bringing her joy. 
“It’s okay to be scared, but don’t shut me out. Let’s be scared together because you aren’t the only one,” that catches your attention. Your eyes searching hers for a clue to what she meant. “I’m happy you’re here. Let’s just enjoy it, yeah?”
“I missed you,” you finally relax back in her grip. Lucy could soothe even the wildest of storms within you with just a few words. Her presence and gentle whispers were able to hush every worry and any doubt. Her eyes are a reflection of tranquility.
“Should we go out for dinner?” 
You shake your head, “no, let's stay in.” You didn’t want to share her with anyone. You selfishly wanted every single bit of her attention to be on you.
“That sounds amazing, baby girl. Why don’t you shower and get settled. I’ll start dinner.” You nod, turning to head towards the bedroom when she grabs your wrist again pulling you back. “Oh, did I mention how good you look with my name on your back?”
“You didn’t have to, I know.” You leave a kiss on her lips before making your way. It’s not until you reach the bedroom that you realize all the pieces of you scattered about her apartment. The hair products on the dresser exactly where you left them, the skincare essentials lined up next to hers, your hoodie across the bed that she clearly wore the night before. What used to be one drawer of your things that went back home with you had turned into you nearly having your own side of the dresser. 
You head to the shower to stop the racing thoughts of when that even happened, only to be met with your shampoo resting on the ledge beside hers. You’re about to step in when Lucy enters, “Here baby, a new toothbrush I threw your old one out with mine. I wanted to wait til you got back to open yours. I made sure to get your favorite color this time too, crybaby,” she teases, giving a soft smack to your bum as she slides it in the holder.
You’re speechless. There was nothing you could say right now that wouldn’t be the cheesiest confession you ever made, so you settle for a smile. You were so fucked. 
The shower fails at washing away your thoughts. You slip into the hoodie she laid out for you, it was your favorite one of hers. You had sent it back with her when she left Amsterdam because it no longer smelt like her. You take a deep inhale of the fabric as it wraps around you, glad to have it back. 
You can smell dinner from the bedroom and head out, “Took you long enough. I was about to send in a search party.” Lucy is focused on her task of setting the table and adding the finishing touches to your meals. Having slipped into shorts and a shirt she clearly went through your bag to find, she looked perfect to you. Glasses perched on her nose and a low bun in her hair, you were sure she never looked this beautiful before. 
“Lucy…” you whisper from just inside the doorway.
“Sit, it’s almost ready.”
“Lucy…” you say it a bit louder this time as your voice cracks. 
Her eyes immediately focus on you when she hears it and she’s by your side a moment later, “baby girl what is wrong?’
“I am having big feelings right now babe,” you feel the first tear roll down your cheek and wipe at it aggressively. You couldn’t fight it anymore.
“Okay, what do you need from me?” Lucy is cautious, not wanting to make anything worse if space is what you wanted.  She was the one who started the whole ‘big feelings’ thing when you were working through trusting her. It was stupid and felt like what you say to a toddler, but it was cute when she said it and allowed you space to be vulnerable.
“I love you,” you hate that your voice cracked when you said it. “I love you more than I thought humanly possible to love another person Lucy. I want you and I want life with you here. I have no clue what you do to me, but I never want it to end.”
Lucy blinks, pulling you close to study you before a smile breaks across her face, “say it again.”
“No,” you are suddenly very aware of the fact you just confessed your feelings and can’t stop the blush of embarrassment. 
Lucy kisses at your cheeks, “please baby girl. Just one more time.”
“I. Love. You,” you peck her lips with each word before she holds you close to deepen it. 
“I love you too,” Lucy shrugs like it’s the easiest thing in the world to admit. You shove her at the nonchalant attitude, “what? I’ve known I loved you for months now.”
You playfully shove her away from you again, “why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“You weren’t ready to hear that. I was okay keeping it to myself until you were on the same page as me. You’ve had me since the moment I laid eyes on you (y/n).”
You groan, “sorry I made you wait.”
Lucy shrugs again, the same one you found so charming on that first night, “I would’ve waited a lifetime for you baby girl.”
a/n: sorry if there was any mistakes... I feared if I read it one more time I'd end up hating it and starting over lol
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