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heesdreamer · 1 month

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FIRST SUMMER

PAIRING ➩ heeseung x reader

SUMMARY ➩ you and your bestfriends brother (possibly your mortal enemy) are both given the task of renovating your childhood lake house during the final summer before it’s sold

WARNINGS ➩ light smut, heeseung and reader aren’t super nice to each other most the time

WC ➩ 14.5k

AUTHORS NOTE ➩ Well.. officially out of retirement with this one I hope! I started this august of last year and abandoned it during my hiatus so picking up where I left off was a bit difficult and I apologize for any changes in writing styles. This isn’t my favorite thing I’ve written but I hope you guys enjoy it, thank you always for waiting for me. NOT PROOFREAD NO PART 2

You wondered if Lee Heeseung had been put on this earth for the sole purpose of making your life more difficult.

He’d probably argue this assumption with the fact he had been born before you, his main reasoning behind his many claims that you were the one copying him and making his life a living hell and not the other way around. He was a measly two years older than you but never failed to bring it up and use it against you.

Heeseung had been in your life for as long as you could remember and you absolutely never got along.

It wasn’t a big issue at first considering you were kids and had no real need to be around each other. The playgrounds were big enough for the both of you and your parents saw no reason to force a connection between the two of you, despite the fact you were neighbors and the two pairs of adults actually got along quite well.

Similarly to you and Heeseung’s little sister, a small girl who was born in the same year as you but nearly your polar opposite in personality. At first you’d been hesitant when she started to show up to play with the older boy, knowing him by now as the enemy and assuming she was going to be just as wicked and terrible. It only took watching her push him down onto wood chips once for you to decide to be her best friend.

The boy had scowled from his place on the ground, grumpily picking pieces of the wood from the fabric of his sweater and watching the two of you run off together towards the swings.

He’d failed to understand the power of your friendship in that moment and now 15 years later he was still paying the price, stuck with the two of you constantly. You and Jiwoo almost seemed more like siblings than they did, attached at the hip and never going too long without talking to each other.

Which is why it was all the more annoying that you and Heeseung could never seem to get along, reverting right back to being two kids arguing on the playground every time you saw each other, which was quite often. You’d practically moved into the Lee’s house next door during high school and you were even a frequent guest on their family vacations, their mom booking a place with an extra bed for you before she even asked if you were available.

You weren’t exactly sure why the two of you didn’t get along. He was nice enough to other people and sometimes he cracked jokes that nearly made you laugh, only nearly. For some reason he just brought out a terrible side of you that you didn’t really understand and you were certain you did the same for him.

It was easier now that you were out of school and entering adulthood, not having any major reasons to constantly see each other and his parents didn’t have to force him to drive you and Jiwoo around places now that you had your own cars.

He was definitely still around though and you were trying your best to act civilly despite that inner part of you always preparing for an argument to break out between you.

Especially right now considering the fact he kept kicking your leg underneath the table at the restaurant both your families were eating together at. The Lee’s cousin was in town and you’d always been particularly interested in him, being a total sucker for an accent and a good beach tan.

You sent a glare to your right in Heeseung’s direction when he kicked you for the third time and jammed your heel against the bone in his leg, ignoring the grunt of pain he let out as he bent slightly forward to grab onto his shin. His mom sent him a concerned glance before remembering who he was sitting next to and rolling her eyes as she looked away from the two of you.

You were watching Jake as he talked animatedly about his life guarding job back in his hometown, leaning forward and resting your chin on your palm to show your interest despite the fact you weren’t fully listening.

It was difficult to considering the constant distraction sitting beside you, another kick being sent to the leg of your chair so you jolted slightly to the side. You whipped your head around to look at him again, immediately replacing your interested and awed look with one of hatred and disgust.

“What the hell is your problem?” You were spitting at him in a low whisper, grateful the table was big enough that the others weren’t really paying attention to you. Although they had to have expected an argument eventually considering they sat the two of you together, breaking an unspoken rule that had been built up throughout the years.

“Stop trying to seduce my cousin.” He was spitting back and his eyebrows were pulled down tight in a sharp glare, keeping eye contact with you in an attempt to intimidate you.

“Mind your own business.” Your response was quick and tight, slightly embarrassed he’d caught you staring but too angry to care.

You turned back to try and focus in on the conversation again but now you were suddenly overly aware of the fact Heeseung was sitting next to you and watching what you were doing, looking for any opportunity to tease you and start up an argument. You sighed softly and leaned back in your chair with crossed arms, keeping a scowl on your face and letting the dinner pass by without speaking again.

“You know, I figured the two of you would eventually start getting along once you became adults.” Your mothers tone was laced with lighthearted disappointment after the dinner, walking ahead of you on the rock path leading up to your front door.

You could hear your father laughing softly in front of her at the idea of your life long feud being laid to rest, a frown instinctively coming up on your face at their inside joke.

Glancing over to the side, looking past the small stretch of grass that separated your pathway from the Lee’s, you saw Heeseung sporting a similar dejected expression and you wondered for a second if he was hearing the same lecture you’d been getting after dinners for as long as you can remember. Then he was looking over towards you and meeting your gaze in the low light of the summer sun setting, eyes immediately hardening into a glare that you quickly returned.

It was hard not to think about it later on in bed, eyes trained on the old plastic stars on your ceiling that didn’t glow anymore. Your hands were folded on your stomach and you were tapping your thumbs softly on the smooth skin in contemplation.

Sometimes, although you’d rather die than admit it to anyone, you also didn’t understand why you and Heeseung didn’t just stop fighting.

He was kind to Jiwoo in a way that always made you envy having siblings and despite his constant teasing he never declined driving her places or picking up food for her when she didn’t feel like going out. And he was even kinder to your parents, treating them like his own and having manners enough for the three of you growing up.

It was like you were dealing with a completely different person, him falling into that same angry glare the moment you’d step into a room. Sometimes he’d be mid story with a group of friends, being charming and funny as he recanted something and exaggerated moments to get a few more chuckles. You’d watch from a far for a bit and then slowly approach and every single time he’d pause for a moment, looking completely thrown off by your arrival, and then tensing up and losing track of what he was saying.

Your presence just seemed to bug him and as the two of you got older it affected you more. You didn’t mind the fact he wouldn’t play with you when you were kids, never dwelled over him saying you had cooties or getting dirt on your favorite stuffed animals.

But the fact he still continued to hate you as you aged and matured, settling into your respective personalities and lives, you couldn’t help but be offended he disliked you so much.

“He’s just weird.” Jiwoo had explained to you once when you were both seventeen, sprawled out on her bed and flipping through a magazine as she addressed you. “You shouldn’t think too deeply about it.”

Heeseung had just graduated high school and you’d all attended the ceremony, both families getting reserved seats per his request.

It had actually gone well for once, he didn’t seem upset that you were there and he had even hugged you alongside your parents when he came off the stage and your mother handed him a bouquet of celebratory flowers. Mrs. Lee had shot you a surprised glance and then a supportive thumbs up and you gave her a soft smile in return, figuring he was just so excited to have graduated that he was managing to tolerate you being there.

The Lee’s had taken advantage of the fact your backyards combined into each other, no fencing between them, and the two pairs of parents had decorated the space for a small party for the older boy.

You were excited to go, especially since Heeseung hadn’t demanded an explanation for your invitation, and you even managed to make some good amount of conversation with a few of his friends.

The conversation was swiftly interrupted when you felt a hand wrapped around the middle of your arm, tugging you a few inches backwards to get your attention. You whipped around to see who it was and you were met with an angry looking Heeseung, looking more familiar to you than the smiley version of him you’d seen earlier.

“Why are you talking to my friends?” His voice was accusatory like you’d done something wrong and he sounded so upset that for a second you felt like you had.

Your mouth had parted in confusion, fumbling for words and coming up short from the shock of his sudden confrontation and also the embarrassment of the situation considering he wasn’t exactly being subtle with his anger and the boy behind you could definitely hear every word he was saying.

“Chill out Hee, we were just making simple conversation.” Jay proved you right by speaking from over your shoulder but you didn’t bother looking at him, keeping your eyes locked on Heeseung and wincing softly at the way his face hardened at his friend defending you. “Cmon man, I know better than to-“

“Do you know better? Because it doesn’t seem like it.” Heeseung was cutting him off at the same time he was removing his gaze from yours, breaking you slightly out of the worried spell you were under as he looked at his friend from over your shoulder.

You weren’t exactly sure what they were talking about but you assumed Heeseung had warned his friends against speaking to you. It took you back a bit, despite knowing he didn’t like you.

The two of you definitely didn’t get along but you were still very close regardless if you liked it or not and you spent a lot of time together, so it hurt you more than you expected it to that he hated you enough to actively try and keep his friends from interacting with you, enough to the point he’d embarrass you and cause a scene at the sight of it.

“Hee I’m sorry.” His eyes snapped back down towards you at the sound of your quiet voice, completely out of character for you to not be fighting back or making a snarky remark.

It seemed to throw him off enough that his anger faltered for a second, looking concerned for a moment as he stared down at you before his jaw was tightening again and his face hardened back up.

You weren’t sure why you didn’t bother to snap back at him, if it was from the embarrassment of being ripped out of a conversation and scolded like a dog who’d gotten into the trash or if it was actual disappointment at his behavior despite the fact you definitely should’ve been used to it.

“I think you should head home. Parties almost over anyways.” He was eventually saying and it was directed towards you although his eyes had dragged back over your shoulder to look at Jay.

You figured he had looked away because he was feeling slightly guilty for embarrassing you and not being fought back in return, or maybe he was disgusted with you and didn’t want to look at you.

Still, his tone wasn’t as angry anymore although just as hard and stern, and you nodded softly before stepping sideways out from between the two tall boys. You knew he was lying about the party being over soon but it had ended for you anyways and you had no issue leaving it and going to the safety of your bedroom.

Jiwoo had caught the end of the encounter and caught up with you as you speedily walked away from the boys who had started to angrily murmur at each other, hence leading to the conversation about her brother in your bedroom and her explaining he was just being weird.

“Jay is a total playboy though, you should steer clear of him.” Her nose was curling up in disgust as she made the casual comment but a small pout formed on your face, wondering if Heeseung thought you were going to hookup with his friend and that’s why he was extra aggressive about it.

Eventually you let it pass from your mind to become just another bullet point in the long list of things Heeseung had done to show you he truly disliked you.

It was a lot easier to start to dislike him back, easier to fight with him and snap insults rather than get confused and sad about why he treated you so differently. So your routine was set in stone even deeper and neither of you ever faltered, not during birthdays or relative weddings or even your own graduation two years later.

So it wasn’t exactly an easy thing to handle when your parents and the Lee’s were sitting you all down to explain that your family lake house was going to be sold at the end of the summer.

“Wait why would you ever sell it?” Jiwoo was blurting out before they got the chance to explain and you had a permanent frown on your face as you waited to hear their response.

You watched your dad and Mr. Lee exchange a heavy but meaningful look, like there was something they’d already discussed amongst themselves in regards of how to tell you. You were sat on the left of Jiwoo, Heeseung on her right and for some reason you had to resist the urge to lean forward and see what his expression was.

“We’ve decided, now that you three are all grown up, it was just time. We figured we’d use the money to travel during the summer or save towards retirement.”

It made sense as your dad started to speak but you felt a weird clenching in your stomach at the thought of not having the lake house to go to anymore.

Realistically he was completely right and you’d started to neglect the yearly trips out there, taking them for granted and not appreciating the time you got to spend at the house. You didn’t even go at all the last two years, finding yourself too caught up with things so unimportant you don’t even remember them now.

The lake house was a tradition that was instilled before any of you were even born, a collaborative effort of your parents to try and bring some fun and adventure to your summers since you grew up so close to the city.

“So it’s just gone?” Heeseung was speaking for the first time since the meeting was called and you were surprised to hear how thick his voice was with upset, clearly more affected by the breaking news than you and his sister. You caved to the urge and leaned forward a bit to try and get a look at him but Jiwoo shot you a sideways glance and you quickly sat back in place.

“Well not exactly.” Mrs. Lee’s voice was soft as always and you watched as she reached across the small space between the seven of you and gently rubbed her sons knee, giving him a soft smile and an encouraging nod. “We will have one last summer with it, mostly for renovations before the new owners come to look at it.”

You knew exactly what she was talking about when she said renovations, hearing your dad complain about the rotting in the deck and the holes in the inside walls for years now but never making the time to fix them.

But you weren’t fully understanding what they had planned for the three of you yet and you wished you had in that moment so maybe you could have come up with an excuse faster. They explained to you softly, attempting to lessen the blow, that you would have to go and stay at the lake house for a few weeks and fix up the place to make it look brand new for the new owners.

You weren’t at all against getting to be up there one last time, breathing in the clear air and having campfires on the sand, but you definitely didn’t want to sign up to spend your summer doing free manual labor.

Your parents left no room for argument and you could see the prepared disappointment on their faces so you offered no reason for it to escape, hesitantly agreeing with the plan and waiting to hear what the siblings next to you had to say about it. Jiwoo was stiff beside you and staring forward at the ground like she was in deep thought, a bad feeling washing over you at her expression.

She proved your suspicions right when she started to explain in a meek voice that she had already made plans for the first month of summer, having completely booked and paid for a vacation near the sea.

Her eyes shifted towards you as she told your parents this and you immediately furrowed your eyebrows in annoyance, knowing right away she was lying and making up an excuse so she didn’t have to come with you until the second half of summer and by then the house would be mostly finished already.

To make matters worse, you didn’t even process the fact Heeseung would definitely not decline considering how much he loved the lake house and that would leave the two of you alone up there.

He seemed to piece it together a few seconds before you did and you saw the realization settle over your parents faces too.

“Woah woah wait, there’s no way I’m going with just her.” He was quick to shut down the idea, sitting up straighter and shaking his head dramatically.

You didn’t say anything in response surprisingly despite the fact everybody in the room tensed up in anticipation for a fight to break out between the two of you. You were a bit dazed from the news of losing a big piece of your childhood and you were also just tired from the day over all, already knowing Heeseung was going to reject before he’d even opened his mouth to do so.

Mr. Lee was sighing and beginning to lecture his son on being an adult and putting your differences aside for something this important but Mrs. Lee was silent and giving you a curious look that you were too afraid to try and decipher.

Eventually it was decided that the two of you would either suck it up and go to the lake house together and work on it without killing each other or you’d face the wrath of four disappointed parents. You didn’t say much about the agreement either although Heeseung had plenty of comments to make and Jiwoo was finding the entire situation pretty hilarious from an outside view.

It had been about an hour since the family meeting and you were still in the Lee’s house, leaning your hip against the counter in the kitchen and mindlessly peeling some potatoes for the stew their mother was making for dinner.

The air was hot and dry like it always was during the beginning of summer, not bothering to creep up anymore and instead it just seemed like one day it was cold and the next you could barely sleep without waking up in a puddle of sweat.

You could hear the bugs outside from the open window, loud and alive with excitement for the new season and the breeze was just barely cooling off your damp skin. Normally this would bring you the same feeling summer always did, a lightness in your chest and a heavy sense of nostalgia everywhere you went.

It wasn’t hard to guess what was dampening your mood and leaving you feeling a bit shut off, the source of the weird emotions just a staircase away upstairs in his room playing video games.

Mrs. Lee was walking into the kitchen and pausing when she saw you although you only met her eyes for a split second before quickly focusing back in on your peeling and chopping. She cleared her throat softly and came over towards where you were leaning on the counter, placing down some lettuce and starting to chop besides you.

“Something put out your fire tonight?” She was asking it casually and her voice was as soft as ever but you immediately understood what she was implying.

You glanced at her from the side of your eye before shaking your head. Mrs. Lee had a certain aura about her that always made you feel like a little kid again, vulnerable and sensitive. As much as you loved your own mother, you always envied your neighbors for having her so close growing up.

“Sometimes it just isn’t worth the argument.” Your words weren’t the least bit convincing considering how forced they sounded coming from your mouth, paired with the fact you’d never once backed down from an argument and they all seemed to be worth it to you up until this point.

You could hear her take a deep self calming breath and your hands froze where they were chopping slowly, bracing yourself for whatever she was planning to say next.

“He means well honey he just… isn’t sure how to get through to you.” She somehow sounded as certain as she did hesitant and you could feel her gentle hand patting the side of your arm softly, leaving you with your poorly sliced vegetables and dimmed fire.

——

Throughout the entire process of packing your bags and mentally preparing yourself to head up to the lake house, you’d completely forgotten the fact you’d have to ride with him the entire five hour car ride there and then back again once it was all over.

He definitely didn’t seem to miss this fact considering he was standing outside leaning against the car with a nasty scowl when you came out, dragging your suitcase behind you and nearly tripping over the step off the porch from its wobbling weight. Your mother was trailing behind to say goodbye but not offering much help when it came to loading up your stuff.

Heeseung luckily didn’t say anything to you when you were approaching, greeting your mom with a gentle but annoyed good morning and staying on the side of the vehicle when you started to attempt to load your stuff inside the trunk.

After a few groans of annoyance slipped out of you, due to the fact your bags kept tipping over back out towards you and refusing to stay still in the neat tower of things Heeseung had packed for himself, he was sighing and making his way back towards you.

You glared at him when he circled around the car, not in the mood to be berated or rushed so early in the morning, especially right before you were stuck in a car together for the entire first half of the day. Your harsh facial expression faltered a bit when he was rolling his eyes and tugging your suitcase out of your grip.

“Just go and get in the car already, you take too long.” He was spitting it at you and harshly side eyeing you before starting to load your stuff up but you didn’t bother to argue considering the gesture was nice enough if you ignored the attitude he always carried.

“Well that was sweet of him.” Your mother was whispering the words to you in a dreamy voice, nudging you softly with her elbow and eyeing Heeseung through the windows.

You paused and glared at her in confusion, a dumbfounded expression and a sneaking suspicion starting to arise considering how weird both her and Mrs. Lee have been acting in regards to the two of you and your complicated, but mostly aggressive, relationship.

“Are you kidding me?” You settled on a bewildered statement instead of grilling her about her weirdness, knowing she wouldn’t give you an answer anyways.

She had given you a shrug that you assumed was noncommittal and then hugged you tight, tighter than she’d ever had and you tensed up a bit at the embrace.

You’d gotten into the passenger seat of the car and tried not to think about how weird the dramatic send off was, tried to focus yourself on keeping calm and not letting Heeseung get to you too early on in your time being forced together. You weren’t exactly sure why you were trying to be the bigger person lately but you chalked it up to being exhausted with the back and forth.

“You’d think she was sending you off to war.” He’d made the comment as he put the car into drive and you glanced over at him, staring at the side of his face, both confused and relieved by the fact he had noticed your moms weird attitude.

“She might as well be.” You didn’t mean to sound so snippy but it was your default setting when replying to him and he didn’t seem to mind the tone, chuckling dryly under his breath and shaking his head in annoyance before focusing in on the road.

He didn’t attempt to talk to you again for another hour or two and you were grateful for the silence, giving you another opportunity at being less confrontational. It definitely wasn’t for his benefit or to be kinder to him, you just didn’t want to constantly be exhausting your energy with the effort it took to keep up with whatever set him off.

Eventually he was pulling off of the main highway and turning into a gas station that was almost completely barren, stuck in one of those sections of a road trip that was basically just fields followed by more fields.

He was getting out of the car and shifting through his pockets for his wallet before sighing and glancing at you in the passenger seat, watching him from the corner of your eye so it didn’t seem like you were staring.

“Want anything to eat or drink?” He was asking in that familiar reluctant tone he always had with you and for a second you wanted to snap at him and decline his offer, tell him to just hurry up and get what he needed so you could get back on the road.

You took a small breath instead to steady your emotions before nodding. “Yeah I’ll just… I’ll take a-“

“I know what you want.” He was cutting you off and closing the car door before you could say anything else, leaving you with parted lips and annoyance starting to simmer in the lowest part of your stomach.

You scoffed even though he wasn’t around to hear it and leaned back in your seat, crossing your arms and scowling as you waited for him to return. You highly doubted he knew what you would get from a gas station, knowing he never paid attention to you or your interest outside of finding something to fight about and it just aggravated you further that he would go as far as to ask like he cared just to not let you answer.

He didn’t take long in the gas station luckily or else you’d overthink too much and be on the verge of exploding, sniffing slightly when he slid back into his seat and passed the bag with the snacks in it.

You paused for a second to glare at him before you were taking a look into the plastic and pausing when you spotted your favorite drink and a snack you commonly ate whenever you were stressed out or particularly craving something, mixed in with things you knew he enjoyed.

“What?” He was asking from the drivers seat and he sounded weirdly awkward underneath the familiar attitude. “Is it not right or something?”

“No it’s… it’s right.” You cleared your throat and nodded softly, sitting back in your seat and closing the snack bag after you grabbed what you wanted out of it and balanced it on your lap. “Thanks.”

“Yeah whatever.” It was muttered in his low tone but you caught it anyways, finding it almost as weird as the fact you had thanked him. He was finally starting the car and starting to pull out of the gas station much to your relief and you focused back on looking out the passenger window.

The heat was reaching the point where the low quality AC in the car wasn’t doing much to cool either of you down and once he rolled his window down instead, you took the silent cue to do the same to yours.

It was still pretty dry in the air and the sweat was really starting to make you itch and worsen your mood so you were hesitantly unbuckling your seatbelt so you could sit up more in your spot and pull your sweater over your head, leaving you in just a tank top and you sighed softly in relief as the air immediately cooled down the wetness of your sweaty arms.

You could feel Heeseung’s stare from your left and you glanced at him with furrowed eyebrows, rolling your eyes when he quickly scowled in return before snapping his gaze back onto the road.

It was pretty quiet for the rest of the drive, Heeseung playing the same music you often heard coming from his bedroom or his headphones when you were forced to sit close to each other in a car so you were actually able to recognize them and sing along.

Neither of you said much even when getting out of the car and starting to bring your things in, exchanging quick glares when you reached for the same bag or got in each others way but for the most part you were too relieved to finally be back somewhere that always caused your stress to melt away.

This time wasn’t any different and you took a second before you went inside with your things to take a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill your lungs and listening to the sounds of the water against the shore just off in the distance.

You couldn’t see the lake from the driveway as clearly as you could from the other side of the house where the deck was located but it was just one of those places where you could actually feel the difference in the air and the atmosphere.

“Can you hurry up? There’s plenty of time to stop and do nothing later.” Heeseung was griping at you as he passed by with another load of bags and you scowled at his back, completely removed from the peaceful moment you’d been having.

You decided to just leave it be and finish unpacking, flopping onto your back on your designated bed and panting slightly from the effort mixed with the heat once you were completely finished. Your phone had been abandoned against the span of your stomach but when it started to vibrate, you immediately knew who it was.

“So how’s it going? Have you killed my brother yet?” Jiwoo’s amused voice did nothing but amuse you further although you were struck by how much you missed her teasing.

You could hear the sounds of waves in the distance through her side of the phone, envy settling deep into your gut despite the fact you were also near water. The small lake was a lot different compared to the endless sea she was currently vacationing at, having a nice time with people who cared about her versus you being stuck with her older brother who couldn’t bother even being kind to you.

“We surprisingly haven’t really fought yet.” It came out of your mouth in a hefty sigh and you absentmindedly played with the string of your pajama shorts, pressing the phone tighter against your ear. “Think he’s downstairs getting ready for dinner.”

“Are you going to eat with him then or just hide out in our childhood bedroom?” She was asking it like it was a question but you both knew the answer already, the same accusatory tone that she always had heavy in her voice underneath the knowing smile you could practically see in front of you. “He’d probably secretly like it if you ate with him you know, I always did figure he had a crush on you.”

An automatic eye roll came over you at the sound of her baseless teasing. She often made jokes about Heeseung secretly liking you growing up, coming to the conclusion that was the reason he was always so harsh towards you.

You’d told her countless times that that was absolutely ridiculous and there was no way Heeseung liked you, let alone that he was the type of person who thought being mean to somebody was going to get them to like him back. You had seen the types of girls Heeseung brought home occasionally and he definitely knew better than to resort to elementary school level flirting methods.

She was eventually hanging up once one of her friends started to call her name, inviting her to come and swim with them.

You laid in bed for a while after the call went silent, feeling struck again with that weird lonely and nostalgic emotion that you couldn’t quite understand. It wasn’t normally this silent in the lake house, typically filled with doors opening and closing and the sounds of your mothers rushing around the kitchen as they cooked and your fathers cleaned.

As much as you didn’t want to, you couldn’t help but wonder if Heeseung was feeling just as weird about the whole situation as you, if he was downstairs just as lonely and unnerved by the fact it was only the two of you this summer and then nobody ever again. Your mind stuck on that thought process when you started to smell food drifting its way up the stairs and going straight to your empty stomach.

You’d planned to avoid the older boy as much as you could, especially during the first few days, but you were beyond hungry by now and you couldn’t help yourself from standing out of the bed and making your way downstairs.

He didn’t notice you for a few seconds when you first hit the bottom step, watching him for a beat as he casually moved around the kitchen and diverted his attention to three different pots and pans. He was listening to music again, something low playing from the old radio that sat in the lake house year round, and you realized how often you associated him with something soft playing.

You were completely ripped from your thought process when he was turning around and letting out a loud shriek when he saw you standing at the bottom of the stairs, dropping the bowl that was in his hands and doing a little scared hop.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He was spitting out and your mouth parted in surprise, not expecting such an extreme reaction or how loud it suddenly got. “Why are you just standing there like a weirdo?”

“What? I was not, I was just..” You started to defend yourself loudly but gave up midway and let out an annoyed grunt, knowing he wasn’t exactly wrong about what you were doing and you didn’t necessarily have an explanation. “I was just coming to see what you were cooking dickhead.”

He stared at you for a few seconds with a look on his face that you didn’t really understand before he was stepping to the side and revealing the plate with a handful of burgers on it.

You looked at it before you were meeting his stare and a weird feeling passed through you while holding his gaze, not something you often did- especially not willingly. He had cooked enough for the both of you despite his attitude when you’d came down and you weren’t sure if it was intentional or just habit but the act struck you.

The two of you ended up sitting at the table and eating in awkward silence, directly across from him but feeling like he was miles away considering he hadn’t even acknowledged you being in the room once.

You couldn’t help but be hyper aware of the fact you were very rarely alone with Heeseung and this was about as alone as any two people could possibly be. He was a lot less defensive when it was just the two of you and if you didn’t know any better you’d say he almost seemed shy, making you think about the jokes Jiwoo often made.

It’s not like Heeseung was at all ugly, you’d never stoop low enough to make fun of him for something that was so clearly not true.

Especially within the last year or two, he’d completely changed both in build and confidence and you were extremely glad you didn’t have to be around him as much as you did growing up. You disliked him as a human being but you were still a person in reality and he was almost unnaturally attractive.

“Why are you staring at me again?” His voice was low across the table, speaking in an awkward mumble as he started to push what was left of his food around with his fork.

You didn’t bother denying the fact you were watching him even though you hadn’t really realized you were doing it, completely zoned out again. You figured your time in the house together was already going to be awkward no matter what so you might as well ask him what you were thinking about. “Jiwoo says you have a crush on me.”

He completely tensed up for just a split second before he was quickly switching his demeanor and letting out a heavy scoff like he found you ridiculous. You caught the small reaction and your interest peaked, sensing an opportunity to get under his skin.

“Jiwoo also watches too many romance movies.” He was quickly disregarding what you had said with a casual and bored tone but you could tell that he was clenching his fork a little tighter, avoiding looking up from his plate all together.

“So you’ve never once found me attractive?” It rolled off your tongue easily, like you were asking him something as simple as to pass the mashed potatoes, but you gave him a knowing glance from under your eyelashes.

He finally looked up at you once you said this and he seemed taken back by the way you were watching him, the expression on his face telling you he thought you were absolutely crazy for even asking this.

“What? Are you kidding me, of course I haven’t.” He was quick to deny it and you could tell he was getting irritated, hand tightening around his silverware and that familiar clench of his jaw showcasing how much your questions were bothering him. You couldn’t tell if it was because he felt embarrassed or disgusted.

You let out a soft hum of understanding and let the silence sit for a few breaths, watching as he slightly relaxed under the assumption you were done saying weird things.

“I think you’re attractive.” He had been mid bite when you finally spoke again and his body lurched forward almost like he was choking, covering his mouth when he coughed and quickly taking a sip of water to try and force down whatever he had put into his mouth before you nearly killed him.

After he calmed down he was shaking his head at you again although not looking at you, staring down at his plate like he was thinking deeply about something and for a minute you wondered if he was going to take the bait like always or if he was going to just brush you off, making your stay much more awkward.

“My sister put you up to this?” His voice was stone cold now and he clearly was slowly losing his resolve, similarly to you considering what he said had completely thrown you off.

What did Jiwoo have to do with any of this and why would he automatically think that?

“No.” You shrugged like it was a casual conversation but your heart was beating a bit faster now, sensing genuine anger from him and not just annoyance. “I just don’t see the point in lying just because we don’t like each other.”

“You think I’m attractive?” His eyebrow was quirking up now and he was narrowing his eyes, leaning forward in his seat.

He’d finally put down his fork and stopped pretending to be focusing on the food he had barely eaten, elbows on the table and his full attention on you as he waited for you to reaffirm what you had said so confidently a few seconds ago.

The confidence had definitely left your body as soon as you’d said it and actually got his attention, feeling similarly to how you did when he embarrassed you at his party despite the fact the two of you were alone.

Very alone.

Still, you held strong and pushed through the conversation and if your stomach turned at his head tilt when you gave him a small quick nod, you’d pretend it didn’t. There was no going back now and you weren’t sure what direction this scenario was heading towards.

On one hand, you knew Heeseung had to be lying. You definitely weren’t unattractive and he clearly had eyes, ones that settled on you more times than you’d wished you had noticed so he wasn’t oblivious to this fact either regardless if he wanted to pretend he was. He was a teenage boy at one point and you were prancing around his house in short skirts and bathing suits.

And on the other hand, you didn’t think it necessarily mattered.

If Heeseung found you attractive he didn’t have to say it and this would be the ultimate time to completely embarrass you, humiliate even. If he rejected you here, you’d never live it down and he’d forever hold this over you as the time he utterly destroyed your ego in one fell swoop. Plus a large part of you was hoping he wasn’t planning to do that anyways even though you weren’t exactly sure what you wanted out of this.

You had hated the boy across from you for as long as you’ve known the power of the emotion and you’d never let him and his tall build and cute hair distract you from this fact.

But you also weren’t stuck seeing him everyday now. He didn’t live at home and you rarely came around unless you were forced beyond what you could deny so the stakes were a lot less high if he reciprocated what you were saying right now.

“You’re going to have to say it.” His low commanding tone was enough to stop you from overthinking the fact this was a bad idea, an absolutely terrible idea.

It was also enough for you to shift in your chair uncomfortably so you could better squeeze your legs together, watching the way Heeseung’s eyes darkened at the movement even though there was no way he could see what you were doing underneath the table.

“I think you’re attractive Hee, don’t be weird about it.” You were pulling yourself together and standing from your seat then, completely popping the bubble of tension that had started to suffocate you.

He didn’t say anything, thankfully not correcting you on the fact you had definitely been the one who made things weird, but he watched you with a heavy expression as you hurriedly cleaned your plate and disappeared up the stairs with quick footsteps.

——

You were coming to terms with an unmeasurable amount of regret now that a few hours had passed.

The bed had become your official moping place and you stuffed your face so far into the pillow you could barely catch your breath, possibly a self punishment for your humiliating behavior. You’d given up on attempting to sleep and you couldn’t rely on Jiwoo to entertain you considering she was probably busy and you were fearful you’d slip up and confess your sins to her the second she answered.

How do you explain that you’d nearly, just barely, flirted with her brother?

If you could even call it that considering the fact he looked like he was just on the verge of throwing his plate at you the entire time. Still, it had been weird and far too bold on your part and you were strongly regretting your life decisions up until this point.

Eventually you decided that sleep was useless and not coming anytime soon and you might as well make use of the fact you were at the lake house, suddenly remembering the hot tub that was placed around the side of the large deck. It didn’t take long for you to change into your swimsuit and start to head outside but you froze up right outside the slider door.

Considering how cruel the universe had been up to this point, you should’ve expected the fact that Heeseung was already occupying the small pool of water.

You were just starting to take a step backwards with the plan to retreat back upstairs and change again into your pajamas when you decided against it, taking a deep heavy breath before pulling the door open and simultaneously alerting the boy of your presence.

He was nearly all the way in the bubbling water but you could tell he was shirtless, something you’d normally be unaffected by if it wasn’t for the conversation you had. The steam from the hot water mixing with the cold night air was covering his face for the most part but you could see him enough to tell his face had hardened at the sight of you.

His gaze was locked on you for the duration of your walk towards the tub, stopping right outside of it and taking another subtle breath to try to calm yourself down.

“Mind if I join you?” Your voice was rougher than you wanted to be, nearly giving up the fact you were affected by the awkward tensioned air and the way he was watching you still.

He made it worse by not responding out loud, giving you a subtle nod of his head that made your heart rate increase. Still you were following through with the initial goal and climbing over the side of the tub before settling down into the hot water, letting out a sigh of relief and sinking into it until only the tip of your shoulders were above the surface.

Heeseung was still watching you and you were avoiding looking at his side completely, although that didn’t help much considering you could feel his stare on you.

“I’m sorry for making shit weird.”

Well apparently your mouth was planning on getting things out of the way before your brain was.

You looked up just in time to see him cock a brow in your direction, an expression on his face you couldn’t read and you almost groaned in annoyance from how calm he was being about the entire thing. You kept waiting for him to lash out at you and yell about your weirdness, maybe even call your parents and demand Jiwoo came instead of you.

“I don’t think it’s weird.” Instead he was saying this and shifting so his arms were resting on the back of the tub, lifting his torso out of the water more and giving you a better view of the wet streaks going down his neck and past his adams apple. “Unless you didn’t mean it.”

“I meant it.” Your voice was coming out rushed and your eyes were widening a bit, mentally cursing yourself for being so eager to reassure him.

He hummed softly like he had earlier and your stomach flipped again with nerves.

It wasn’t missing you that this was completely out of character for you and totally ironic but you were only human and as much as you disliked him as a person, you couldn’t deny how good he looked with damp hair and his tan skin lit up by the LED’s of the hot tub. He was sexy and always had been despite how much you wished that wasn’t true, and now you were alone.

So you tried to ignore your long history with him as you shifted through the water so you were closer to his side, only a quarter of the way to him now instead of being directly across from you.

He watched you silently for a few beats before he was scoffing and shaking his head like he was judging you, causing your eyebrows to furrow tightly as you stopped moving closer to him.

“What?” You felt embarrassed suddenly at your assumption and prepared yourself for him to make fun of you again, scold you for ever thinking he’d want you closer to him just because he hadn’t made you feel weird about your admission.

“Nothing. I just should have known you liked me.” He was laughing to himself slightly like it was the funniest thing in the world, not at all discouraged by the glare you were sending him. “You totally followed me around all the time, plus you always had that look in your eyes.”

“I do not have a look.” You hissed at him with a sharp voice and this seemed to amuse him even further. “And I never said I liked you don’t be stupid, I just think you’re hot.”

His eyebrows raised up high and his eyes widened in amusement, catching your slip of the tongue as you aggressively spat the words at him. “Oh see you said attractive, didn’t know you found me hot too.”

He was clearly having fun with the whole embarrassing situation and you gave up quickly, leaning against the back of the tub behind you and frowning with your arms crossed under the water in front of you. You stared ahead of you at the bubbles and tried to tune out his low chuckles.

“Don’t get pissy about it.” His voice was filtering over the running jets again and you glanced at him from the side of your eye, surprised to see something that slightly resembled guilt on his face. “If it makes you feel any better… I think you’re hot too.”

This made the corner of your lips turn up into a small smile,something very rarely ever sent in his direction from you. You turned your body to face him again and leaned forward with interest.

“So you lied earlier.” Your voice was more excited than you wished it was but you didn’t fully care, sitting up on your knees a bit. His gaze was dropping down to your chest before meeting your eyes again, losing all traces of humor now that more of your skin was visible.

“Yeah. I lied.” He confirmed in a lower tone and your smile fell slightly, suddenly nervous again. You were used to how he was acting a few seconds ago, making fun of you and feeling angry and embarrassed around him but this was a side of him you had no history with outside of watching him flirt with girls at parties Jiwoo forced him to bring you both along to.

That didn’t stop your body from naturally moving closer to him, drifting along the bench until you were right beside him and you could feel his thigh pressed up against your knee.

Your mouth was parted softly to try to keep breathing around the hot steam and his eyes were seemingly transfixed on it, watching your lips as you wet them instinctively and remaining on them even when your tongue was slipping back into your mouth. You could feel his breath on your face and it struck you that you’d never been this close to him before.

His face was leveled with yours for once since you were still perched up on your knees and he was sitting normally, minimizing the usually very apparent height difference.

He hadn’t touched you or even moved at all but you could feel his skin next to yours and you were hyper aware of his every movement, the subtle rise and fall of his built chest and the way his throat moved with every deep inhale he took. He seemed to be showing some restraint and that made you shift impatiently, teetering towards him until your shoulder was brushing against his.

His eyes shut tightly for a second when he felt your bare skin touching his, mumbling something under his breath before he was looking at you again.

This time his gaze was going all around your face instead of just focusing on your lips, even dropping back down to your bare shoulders and the way your wet hair was sticking to the skin of your neck. He scanned down past your chest to where the rest of your span of skin disappeared under the water.

“Hee.” Your voice was breathy as you finally spoke and instead of cutting the tense moment, it only worsened it and you felt your thighs pressing together again like they had at the dinner table. This time he could clearly see the movement past the bubbles and he stiffened a bit. “Can you touch me Hee?”

You watched him tense even more at the sound of your whiny voice using his nickname, one you didn’t say nearly as much as your friends and family.

He didn’t reject you even though you were starting to think he might considering how restricted he look, instead he was lifting his hand out from under the water and cupping it around your jaw softly. You could feel his thumb rubbing along your cheek, the water from his arm rolling down your neck and disappearing back into the pool of it.

It was almost embarrassing how much it affected you to be touched by him so intimately and the urge to kiss him was too overwhelming, a dizziness settling in from both the heat and the longing sitting harshly in your stomach.

You were so close to each other that you could feel his lips brushing against yours, not quite kissing considering he was rocking softly backwards every few breaths and holding your face tightly so you couldn’t surge forward and get it over with.

Heeseung definitely wasn’t letting go of his habit of teasing you but this felt particularly cruel and prolonged.

“That what you want? Want me to touch you?” His tone was meaner than you expected it to be but you didn’t exactly mind, at all apparently considering the shiver it sent down your back. He was clearly making fun of you and your desperation but if he touched you, you knew you wouldn’t be able to find it in yourself to care.

So you took a deep shaky breath and nodded your head as much as you could while he still held your face, moving your hand so it was touching his bare knee.

Your action took him off guard enough that he lessened his grip for a split second but it was long enough for you to lean forward and press your lips against his for just a second, barely feeling them on yours before he was pushing you back again and your hand was impatiently squeezing his knee.

Another embarrassing whine came from deep in your throat and his eyes flashed with something for a second before he let out another soft hum.

“Can’t do that baby.” He was so close that his lips pressed against yours as he spoke and you completely froze up once his words made sense to your lust dazed brain, just barely processing his rejection before he was letting go of your face and leaning away from you.

You did nothing but watch him in horrified shock as he stood out of the water and left the hot tub, weirdly calm even when your gaze was locking on his bare torso.

He was leaving casually like he hadn’t just did the worst thing you could possibly imagine and you felt hot wet tears of anger spreading rising quickly, completely humiliated and swiftly reminded on why you hated Lee Heeseung so much.

——

As the days continued passing with awkward avoidance on both of your ends, you were struck with the fact that maybe you didn’t hate him as much as you always thought you did.

You’d actually admired Heeseung at points considering he was the oldest out of the three of you and continuously setting a good example despite all the pressure. Some nights you’d leave a heated argument with him and head back inside your own home, laying on your bed with a racing heart and a scowl fixed in your features.

Then you’d hear the strumming of his guitar coming from his house, window wide open and directly across from yours.

The first few times you’d put in your headphones or let out an annoyed shriek as you slammed yours shut, trying your best to tune him out and erase his existence from your mind ; out of sight out of mind.

Eventually you got tired of pretending you weren’t impressed by how smoothly the chords carried over to you, how swiftly he must be moving his hands to produce something so soft and gentle. You’d let it carry you to sleep and for a moment you felt like you were experiencing something together.

You were more naive then, tricked into thinking he ever cared about you enough to even know you were listening, childish and stupid to possibly hope he might’ve been playing for you.

Some sort of apology.

He never was and he made that very clear to you and eventually your embarrassment and shame turned to hide behind anger. It was easier to fight with him, to scream and yell, than to admit that he was hurting your feelings and lowering your ego everytime he treated you so harshly.

The entire situation was extremely frustrating and annoying, almost (but not quite) as annoying as the continuous banging happening directly under your head for the past hours.

With a loud groan, you were getting out of bed and deciding to end your moping abruptly, heading downstairs to see what the workers Heeseung had hired were doing that made that much noise. You slowed your steps as you descended down the stairs, realizing there was a lot more men in your second home than you’d originally expected and they were all moving around at a fast and busy pace.

You’d just barely managed to dodge one of them, carrying a large amount of… something, as you reached the bottom step but in your attempt to move out of the way you were running into an abandoned tool box and spiraling in the other direction.

Your eyes had squeezed shut and your body tensed bracing for an impact that never came, instead feeling yourself smack into someone’s strong and sturdy frame.

“You alright?” You quickly shot open your eyelids to see who it was you’d fallen into, turning red in the face at the concerned look the man holding you was sending down in your direction, still holding you softly and giving your arms a slight squeeze like he was trying to get you to focus.

He watched as you nodded your head softly with wide eyes, helping you steady yourself back on your feet but still holding onto your upper arms like he was worried you’d fall again.

You took the opportunity to scan over his body and your face flushed a bit more at the sheer size of the man and his extremely toned arms, looking away quickly to focus on his feet between yours instead. Heeseung was definitely a large guy too and nearly towered over you but you imagined he’d look tiny in comparison to the one in front of you.

“You sure you’re okay? You look a little red.” He was speaking again in a soft voice that directly opposed his look and you snapped out of your random thoughts about Heeseung.

“I’m okay I promise.” You were nodding quickly and giving him a soft smile, hoping you were convincing enough to make him believe you definitely didn’t need any type of medical attention just because you’d tripped over a box. “Just startled me a little. Thanks for catching me….”

You trailed off while watching him and it took him a few seconds to understand what you were looking for, a bright smile on his face once he realized and filled in the gaps. “Namjoon.”

“Well thank you Namjoon.” His name was rolling off your tongue smoothly and his smile suddenly looked a lot more like a smirk making you a lot more aware of the fact he was still holding onto your arms and standing close to you.

He didn’t get a chance to reply considering the loud sound of someone aggressively clearing their throat was coming from next to the two of you, both your heads turning to see who it was and it was almost comical the way you froze up in sync with each other.

“Shouldn’t you be getting back to work now Kim?” Heeseung’s tone was stiff but you could feel the underlying threat in his words and the man across from you definitely could considering he was immediately letting go of you and taking a few rushed steps backwards, mumbling a goodbye to you before he was disappearing into the kitchen to find a task to complete.

Your shoulders slumped at the interruption but your heart was beating fast looking at Heeseung next to you, recognizing the expression on his face even though it was subtle.

He was absolutely furious, the type of anger that typically caused you to end arguments early or completely stay out of his way. When he got like this you knew it wasn’t the time to poke fun at him or start up any banter, his entire aura becoming a lot darker and less forgiving.

You’d fought with him like this a few times, realizing a little too late that he was in one of his moods and it was those times that he had said the worst things. Things that made the family and friends around you gasp even though they were used to your rivalry, things that caused tears to spring to your eyes as you stormed off to a different room.

“Let’s go.” He was saying it calmly but you felt a chill run over you as he stared at you with fury and disgust, reluctantly following behind him as he left the main living space and entered a small hallway just next to it.

You hadn’t even gotten the chance to explain before he was abruptly turning around and facing you, taking a few harsh steps in your direction until you were backing up and slamming into the wall behind you. Your eyes widened in surprise and slight fear, not understanding why he was suddenly cornering you.

Heeseung moved forward until he was pressing against your body and now your emotions were abruptly changing as you realized what was happening, a wave of heat rushing through you at the feeling of his front leaning onto you.

You were slightly embarrassed he most likely could feel how fast your heart was beating but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care once he was reaching up to grip your face, a lot less gentle than he had earlier in the week when you thought he was going to kiss you.

“So I don’t give you the attention you were begging for and now you’re flirting with the first guy you find?” His voice was low and harsh, completely demeaning you and still watching you with hatred in his eyes.

You hated how much this drove you crazy, the urge for him to berate you and make you apologize for what you had accidentally done arising quicker than you’d even knew had existed and you were a bit dizzy from how much you wanted this.

“Please.” It was rolling off your tongue before you’d realized you were saying it and you barely recognized your own voice, breathy and begging for something you didn’t even understand. His eyes got even darker, if it was even possible, and your stomach lit up with a desperate heat.

“Pisses me off so bad when you do that.” He was practically hissing it at you, voice a low whisper and his hand around your jaw tightened, leaning in so he was speaking to your ear. “Stop being so fucking dumb and use your words.”

You tried to get ahold of yourself enough to find the right sentence to tell him what you want but your mind was completely blank, instead deciding to just arch your back off the wall so you were pressing tighter against him.

Heeseung faltered a bit and his eyes dropped down towards where your stomachs met, watching as you tried your best to roll your hips up to meet his but failed to actually get any sort of relief for yourself.

“Just fucking touch me.” You were finally gasping the words out through clenched teeth and he didn’t waste any time thankfully, surging forward and surprising you by kissing you deeply.

His tongue was pushing into your mouth before you even processed the fact he was actually kissing you and you were letting out a satisfied groan against his lips, letting him lick into your mouth softly and play with his tongue against yours. His hand was wrapping around your lower back and tugging you forward so you were pressing against him the way you wanted to.

A wave of desire ripped through you feeling that he was hard against you and you snuck your hand in between the tight space of your bodies and palmed him through his shorts, smiling at the way he sucked in a sharp breath and stopped kissing you for a second.

Your smile was dropping when he was meeting your eyes and looking ten times more deadly than he did in a daily basis, still glaring at you like he always did but with tenfold the usual fire and tension. That didn’t stop him from pushing his hips against your seeking hand for a few seconds, eventually stopping and letting out a groan as he snatched your wrist off of him and pinned it against the wall behind you instead.

He was rutting into you so hard that you were almost worried the rough materiel of the wall behind you was going cut your back, completely forgetting about it half a second later when he was pressing himself perfectly against your sensitive lower half.

“Keep your fucking mouth shut.” His voice was dangerously low in your ear and you could feel him taking heavy breaths against your neck, panting to try and keep himself quiet.

You were nodding quickly at his command despite the fact he couldn’t see you, curling your hand tightly in his hair and spreading your legs wider so he could continue to slot himself between them and give you just a taste of relief. He immediately took the silent invitation and shifted his hips against yours more, almost bordering painful if it wasn’t so addicting to feel him this way.

Heeseung was clearly struggling to control himself and you couldn’t recall ever feeling this needy for anybody before, something about how forbidden the entire situation was mixed with the life of tension and anger was driving you absolutely insane and you didn’t seem to be alone in it.

“You want me to fuck you here?” He was picking his face up out of your neck to look down at you and check your reaction, his eyes hazy and dark with his lips parted and swollen like he’d been chewing on them. “Where anyone can hear you begging for me?”

“Who said I’m going to beg?” You were trying to snap back at him but your voice came out weak, nearly a desperate whine that got louder when he was shifting against you again.

“Sure seems like it, the way you’re spreading your legs for me already.” His big hand was sliding down past your waist and cupping underneath your bare knee, hiking your leg up harder and rolling his hips against you so deliciously you nearly collapsed as a stuttered moan ripped through you.

You immediately took your hand out of his hair and covered your mouth with it, eyes rolling back a bit at the feeling of him shifting his hips against you and practically dry humping you right there against the wall.

Knowing that the house workers were only a few feet away and walking around completely clueless about what they might walk into was only making you more desperate for him and you didn’t care how out of character it was for you. At this point you would be willingly to let him take you in front of anybody who wanted to watch, leave you shaking and crying for him in public.

He didn’t need to hear you say it to know this, a cocky look on his face underneath the fucked out expression he already had.

“Always running this pretty mouth.” He was speaking again in that same low tone but he seemed completely out of it, almost like he was talking to himself and not you. His free hand was gripping your face, squishing your cheeks together so your lips were puffed out and your eyes were wide. “Should’ve known you wanted me to stuff it.”

An embarrassing wave of want washed over you again at his words, nearly drooling at the thought of him shoving his cock in your mouth to get you to stop back talking. It would’ve felt more humiliating if it wasn’t for the way his eyes were completely frozen on your mouth like he was thinking the exact same thing.

You couldn’t resist the urge to tease him more and your tongue was sticking out softly before you’d even realized you were doing it, causing him to loosen his rough grip on your face a bit to allow for it to push past your lips. You were staring up at him with big wet eyes and your tongue on display, silent waiting and begging for something you hoped he’d understand.

Thankfully he did and he was only hesitating for half a second before he was picking his head up more and spitting down into your mouth.

Heeseung didn’t even give you a chance to swallow before he was following the spit with his tongue, licking along yours and cleaning up his own mess before you were pulling him back into a kiss and sucking him deeper and deeper into your mouth. It was completely filthy, the nastiest kiss you’d ever shared with somebody and you were terrified you’d become addicted to the feeling of his spit on your chin.

“Please Hee.” You were gasping out into his mouth, reaching up to tug on his hair again and get his attention locked on you and your request. “Need you to fuck me.”

For the first time since you’d started, he actually looked hesitant. He glanced down the hallway towards where the dozen of workers were and your heart dropped to your stomach thinking he was going to stop what you were doing, even if it was just to take you upstairs to a bedroom. You couldn’t handle the idea of separating for even a second and you were spreading your legs impossibly wider and touching his face with your shaky hand.

He glanced back at you in question and his eyes darkened again seeing the pure disgusting need on your face.

“You’re stupid if you think I’d fuck you like this.” He was shaking his head in anger and taking a step away from you, one that immediately had your body tensing and your heart aching in upset.

You were instinctively reaching out to try and grab onto him, just about ready to get down on your knees and beg him not to leave you at the peak of your high like that. But the empty look in his eyes made you rethink that decision and you just stood there in shock as he gave you one more angry glare before he was exiting the hallway and leaving you alone inside of it.

It was even more pathetic considering the way your entire body slumped against the wall before sliding down it and ending up on the floor with humiliation completely smothering you, knowing you only had a few breaths to wallow in your embarrassment before needing to get up and go back to your room.

—

You’d completely retracted back to your bed again after that and this time not even the smell of food or the sound of annoying construction could get you to go back downstairs and risk running into him.

Jiwoo had called you three times every hour before she finally gave up and instead sent a thread of text messages that you promptly ignored. You were overly paranoid that she’d find out what had happened, like even the sound of your voice would give away the fact you’d made out with her brother since she last heard from you.

If you hadn’t hated him fully before than you definitely did now because there was no way you’d still want Lee Heeseung after he embarrassed you like this.

You didn’t think he would tell anybody considering he’d get just as much heat for it as you would, if not worse since he was older and supposed to be taking care of you and his sister at all times in your parents minds. But the interaction staying a secret was almost worse in your mind, a private thing between you and him.

Nothing could have convinced you to leave the comfort of your familiar bed until the wind of the sea lightly blew back the curtains and gave you a small glimpse of the sunset raging outside.

You let out a big breathy sigh, realizing now how much time you’d been wasting moping around about a stupid boy when this was your last summer ever getting to experience sunsets this bright and air this fresh. Heeseung definitely wasn’t sat in his room caring about you and how he hurt you so why should you be?

It was almost completely dark by the time you made it down to the beach but you didn’t regret coming, the lake looking long and endless now that you couldn’t see the other side.

You remember it seeming a lot scarier when you were a kid, before you’d ever seen the real sea and back when you and Jiwoo used to dare each other to swim out as far as you could before seaweed grabbed at your ankles and spooked you back to shore.

Your heart ached with how much you missed her and you were pulling your phone out of your pocket and putting it to your ear without another breath, playing in the sand with your free hand while you anxiously waited for her to pick up and talk to you. You didn’t have to wait long considering she was answering after the second ring and you let out a breath of relief.

“Finally, I was starting to think you’d really killed eachother.” Her voice was sweet as ever and a wave of fondness and nostalgia hit you even harder, laughing softly but not fully answering her yet.

For some reason the sound of her light joking mixed with the waves from her side of the phone was bringing tears to your eyes and you didn’t need to say anything for her to understand you were feeling something heavy. You both stayed silent and you hoped she figured you were just upset about leaving the lake house behind and didn’t create her usual conspiracy theories.

“You okay over there? I can come early if you need me to.” Your friend was doing her best to reassure you without knowing why you were upset and you wiped your now running tears with your sleeve.

“I’m alright, just feeling a lot of things right now I think. Are you having fun?” You weren’t exactly lying in your answer which was good considering you didn’t want to lie to her anymore than you already had to.

“I’d be having more if you were with me but you already know that. Can’t believe my brother gets to spend more time with you than I do.”

Your heart sunk a little at the mention of the exact reason you were crying and you were sure how to respond to her without giving too much away. She could read you even over the phone so you knew she might’ve felt the energy shift now that she’d brought her brother up, sniffling a bit and letting the sand run through your fingers.

She talked a bit more about her vacation and how much fun being at the sea was after so long and you listened to her excitedly chatter, letting out soft hums every once in awhile to assure her you were still listening.

You actually were but a large part of you was still thinking about Heeseung and what he might be doing back up the hill inside the lake house. You wondered if he felt guilty for you hiding in your room or if he had even realized you weren’t inside anymore.

Jiwoo was eventually bidding you a goodnight and making you promise to answer her the next time she called on the first ring, sounding a bit heavier when she was saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. You hated that you didn’t feel the typical happy buzz that your bestfriend typically brought and more tears made their way down your cheeks.

You sat like that on the shore for another hour, watching the waves roll and crash onto the sand just a few feet away from where you were sitting.

It was putting you in a sort of trance, so many thoughts running through your head that you weren’t even able to pinpoint where one started and another ended.

You were so deep in your own head that you didn’t at all hear the calls of your name from up the hill, starting off mildly confused and concerned but escalating to full on desperate and panicky shout when they were met with no response. You certainly didn’t hear the footsteps coming down the large wooden steps from the back deck or when he breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing you on the beach.

“There you are.” Your back tensed at the sound of his voice and the soft tone in which he mumbled the words. “I thought for a second you’d gone back home.”

He was coming to sit beside you on the sand, just close enough where you could feel his body beside yours and the wind carried over his familiar scent but still too far to touch.

Which was for the better in your opinion.

You ignored him even though you could sense his stare on the side of your face and embarrassment was hitting you in rough rolling waves, hoping that the moonlight wasn’t quite bright enough to give away the large tear streaks down your cheeks or how red your nose had gotten from crying.

“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier.” His voice was still soft which was doing absolutely terrible things to your heart and you shook your head slightly, pulling your lip between your teeth to stop yourself from letting out another sob. “I’m sorry about everything in general.”

He was turning to face you more and you braved up enough to spare him even the slightest glance, seeing pure guilt and turmoil on his face.

Meeting your gaze was enough for him to realize how upset you truly were and he was sighing before scooting closer to you in the sand and putting one of his warm hands on your bare arm, now cold from sitting out in the wind for so long. You instinctively leaned into his touch and his other hand gently gripped the side of your face so you couldn’t look away again.

It was such a jarring difference from how he’d touched you earlier, from how he touched you your entire life actually.

“I didn’t mean to be so mean so you or leave you there like that I just… I just panicked I think.” He was rambling now and stuttering through his words, something you knew he often did whenever he got in trouble when you were younger. “You think about something happening for so long and then it actually does and it’s so much more different than you thought, n-not that it wasn’t good I just mean that…”

He trailed off and sighed again and you squeezed your eyes shut to try and ignore the desperate urge to just kiss him and shut him up.

You knew you needed to hear whatever he had to say and he definitely needed to say it, he long overdue owed you a few hundred apologies and it was a lot more than the fact he’d left you high and dry earlier.

It was all the times he glare at you and stolen a smile off your face and every argument you ever had that left you stricken with angry tears and storming out of a room, the embarrassment of being told off at his graduation party and even worse the fact he didn’t kiss you until he was driven by jealously.

“I’m just so sorry.” He seemed like he was ending his monologue there and you gave him a heavy look, slightly nuzzling into his hand before placing your own over it. “Say something please?”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.” Your words were more honest than you expected them to be but his eyes softened when your voice came out weak and croaky, the full expanse of your hurt getting more obvious by the second. “I’m just confused.”

You were turning slightly so you were facing him more and you were certain the two of you looked a bit ridiculous, sitting criss crossed directly opposite of each other with your knees touching and his hand holding your face still, only moving to push some of your hair out of your face.

“I am too.” He was whispering now and you felt the full effect of it low in your stomach, a soft smile on his face now that you were opening up to him a bit more.

Heeseung had never left your life and it was a lot easier to list out all the terrible moments you’d had with him over the softer times, glimpses of days where he’d had a smile just like this wether it was in your direction or not.

He’d been there every time you called for a ride even if he complained about it most of the way home and you’d never stopped listening in extra hard whenever you heard his sweet dorky laugh coming from a few rooms over. You must have been blind to what your mothers had clearly started seeing a long time ago but little things this summer had made you reconsider how deep your dislike for each other goes.

You’d long hesitated to fight with him, starting to rethink your quick jabs and your constant attitude whenever he walked into a room and clearly he’d picked up on more than you ever realized, obvious by him so easily knowing your comfort snacks or the way to calm you down.

“You know,” Your eyes snapped back up to his when he started to speak in a low voice as you waited to hear what he had to say. He looked a bit nervous, like he was about to confess something and you gave him your full attention. “When we used to fight as teenagers, I’d always feel so terrible for making you storm home. Even started playing guitar with my window open so you could hear it.”

Your entire world view shattered just off of that simple admission alone and a heavy sob interrupted whatever else he was going to say, his eyes widening in surprise for just a moment before you were leaning over onto him fully and throwing yourself into a tight hug.

He eagerly accepted although not understanding the true weight he’d just released from your shoulders and you felt him let out a big breath of relief now that you were in his arms, his hands rubbing up and down your back as you cried softly.

You didn’t need to hear him say that he felt the same way that you did, as confusing and scary as it was after projecting your anger onto each other for so long. Your heart tore up thinking about that young girl in her bedroom just holding onto the silly childish hope that the boy next door was actually playing for her, now knowing it wasn’t foolish at all and he’d been right there hoping she was listening.

It hurt you to think about how much time you’d wasted carrying on a childish feud and how whatever this was had started off being such a disaster of jealously and toxic back and forth.

But you were immediately soothed by the never wavering feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around you and the gentle sound of the waves crashing on the shore, spending one last summer on the beach that raised you and creating your first one with the boy you loved.

#enhypen #enhypen drabbles #enhypen fanfiction #heeseung x reader #heeseung smut #enhypen smut #heeseung au #enhypen au #heeseung fic #lee heeseung

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atlabeth · 11 months

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(not so) simple pt3 - anthony bridgerton

pt1 pt2 pt4

summary: coercing lord bridgerton into pretending to court you to avoid the affections of a baron is very simple — that is, until it isn’t.

a/n: so first of all let me apologize for how long it took for this to come out. literally nine months. a whole baby has passed. i lost my bridgerton inspo HARD but like i always want anthony bridgerton even if it's deep within me and that just came through today as i finally pushed through and finished it. hopefully you guys still care about this series because i sure do and the end is in sight, like i literally have most of it written i just have to do the in between parts and connect it all and this horrible wonderful terrible amazing mini series that has killed me will be done. anyways here she is and i hope you enjoy!!

wc: 9.7k

warning(s): historical inaccuracies, fluff, angst, a lil bit of violence/injuries, a cliffhanger that will make you want to kill me. yn is going kind of crazy because she's never felt pleasant emotions before

The next month was akin to a blur. With each day your mother grew more and more excited about your courtship with Anthony, so much so she’d even begun knitting a blanket as a wedding gift to the Bridgertons.

(When she’d first told you about it over dinner, you’d nearly choked. You were beginning to dread telling her the truth more than you dreaded your fake courtship).

That, perhaps, was beginning to become a lie. Dread was not the proper word for how you felt about your courtship.

It was still strange, knowing that everyone around you believed you and Anthony were to be married. Though your secret was still one well-kept, you could hardly contain yourself whenever you overheard snide remarks with you at the center—it seemed they had still not gotten over the fact that their precious opportunity at becoming a Bridgerton had been stolen by you. Perhaps their daughters would get their chance in the next season, once you and Anthony had broken things off.

But that was not enough to hold his image in the same sour view as before.

Anthony was irritating as ever, yes, and but he was no longer the mere rake, the sarcastic older brother who firmly believed you were running out of time, the womanizer Lady Whistledown painted him as.

At least, you did not see him as such. He certainly did not act that way around you anymore.

Anthony Bridgerton was lighter around you—he smiled more, laughed more, joked around with you in a way that Benedict told you he hadn’t seen in years. And of course, he was only able to tell you that because Anthony brought you along on outings with his family.

The Worthings had always been friendly throughout the years with the Bridgertons, especially because of your closeness with Eloise and, more so when you were younger and before her debut, Daphne. You were fond of the rest of the family as well, Benedict and Colin looking on you fondly as that of an annoying younger sister much like Eloise—you were happy to fill the role. Francesca was pleasant when she wasn’t off traveling, and Gregory and Hyacinth were always a delight. Hyacinth seemed more attached to you because of the courtship, and truly looked forward to welcoming you as a sister.

Anthony had always been the older brother that foiled your fun with Eloise, that urged you to take your role more seriously if for no other reason than to influence Eloise down the path as well.

Now you felt closer than ever to him, and though it was merely for your ruse, you couldn’t help but enjoy it.

Stranger yet, though, was how your image of Anthony had changed since that first dance the night you agreed to this ruse. When at first you could only stand his company because of the promise of continuous jabs and protection from suitors, you now found that you actually… enjoyed being around him. You recalled the night out in the Bridgerton gardens with Anthony far more than you should have.

He certainly had no right to keep you awake at such late hours the way he did.

You no longer despaired early wakings to promenade with him, no longer wrinkled your nose at the prospect of dancing with him. Though you still dreaded the glitz and the glamour of the ton all the same, Anthony himself did not spurn the same response.

Of that, you did not know exactly what to think, but you supposed the absence of misery was something to celebrate.

You and the viscount were becoming friends. You enjoyed his presence. You began to look forward to your next outing with him, time spent with him outweighing your dislike of early wakings.

You were a frequent visitor of Bridgerton family outings because of your friendship with Eloise, and you only found yourself more involved with their picnics and promenades through Anthony.

Invitations found their way to your doorstep far more often because of the Bridgerton name attached to yours, and you found you enjoyed them more on Anthony’s arm.

You attended operas together in their private box. He frequently called on you, leading to conversations in your drawing room and promenades all about. You dined with them at least once a week, always sitting next to Anthony and whispering things to each other throughout.

In addition to the time you spent with Eloise, your proximity to the Bridgertons, especially Anthony, was near constant.

And you enjoyed every moment of it.

Truly, there was something very wrong with you.

But perhaps the strangest of all was your newfound fame. If there were ever any hope of keeping your ruse even the slightest bit secret, it was crushed by virtue of Lady Whistledown, who aided you with your most fantastical feat yet—you were mentioned by name in every single edition she’d published since the night you and Anthony partook in your first dance together. The ton knew you well now, far too well, and even when you were not around the viscount you were attuned to the glances and whispers of gossips.

You found it interesting how easily you had become a source of intrigue, simply because it looked as if you were the object of Anthony’s affections—but you also found it largely annoying. You did not much like the attention.

Running off to the country sounded better and better with every passing day.

“I swear,” you muttered as you went through the stack of pamphlets, “news of our relationship makes up half of Whistledown’s repertoire these days. Truly, we should get a cut of her wages for providing so much material for her.”

Anthony’s lips quirked up in a smile. The two of you were sat in your drawing room, chaperoned as usual by Julia, a stack containing each edition of Lady Whistledown during the length of the season set between the two of you. It was past the traditional hours of a caller, but the “advancement” of your “relationship” allowed Anthony leeway. He had brought with him yet another pamphlet of Lady Whistledown, which Eloise had confronted him with after getting her hands on it.

“We do seem to be quite popular,” he agreed. “But at least that will make it easier for the news of our parting to spread.”

“I just wish she did not make it so dramatic,” you huffed, and you picked up the most recent edition that Anthony had brought. You brought up the pitch of your voice and made your accent as haughty as possible as you read the printed words:

“The mystery that is the Viscount Bridgerton and Miss Worthing continues to unravel. The two were sighted together in a box at the newly redecorated Adelphi Theatre, admiring the opening night of Rossini’s Tancredi. I begrudgingly commend them on the taste in opera; I too, am a fan of Voltaire. One can only wonder the sort of activity they commenced in with their privacy.”

Anthony allowed himself a laugh as you shook your head and let out a sigh. “It’s ridiculous. She makes it sound as if we are engaging in the most scandalous behavior there is, when we were merely watching the opera! The only activity we commenced in was discussion.” You set the pamphlet down on the table with a huff. “It was quite intellectual discussion, if I do say so myself.”

“Certainly,” he said with a nod, and he smiled wryly. “Are you saying you are not a fan of all this attention, though? Surely it is your dream for every member of the ton to know of you and your exploits.”

“I am certainly not—” you began, but your attention was drawn to the doors as your mother walked inside.

“Lord Bridgerton!” she exclaimed as a smile tugged at her lips. Though your mother looked happy, you saw through the practiced expression—she held a letter in her hands, turning it over and over as if to calm nervous energy. “How lovely to see you here.”

“It is just as lovely to see you, Lady Worthing,” Anthony greeted, the charm flowing effortlessly through his words. “And may I just say how effervescent you look, even at this late hour?”

Your mother smiled. “You know exactly what to say to get yourself out of trouble, don’t you?”

“It is a virtue,” Anthony joked, and when he stood up you did as well. “I apologize if I have overstayed my welcome—I simply enjoy your daughter’s presence far too much. She is a sure credit to your family.”

“Oh, it is of no mind,” she said, brushing her hand through the air. “I always enjoy having the Bridgertons over. You are no exception.”

“You flatter me so, Lady Worthing, but I must insist I take my leave.” He bowed to her and then turned to you, taking your hand in his and pressing a delicate kiss to the back of your palm. “I bid you a good night, my lady.”

You suppressed the flutter in your chest at his touch. Your hands were typically gloved whenever you held hands during dances or promenades, but not at this hour. His lips against your bare skin made your breath catch for a moment, even for such a slight occurrence.

“I can escort you to the door,” you said, smiling through the uncertainty in your chest.

Anthony nodded, a small smile on his lips as well. “I welcome your company, my lady.”

Anthony offered his arm and you took it, and you could sense the excitement from your mother even from afar.

“Do not stay out too long, you two!” she called with a grin as you strolled out the door, and you had to stifle your laugh.

“You are going to be the death of me, Miss Worthing,” Anthony murmured in your ear as you walked out, his breath tickling your skin.

“Not if you get to me first,” you countered.

“I think the opposite is far more likely,” he said.

“How so?” you said, feigning disbelief. “You are the one keeping me up past natural hours with your presence. You are the one dragging me with you into Whistledown infamy.”

“But you are the one who got me into this in the first place.” Anthony glanced at you. “Quite the predicament, I might say.”

“Oh, do not act as if you are not enjoying it by now,” you said. “We are friends at this point, yes?”

A small smile quirked on his lips. “I suppose so.”

Again, that warmth in your chest. If Anthony knew, he would surely understand that he was far more likely to be your undoing than the other way around.

You reached the doors, and when you opened one and peeked outside, there was a notable absence of a carriage.

“My deepest apologies Viscount Bridgerton.” You turned around to see your head maid hurrying across the floor, slightly out of breath. “There has been a miscommunication between our two estates—your carriage will arrive, but it will be delayed. It should not be too long a wait, albeit, but—”

“It is of no worry,” Anthony interrupted, bowing his head. “I thank you for your dedication. Please, enjoy the rest of your night.”

She looked to you for confirmation and you nodded. “Thank you, Emma. You can retire for the night.”

She smiled gratefully. “I appreciate your kindness, my lady. It shall be here soon.”

You let go of Anthony’s arm as she began walking to the servant’s quarters and you pushed the door open again.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“We have time to waste,” you said, looking back at him mischievously. “Do you trust me?”

“…You make it seem as if I shouldn’t,” Anthony said.

“Oh, relax. We have some time to ourselves and a night sky above us. Surely you can indulge me once.”

“I believe I have indulged you far more than once,” Anthony said, but he followed you anyway. He planted his hand against the door, taking the weight off of yours, and for some reason even that act made you take a deep breath.

Thank God for the cool air, you thought hastily as you stepped outside, because your cheeks were burning for no good reason.

“I apologize on Emma’s behalf for the delay,” you said, thankful that he was following slightly behind you. “The Worthing estate has been in a state of disarray lately. I try to help around, but my mother insists it’s not my place.”

“I already said it was a nonissue,” Anthony said, and you bit your lip as he took a step closer and put you on equal ground. You’d no idea what was wrong with you.

“And I thank you for your continued grace, but I still feel as if I must apologize anyway,” you said. “You likely know of our… monetary issues.”

His brows knit together. “Of course, but that means nothing. Of your status, I mean.”

You smiled a bit. “To you, perhaps. But my mother is so ashamed of our lack of staff, she hardly ever has her friends over for tea anymore. We’ve never been able to afford much, but we had to let many of our staff go over the past summer.”

“It is noticeable. You’ve no doormen, few maids and servants,” Anthony said. “But it shouldn’t matter to any true gentleman.”

“I suppose that makes you a true gentleman, doesn’t it?” you said playfully.

Anthony chuckled. “After all the years my mother has spent trying to turn me into one, she would certainly hope so.”

“That is why this is all such a problem.” You glanced at him. “Why my mother is so delighted of our courtship. She believes you will be my— our entire family’s— saving grace upon marriage.”

“Quite the burden upon us,” he said dryly, though his words did not hold the usual humor. There was a certain solemnity about him.

“Indeed.” You sighed. “Our ruse frees me from the hand of other men for this season, but there is still the problem of… of what awaits.” You wrapped your arms around yourself, the night chill beginning to get to you along with something else. “I am certain I will think of a plan eventually, but still I worry more each day of what I will do when it is all over.”

Anthony didn’t say anything, and you didn’t fill the silence though you felt his gaze upon you. Suddenly, though, you felt the heaviness of fabric over your arms.

Anthony’s jacket, you realized when you looked at him. Your lips parted, words stuck in your throat, but he didn’t give you the chance to get them out.

“You were cold,” he shrugged, answering your question before you could ask it. “It would be unfathomably rude to force my dearest betrothed to freeze.”

“You noticed,” you said.

“Always,” Anthony said.

You care.

You could not help but stare at him, if not just for a moment, because— because God, the man was beautiful. There lay no use in denying it. There was a reason that, despite being the ton’s most infamous rake, he was still so desired by countless ladies.

His eyes almost as dark as the night around you holding a kindness he didn’t share with many, his white undershirt with slightly-rolled sleeves in stark contrast to it all, the curve of his jaw and the slope of his nose and the barest coif of his chestnut hair.

He was beautiful, and he was the one thing you could not have.

“Miss Worthing?”

Which did not matter, because you did not want him.

“My apologies.” You blinked and cleared your throat, Anthony breaking you out of your spell, and you gestured with your head as you continued along your way. Heat burned inside of you, all the way from the tips of your ears to the soles of your feet, and you could hardly stand it.

“You seem… distracted,” he said.

That was one way to describe it.

“Apologies,” you repeated with the slightest of smiles. “I’m merely… in my head, is all.”

This was all fake. You had to remember that, even if you had to bash it into your head for it to stick. The charm practically oozed off of him, and though you’d been near immune to it when you were able to despise Anthony, it was much more difficult not to fall victim to it now that you considered each other… friends.

You are a lady, and he is a gentleman, you could picture your mother saying. It is nature’s oldest tale. There is no shame in it.

He is my brother, and you hate him, you heard Eloise scoffing in the same vein. The thought made you smile.

“Where are you taking me, Miss Worthing?” Anthony’s coy voice brought you out of your stupor once again, and you blinked.

As you looked around, you realized you’d already made it there. You turned to Anthony with a smile, your hands out as you gestured at the open field of grass behind your estate.

“Isn’t it obvious?” you asked. “I’ve brought you here to stargaze.”

“Stargazing,” he repeated, and he laughed a bit. “I’ve never…”

“You’ve never stargazed?” you finished, and he nodded. “It makes sense. A serious viscount such as yourself cannot be bothered with such frivolities.”

Anthony shrugged. “If you enjoy it, I would love to try.”

“It isn’t something you try so much as you just do,” you said as you sat down on the ground. You smoothed out your skirts and then looked up at Anthony, amused by the expression on his face.

“It’s alright, my lord,” you said. “I promise, the grass will not hurt you. My maids have worked out many a stain in my youth, so I assure you that will be alright as well.”

“I have a carriage coming,” he said.

“They can wait,” you said. “Can they not?”

He hesitated for a moment, and then his lips quirked into the slightest smile as he took a seat next to you. You took his hand, ignoring the skip of your heart, and you pulled him back so you were both lying down.

“How do you feel?” you asked. “Have you fallen ill yet?”

“Very funny,” Anthony said wryly. “I am just fine. Your worries are much appreciated.”

“I would never worry about the great Viscount Bridgerton,” you said haughtily. “He has everything handled at all times.”

“Hardly,” he countered, and he let out a sigh. “Lately it seems as if I’ve got nothing handled at all.”

You made a noncommittal noise. “Then you are quite the actor, my lord. You’re very good at looking perfect.”

“You think I look perfect?”

You turned your head to see Anthony looked at you, a sly smile on his lips, and though your rolled your eyes you could not hold back your amusement.

“Yes, Viscount Bridgerton,” you said playfully. “Quite perfect.”

“It is good to know that my betrothed no longer hates me.” Anthony allowed one of his hands to rest in the grass, and you could feel his eyes on you.

“Oh, we are not betrothed yet,” you said offhandedly. “The way my mother acts, though, you would certainly think so.”

“Well, then,” Anthony said, “would you further prove your devotion by showing me some of your constellations?”

You chuckled. “Of course.”

Your gaze turned to the sky, squinting slightly as you searched for your favorite. When you did, you made a sound of triumph and you sat up on your elbows. “There— do you see those?

He frowned as he pushed himself up as well, and in his focus he unconsciously leaned closer to you. “I do not see anything,” Anthony said, and you laughed.

“Right…” you shifted closer to him, and you took his hand in yours as you held it up to the sky. “There.” You traced the outline with his finger, and you glanced at him. “Do you see it now?”

“I do, but…” Anthony’s lips twitched into a smile for a moment. “It is just… lines. A triangle with lines.”

You laughed, full and bright. “It is, that much is true. But it is the constellation of Libra, in relation to astrology.”

“I did not know you were educated on astrology.”

“Oh, I am certainly not,” you said. “But it is the sign of my mother’s birth month, and it was the first constellation she taught me to find. Now, it is always the first one I seek out on nights such as these.”

His eyebrows rose ever so slightly. “You used to stargaze with your mother?”

You hadn’t truly realized the implications of what you’d said until his words, and you paused for a moment before you took your hand away from his and laid back down.

“It is alright if you do not want to talk about it,” Anthony said softly.

“It is not that,” you said, and you sighed. “It is just… that the relationship I have with my mother is a complicated one.”

You felt Anthony’s eyes on you still, and you bit your lip.

“I have always felt so small whenever I look to the stars,” you murmured. “I think it is part of the reason I still do it— for the perspective. To remind myself of how minuscule I am in the broad scheme of things.”

“I… think I feel the opposite, funnily enough,” Anthony said. “I do not stargaze, obviously, but I have always viewed an individual’s contribution as meaning far more than I can even imagine. Each and every person who has walked through my life has made some sort of impact— you have been, and still are, one of those.” He looked over at you with a surprisingly earnest expression. “You are certainly not minuscule. Not by any sort of margin.”

You found your cheeks heating up from his words, and you could not hold back your smile. “Why, Lord Bridgerton, that was quite a compliment. Are you sure you are feeling well?”

“I feel wonderful,” he said, his eyes still not leaving yours. You felt your cheeks heat and you had to look away.

“I know my mother only wants what is best for me. She pushes me so because there is no other choice, and she truly believes that it will just… click for me someday.” You pulled Anthony’s jacket tighter around your arms, but it was of no aid when the chills came from within. “And I feel as if I am failing my entire family by not being able to accept it.”

“I understand what it is like to have the weight of your bloodline on your shoulders,” Anthony said after a moment’s hesitation. “It is my job to ensure that my family stays afloat, that our finances are handled, that my siblings are provided for, that everything runs smoothly without a hitch. It is…” he huffed a small laugh. “It is overwhelming, I cannot lie. But it is my responsibility as the head of house, and so I take it on.”

“You are saying that I should pursue a real courtship,” you said dryly.

“That is not what I am saying,” Anthony countered with a glance at you. “You were correct when you said that I could leave at any time if I so desired. I do not, but if I wanted to, I could. I am pushed on through even the most difficult moments because of my love for my family. Everything I do is for them.”

“I still am not following.”

“If you want to be happy, then you must find your motivations,” Anthony finally said, “and you must follow where they lead you. No matter where that is.”

“So you are supporting my ill-advised rebellion.” You sat up, looking down at him with the beginnings of a smile. “Is that it?”

“I thought that quite obvious the moment I agreed to this ruse,” he responded wryly. “You are a bad influence, Miss Worthing. I am a man of honor.”

“Of course.” Your words were laced with mock austerity, and you sighed. “I just do not understand why I was born the sole daughter of a struggling family. It seems a cruel joke when there is none I despise more than marriage.”

“We are quite similar, you know,” Anthony said offhandedly. “We both have the fate of our families on our shoulders, and we both know what we must do for our name. It should be woefully easy, but… it isn’t.”

You shook your head. “We are not similar, my lord. Perhaps in structure, but not in much else.”

He raised his eyebrows, silently urging you to go forward.

“You are a man,” you said simply, “and you have everything because of it. You can have whatever life you please. It is not required of you to marry, though your mother might like it to have an heir from the first son. But I have nothing— I am nothing— without a man. The life that I so desperately want is one that I will never be able to have, not without giving up everything I hold dear.”

You swallowed thickly in your throat, turning away from Anthony to not give him a view of your imminent tears. “I either have to marry a man I will never love or abandon my family and become a disgrace, but I do not want either. It is as Eloise has always said — I just want so desperately to fly. Unfortunately, my wings are doomed to be clipped.”

“Miss Worthing…” Anthony started, but he trailed off just as quickly. He could not seem to find the right words to quell your worries, and it infuriated him beyond any sort of reason. He did not have a way with words like Eloise, he did not have the effortless charm of Colin nor the presence of Benedict, and he most certainly was not able to comfort others like Daphne — and yet the need to fix problems he himself was incapable of fixing washed over him so suddenly and so intensely he could hardly bear it.

“I am truly sorry.” It took him far too long to break the silence that hung in the air, only punctured once by your sharp intake of breath in an attempt to hold back tears. “I wish there was more I could do for you. There should be more I could do for you as a viscount, but…”

Sure that you would be able to hold back any tears should they decide to pester you once more, you turned to face Anthony with what you hoped was a convincing smile. “You need not apologize, my lord. You have already done far more for me than any rational man should have in your position.”

“One could argue it is because of you I’ve done all this,” he said. “You have a way about you that makes a rational man want nothing more than irrationality.”

That brought a genuine smile to your face, thankfully able to avoid the tears you thought were sure to come.

“You flatter me, Lord Bridgerton,” you said wryly.

“Anthony,” he said, and you blinked.

“Pardon?”

“I believe we are far past Lord Bridgerton,” he explained with a slight smile. “What, with how many times you have bared your soul to me this season, I should think Anthony is perfectly acceptable.”

You felt your cheeks heat up under his warm gaze as you nodded. “Then Anthony it shall be.”

Trying to recover from the embarrassingly soft moment, you cleared your throat and turned away once more. “Of course, your permission is not needed to refer to you as your name rather than a title, but I suppose it cannot hurt.”

This time, the smile was nearly palpable in his words. “Of course, Miss Worthing.”

You shook your head as you said your name. “If I am to call you Anthony, you shall call me by my given name as well. It is only fair.”

He raised his eyebrows. “When has fairness ever been a concern of yours in regards to me?”

“Anthony,” you said, though not without slight mirth, “will you do it?”

“If it is what you desire.” Anthony then said your name, and you could not deny how your chest spurned in such a way at the sound.

There was so much you yearned to say, so much on the tip of your tongue, nearly all of it relating to the man in front of you. How could there be so much of him on your mind, when just a mere fortnight ago you were joking with him about how much you could not stand him?

After ensuring none of your inner emotions were visible on your face, you turned back to him and offered a small smile. “It certainly is.”

But as he smiled back at you, that slight quirk of his lips that softened his features and brought out the light in his eyes that you had grown to appreciate but he did not have nearly enough…

You feared you were beginning to desire much more.

You looked at the sky above, and the stars twinkling back at you suddenly made you remember as you turned back to Anthony.

“We should get back,” you said. “It would be woefully inappropriate for a man of honor to miss his carriage.”

His lips twitched at your words. “You end our outing so soon?”

“You were against it in the first place,” you pointed out. “And I believe this has lasted far longer than I initially planned.”

“I was also against your ruse,” Anthony said, and when he stood up, he offered his hand. “But you seem to be quite skilled at changing my mind.”

It was so different from all the others, when he offered his arm for a promenade or took you to the dance floor, and it was why you hesitated. But you pushed the thought aside as you took it, and Anthony pulled you up from the ground.

“I suppose I am,” you joked.

“Thank you for this.” He brushed off his clothes, a smile as genuine as the others pulling at his lips. “It was enjoyable.”

“Just enjoyable?” you asked playfully.

“My apologies,” Anthony said. “This was fantastic. Incredible. Is life-changing satisfactory?”

You nodded, biting back your smile. “I believe so. Nothing with me is anything less than life-changing.”

“That is certain,” he agreed.

Anthony offered his arm and the two of you began walking back to the front of your estate. The silence was comfortable as it lingered in the air, only broken once you stopped in front of the carriage that he was indeed late for.

“I do mean it,” Anthony said, “my thanks for this. Sincerely so.”

“Of course,” you said. “If you ever find you are in need of some stars, my yard is always open.”

His lips quirked into a slight smile. “The stars do not have much meaning without you beside me to give them one.”

You huffed a slight laugh as your gaze turned upwards again. “Well, that is Cassiopeia,” you said with a gesture at the sky, and you managed a wry smile. “Though you will probably just see more lines.”

“If you tell me they are more than lines, then they are more than lines,” Anthony said. “That much, I know.”

You felt the warmth rise to your cheeks, and you curtsied to him. “I will see you tomorrow, Lord Bridgerton.”

“I will see you tomorrow.” Anthony hesitated, gazing into your eyes with abandon. He lifted your hand and pressed a gentle kiss to it, murmuring your name before he let it go.

And then he entered the carriage, though there was some form of reluctance in his movements. You waited until his departure, even longer after until he and his men were nothing but a speck in the distance, and it wasn’t until then that you could breathe freely.

“My lady?”

Your focus was broken at the sound of your lady’s maid’s voice, and you blinked a multitude of times as you turned around.

“Julia,” you said. “What brings you here?”

“You, my lady,” she said with a slight laugh. “You’ve just been… standing out here. Alone. Doing nothing.”

“My apologies,” you said with a practiced smile, though you wrought your hands together. “I appear to be in my head tonight. You needn’t come out here for me.”

“I wanted to make sure you were alright,” Julia said. “Is the viscount gone?”

“He is. I saw him off.” The skin where his lips touched still burned, and you felt a swell of something inside of you. “I— I should be settling in for the night.”

You began walking in at a hasty pace, but Julia easily matched it. “Of course. I will help you get ready.”

You shook your head, and you couldn’t help but cast one last glance out the door before it closed. You cleared your throat and looked back at Julia. “All I request is that you help me into my dressing gown, and then you can retire. I would like some solitude tonight.”

She nodded. “Of course, my lady.”

“Is my mother still awake?” you asked as the two of you walked up the stairs together.

“No,” Julia said. “She retired shortly after you and the viscount took your leave.”

“Good,” you murmured. You did not think you could deal with her much tonight. Not after… whatever it was that went on between you and him.

Julia did as asked, helping you out of your layers and into your nightgown before she took her leave.

Lying in bed alone, you found yourself staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.

All you could think of was Anthony. His eyes boring into yours, the heat of his lips against your bare hand, his willingness to do something he likely saw as ridiculous merely because it made you happy. The weight of his jacket against your shoulders, the attentiveness he had towards you for him to have realized.

The softness with which he said your name, every syllable a symphony in your ears, more beautiful than anything simply because Anthony spoke it.

Oh.

Your heart hammered in your chest as the realization struck.

Oh.

You were doomed.

Split down the middle. It was an apt designation for how you felt in the coming days and weeks.

One part of you—the idiot, lovesick part—wanted nothing but to spend more time with Anthony Bridgerton. A singing heart every time Julia told you he awaited you in the drawing room, weakened knees when he offered his hand to pull you onto the dance floor, an unavoidable smile throughout any of your conversations. You finally realized what all those ladies saw in the Viscount Bridgerton.

The other part—the intelligent part that knew this was the one thing that could absolutely not happen—wanted nothing more than to ignore his every call. To stay silent during promenades, to refuse his dance offers, to stay shut in your room when he called on you. To be able to avoid him in every possible way because you could not encourage your feelings further.

It was terrible. Awful. Horrendous. You were quite sure that you loved Anthony Bridgerton, and the one thing you were meant to do was not love Anthony Bridgerton.

The more time you spent around him, the more you thought about him, the more you felt for him, and there was not a single way to avoid it because his courtship was the only thing keeping you above water.

You really were doomed.

“Are you even listening to me?”

You blinked as Eloise said your name, and you looked over at her. “I apologize. I was in my head.”

“You’ve been in your head quite frequently as of late,” Eloise said, and she huffed a sigh as she flopped onto the couch next to you. “I can only assume my brother is to blame.”

You felt your cheeks heat. If only she knew how true that was.

“He is part of it,” you admitted, turning your head slightly so she could not see any visible embarrassment. “It may not be easy to be a Bridgerton, but it’s by no means easy to be courted by one, either.”

“I can imagine,” she said with another sigh. “For how serious Anthony always is, he certainly is dramatic.” Eloise eyed you. “Would you like me to speak plainly?”

Your brows creased slightly, though you still didn’t look at her. “Always.”

“I honestly think he may be enjoying this,” she said. “Anthony has never been much for… anything, really. Anything besides duty. He’s pleasant around us for the most part, and I love him with all my heart, but he’s always so serious.” She shrugged. “It appears that you’ve brought out another side of him.”

Your breath caught in your chest for a moment. You still could not bring yourself to meet her eyes. “Truly?”

“Truly,” Eloise nodded. “When you end this, I believe he’ll come out the other side a better man. So I suppose I should thank you for this whole ruse.”

A smile played on your lips for a moment, but it fell just as quickly. You’d always known it was going to end—the ruse was your idea in the first place—and yet you were the one fighting against her impossible feelings. You were a damn doomed fool.

You had to fight the urge to hit your head against the back of the couch. You felt as if you were going insane, but you could not reveal the whirlwind inside your mind to anyone.

“There is no need to thank me,” you finally said. “It’s been a pleasure.”

“A pleasure,” Eloise said dryly. “Really?”

You nodded, finally sitting up and looking at her. “Yes. Anthony was a bit of a nuisance at first, but…” you smiled just at the thought of him. “We’ve become friends after all this time. Quite close friends.”

Eloise’s nose wrinkled, and then she sighed yet again. “I suppose it is a good thing if you two are getting along. As long as you will still trade barbs with me about him.”

You chuckled. “Always.”

You couldn’t tell her. You wouldn’t tell her, because there was no use in creating such a problem for no reason.

You loved Anthony, you were sure of that by now, though you had not previously thought it at all possible. And none of it mattered, because by the end of the season, your courtship would be a distant memory.

You and Eloise continued your idle chatter, but your heart was not in it. How could it be, when you could only think of Anthony? You could only think of Anthony, the one man you never thought you would want and now the one man you can never have.

It was ridiculous. He turned you into a ridiculous woman and you would never forgive him for it.

You’d always wondered how you would end your ruse when your mothers had grown so attached to the courtship, the idea of you as a Bridgerton.

Your mothers were no longer the problem.

The middle of the season came and went, your feelings for Anthony growing ever stronger—your disdain for those feelings grew alongside them.

Your parents were working harder than ever as the peak of the season approached—your father spent most nights bent over documents and papers regarding the finances, pushing pennies so that you would be able to afford the frivolities of the ton and appearing on the arm of a Bridgerton.

Your mother had a job of equal difficulty—she had to maintain the Worthing image and name. It had never been the best to begin with as one of the poorer families of the ton, but Anthony’s courtship had pushed you through the ranks. Your mother was determined to keep you there.

The pairing between you and Anthony should have remained the same stagnant charade, but it was difficult to act the same as always with your feelings evolving ever so. It did not help that both your mother and Lady Bridgerton were convinced a proposal was to be just around the corner when nothing could be further from the truth.

And it was not as if they were wrong for holding that belief. Were this a traditional courting, Anthony would likely be preparing to get down on one knee—instead, your promenades consisted of discussions on how best to end your situation.

(“Perhaps you could have a meltdown,” Anthony had suggested once. “It would certainly not come as a surprise to the ton—they would merely see it as what has been coming all along.”

“Your faith in me is truly astounding, Anthony,” you said dryly. “It is sure to be a mystery on how we did not work out.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I am only trying to work with you. Must I remind you that it was you that started this, all because you did not want to get married? This would simply be an extension—you’ve never wanted to marry a man before, what is one more to add to the list?”

“Yes, but…” you shook your head and sighed. “I fear we may have performed our act too well. At this point, it feels as if any means of our splitting will hurt our mothers and cause a riot in the ton, no matter how we do it.”

“I think you may be right,” Anthony said, and he frowned. “I do not know whether I want Hyacinth to find out you will not be her sister through Whistledown or through me—I know I could not handle the look on her face, but to let her discover it through gossip seems even worse.”

You could not help a sly smile at that. “Are you telling me I have charmed your family even more than I had before?”

He offered a smile of his own. “I believe I have charmed your family just as much, if not more. Your mother adores me more than ever.”)

No, it did not help that your mother adored him, and it did not help that Hyacinth and Gregory adored you. Every second spent around Anthony and his family pushed you further to your doom, and what a lovely doom it was.

Seeing Anthony dressed up at every ball was also not of aid, and you could not help but smile when your eyes met at the latest ball. You knew of your mother’s watchful eye over both of you, but you found you didn’t care when he offered his hand.

“You look beautiful,” Anthony murmured so only you could hear it as he led you out to the dance floor. You took up your positions and started the waltz—you had Anthony to thank for the increase in your skill, for the amount of dancing you did these days made it impossible for your ability to remain stagnant.

You chuckled a bit. “Thank you, Anthony, but nobody can hear us. You do not need to keep up appearances.”

The smile remained on his lips for just a moment too long before he blinked and nodded. “You are correct. I suppose it is just becoming a habit.”

Butterflies erupted in your chest, and in your flustered state, you fell out of the rhythm and missed your next step. If it hadn’t been for Anthony leading so well, you would’ve fallen.

How could he just say those things? How could he just say those frustratingly charming things without blinking an eye, words that made you trip over your feet and spurned warmth in your core and drove you insane?

Did Anthony even know what he did to you?

“Are you alright?” he questioned, and for a moment all you were able to do was stare into his eyes. They were beautiful.

“Yes,” you finally managed, clearing your throat as you glanced away for a moment.

It is just becoming a habit, he said, words that near perfectly echoed your own situation.

Each time you slipped your arm around Anthony’s, each time he was a caller in your drawing room for an early morning—early mornings which you were becoming all the fonder of with each outing—each time he smiled at you in that way of his, each time you looked into those warm brown eyes, each time he was just the slightest bit too close and you were able to feel your heart speed up and your breath hitch.

Being around Anthony Bridgerton was becoming a habit for you, you realized, a habit you did not want to let go of.

You did not realize Anthony was speaking to you until he said your name again and you snapped out of your thoughts, staring at him for a moment before you nodded.

“Apologies,” you covered up, “it seems I am very in my head tonight.”

“It is alright,” he said, smiling softly. “I was merely asking if your outing with your parents the other night went well.”

“Yes,” you breathed, “yes, it was quite pleasant.”

Though you answered, you could still hardly focus. And it was all because of the man you were dancing with, because of the delicate yet sure grip he had on your hands, because of the sweetest eyes you’d ever known gazing at you with reassurance.

You were horribly in love with Anthony Bridgerton, and there was nothing you could do about it.

“…So,” Anthony said as the two of you trailed through the streets, “remind me what you have roped me into?”

“I have not roped you into anything,” you said. “I am taking you to a rally; one for the advancement of women. I believe it would do you some good to see what your myriad of sisters put up with because of men like you.”

“Men like me?” he repeated, having the gall to sound slightly offended.

“Yes, men like you,” you agreed. “Men who do not even question why they are so deserving of their position so high above us, and do not even think to change things because society solely benefits them.”

“Do you ever get tired of your constant bitterness?” he asked dryly.

“No,” you responded cheerfully, “I only get tired of you.”

“Ah,” he said with a nod. “That is why you have not only decided to be my fake courtee for an entire season, but to willingly bring me along on one of your weekend escapades.”

“I put up with you so I will not have to put up with those even more irritating,” you reminded him.

“And that is why you always smile at me with the strength of a thousand suns while we dance?” he asked. “Why you continue to promenade with me and indulge my conversational whims and accept me without complaint as a constant caller?”

You shrugged, and you hoped the heat rushing to your cheeks was not visible. Perhaps he could read you better than you thought. “As I said, it is so I will not have to put up with those more irritating. I have come to appreciate you.”

“Times like these, I wonder if we are truly faking it,” Anthony said. “We already bicker as much as a married couple — perhaps we have somehow skipped the engagement and the wedding and gone right into the arguments.”

“I believe that is simply called friendship, Anthony.”

He raised his eyebrows, a smile tugging at his lips as he said your name. “You see me as a friend?”

“And now I regret saying it,” you laughed.

“Oh, do not lie,” Anthony said wryly. “Why have you brought me here, if not to argue on the way?”

“It is simply a learning experience for you,” you scoffed. “It is actually quite enriching, Anthony. You may want to take your leave now though, lest you end up learning something.”

“You are truly hilarious,” he said, devoid of emotion. He glanced down at the basket you carried in your hands before looking back to you. “And what is in there?”

“Any goods I can spare,” you said. “I am one of the poorer ladies in the ton, but I am still more fortunate than many of the women that attend these rallies. They are often working mothers and sisters trying their best to support their families, but it is hardly ever enough. I do what I can to make it even the slightest bit easier for them.”

Anthony went silent, and when you glanced at him he had an odd look on his face, his gaze set on you.

“What?” you asked, and he offered the smallest smile.

“That is quite a gesture,” he finally said. “Most families in society tend to ignore anyone beneath them. They would not be caught dead in a place like this.”

“They are not beneath me,” you corrected. “They are not beneath any of us. None of them have chosen the lives they lead; wealth begets wealth, and poverty the same. It is a vicious cycle that hardly anyone is able to break out of. I see no reason why I should not use my privilege to make anyone’s life even the slightest bit easier.”

“Besides,” you said with a raise of your brow, “you are here with me, are you not?”

Anthony nodded after a moment. “I suppose you are rubbing off on me.”

You smiled. “I am glad to have gotten through to you on at least one thing. Helping others with your wealth is perhaps the best thing for you to pick up from me, I think.”

“You are quite good at ruining the moment, are you aware?”

“Oh,” you said with a cheeky smile, “I absolutely am.”

You soon made it to the opening where the rally was being held. Though some were underground in the metaphorical sense, this one was rather out in the open. It was in a darker corner of the city, so you supposed the organizers did not think they would be disturbed.

You wandered around with Anthony for a bit as you emptied your basket to a variety of women and youths, and by the time the first speaker had begun, you had handed out everything you’d brought.

You took Anthony’s hand and pulled him behind you as you moved through the crowd to get closer, and when you tried to let go of his hand, he wouldn’t let you. You smiled up at him, and it seemed as if he’d only realized what he’d done in that moment.

“I do not trust this part of town,” he whispered to you. “It is for your protection.”

“Of course,” you whispered back, though you could not hide your mirth as you turned back to the speaker.

It was wonderful. She spoke of all sorts of things relating to women and the betterment of your sex, how they deserved a place in Parliament and a voice and respect for more than motherly duties, how—

“This is unseemingly,” Anthony huffed.

You frowned. “How?”

“This is hardly a proper place for anyone.” His eyes darted around.

“This is where I am to end up if I do not figure out a better way out of the ton,” you said. “This is how a majority of London lives.”

“I am aware of that,” he muttered. “Do not think me so naive that I do not understand my privilege. I just…” Anthony shook his head and sighed. “No matter. How many of these have you been to?”

“Five, I believe.” You frowned. “Six, actually. There was the time I told my parents I was ill and snuck out.”

“It is a miracle you are still alive,” Anthony marveled.

You shrugged. “I never said I was intelligent. Merely smart.”

He laughed, genuine and full, and you found yourself smiling.

And then there was yelling.

Your brows creased again as you looked to the front, only to see a man. His burly and unkempt appearance weren’t the only off-putting things about him. He spat rhetoric against everything the rally stood for, and the look in his eye was chilling.

You’d heard of this happening before, of men from the city who indulged their baser instincts and liked the world just the way it was now, invading rallies and meetings held by women just to create problems and spread fear.

Some cries ran out around the crowd, and your head whirled around to see other men like the one yelling pushing through the sea of people, intimidating and snapping their way through. You went to take a step back, but Anthony was already ahead of you as his grip on your hand tightened.

It appeared that this was one of those times.

“Ah,” you said, beginning to back up alongside Anthony. “I forgot to mention one thing to you.”

“And that is?” he asked, annoyance coloring his words.

“This gathering is not exactly legal.” You winced as a pairing shouldered past you, but you held fast onto Anthony’s hand. “I’d say it’s quite illegal, actually. Which is why it can be interrupted in this fashion.”

“Wonderful,” he breathed. “I’d say that it is time to take our leave. Would you agree?”

“Yes,” you said, “I would.”

The glint of a knife caught your eye even from afar, gripped in the hand of one of the men, and a lady’s scream pierced the air.

And then full-on chaos broke out.

Everything after that was mostly a blur. Something triggered inside of Anthony, clear in the wild look in his eye, and his only thought was seemingly to get you out unharmed. It worked for the most part, to his credit, though you didn’t get away completely unscathed.

You also did not get away together. Somewhere in the middle, someone had barreled between the two of you and broken your link. Anthony had lost you in the rush, and he felt as if he was going insane.

This may have been your idea, illegal as it was, but he was not going to allow anything to happen to you. He couldn’t allow anything to happen to you— he couldn’t.

He shouted your name, once, twice, three times, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried his best to navigate through the insanity. This was no longer a rally, this was a riot, and with you missing Anthony truly feared the worst. His stomach twisted into knots just thinking about it.

He’d just passed an alleyway when a hand darted out of nowhere and pulled him to the side; though his first instinct was to break away, the weight of his anxieties disappeared when he saw who had dragged him over.

Anthony said your name with complete relief, his shoulders dropping as the tension faded away. “I couldn’t find you, and I thought the worst— thank God you’re safe.”

“Thank God you are safe,” you murmured, and he chuckled as he shook his head. Somehow, in this situation, you were worried about him.

“I still cannot believe you are here,” Anthony huffed. He moved to the edge of the alleyway to watch, waiting for the chaos to clear out. “Is this truly what you are engaging in every weekend? Barbaric riots where its attendees are lucky to make it out alive?”

“I promise,” you said through a shaky exhale, pressing your aching fingers to your chest as you held your good hand against your bleeding nose, “they are never like this.”

His eyes darted back over to you, and that was when he noticed the injury. “God, what happened to you?”

You opened your mouth to diminish it, but Anthony moved over and began examining you for worse injuries. You let out a breathy laugh and shook your head. “I am fine, Anthony, trust me. Men in these parts believe in one vein of equality, at least, seeing as I was punched in the face.”

His eyes widened and it only made you smile more. “Do not worry. I punched him back.” You held up your hand, bunching it into a fist. “I believe my knuckles will bruise something fierce later, though.”

Anthony shook his head, another breathless laugh taking him. “You are truly something else.”

“And I am fine,” you assured, though the slight strain of your voice said something different. Anthony did not notice, though, and he moved back to his spot on the edge watching for clearings.

“You said you have been to six of these before,” Anthony said. “And they have never been like this?”

“Never.”

“Then I assume this riot was something special they planned just for me.”

“You jest, but you may not be far from the truth.” You chuckled but immediately winced. “You are bad luck, Anthony.”

“I am bad luck?“ He turned and fixed you with a pointed look. “You are the one who threw herself into the middle of a fight; it is fortunate you got away with so few injuries.”

You huffed a laugh but a sharp pain once again shot through your chest, far more extreme than the last, and you barely managed to stifle your gasp of pain. You took your hand away from your nose and pressed it against your side, but all it caused was an even greater ripple of pain throughout your entire body.

When you took your hand away, every part that had been against your dress was coated in a shimmering layer of blood, a small drop falling from your finger and splattering to the ground below. Your heart caught in your throat as you weakly pulled at the hem, crimson red seeping through the laceration in the fabric as a confirmation of the injury below.

So it seemed you had not been lucky enough to get away with only a bloody nose and bruised knuckles.

“...Anthony?” you managed weakly, your limbs growing heavy as your vision began to blur. “I… it…”

Anthony’s head whipped around. His eyes were the last thing you saw, wide with fear and lips moving in silent panic as he lunged towards you.

And then the world around you faded into darkness.

perm tags: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77 @simonsbluee @kwyloz @masteroperator @louderfortheback

bridgerton tags: @theonewithallthemilkshakes @rach2602 @milkiane @korol-lantsov @heyyitsreign

not so simple tags: @ifilwtmfc @readers-post @fangirling-galore @funkydinosaurs @baby-i-am-fireproof @mess-is-my-aesthetic @likeballet @mdkfh @brezzybfan @magical-spit @lafy-taffy @miss-celestial-being @mercurysrhapsody @evilsailorsenshi @mainstreambitchlife @aangsupremacy @chloepluto1306 @lostaudfound @panhoeofmanyfandoms @blhemmings @my-acrylic-heart

#anthony bridgerton x reader #anthony bridgerton x you #anthony bridgerton fic #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton fic #anthony bridgerton fanfic #x reader #bridgerton imagine #sadie writes

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dearhargrove · 2 years

Text

Change of heart

Billy Hargrove x f!reader

Request Henderson reader (f or gn) dating Billy, Dustin doesn’t approve, Billy climbs into window after fights with Neil and you patch him up (mentally and physically), but one night it’s really bad and he and Max turn up knocking at the door bc Billy is in no shape to climb, and Dustin answers and Billy is like almost passing out but eh and you have to help him, and Dustin is like “oh shit” and yeah happy ending please

summary Dustin never liked Billy, but he definitely didn't like you dating Billy. Until said boy shows up on the brink of losing consciousness but still manages to swoon over you. Yeah, that might have changed Dustin's mind.

tags violence, wounds, bleeding, Henderson!reader

notes I love writing, so I'm happy to be back! It was hectic with the first weeks of school and I haven't been focusing on much else. There was also no motivation, and I just felt guilty leaving you all hanging like I did. Let's hope it gets better! Love you all <3

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Dustin never approved of you and Billy. That's what you expected when you revealed it to him; blatant rejection and some disbelief. It was justified - Billy had terrorized the kids unreasonably for weeks before meeting you.

He had honked at the boys before nearly running them over - but this time you saw him.

You had approached him in school the next day, threatening to run him over instead. From that moment he was intrigued. After asking you out a few times you agreed and got to know him.

It would be quite the shock for everyone to find out he's sweet (when he lets himself).

The first time he needed your help was when he smashed his mirror out of anger, some pieces of the glass still stuck in his hand. You had scolded him and after coddled him, sad this was his only way to channel his anger.

It had luckily never been that bad, a few bandaids, some disinfectant and he was fine.

You were in your room when it happened, reading over your homework.

Dustin huffed out of annoyance at the aggressive knocking before ripping the door open. "What?" That's when he saw who it was on his doorstep. There Max stood, Billy's arm around her shoulder and only barely standing.

"Get your sister. He said she can help," she urges and drags him in. "Woah, Woah. Stop there - he's not going in here or close to my sister." Dustin disliked Billy and didn't trust him. He was scared that you'd end up getting hurt more than anything.

"No," Max just said again and walked further, huffing from the exhaust. "Dustin, what the fuck is going on?" You ask, eyes on the stairs as you walk down (you'd fallen down the stairs way too many times to not be careful).

Max yelled out your name and when you got down the last step she was in front of you with her brother draped over her.

He had blood running down his forehead and his knuckles were burst open. "What happened to him?" You quickly overcome your shock and help the small girl to get him to the kitchen.

You sit him down in one of the chairs and get your - updated - first aid kit. Since the first few times, you've stocked it up on bandages, disinfectant, and more stuff. You brush his hair aside carefully, noticing he was barely conscious.

"Alright, Max, Dustin? Keep him awake, talk to him," you instruct and wipe the blood off his forehead, getting to cleaning the wound high on his forehead. You're incredibly tense, the fact that you have to save this was challenging.

Sometime in between he wakes up completely, hissing in pain. "Jesus, he got me good." He jokes and you would've slapped him if he wasn't in a bad condition like this. "Billy?" Max asks frantically and keeps up the conversation, though his eyes are on you and his hand shakily on your hip.

When you're done you gather up the trash left from everything and gesture to the two teens to take it outside.

With a sigh, you cross your arms and lean against the counter. "What happened?" He smiles at you warily and shrugs, opening his arms. "Hug me I think I deserve some love," it's half-joking, half-serious, so you huff but gather him in your arms.

His head is leaning against your stomach and you have one hand on his neck. "He made some comments about you, and I couldn't stop myself," he explains and you're once again close to smacking him. "I've told you to just let it go when he does that. It doesn't matter to me, so it shouldn't to you."

He shrugs and grins, "Don't care."

With a shake of your head you hear the two friends come back in and take his hand, "Can you walk?" He nods and you help him up. "Pretty sure Dustin accepts you now."

Somewhere - that's way too close for them to not have eavesdropped - you hear Dustin shout a 'Still a long way to go!' and you laugh a little, Billy as well. "He's fierce."

Opening the door to your room you let him go, going to clean up your homework quickly. "Studying as always." He remarks with amusement, dropping on your bed. "Some of us have to," you drily say and sit down next to where he sat on your bed.

"You don't. You're smart enough not to and still ace all the exams, you know that right?" There he goes with the flattery. Scoffing playfully, you change into your pajamas before going to your closet to retrieve some of his shirts, so he wouldn't have to sleep in his bloodied clothes.

"Alright, I have this," you give him a white muscle shirt he'd left months ago, "and this," it's a pair of boxer shorts - you couldn't answer why it was there, but you're glad it was.

"Go change and come to bed, I'm tired."

He looks at you fondly, and even though his eye was swelling up and his face ached with every movement (just as the rest of his body did) he made it a point to send you one of his rare, but appreciated, big smiles.

"Be right back, princess."

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things imagine #stranger things x reader #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove #dustin henderson #max mayfield #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove angst #dacre montgomery x reader #dacre x reader #dacre montgomery

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 9 months

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IOTA Reviews: Adoration

You know, between Sabrina and Zoe, it's hard to tell who gets screwed over more in this episode.

Let's get into the seventeenth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Adoration

We start off with Zoe talking with Andre about a movie he made when he was younger. Apparently, he made it to declare his love for Audrey. The fact that he thought making a movie to please someone as abusive as her either means Andre is a real idiot, or Audrey is an absolute goddess in bed.

We then cut to school the next day, where Marinette and Zoe are put in charge of organizing it. The two met up at Marinette's room, where Zoe comments on how beautiful it looks... even though she was already there at the end of “Gabriel Agreste”.

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Okay, in all seriousness, this is a minor error compared to the other retcons this show has made, and I can see the writers forgetting that scene since Zoe didn't say anything in it anyway, but this does have a purpose. While thinking about where to hold the dance, Marinette settles on the Eiffel Tower, and asks Zoe if she can talk to Andre about it.

The two go to Zoe's place, and surprise, surprise, Chloe throws a hissy fit about Marinette stepping on one of “her” stairs. Okay, writers, just admit you're running out of ideas for Chloe to antagonize Marinette. Zoe stands up to Chloe, who then goes to Audrey, but she's so apathetic, she doesn't even intervene, so Zoe calls it a win.

Marinette: What happened to the scared Zoe who moved here from New York a few months ago?

Zoe: It's all thanks to you, Marinette. You're the one who helped me change!

Uh... how? Outside of “Sole Crusher” and “Queen Banana”, the two have never really had any meaningful interactions. It's almost like Zoe has had absolutely no development since her introduction last season, and the writers are trying to convince us that they actually gave her character development.

Andre decides to approve holding the school dance under the Eiffel Tower, he tells Marinette and Zoe not to tell Chloe. Chloe overhears this, and gets angry for... some reason. Seriously, what did they even do? All Marinette and Zoe did was ask to hold a dance, Chloe overheard it, and the very next scene, she's talking with Lila and Sabrina about how to get revenge. She doesn't even make it about the dance, she just gets angry Zoe is talking with her father. Again, after five seasons, it really seems like the writers are running out of ways for Chloe to incite conflict, because this is just lazy.

At the Agreste Mansion, Adrien talks to Gabriel about asking Marinette to the dance, but Gabriel forbids him from doing so. Nathalie convinces him to concede, but then he calls Lila. The next scene has Chloe talking with Sabrina about a plan she has.

Chloe: Do you want to be demoted from underling to punching bag? You want to join the baker girl and the half-of-a-sister?

Sabrina: (gasps) No! I'm your friend!

Chloe: (shakes her head) My underling. You are my underling. If you're not willing to do anything for me, then get lost!

This can't seriously be the script the writers stuck with, right? Now Chloe's just saying things you'd hear from a dark lord from an RPG. Granted, it's hard to tell how honest Chloe is since her chewing out Sabrina is revealed to be a plan by Lila, but given how Chloe has been this episode, it's hard to really believe she was exaggerating anything. Either way, Sabrina is upset enough for Monarch to send an Akuma her way, akumatizing her into Vanisher again through a whistle.

Vanisher's design is pretty lazy, even back when it first appeared in Season 1. It's just Sabrina with a purple filter when she isn't using her powers to turn invisible. I guess it kind of makes sense given she's not meant to be flashy, but this just screams “cutting corners”. The Miraculous power shown this time is the Dog Miraculous' Fetch, allowing Vanisher to steal as many things as she wants.

Vanisher comes back into the room, and we actually get a funny joke where Chloe asks Lila if she's a witch, even if a funny joke in this kind of show only gets a reaction along the lines of...

Anyway, Marinette and Zoe plan out the dance some more, where Marinette talks about how hard it is to tell Adrien she loves him, to which Zoe agrees, revealing she has her own crush on someone. As the two talk, Vanisher sneaks in and we get a montage of her tagging things with her whistle. During the montage, Marinette assumes that Zoe has a crush on Adrien, which will be more important towards the end.

Once things with the dance are set up, Vanisher uses Fetch to teleport all the things she touched into Marinette's bag. Chloe accuses Marinette of being a thief, and even though Lila isn't in the rest of the episode, everyone's about as gullible as they normally are in a Lila episode, so they decide to believe Chloe. Mr. Damocles prepares to expel Marinette, but Zoe takes the blame for it, allowing Marinette transform into Ladybug.

Ladybug figures out that Vanisher is behind this because Chloe threw some paper flowers that accidentally fell onto her, so she summons her Lucky Charm, a pinata. While Ladybug fights Vanisher, Adrien gets to a safe place to transform into Cat Noir. Ladybug hands Cat Noir a bottle of some kind of spray-on glue and just as Ladybug breaks the pinata above Vanisher, Cat Noir sprays her with it, covering her in confetti. Ladybug ties up Vanisher while Cat Noir Cataclysms the whistle, freeing the Akuma.

Ladybug de-evilizes the Akuma, uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, Chloe yells at Sabrina for failing, and even though this blows her cover, somehow isn't punished for it, Sabrina gets a useless Magical Charm from Ladybug and because I've already seen the rest of the season, I already know that Sabrina is still going to work with Chloe for some reason.

Anyway, Marinette and Zoe talk about the latter supposedly having feelings for Adrien.

Marinette: I know... you're in love with Adrien. Don't sacrifice your feelings for him because of me. He has the right to hear your declaration.

Zoe: Adrien? But you're the one he loves.

Marinette: Even if he loves me, he'd be flattered to know that you love him too. Let him know how you feel about him. Zoe, you're an amazing person. One can only feel honored to be loved by you.

Zoe: Are you sure?

Marinette: Of course! You can't keep it to yourself! Zoe: But... Adrien’s not the one I’m in love with.

Marinette: Oh? Who is it, then? (Zoe simply looks at Marinette and smiles) Oh... Oh! Oh. I am truly, very honored. I mean it, Zoe.

Zoe: Thanks, Marinette.

Oh my God... I can't believe Zoe has feelings for Alya.

Okay, in all seriousness, let's discuss this scene. While I'm glad that we have confirmation that Zoe has feelings for Marinette, which is a big deal after the show danced around the idea with Juleka and Rose, and the reveal itself is done very well with Zoe and Marinette's facial expressions doing all the work, my problems with this scene stem from a different issue, and it ties back to my earlier point about Zoe.

Zoe as a character has always been criminally underdeveloped. Other than the fact that she's nice and is different from Chloe, very little is done to establish who she is as a person. With every focus episode she gets, the writers just slap on some kind of trait or idea to try and get viewers invested in her. In “Sole Crusher”, she had her vague backstory about being bullied, in “Queen Banana”, she became Vesperia, in “The Kwamis' Choice”, she temporarily replaced Cat Noir as Kitty Noire, and in this episode, we have her feelings for Marinette. None of these are really bad things, but the show just expects us to connect with Zoe for all of these things that happen to her with little buildup or character development. Like I said earlier, the show tries to act like there's been character development with Zoe, but it doesn't work because she's barely gotten to do anything that isn't the writers trying to shove her into the main cast.

As for the reveal that Zoe has feelings for Marinette, it sort of falls flat because again, the two have barely spent any time together since “Sole Crusher” and “Queen Banana”. Yeah, Zoe was present in other episodes like “Gabriel Agreste” and “Crocoduel”, but she was only part of the group and didn't really interact with Marinette on her own. It's hard to really see this reveal as impactful because not only did we not get a lot of hints that Zoe was into girls, but we didn't even get a lot of hints that Zoe had developed feelings for Marinette in the first place. That's not to say this couldn't work. In The Owl House, there weren't any hints that either Luz or Amity were into girls, but the difference there was that their growing feelings for each other became an ongoing story. Here, there's nothing that really comes of Zoe having feelings for Marinette other than so the show can say they have an LGBT character. If there was an episode about Zoe struggling to deal with her unrequited feelings for Marinette, or an episode where she tries to ask another girl out, this could have worked, but nothing really comes from this.

And finally, there's the reason behind this reveal. The episode goes out of its way to establish that Zoe has feelings for Marinette not to really expand on Zoe's character, but rather, to expand on Marinette's. Zoe's coming out story is less of a big reveal about her sexual identity, and more of a cautionary tale about not being able to confess your feelings to someone you care about until it's too late. The reveal that Zoe has feelings for Marinette isn't about Zoe taking a risk that could jeopardize her friendship with Marinette, it's about giving Marinette the confidence she needs to tell Adrien she loves him, and even then, that moment is undercut because the very next scene, Gabriel uses his influence to order Adrien to go home when he's about to kiss Marinette. The episode basically ends with Marinette trying to reassure herself that progress was actually made when we know Gabriel screwed that up.

So basically, THIS EPISODE WAS A GIANT WASTE OF TIME! Oh my God, this was bad, and it's hard to really explain. I'm not really as angry as I was towards episodes like “Kuro Neko”, “Penalteam”, or “Illusion”, but this episode just had so many little things that got to me that all piled up by the end. The attempt to give Zoe character development didn't really work, Gabriel and Chloe had no reason to incite the conflict other than because they felt like it, Lila had no real purpose being here (yet she gets to be in the end card instead of Chloe), the Akuma was underwhelming, Sabrina still hasn't gotten any major character development herself, and the ending just felt like a cheap excuse to keep the story going. This is still one of the worst episodes of the season, but I still think “Derision” and “Illusion” are worse.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... ANDRE (THE OTHER ONE)

While Gabriel came close to getting his third Biggest Idiot Award in a row, I ultimately gave it to Andre because the episode tried to make him out to be a good father even though he's scared of his own child. He made an entire movie to show how much he loved someone as terrible as Audrey, wanted to keep organizing a school dance a secret from Chloe, kept enabling her even when she framed a classmate, and didn't even punish her afterwards when it was obvious she framed Marinette with the help of an Akuma.

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f1daydreamers · 10 months

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𝐀 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨 [𝐋𝐒𝟏𝟖] 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟕

photo credits: Pinterest

Pairing: Lance Stroll x Fem!Reader

Summary: Asking the driver of the team you work for to attend a wedding with you as your fake date is possibly one of the dumbest ideas you've had ever.. but also one of the best.

Warnings: exes ugh, lots of fluff, lotta kissing, some angst but more towards the end, cliffhanger cause ik y'all hate me already :D brief mentions of alcohol, please tell me if I have missed anything!!

Word Count: 3.1k words (11 mins reading time avg)

…

"Well played," Thomas slid past you with a remark as you stood amongst a group of relatives who were mostly conversing between themselves.

You turned your head to acknowledge him, obviously knowing he was referring to the kiss he'd seen you and Lance share earlier.

As the memory resurfaced, you couldn't help but suppress a smile while recalling it.

Subconsciously, your finger gravitated towards your lips, etching into your mind the unforgettable sensation of his lips melding seamlessly with yours, akin to the completion of a long-lost puzzle.

Maybe you began to daydream a little, staring at the hardwood floor when your aunt shook your shoulder. "I called you twice, had too much to drink?" She asked, though smiling through the question.

"Sorry Aunt Mel, what did you need?" She waved you off, "nothing. Your boyfriend's looking for you, dear."

"My boy… oh my boyfriend. Um, where is he?" you stammered, your aunt studying your face with a hint of suspicion, as if contemplating the extent of your alcohol consumption tonight.

"Last I saw him, he was by the chocolate fountain. You need me to go with you?" You shook your head despite the fact it wasn't very convincing, handing her your empty wine glass and wandering off.

Maybe you were rubbing your head or the nape of your neck when you spotted a familiar tall man with a tucked in shirt.

You reached for his arm but pulled away at the last second when you realised it was somebody else. "Sorry Unc-"

Before you allowed yourself to finish the sentence, you whisked around when you felt someone's presence right on your back. They steadied you with their hands on your arms, but a warm smile encompassed your lips when you realised who it was.

"018!" You exclaimed excitedly.

He scoffed, it was a running joke between his team that the 018 number would be used when Lance was either running late or wasn't anywhere to be found minutes before an important event, which had happened a few times too many.

When he eventually showed up, usually his team of mechanics which now had extended to any personnel who so happened to be present either by accident or not, would shout it out.

He never knew the backstory to it, just always played along, dishing out a few quick slaps on his engineers' arms before running off to fulfil his contractual obligations.

"Oh so now you know about that too?" He questioned, his hands sliding down your arms to meet your hands.

You tilted your head, reducing your otherwise beaming smile to an innocent one. You glance down at your intertwining hands before responding.

"Well, it's hard not to when the entire garage shouts it out for the whole paddock to hear." You explained.

"Is that so?" You nod curtly, biting back a laugh. He leaned forward and you decide to help him out, tip-toeing to meet his lips in the middle.

His right hand gently rests on your jawline. When you broke away, you rested both of your hands on his chest.

"Technically, we have a whole weekend to make up for. You know, for the sake of acting." He says, a subtle thrill in his voice like a whisper of excitement, one barely perceptible but undeniably present.

You hum agreeingly, tucking your bottom lip in between your two rows of teeth.

...

"Okay, that is so not what happened!" You burst into laughter as Daisy makes a genuine attempt to swat your cousin's head, playfully aiming to embarrass her with his exaggerated rendition of a story that your sister insists is nowhere near the truth.

"Why do we believe anything Dais says, you said you were giving up sugar three weeks ago and today the only thing I saw you cosying up to was the dessert stand."

Your dad nearly choked on his water just as everyone laughed again, recalling the heartfelt speech your sister gave about the perils of unhealthy eating.

While you obviously agreed with her message, the notion of practicing what you preach was never one of her exemplary mottos and this was one example of many.

"Okay, leave me alone! I held that up for a whole week and then I got my period so was it really my fault?" You smiled, shaking your head.

After some time, you decided to retreat from the living room as the various relatives who had gathered after the wedding started to head home.

With a sense of anticipation for your leave tomorrow evening, you bid them your goodbyes, realising that you wouldn't have another chance to see them before your departure.

You guess Lance was being your moral support with an occasional squeeze on the shoulder. The formality of goodbyes always stirred up emotions within you, especially when the uncertainty of the next meeting loomed large.

You made an internal vow to meet with them again over the summer, just as you had promised yourself in previous years. Yet, deep down, you couldn't ignore the fact that those plans often fell short of their intended course.

"You okay?" Lance asked, concern lacing his words. You gave a nod in response, avoiding his gaze and discreetly pressing your finger to the inner corner of your eye, collecting the tear that lingered, on the verge of spilling over.

After you bid goodnight to your parents, you and Lance finally retreated into your bedroom for the final time this weekend.

You flicked the light switch on as the F1 driver removed the tie hanging around his neck, having undone it the moment you left the venue anyway.

You picked at your false lashes, already feeling the weight on your eyes lighten a little when you simultaneously peeled them off and stuck them back on to their packaging.

Maybe half an hour had passed when you'd wrapped up your time in the bathroom, relieved to change out of your dress and remove the makeup that had adorned your face.

Despite not consuming much alcohol tonight, you had an inkling that tomorrow morning would greet you with a headache, or at the very least, some discomfort.

As you entered the room, you noticed Lance sitting on the air mattress, perceiving your hesitance upon seeing him there. He looked devilishly handsome even after a full night of dancing, drinking and socialising. You wanted to despise him for it, but how could you despise someone so perfect?

"What?" he inquired, breaking your momentary trance as you snapped back into reality and proceeded to hang your dress behind the door.

"Nothing," you replied, the sound of the door clicking shut marked your decision to face him. Though you attempted to dismiss the notion, Lance wasn't willing to let it go so easily.

With a faint but lopsided smile, he spoke up, "You gave me a look." You rolled your eyes, briefly glancing at the time displayed on your phone before reaching down to plug it into the charging cable.

“No. I didn’t.” You persisted.

"You tryna gaslight me right now?" You scoff, turning your head to see him beginning to stand up, you tried to ignore the rush of beats in your chest but it was his fault he had that stupid mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I'm not. I didn't give you a look. It's been a long day." You tore your eyes away from him.

"Has it?" You could sense he was moving closer but you didn’t dare look, trying to occupy yourself with the items scattered messily on your nightstand from the rush of leaving this morning.

“See, now you’re not looking at me.” You sigh unsteadily, finding his teasing intolerable for someone so attractive.

“Maybe I don’t want to look at you.” You turn your head in his general direction, emphasising your point but Lance only chuckled.

A momentary silence enveloped the room, and remnants of the wedding flooded your mind. You vividly recalled the instance when you found him near the chocolate fountain, guided by your Aunt Mel's directions.

Before, his chest only loomed behind you, but now you were certain that he was intentionally getting that much closer.

The palms of his hands feathered over your shoulders before pressing into them. His touch sent a surge of electricity through your entire being, awakening every nerve ending as if it were a cascade of fireworks illuminating the sky.

His voice barely above a whisper, emerged rather as a raspy murmur, "You don't want to look at me?"

“Maybe,” you reply, your head spinning as you attempt to make sense of his hands caressing your shoulders for any reason other than the one your heart was about to burst out of your chest for. Your fingers fiddled with the medication packet in an attempt to distract yourself.

“You sure?” You’re rendered speechless, his pelvis brushing against you. One of his hands remain atop of your shoulder, but you can feel every little tap, every little rub against your arm when he slides his other downwards.

It brushes against the fabric of your pajamas before finding its place, squeezing somewhere between the curve in your waist and your hip.

Perhaps you were being irrational or imagining a scenario beyond the realm of possibility, even in your wildest dreams. So when you start to turn towards him, Lance had already accepted your response.

Practically speeding up the process and turning you so you were facing him completely, he guides his other hand directly parallel to the other and uses the force he has over you physically, and the one you were allowing him from sheer vulnerability, to rotate your bodies.

You had your back turned towards the bed, feeling his hands firmly planted on either side of you, the intense contact driving you to the brink, yet you refused to lose yourself. You fought hard to remain grounded in the present moment, even when his head lowered to capture your lips in a kiss.

The cloud of uncertainty between you two dissipates, as if a wall had crumbled, giving way to an intense desire. Lance boldly encroaches on your personal space while you glide your hands up his chest and around his neck. With a firm press, his body collides with yours, causing both of you to stumble backward.

You find yourself collapsing onto the bed, and Lance positions himself on top of you, his body weight supported by his arm next to your head. With tenderness, you raise your hands to his face and gently cradle his cheeks in your palms, engaging him in a kiss.

The unraveling of his self-control is captivating as his hands glide over your neck, waist, and thigh with a benign caress. The kiss is fiery, possessing a rawness that contrasts with the smoothness of his lips.

As Lance's mouth leaves yours, planting softer kisses on your neck, a sharp pain shoots through your knee. You make an effort to conceal the burning sensation, but your body tenses involuntarily. His lips detach from your skin, his attention now focused on your discomfort.

“M’sorry.” You breathe out, frustrated and shut your eyes in annoyance.

"It's okay. Your knee?" Lance's concerned voice reaches your ears, and you give a single nod in response. The warmth of his body against yours lessens as he readjusts his position. Turning your head towards him, you can't help but wonder what's unfolding in his mind.

Lance exhales deeply as he pushes himself up and away from your body, running a hand through his hair. "Must've been from all that dancing," he remarks. You manage a weak chuckle, he was probably right.

You raise a hand to your forehead, realising you haven't experienced such feelings coursing through your body like this in years. The expectancy, nerves, and excitement intertwine, building up to a breaking point, like a taut spring ready to release its tension.. or snap in half.

Thoughts of self-doubt creep into your mind, wondering how pathetic and weak he might perceive you to be. As you withdraw your hand from your forehead, you notice him rising to his feet.

"Lance," you instinctively call out, though unsure of what you want to say next. Sitting up, you lock eyes with him, but a sudden pause overtakes you. Your lips part slightly, as if hoping it'll hasten your currently blank thought process.

“Yeah?” He prods you on further, but all that can leave your mouth is, “thank you.”

“For uh for this weekend. I guess you did really well.” He laughs, nodding his head.

As he makes his way around the bed to return to his air mattress, you reach up to the side of your neck where Lance left a particularly distinct kiss. Your fingers delicately graze over the tender patch of skin, feeling a lingering warmth.

Without another moment's notice, Lance switches off the light, plunging the room into darkness. A pang of sadness wells up in your chest, if only you had concealed your pain instead of openly admitting to it.

After a few minutes of silence, you lift yourself up to rest against your pillow, wincing slightly at the discomfort in your joint. Lifting the blanket, you slide beneath it, crossing your arms underneath the cover to try and warm yourself.

You search for something else to say, hesitant to fall asleep on these terms. The bed dips on the other side and you can't help but wonder what he might do next, or if he'll do anything at all. The uncertainty hangs in the air, intensifying the uneasiness inside of you.

For a brief moment, you feel a tinge of disappointment but it quickly fades when his hand slides under your top, traversing over your stomach, drawing him closer to you.

In a pleasant surprise, you turn your body to face him, and a smile spreads across your face when you catch the familiar glint in his eyes.

“You need to get it checked out,” he advises.

“I will,” you reply, sliding a touch closer to him.

Lance’s hand glides along the ridge in your hip, before moving to rest on your thigh. He presses his lips against the line where your scalp meets your forehead as you tuck your head in between the curve of his jaw and neck.

"Back home tomorrow," he whispers, and a bittersweet feeling settles in your stomach. It's ironic how, at the beginning, you wished for this weekend to be over, but now, almost 72 hours later, you find yourself yearning for the opposite.

His warmth comforts you the best it can, and you hum to assure him that you heard what he said. As the tiredness from the day weighs on you, sleep gradually takes over, and you find yourself succumbing to its embrace in the safety of his arms.

…

Your brows pull inwards when you awaken to the sound of a loud knock on your door. Lance isn't beside you, and you assume he must've already left to grab his morning coffee, considerately letting you sleep in.

"What?" you mumble, your words partially muffled by the pillow mushed into half of your face.

Your sister opens it, brushing her hair with one hand and the other waving you up. Like that was sufficient enough motivation to make you want to leave your bed.

“Dad's treating us all to this breakfast place ‘cause you’re leaving today so.. you’ve got 10 minutes to get ready.” You groan but have no option to argue when Daisy’s already gone by the time you blink both of your eyes open.

You feel like shit and you definitely look like shit when you force yourself to get up and out of bed, usually that takes you 10 minutes alone so you mentally applaud yourself for doing it so quickly.

You hurry downstairs once you’ve completed the tasks compiled from basic human hygiene, meeting only Lance in the kitchen, leaned against the counter with phone in hand.

“Where is everyone?” He looks up, rather obviously checks you out then meets your eyes with a bright smile.

Your chest warms, and maybe your face tints red a little, but you smile back at him. “They went ahead, said to meet them there.”

You hum, “I always wondered where I got my impatience from.” He chuckles as he slides past you, letting you pull your flats on before opening the door.

As soon as you catch sight of Tom across the way, a perplexed expression washes over you, causing a brief blink and a subtle parting of your lips.

“Y/N,” he looks past Lance and the F1 driver looks back at you puzzled, wondering if this was a planned meet-up. The bewilderment on your face answers the question for him.

“You need to go,” you say before the man in front of you gets a chance to.

“I just want to talk,” Tom says, watching you desperately. “Come on.”

As Lance takes a step closer to him, you swallow sceptically. You were aware that his tolerance for your ex had been dwindling throughout the entire weekend, but now wasn't the opportune moment to witness him reach his breaking point.

"What the hell do you want to talk about now?" you ask, your voice unsteady.

Tom again looks around him to meet your eyes, “five minutes of your time is too much?”

“I think it’s time for you to go,” Lance says warningly. You reach for his hand to tug him backwards which you succeed in, though not without a questionable look.

With a firm tone, you remind him, "you had your five minutes at the wedding." Despite your reminder, Tom takes a step closer, maintaining a cautious distance to avoid provoking the man fixed between the two of you.

Insisting fervently, he presses on, "you're going to want to hear this. I promise." The desperation in his eyes becomes apparent, and you hate that the urge to hear him suddenly overcomes you. Being your ex meant he was still masterfully able to draw you in somehow.

“Wait by the gate,” he nods at your instruction and you turn your body to meet Lance’s. “Just get the car started?”

"You've gotta be kidding. Why are you still bothering with him?" Lance probes, searching your face for an explanation. With a sigh, you mentally admit your inability to provide a good enough answer.

“I’m just going to hear what he has to say. It doesn’t mean anything.” You rationalise, your eyes growing soft and Lance can’t help but understand where you’re coming from.

Maybe granting him the chance to express whatever he wanted to say is a debt you feel obliged to fulfil.

“I’ll wait in the car,” you mutter a thank you in return, watching as he creaks the door open to walk through it.

He glares at Tom as he walks past, bordering on a push, and unlocks the car. He settles into the driver's seat and your ex waits for you where you told him to.

With a heavy sigh, you approach him, his face still adorned with a palpable sense of desperation that shows no signs of fading.

“What is it?”

…

Part 8

Masterlist

I am posting this at 4:47am in the morning :') The writer's block is REAL!! Thank you so much for your patience, I love you so so much! One part left :(

Taglist: @fantasticbouquetwitchsthings @topguncultleader @spicyclover @amirahart @softiecaro @alilstressyandlotdepressy @eugene-emt-roe @e-lisa-bettan @strolleclercs @jjsprobablywrong @carmelita-holland @flowerchild-96 @honethatty12 @gaslysainz @pierre-gasssllyy @lestappenloverr @chiliwhore @mentallyunstablebish @mcmuppet @xscorpioxmoon @ferrariloverr @rivivie @starkeyellow @vanillascreams @tororossoseb-blog @hiphopdancer101universe @hc-dutch @chonkybonky @natasharomanoffisbaebby @little-angel-07 @lxnceclercs @taylor-will-be-the-death-of-me @hockey-racing-fubol @honeyric3 @purplephantomwolf @mindflay3r @ttzjune @xitsyaiizax @dylylylylyly @rd14 @secretlyangrymagazine @love4lando @vildetry-06 @sharllec @aundercover @mloyer @alesainz @cinnamonroll2003 @nikki01234 @junhuilvrrr @f1-hyperfixation

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officialaemondtargaryen · 2 years

Text

Age Of Consent [part three]

Summary: Dustin’s older sister thinks Eddie Munson could be a bad influence on her younger brother due to their history. Can he change her mind?

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Henderson!Reader

Word Count: 1,784

What you’ll find in this series: big angst, wholesome fluff, sexual content, and a lot of profanity.

A/N: When you write an entire chapter and then it doesnt save so you have to write it again from memory. Anyways, how about a little Eddie POV? Pretty sure we can categorize this as a slow burn. Thank you so much for sticking with this little story. Enjoy this next part and if you would like to be tagged, please let me know!

Read Part Two || Read Part Four

Eddie couldn't stop thinking about you.

He was hopeless, unable to concentrate on anything else. After two years, he thought that he had managed to get over it, but the moment he heard your voice that scar on his heart split right open into a festering wound, once more.

His fingers tapped against the lunchroom table as he waited for Dustin, wanting an explanation. Why were you there? What did you want from him? Was this some sort of sick joke? Did you just want to torment him? Make fun of him for still being in high school like a fucking loser?

He eyed your brother as he approached the lunch table.

The moment that Dustin had sat his tray down, Eddie grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him away from the crowd. The younger boy was absolutely terrified at this point, having not a single idea of what was about to happen. He liked Eddie, but he didn't really know Eddie, and he did not want to be punched in the face over a misunderstanding that was most likely your fault.

Eddie's eyes were menacing, squinting at his curly-haired friend before he address him, "Henderson," he almost growled.

"Eddie." Dustin gulped.

"You want to tell me what your goddamn sister was doing here last night after Hellfire?" Dustin's mouth gaped open, his mind desperately trying to find the words. "Now, Henderson!"

"S-She uh, she said that she d-didn't want me to be a part of the club!" He stuttered. "So I uh- I invited her to come out and meet you and see that you weren't as bad as some people say, b-because you're a totally nice guy."

Eddie sighed. Reality had hit him like a brick as he realized that you still hadn't told your family that the two of you had dated. Hell, you hadn't even told them that you knew him. Not even after Dustin had told you that he was part of the Hellfire Club, which, to Eddie, would have been the perfect opportunity, even if it was two years too late.

"She really never told you," he muttered quietly. "Figures."

"Told me what?" Dustin asked.

Should he out your secret? God, did he want to, if only just to annoy you; cause an issue in your otherwise perfect little life and force you to confront the past that you so desperately tried to run from. You had your reasons, you made them clear, but Eddie still carried this smoldering torch that he just wouldn't let burn out. He always would.

"Oh my God," a realization washed over Dustin's face as he figured it out. "You dated my sister, didn't you?"

Eddie said nothing, but it was all over his face.

"Gross!" Dustin shrieked. "Ew, you dated my sister."

"Yeah, and she broke my goddamn heart." Eddie ushered his younger friend back to the table. "In fact, she was very clear that she never wanted to see me again, ever, so imagine my surprise last night when she just- just showed up like it was the good ol' days."

"Dude, I had no idea."

Eddie's expression softened. This wasn't Dustin's fault, at all. "I know, man. I know you were just trying to advocate for me. I appreciate it."

"What happened between the two of you?"

"That depends on who you're asking, I'm sure."

"I'm asking you," Dustin replied curtly.

Eddie knew that offloading all of his pent-up emotions was probably super inappropriate, but it's not like he had anyone else to talk to about it. Except for Wayne, but his uncle had already heard him crying in his pillow enough times to get the gist of what had happened. The countless sad songs that Eddie had written, and practiced out of his bedroom, basically told the entire story from start to finish so Wayne never needed to ask.

"For starters, she didn't want to tell anyone we were together," He began. "Which, let me be clear, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy; the feeling that you're not good enough, but you're just so fucking in love you're like- whatever, babe, whatever you want. You know?"

Dustin nodded his head despite the fact that he most certainly did not know.

"She said it had something to do with my 'life choices', but that is such bullshit, man. I know that the real reason is that I wasn't able to graduate and she didn't want to be with some lame asshole who was stuck in high school. Whatever, it was inevitable. She was going to go off to college and meet some normal dude who she could take home to the family and wouldn't hold her back."

He knew he sounded pathetic.

"It doesn't matter, dude." He waved a hand in the air. "It was years ago. Shit's in the past. Just, for my heart's sake, please keep her away from me. No more surprise visits, okay? Shit almost killed me."

"What!? No." Dustin exclaimed dramatically.

"What do you mean, no?"

"You're obviously still in love with her." The younger boy accurately noted. "As gross as that is, you totally are."

Eddie hated how a fourteen-year-old kid could see right through him like he was made of glass. He hated it and at the same time was mildly impressed. How is it that this kid- this child- who didn't know a goddamn thing about love, have it all figured out? No matter how much of a facade he tried to put on, it was just that painstakingly obvious that he just wasn't over you.

"So?" Eddie said, his voice small.

"So, get her back."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Get. Her. Back." Dustin emphasized, shrugging his shoulders like it was no big deal whatsoever. "It's simple."

"I don't think you really understand, Henderson. Your sister made it very clear that she never wanted to see me again, let alone be with me again."

"So why'd she agree to come to Hellfire?" The younger boy asked innocently. "Maybe she's still in love with you, too."

Eddie laughed dryly, "No, no- see, that's where she and I are different. She never loved me. Not really, anyways."

Dustin sighed and sat his sandwich down on the tray in front of him before placing a hand on Eddie's shoulder. "Listen, Munson." He said frankly. Eddie was incredibly confused. "What I'm about to offer is for a limited time only, so if you're interested, I suggest you take me up on it. I can help you get her back."

Fuck, he hated your brother's confidence. It gave him hope. He was a pessimist by nature, so he knew that it was most likely false hope, but it was hope nonetheless. If there was even the slightest chance that Dustin was right, Eddie had to take it. He was already a fool, but not taking a chance on the one thing that he wanted more than anything- that would just make him plain stupid.

"How?"

That was all Dustin needed to hear. He spent the rest of their lunch block calculating ways to put you and Eddie in the same place at the same time. He rambled off a schedule of your day-to-day activities; your work schedule, when you usually took lunch, what stores you liked to shop at, your jogging route, and what you did on the weekends.

"We go to Antonio's for pizza every Wednesday night around 6:00," Dustin mentioned. "You could conveniently be picking up dinner for you and your uncle around that time."

Sure, it sounded a lot like stalking, but Dustin was confident that they would be able to chalk it up to coincidence and you'd be none the wiser. Eddie wasn't really convinced, but he figured he might as well trust the process and see if Dustin might be able to work his magic. After all, he said that he had experience with this sort of thing.

It took everything in you not to accost your brother the moment that he got home from school. You had practically been sitting in the same spot all day, waiting for him to arrive, knowing that the first thing he did this morning was seek out Eddie to find out what had happened last night.

From your room you heard his backpack hit the floor in the kitchen, followed by the sounds of the refrigerator opening and closing. You gave him ten minutes before you tip-toed down the stairs, stopping just around the corner to assess his mood and demeanor.

"I know you're there," you heard him say without even looking up from his textbook.

You sighed and cut right to the chase, "what'd Eddie have to say?"

"Not much," Dustin answered and you thought for a moment that maybe Eddie didn't say anything at all. "Just that you two dated and then you broke up with him because he didn't pass the 12th grade the first time around."

There it is.

"Of course that's how he remembers it," you muttered.

"Kind of shitty, if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't." You spat. "It's a lot more complicated than the fact that he didn't graduate, Dustin." It was just like Eddie to make himself out to be the victim. "Actually, that wasn't even an issue."

"So what was the issue?" He asked. "And why didn't you ever tell us?"

You combed a hand through your hair and sighed. "Because it was right when dad had just died, okay? Mom was already going through so much, I- I didn't want her to think that she had to worry about me lashing out because I was dating Eddie 'The Freak' Munson. You and I both know that sometimes it's just better if she doesn't know things."

Dustin could only nod in agreement.

"And it's not like it was a secret from everyone. The whole school knew we were dating." You argued. "And yeah, I broke up with him and it sucked. But you can't just pinpoint it to one thing, there were multiple things over time and I just finally decided that I had to do what was best for me."

"D'you miss him?" Dustin asked and the question surprised you.

"No!" You replied a little too quickly. "No. Absolutely not. The only reason that I agreed to go last night was because of you. I definitely do not miss him, that would be absurd."

You could tell that he wasn't buying it.

"Anyways, this conversation is over." You declared. "Keep going to your little club, I don't care, just- no more talk about Eddie Munson, deal?"

"Deal," Dustin replied with a smirk. "It'll be like he doesn't even exist."

Tags: @fangirling-4-ever, @nojamsonmytoast, @munson-burner, @slvdsjjk, @kiszkawagnerwhore, @bitterplacebrokendreamsmaegan, @katxn15, @itswormtrain, @itsallnonsens3, @aashy723, @buginktsworld, @in-this-minute, @animexholic, @colbychu

let me know if you would like to be added!

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muffinsin · 4 months

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DIMI SISTERS AND S/O WITH A PET SPIDER OMG- 🪶 anon

Just had to pull this one to the front for the meme potential!! XD

Let’s get into it! :)

Masterlists

Bela

She likes to think she is very…calm

Collected. Tidy. Proper

Well, the moment you show her your room and she sees a spider sit at your desk, she lets out the loudest, ungodliest scream you’ve ever heard

Immediately, you find her in your arms, her sickle swinging in front of her, her nose scrunched up as she curses at your pet

“Hey, take me out to dinner first”, you joke, your arms aching with holding up her weight

“What is this pest doing here?!”, she shrieks immediately

Her sickle isn’t even close to the small animal

Hell, if it was, she would be dropping it in an instant

“That’s Austin, my pet spider!”

Bela nearly faints

She sees the spider webs made in your room and immediately clings onto you tighter

This is a death trap! Unspeakable! Had she not banned spiders in the castle?!

She tries to reassure you, this won’t be an issue between the two of you

At the same time, she will not step into your room. Ever. And you are not granted to let the “monstrosity” out of your room and roam the castle unattended under any circumstances

She’ll embarrassingly ask you to set her down outside your room. She feels all tingly, as if the thing is on top of her

You reassure her multiple times, Austin is not a mean spider, but your pet

She has none of it

“You realise these things eat flies?!”

Bela makes you brush your clothes off and prove you don’t carry your spider with you each time you step closer than a meter to her

She loves you, but will not be warming up to your pet anytime soon

(Also this is so her cursing at that spider lol)

Cassandra

She acts all thrilled at first

You got a pet? Amazing!

When she finds out it’s a spider…her feelings shift

Cassandra has a hate-like relationship towards spiders

They’re fascinating enough to her, and the fact they scare so many has her like them

On the other hand, she is deadly scared of them

It only took one time of flying into a spider web in her swarm form and seeing the monstrosity come towards her- by far larger than her little fly- with fangs like blades and venomous eyes, for her to be utterly terrified and traumatized

She follows you to see the thing, and when she sees it sit on your bed, she nearly pukes

Why must it be so gross looking? She feels the memory of her flies being eaten by the spider that day come up again, and it makes her skin crawl

“Cool”, she comments, rather forced

She adores your smile when you grin at her. That’s so odd! Normally people are scared!

Then, you ask a question that makes her eyes, even her lazy one, widen

“Would you like to hold my baby?”, you ask, the monstrosity already climbing in your outstretched hand

Cassandra immediately backs up, eyes wide

When you take a step forward, she backs up, one hand outstretched and clutching her sickle

“I really don’t think that’s-“

Cassandra’s cut off as she feels her other hand come in contact with something soft

Upon looking down and seeing thin webs around her fingertips, she screams

So loud, you’d think she was pierced by an icepick

So loud, foolish maidens think the big, bad, sadistic Cassandra Dimitrescu has been slain

Immediately, she flaps her hand, screaming and shrieking, dropping her sickle and running out your room (she will deny any fear later on)

“MOTHER!”

Daniela

Oh, she loves you so much!

Nothing could ever come between you two!

You’re soulmates!

Does she want to see your room? Of course! She’s so exci-

Daniela is as quiet as you have never experienced her as she walks into your room

Spider webs. So many of them

She shivers and trembles for a moment, immediately clinging onto your arm

“Do you not clean?”, she asks, carefully

Your laughter confuses her

Upon hearing you have a pet spider, she actually yelps and jumps into your arms

She doesn’t want to touch the floor- what if it’s crawling on there?!

“Dani?”

“Where is it?!”

The fly mutant feels entirely too trapped in a room like this, spiderwebs capable of retraining her precious flies all around, the eight legged monster lurking somewhere

You chuckle at her dramatics, and explain your pet is sweet, and tame. Only eats small insects, not Daniela’s big flies

She doesn’t buy it. Not a bit of it!

“It’s a predator!”, she shrieks. You can’t help but laugh at her

Isn’t Daniela, too?

The tall woman doesn’t listen. She just clings to you tighter

“Would you like to leave?”

“Yes please”

She won’t mind you having a spider

As long as she is never actively reminded of it

#cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #bela dimitrescu #resident evil village #🪶 anon

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ccbb2222 · 1 year

Text

A Woman in Charge- Bradley Rooster Bradshaw x Reader

Summary: The wifi cuts out during your workday so you go to the next best place to finish up your work calls: the Hard Deck. Rooster shamelessly eavesdrops on your work call...and he likes what he hears.

Pairings: Rooster x Reader

Warnings: Some swears, mostly flirting

You sigh, locking your car in the parking lot and slinging your work bag over your shoulder. The wifi going out before your final few meetings of the day was not on your bingo card this afternoon. Knowing the local coffee shops would be overridden with afternoon patrons, you headed to your local dive, the Hard Deck, where you figured you could post up unbothered before the 5 o'clock rush.

Waving to Penny as you walk in, you motion to your work bag, "All good if I bum your wifi off of you if I order a beer?"

Penny laughs, writing down the wifi passcode and sliding it across the bar top, "No purchase necessary, hun. You're here plenty to earn your right to wifi.'' Laughing gratefully, you find a seat at the corner of the bar and open your laptop, carefully pulling your prep notes from your bag. You see your direct report's name pop up on your screen with an incoming call and you quickly grab your headphones.

"Chloe, hi," You greet, shifting your laptop to get the camera to the best possible angle.

"Hey," She greets, then squints looking at you, "Are you...at a bar?"

You laugh, explaining your wifi dilemma and she nods, "Wait, isn't that the navy bar?"

You shrug, "Yeah, I guess it is."

Chloe smiles gleefully. Although she was based out of the East Coast, her sister lived in San Diego. "Oh girl, I hope you score a hot man tonight." "Hey now, I'm still your boss," You joke, before stirring the conversation back on course. "So what's up?"

Chloe sighs, then divulges the latest messages between her and the creative director that you were due to meet with in 15 minutes. "So he's saying the project won't be prioritized. And then proceeded to lecture me on how to best submit requests 'on time.' And that once I'm with the company longer, I'll understand how it works." You roll your eyes. As a boss, you weren't afraid to show your mutual frustrations. "You did submit the request on time though," You say, "In fact, I remember you submitting it early."

Chloe nods, "I did! And that's what I was going to say. But he just kept turning the conversation back to prioritization and made me feel like my work wasn't important."

You see her shoulders deflate and you feel frustration wash over you. You were still, by all accounts, "young." As a 27 year old, you were by no means a "well seasoned" adult. But you had been in the corporate world longer than fresh-faced, recent grad, Chloe. You remembered what it felt like to be in her shoes.

"Are you okay if I run point on this meeting, Chloe?" You check, "I don't want to overstep, but I'd love to be able to weigh in on how your work is being...'prioritized.'" You finger quote the last word, which gets a cackle out of Chloe. She nods, "Oh by all means." You wrap up with Chloe and end the call. Sifting through your notes, you listen to your work playlist as you gear up for your next meeting. You knew it was never easy working with Dan, the creative director. He was condescending and quite frankly, sexist. The way he treated Chloe made your blood boil. You knew exactly how it felt, you had been on the receiving end of it. But enough was enough.

You were so caught up in your notes and (fucking amazing) playlist, that you don't notice the group of naval aviators enter the Hard Deck.

Penny greets them with a smile, "Cutting out early today?" She asks looking at her watch, "It's only 3:45." Hangman laughs, leaning against the bar top, "Grueling day with the new class. Mav wasn't easy on them." "A round for everyone, then?" She asks and receives a chorus of yeses. "Up for some pool, Rooster?" Phoenix asks, only to be promptly ignored.

Rooster was locked in on you, seated at the far end of the bar, laptop opened and mouth pulled down in a frown. He was struck by how beautiful you were, but even more so, how adorable you looked with your brow furrowed. "Helloooo?" Phoenix shakes his shoulders with a laugh. "Oh, sorry, what?" Rooster runs a hand through his hair and returns his gaze to his best friend.

"She's pretty," Phoenix says with a knowing smirk.

"She really is," Rooster agrees, leaning on the bar and returning a shameless stare.

"Bradley!" Penny scolds, and he jumps, "Let the woman work." Phoenix and Hangman, having witnessed the encounter, both bark out loud laughs at Rooster's blushing face.

"I — I," He stutters, and Penny just grins at him like a cheshire cat.

"You can talk to her after she's done working. Now shoo," She waves her dishrag at him and he shuffles away with his tail between his legs.

You wait for the clock to hit 4, and then you promptly enter the work call, leaving your camera off.

You wait for the greetings, and then unmute yourself, "Thanks for hopping on everyone." You start, "Sorry for the background noise and lack of camera. My wifi went out so I had to relocate and it seems to have gotten a bit busy here.” You pause to adjust your headphones, “Just wanted to meet to discuss our upcoming projects and see where we can land on prioritization. Would love to hear from Dan's side what's top of mind, then we can share what's top of mind for us, and hopefully reach a game plan. Sound good?" Unbeknownst to you, Rooster was listening to your every word. Standing just a few feet to the left of you, he sipped his beer and "watched" Hangman and Phoenix square off in pool.

He smirked at how confident you sounded leading the meeting, and didn't miss the way you clearly rolled your eyes at something that was being said on the call. He figured your camera must be off given the eye roll and the constant tapping of your fingers against the bar top, seemingly out of frustration. He wanted to see you get worked up over him.

"Can I jump in for a second, Dan?" You say, a slight edge to your voice. Dan had been on a tangent about team priorities, but had dropped in a not-so-subtle slight towards Chloe and her short tenure at the company. Waiting for him to stop talking, you continue, "I understand how your team can only work on so much at once. What I'm getting confused about though is how Chloe's tenure here has any weight on where her project stands. We have presented this plan to many teams, including the CEO, and they have all expressed interest and are bought-in. In fact, given the cross-functional buy in this project has, the predicted impact, and the deadline we're facing, I would argue this should be the team's top priority."

Bradley's jaw is practically dropped at this point, listening to how assertive but eloquently you argued for your direct report. If he had to be honest, it was probably one of the hottest things he'd ever seen. He definitely wouldn't mind being bossed around by you. Hell, he had to stop himself from crawling on his hands and knees over to your barstool just to be ordered around by you. Ending your call you smile, knowing the case was strong and getting additional support from the others on the call. Dan had no choice but to cave, although he didn't seem happy about it. Your laptop lights up with one more incoming call from Chloe and you promptly answer.

"OH MY GOD." She says, and you laugh. "That was AMAZING." You shrug, and let out a breath, "Hey, I need to stand up for my directs. Plus, your project has way more buy-in than half of the things they have on their to-do list. Just gotta stand your ground sometimes. I won't stand for people talking to my teammates like that. It's not okay." Chloe smiles gratefully, "Well, thank you again. I'm going to finish up that deck we talked about earlier and I'll see you Monday?"

"Sure thing," You smile and wave goodbye, checking the time to see it was 5:15. Shutting your laptop, you wave Penny over, "I think I'll go for that beer now." Penny laughs, but dodges your credit card as you hand it over to start a tab, "That man over there has you covered," She says with a smirk.

Confused, you turn around to see a tall, gorgeous man heading your way. His lips are quirked up in a crooked smile, his top lip covered by a perfectly groomed mustache.

"Beer's on me," He greets, hovering over the stool next to you, and you look up at him with a small smile, "I've gotta say, I may or may not have been listening to your work call.” You pretend to be scandalized by throwing a hand over your heart and a mock offended expression crosses your face. “That is an invasion of privacy,” you scold teasingly.

The man laughs and continues, "All I'm saying is, you run a tight ship." You smirk, turning to face him, "And you are?" He smiles looking to the seat next to you and points to it. You nod your head, and he sits down next you, "Bradley Bradshaw, at your service ma'am."

God, he was charming. You offer up your name and hand and he shakes it firmly.

“So tell me,” he says leaning towards you, “Have you always been able to finesse what you want, or did that take practice?”

You decide to give into his playful banter, “Oh, I get what I want most of the time,” You answer, “I’ve found most people tend to fall in line with a little persuasion.”

Bradley nods at that, “I can certainly see why,” he all but whispers.

You hold his gaze until you feel your cheeks start to warm and a blush stains your face.

“Tell you what,” You say, standing up, and trying to maintain your cool, “I’ve got plans with my friend tonight, but I’m free tomorrow. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow night, same time?”

Bradley nods instantly, “Sounds like a plan.”

You smile and start to pack up your work bag, “Good. Thanks for the beer, Bradley.”

He watches you walk out, and then it hits him: you’ve got him in the palm of your hand, and there’s truly no other place he’d rather be.

#bradley rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw x y/n #rooster bradshaw x reader #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw

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r1-jw-lover · 2 months

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Rating all John Wick single parents because I can :P

Tagging @evren-sadwrn @tobytheeggo @saengak @chaoticgardenbread :D

The number one spot on the list goes to...

Koji Shimazu!!! Easy 5/5

He easily takes the first spot. I mean, just look at his interactions with his daughter.

Koji had a loving relationship with Akira. They ran the Osaka Continental together, and they have these little inside jokes about "the Concierge/Koji's daughter". The way they switched between Japanese and English when talking, as bilingual families do. And the moment where Koji told Akira that he looked forward to dinner with his daughter is just the sweetest.

The only mistake Koji probably made was him sacrificing his life in the duel with Caine when he could have escaped alongside Akira. He thought this was the only way to protect his daughter, but who is to say the High Table wouldn't chase after Akira regardless if he's dead or not, but admittedly there was a lot of nuance to this situation that there was no better or worse decision to make at this critical moment as a parent.

Number two on my list goes to...

Sofia!!! 4/5

I was initially divided between her or Caine for this spot, but I decided on Sofia because it is explicitly shown in JW3 that she was present in her (unnamed) daughter's life early on, and only had to separate herself from her child and keep her in hiding in order to keep her daughter safe from potential enemies, something that kept Sofia haunted for the rest of her life.

"Sometimes, you gotta kill what you love." Also, Sofia keeping photos of her and her daughter in her office makes me sad.

Alright, as you might expect, number three on the list is none other than...

Caine!!! 4/5

The reason Caine is number three is that there aren't exactly many details on the relationship between Caine and his daughter. In fact, we aren't even sure whether Mia knew of her father at all. All we know is that Caine had a picture of Mia on his pocket watch, and the most he could ever come close to seeing his daughter is hearing her play the violin on the streets from afar.

Despite there being a high possibility that Caine was totally absent in Mia's life, Caine obviously loved his daughter very much, so much so that he wanted to leave the life of an assassin because of her, and was very pained by the fact that he couldn't get close to her due to the deal he made with the Marquis.

Now, the number four place on this list goes to...

The Director. 3/5

Despite her taking Jardani in as a child and raising him in the Ruska Roma, John Wick had a strained relationship with his mother figure.

Her parenting style is very strict and cruel, even cold-hearted, but she believed it was for the best. After all, she was raising a whole lot of children under the Ruska Roma by herself to become hitmen and assassins. The Director's treatment towards her children may not be ideal, but it didn't mean she didn't care for them.

The number five and final place goes to...

Viggo Tarasov. 3/5

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that he doesn't love Iosef as much as the other parents do on this list. It's just that his biggest mistake was that he never told his son about John Wick before.

Viggo probably spoiled his son very much, and while he wasn't afraid of physically punching Iosef in the guts for making a giant stupid mistake, he never once corrected Iosef's larger personal issues like his arrogance and violent tendencies. Looking at the person Iosef turned out to be, I personally think there is a certain degree of carelessness when Viggo raised his son.

Before we end, our (un)honorable mention goes to...

The Head of the d'Antonio family, aka Gianna's and Santino's father. 2.5/5

This is all just speculation since we have zero idea what this man looked like or how he runs his family (while there's no mention of a mother, we don't know whether the big old man single-handedly raised his two children), but the fact that Santino wanted to kill his sister out of jealousy after their father died is very telling of the family environment the d'Antonios lived in.

Because they were a criminal family who was one of the members of the High Table, it's very likely that this kind of toxic behaviour between family members was encouraged. Whatever genuine love or bond between Santino and Gianna would have been squashed by their father in one way or another.

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bg-brainrot · 2 months

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Hugs for a Vampire (Astarion x GN!Reader) - Chapter 11: After Meeting Petras and Dal

Chapter 11: After Meeting Petras and Dal

Each chapter can be read as a standalone hug.

Pairing: Astarion x GN!Reader (Rogue!Tav)

Genre: Fluffy, Filling in Canon

Rating: Teen

Tags: Gender-Neutral Pronouns, POV Second Person, Act 3, Canon-typical violence, Astarion's quest, cw: Astarion's trauma, Astarion's coping mechanisms

WC: 1.4k words, 11/18 chapters

Summary: Set in early Act 3, Rogue!Tav and Astarion encounter Astarion's siblings.

Ao3 | [Hug10][Hug12] | Hugs for a Vampire Masterlist

To say that you’ve had a crazy week between Rivington and Wyrm’s Crossing would be an understatement. Deep gnomes, drow twins, devils, doppelgangers, you feel like you’ve lived an entire lifetime in mere days. In fact, compared to how you all looked entering Rivington– haggard from the Shadowlands, running on fumes and willpower– you look like completely different people.

Just yesterday, you took a detour to Carm’s Garms and, while you normally don’t pay for goods and services, you couldn’t resist having some of those garments immediately. Especially once you had Astarion try on a few options. Needless to say, you’ve never spent so much money before, especially on clothing or dyes.

So when you set out this sunny morning, you take a short detour to his tent to witness firsthand the results of your shopping trip. “Don’t you look dashing,” you say, with a satisfied little smile. Your love is dressed to the nines, in a delicately embroidered obsidian coat, its filigree a deep crimson to match his ruby eyes.

Astarion pulls at the lapels of the coat, tilting his head up toward the sun. “Don’t I always?” he asks, the pride in his voice feels fresh, renewed by a confidence you’re happy to see in him. He does deflate a moment later, fingers picking at the trim of his sleeve. “Not that I would know. I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“Shall I get another statue commissioned of you?” you ask, half-joking. The half that is serious knows that if he says yes, five-thousand gold is a small price to pay for even a moment of his happiness.

He doesn’t take you up on it though, laughing at the suggestion. “Maybe once we’ve settled somewhere more permanently. If Lae’zel and Karlach have to carry a second statue of me from campsite to campsite, I may not be long for this world.”

You take a moment to imagine a world where you are settled somewhere with Astarion, where you can decorate with as many statues and paintings of him that you can commission. “Very well,” you respond. “When this is all over, you won’t want for a mirror, trust me.”

Something about the sincerity in your voice throws off his usual veneer of vanity. “My love, you really are quite frightening when you set your mind to it.”

“Don’t you forget it,” you respond with a grin. The unspoken communication of what’s to come after this is all over still lingers, and you’re drawn to it like a foolish moth to a flame. “Speaking of planning ahead, you mentioned that we should look for your siblings before we enter the city?”

Astarion’s face sours into a grimace, but he doesn’t shy from the subject. “Yes, we should look about the dirtiest hovels. I would start somewhere like Fraygo's Flophouse, it looked miserable enough.”

You nod at his suggestion, ready and willing to face his past. “Let’s go today.”

–

Well, you thought you were ready and willing to face his past. While you started your encounter with Pale Petras and Dalyria on a strong note, with Astarion interrogating his siblings, ultimately getting the information that you need – you end it on a sour one. As soon as his siblings flee, you come face-to-face with an Astarion you haven’t seen in weeks.

“We have to face him and take that power for ourselves,” he says, a low growl to his voice.

“Not that they were the epitome of a loving family, but those six spawn are your brothers and sisters,” you start, an eyebrow raised in challenge. “Are you ready to sacrifice them?”

“Trust me I’d rather slaughter someone else’s family, but… if that’s what it takes,” he says dismissively, waving away your concerns with his hand. “And it’s not like they’re sweet innocents: they brought Cazador just as many victims as I did.”

You give him a look, not hiding your disapproval of his words, nor his dangerous train of thought. “It’s not like you had much of a choice. I don’t blame you for your actions, I could hardly blame them for the same thing.”

“You’re not getting sentimental, are you? I thought you were with me on this,” he says, an unveiled attempt to appeal to your practicality, your pragmatic leadership. When your expression doesn’t waver, he continues, voice infused with a new emotion: desperation. ”We are a team, aren’t we? You are still with me?”

Despite yourself, your heart aches at his pleas. “I just… want you to be happy,” you say, honestly.

“Then you’ll help me in this. Nothing would make me happier.” You stare uneasily at him, before hazarding a glance at Karlach and Shadowheart, their worries are clearly written on their faces.

“We’ll do our best, Astarion,” you swear. “We will deal with Cazador one way or another.”

He seems mollified at your words, and a bit of erratic glee enters his tone as he says, “And now we know he’s skulking beneath his palace, we can take the hunt to Cazador.”

You and your companions nod warily, tiptoeing around the anxious energy about Astarion. Something in his demeanor scares you more than even your most fearsome foes have. His familiar attitude, the oddly comforting sass and sarcasm, is nowhere to be found. You need to do something, anything, to diffuse the situation.

“Love,” you begin, deliberate in your small movements toward him. You reach out a single hand, palm up, facing him. “I know that was a lot to handle this early in the morning. Would you like a hug?”

In his regal attire and smug look, he seems leagues away as he scoffs. “Oh, please. It was nothing,” his words are confident, but something about the way he’s standing, posturing, seems defensive, afraid. “I don’t need comfort for dealing with a sniveling fool like Petras.”

You’re not convinced, of course, but drop your hand regardless. “Suit yourself, my dear.” You pause a beat, as you settle on a new way to bring your vampire out of his temper. “Truth be told, I was being a bit selfish– after all, it’s not every day your handsome lover grabs someone by the throat like that.”

Karlach’s startled snort sounds like music to your ears. It snaps Astarion’s face out of his pompous expression. When he looks at you, surprised and satisfied, you know he’s a bit more himself again. “Well if that’s what gets you going, I’m happy to provide a cuddle.”

You don’t need any further affirmation, closing the distance between you with a step. Your arms wrap under his, holding his body tightly to yours by his shoulders. Astarion, despite his airs, melts in your arms easily. There’s a bit of a crinkle to his movements, as the fresh garments bend in unfamiliar ways.

This is by far the nicest outfit you’ve ever hugged your lover in– you can feel every exquisitely stitched seam, the cloth is soft to the touch, pristine and shining. You have a brief moment of wonder; is this what hugging Astarion two centuries ago would have felt like? It’s likely he hasn’t had anything this nice in recent years. You’ll need to sort out an entire new wardrobe for him, of only the finest make.

Something about the moment compels you to say as much. “When this is all over, we’ll need to find somewhere to put your new wardrobe, in addition to all of your statues and paintings,” you whisper, a promise meant for only his ears.

He chuckles into your hair. “You like fancy clothing as well. I’m learning so much about your preferences today, love.” You roll your eyes at his teasing and move to break the hug, but he only grips harder. His words are the barest breath on your skin, “Just… one more moment.”

You would happily give him as many moments as he needs, and you curl back into him. Karlach and Shadowheart don’t interrupt, perhaps sensing that he needs the comfort he so vehemently denied. For your part, you can feel the tension leaving his body, slowly but surely. The instinctual fear that Petra and Dal evoked, the memories of his past life, retreating back in the face of his overwhelming reality. He is safe here, in your arms, with his friends– each of you ready to face his fears alongside him.

“All right, let’s go,” he says, finally releasing you. Then, with his usual flair, looks around, as if realizing where you’ve had this moment. “This place stinks of rat blood and despair.”

“Let’s go,” you confirm. “We've almost made it back.”

#astarion #astarion x tav #fanfic #astarion fic #astarion x reader #rogue + rogue #astarion fanfiction #astarion fanfic #astarion fluff #astarion masterlist #hugs for a vampire #hfav #gn reader #astarion x gn reader #astarion x gn!tav #astarion baldurs gate #bg3 astarion

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mybadlywrittenstories · 4 months

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Two Different Worlds (Jasper Hale Fanfic)

A/N: Hey guys it has been FOREVER since I wrote fanfic and I completely forgot my old Tumblr stories, but I am back at it fellas, please feel free to give any feedback just please be respectful. Also I prefer writing using my OCs instead of using y/n stuff)

Word Count: 2,022

The gentle drumming of raindrops melodically dropping onto the windshield lulled me into a peaceful half-sleep in the back of my father's police cruiser. I was vaguely aware of the light conversation between my father Charlie and my younger sister Bella.

The awkwardness between those two was palpable in the air, for two people who hardly got along they truly were unbelievably alike. I let their uncomfortable discussion pass me by and focused on the other issues that were running rampant around my mind. The first was the fact that I was halfway through my senior year, and now I had to transfer to a new school. Well, I didn't have to per se, but considering I was still freshly 18 and the only job I held back in Arizona was a retail warehouse job that paid 7.15 an hour-- and I still had to buy my own car and pay for my own college-- I wasn't exactly in a situation to move out on my own back in my sunny home of Pheonix Arizona.

Not that I hated Forks, it was definitely a quaint little town that held a certain charm to it. Truthfully, I don't quite understand my mother Renee's and Bella's pure hatred for this place was, but to each, there own I suppose. I was just disappointed to leave Arizona, so close to graduation, my two friends Liv and Abbi, and my now ex-boyfriend Mark, had to stay back in Arizona.

A throb of pain ripped through my chest and tangled itself around my heart when I thought about Mark, more guilt than grief. We had only been dating casually-- more so for the fun of it than due to any real feelings we had shared-- or so I thought. When I had ended things with him a week before my departure, He revealed he harbored much stronger feelings than I knew. Our breakup was still amicable however, in the end, he agreed long distance was not meant for us-- well more so, me.

I had also promised to call him, Liv, and Abbi, as much as possible and Skype at least twice a week. The guilt-ridden thorns pressing into my heart tightened a bit as I remembered his hopeful expression when I left, Liv later informed me that he was harboring hope that he'd be able to convince me to try long distance with him once I was settled in. It wasn't out of the question I supposed, but I never saw our little 4-month fling lasting longer than the end of senior year-- but who knows where life will take me--

"Cali"

I hope I can at least make some new friends here, even if they only last a short time.

"Cali wake up, Sweetie."

Scratch that-- I hope my sister can make some friends. She's always alone. We lived in Arizona for years and she never made any real friends, that's not healthy. I hope--

"Calliope Swan!"

My father urged, shaking my shoulder gently. My eyes snapped open, my body jerking forward as I took in my surroundings. My father had parked his beat-up cruiser in the driveway of my second home. A sense of nostalgia washed over me unexpectedly, I had very few memories of my time living here but some microscopic part of my brain still recognized this home as my childhood home; I did spend the first 2 years of my life calling this two-story rundown house as my home.

"Sorry," I sighed groggily, "I didn't realize I had fallen asleep."

"It's alright." My dad smiled, his endearing awkward smile, "I already brought in your bags, so why don't you go make yourself at home."

"Aye Aye Captian." I joked, mock-saluting him before I climbed out of the back seat, grabbing my over-stuffed backpack and messenger bag. Charlie showed me up to my room-- completely unnecessary considering I've spent two weeks of my summers and all of my spring breaks here for the past 16 years-- and I had spent the first 2 years of my life living here.

My room was just as I had left it last summer, with the same sage-green walls and dark oak floors. My stormy grey curtains were slid open, the sun illuminating the room to the best of its abilities despite the gloomy weather outside. My full-sized mattress draped in a deep blue cover and covered with small stuffed animals I had collected over the years was shoved into the far left corner in front of one of the two windows. At the foot of my bed was my old wooden storage chest, the small metal latch holding down the lid was the only thing holding back the absurd amount of clutter I knew it contained-- all those distant memories.

The rest of my room was pretty simple but cluttered. A bedside table was tucked next to my bed, and a llama-shaped lamp sat on it with photos and books stacked upon it. On the opposing side of the room was my comfortable but old faded emerald green plush chair, and a matching ottoman. My dresser was overflowing with clothing and I cringed at the idea of having to go through all of them to make space for the new clothing I had brought. The mirror attached to the dresser has polaroids of me and all my friends, from both Forks and Arizona. Directly next to the door was my hooded desk, again more random items, and my ancient computer decorated it. In the final corner was my sauder wooden shelves, stocked full of all my worn-out second-hand books.

I breathed in the sweet-- slightly dewy scent of my room and let out a relaxed sigh. This won't be so bad, this is just as much of my home as Arizona was.

Taking note of my plethora of bags stacked in the corner next to the bookshelves I decided I should probably thank Dad for taking them upstairs for me, There really was a lot of them. However, when I turned around I saw my dad's back as he made his way down the hallways toward Bella's room

Oh well, I'll tell him later.

The rest of the day passed by swiftly and without much incident, other than a very swift visit from the Black family where Charlie had very graciously bought my younger sister her first car. Then, very sheepishly informed me that he'd go 50-50 with me on a used car-- that definitely stung a bit but I could understand. Bella was not the fondest of our dad and it was an obvious way of trying to get her to warm up to living in Forks, and to his credit, it did work. She was practically bouncing with excitement when she explored her new car, little Jacob Black following her around like a puppy while she did.

Jacob Black was adorable and sweet, he'd make a good friend for Bella. She would just have to open up to him, he's a few years younger so she used to gravitate toward his older sisters Rachel and Rebecca although they've both moved away from Washington. Last I heard Rachel was away at college and Rebecca was married to a Samoan Surfer. So Bella would have to make new friends, and the twin's nerdy little brother looked like he would do; he certainly seemed eager enough to befriend her.

Other than that though, the day was mainly uneventful. Charlie ordered some celebratory pizza and wings from a local joint, I made some idle chit-chat with Charlie as we ate, but Bella mainly stayed quiet; Stewing in her self-pity a little more than I would've liked.

I helped Charlie pack up the leftovers for his lunch at work tomorrow, making a suggestive comment that perhaps he should consider eating a more healthy lunch, which was quickly shot down by him.

"I'm as healthy as a horse, Cali. I wouldn't be sheriff if I weren't."

"Okay, Okay, Whatever you say Pops. Just don't want to have to rush you to the ER one day due to a heart attack. I get enough ER time because of Bella."

This elicited a small chuckle from him, "That girl sure is a magnet for trouble isn't she?"

"I don't know where she got the clutz gene from, but I think we single-handedly kept the Pheonix ER in business. It was just a month ago we had to take her in 'cause she burned the crap out of her arm on a tea kettle." I laughed, remembering the look of horror in her eyes when the doctor had to inform her that she needed to keep her arm bandaged up for the next week-- and in that AZ heat that would get rather sweaty and uncomfortable quick.

When I noticed Charlie had gone silent while washing up a few dishes, I looked over at him. His face was pinched up in deep thought and from what I could tell concern. "Hey, you good dad?"

"Huh?" He looked over to me and met my gaze, looking a tad embarrassed he had been caught zoning out, he dried off the last dish in his hand and looked over to me seriously, "Can I ask you a serious question, Cali?" He asked, taking on the voice of a worried father.

"Ya, go ahead."

"Do you think..." He paused and thought for a moment, sorting out whatever thoughts were running around his mind. "I know, me and you are very different people. Everyone always says me and Bella are a lot alike but... I know you. I know you're gonna be okay here even if it wasn't necessarily what you wanted."

I opened my mouth to object, I didn't not want to move to Forks. I just was hesitant due to almost being ready to go off to college. He continued on before I had the chance to interrupt though.

"But Bella, she's so quiet, and I can tell she doesn't want to be here. I hate seeing her so upset... I know I'm not the most fun person to be around and I'm going to try and change that but do you think you could look after her? Let me know how I'm doing... If she is happy? Make sure she's doing okay at school and stuff."

"Of course, Dad. I'll keep an eye out for her." I smiled cautiously. This was the first time in a long time I had seen him this worried; the last time was when I came out to visit one year, and it was the first year Bella had decided not to come to Forks to see him. He talked to me back then, asking if Bella was okay and if he had done something wrong. My heart throbbed when I imagined what it must be like for him, loving a daughter so much and feeling so hopeless; as if nothing he would ever do would be the right thing to do.

"Thank you." He said with a timid smile, we both continued to clean up the kitchen in relative silence. I suspected he was doing a bit more cleaning than he would typically do on account of me and Bella being here-- although Bella had already excused herself up to her room.

Once the Kitchen was practically spotless, I took it as my turn to excuse myself into my bedroom. I finished what I could by unpacking my room, opting to leave all my bathroom supplies in a small basket on my dresser, instead of taking up the limited bathroom space. My new books were put away on my shelf, my make-up on the desk next to my small popup mirror. My shoes were lined up on the wall beside my door. The only thing left to do was go through my clothes and that was a challenge to tackle another day.

As I lay in my bed, listening to the gentle sounds of rain hitting the rooftop, I tried to envision what this new chapter in my life would hold for me; however brief it may be.

#jasper hale #jasper whitlock #jasper cullen #twilight #twilight fanfic #twilight fanfiction #twilight saga #oc #original character #jasper hale x reader #jasper hale x oc

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knoxvillesjackass · 1 year

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Can you do a fic where your Ryan or bams sister and you hookup with Steve-o? Love your stories!!

brother's best man - s.o

𝑎 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑢𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑤𝑒𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔

words; 1.079

I finished another drink and received a not-so-friendly glare from my mom, signalling for me to cool it on the alcohol.

I waved her off and headed back to the bar. Although everyone loved April Margera, there were certain moments, when I just wanted to tell her to back off and let me live.

The cool thing about my brothers' wedding was, that there was a free bar, begging to be visited at least every hour. The alcohol was the only thing keeping me going. I couldn't count the number of times my grandmother had said something along the lines of; isn’t your brother and his wife such a beautiful couple, speaking of beautiful couples….why are you still single?

Once upon a time, I was actually looking forward to this wedding, because up until last week, I'd been seeing someone. I had been excited to give a subliminal fuck you to everyone and arrive with the handsome man of my dreams, but then, as always, he ended up breaking my heart.

I'd figured, the wedding, more than anything, was a perfect gateway to drink my problems away.

"Ease up on the drinking, will ya?"

Steve approached you whispered and fiddled with his cuff links.

"Did my mom send you over here?" I asked and turned around to look at Steve. Our friendship was confusing, almost as if we hiding things from each other.

I poured another drink and looked at Steve, who was the best man at Bam's wedding.

"No, actually Bam did. You have a toast, remember?"

I rolled my eyes. I had completely forgotten, that I'd promised Bam a little speech.

I had to hold back the groan. He looked so handsome. Black tux, hair slicked back. "I've always found you rather annoying," I huffed and Steve chuckled.

"That's why you've been drooling over me all night?"

What did he just say

"Of all the friends he's had, you've stuck around and been a pain in my ass," I tried to cover up my initial shock with a joke.

Steve understood that I was joking. He laughed again and threw his head back, running a hand through his hair. As insufferable as I claimed him to be, I didn't mean a single word of it.

In fact, I'd put up that act my entire life, pretending that he was merely my brother's annoying friend. But in reality, I'd had a crush on him since the day I saw him. That crush evolved over time, into whatever the hell you want to call it. All I knew was that I'd always had a thing for my brother's best friend and it was fucking unfortunate because he’d never looked at me as anything other than his best friend’s little sister.

“I think you like me more than you want to admit,” Steve said as he leaned into me as if he could read my mind.

“You wish.” I retorted, pulling back from him.

"Honey, it's time," my mom suddenly bargained in on the conversation between Steve and me, reminding me of the stupid toast.

"Toast, and then I'll buy you all the drinks you want," Steve winked and returned to his seat.

I groaned and get up to do the awaited toast, killing it, as expected.

It made everyone laugh and my mom cry, as I recalled childhood memories, good and bad.

I finished the toast and hugged my brother and his new wife. After being praised by my mom for the toast, I immediately headed back to the bar, only just reaching it before being pulled aside.

I was pulled into an empty hallway and pushed up against the wall by none other than Steve.

"Steve, what the fuck are you doing?" I asked, but Steve shushed me.

"Tell me you want it too."

He leaned in, lips so close to mine, I could almost taste them.

"Ste-"

"Y/N, just say it," he cut me off.

I sighed, "of course I want it."

Within a literal second, his lips smashed against mine, and our mouths moved in symphony as our hands roamed each other's bodies hungrily.

"Took you long enough," I smirked, feeling the relief of years of secrecy.

"Mmmm," Steve hummed. "But I'm not done with you yet," he smirked, his hand sneaking up my dress, tickling my inner thigh. His lips connected with my neck, leaving trails of kisses all over.

“Steve, we can’t. N-Not here. Someone might find us, and my brother will kill us both,” I stumbled on my words as Steve continued kissing my neck, finding my sweet spot.

I let out a soft moan. "I really thought you would've caught on to how I felt about you by now. You're the only girl I have nicknames for," he smiled. I was taken aback by his words and regretted every time, I'd scolded him for calling you anything but my name.

"I'll make you feel good later, but I can't wait to be inside of you. We can't be gone for too long either," Steve reminded me and I nodded.

A loud gasp left my mouth as Steve's fingers pulled down my panties around my ankles.

He looked up at me with a warning look. "You have to be quiet," he said and I nodded.

He hoisted me up against the wall and butterflies fluttered in my stomach as he entered you slowly. Steve hid his face in the crook of my neck, breathing loudly against my skin, while I tried my best to concentrate on containing my moans.

"F-Fuck, St-Steve," I mumbled and clenched my eyes shut. He hummed in response and placed kisses on my collarbone.

Not many words were exchanged, but a whine did leave Steve's mouth when I had to scratch his back in order to remain quiet.

"Close?" He asked and I nodded.

"Cum inside of me, baby. I'm on the pill, I wanna feel it," I encouraged and so he did.

I followed right after and when he slid out of me, I slid down the wall, sitting down on the cold floor, trying to catch my breath.

"Think my brother is gonna kill us?" I asked and Steve shrugged. "Nah, he's known I've had a crush on you forever. He told me if I didn't tell you tonight, he would," Steve revealed and I gasped at his words.

"Let's just get this wedding over with and go back to my place," Steve winked, making me feel all kinds of things.

#steve o x reader #steve o #steve o smut #steve o imagine #chris pontius #dave england #ehren danger #jackass #jackass x reader #johnny knoxville #preston lacy #ryan dunn #jackass imagine #wee man

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angelasscribbles · 1 year

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A Fervid Fixation Chapter 7: Smolder

Series: A Fervid Fixation

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Drake

Rating: MA

Warnings for this chapter: Language

Word Count: 4,304

My other stuff: Master List.

“Fuck that was insane!” Riley laughed as she peered out the front window of the plane. She’d never sat in the cockpit before, but life with Drake was proving to be one adventure after the other.

“I’m just so fucking grateful you didn’t fall for his bullshit!” Drake let out a sigh of relief as Cordonia faded behind them.

Riley regarded him thoughtfully as she pondered rather or not to tell him that she still wasn’t one hundred percent sure about his innocence. She was fairly certain they had both been lying about parts of it.

She just preferred his lies to Liam’s.

She decided to change the subject instead, “Remember when you asked me if Liam had proposed on coronation night if I would have said yes?”

“I remember…”

“I would have said yes.”

His eyes slide sideways to take her in before returning to the instrument panel, “Why are you telling me this right now?”

“I would have said yes, and I would have married him. But only so I could have stayed in Cordonia, near you!”

He missed the switch he had been about to toggle as his eyes darted to her and had to make a second run at it, “What?”

“I didn’t understand why you were acting the way you were toward me, but I wasn’t giving up.”

“Not giving up? Riley, you acted like you hated me half of the time!”

“Look who’s talking,” she said wryly.

A short laugh broke out of him, “Okay, point taken!”

“But despite everything, here we are.” She reached across to rub his shoulder.

“Here we are,” he agreed.

“You’ve proven that you’ll never give up on me and I want you to know that I’ll never give up on you, either. We’re a team now!”

“Wait!” Drake’s head snapped toward her, “are we…are we talking about a relationship now? All I had to do was hijack an airplane and fight a battalion of King’s Guards to get you to discuss the future with me?”

“Hahaha,” she moved her hand back to her own lap, “But yes. I needed to know that you weren’t going to ice me out again before I let myself fully trust you. I think you’ve just proven your commitment to this relationship.”

Despite the fact that he had just committed felony theft of government property and possibly treason, Drake felt his heart soar and he convinced himself that everything was going to work out. “You just said we’re in a relationship.”

“Shut up and fly the plane, Walker.”

“Don’t change the subject! We’re a couple now! You have to start slipping love notes into my lunch bag or something.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Why not? Isn’t that a thing that couples do?”

“It’s not a thing that I do! Have you ever known anyone that actually did shit like that?”

“My mom used to do it.”

“Give you love notes in your lunch bag?”

“No, not me. But my dad worked late a lot, so we had dinner without him pretty regularly. My mom always saved him a plate and if we were going to bed before he was going to be home, she’d wrap the plate in saran wrap and leave a note under it for him.”

“Ah, that’s sweet.”

“Yeah, it was kind of a joke between them. She was really bad at other forms of communication. Never answered the phone, didn’t respond to letters-“

“Probably because she was busy with you and your sister. I bet you were a real hellion.”

“You make a solid point. My point is that even though she didn’t do any of that other stuff, she always left that note under his plate when he was late.”

“Sounds like she loved him very much.”

“She did,” he agreed, “You wouldn’t do that for me?”

“No.”

“No?” he cried in mock indignation.

“Okay,” she laughed, “I’ll make a deal with you. If I’m ever preparing a meal for you that we’re not going to eat together, which by the way, is never going to happen because I don’t like to cook. Why the hell would I cook if we’re not even going to eat it together? If you have to work late, take out is a thing that exists. But if I did….then okay, I’ll leave you a damn note. Happy?”

“You make me happy,” He told her, “Note or no note.”

“Good! Because if you want love notes in your lunch, you have to start changing my oil and shit, right? Isn’t that a thing that couples do?”

“Do you have a car?”

“No, but that’s not the point. I want to know that if I had a car, you would change the oil for me!”

“Tell you what. I’ll buy you a car and then I’ll change the oil in it. How’s that?”

They continued their discussion about what people in relationships were supposed to do until they were circling an abandoned airstrip in Auvernall a scant forty-five minutes later. “We’re going to land here, off everyone’s radar. I have a friend who left a jeep nearby that we’ll use for transportation. I’ll keep in touch with my contacts back in Cordonia and if the airport isn’t safe, we’ll cross the border into Greece by train or on foot.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought this all through.”

His jaw clenched, “Yes, but not because I was planning to have to get you out of the country all along as Liam implied. I’ve always had an escape plan just in case.”

“Have things with Liam been that bad?”

He shook his head, “Never. We’ve always been close. But as I said, I’ve seen what happens to others who cross him and it’s always wise to have an exit strategy, even if you never need it.”

“Okay then.”

He put the plane down on the runway and brought it to a stop just outside the empty terminal. He glanced at his watch, “It’s almost nine p.m. local time, late enough for the darkness to give us some cover, early enough that it’s not suspicious to be out on the roads.”

Riley gazed at the distance between the plane and the runway, “How are we getting out?”

“Gravity,” he smirked at her.

“What about our luggage?” she asked as he opened the door.

“We’ll toss it down,” he told her since there was no landing ramp, “Then I’ll jump down after it, then you’ll jump, and I’ll catch you!”

The suitcases went first, followed by Drake. He landed on his feet, made a visual sweep of the area then looked back up and held his arms out, “Okay, it’s your turn!”

She took a deep breath and then leapt out of the plane, completely trusting in his ability to catch her.

She thudded into his arms, knocking him back, but he kept his feet under him as he caught her then lowered her to the ground, “Told you I’d catch you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

He let himself get distracted by that kiss. He should have heard them sooner, but he was lost in the sweet ocean of bliss that was Riley Brooks.

The sound of boots on pavement penetrated his consciousness and he pulled his head away while tugging her body closer to him as he assessed the danger.

Auvernese soldiers melted out of the night and descended upon them, pulling them apart.

They reached for each other but to no avail.

Riley was pulled out of Drake’s grasp as she twisted her body around, trying to keep him in her sight.

“Riley! Riley!” He broke free and scrambled toward her, making it only a few feet before he was intercepted and wrestled to the ground. They zip-tied his hands behind his back as he struggled to get back up. A rifle butt struck him in the back of his head. Riley screaming his name was the last thing he heard before waking up in a jail cell.

“But….we don’t have an extradition treaty with Auvernall,” Drake sat in an eight by eight cell holding his aching head in his hands.

“We do now,” Liam said cooly as he adjusted his cufflinks without a care in the world. As if he hadn’t just imprisoned his lifelong best friend in a jail cell.

“How?” Auvernall and Cordonia had been trying unsuccessfully to come to terms for years.

“I signed a betrothal agreement with Auvernall. My firstborn child will marry one of the Achilles twins.”

“You don’t have a firstborn child!”

“Not yet,” Liam gave him a victorious grin, “But I’m confident Riley can help me with that.”

“No!” Drake yelled as Liam turned and exited the cellblock, “No!”

“Riley, come on love. Please. You have to eat something!” Liam pleaded. He was perplexed by her behavior. It had been two weeks and she was still being truculent and unreasonable.

“I don’t want anything to eat, Liam,” she glared at him from her seat by the window, her food untouched on the small table across the room, “and I want out of this fucking place!”

“The palace?” he asked in surprise, “is something not to your liking? I can have the kitchen make whatever you want. Or is it the room? Would you like a bigger one? Just tell me what you need!”

“It may be a palace, but it’s a fucking prison for me, isn’t it?”

“Of course not!”

“So, I can leave? Call a car around and go to the airport right now?”

“Riley, it’s not safe yet! I’m still investigating-“

“Right.” She turned away from him to stare out across the palace grounds.

Liam sat down behind her, his hand brushing the hair from her neck, “Please tell me what I can do to make you happy.”

“I want to see Drake.”

Liam sighed, “Why, Riley? What purpose would it serve?”

“I need to make sure he’s all right!”

“He’s fine,” Liam dropped his hands away from her body and stood up, “You still believe in his innocence?”

“Yes.”

“I have something to show you.”

Liam knocked softly on Riley’s door. It was late and he hoped he wasn’t waking her.

“Come in,” she called.

It had been a month since her little escapade with Drake and he was sure she was starting to come around. “Have you given any more thought to my proposal?”

“I have,” Riley sat at her dressing table, brushing her hair.

“And?”

He had broken his engagement with Madeleine. Tariq had publicly cleared her name. His father was dead, and all his objections to this union with him. All the obstacles between them had been removed.

All but one.

She laid the brush carefully on the table in front of her and turned to face him, “I want to say yes, Liam, but I have conditions.”

“Name them!” He bent down and grasped her hands in his, bringing them to his mouth to drop kisses along the backs of them.

“I want to see Drake-“

Liam dropped her hands and jolted back, “Why? I thought we had put this to rest! He-“

Riley stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders, “If you’ll listen!”

“Okay….”

“I want to tell him about the engagement personally.”

Liam watched her face, looking for traces of deception. He was hesitant to grant her request but eager to put a ring on her finger. “If you go, I’m coming with you!”

“That’s fine,” she replied serenely as she retook her seat and picked up the hairbrush, “Set it up. Once the visit is accomplished, we can make an official announcement to the world.”

“I’ll arrange a visit for tomorrow morning!” He promised.

“Thank you,” she resumed brushing her hair, “Please close the door on your way out.”

“Hey! Wake up!” The guard banged on the bars of his cell.

Drake lifted his head and looked around, “Riley!” He was on his feet in an instant.

She smiled at him, and he was sure he was dreaming. She was even more beautiful than he remembered and for a moment he forgot to breathe.

Then Liam stepped up next to her and his heart plummeted. But what had he expected? Liam was never going to let her wander down to the cells alone.

He was lucky he hadn’t been summarily convicted and executed and he knew it. Liam had probably been too busy working overtime to sway Riley back to his side to fast-track his murder trial.

“What do you want?” He stepped away from the bars, pretending that the sight of her didn’t set his heart on fire.

“We’re here to inform you of our engagement,” Liam wrapped an arm around Riley and pulled her closer to his body.

Drake’s eyes were guarded as they flicked from one to the other, “So?”

“So, I’ve shown her the security footage from the airport office. She knows what you did.”

“Videos can be faked,” Drake said with a shrug. His eyes locked on Riley’s, “and Liam has access to the best cyber experts. It’s called a deep fake, look it up.”

“She’s not buying your lies anymore. Right, love?”

Riley finally spoke, “Drake, do you remember in the plane I told you that if Liam had proposed to me at the coronation, I would have said yes?”

His eyes dropped to the floor in defeat, “I remember.”

“Do you remember everything I said after that?”

His head snapped up and his eyes locked on hers again, hope that he didn’t dare show surging through him, “Yes.”

She smiled at him again and his heart nearly exploded. Her voice betrayed no emotion as she said, “Then you understand.”

“Come on love, let’s go.” Liam guided her away from the cell.

She glanced back one last time, “And Drake?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll see about getting you some correspondence in here. I remember you saying how much you liked your mother’s notes.”

“Thank you, Your Grace. I’ll be looking for them.”

“Turn it off!” The prisoner yelled as he hurled the book he’d been reading across the room to smack into the TV screen.

The guard on duty glanced up at the screen where the king was announcing his engagement, “It’s just a press conference. What’s your problem?”

“His problem is he’s the psycho who kidnapped her and tried to smuggle her out of the country!” the second guard answered, “why do you think he’s in here?”

“I heard he murdered one of you!” one of the other prisoners in the dayroom interjected with a maniacal laugh.

“Shut your pie hole, Trotter!” The first guard admonished, “Or you’ll go back to your cell!”

“Okay, fine!” Trotter threw his hands up in the air, “I was just saying. He also beat the crap out of that duke over her!” He jabbed his finger in the air toward the flat screen hanging on the wall.

“I know that guy claimed he was totally at fault,” the second guard said, “Unwanted advance or whatever, but I heard he was coerced by the king to lie.”

“Why would the king do that?” the first guard asked.

“Have you seen her?” the second guard leered, “And I heard she’s a real wildcat in the sack!”

Drake launched himself at the guard, tackling him to the ground before he had a chance to react. All the rage he had been unable to unleash since finding himself locked up combined with the helplessness he’d felt watching her with Liam during their visit the day before boiled over as he attacked the guard with ruthless vigor.

“Shit!” the first guard yelled as he fumbled with his walkie-talkie to summon backup before attempting to pull the prisoner off his compatriot. Something he wasn’t able to accomplish until backup arrived.

“Goddamn it, Walker!” the first guard panted as he finally got the cuffs on him, “What the fuck was that?”

“Don’t fucking talk about her like that!”

“Okay, okay,” the guard chuckled as he pulled the prisoner to his feet, “you must have a burning desire to see the inside of solitary confinement. Let’s go!”

Drake smiled back at the guard that was being helped to his feet. He’d spend a day or two in solitary for the assault but he didn’t care. It had been worth it.

“What are you up to today, my love?” Liam greeted her with a kiss before sitting down to breakfast.

“Exploring the palace!” she replied enthusiastically.

“Really?” he was pleased with the turn her disposition had taken. She was happy again. The spring was back in her step and the sparkle was back in her eyes. She was once again the girl he had fallen in love with.

She was finally over Drake; he was sure of it.

“Are you sure? I could have the driver take you into town if you wanted.”

“No thank you,” she smiled at him, “I discovered a second library yesterday! It’s a little dusty, but there are hardcover first editions in there of some of my favorite authors!”

Liam smiled as she prattled on about books. Offering to let her go into town had been a test and she had passed. She no longer wished to leave the palace. Drake had failed to poison her against him.

After breakfast, Liam headed to his office while Riley spent a few hours in the small forgotten library in the east wing, pouring over old palace blueprints. There were so many secret passageways. She wondered if Liam was aware of them all.

Just before lunch, she wandered into the kitchen. Plucking a grape from a bowl of fruit on a marble countertop, she sauntered over to where an attractive younger woman was preparing food.

“Hey, Siobhan,” Riley greeted her.

“Hello, Your Grace,” Siobhan blushed at the attention.

“I told you, call me Riley!”

“Yes, Your-Riley.” Siobhan’s flush deepened from pink to crimson under the queen in waiting’s gaze.

“Working on lunch for the prisoners again?”

“Yes, but you don’t have to-“

“Nonsense! I have nothing better to do and I enjoy food preparation. It reminds me of summers with my grandmother,” Riley told her as she started measuring out the pasta into containers, checking the names on the trays against any food allergies as Siobhan had taught her on one of her previous visits.

“Okay, then, I do enjoy the company,” the younger woman gave Riley a shy smile as she turned to stir the sauce.

The two women chatted amicably as they worked. The rest of the kitchen staff had grown accustomed to the queen in waiting’s presence during the hour before lunch was served and they no longer paid any attention to it, focusing on their own work instead.

Siobhan sighed as she watched Riley slip discreetly out a side entrance. She quite enjoyed her company and was still a bit astounded that someone in her position would hang around to help with food preparation. Especially for prisoners.

Of course, she never stayed long. She was always gone before the guard came to collect the food trays.

“Hey, Bruno,” Riley looked up from the book she’d been reading when the older guard popped in to check on her.

The closer it crept to the wedding, the more cautious Liam became with her safety. That’s how it was worded to the guards anyway.

“Yes, Your Grace?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know a Lt. Jason Toussaint?”

“The guy in cyber security? I don’t really know him. Why?”

“No reason,” she kept her voice neutral as she dropped her eyes back to the pages of her book.

Jason Toussaint was alone in his room when a sealed envelope slid under his door. He opened the door and looked up and down the hallway but whoever had left it was gone.

He closed the door and opened the envelope.

“Meet me in the hedge maze at midnight.”

“So, you do exist,” she greeted the blonde soldier that stood in front of her.

“I exist.” He eyed her suspiciously. She was the reason his friend was sitting in a jail cell.

“How far are you willing to go to help Drake? Because I have an idea…”

“I’m listening…”

A sealed envelope was slipped under her door at the prearranged time. Liam was tied up in meetings all day.

She was alone but she locked herself in her bathroom as a precaution as she rifled through the contents.

In her hands was proof that Constantine was in fact behind the setup and Liam knew. Emails, payoffs, and orders to redact statements and seal documents.

She couldn’t use any of it. She couldn’t expose Jason, who had only held onto his job after she had spoken his name to Liam because he had not done anything other than answer a superior officer’s questions about his employment status.

Not that any of it mattered. So, what if the previous king had set her up? He was dead and the scandal had been resolved in her favor. No one would care and Liam was above the law even if he had broken one, which he hadn’t.

She couldn’t get caught with it either. That would derail everything.

She had just wanted to be sure.

She peeked out to make sure no one was in her room before making her way to the fireplace and tossing the contents into the flames.

“Liam, are all these guards really necessary?”

“Yes, my love. They’re here to protect you.”

“From what?”

“Anything. Everything! I have enemies. Being a public figure puts you automatically at risk. There are crazy people in the world, Riley. You should know that. You’ve already been kidnapped once.”

“Indeed, I have…” she mused as she looked at him, “When you put it that way, I’m not sure I feel safe even in the palace!”

“That’s what the guards are for.”

“I’d feel better if I had something to protect myself with…just in case.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know…pepper spray, a stun gun, something!”

“All right,” he acquiesced, “if it will make you feel better, I’ll get you a stun gun and Mara can teach you some self-defense moves if you’d like.”

She rewarded him with a brilliant smile, “Yes, I’d like that very much. Thank you!”

“Hey, I haven’t seen you before. Where’s Fred?” the guard called to the unfamiliar janitor waiting to be buzzed in to clean the dayroom.

“He called in sick,” the man replied, “They sent me to fill in.”

The guard eyed him up and down. He had on the coveralls of the janitorial staff and the proper ID badge hanging from his pocket. His eyes took in the name and photo then went back to the man’s face. Everything checked out. “All right. Go on in. But be quick!”

“Yes, sir!” The janitor shook his head vigorously to indicate understanding.

“What the fuck is this?” the guard manning the security feed asked as he thumped the panel.

“What is what?”

“The feed just flickered off and back on.”

The guard that had buzzed the janitor in peered at the screen. The guy was mopping the floor. He decided to go check on him just in case.

He opened the door and scanned the room.

The janitor looked up, “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. Just hurry up! You’ve got ten minutes! You have to be out of here before we bring the prisoners in for their TV time.”

“Okay, boss!”

Ten minutes later he had completed his task and was standing next to the guard station as the prisoners were escorted, single file, into the day room.

The guards buzzed him through the door. He glanced back over his shoulder just before it closed behind him.

Drake looked up at the sound of the door buzzing just in time to see a man step through and glance back. His eyes locked on Jason Toussaint dressed as a janitor for a brief instant before the guard shoved him through the dayroom door.

The notes had started arriving taped to the bottom of his plate. They were small scraps of paper, with short messages. The first one had simply said, “Not safe to respond. Working on a plan.”

Subsequent notes ranged from “I love you” to “keep your head up” and then pieces of a plan began to arrive, one scrap of paper at a time. Until one day a keycard showed up with a note that simply read, “tonight.”

“Have you enjoyed your visit, Lady Hana?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I have! It’s been so good catching up with you and Riley both!” Hana threw her arms around Liam and hugged him.

He chuckled as he hugged her back, “Are you sure you can’t stay a little longer?”

“As much as I’d love that, my mother’s birthday is next week and I have to get home and oversee the party preparations. But I’ll be back for the wedding!”

“Very well. You know you’re welcome here anytime.” It wasn’t that he had an overriding fondness for his former suitor, it was more that she made his fiancée happy, and keeping Riley happy was crucial to getting her down the aisle.

Once the marriage was accomplished, he would be able to relax. She was going to love the private island he’d picked for their honeymoon and with any luck, she’d come back pregnant.

She had been keeping him at arm’s length citing traditional American wedding customs, apparently, abstinence in the weeks before the wedding made the wedding night itself more intense and promoted marital bonding or something.

He was getting impatient. If not for Cordonian customs and council requirements, he would have dispensed with all the pageantry and eloped with her.

The wedding was two weeks away.

Everything was going to be fine.

#fervid fixation #trr au #drake walker #riley brooks #drake x riley #drake x mc #trr drake #trr au fanfic #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week

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