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finelinefae · 16 days

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match one [tennisplayer!harry x tennisplayer!y/n]

synopsis: y/n's struggling with harry's coaching before the first tournament and harry's feelings control him more than he controls them

word count: 10.2k

contains: enemies to lovers, set at a boarding school, slow burn, angst, tennis rivals, strict parents, fluff, harry being a boy and not being able control himself around y/n

this is part 2 of the game, read part 1 here

. . .

“Again,”

Y/N gritted her teeth and bounced the tennis ball on the ground before throwing it into the air with a straight arm and hitting it with the racket, watching as it pierced through the air to the opposite end of the court.

She heard a sigh come from the bench on the side of the court, “Again,”

She inhaled sharply through her nose to try and contain her temper as she repeated the same serve.

“Again,”

Y/N spun around on the heel of her New Balance trainers, her pleated, white skort twirling as she did. She crossed her arms and glared at the boy lying on his back in his school uniform which was now crinkled and unkempt after the school day. “You’re not even watching,” She replied for the first time after having done the same serve more than ten times already.

“I don’t need to, I know you’re not doing it correctly,” He replied, monotonously.

She clenched her jaw, “Well as my coach, aren’t you supposed to show me how I’m meant to do it correctly?”

“I can show you but it won’t change anything,” He said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He sighs and sits up, “You already know how to do a flat serve, I’ve seen you do it. You’re just not hitting it hard enough. I can hear it in the way the ball lands on the other end of the court.”

“You could have just told me to hit it harder,” She retorts.

“Am I meant to play the game for you as well?” He quips which makes her blood boil.

This was their third training session, and Y/N had reached her limit. With her first proper tournament just three weeks away, she had hoped that seeking help from the best tennis player at Crestwood would elevate her gameplay.

However, Y/N was getting frustrated with each session being a monotonous repetition of drills she had already learnt herself. It grated on her nerves and she felt as though she was back to square one.

She was beginning to regret having enlisted Harry for his mentoring in the first place. Whenever they’d try to talk mutually to each other, it would just end up in an argument of some kind where they’d end up needing ten minutes to cool off.

Y/N had already qualified for the Academy Slam before she even asked Harry to coach her. There had originally been sixteen academies from the surrounding counties competing in the games and now there were only half and Y/N was one of them. She’d passed the qualifiers all by herself and maybe she could pass the games that way too.

“Again,” He said that one word Y/N was beginning to hate.

Who knew what she was capable of if she had to hear that word one more time.

Feeling a surge of anger, Y/N tossed the ball into the air and hit it with all the strength she could possibly summon. She watched as the ball made a fast and straight trajectory towards her target area which just so happened to be right beside Harry’s place on the bench.

He jumped up, a look of surprise on his face. "What the fuck?" he exclaimed, eyes following the ball as it hit the fence.

Y/N's smirk wavered as he approached her, her surprise matching his when he spoke again. "Let's move on, shall we?"

By the end of the session, every inch of Y/N's body throbbed with exhaustion. She drained an entire water bottle in one go, her fitted polo shirt clinging to her damp skin. She had thought she'd engaged every muscle in her body, but the way her calves screamed at her with every step told a different story.

“Same time tomorrow?” Harry asked, standing above her and blocking the sunlight.

“I want to start training properly,” Y/N stated.

“We are training properly,” He argued.

“You realize you haven’t shown me a single tactic since you started coaching me right?”

“And?”

“How am I meant to win the first tournament if all I know how to do is basic drills?”

“Do you know how many times my coach made me practice flat serves before we could move on?” He asks but she doesn’t answer, “A month. I went home with blisters on my hands because I was doing them non-stop six hours a day.”

Y/N’s eyebrows raise, “You think tennis is just about being tactical then you’re not playing it properly. The only way you’ll ever be a good tennis player is if you master the techniques.” He explains, “I’ve seen you play Y/N. For someone who has never had professional coaching, you are one of the best players I’ve seen but you lack confidence in your technique. That flat serve you just aimed at me? One of the best flat serves I’ve seen in a while. If you can do that in every game, you’ll have no problem winning but if you want tactics? I can draw you a diagram and it’ll save two hours of my day no problem.”

Y/N tries not to show her surprise at his words. Instead, she takes them all in, “Shouldn’t we at least be analysing my opponent?”

She was playing against Vanya Maddison in her next game. She was tall which was a major advantage in the game but her spatial awareness wasn’t exactly on par.

“Do you know what your biggest strength is in this game?” Harry asked.

“My speed?” Y/N frowned.

“Your anger,” He replies, “Off the court, it’s a little annoying but on the court, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Use it.”

Y/N had no idea whether to take it as a compliment or not. She’d never heard Harry say anything good about her so was taken off guard by his words. “So are we still on for tomorrow because I have to meet Mitch in thirty minutes and if the answer is no at least I can actually plan on getting wasted tonight.”

Y/N took a moment to think. She had never expected him to say something positive about her, especially about her anger. It was a side of herself she often struggled to control, but hearing Harry acknowledge it as a strength left her feeling conflicted.

As much as she considered training on her own which would give her some peace and quiet, she wanted to see where her training with Harry would go. If he was right, maybe she’d actually have more of a chance of winning than she did on her own.

She stood up and put her gym bag over her shoulder, “See you tomorrow,” She walked past him, wanting to avoid the satisfied grin on his face.

“Y/N!” Harry called, she could hear him jogging towards her before she stepped out of the courts, “I wanted to give this to you.”

He placed in her hands a cassette tape with white masking tape on it with the words ‘Y/N’s theme songs’ scribbled onto it in black ink. “What is this?” She asked, looking up at him.

“When I was in Australia, I used music to help me get in the zone before a match. My coach told me to use a cassette tape because phones were too distracting,” He explained.

“You made this for me?” She frowned.

“What? You’ve never been given a gift before?” He chuckles.

Y/N looks down at the plastic in her hands. It’s not that she’d never been given a gift by anyone before- she and Sarah always exchanged gifts over Christmas and for each other’s birthdays- but it was rare for her to ever receive anything from anyone else. Her parents would often give her practical things at Christmas or transfer money into her bank account on birthdays.

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed at her lack of reply but she cleared her throat, “I don’t have a cassette player,” She said but Harry quickly removed his backpack and pulled out a walkman.

“You can borrow mine,” He handed it over to her, “I won’t be needing it anytime soon since I’m not playing,” She noticed the downcast look in his eyes as he mentioned the fact he wasn’t currently able to play with his injury.

“Um, t-thanks?” She said, unsure of how to respond to his sudden kindness. It felt unusual.

“I picked a few songs that reminded me of you,” He smirks, “Don’t worry, they’re not all about a girl with an attitude problem.” With that he turned back around and walked towards the other exit to head to the car park.

She felt ease on her chest as the usual teasing remarks returned, “Asshole,” She called out to him to which he just put his middle finger up in reply.

. . .

After taking a long shower in the girl’s shower rooms in her dorm block, Y/N headed back to her dorm after changing into a white shirt and sweatpants. She could feel the strain in her arms and legs as she flopped down onto her bed.

Luckily Sarah wasn’t back from spending time with Mitch, so she took in the peace and quiet which came rare to her these days as all her mind had been on recently was the Academy Slam.

Her mind wandered off to Harry and his words from earlier. Y/N knew she was a good tennis player but it was the first time she had heard someone else tell her that. She wasn’t expecting it, especially not from her tennis rival of the past ten years.

Her eyes glanced at the cassette tape and the walkman she had placed on her desk before she headed off to the shower. Sitting up, she grabbed it and stared down at it for a moment before putting the cassette into the player and putting the headphones on.

She laid back on her bed and looked up at the ceiling of her room. Her fingers hit the play button and the first song began to flood her ears. The first few beats of Nelly Furtado’s ‘Maneater’ began to play and she immediately rolled her eyes. Then afterwards, ‘Fergalicious’ by Fergie.

She wondered how many songs Harry had managed to put on the cassette and how many were female anthems of empowerment.

The next song seemed to catch her attention even further when Gorillaz ‘She’s my collar’ began to play. The beat now permanently injected into her bloodstream along with the rest of the album from the number of times she had listened to it.

She wondered if Harry had known he had included a song by one of her favourite bands and whether he knew the meaning behind the song too. Maybe it had been a coincidence which was a thought Y/N had decided to settle on as she listened to the rest of the song.

‘Nothing to be justified yet

She the first I'm running with

She the one that get my collar

She the one I'm running with (she's my collar)’

. . .

The next day at school, Y/N sat in the library during her study period to study for her biology exam at the end of the week. Even though she was set on the scholarship, she still needed something to fall back on if she lost out in the next few games so she made sure she was still getting the best grades she could. It had also been ingrained in her to be the best in every class and she didn’t think that trait of hers would ever leave her.

“Y/N!” Sarah called, her voice echoing within the silence of the library.

Ignoring the irritated glances she received, she paced towards Y/N and sat in the empty seat beside her. Y/N smiled at her friend’s excitement. They were foils to each other and that’s what made them get on so well. Whilst Y/N had a black cat personality, Sarah was sunshine in a person which was probably why she was so perfect for Mitch who was equally as bright. “What’s up?”

“I need to ask you something and you’re probably going to hate me but Harry’s already said yes and-”

“Sarah,” Y/N placed her hands on her shoulders, “Breathe.”

Sarah did exactly that before continuing, “Would you do a feature with Harry for the school newspaper?”

Y/N frowned, “What?”

“The school newspaper? You know the club I’ve been part of for the past two years? They want to do a feature on your training for the sports section and I told them I would ask you.” Sarah explained.

“Oh I don’t know about that-”

“Pleeeassseee,” Sarah gripped her arm that was resting on the desk and batted her eyelashes.

“You know I’d do anything for you Sarah but I don’t know if I have the time and my focus is on my next game,” Y/N replied.

“Harry’s already said yes to it,” Sarah interjected.

“You asked him before me?”

“Well actually,” Sarah hesitated, “Luke, the boy who’s writing the article, asked him this morning,”

“Why didn’t he ask me?”

Sarah gave her a pointed look, “You’re not exactly the most approachable,” Y/N’s frown deepened at her words, “So will you do it?”

Y/N sighed, considering it before giving Sarah an answer. The last thing she wanted was for someone to be asking unnecessary questions in time that could be used to train for the first round of the competition but Sarah was her best friend and she knew how much the school newspaper meant to her and her university applications too.

“Alright,” She relented, “I’ll do it.”

Sarah squealed, receiving another round of vicious glares from other students in the library. Her arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, “Thank you,” She pulled away, “They’ll come by tomorrow afternoon during practice, is that okay?” Y/N nodded a response.

. . .

It was raining outside.

Y/N’s eyes stared out the window as she bounced a tennis ball on the hard floor of the gymnasium and wondered if the weather foreshadowed the next hour.

“Will you sit down?” Harry muttered, “You’re giving me a headache,”

“He’s late,” Y/N says, “We could have been practising,”

“Do you ever just do anything else?” Y/N shot him a glare at his sarcasm, “I get this is important to you but don’t you just want to, I don’t know, have fun?”

Y/N walked over to her seat right next to his and straightened herself for the interview the school newspaper had organised for them. Sarah had told both her and Harry to dress smartly for the occasion which, according to Harry meant a designer sweatshirt and trousers whilst Y/N had gone for a dress and pumps. It wasn’t overly smart for either of them but enough to make it seem like they had made an effort.

“The fact that you’re even suggesting that tells me you have no idea how important this is to me,” Y/N responds, monotonously.

She hears a scoff from beside her, “What?”

He turns to face her, his face rather too close, she notices three moles on his right cheek that she hadn’t ever seen before, “I think I know better than anyone how important this is to you but I also know from experience how important being in high school is with people your own age.” She forgets sometimes that even though he was whisked away to fulfil his place in the Australian Open, that his time of being a kid was cut short, “I don’t go out of my way to coach just anybody,”

“What do you mean?” She frowns but before Harry could reply, the doors to the gym open and in scrambles a sixth year with a messenger bag and a tripod with a camera dangling from his neck.

“It means,” he leans forward, murmuring, “if you had half the belief in yourself as I have in you then you wouldn’t need me at all.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Luke’s voice echoes as he steps towards them and places all three legs of the tripod on the ground and scrambles to screw his camera to it.

“What’s with the camera?” Y/N asked.

“O-oh, we’re recording the interview so I can write everything up later and we’re going to need your pictures together afterwards,” Luke explained.

“You want us to take a photo together?” Y/N frowned.

“Did Sarah not tell you?” Luke replied.

“Calm down, love. It’s just a photo,” Harry murmured and she tried not to react to the nickname he had used for her.

Once everything was set up, Luke sat across from them with his laptop on his thighs, questions already typed out, “So, you two have known each other for a while now?” Luke asked as he sat across from them.

As Y/N was about to tell him how they didn’t exactly know each other on a personal level but knew each other through tennis, Harry spoke up, “Since we were both in third year. I was eight and Y/N was seven but we’ve been in the same class since we were infants.”

Luke nodded, “That must help a lot in your partnership,”

Harry chuckled lowly, “Something like that,”

Luke types a few things down in his computer before turning his attention to Y/N, “Um, Y/N what made you turn to Harry for his coaching other than the fact he won the Australian Open?”

Y/N frowned, what more reason did she need to give? “Well, the fact he won is a big reason as to why I approached him,”

“But isn’t he injured?” Harry stiffened beside her. The way he asked made it sound like he was defective, unusable.

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, “Yes but I’ve seen Harry play games with a dislocated shoulder. He’d just pop it right back in and start playing again. His current injury doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s one of the best tennis players I’ve seen at Crestwood.” Y/N ignored the looks from the two boys. She knew she’d have to compliment Harry at some point during this interview, especially if they needed to show a united front for the games.

“And do think the same about Y/N?” Luke asked Harry who now seemed irritated by him.

“I think,” Y/N was prepared for a backhanded compliment but what she got was something entirely different, “Y/N has all the potential in the world to go for what she dreams of and I hope to watch her do it all even if that means I’m watching from the sidelines.” This time it was Y/N’s turn to glance at Harry, taken aback by his words.

Luke spoke again, “You know some people are calling you the underdog in this tournament?” Y/N froze, it was the first time she had heard of it, “all the other women competing have had professional coaching and the school invests heavily in their tennis players.”

Y/N cleared her throat, “I didn’t know that but I have every intention of proving them wrong,” Harry bumped his knee with hers but she ignored it.

“And What do your parents think about you doing this before leaving exams?” Luke asked.

Y/N ignored the sting she felt at the thought of telling her parents what she was doing and the looks of disappointment she envisioned, which had been gnawing at the back of her head since she qualified. She answered confidently, "They're happy for me and excited to see me in the final."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows as Luke leaned in, his expression curious. "You think you'll get to the final?"

Harry scoffed, “Are you insinuating she won’t?”

Luke backpedalled slightly, sensing he’d struck a nerve. "I didn't mean to suggest that at all. It's just that some people doubt the capabilities of those who haven't had professional coaching."

"Hey Luke, do me a favour and invite those people to the first game in three weeks' time. Let them witness firsthand what it's like watching a player as skilled as Y/N, without any professional coaching," Harry's frustration was palpable, catching Y/N off guard with his assertiveness. Typically, she would be the first to break in such situations but it seemed Harry already had.

Luke’s face warmed as he realised he overstepped, “R-right, let’s move on.” He scanned through his list of questions to find something more light-hearted to break up the mood, whilst Y/N straightened her shoulders, thankful they’d gotten to the final round of questions. “What do you both like to do outside of training?”

“Together?” Y/N cringed, trying to picture spending time with Harry in a normal setting.

“Not necessarily,” Luke shrugged.

“My best friend is dating her best friend so we’ve been spending a lot more time together recently. Normally, I play guitar or recite poetry whenever I’m not coaching Y/N to volley properly,” Y/N rolled her eyes at the lies that left his mouth.

“I study,” Y/N stated.

“That’s it?” Luke’s eyebrows creased.

Her cheeks turned slightly pink, “I’m top of the class in all of my classes, that doesn’t just happen without hard work.”

She could feel Harry’s eyes on her and for the first time, she turned her head to catch his eyes. She noticed the frown on his lips and something in his eye that looked a lot more like concern or sympathy than the desire to tease her about her lack of social life.

“Well, I think that will be enough,” Luke stood up and grabbed his camera, “Do you mind if we take a few photos now?”

Y/N and Harry stood from their seats, side by side and looked into the lens of the camera. Y/N’s cheeks hurt from forcing a smile as Harry did the same, “You’re standing too close to me,” Y/N spoke through her teeth as the camera flashed.

"Look who's talking with their giant foot squashing my shoe," Harry retorts, a playful glint in his eyes. Y/N inhales sharply, her gaze dropping to her foot to see what he's referring to. But before she can react, Harry smoothly slides his arm around her waist, pulling her into his side with practised ease. Their eyes meet, and just as the camera flashes, capturing the moment, Y/N side steps out of his grip with an annoyed huff.

“Okay, that will be all,” Luke smiled.

As Luke packed his things away, Y/N and Harry stood awkwardly side by side without saying a word. Y/N glanced out the window and saw the sky had cleared up and the sun was setting. She needed to get back to her dorm to study for her French exam tomorrow as well as binge-watch tennis matches on YouTube which she’d been doing a lot recently.

“Did you really mean that?” Harry asked, catching her attention, “All you do is study outside of school?”

Y/N looked at him, “I hang out with Sarah some days but yeah, I mostly study. I don’t really have a lot of choice and I’m not naturally smart.” Harry’s head tilted to the side like he was secretly questioning her in his head, “What? Aren’t you meant to crack a joke about me being stupid or something?”

Harry's eyes softened, his voice gentle. "I could never think you're stupid, love," he said, the nickname slipping from his lips with a tenderness that caught Y/N off guard. She found herself speechless, unable to figure out what had gotten into him recently.

He pulled out his car keys from his back pocket and motioned his head towards the gymnasium exit, “C’mon,” He urged, “I wanna try something out and before you ask, it’s nothing to do with tennis or studying.”

Y/N’s feet stayed glued to the ground as he walked away and expected her to follow. She furrowed her brows and crossed her arms, wanting to refuse his invitation so she could get back to her dorm. But curiosity got the better of her and she followed a few paces behind him as he led her to the empty car park.

Harry pressed the button on the car keys and the lights flashed on a black Audi hiding in the corner, “What are we doing?” She asked.

“Have you ever driven a car before?” He wondered, looking at her with a hint of mischief.

“Never,” She replied and was bewildered to see him open the door to the passenger seat instead of the driver’s seat.

“Looks like it’s your lucky day, love,” He smirked.

Y/N’s eyes widened, “N-no! Harry, I'm not driving your stupidly expensive car.”

“C’mon,” Harry chuckled, “Don’t be chicken.”

She scoffed, “I’m not being chicken, I’m being sensible. If I crash that car, I don’t even think my parents will have enough money to fix it.”

“My parent’s will,” He grinned, cockily, “Get in,”

“No, I’m not driving that car.” She insisted.

Five minutes later, Y/N sat in the driver’s seat of Harry’s Audi with her fingers over her eyes as he instructed her on how to start. “Are you crazy?” She whimpers as he switches the engine on.

“Stop worrying, I’ve got my hand on the break.” She looks down to see his hand already wrapped around the hand break, “Just stay calm and do what I told you to do. Clutch down, first gear and then ease your foot gently off the clutch.”

“You’re supposed to be teaching me tennis, not driving laps around the school parking lot,” Y/N argued.

“Think of this as a team bonding exercise,” He shrugged, “Okay now foot down on the clutch,”

“This is the worst idea you’ve ever had,” She strangled out, placing her shaky hands on the wheel.

“Relax,” Harry chuckled, “You’re being dramatic.”

“It won’t be so dramatic when we end up in a tree,” Y/N retorted as she carefully felt the pedals and pressed down slowly on the clutch. Feeling the car rise, Y/N gasped and removed her foot.

“Calm down, it’s just because you put your foot on the clutch,” Harry was trying his best not to laugh at her, “Okay, now do it again.”

Y/N squeezed her hands on the wheel and repeated her actions, moving the gear stick “Okay, now carefully raise the clutch,” Harry instructed and as she did, he lowered the handbrake and the car slowly began to move forward.

“Holy shit,” Y/N wailed, “We’re moving,”

This time, Harry did laugh unable to stop himself after seeing her reaction, “Make sure you turn the wheel or we really will end up in a tree,”

Y/N did as she was told and turned the wheel slowly, “Okay, I’ll move into second,”

“Harry no!” She gasped but put the clutch down so he could move gears.

“Atta girl,” He beamed.

Y/N’s worried expression soon turned into shock and then excitement as she moved slowly around the car park, “I’m driving Harry!” Y/N grinned and Harry swore it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“You are,” He praised, “There’s nothing you can’t do.”

After switching between first and second gear and Y/N complaining that her feet were aching from how tense she was using the pedals, Harry offered to swap places and show her what it was really like to go out on an evening drive.

“Harry!” Y/N choked on a laugh as he went all the way up to sixth gear down the empty streets in the middle of nowhere, “Slow down,” She squealed.

Harry glanced at her, grinning when he saw how wide the smile was on her face. He pressed his finger on the button to wind down all the windows, “Oh shit I love this song,” He turned the volume up on the stereo as Beyonce’s ‘Love on Top’ started playing, blaring loudly through the speakers of his car.

“Baby it’s you! You’re the one I love! You’re the one I need!” Harry screamed the lyrics of the song and Y/N’s laughter sounded through the entire car as her hair blew behind her. “Sing it, baby!” He cheered, neither of them realising what he had called her.

“I’m not gonna sing it,” She shook her head, her eyes squeezing shut as the engine revved.

“It’s the only way I’m gonna slow down,” He teased as the build-up to the chorus played.

Y/N giggled as Harry began to sing solo to the chorus again, giving her a look that had her rolling her eyes before she screamed out the lyrics alongside him, “When I need you, make everything stop! Finally, you put my love on top!”

Their laughter merged together as the song played out. Harry slowed down the closer they got back to town and cast a sideways glance at Y/N who was brushing her wind-swept hair with her fingers. “You okay?” He asked, seeing the glow on her face.

“Yeah,” She bit her lip, “I’m okay. I just don’t get to do stuff like this… ever really.”

He nodded in understanding. Harry had met Y/N’s parents a few times before. His parents were frequent visitors to their country club so he knew what they were like but he had no idea of the extent of the pressures they had put on Y/N to do well. It reminded him of his own parents and the last thing he wanted to do was allow someone to feel the same way he did whenever his parents were too hard on him.

“Wanna pull in somewhere to get something to eat?” Harry asked. It was getting late and they both had school tomorrow but he couldn’t seem to allow himself to let her go- not when she was having so much fun.

“Okay,” Y/N nodded.

He pulled into a dessert shop that was still open. Y/N followed him inside and to a booth in the corner. Harry ordered both of them bowls of soft-serve ice cream and Y/N even asked if she could have a strawberry milkshake to go with it. “I shouldn’t really be eating,” She told him.

“Hmm I heard drinking strawberry milkshakes improves your footwork. They served them all the time in Australia,” Y/N shot him a look that told him she knew he was bullshitting her but it made him smile.

“Are you nervous about the game coming up?” They’d been training non-stop every evening and Y/N was quickly improving everything she had already learnt on her own. After considering Harry’s words a few days ago, she knew Harry was right. He had been good for her technique and she felt even more sure of herself than she did at the beginning.

“No,” She said coolly, “I don’t have time to be nervous.”

Harry scoffed, “I don’t believe that for a second.”

The waitress came over and placed their desserts in front of them, along with a strawberry milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry on top. “Mitch says he’s going to throw a party at my place if you make it through to the semi-finals.”

“A party at your place?” Y/N quirked a brow.

Harry sighs, “He came up with the idea of throwing a party and then just kind of decided it would be at mine.” He explained.

Y/N nodded and took a sip of her milkshake. It had been so long since she had had something so sugary and sweet. She hummed before realizing she was being watched by the boy opposite her, “Just so you know, even though you bought these desserts and taught me how to drive, doesn’t mean I like you.”

Harry laughed, his eyes crinkling and dimples carving into his cheeks. Y/N’s heart stuttered but she pushed the feeling down, “Okay, tomorrow you can go back to hating me again and we’ll pretend today didn’t happen.”

“And you can do the same,” She says.

Harry gives her a look, his eyes flashing with something she couldn’t put a label on, “I don’t hate you Y/N.”

She frowns, “You’ve always hated me,”

“No,” He shook his head, “Never.”

“But you’re always making fun of me,” And she always did the same.

“Because it’s the only way I get to speak to you.” He admits.

Y/N’s lips parted in surprise, unable to believe what she was hearing. She had always assumed Harry had hated her since their rivalry had gone on for so long. She didn’t know what to say, confused by the sudden revelation.

“Ew,” It came out before she even had time to think, “Don’t be nice to me, it’s making me uncomfortable.”

Harry seemed to deflate but quickly placed a smile on his face, “You make me uncomfortable and you’re singing, by the way, is awful.”

Y/N scoffed, "At least I don't sound like a dying goat." Despite the return of their familiar banter, her heart seemed to continue to flutter under Harry's earnest gaze, stirring a mix of emotions within her that she’d never felt before.

She didn’t know what was going on with her but the last thing she needed to think about was her emotions when her biggest goal to date was right before her.

. . .

Three weeks had gone by far too quickly for Y/N’s liking.

“Again,” Harry drawled.

Y/N gritted her teeth and repeated the backswing technique Harry had shown her but the angle was all wrong and the ball ended up going completely off court.

“Fuck,” Y/N spat, throwing her tennis racket on the floor and squatting, balling her hands into fists on her head.

Harry sighed, walking over. “You’re nervous about tomorrow,” He stated like he didn’t need her to confirm despite the fact she had constantly told everyone she wasn’t nervous about anything.

“I just need to win,” She mumbled.

“Get up,” Harry ordered.

Y/N did as she was told and stood up. He grabbed the racket from the floor that she’d thrown across the court like a toddler throwing their toys out a pushchair and flipped the racket between both of his hands. He handed it back to her and grabbed his own.

“I want you to mirror my actions,” He says and stands a few steps away from her.

He steps forward, tossing the tennis ball into the air before swinging his racket with both hands, expertly landing it in the left corner of the opposing court. Y/N tracks his every move, mimicking his actions as if she were his shadow.

Y/N’s ball lands slightly off target and Harry bites his lip to stop himself from smiling at the scowl on her face. He walks towards her and comes up behind her. Y/N’s breathing hitches when she feels his fingertips press gently on her arm.

“You need to straighten this arm more,” He advises, his fingertips sliding down her arm and leaving a trail of goosebumps as he straightens her arm out. “Calm down,” he murmurs, his mouth near her ear, “I can feel your heart beating.”

Y/N seems to lose every ounce of oxygen when he places his hand flat against her back where he can feel her heart beating, “Breathe,” He says, “You will win tomorrow, I will make sure of it.”

The warmth that flooded Y/N’s body quickly left as Harry took a step back, “Try it again,” He nodded towards her racket.

Y/N sighed, tensing her muscles again after Harry had practically managed to turn them into liquid. She tried to ignore the flutter in all of the pulse points in her body that were screaming to make contact with that new presence and swung her racket, landing the ball exactly where she wanted.

“There y’ go,” He murmurs, almost as if he was saying it to himself. “I think we should call that it for today,”

“What?” Y/N frowned, “The game is tomorrow, I need to practice.”

“Y/N, we’ve been practising for half the day already. You’re going to wear yourself out if you carry on,” Harry tells her.

“Fine,” She huffed but Harry gave her a knowing look.

“Come to my place,” He offers.

“Why would I do that?” She goes to grab her sweatshirt on the bench and pulls it over her head. It was getting colder now that the sun was going down.

“Because I know you’re just going to come back here once I leave and trust me, you don’t want to do that.” She opened her mouth to refuse but he continued, “We can watch Wimbledon on TV and order pizza.”

She wondered how he knew that Wimbledon was one of her favourite movies and pizza was her favourite food. “Is it the DVD exclusive?” Y/N asked.

Harry’s lips tilted upwards, “Of course,” Y/N nodded, following him to his car so he could drive them to his apartment.

Y/N remembered the last time she was in Harry's car three weeks ago. It was the first time Y/N truly enjoyed being in his company and the first time she had allowed herself to have fun and relax.

The day after, they resumed their usual arguing as if the previous night hadn't occurred. However, Y/N found herself overwhelmed by a surge of unfamiliar emotions swirling within her.

Despite the bickering, she kept noticing things about Harry—like the way he smiled and talked. It made her feel weird like there was something more between them that she hadn't noticed before.

The air was silent between them as the radio played lowly in the background. Harry turned into a block of apartments that looked far too expensive for a student to afford all by themself. “This is where you live?” Y/N asked, her eyes widening as he pulled into a spot.

“For now,” He says.

Y/N trailed behind Harry as they rode the elevator to the fifth floor and made their way to his apartment. When he swung open the door, flooding the space with light, Y/N couldn't help but notice the spaciousness of the apartment, as well as its emptiness.

“I haven’t had time to unpack,” Harry said, walking to the kitchen after kicking his shoes off, “Do you want anything to drink?”

“I’ll just take a glass of water,” Y/N’s eyes darted to all of the boxes that covered the floor.

She walked to the kitchen area and leaned against the counter, “Are those your trophies?” She asked, seeing the metal cups in an open box.

Harry smiled, “Yeah, I’ve kept all of mine even the ones that didn’t count.”

“They all count,” Y/N grins, walking over and pulling one out, “The battle of the sexes trophy.”

Harry smirked, walking round to stand beside her, “I still remember the look on your face when they handed me that trophy. If looks could kill, love, I don’t think I would be here.”

“It was a big deal to me okay?” Y/N replies, “I seemed to blame you for all my losses when I was a kid.”

Harry’s expression softens and his head turns to look at her, “Will you blame me if you don’t win tomorrow?”

Y/N’s smile falters, “No, I’d blame myself. I think if I lost this, I don’t know who I would be anymore. Tennis is my life.”

Harry’s eyes glint underneath the soft lighting of the kitchen, “God,” He whispers, “You drive me crazy y’ know that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you think you could love anything more?” He asks, ignoring her question.

“I can’t think of anything, if I did I’d have to love it an awful lot.”

“Okay,” He nods like he’s accepting a challenge.

Y/N narrows her eyes, “What are you thinking?”

“Nothing,” He shrugs, “But I want you to know-”

Before Harry could finish his sentence, the door swings open and the shrill sound of his mother’s voice fills the air. Y/N stands straight and she notices Harry tense up, taking a step in front of her, he pushes her behind him.

“Harry,” His mother sighs, “How are you darling?”

“Mum,” He replies, curtly, “What are you doing here?”

“Your father’s running late home so I thought I would come by to see how you were,” She says and then looks behind him.

Y/N doesn’t need Harry to introduce her as she steps forward and holds out a hand, “Hi Mrs Styles, it’s nice to see you again.”

"Y/N?" Anne gasped, her eyes widening in surprise. "You've grown so much, you're beautiful." She reached out, taking both of Y/N's hands in hers and giving her an appraising look.

Y/N's cheeks flushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Mrs. Styles," she stammered, feeling a mixture of nerves and warmth.

Anne smiled warmly. "Oh, call me Anne," she insisted before turning her attention to Harry. "I didn't know you two were such good friends."

Y/N and Harry exchanged a quick glance, both unsure of how to respond.

"I'm her coach," they both blurted out simultaneously, the words tumbling out in a rush.

Anne's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What?" she exclaimed, her gaze flitting between them. "You're coaching?"

Harry nodded, his expression serious. "Yes," he confirmed quietly.

"But Harry, your injury," Anne interjected, concern evident in her voice as she glanced down at his leg. "You're not meant to be—"

"I'm fine, Mum," Harry interrupted sharply, his tone making no room for argument.

"Harry, you know you can’t be playing-"

"I said I'm fine," Harry's voice rose, his frustration evident as he cut her off, causing Y/N to jump at the sudden outburst.

Anne's concern softened into a resigned sigh, her eyes reflecting a mixture of worry and understanding. "Alright, Harry," she relented, her tone gentler now. "Just promise me you're taking care of yourself."

Harry's features softened, a hint of remorse flickering in his eyes. "I promise, Mum," he said, his voice softer now, more subdued.

Anne nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "Good. That's all I ask."

As the atmosphere relaxed, Anne turned her attention back to Y/N, her smile warm and welcoming. "Well, it's lovely to see you again, Y/N," she said kindly. “Tell your parents we’ll be stopping by in the spring.”

Y/N returned the smile, her earlier nervousness dissipating in the warmth of Anne's acceptance. "It was nice to see you too, " she replied sincerely.

Harry glanced at Y/N, a softness in his gaze that made her heart skip a beat. After seeing his mother out following her very brief visit, Y/N finally mustered the courage to ask, "What was she talking about?"

Harry's expression turned grave, his features shadowed by a sense of burden. "It was nothing," he replied.

"Why can't you play?" Y/N pushed, her concern evident in her voice.

"Y/N, I'm telling you to leave it alone," Harry warned, his tone firm.

But Y/N couldn't let it go. "If it's nothing, then why can't you tell me?" she insisted, her frustration bubbling to the surface.

"Because it's none of your business, that's why," Harry snapped, his words cutting like a knife.

"Nothing I do or say has anything to do with you, so go back to hating me because it's a hell of a lot easier than what I have to deal with."

Y/N's heart sank at his harsh words. With a deep breath, she crossed her arms, her resolve hardening. "You know, now I remember why we never got along in the first place," she retorted, her voice laced with bitterness. With a sharp turn on her heel, she made her way to the front door. "You're such an asshole, Harry."

"Y/N," Harry called out, his voice tinged with regret as she stormed out of his apartment towards the elevator. "Y/N, come on, don't be like that."

"Go suck a dick," she shot back, stepping into the elevator before Harry could stop her.

As the doors closed, Harry's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Let me drive you back, at least," he pleaded, his voice barely audible over the sound of the closing doors.

"Fine," Y/N huffed, her tone clipped with annoyance.

The car ride back to her dorm was tense and silent. When Harry pulled into the front of her dormitory, Y/N moved to open the door finding the silence far too uncomfortable. Then, out of nowhere, Harry's voice broke the silence. "I can't play tennis anymore," he confessed, his words heavy.

Y/N's heart stopped, her breath catching in her throat. "What do you mean you can't play anymore? That's ridiculous," she exclaimed, her disbelief evident in her voice.

Harry's hands tightened on the wheel, his knuckles turning white. "I mean I can't ever play tennis again," he admitted, his voice cracking with emotion.

"Are you serious?" Y/N asked, her voice trembling with shock.

"I tore my ACL during practice for the French Open. I—" Harry's voice trailed off, unable to continue, “It was so bad Y/N and I was in so much fucking pain and no one would listen to me. I went through multiple surgeries and rehab but the doctors sat me down and said I couldn’t play unless I wanted to fuck up my leg for the rest of my life.”

“Harry…” Y/N’s eyes glistened with tears.

Her breath caught in her throat as the weight of Harry's words sank in. She glanced over at him, seeing the pain etched in his features, and felt a surge of empathy wash over her. It was a devastating blow for someone who had dedicated their life to the sport they loved.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Y/N whispered, her voice filled with genuine sadness for the boy beside her.

Harry managed a small nod, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, “That’s why I had to come back here. My father can barely look at me and my mother won’t leave me alone. At least here I can be around people my own age but when I’m at home, it’s fucking suffocating Y/N.”

Y/N didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t imagine losing the one thing she loved above anything else in the world and have to re-construct everything she had ever known to find something else to love just as much.

“I don’t expect you to say anything but I’d appreciate it if you showed me a little mercy,” He spoke.

“Why would you offer to coach me then? Would that not make things worse?” She asked.

He looks at her, really looks at her, like there was something on the tip of his tongue he wanted to say but couldn’t, “I figured it would alleviate the pain.”

“But I saw you play, I watched you and you beat me,” She exclaimed.

“Yeah and it hurt like a bitch afterwards,” He shook his head.

Y/N couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She wondered why Harry had been unwilling to play against her during the training sessions and now she knew why. She felt awful, her heart was hurting for him.

“I don’t want you to feel pity for me and I don’t want this to change anything between us. I’m tired of being treated like a broken toy and I think it would kill me inside if you looked at me differently.”

Y/N stayed quiet, facing forward and collecting her thoughts before saying, “Thank you for telling me,” She murmured, “And it doesn’t change anything. You’re still an asshole,”

Harry laughed and then his pinky brushed the side of her hand, “You will be everything tomorrow.” He whispered.

Y/N’s heart fluttered at the soft edge of his words, “You think so?”

His eyes softened, “I believe in you, more than anyone in the entire world.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath and looking out the window. The tension had settled and now a newfound respect lingered between them.

She would win tomorrow, for herself and for him.

. . .

It had been a while since Harry had been to a tennis tournament. The last time he was on a court for an official match was well over six months ago, it was a challenger match he participated in during his training for the French Open before his life took a vast turn.

He sat in the stands with everyone else from Crestwood who had come to watch the first game. Although Crestwood Academy invested more in the football team than any other sport, the turnout had been pretty good and nearly every seat was occupied by a student or teacher.

On the opposite side was Eaststone Academy who seemed to have invested heavily in their merchandise for Y/N’s opponent. Everyone was either wearing a t-shirt with Vanya’s name on it or carrying a sign with supportive catchphrases written in bold marker.

Harry craned his neck in hopes of seeing Y/N preparing herself somewhere outside of the court but couldn’t find her anywhere. He’d sent her a quick message this morning and asked her if she needed anything but she insisted she wanted to be alone.

“Fuck, it’s good we got in the queue early,” Mitch came by with an anxious Sarah, holding two cokes in his hand. They were both wearing navy shirts and sweatbands around their heads, Sarah was holding a sign that had Y/N’s name on it.

“She’s gonna hate you for that,” Harry tried not to smile.

“Oh I already know,” Sarah said, “She watched me make it last night and then almost ripped in half when I asked her if I should bedazzle it.”

Harry’s expression changed into one of concern, “How was she?”

“She’s nervous but she insisted she was okay,” Sarah rolled her eyes, “You know how she is.”

He did, which was why he was willing to accept the fact she wanted to be by herself even though he was desperate to drive over there with strawberry milkshakes just so he could see that smile he had been dreaming about for the past three weeks.

Suddenly, Eaststone Academy stood from their seats and cheered as Vanya Maddison came onto the court. “I’ve never seen such long legs,” Sarah gasped, saying what both Harry and Mitch were thinking.

Harry’s heart pounded in his chest as the people around him stood on their feet. He glanced down to the court and his eyes fell on Y/N as she walked onto the court with a dip between her brows and her tennis bag over her shoulder.

She was wearing a white, pleated skort and a Ralph Lauren polo shirt. Her hair was slicked back as tightly as possible into a braid and her white runners were tied up on her feet. He noticed she was wearing earbuds in her ears and then found the walkman he had given her clipped to her skort. He smiled at that, wondering which of the many songs he had put together she was listening to.

“There she is,” Sarah pointed and then waved to get her attention.

Y/N held a hand over her face to block the sun and looked up at the crowd. When she caught sight of Sarah, she offered a friendly wave before her eyes landed on Harry. She gave him a nod of acknowledgement and then walked to her seat on the other side of the umpire.

“C’mon,” Harry murmured, feeling his palms sweating at the sight of her.

“She’s got this in the bag, H.” Mitch puts a hand on his shoulder.

Through the speakers, the umpire calls out the start of the match and everyone falls silent as both players walk to opposing sides of the court. Y/N bounces on her feet and swings her racket backwards and forwards as though warming herself up before the match starts.

When the first serve came, Y/N's reflexes kicked in. She returned the ball swiftly, keeping the rally going with her quick movements, remembering what Harry had taught her. Each exchange became more intense, but Y/N stayed determined, chasing down every ball.

When Vanya hit the ball for the other corner, Y/N ran towards it and returned the ball swiftly, earning the first point with a well-placed shot. The crowd erupted into cheers as Y/N gained an early lead.

“That’s my girl!” Harry clapped his heart in his throat.

But Vanya wasn't about to let up. With determination in her eyes, she fought back, winning the next two points with powerful serves and precise shots. The score was now in Vanya's favor, and the pressure was on for Y/N.

“Fuck!” Y/N released a growl and hit her racket against the floor before storming off to her seat. Harry was tempted to walk down and help her but he needed to let her see what she was capable of on her own.

Her anger was radiating from her, “I’d hate to get on her bad side,” Mitch said.

Harry couldn’t seem to reply as he leant forward with both his elbows on his knees. “C’mon, c’mon, you can do it.” He mutters, thinking of the first bit of advice he had given her.

“Do you know what your biggest strength is in this game?” Harry asked.

“My speed?” Y/N frowned.

“Your anger,” He replies, “Off the court, it’s a little annoying but on the court, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Use it.”

Y/N rolled her shoulders back and stood on her feet. She walked back to her line on the court and bounced the ball up and down on the ground before throwing it up in the air and hitting it with a flat serve, exactly the way Harry had taught her. Her anger radiated from her as she slammed the ball with her racket and hit it with such force it went flying to the other end of the court but not before bouncing inside the square right by Vanya’s foot.

Harry stood to his feet and pumped his fist into the air, “Holy shit!” Mitch exclaimed as Sarah cheered beside him.

They were now at match point and Y/N had to win this next round if she wanted to win the entire game.

The tension thickened in the air as people sat on the edge of their seats to see who would come out on top. This time, it was Vanya’s turn to serve as she launched the ball into the air and hit it with her racket to Y/N’s side of the court.

As Y/N unleashed powerful serves and precise shots, Harry found himself captivated by her every move. With each grunt of exertion, each flex of her muscles, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. Despite the shifting heads of the spectators around him as they followed the ball back and forth, his gaze remained fixed solely on her.

Every aspect of Y/N's play had him in a trance—the way her muscles rippled as she sprinted across the court, the intensity in her expression as she anticipated Vanya’s next move, the graceful sway of her hair with each swing of her racket.

But as Harry watched, something stirred within him. A warmth spread through his veins, igniting a fire deep within him. Suddenly, he felt a tightness in his shorts, a physical reaction to the raw power and determination radiating from Y/N on the court.

"Oh, fuck," Harry muttered under his breath, his heart racing as he glanced down and saw the undeniable bulge in his shorts. Panic surged through him, his mind reeling with embarrassment.

"What's wrong?" Mitch's voice cut through his thoughts, and Harry quickly lowered his drink to conceal his arousal.

“N-Nothing,” Harry forces a smile, “I need to use the bathroom.” He doesn’t wait for Mitch to respond as she pushes past everyone to get away from the crowd.

He walks quickly over to his car and jumps into the driver's seat, slamming the door behind him. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” He didn’t know what to do. He felt like he was thirteen years old after experiencing girls for the first time again. Was it wrong to rub himself off in the middle of a tennis match when all he was looking at was the girl who played his favourite sport better than anyone he had ever seen, dominating the game with her anger and intensity like she was a complete animal?

He couldn’t shake the image of her from his mind and his cock seemed to ache the more he thought about how beautiful she was on the court, completely in her element, anger and passion emitting from her. Every grunt and groan she made as she hit the ball with so much fervor had his head spiralling.

He looked down and tried to will it away, he needed to get back out there to see her win the game. He thought of every disturbing thing he could possibly think of and even took out his phone to google the quickest way to get rid of an erection.

The excited yells of the crowd told him someone had won and he prayed he would return and see Y/N with the medal around her neck.

After about ten minutes of taking deep breaths, he finally felt composed enough to leave his car. With a flustered face, he made his way back toward the court, silently praying for some kind of cosmic intervention to erase the embarrassing moment from his memory.

As he turned the corner, he spotted Mitch and Sarah engaged in conversation with Y/N, who was proudly wearing the gold medal around her neck. She had won - he knew she would.

Y/N's eyes lit up as she noticed him, a wide smile spreading across her face as she proudly displayed her medal. Unable to resist, he grinned back in response.

Sweat glistened on her skin, her cheeks flushed with exertion, and delicate strands of hair framed her face. At that moment, she radiated beauty, and he couldn't deny the sudden surge of emotions that had slowly been weaving themselves into the fabric of his feelings ever since he had returned to Crestwood.

If the past fifteen minutes were anything to go by, Harry knew this was more than just a game of tennis.

He was in trouble.

. . .

People cheered as Y/N entered Harry’s apartment with Sarah at her side, holding beer cans in the air and patting her on the shoulder as she sifted through the crowds of people. S&M by Rhianna played over the speakers as the apartment that was previously empty was now filled up with student’s from Crestwood.

“There she is,” Mitch’s voice yelled over the music, “Crestwood’s very own Serena Williams,”

“I wouldn’t go that far Mitch,” She chuckled, unable to stop herself from smiling so hard after the excitement of her first win.

Y/N’s eyes scanned the room as she went in search of the one person she wanted to see whilst everyone fell into conversation around her.

That’s when she saw him, leaning against the wall with a red solo cup in his hand. His hair was a tangled mess, and his body was adorned in a loose, white shirt, its u-neck revealing the inked pair of swallows beneath his collarbones and gold chain around his neck. On his legs, he wore a loose pair of black trousers.

Y/N held back a smile as she made her way over to him until she realised who he was talking to.

Her face fell as she saw the angelic blonde, tanned and glowing like she’d just come back from a holiday somewhere south of the equator.

Harry’s face lit up as Y/N approached until he realised what was going on.

“Hey,” He smiled, trying to distract her.

“Where were you?” Y/N snapped her gaze towards him.

“What do y’ mean? M right here,” He spoke, “You were incredible out there.”

“Who’s this?” Y/N ignored him, folding her arms and looking at the girl he was speaking to. Y/N knew exactly who she was but felt the need to act as though she had never seen her before.

Harry hesitated for a moment before introducing her. “Y/N, this is Astrid.”

Astrid flashed a dazzling smile at Y/N, her demeanour friendly yet confident. “Congratulations on the win today, Y/N. I’m looking forward to our match in the semifinals.”

Harry's reaction was immediate. “What?” he stammered, clearly taken aback.

“You didn’t know?” Astrid asked, surprised. “Y/N and I will be facing off in the semifinals.”

Y/N grit her teeth and forced a smile, the two girls eyeing each other up and down as Harry’s eyes darted anxiously between them.

Now that Y/N was into the semi-finals her next opponent was Astrid Anderson, one of the best junior, female tennis players in the county.

Who just so happened to be Harry’s ex-girlfriend.

858 notes · View notes

samkerrworshipper · 8 months

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My Masterlist

Leah Williamson -

seeing her tonight, it's a bad idea right?

just some friends with benefits smut that’s ends with confessions of love

medication

r stops taking their anxiety medications during the euros finals to get rid of three side effects… but what happens when it seriously effects them on the pitch

let me love you

r struggles after her and leah break up after some drunken kisses with other people… can they mend it all before r’s health is seriously affected?

the call up

when r gets the news notification from the Spanish federation regarding the forced call up the espwnt

safe and sound

r having suicidal thoughts and leah just being there to support them and be there for them

playgirl

friends to lovers smut w cocky as fuck playgirl leah who secretly only has eyes on r

losing

what happens when r loses for the first time?

asthma attacks

what happens when r has a asthma attack whilst Leah’s out for the night?

i will wait for you.

r gets injured in the champions league final and finds herself pushing out everyone, is it to late to make up with the people that matter most?

lost cause

r doesn’t want to do life anymore… leah’s there to make it all better and let her know how loved she is

tourniquet

r struggles with self harm and Leah helps her with it in theee different examples

pain, sweet, pain.

leah’s return from her acl injury is nothing like what she wanted nor expected, but her team are there to help her up when she’s down.

beautiful girl series (leah + jordan as coparents)

part 1 -> close you’re eyes: leah and jordan’s daughter is struggling after their breakup

part 2 -> have no fear: jordan and r have a heart to heart and somethings are revealed

part 3 -> the monsters gone: leah confronts her daughter

part 4 -> she’s on the run: r runs away

part 5 -> and your moms are here: reconciliation

part 6 -> beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful girl: final part

Lucy Bronze -

mamacita

jersey smut with lucy after winning

daddy?…. sorry

just a little drabble about dom daddy lucy

a shoulder to cry on

lucy is there for r after she has a career shattering injury

euro champs and abs

lucy’s prize for winning the euros

leg shakes and body aches pt.2^

after care for the fic above

epiphany

random grief drabble - more r focused then lucy tbh but if u want a good cry then readdd

Alexia Putellas -

movie night

cheek voyeurism smut with r and alexia at team movie night

lap dance

stripper smut with Alexia after the world cup

on the sidelines

wag Alexia on the sidelines for wnba girlfriend

i remember everything

r struggles with eating disorder… alexis is to absorbed in her own life to notice.. what are th consequences?

the party

songfic based off the song the party & the after party by the weeknd… pure filthy smut

exile

songfic based off the song exile by taylor swift

the last time (pt.2^)

Alexia tries to apologise to r after what happened at the club… another songfic based off the song the last time by taylor swift

between thighs

just a little quickie fic

back between villages

alexia tears her acl.

sugar, baby

u have a little arrangement with la reina

Sam Kerr -

cock blocked

team night with the arsenal girls who r keeping you from being thoroughly fucked by your girlfriend

smut headcanons

just smutty dom headcanons with sammy k

a whore’s punishment

literal smutty porn without plot… that’s it.

concealed

little drabble about sam concealing a strap during a photo shoot

the phone call

based off the scene in the uswnt doc with the different call ups except sam x reader coded

acls

based off sam’s acl injury :(

Katie Mccabe -

nails

katie comes home from ireland camp with a new set of nails and she shows you just how much she can do even without using her hands or

Mapi Leon -

massage therapy

mapi gets injured… reader tries to resolve some of the tension in her body

warmed

cockwarming… that’s about it

las 15

based off of the spanish players boycott pre world cup

Alexia Putellas x Reader x Lucy Bronze -

twos a company, threes a crowd

| pt.1 | pt.2 | pt.3 | pt.4 |

pure filth between my three girlies

Leah Williamson x reader x Lia Wälti -

all yours

just a little friends to lovers angsty fic about lia and leah getting together when the three have always been best friends and r struggling with it

Mapi Leon x Reader x Ingrid Engen -

long distance

touch starved and anxious reader who’s been away from mapi and ingrid for a while and needs a reminder just how much the love her

Vivianne Miedema x Beth Mead -

bad days

Viv has a bad anxiety day… Beth’s there for her no matter what

Kristie Mewis x Sam Kerr -

pinky promise?

little anxiety fic about kristie stressing about meeting Sam’s parents for the first time

wet dream

kristie can’t sleep.. sam has a wet dream..

Lia Wälti x Alexia Putellas -

captains connection

sometiems the captains are the ones who need the most help after games..

auswnt -

togetherness

pt.1 | pt.2 | pt.3

just some tillies angst and fluff

arsenal women -

found family

r goes out in the snow and gets really sick, but is scared to bother their arsenal teammates, two captains show up at their door after them not showing up to training for a few days and help them out and show them just how much the team loves them

homework help

when r moves to england she struggles with the adjustment of new school… arsenal team are there for her though

sticker chart

r and kyra r the pranksters of the team… but what happens when they take it too far and the arsenal parents seperate them as a result

revival

arsenal reader has been struggling more than she’d ever admit.. when it becomes to much she attempts to take her life but her teammates refuse to let her kill herself when she has so much more to live for.

hard times

arsenal reader struggles with PTSD and new year’s eve is a particular struggle… but the arsenal girlies are there for her even if she doesn’t know she needs them

narcotics

reader has a drug problem.. her arsenal teammates help her to realise and overcome it

barca women -

suffer in silence

r struggles with self harm after the problems with the spanish federation.. mapi, ingrid, lucy and alexia are there to pick up the broken pieces

exhausted

insomnia reader with concerned alexia

initiation

pt.1 -> pt.2 -> pt.3

yk just a casual barca orgy fix

#woso #woso community #lionesses #leah williamson #marry me rn #sam kerr #kristie mewis #lucy bronze #sam kerr x reader #auswnt #lucy bronze x reader #leah williamson x reader #alexia putellas #katie mccabe #mapi leon

1K notes · View notes

mattscoquette · 2 months

Text

“ 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞/𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 , 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝜗𝜚 “

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: popular!mean!matt x quiet!introverted!fem!oc

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: a story in which a quiet introverted girl attempts to befriend her popular neighbor

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: cursing

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2.2k

introduction 1 3 4 5 6

𝐚/𝐧: oooo part 2! i hope u all enjoy! i'm writing a lot but part three won't get posted this weekend because i'll be out of state. but i appreciate all the love part one got and i hope u guys r just as excited to read this as i am to write it!!! lmk if any of u guys wanna be on on taglist too <333

xoxo ₊˚⊹ ୨ৎ

⋆。˚ ౨ৎ

matthew sturniolo,

woke up the following morning in a frenzy. being one of four boys, his mom implemented a strict morning routine when the triplets started kindergarten, that they have been following right up until now, their senior year of high school. this morning however, matt was awoken about five minutes before he had to leave to the sound of chris and nick’s yelling to hurry his ass up. matt scrambled to pick out whatever clothes he could find, a pair of grey nike sweats and a fuzzy brown hoodie, and hurried downstairs to brush his teeth at record breaking speed before he was out the door heading the the mini van.

as he was throwing his and his brothers hockey bags into the trunk, he caught a glimpse of addilyn leaving her house and starting to walk down the block to the bus stop. as if his thoughts were being read, chris out loud wondered “what senior is still taking the bus?”

before matt could even open his mouth to make a rude comment, nick was already calling her over to offer a ride.

“dude what the fuck,” matt muttered under his breath to nick as addilyn approached the van, “i don’t wanna drive her.”

addilyn’s appearance totally switched from what she was wearing when matt saw her last night. her slim fitting dress was swapped out for a pair of mom jeans and an oversized sweater, her curly brown hair held back by a clip. “are you sure?” she breathed, looking at nick, “i’m okay with taking the bus, really.”

“we don’t mind at all, do we matt?” nick smiled through gritted teeth, nudging his brother in the arm.

“we don’t have time to mind,” chris interrupted them, climbing into the passenger seat, “we’re gonna be late.”

matt huffed, telling addilyn she could sit in the back seat with nick. he quickly plugged his phone into the aux cord, playing circles by mac miller as he backed out of the driveway and made his way to school.

*₊˚ 𓂃✧

it was only fourth period, and matt was already pissed off. the start to his day had been thrown off by waking up so late, and addilyn richardson being in his van this morning did not help one bit. he wasn’t sure what it was about that girl that bothered him so much. maybe it was the way she shut out the world by indulging herself in a book or in a drawing she was working on. or maybe it was the way her curls would stick up and fly away from the rest of her hair sometimes making her look like a mad scientist. or maybe it was the way she was the only girl who didn’t pay one ounce of attention to him. being the school’s best hockey player alongside his two other triplet brothers definitely made matt one of the most popular guys in school. he never had any trouble when it came to girls, because all of them already wanted him. except addilyn.

get yourself together man, she’s weird matt thought to himself as he entered his physics class, sitting next to his best friend nate. as he plopped his backpack down beside his friend, matt looked up at the white board and read in all big letters:

PARTNER PROJECT ON ENERGY OF MOTION - DUE IN TWO WEEKS

matt and nate grinned at each other, beginning making plans to pair up. the bell rang, and the teacher began to lecture. matt pulled out his notebook, already struggling to follow along with his teacher’s presentation. he had never been a straight a student, but he needed to keep his grades decent to stay on all his teams. however, physics was bringing his overall average down, and he needed to do well on this project to be able to start in his upcoming hockey games.

as the class made its way to an end and the students began to pack up, the teacher started to explain the project. “it’s quite simple really,” he began as he was erasing his notes from the board, “you and a partner will pick your own type of demonstration to show how kinetic energy is used in everyday objects.”

“this project will be worth a quarter of this semester’s overall grade, for both you and your partner, so it is crucial you all do well on this.” he explained, looking directly at matt. “before i let you all leave, i will be assigning your partners.” the entire class groaned.

he pulled out his class roster and began reading off names paired together.

“alexa and william… michelle and quincy… peter and xaiver… isabelle and ryan…”

please let me be with nate, matt thought. please let me be with nate. please let me be with nate.

“matthew and addilyn… louise and theresa… nathan and catie…”

no fucking way. of course addilyn was matt’s partner. he didn’t even know she was in his class. he looked around, annoyance written all over his face and he locked eyes with the curly headed girl sitting in the back of the room. she didn’t look too pleased either.

“this is an out of class project, so i suggest you start working on this asap.” the teacher announced just as the bell was ringing.

matt headed straight for the door when he felt a small tap on his shoulder. “what?” he snapped, looking down at the girl who tapped him.

“sorry,” addilyn said in a hushed voice, “its just- do you want to work on the project after school? we can go to my house, or i can come to yours or-”

“yeah, thats fine.” matt cut her off, walking out of the classroom, trying to shake her and walk with nate.

“which one?” she called out to him, her voice barely above a whisper.

“my house, but don’t expect anymore free rides from me. take the bus home.” matt told her angrily. she simply nodded and let him walk away from her, watching as he laughed with his friends in the hallway.

*₊˚ 𓂃✧

it was currently 3:30p.m., and matt was sitting at his kitchen table waiting for addilyn to come over. he had his laptop and textbook open, with messily written notes scattered all across the table. he found out later on in the school day that if he failed physics this semester, not only would be not be starting in his games, he would be benched for the rest of his hockey season. so to say he was stressed about this project was an understatement. he was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a tiny knock at the door, yelling for one of his brothers let addilyn in.

she wasn’t too excited about this project either, to be quite frank. but not for the same reasons as matt. addilyn simply hated working with others. she felt her quiet and introverted nature caused her to not work well when came to partner projects, so she typically opted to do these assignments alone. she even tried emailing her physics teacher after class, begging for him to let her work alone. he insisted that this was a two-person project for a reason, and told addilyn to stick it out. so here she was, at 3:30 on a monday, in matt sturniolo’s kitchen.

addilyn wasn’t sure why matt didn’t like her very much, but she wasn’t exactly is number one fan either. all the girls in the school loved matt. star hockey player, good looking, what wasn’t there to like about him? addilyn never looked at people surface level, though. she was a hardcore people watcher, mainly due to the fact she was almost always alone. she saw right through matt’s act and knew he was mean. she wasn’t sure how on earth he was related to nick and chris. they had only started talking a day ago, and she was greeted with smiles and waves every time she passed one of them that day. nick had even gone as far as switching his seat in art to sit next to addilyn. “i never liked sitting by the window, he had told her, “it’s always too drafty.”

addilyn quietly put her belongings down at the chair opposite from matts things, trying her best to be careful and not do anything to piss off matt even more. she was already on edge having to work one on one with him in his own house. matt didn’t even bother to look up at her. he mumbled a small “hi” as be started to type away on his laptop. addilyn pulled her belongings out, a stark contrast to matt’s. her notes were all written perfectly, with all the t’s crossed and i’s dotted, in a small cursive font that looked identical to if it were typed. matt took slight note of this.

“how do you write so neatly?” he genuinely asked, then realized he sounded nice, following up with “you probably so much free time on your hands because you have no friends” after addilyn told him quietly she re-writes her notes during lunch.

addilyn simply rolled her eyes. “i came here to work on the project, matt, not to take shit from you.”

“besides,” she started “we both get the same grade on this, and i am not letting you fuck up my gpa just because you want to be a dick to me.”

“it’s not like i can afford a bad grade on this either, sweetheart.” matt shot back at her.

sweetheart. why did her stomach suddenly feel weird?

stop it addy, she told herself, it’s matt, for crying out loud.

addilyn scoffed and began to look through her notes. “what were you thinking we do the project about?”

“i was hoping you could just do all the work.” matt had replied, blunt and matter-of-factly.

“what?” addilyn said in shock, dumfounded.

“what do you mean, what?, i don’t know shit about physics, you do. plus, i know you hate to work on these kinds of things with other people, so why don’t you do it alone?” matt told her.

she was in shock. had he really noticed i always work alone? she thought.

stop addy. he knows you work alone because you’re always doing things alone. it isn’t rocket science to connect the two.

before she could open her mouth to reply, chris came downstairs into the kitchen, grabbing a pepsi from the fridge. a smile grew on addilyn’s face as she said hi to him.

“no way, you and addy got paired together for this project?” chris gawked at matt, looking between him and addilyn.

“you’re so lucky, dude,” he continued, taking a swig of the soda, “justin told me he did this project when he was a senior, and everyone did so bad. thank god your partner is like, one of the top ten students in our class, or your senior season would have been shot.”

matt simply looked at chris. he was right, this shit was hard. he looked between the paper and addilyn a few times, before asking “where do we start?”

‎*₊˚ 𓂃✧

addilyn and matt ended up working until about 7:30 that night. his mom even insisted she stayed for dinner too.

“really sweetie, i don’t mind. i’m already feeding four kid’s, what’s one more?” she laughed.

“yeah addy, stay with us for dinner, please?” nick somewhat whined, dragging out the “e” sound.

addilyn gave in, and joined the sturniolo’s for dinner the second day in a row. like the previous night, dinner was filled with chatter from nick and chris, and radio silence coming from matt’s end. instead of giving her mean looks like he did at the previous dinner they shared, he just started at his plate the whole night and picked at his food.

“sorry about matt again,” chris apologized as he and nick began walking addilyn back next door to her house, “i don’t know whats been up with him lately.”

“it’s fine, really.” addilyn said. people being mean to her, or making rude remarks, was not out of the ordinary for her. she heard small whispers in passing everywhere she went. she was just used to it. “i’m glad you and nick are nice at least.”

chris just smiled at her and nick gave her a quick side hug. “we’re glad you’re nice, too, addy.”

the trio got to the front door, and addilyn gave them a small wave goodnight before she turned on her heel to walk into her home and upstairs. the boys walked back over to their house, noticing matt had already gone upstairs and disappeared to his room. he was sat at his desk, writing in his journal, when he noticed the light in the window across from his turned on. he saw addilyn set her book bag down, and sit at her mirror undoing her hair. he couldn’t help but to think how pretty she looked.

she’s weird, matt, he reminded himself, and you don’t even like her.

he sighed, closing his journal, and getting up to pull his blinds down to try to clear his head from the girl. out of sight out of mind. he saw her give a small smile, and he returned it by giving her a death stare, yanking the blinds down.

he got into bed, tossing and turning all night about this project with addilyn. he didn’t want to work on it with her, let alone even be nice to her, but he had to for chris and nick’s sake. they only started talking to her yesterday for god’s sake, and were already acting like they’ve been best friends since birth. matt knew these next two weeks of working on the project with addilyn everyday were going to be long.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬:

@alorsxsturn @sturniolossss @cammie4298 @bussybandit1 @amorttentia

#𐙚 ⊹ ࣪ ˖#‧��˚ 𓂃 𝜗𝜚 #sturniolo triplets #matt sturniolo #nick sturniolo #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo #fanfic

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suckishima · 5 months

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man i love this sequence so much—and tbh their dynamic in general which i feel like we don't talk about enough

on paper they seem like such opposites—and they kind of are—with tanaka being a mood maker and morale stabilizer for the team, he's loud and boisterous and never holds back what he's feeling ("dial down my feelings?? what does that even mean??"), while tsukki barely speaks on the court, openly admits to disliking loud and excitable people, and seems to calculatedly hide his emotions away. you would think they wouldn't like each other and wouldn't work well together, but i think every interaction we see between them is a positive one

we see them kinda partner up to roast other teams or their own teammates, but also tanaka is one of the few senpai that tsukki seems comfortable openly making fun of directly. but then tanaka doesn't even ever seem mad by tsukki's taunts—occasionally he'll even pass judgement on how successful tsukki was with his comebacks. and tanaka will just throw a jab back easily, which tsukki doesn't really seem bothered by either—tanaka never gets under tsukki's skin the way kageyama does, for example

and then we get a great little sequence like this one that's deliberately pointing out their differences and then using them to emphasize something more, and it's just so effective??

what tanaka goes through in the first set of the inarizaki match of feeling like he's not doing enough and having it shoved in his face that he'll never be the best, is like a speedrun version of what tsukki has been going through since he was in middle school when he found out his brother was lying about being the ace. there are these little subtle callbacks too—with the dichotomy of being lame vs cool (yamaguchi calling tsukki lame for not trying and tsukki thinking yamaguchi is cool for saying so), and furudate even uses the same visual metaphor of a never-ending staircase

it took tsukki years to realize he might be looking at things in a destructive way, and then months more after that until he actually saw the merit of trying—and then even here we can see that he doesn't find any of this easy. and tanaka basically does all of that in thirty minutes or so.

and while tsukki seems perturbed by this, he isn't mad at all. you can feel the respect tsukki is veiling behind his words in the first panel of the page when he calls him "ridiculously mentally tough." it's "frightening" to him because it's something that doesn't come naturally to him personally, when it obviously does for tanaka

of course it's important to note that the situations are completely different in terms of the catalyst for those feelings, tanaka didn't have some world-shattering event he's been struggling with since he was a pre-teen (that we know of). he just had an off day. but what i like is that the emphasis here isn't really about the circumstances, it's about their attitudes, how they each react to feeling down about themselves

and i just love the way furudate put this page in here. we just had this awesome sequence of tanaka scoring a well earned set point by doing a move he's been practicing for months after he spent all match feeling inadequate—sounds a lot like tsukishima winning set 2 vs shiratorizawa with a stuff block that was preceded by months of extra practices from him, but the reader (rightfully) isn't thinking about tsukki at all. until furudate gives us this conversation and we're reminded (not specifically or directly of tsukki's moment but) that this feeling is something other players, other people go through too. like, furudate didn't have to put this page in here, the chapter and tanaka's moment would have been just as epic without it, but i feel like it just adds this extra little emotional grounding to it

it just, it feels so human. getting down, being hard on yourself, feeling or even knowing you'll never be the best, everyone can relate—it's a storyline we've seen in haikyuu before but furudate always manages to make it feel not only fresh but satisfying because of how they present it to us with a new lens every time. tanaka and tsukki are so opposing in their character and actions that it makes their moments feel different and new, so it's just as cathartic for the reader every time, even though the underlying message is the same

whether it's hard or not, it's always cooler to try

#..i wrote an essay again... i always think i have one (1) thought and it turns out a thought is worth 1k words #fun fact ive been collecting screenshots of tsukki and tanakas interactions this whole reread to eventually do *shrug* something with lol #tanaka #tsukki #hq #hq meta #what more do you need #2021 reread #x #long post #if only i could write my fic at these speeds lmao #ugh and this post touches on a ton of themes im trying to integrate into current fic too and its just been. not working lol

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mistfallengw2 · 5 months

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Quick Guide for a Smooth and Quick Toypocalypse ⛄️

Just a quick guide so that Toypocalypse can a bit faster and hopefully more enjoyable for everyone involved~

General Strategy

Every player should pick a different zone to focus on, so that there's no need to struggle for resources and the whole map gets covered by clusters of catapults! Here's a map of the best spots:

The areas in red are secondary spots where you can expand or move to if an area is already covered. You CAN cover a whole map with properly built Labyrinth, Hoelbrak and Village, so you can team up to do those!

You want to pick spots that are close enough to be in reach of other people's catapults, but not so close that you have to fight for resources. See what your party is doing and act accordingly.

For your own zone, you want to pick a good spot to build your Catapults (high, good view over the map) and then surround them with a few Snowmen and the occasional Ballista. Soon, your Catapults will be able to nearly one-shot enemy waves that spawn close enough, while the rest will take care of those that get too close during reload.

Properly set up clusters are more effective than randomly placed toys! Clusters focus enemies in a few spots and catapults' barrages can clear them even at their spawn. Stray toys will spread enemies around the map and Catapults may not even reach them :(

There's a cap AND a decay timer for siege toys! Old toys will despawn if you place too many or after 15 minutes with no upgrading! Try to place them with intention from the start, then after round 4 it's best to start upgrading what you've already placed.

Your strategy should be to aggro enemy waves away from the center and clear them fast! While you want to drop a few toys on the central platform to defend the dolyaks (pretty useful in the first waves and for extra security), only place them on the outer edges and don't overdo it! Enemies will aggro on siege toys, and if they're too close to the dolyaks... well, that kinda defeats their defensive purpose, and it'll hurt a lot if it's Toxx's turn.

Focus on Toxx as soon as she spawns (every 2 rounds, after a few waves of regular toys) and try to break her CC bar asap! You don't want her to destroy your hard work, but be careful of her attacks, especially the one where she spins and reflects projectiles (you can get oneshot if you use the rifle).

Siege Toys and Weapons

Catapults are your best friends and Snowmen are their buddies! Let the Snowmen do damage, aggro and chill enemies, so that Catapults can reach them over long distances by firing in an arc. (a full barrage from is extremely satisfying to witness)

Ballistas and Walls are not bad, but should be used sparingly. Ballistas attack faster than Catapults, but unlike them they are single-target and can only hit enemies that are in a straight line in front of them. Walls should be used only as a way to block or bottleneck specific areas, as toys will usually ignore them if something else is around.

Siege toys do more than any weapon skill! Pistol is kinda useless after the very first wave, while Rifle and Smasher are overall better. They mostly matter during Toxx fights.

Remember: a few upgraded toys are better than many base toys.

While you can build in a cluster, you're better off leaving at least some space between them so that you can have an easier time upgrading them later. (This example for the two points above is a bad example: FAR too many toys for one spot + extreme lack of space between them)

If you know spawn points, you can place a single sacrificial Snowman (you'll have plenty of snow anyway) in there to immediately aggro enemies and give your Catapults extra time to clear the wave where it spawns.

Tips & Tricks

When holding Snow or Scraps, you can use your 3rd skill to run faster!

You can gather extra gifts after every Toxx on the left side of the map! (Round 2, 4, 6 and 8. Round 10 gives its own reward in the bouncy chest.)

You can regen health by hanging out with the dolyaks for a few seconds, and if they're hurt you can heal them using Hay!

If you want extra security for the dolyaks, there are 4 Skritt Mercenaries on the sides of the map that can be hired for 3 Scraps each.

Resources respawn after a few rounds, so do try to use your first round of resources responsibly! If you're doing fine with your numbers, upgrade early or maybe even bring some of your Scraps to party members that are struggling to set up!

Siege toys are built right on the spot your camera/mouse cursor is aiming, and you can take advantage of it to build more precisely! Also, if you're building against a wall, it'll be placed above it! (In this example of my fave Labyrinth configuration: toys are built by aiming on the pole at the intersections and end up on top of them + walls block the entrances)

As a note, the Wiki has already a pretty decent guide, but I wanted to sum things up and add to it!

#gw2 wintersday #toypocalypse #gw2 #wintersday #gw2 guide #I do hope this helps someone enjoy this mode a lil' more #there's some “graphic design is my passion” in this and I am sorry #certified to be made with 'tismest love possible #might add to this later

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monty-glasses-roxy · 11 months

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Uno, with the continuous draw rule (draw until you get a card you can play) and the stacking rule (if someone puts down a +2 or +4, you can block it by putting down your own, and the next person can block it as well which means you can end up having to draw 12 cards)

Who wins? Who loses? Does it just go on forever?

Oh you know what character is perfect for this ask? Bonnie.

Bonnie is a serial cheat. So long as Roxy isn't in the room, he cheats as often as physically possible. What I'm saying is, this guy has an infinite amount of +4s up his sleeve to pile them on Freddy. It's always Freddy. Sometimes Monty, but mostly Freddy. Freddy has a knack for winning card games and Bonnie has a knack for losing to him. He's sat there, the turn before Freddy's, just waiting for Monty to give him a +4 so he can pass it along. If Chica is playing she knows he has a stack so sometimes she'll ask Monty if he has a +4 specifically to be able to hit Freddy with +12, possibly more if anyone else is playing. Now, Freddy can accuse Bonnie of cheating, but he can never fucking prove it so he's always getting away with it. It's why everyone always prefers to play with Roxy when they want to not have to worry about the card game equivalent of a ticking time bomb because she will rip him a new one for trying to cheat on her watch. And she's good at catching him doing it too, he doesn't get away with that shit with her and yet he's always trying. He's determined to get one over on her eventually. Freddy meanwhile, is struggling to hold all his cards. Plot twist: Due to the draw to match rule, he still ends up winning lmao

Speaking of draw to match, there is nothing Roxy and Chica love more than figuring out what colour the person who's got Uno has and changing the colour right before their turn. They especially love doing it to each other because they're so well known for it. They like to make sure that they're spaced out between the other players to make sure they can rob people of win at the last minute as often as possible. Everyone panicking like "WE GOTTA CHANGE THE COLOUR WE CAN'T LET THEM WIN" and then, out of the shadows, their saviour arrives as one of them speaks up, calm as fuck and says "Leave it red." The group start to cheer while the guy with Uno starts to hope and pray they're bluffing. They do bluff sometimes just to keep everyone on their toes and because it's hilarious but no one can ever fucking tell. Roxy is stupid obvious with her emotions but both options are good to her so she's never been harder to read in her entire life. Chica just wears a sweet, innocent smile as if she isn't holding the fate of the entire game in her hands. These two will literally save a regular colour change card for the entire game just for this. Sometimes they go a step further and ask if someone has a specific number card so they can change the colour like that and suddenly it's like a game of Go Fish. With draw to match as a rule? This is a fucking lethal move lmao

And you know who always ends up drawing a bajillion? Monty. Every time. He's like "Guess who's gotta draw again!" and everyone starts loudly counting the amount of cards he has to pick up every time. There is absolutely nothing funnier to everyone than when he has to pick up twenty cards after Roxy in particular just changed the colour when he had Uno. Just progressively throwing more and more absurd death threats at her while she cackles her ass off. Jokes on her, with all these cards, it's not hard to get a couple of +2s. His vengeance came one day when she immediately tried to +2 him after he'd drawn twenty and he passed it onto Chica... who passed it on to Freddy, who passed it back onto her... and guess who didn't have another +2? Roxy is LIVID while it's Monty's turn to laugh into eternity.

With all this being said, the one person they all always gang up on, is Bonnie. Cause he's a cheat. The moment Roxy grabs his wrist and pulls three +4s out of his sleeve without even looking up from her cards, it is a massacre. They dogpile him so hard, and anyone else that attempts to cheat gets the same treatment. Every player is coordinating specifically to make him draw more cards and he's so mad about it every time but it's still fun because he did ask for this lmao

Sunny is the infinitely lucky one though. He's always skirting along with Uno for like ten turns because he keeps drawing a playable time first try every time. The only way to stop him is to keep changing the colour or to +2 or +4 him. There was once a game where Chica was on one side of him, Foxy on the other and they kept reversing it so he couldn't play while they scrambled for a way to stop him. "I HAVE A +2 YA GOTTA MAKE IT RED" "I CAN'T MAKE IT RED REVERSE IT" "PLEASE YA GOTTA FIND A RED" and it went on for so god damn long lmao. Sunny keeps giggling like "heeheeheee I'm gonna win now!! You can't stop me!!! You can only reverse it for so long!!!" he finds their scrambling hilarious. He also shouts "TAKE THAT!!!" every time he plays a +4 or +2 and the one that completely misses what colour they're all avoiding and sets it to that colour without thinking. Monty deep sighing as he switches it back to a colour he doesn't have after he's already drawn like thirty cards over several turns lmao

They once all played teams Uno where Roxy had the minis helping her and Sunny and Moon were working together. The game didn't end for an hour and a half and yet, with Bonnie commentating, the others spectating were enraptured. They got Vanessa in on this a few times and it's the first time Freddy has lost in three years lmao

#fnaf security breach #roxanne wolf #glamrock chica #montgomery gator #glamrock freddy #the daycare attendant #fnaf sunny #glamrock bonnie #pop rox answers #/chill #long post

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missingmywing · 6 months

Text

Much shorter today, but both soft and angsty.

Ryomina Day 2: Stargazing/First Kiss (Ao3 Link)

These are all going to be continuations of Day 1 because I wanna explore this au more.

The amount of flipflopping I did trying to figure out if it’s even possible to see the stars in Kyoto - even at the stargazing spots - was… a lot, and I still didn’t get a definitive answer. All the pictures I looked at said no, but I also acknowledge that cameras aren’t always great, and they are called stargazing lookouts on various tourist sites. And the game and movie both show stars at night so we’re going to set aside the potential realities of light pollution and say that you can. And the first day of the trip is a new moon too, so it’d be a waste not to take advantage of that.

The hiking trail Ryoji drags Minato up against his will:https://www.insidekyoto.com/shogunzuka-seiryuden-hike-chion-temple

Also as usual, the song I listened to while writing this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox7Wt6fsm_A

Ryomina to Kimi no Na wa is somehow even more devastating.

~ ᙙᙖ ~

Minato had never really gotten attached to things before this year - aside from the mp3 player and Death/Thanatos - so he didn’t really miss anything from his childhood. But the one good thing that he could admit to missing, if he thought about it, was wandering the streets of Inagawa at night and looking up at the stars.

The green distortion of the dark hour tended to obscure the light of the stars, but even when it didn’t the light pollution of Tokyo not far away - plus Tatsumi Port Island itself - largely blocked them out.

Which meant that when they went to Kyoto for the school trip, Ryoji apparently decided on his own that that meant they should sneak out and go to the nearby Shogunzuka Seiryuden Temple to see if they could see any. Apparently it was the best lookout in the city, and a good place to stargaze.

Minato had his doubts given how bright the city was, but Ryoji seemed excited so he didn’t argue and just let the Shadow-turned-Persona-turned-boy sneak them out of the inn on the first night there to drag him on the long walk to the foot of the temple, then the half hour hike up to the temple itself.

If it had been anyone else Minato would have been annoyed and turned around. Ryoji was very lucky Minato liked him so much.

… especially after those six days where he’d been convinced that he’d lost him after Thanatos just vanished from his soul before Ryoji just showed up to school (which he still hadn’t explained and probably wouldn’t).

But Ryoji hadn’t let go of his hand the whole time they’d been walking, fingers intertwined and arms swinging as he chattered about the various things he’d been doing and exploring around Iwatodai and Tatsumi Port Island in the ten or so days he’d been consciously physical. It was almost surprising to hear how much he’d been doing without Minato - it had felt almost like they’d been glued together since the moment Ryoji walked into class with a grin and flirty line.

(It had taken an enormous amount of restraint for Minato not to throw himself out of desk and storm up to the front demanding to know where he’d been - the sudden flood of emotions he’d been struggling with since Thanatos vanished and suddenly whatever emotional suppression effect he’d had on Minato had vanished along with him had been difficult - but he’d managed to limit his reaction to a narrowed-eyed glare. They’d all thought Aigis was going to break cover and shoot him on the spot before she’d managed to get her own instinctual reaction under control.)

But they still spent a decent amount of time apart, given how busy Minato was helping various Social Links and Ryoji flirting his way through getting to know the entire school - how he was doing that without getting murdered by half the school population Minato neither knew nor cared - so it shouldn’t have been the surprise it was to realize that Ryoji somehow knew an entire year’s worth of drama that he hadn’t been around for.

Minato really didn’t care about the breakups and revenge plots and planned confessions of various couples around the school but Ryoji looked like he was having fun so he let him talk and only partially tuned him out.

When he’d come on the Kyoto trip he really hadn’t expected to be dragged on a multi-kilometer hike, but… well it wasn’t awful. The air was chilly enough that he wasn’t hot, and the months they’d spent sprinting up floor after floor of Tartarus meant he could easily handle the hike.

It just would have been nice to have some forewarning - or even just taken a taxi up.

But Ryoji was determined to have as many experiences as possible in the three months they had before The Fall, and Minato couldn’t fault him for it.

No one could escape time, not even the two of them, so they might as well make the most of it.

The downward turn of his thoughts must have been apparent to Ryoji - of course they were, he’d spent ten years sharing Minato’s soul - because the boy squeezed his hand with a sad smile and then yanked him forward.

Minato yelped and scrambled to catch his balance, and then they were running. Sprinting up the stairs, chilly autumn air whipping at their cheeks and red leaves and stone path blurring around them as Ryoji laughed and led the way and Minato couldn’t even bring himself to be annoyed as he rushed to keep up.

It was exhausting and exhilarating, the world blurring and fading away until all he could feel were the pounding of his heart and the slap of his shoes against the stone pathway and Ryoji’s hand in his, all he could see was Ryoji’s beaming smile and eerie two-toned blue eyes glowing in the dark.

When they finally reached the top Minato had to stop and double over to clutch at his side as he gasped for breath. Sometimes it was easy to forget just how not human Ryoji was.

There was a reason only Aigis could keep up with him.

“Sorry,” the Shadow-turned-boy offered sheepishly. “You alright?”

“F-Fine,” Minato panted. “Just… just give me… a minute…” Too many nights running from the Reaper had given him stamina at least, and the sudden thought made him snort.

Ryoji tilted his head questioningly.

Minato finally managed to straighten and begin to even out his breaths. “Usually I’m running away from the Reaper, not trying to catch up to him.”

That drew a startled laugh from Ryoji as he set his hands on his hips. “I’m not the Reaper! I mean I’m kind of similar I guess, but we’re still different! The Reaper doesn’t come from Nyx, I don’t think.”

“It doesn’t?”

“Not that I know of,” Ryoji shrugged. “I think it just comes from… elsewhere, like most Shadows,” he waved his hand vaguely in the air, “-and is drawn to places where Shadows gather.”

“Huh… well, you’re still kind of a reaper, even if you aren’t the Reaper.”

Ryoji stuck his tongue out at him. “Fair enough I guess. Now come on, we’re almost there!” He grabbed Minato’s hand and returned to pulling him forward towards the path opening up into the viewpoint area.

It was a small observational area overlooking the southern sector of Kyoto, and in the far distance he could even make out the glittering lights of Osaka in the clear, moonless night.

The important thing, though, was the endless expanse of stars above them that he hadn’t expected to see.

Minato stared wide-eyed, slowly walking forward towards the railing with Ryoji trailing behind him.

They weren’t quite as clear as they’d been in Inagawa, but they were there and sparkling like thousands of tiny fireflies in the far distance.

He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed being able to see them, and was even more startled by the sudden choking well of emotion rising from his chest to his throat and spilling out from his eyes. Was he really crying over the stars?

The sudden unpracticed ability to feel a full range of emotion again was becoming inconvenient.

He reached up to scrub at his eyes and tried not to jump when he felt arms wrap unexpected around his waist as Ryoji rested his chin on his shoulder.

“It’s fine, you know,” he murmured in his ear.

“They’re just stars,” Minato shot back, leaning into his hug. “They’re pretty, but it’s not worth crying over.”

“Isn’t it?” Ryoji countered. “You’ve missed them haven’t you. What wrong with that?”

… what indeed.

“It’s not like they’ve gone anywhere. I just couldn’t see them.”

“That doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to miss them.”

Minato had a feeling they weren’t just talking about the stars anymore.

Sighing, Minato reached down to intertwine their fingers. “It’s still annoying that I can’t control my emotions anymore.”

Ryoji snorted and pressed his face to Minato’s shoulder. “You mean that you have emotions again. You’ll get used to it - they aren’t bad.”

“Easy for you to say.” But Minato didn’t argue with him, just tipped his head back to stare up at the stars and try to remember the patterns of constellations. He could remember a few, tracing their paths with his eyes, and it was comfortable in the silence between them as he looked up at the twinkling lights in the sky and Ryoji looked down at the glittering lights of the city.

“It’s ironic,” Ryoji murmured finally. “I bet none of the scientists ever thought that the personification of Death could learn to value life, could learn to want to live and want humanity to live. I love you and I love them, and ten years ago I couldn’t have even imagined that I would be able to.”

Minato tightened his grip reflexively, trying to ignore the sudden burning behind his eyes and throat at the reminder. “I bet they’d be mortified,” he murmured. “Strega and Ikutsuki sure were.”

A wet laugh tumbled from the boy behind him. “Yeah, yeah they were. But I do. I do want to live. I want to live, and keep learning about people, seeing how they live and what they think. And I want to keep waking up every day with you and going down to the lobby to eat breakfast that Shinji made everyone while Yukari and Junpei argue and Akihiko and Mitsuru ignore them, and Fuuka tries to keep the peace while Ken sneaks Koromaru food from his plate, and Aigis tries to figure out why they’re arguing this time.” He was shaking, burying his face in Minato’s shoulder to hide his tears. “I want to stay with you forever, just like this.”

The tears had won the battle against Minato and they streaked down his face and turned the stars above them into a blur. He swallowed the knot in his throat and whispered, “Me too. I don’t want you to leave me too. I want to keep you here.” Wanted to drag Thanatos back into his soul, entwine them so strongly once more that he couldn’t leave him behind again. But they both knew he couldn’t - Ryoji’s very existence was proof that Death was whole once more, and a single human soul couldn’t contain Death without destroying itself.

But that didn’t mean he was willing to let go either.

Minato turned suddenly, startling Ryoji into loosening his grip, until they were facing each other. And it was a whim, a thoughtless, desperate motion to connect them once more that made Minato reach up to wrap his arms around Ryoji’s neck and pull him down to press their lips together for the first time. Ryoji froze for a moment before clinging more tightly to Minato’s waist and pulling him as close as he could.

And the kiss was awkward, wet with their shared tears and neither knowing what exactly they were supposed to do, but that wasn’t the point of it. Minato just wanted to be as close to him as he could in that moment, even if he couldn’t rejoin their souls. So it was awkward and desperate and not really good but it made him feel a little better to know it wasn’t just him.

That they were still the same even broken apart as they were.

When they pulled apart Minato tucked his head against Ryoji’s neck and just breathed. Ryoji clung to him just as tightly as he matched their breaths and they stood there. Together.

It wasn’t fair, none of it was fair, but they both knew that. There was nothing they could do about it - time came for them all in the end and they couldn’t close their eyes and cover their ears to hide from it. All they could do was live as much as they could until the end.

Minato found himself being dragged down as Ryoji suddenly fell backwards, until they were both sprawled on the concrete staring up at the stars once more. Minato’s arm was used as Ryoji’s cushion and his head was tucked against his shoulder and it wasn’t the most comfortable position but he didn’t want to move.

They just laid there, Ryoji occasionally pointing up to draw his attention to a constellation he either remembered or made up, and it was the calmest Minato had felt in weeks.

Time ticked ever onward though, and eventually Ryoji sighed and turned to press his lips to Minato’s head and murmured, “It’s almost midnight. Once the Dark Hour hits, I can fly us back.” His lips pulled up into a small smirk. “Save you the exhaustion of walking anywhere.”

Minato had complained about long walks to places before, even in his head, and while he didn’t hate exercise he wasn’t particularly thrilled with it either. Any other time he’d have been relieved at the offer.

But right here and now, in this extended fragile moment between them, with time ticking ever forward against them, he wanted to draw this out a little longer. Pretend for as long as possible that it was just the two of them and they had infinite time ahead of them.

So he just shrugged and said, “I can walk.”

Ryoji’s raised brow almost immediately morphed into understanding - of course it did - and his expression softened into something warm and pained. “If you’re sure. If we get back during the Dark Hour maybe Mitsuru won’t lecture us too badly about sneaking out.”

“And who’s fault was that?”

“I’ll take responsibility!”

“Somehow I don’t think that will save us,” Minato sighed, reluctantly sitting up. “We should go then. It’s around an hour to walk back so we’ll be cutting it close even if we leave now.”

“Good point. If we get too close I’ll just fly us the rest of the way, though.” Ryoji stretched his arms over his head and hopped to his feet, offering a hand to Minato. He accepted it and was pulled easily to his feet - but stilled as Ryoji suddenly too the opportunity to lean down and press another soft kiss to his lips. It was short, only a lingering moment, but something about it made his throat tight again and he pressed their foreheads together.

They lingered for another minute before reluctantly parting and turning to walk back.

The Dark Hour hit somewhere along the way, but alone on the trails with no coffins or Shadows around it felt distant and unobtrusive. The minutes stretched long and comfortable between them just as Minato had hoped they would, until they finally reached the city and its many coffins again.

They did not manage to sneak back to their room without Mitsuru noticing, but for once she didn’t lecture them. Just gave them a knowing look and told them not to sneak off under the teachers’ supervision. She looked… tired.

But then, most of SEES did after the harrowing few weeks and many revelations and near-fatalities they’d had.

They both reminded each other to rest at the same moment, and Mitsuru laughed softly as her expression lightened. It made something ease in his own chest.

They made it back to their room without further incident - other than Junpei made an excessive show of scanning them up and down as though looking for signs of indecency which made Ryoji wink and laugh and Minato throw a pillow at him - before finally collapsing on a futon and passing out.

He distantly heard Junpei trying to tease them for sharing a futon, but Minato was already falling asleep and Ryoji was more than capable of keeping up with Junpei.

He didn’t see the big deal - they’d technically been sharing a futon or bed for years whenever Death manifested, and Ryoji had basically moved into his room in the dorms by this point. But those two seemed to have fun with it so… whatever.

Minato was just satisfied to have Ryoji’s warmth against him as he fell into sleep.

~ ᙙᙖ ~

Much shorter, and more bittersweet than outright angsty than the last one. And very obvious Ryomina rather than implied.

It is still pretty sad though, I know, but that’s unfortunately what happens when you take an angst writer and ask them to try and write fluff.

So it may be obvious by now, but the idea is that this is an everyone lives/no one (on our side) dies route. Ikutsuki, Takaya, and Jin still die, but Shinji (if you want to reference my other fic Numb that’s basically what happens in this route, except add in some flashbacks towards his cousin too), Chidori, and Mitsuru’s father survive because as soon as Minato wakes up with SEES on crosses and Aigis under control he and Thanatos flip out and Ikutsuki ends up with the controller destroyed and himself very very dead.

Evokers might help with Persona evocation, but they aren’t necessary when someone gets in an unstable enough mental state and also has an excessively powerful and autonomous Shadow-turned-Persona in their head. SEES gets a little scared but Thanatos has gone rogue before and never attacked them so…

It’s a whole ordeal but Ikutsuki is the only one that ends up dead, so win?

(The “no one dies” thing does apply to Minato and Ryoji too though so there’s a lot of existential angst here for something that’s not going to happen. Minato and Ryoji are going to pull a Yu and Marie, and Ryoji’s going to absorb Nyx while Minato connects to the Universe and helps him fundamentally change how the draw towards humanity’s death works. Ryoji’s an eventual inevitable heat death situation for humanity somewhere along the line, but that’s so far into the future it’s not even foreseeable so it’s fine.)

#ryominaweek2023 #ryomina #persona 3 #ryoji mochizuki #minato arisato #makoto yuuki #soft and sad is one of my favorite things to write #when you know you're on a clock slowly ticking down #the end clearly in sight #but you just want that clock to stop ticking #also they love each other #and minato is not used to having a full range of emotions after ten years hosting death so he's trying and failing to adjust to /that/#this may be a happy ending au but the characters sure don't know that lol

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barcafemenino · 8 months

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Madrid CFF 0-2 FC Barcelona Femeni: Player Ratings

Photo courtesy: FC Barcelona Femeni X In the world of football, anticipation often builds before the first whistle. For FC Barcelona Femeni fans, the wait for the first match of the season felt even longer due to unexpected player strikes. However, when the day finally arrived, the anticipation was met with jubilation as the Catalan team emerged victorious with a 2-0 win in an away match against Madrid CFF, securing a 2-0 victory. Goals from Caroline Graham Hansen and Asisat Oshoala secured the three points for the Blaugrana in their season opener. Now, let's delve into the player ratings and dissect how each player performed in Madrid CFF 0-2 FC Barcelona Femeni.

Cata Coll: 7

fresh off an impressive showing in the just concluded 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, started between the goalposts for Barcelona Femeni. Throughout the match, she had little to do, as Madrid CFF struggled to create significant scoring opportunities. Cata Coll maintained her composure and never really looked troubled, making it a quiet day for her.

Lucy Bronze: 7.5

the experienced defender started the game with a bang, delivering a dangerous cross into the box in the opening minute that nearly resulted in a goal. Bronze not only excelled offensively but also demonstrated her defensive prowess. She won back possession effectively when she lost the ball and managed to mark and contain Kundananji. However, it's worth noting that she received a yellow card during the match. Irene Paredes: 7.5 known for her reliability in defense, didn't disappoint. She stood firm in the backline, thwarting Madrid CFF's counterattacks and through balls. Paredes showcased her defensive prowess with 2 clearances, 2 blocked shots, and 1 interception, a ground duel along with two aerial duels won.

Mapi Leon: 7.5

Mapi Leon's impact on the game was evident from the start. Her well-taken corner early in the match caused problems for Madrid CFF's defense. Throughout the game, Leon contributed to the team's attack with precise passes and excellent crosses into the opposition box. Her defensive contributions included 1 clearance and 1 interception. Notably, she created 1 big chance and completed 4 accurate crosses out of 8 attempts.

Ona Batlle: 8.5

Ona Batlle made her presence felt as she played through the left-back position. She confidently drove down the left wing, delivering dangerous crosses into the box and creating goal-scoring opportunities. Batlle fit seamlessly into the team, despite it being her debut for the garnet and blue. Her standout moment was an exquisite assist to Asisast Oshoala for Barcelona Femeni's second goal. With 2 key passes, 1 big chance created, and 1 assist, Batlle was instrumental in the victory. Batlle's pinpoint assist to Oshoala for the second goal demonstrated her understanding of her teammates' movements. She also forced a save from the Madrid CFF keeper with a well-taken shot in the second half.

Aitana Bonmati: 7

Aitana Bonmati had a relatively quiet first half, struggling to get much involvement with the ball. However, she maintained composure and kept things tidy. Although she didn't impact the game as much as she would have liked, her presence remained felt.

Ingrid Engen: 8

Ingrid Engen came close to opening the scoring with a header, narrowly missing the target. She played a vital role in the middle of the park, providing passing options and dropping deep to receive balls. Engen's defensive contributions were equally impressive, as she won crucial duels for the team. Her stats included 4 out of 5 ground duels won, 2 out of 3 aerial duels won, 1 clearance, 1 interception, 4 tackles, and 2 key passes. Her ability to provide passing options, defensive coverage, and crucial duels won demonstrated her value to the team.

Patri Guijarro: 7.5

Patri Guijarro intercepted balls effectively and worked tirelessly to regain possession for the team in the opposition half. Although she didn't see much of the ball to influence the game significantly, Guijarro held her own in her position. Guijarro's performance was solid, considering her limited time on the ball.

Caroline Graham Hansen: 8

Caroline Graham Hansen dazzled in the forward line, fluidly rotating positions with her teammates. Her beautiful finish opened the scoring, leaving the Madrid CFF goalkeeper with no chance to react. Graham Hansen's creativity shone through with 1 big chance created, 7 out of 18 accurate crosses, 6 key passes, and 1 shot on target.

Alexia Putellas: 7

Alexia Putellas took on the role of the number 9, pressing high relentlessly for the team. Although she missed a couple of chances, her efforts couldn't be faulted. Her header from Aitana's cross was inches away from opening the scoring in the second half. Later in the game, she dropped into midfield.

Claudia Pina: 7.5

Claudia Pina's dynamic presence in the attack was a continuous threat to Madrid CFF. She alternated between left and central positions, posing a continuous goal threat. Her footwork and precise pass assisted in the opening goal scored by Caroline Graham Hansen. Pina's dynamic presence added depth to Barcelona's attack before she was substituted for Mariona Caldentey. Her performance was marked by a solid 1 assist. Substitutes - Mariona Caldentey: Not rated - Mariona played through the left-wing forward position and combined effectively with Ona Batlle on the left wing, although she didn't have many opportunities to impact the game. - Marta Torrejon: Not rated - Marta held her position well but didn't have significant involvement in the game. - Asisat Oshoala: 7.5 - Asisat Oshoala was brought on as a substitute, and she wasted no time in making her presence felt. Within minutes of entering the game, she found the back of the net, scoring a crucial goal to seal the win. - Bruna Vilamala: Not rated - Bruna was brought in late in the game and contributed with her energetic pressing but didn't have much else to do. - Esmee Brugts: Not rated - Esmee made her Barcelona Femeni debut late in the game but had limited involvement. FC Barcelona Femeni began their season on a high note with a 2-0 victory over Madrid CFF. The team displayed resilience and a well-rounded performance, with standout contributions from Ona Batlle and Caroline Graham Hansen. Stay tuned for more exciting matches and updates from the world of FC Barcelona Femeni and check out the match live commentary here: https://barcafemenino.com/madrid-cff-vs-fc-barcelona-femeni-live-commentary/ Read the full article

#MustRead #PlayerRatings #TrendingStories

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eohascats · 1 year

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Koi No Yokan

(n.) the premonition of falling in love

"Tsukishima-kun, who's your favorite setter?"

Story rating: E / Chapter rating: T (cross-posted to AO3)

tags: canonverse AU, Fukurodani Tsukishima, Fukurodani Yamaguchi

Chapter 3

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

“You’ve worked with a few setters, right, Tsukishima-senpai? Who’s your favorite?” The fresh-faced first-year spiker was standing next to him during warm-ups, nearly vibrating at the prospect of the training camp ahead. Kei, a veteran of the team at this point, was thinking more about he overate at breakfast.

“Anahori,” he answered. It wasn’t necessarily the truth — though not exactly a lie, either — but with his teammate within ear-shot, even Kei had the social graces to know it was the only acceptable answer. The setter perked up, a small smile on his face, confirming Kei’s intuition.

“Even though you’ve worked with Kageyama-san? Yamaguchi-senpai told me you practiced with him all of last-year’s training camp!”

Kei shot a glare at the aforementioned ‘Yamaguchi-senpai’, now captain of their team and apparently more of a gossip than Kei had realized.

“Kageyama’s good, sure, but we didn’t do anything more than spiking practice.”

And kiss — once, disastrously — but that was neither here nor there. Kageyama had run out of the gym that night and Kei didn’t see him again until Spring Nationals. And ‘see’ was all he did — in their singular near-encounter in the hall, Kageyama’s ears had turned red and the other boy spun so quickly to walk in the opposite direction that he stumbled.

Kei took the hint and left him alone.

Kageyama hadn’t been at the first two training camps of the season, busy instead with the U19 team, and Kei had taken the reprieve with both gratitude and trepidation because now that the tournament was over, Kageyama had rejoined his team.

At least Karasuno was their last match-up of the day, so they could ease into the idea of the awkward meeting, having seen each other around the small gym. Even so, standing across from Kageyama as Hinata and Yamaguchi shook hands, captain to captain, Kei made it a point to look at a spot over his shoulder.

It took most of the first set to overcome the lingering unease he was feeling. Karasuno had recruited taller players over the years, now mostly 180-centimeter-plus on both offense and defense, and their blocking — previously a weak point — was significantly better.

Kei could tell Anahori was struggling to navigate around their defense as things currently stood, and knew that the setter was playing conservatively for Kei’s sake.

Damn knee.

“Anahori,” he called over. “Don’t hold back on my account.”

Anahori nodded in answer and, on the next play, set the ball high.

In a repetition of the motions he practiced here so many times just a year ago, Kei stepped back for his approach, built up speed and jumped.

Karasuno may have added height to their line-up, but Kei was still taller.

It wasn’t a forceful spike, barely more than a feint, but, unused to Kei’s quicks as the other team was, it fell behind the two-man block in a spot a foot shy of the diving libero. Kei came out of the crouch he’d landed in and shook out his knee, testing it for twinges and soreness as his team cheered at the point. When he looked up, midnight blue eyes were staring straight at him, Kageyama’s whole face fiercely annoyed.

The rest of the sets followed the same pattern: Karasuno attacked as they always had, Fukurodani attacked as they always had, both sometimes scoring, sometimes getting blocked. Every block-out or successful quick Kei managed, Kageyama’s eyes narrowed and jaw twitched. Every time Kageyama was faster than Kei’s read block resulted in a vicious smile.

It was fun. He almost forgot that he was supposed to feel uncomfortable.

Almost, because when he reached under the net at the end of the match to shake his hand, Kageyama stared first at his hand, then his face before scurrying away with pink cheeks, barely having touched Kei’s palm at all.

Kei declined offers for more practice as people began to mill about, instead heading to the ice machine in the hallway behind the supply closet. The day had been long and more strenuous than anything he’d done recently, so while his knee didn’t exactly hurt, he was definitely aware of it.

He was filling a second bag when the voice called out from behind him.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Excuse me?” he asked indignantly, turning around.

Kageyama stood just a few steps away, passing a water bottle back and forth between his hands. His eyes were pointedly not looking at Kei’s face and his ears were red.

What was wrong with Kei? What was wrong with him? Absolutely nothing. What was wrong with Kageyama, coming after him a year later and asking —

“Your knee.” Kageyama gestured at Kei’s left leg, where black kinesiology tape wrapped around the joint. “What happened?”

Oh.

“Sports Fest accident,” Kei said, deciding that he had enough ice and tying off the baggie. “Got fouled playing basketball.”

The other player had run up in Kei’s blind spot, appearing out of nowhere as Kei had pivoted to pass or take a shot — he couldn’t remember — and colliding with him. The crack of his knee against the court floor rang in his ears for days. His first thoughts weren’t of the pain or if his knee were broken but that, if he were seriously injured, he might not be able to play volleyball.

Volleyball, the ‘club’ he’d once written off as a marginally better alternative to the grocery mart cashier position his mother had threatened him with.

Luckily the injury was mild — a slight sprain, some bruising of the bone and more swelling than Kei was comfortable with — and between taking it easy for the past six weeks and copious ice, he was nearly fully recovered. He considered continuing to use the tape though — he liked the way it felt, even under the kneepads.

“You should be more careful,” Kageyama admonished, brows furrowed.

“Thank you,” he said, condescension dripping from his every word. “For your concern, Your Highness, this humble peasant will try his hardest —”

“Stop! Why are you being like this?”

“Like what?”

“Like — like — like this!”

“You haven’t clarified what you mean at all —”

“Why can’t you be like you were last year!”

And there it was — the first actual acknowledgement that something had transpired. Maybe Kei should be glad that Kageyama wanted to pretend it never happened but, as he often found the when the other boy was concerned, his mouth acted without his approval.

“When? Before or after you ran away?”

Kageyama flushed fully at that, sputtering and averting his eyes. Kei immediately regretted it.

“Look,” he said. “I’m sor — I should have asked before I kissed you last year. I realized that not everyone is…okay with that.”

And Kei wished he could be basically anywhere other than where he currently stood, given the way Kageyama was giving him a wide-eyed stare. Sometime during their conversation he’d moved closer, now blocking Kei’s easy escape down the hall and out the door.

“Do it again,” Kageyama said.

Kei rolled his eyes. “I’m only apologizing once, King —”

“No. Ki — kiff — kiss me again,” he stammered out.

He froze, staring intently at Kageyama. The hallway was suddenly unbearably quiet.

“What?”

Kageyama looked to the side and muttered from behind clenched teeth, “Kiss me again, asshole.”

“Well when you ask so nicely — oh, wait, you’re not asking —”

Kageyama growled and closed the space between them, pressing his mouth against Kei’s with a characteristic lack of preamble.

Kei stumbled backwards into the ice machine from the force of the kiss; Kageyama followed. Dropping the bags he was holding in favor of grabbing Kageyama’s waist, he fully intended to push him away but paused as Kageyama let out a quiet gasp at the flex of his fingers. Hard muscles tensed under his touch and Kageyama leaned further into Kei’s space.

The kiss, initially more of an assault on Kei’s own lips, gentled until the pressure eased up fully.

Unlike the last time, all he could see was Kageyama’s closed eyelids. Then those eyes snapped open and Kageyama, impossibly red, tried to take a step back.

But Kei didn’t let him go.

“Quit running away,” he said. “Especially since you kissed me this time.”

“HEH?” Kageyama was immediately indignant. “Running away?”

Kei couldn’t help but smirk. “Yeah, running away. Though it is expectedly tyrannical of you to kiss me a whole year lat—”

“Shut up!” Kageyama growled.

“Make me.”

Then Kageyama’s mouth was on his again. It was a better kiss this time — less force, more finesse. Kageyama had caught Kei’s lower lip between his own, tugging on it lightly as he pulled back to breathe before surging forward again and something sharp and sweet sang in Kei’s veins. The sting of teeth pulled him back to the present, though, and he nudged Kageyama back by the hips.

“But seriously, what’re you doing?”

Kageyama, still red, gave him a confused stare. “Kissing you.”

Kei blinked. “Yeah I know, but why?”

Blue eyes darted away and his tongue darted out over his lip. Kei tracked the movement of it intensely.

“I…because I want to.”

“And last year, you…didn’t want to?”

“Last year I didn’t know what I wanted.” He swallowed. “You caught me off guard.”

“So what changed?”

Kageyama swallowed, looking back at Kei.

“I figured it out.” Kageyama’s stomach growled loudly in the silent hallway. “Can we get dinner now if we’re not gonna kiss more? Unless” — and he looked bashful again as some realization dawned on him — “unless you don’t want to?”

“Don’t want to get dinner?”

“No — don’t want to kiss m—”

Kei didn’t let him finish, pulling him in closer with one hand and running his other thumb over his lip. The brush of their mouths was gentle, tender, almost too sweet for whatever ill-defined something this was, but Kageyama tasted sweet —

“Are you wearing chapstick?”

Kageyama blinked, eyes wide, cheeks probably permanently stained pink at this point.

He mumbled something from the corner of his mouth, ‘Hinata’ being all Kei could pick out from the hushed speech before reeling him in again, huffing a laugh.

He swallowed Kageyama’s gasp as Kei returned the favor from earlier, catching his bottom lip between his teeth and nipping at the flesh. In return, Kageyama pressed his tongue against the seam of Kei’s lips, licking into his mouth, running the tip over his hard palate just behind his teeth.

Pure sensation ran through Kei, starting at the point where Kageyama’s tongue pressed against him and jumping to his throat, stomach and groin. He moaned, couldn’t help it, a note that started low in his lungs and crawled out of his mouth as a full chord of desire.

Then Kageyama’s stomach growled a second time and although he’d rather immerse himself in the taste, feel and smell of Kageyama, laughter erupted from Kei, happy and bright. He threw his head back and laughed like he hadn’t in a long time. Looking back down, though, Kageyama was a few centimeters shorter than he had been a moment ago.

“Were you…were you on tiptoes this whole time?” Kei laughed again, giddy, lightheaded, feeling things he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt before.

“You grew, asshole!”

He had — a full two centimeters. He was also unreasonably pleased that Kageyama had noticed.

“Is His Royal Highness jealous?” Kei teased. “How kind of him, in that case, to bestow a kiss upon a mere peasa—”

Kageyama leaned up once again, kissed Kei quiet and turned, walking away.

Kei bent over to pick up his bags of ice and Kageyama’s water bottle before following, smiling.

#kagetsuki #tsukikage #haikyuu!!#kageyama tobio #tsukishima kei #haikyuu fanfiction #koi no yokan #月影 #츠키카게

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