#that a part of her is lost with them and maybe that's fine. bc other part of her is now hugging the twins and staring directly at him

[sssilverstoned]

while you can still smell them ꩜ ln4

type: full length fic

word count: 3.9k

title from: i wish you roses by kali uchis

warnings: some fluff, angst, but like it's a happy ending. cursing bc i'm me, italics are memories

lily said: you know me i can never leave well enough alone. i thought this little snapshot of the break that was never really a break would be cute! for context, i'd suggest looking at the ig au linked below! this would be taking place in between part 2 and 3.

part 1

part 2

part 3

masterlist

You've only seen Lando cry on occasions that called for it. When family members died, when racing got too much for his mental, in some awful, awful moments. Maybe that's why it hurts so bad to see him cry now.

"A break feels a lot like you should add 'up' to that statement," he had said, turning away from you, looking out at the stars. You were sat on his balcony, feeling suffocated by the apartment. But the AC was on and working fine, and windows were open. Your emotions were suffocating you, that was more fitting.

"We can't keep on like this, Lan," you say in a broken voice, the lump in your throat thick and threatening. "It's not fair to either of us."

He doesn't realize he's crying until the drop hits his nose, making it quirk up in surprise. He swipes at his face, a pawlike move to get rid of the teardrops.

"Do you not love me anymore?"

His question makes you sob. Full body, head dropping to chest, your hands writing in your lap. The sound of you breaking down turns him back to you, rushing to the chair you've melted into. He lifts your face in his hands, and you take a breath when you see his face, discolored with tears.

"I'll always love you," he makes out of your words, just barely. "I, I just, it's not the same,"

"We can fix this, us. We can work on it together," Lando's brain is whirring at hyper speed, damage controlling the last 8 months of your lives together.

The cracks began to become schisms when he committed your largest pet peeve, which was ignoring things out of ease. Blissful ignorance, if you will.

It was small things, like forgetting about date nights in lieu of longer trainings or prolonging trips. Sometimes he forgot to water the plants, or didn't move laundry over, and that was manageable. That's what every couple encounters. What every couple does not encounter, was the intense pressure of racing a car for a living.

He was frustrated, with Zak, with anything papaya colored, and with his own self-doubts. He carried that frustration in his chest, and it came out in some of the words he spoke to you, and actions he took. You eventually stopped offering to come over and cook, because dinners were becoming continuously tense, and you were uncomfortable. Felt like a nuisance.

But at the same time, you were both so codependent. Without anything being said, you two began to avoid things you assumed the other wouldn't like, and asked for permission to do the smallest of things. You first noticed it when your sister pointed had asked you to come go with her out of town for the weekend, and you hesitated. "I'll have to ask Lando," you had told her. She bit her tongue.

Lando was just as bad, he had quite literally lost the ability to sleep when you weren't around. It made Grand Prix weekends an actual nightmare when you weren't there, calling you at any times in the day or night.

"Are you alright, it's 4am,"

"Sorry, can't sleep again. The melatonin does nothing,"

"Did you try the tea my mum got you?"

"Baby I just," he scrubs a hand down his exhausted face. "I just need you here."

"I can't just get up and go to Australia."

"I'll get you a flight, or maybe we can-"

"Lando," you say in a sterner voice. "I can't."

He's quiet for a moment, and you wonder what's going through his head. You hardly raised your voice or got intense, certainly never at him. But then again, recently, you seemed to never know what was going through his head.

It was silly to think that Lando was the same man that you began dating. You were 19, you would pray that he had changed somehow over the span of 5 years. But there was something missing that once was. The relationship was becoming more of a task, and that wasn't right. Which is what brought you to this moment, brought you to telling him you needed to talk.

"Lan," you whimper, bringing a hand up where his hold your face on either side. You don't even have to say anything more, he knows you better than you know yourself. And he begins to cry harder.

"I've never loved anyone but you, baby."

"I know."

"I can't, I really don't want to live without you," he shakes his head, standing back up to his full height. His hands stay busy, though, ripping through his hair.

"I'm not going to go away," you explain, agonized that you're calmer than he at this point. You stand from the wicker chair, but don't edge closer to him. "But my career is unpredictable right now, 6 months in Marbella is a long time. And you're, well, everywhere. And you need to focus on that."

"I've multitasked for 5 years," he says bitterly, making you sigh. His eyes are back on the stars, and his back to you makes your eyes blurry again.

"I'm not happy." You finally blurt, making his body stiffen. "I'm really not."

When he looks at you again, his expression reads clearly with fatigue, with anguish. "Please, baby, don't,"

It's your turn to clutch his face, bringing his forehead to touch with yours. Through your contact, you feel the heaves of his body, the breaths he's trying to control. "It's not forever," you whisper, mustering courage. "But we need to stop acting like everything's fine."

"I don't see myself without you."

"You're not," your hold tightens, he leans further into your palm, "but we've grown up together. The flower pot's too small now," you try to joke, he barely can fake amusement.

"I'll buy a thousand new pots."

"We need to clean up the broken one, first." His jaw clenches, you soothe it with your thumb. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He says back, almost silently. "Still wear that Mclaren shirt on race days, I need the luck."

You finally crack a smile. "I'll wear the hat too if my hairstyle permits."

He kisses you, almost convincing himself this if is the last fix he can get for a while, he needed it now. Not that either of you know it, but you both have the same thought. You both notice that your cheeks have each other's tears on them now, not sure which ones came from whom. You were on the same page in that regard, at least.

꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜

"You should ask y/n out," your best friend says to Lando in the middle of a party. He chokes on his drink, not expecting her to come up to him like she did, and not expecting the words out her mouth.

You all were freshly 19, still congregating in someone's living room to try to have a good time. He knew your friends better than he knew you, the newest of the group in town, only having moved to the area with your family when you were 16.

"Should I, now?" He says, recovering from his fright.

"Yeah," she replies, ignoring the sarcasm. "She goes on about you, it's cute. She'd hurt me if she knew I told you, though. Not sure what she sees in you," his eyes narrow at the girl, which she ignores once again. "You'd be lucky to have a girl like her in your life."

That much, he knew. You were fiercely loyal to your friends and family, and treated him with a kindness that made him melt every time. You were funny, and genuine, and not to mention, the most beautiful person he's sure he knows.

When he bumps into you later at the party, he asks you what you're doing the following evening.

That was the story he'd tell people with a proud grin when they ask how you two got together. All you recount is how he nearly ruined your cute top with a shitty guinness.

He's struck with the memory when he sees the guinness logo in the ads on the walls of a restaurant. "Mate," Max all but snaps his fingers. Lando locks back in, humming for what he missed.

"Was just curious if you wanted to go out tonight. They've been texting in the chat about it, I saw you never responded."

Clubbing wasn't as fun as it used to be, not when you weren't dancing your heart out beside him, or waiting in bed with your nose in a book when he came home because you weren't feeling like going out. It felt like a waste of his time, and like he was sucking the fun out of other people's nights.

"'M alright," he says with a tight mouthed grin. "Gonna sit this one out."

Max looks at his friend, seeing through his response. "When's the last time you went out?"

If he had to take an educated guess, you last graced his apartment that night on the balcony, 4 weeks ago. So, 4 weeks ago. Perhaps longer, judging by the schisms. "A while. Not up to it."

"You're torturing yourself."

"I'm not interested in getting shitfaced, Max."

Max looks away for a second, quickly weighing the pros and cons of asking what he's been wanting to for the last, well, 4 weeks. "Do you think Y/n is wallowing too?"

The sound of your name makes his fingers twitch inadvertently, almost like a flinch. "That's not fair."

"I'm serious, Lando. You said she needed a break because she felt like you two were co-dependent and not actually working through problems, and look at you. You're not functioning without her. I mean, it's your fucking birthday next week, and you haven't brought it up once, you realize that, right?"

He knows he's right. Nothing he said was out of line, or wrong, and that's why Lando has nothing to say back. He wants to argue, to prove him wrong, but he can't. He's seen your ads and campaigns, the beautiful shots of you promoting luxury brands and names that your fans only dreamed of owning. Despite the distance, he was so proud of you still. You worked hard, were disciplined and humble through your success. He had texted you when the Dior campaign had launched, and the message of your thanks, with a smiley face, made him, for just a second, think that things were back to normal.

When they left the restaurant, and ran directly into fans, Lando tried to put on his best face for them, smiling for selfies and signing what was gestured toward him. When a sweet looking girl with glasses shyly spoke up, telling her favorite driver where she was visiting from, his tired eyes light up. "You're from there?" He confirms, and she smiles with an eager nod.

"Y/n is too," he almost mumbles, but every fan in earshot heard it. The typical squeals followed, the hushed whispers amonst themselves on if they'd push the questions they were itching to ask or not. And heard it they did, as the encounter made its way onto social media and gossip pages. But Max was right, his mourning period needed to be over, if anything was going to change for the better.

You call him on his birthday. It was nerve wracking, which made you bitterly laugh, because never did you think you'd be nervous to talk to Lando Norris of all people. One of the few people in the world you wholeheartedly trusted.

It had only been about a month since you requested time apart, and he had honored that. The texts were sparse, the calls nonexistent. Although, that was sort of what had brought you to this point anyway. But you were working on yourself, and your career at the same time, and things were looking better. Change never happened overnight, but the journal your therapist recommended, and the disappearance from social media besides professional posts were great starts.

You bite at your cuticle as the phone rings. You take your cell away from your ear, chest panging at the contact name "Lan <3" at the top of the screen. Was he really going to screen your call? Is that what you deserved, possibly?

"Y/n," he finally answers, and you quickly bring your phone back to your ear.

"Hi," you say awkwardly. "Happy birthday, Lando."

"Thank you," he says stiffly. "I'm happy to hear from you."

"Yeah I um, haven't really been on my phone here," you bite harder on your finger. "I think it's nice here, you'd love Marbella."

"I'm sure I would," he says with what you can hear is a smile. "I miss you, you know?"

"I miss you too," you concede, "how have you been?"

"Not great, I won't lie. Much rather would hear about you."

"'s not my birthday," and he smiles a bit at that.

"Well, racing's fine. But Max is sick of my shit, says I've been wallowing."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Yeah."

You don't really know what to say, you've rarely been the perpetrator of his negative feelings. No relationship was perfect, but you all hadn't really hit a communication wall until now. It was uncharted, scary territory. "Well, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, that was all. Have a good day, really. 24 is a big one. Kobe year, that's what someone said to me. I hope this year is great for you."

"Y/n, wait," he halts your beginnings to hang up. "I'd like to come to see you soon, I've got some time before Abu Dhabi and maybe I could swing by Spain on the way."

"Lando," he absolutely hates that you're calling him by his whole name. Lan, that's what would you called him almost exclusively. Lando feels so formal from you.

He needs to hear it, you know he does. He needs to hear that you want to see him, that you need to see him just as much as he yearns to put eyes on you once more. But you were constantly afraid of accidental manipulation, holding him by some invisbile garotte. But this was his first birthday you hadn't celebrated together since you were 19, that meant something.

"Please focus on racing," you implore, and squeeze your eyes shut before adding, "but you if you'd like to come and it won't be an issue in your plans, you're more than welcome."

꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜꩜

You saw the posts, it wasn't very hard. Fans utterly disappointed that you and Lando hadn't been seen together in ages, putting pieces together quickly after you didn't post for his birthday. It didn't make you feel worse, to be truthful, and to your surprise. You were sure there'd be a barrage of insults hurled your way, maybe a cheating rumor or two. But really, all there was to see were requiems for your relationship, nostalgia for what once was. What did cause you to delete instagram from your phone, was the response to the podcast.

You were single for the time being, that's what you and Lando had agreed on when he visited you. It wasn't an invitation to go out and find the next man to lay in your bed, but you both had agreed that it wasn't healthy to hold out in anticipation of your rekindling.

"You're the only girl I've, you know," he awkwardly trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. He sits up in bed, linens pooling around his hips. Hooking up with your now ex-boyfriend, might've not been your brightest idea, sure, but you were both human, at the end of the day.

"Fucked?" you tease, remaining comfortable against your plush pillow. "I know. First few times kinda showed that."

He looks back at you pointedly. "You cried the first time."

"It hurt!"

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head in fake annoyance. You grin. "I'm sure the girlies are gonna have a field day with you being single now,"

He rolls his eyes again, laying, or rathing slumping, back into the pillow next to you. His arm instinctively comes around the top of your head, you try not to lean into it. "I think I really will finally listen to you and focus on racing."

You turn on your side, admiring his profile as he stares up at the ceiling, probably tangled in his thoughts. His nose sloped perfectly, the little freckles dotting his skin like constellations. Your boy.

"I told my mum."

He snorts. "She hates me now, I'm sure."

"Mm, no, her first ask was what I did," your mom was Lando's biggest fan, through and through. Of course, you were her daughter, but she was convinced he was cosmically made perfectly for you.

He looks at you then, realizing your eyes have been on him the whole time. He copies your position, turning to you so your bodies lay parallel, nowhere to look but each other's eyes.

"Do you regret that I'm the only boyfriend you've ever had?"

You immediately shake your head in denial of the question. "No, not at all," you were lucky, if anything. "You?"

"Well, I've had other girlfriends,"

"Ouch?"

"You knew that," he chuckles, and yeah, you did. "But I don't regret that you're the only one I've been serious about. I still am."

"I know. I am too."

"An ex-boyfriend doesn't lay in bed with you, you know."

"And an ex-girlfriend doesn't still remind your team when your doctor's appointments are,"

"Fair enough, guess we're just weird."

You share a matching grin. "So weird."

So once Alex uploaded the Call Her Daddy episode you were a guest on, and it was official to the masses that you had been single for now almost 4 months, the articles came in. The timelines of you and Lando's relationship, the rumors of him leaving clubs with random girls. You'd be lying if you said you didn't zoom in on some of their faces, relaxing when you recongized most of them as friends or even family members. He wasn't yours to be worried about, you suppose, but you also knew that any girl he decided to share his time with would be a lucky one.

Your friends had tried to get you on dates, that wasn't a lie when you said that on the podcast. But you weren't ever excited to get to know someone new, small talk was painful and you didn't feel comfortable going home with them.

But then, a few weeks later into February, you get a phone call from Lando. "Hi," You answer, pleasently surprised.

"Hey there," he says, sounding slightly out of breath. "How are you?"

"I'm good, great even. Finished up everything down here, leaving Marbella next week to head back home." Home was London to you, not Monaco. You constantly visited, had a family flat there and everything, but couldn't leave officially becuause of your career.

"Congratulations, everything looked stunning," he compliments, and your stomach flutters.

"But um, how are you? I'd ask if you were relaxing, but I'm sure training's well underway."

"Meh, more or less. I'm heading to Surrey next week, actually. Got some stuff to do at HQ."

"Oh," Surrey was only about an hour and a half from where you were in London. "Would you, well, not assuming anything, but if you'd have time to spare, it would be great to catch up?"

This isn't why Lando called you, you fully know this. Who knows what he picked up the phone for, he could be calling to let you know he's eloped with someone he's met in the 6 months you've been apart.

"I'd love to," you hear his grin in his voice. "You haven't moved, have you?"

Not only had you not moved, but you haven't changed much about your flat either. Same bedding, same color schemes, same photos decorating your tables and walls of your friends, family, and Lando. He never took the photos of you down either, and that photo from your 21st birthday was still stuffed in his wallet.

You order takeout, sitting across the kitchen island from each other acting like it didn't feel like your first date again. He acts like he doesn't want to reach out for your hands as you animatedly use them to share stories of Spain, and you act like you don't want to push the curls back that threathen to land over his eyebrows.

The food gets cold as you two catch up, a few glasses of wine becoming a whole bottle gone. You actually can't remember the last time the two of you had done this, and perhaps, absence had truly made your hearts grow fonder.

"Bahrain is on leap day," Lando says, making you gasp.

"That's got to be good luck, no?"

"It's just the first practice,"

"But still, you're starting your first weekend of the year on a special day like that," you muse, "so exciting. I'm excited for you,"

His chest warms at endearment in your voice. You truly and honestly rooted for him through everything, that was one of the things he was most grateful for about you. He knows you don't truly care about all of this, if he won or lost, but that you care about him and his development, how he sees himself and his profession. He fell in love with that about you.

"Would you come?"

You hesitate, daring to look at him from where you had begun to clean the countertop. "To the race? "

He nods, and turn back to the counter. "I don't know, Lan. Is that where we are?"

He hopes so. He's missed you something horrible, prays you missed him just as bad.

Lando takes the cloth from your hand, replacing it with his own. "I know it's only been about 6 months, and that's not enough time to say everything's well and dandy," you fight a smile. "But I want to work through things, with you. I've had nothing but time to consider what was off with us, and I want to be better. For you, more than anything. Yeah, I learned how to be just Lando. But I know I prefer being Lando and Y/n."

You bite your lip, finally meeting his eyes. "I want to take it slow."

"We can do that,"

"So, I don't know if I'm ready for the race. But, my birthday's coming up,"

"It is,"

"And we'll be in Dubai. My sister did it up, got this crazy plan going since it'll be my 25th."

"Quite the old woman you're becoming,"

"Oh get off that," you scoff, pushing his chest. He chuckles and pulls you back into him, where you go willingly. "But, if you can, I'd love for you to come to the dinner."

He raises an eyebrow with a smirk. "You want me to fly to Dubai just for your birthday dinner?"

"You'll be in Saudi Arabia then anyway,"

The smirk gets bigger. "You know my schedule already, love?"

"You're so fucking cheeky, can't stand it," you feign annoyance, but never move from his arms.

He holds you, as your arms delicately find themselves behind his neck, not daring to kiss just yet. To really be honest, you're not sure if you're ready to take that whole plunge.

"I'm happy to be back, even if things are slow. They can be molasses for all I care."

"Thank you for being patient with me," you lean your forehead against his. However, this time, neither of you are crying. Nice, for a change.

"I'd wait decades for you, my love."

After a beat of sweet silence. You speak up once more. "One thing though," he hums to prompt your continuance. "I'm pretty sure, when it's said, it's Y/n and Lando, just so you know."

#is this me projecting? yeah #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #lando norris imagine #lando norris x reader

[watchmegetobsessed]

BACK TOGETHER

A/N: okayyyy another little steve fic bc yall really loved my prev one!

PAIRING: Steve Harrington x Reader

WORD COUNT: 1.1k

WARNING: season 4 spoiler!!!

SUMMARY: You and Steve broke up not long ago, but watching over Max in the night brings the two of you back together.

MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

The gang is now stationed in the Wheelers’ basement once again. After what happened to Max in the cemetery you’re guarding her nonstop, there’s always someone watching her, checking that she is still listening to the music and hasn’t gone into trance again. It’s one in the morning and you’re the chosen one to keep an eye on her, but Steve has decided to join you. 

It’s been a bit weird, hanging out with Steve so much even though the two of you broke up just a few weeks ago. You haven’t spoken much, but the recent happenings with Vecna brought the old gang together so now you’re forced to be around each other again. The breakup happened after a stupid, but pretty intense fight you had, it started because you’ve had enough of Steve always hanging out with Robin and even though you know Robin is playing on a different team, it’s still pretty annoying when you can’t make plans with your boyfriend because he already has something going on with Robin. 

He accused you of being jealous for no reason and you told him he is a child and it ended with a screaming match and the two of you parted ways after breaking up. One year of relationship ended in such a ridiculous way, you almost kind of feel embarrassed. 

“You’re not hearing any clock dinging, right?” Steve asks, breaking the silence since everyone around you is asleep. 

“Wait, you don’t hear it?” you ask with a dead serious face and watch as his expression falls completely. “I’m just kidding,” you add quickly.

“It’s not funny, Y/N, not after what happened to Max!” he tells you off, but you still find it a bit comical. He should know you well enough to know you’d have already told them if Vecna was after you. 

“Sorry, just trying to stay awake,” you yawn, taking a glance at Max who is seemingly still perfectly fine.

“Go to sleep, I can take over your shift,” he offers.

“No need to play the hero, Steve.”

“I’m not… I’m just trying to be nice,” he rolls his eyes.

“We’re not together anymore, so you don’t have to go out of your way to be nice to me, though you didn’t quite do it before either.”

Your comment comes out a bit spicier than you intended, but you also think it’s true. It’s too late to act nice now, he should have cared about you when you expected it from him. 

“Y/N, maybe we should talk about that,” he sighs, running a hand through his ridiculously good hair. How does he look this good even in the middle of what feels like another apocalypse? 

“About what exactly? That we broke up or that you said I was jealous or that you spent more time with Robin than your own girlfriend?”

“God, I almost forgot how hot you are when you give me an attitude.”

“And you’re such a child,” you roll your eyes and attempt to get up from beside him, but he grabs your hand and pulls you back. 

“I’m sorry! Please, I want to apologize!”

“About wha–”

“Everything, Y/N,” he groans, already knowing what you wanted to ask. “You were right and I was an ass. I just always thought you would find someone better than me at college so I convinced myself you don’t need me and I didn’t want to need you either.”

His confession surprises you, he never told you he was having second guesses and you would have reacted differently if only he told you the truth.

“Steve, I’m staying in Hawkins instead of applying to schools out of state. I made this decision because of you. Do you think I would just drop you for some other guy?”

“I don’t know, I thought about that, yes,” he replies with a shrug, but it’s obvious he is struggling inside.

“You’re an idiot, Steve. That’s what you are,” you sigh. 

“Well, at least we agree about that. I really am an idiot, because I lost the best girl in town.”

Silence falls on you, it’s heavy and says a lot. You want to tell him you still love him, that you still want to be with him, but you want him to take this step, to tell you he wants to give your relationship another go. But you know it can take some time for Steve to figure out, to decode the signs you send him.

“What song would you play to bring me back?” you ask to keep the conversation going. His eyebrows rise as he looks at you with a tiny smile as he thinks about his answer.

“Something from Duran Duran, it’s your favorite, right?” he smirks as you gape at him.

“You ass, that’s your favorite!” Steve starts laughing and you can’t hold it back either as you smack him in the chest.

“Cyndi Lauper Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. You played it every morning last year when we drove to school,” he then says and it’s the correct answer, it’s definitely your favorite song at the moment. “Though I’m a bit hurt that your favorite song is not related to me,” he adds.

“But it is.”

“What?” he furrows his eyebrows at you.

“It was playing on the radio when you picked me up on our first date,” you tell him. “I took it as a sign.”

“That it was gonna be a good date?”

“That Steve Harrington is not as big of a douchebag people say him to be,” you tease him smirking. “And I was right. He is a pretty good guy. He just… gets lost sometimes, forgets that I love him a lot and I don’t want other men when I have him.”

He looks at you with those puppy eyes, his ridiculously curly eyelashes framing them perfectly and all your anger and disappointment is now gone. You just want your boyfriend back. Luckily, Steve reads the situation as well and he knows this is his chance to get you back.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I was a shitty boyfriend, but if you gave me another chance I would do everything to make you happy.”

“What took you so long?” you sigh with a soft smile before leaning in and pressing your lips against his. 

You missed his lips, his kisses, his touches, the way he cups your face when he deepens the kiss. For a moment you’re not in the Wheelers’ basement, but in a safe place somewhere far away from the madness in Hawkins.

“It’s so nice you two just got back together, but you’re supposed to be watching Max.”

Dustin’s voice snaps you out of your little bubble and pulling away from Steve you see him sitting up, his eyes puffy and barely open as he watches the two of you.

“Henderson, you just know exactly when to open your mouth, huh?” Steve sighs and the kid in question just smirks and shrugs before lying back down and Steve doesn’t hesitate before pulling you closer to continue from where you left it before Dustin’s interruption.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

#steve harrington #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #stranger things #stranger things season 4 #stranger things spoiler #stranger things season 4 spoiler #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington one shot

[ddejavvu]

Aaron Hotchner is the type of man to switch sides when you’re walking so he can be closest to the road. U don’t catch on, just get steadily more and more exasperated bc he does this little jog behind you so he can get to ur other side and u just don’t get it

"Now what I don't understand," You puzzle, talking animatedly with your hands as you think, brows furrowed, "Is why he wouldn't take a souvenir from this victim. Was it something about them? Or- or were they rushed, or did their tactic change? It was such a critical part of the process," You huff, storming through an empty crosswalk on the way back from a crime scene. Hotch follows behind you, letting you duck out in front of him in your blind frustration.

"I'm not sure," He concludes drearily, "But I'd wager that it wasn't the last option. They take the souvenirs they take for psychological reasons, and I doubt those changed this suddenly."

You hear Aaron's voice shift from behind you to your right, and his broad frame crowds you into the houses on your left. You shift with him, falling into stride beside him down the next block.

"The neighbors said they didn't hear anything," You reason, "So if they were rushed, it wasn't because they were at risk of getting caught. Maybe they needed to be somewhere else? To- to attend to their previous victim? Anna was still alive at the time." You reference the now-deceased victim, who'd been held captive for six days prior to her death.

"She was being kept alive carefully," Hotch nods from beside you, and his hand shoots out to hover in front of your midriff before your foot can hit the street again. You glance sideways at him in mild annoyance, but find that a car rolls towards you from the right. You let it pass, impatience coming to a rolling boil under your skin.

As soon as its bumper is out of your path you're shooting through the street, hellbent on picking your team's brain on the subject. You're too lost in thought to notice what side of the sidewalk you're trekking over, but when Aaron's hand comes to ghost against your hip, nudging you to the left, you throw him a glare.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure you don't walk into the street," He huffs, "Move over."

You do quite the opposite, in fact, you come to a complete stop. It takes him a moment to orient himself, and he steps back from where he'd been pressed against you.

"You mean to tell me that you've been ducking behind me every five seconds to be chivalrous?"

"Well if you weren't such a maniac on the sidewalk I wouldn't have to worry," He snaps, "You almost stepped in front of a car."

"I could have made it," You gripe, but when you start walking again, it's on the left side of the sidewalk, "But fine. Be a gentleman."

"Thank you," He drawls sarcastically, matching your stride as you powerwalk back to the precinct, "You know, if I come back without you, they're all going to kill me."

"Prentiss would kill you." You muse, "Morgan might just punch a wall or something."

"I think I'd be the most worried about Reid," Aaron muses, and you turn a confused expression his way.

"He'd throw a book at me," Hotch decides, "And he's re-reading War and Peace."

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner scenario #aaron hotchner oneshot #aaron hotchner one-shot #aaron hotchner one shot #aaron hotchner headcanons #aaron hotchner headcanon #aaron hotchner hc #aaron hotchner hcs #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner fanfic #aaron hotchner fic #aaron hotchner blurb #aaron hotchner drabble #aaron hotchner dialogue #aaron hotchner fluff #aaron hotchner x reader fanfiction

[sallownights]

lavender haze

Request: Can I pls request an Ominis Gaunt x fem Slytherin reader who is part of the Black family and is the niece of professor Black. The two have been best friends since childhood but have also been in an arranged marriage since before they were born. At school, Professor Black often teases the two, as well as Sebastian. They argue that they are just friends but they both have feelings for each other. It all changes during Christmas break when Ominis mother sends him an owl saying that him and his fiancé are to stay at the Gaunt Manor over the break. Ominis is reluctant but y/n convinced him that everything will be fine and that they should go. When they arrive at the manor Ominis parents and siblings greet y/n saying how much they have missed her. During their stay, Ominis confesses his feelings to her and they finally get together. 💕

request by: @levis-dilutedbleach

word count: 5.2k

CW: ominis’ family (i feel like they need a warning), violence, fluff, gramatical errors (maybe), hurt/comfort? maybe? (idk what the tags would be <3)

A/N: I had so much fun writing this! And ofc i related it to taylor swift. bc i think i’m just branding my blog this way. sorry. love you.

pairing: ominis gaunt x f!slytherin!reader

“Did you get number 4 yet? I don’t understand the question.” Y/N looks at Ominis, her eyes pleading a bit.

Ominis nods curtly, his slender fingers still grazing his book. Y/N stares at Ominis, for a moment, before sliding her chair over to look at his parchment.

Ominis closes his eyes, breathing in Y/N’s perfume. Lavender. He let himself get lost in her for a moment. The proximity to Y/N was intoxicating. He hears a chair scrapping away from him, the scent going with it.

“Thank you,” Ominis can hear the smile in Y/N’s voice.

“Do you have any plans today? I heard Sebastian say something about practicing spells in the Undercroft.” Y/N asks Ominis, watching him intently. Ominis’ eyebrows furrow.

“I believe he mentioned it, yes,” Ominis pauses for a moment. His breathing a bit shaky. “Would you like to accompany me?”

Y/N thinks for a moment. While yes, she does want to spend time with Ominis, she doesn’t enjoy the constant teasing from Sebastian. Or the teasing from her uncle, Professor Black, whenever she and Ominis are in the halls.

“I don’t want to intrude-”

“You won’t be.” A small smile graces Y/N’s lips.

“Well then, I shall accompany you.”

After studying for a couple more hours, Ominis collects his things, helping Y/N get her things together as well. Before Y/N can pick up her books, Ominis takes them into his arms. Y/N began to protest before Ominis started walking, not giving her a moment to disagree with his actions.

Y/N and Ominis walk into the Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower, making their way to the secluded, odd clock. Ominis and Y/N fit into the lift, lowering them to the ground. The lift creaks and Y/N opens the gate, the metal grating against the brick.

“Hey, Ominis… and Y/N. Didn’t know you’d be joining us today.” Sebastian walks over to the pair. Y/N looks to Ominis for a moment before turning back to Sebastian.

“Yes, I hope that’s alright. Ominis asked if I liked to join.” Sebastian smirks. That same stupid damn smirk.

“Well, don’t let me stop you.” Y/N takes her books from Ominis’ arms. She walks over to a plush lounge chair she conjured at the end of last year. Y/N sets her pile of books down taking the one off the top. Advanced Charms.

‘Great’ Y/N thought to herself. She looks over to the boys who are deep in conversation before they start taking their robes off. Y/N stands, walking over offering to hang them up. Sebastian throws his at her, bending down to re-tie his shoes. Ominis gently hands his robes to her, placing his hand atop hers.

“Thank you, Y/N.” Ominis gives her a warm smile while heat rises in her chest.

“Mhmm.” That was all she could muster to say. She walks over to their makeshift coat rack and hangs up their robes, brushing out any wrinkles they might have. Sebastian’s clearly more of a mess than Ominis.

When Y/N resettles herself on the chair, she starts reading where she left off in the library. She hears the boys shuffle for a second before she notices Ominis rolling up his sleeves. She blushes to herself, trying to force herself to look back at her book, but finding herself entranced by Ominis toned forearms. Her gaze moves lower, to his hands. She knows she’s staring and she knows she should stop, but something about the way he grips his wand when he’s about to duel. She feels her body grow hot before Sebastian sends off a few spells at Ominis, to which he dodges.

Y/N breaks her gaze, allowing herself to cool off as she reads about the Aguamenti Charm.

‘It provides the user with a jet of clear, pure water, and shoots it from the tip of the caster's wand.’

‘If only it were holy water’ Y/N thinks to herself. Fanning her face from the heat of the Undercroft. While it was normally quite cold, Sebastian has a rather clear fixation with fiery spells.

“I yield! I yield!” Y/N’s head shoots up seeing Sebastian now on the ground underneath Ominis. Ominis, bending Sebastian’s leg in a way that it should not be going.

Ominis stands and brushes himself off, before lending a hand down to Sebastian.

Sebastian takes Ominis’ hand, jumping back up.

“That’s not fair. We said no tackling.” Sebastian said, pouting.

“I believe we said that last duel, not this one,” Ominis replies. Y/N stifles a laugh, knowing Sebastian was going to be all grumbly over his loss.

“Okay, let’s go again. No tackling,” Sebastian turns to Y/N. “And no ogling!” Y/N rolls her eyes but feels that familiar heat rise to her cheeks.

“I wasn’t ogling,” Y/N mutters, almost certain neither boy could hear her.

“It’s alright if you were, Y/N. I don’t mind someone seeing Sebastian’s defeat.” Ominis answers. It was rare when Ominis would gloat. However, he knew his strengths. Y/N remembers the first time she saw Ominis beat Sebastian in a duel. He was quite proud of himself but ever the gentleman, he wasn’t one to brag. However, now, he did it just to get under the freckled boys skin.

“Let’s just go again.” Sebastian brandishes his wand.

“As you wish.” Ominis, says calmly.

The boys continue to duel, this time, no tackling and no ogling. Y/N kept her eyes glued to her book. Her eyes scan the words, but not processing a single one.

‘I wasn’t staring.’ She thinks to herself. She doesn’t dare look up from her book when she hears Sebastian yell a few curses.

“Do you yield?” Ominis has Sebastian cornered.

“Like hell I’ll yield!” Sebastian sneers out.

“Have it your way.” Ominis’ calm demeanor doesn’t change. Even when he sends a fiery blast of Confringo at his best friend.

‘Deprimo. Used to blast holes into the ground.’ Y/N’s eyes are ripped from her book as she feels a sharp pain on her shoulder and yells. She tries to look down at her shoulder, which she can tell, is now bleeding.

“Y/N!” Ominis rushes over to Y/N, holding his wand to her, scanning the damage. His hand gently holds her face while he casts a quick spell, seeing if she was harmed anywhere else.

Sebastian starts rushing towards Y/N before Ominis casts Depulso at him, sending Sebastian flying into some barrels. His hand never leaves Y/N’s face.

“I have some wiggenweld. Just a moment, please.” Ominis digs in his pocket, removing his hand from Y/N. She sighs, missing the warmth of him. He finds the potion before opening it and having Y/N tilt her head back to take it. He pours it into her mouth, caressing her face once again, sliding his thumb back and forth holding her chin. Once she swallows, he plants himself in front of her, between her knees. One hand on hers, the other on her cheek.

“Are you alright?” Ominis asks, his voice quiet, nervous almost. The wiggenweld helped reduce the pain, along with the bleeding coming to a stop. The wound started repatching itself.

“Yeah! I’m fine!” Sebastian yells, standing up and dusting himself off.

“I didn’t ask you.” Ominis’ voice was never full of malice. Maybe not until now.

“I-I’m alright.” Y/N manages to say, not used to Ominis sounding angry. Not unless he was discussing his family. Even then, he sounded pained, not mad.

“See, your fiancée is fine.” Sebastian’s voice is almost teasing.

“No thanks to you.” Ominis places his wand on the lounge, bringing a hand up to Y/N’s shoulder and the other back to her face.

‘Good’ Ominis thinks to himself moving his fingers along the smooth skin of Y/N’s shoulder.

“Breathe,” Ominis says and he nudges Y/N slightly, indicating he was talking to her. She lets out a shaky breath.

“Well, I should go back to the common room. Don’t want to get in the crossfire, again.” Y/N says, glaring at Sebastian. To which he glares back at her.

“I shall walk you,” Ominis says, standing up to help Y/N stand. He takes a step back, offering his hand to her. Y/N takes it gracefully and hands Ominis his wand back. Ominis helps Y/N to her feet before taking her books off the lounge.

“But we weren't finished-” Sebastian starts before he gets cut off.

“We concluded the duel when Y/N got hurt.” Ominis starts walking to the gate of the Undercroft, Y/N following in toe. Ominis takes his robe off the rack, placing it gently over Y/N’s shoulders.

“Oh, Ominis, I’m alright-” Y/N begins to protest before Ominis interrupts her,

“Your shirt is cut, I would feel better if you were to have my robe.” Y/N just nods and looks at her feet. Ominis enters the lift and as Y/N does she sends a quick Rictusempra at Sebastian, causing him to double over in forced laughter.

Y/N smirks before feeling the lift rise, leaving the other Slytherin to deal with the effects of the spell.

The walk back to the Slytherin common room was fairly quiet. Some students were still mulling around, but not many. Y/N finds comfort in Ominis’ robes, wrapping them tighter around herself in the cold, damp dungeon hallways. When they arrive at the common room, the snake crawls up the wall, revealing the passageway. Ominis notions for Y/N to walk in first.

‘Ever the gentleman.’ She thinks before stepping into the room, descending the staircase leading to the main portion of the communal area.

“Do you want me to bring these to your room?” Ominis quietly says.

“Oh, I can take them.” Y/N places her hand on the stack of books, Ominis’ grip doesn’t relent.

“It’s really no problem.” He smiles at her.

“Well, if you insist.” Y/N walks to her dorm room, opening the door for Ominis to enter, he waits for her too. She rolls her eyes before stepping through the threshold.

“If you could place them on my desk, that would be lovely.” Y/N takes her shoes off, happily getting rid of them.

“Of course,” Ominis slides the books onto her desk before turning back to face her. “Are you sure you’re alright? I can take you to the Hospital Wing if needed.”

“Ominis, I promise, I’m okay,” Y/N takes a step towards Ominis. “Oh, before I forget…” Y/N unclasps the robe and before Ominis places his hand on Y/N’s.

“Uh… y-you can keep it. I’m sure you look better in it than I do.” Ominis’ fingers graze Y/N’s engagement ring. Y/N trains her eyes on his fingers. Focusing on the delicate touch they leave behind as he begins to fiddle with the ring.

Y/N thinks back to a time when everything seemed simpler. Before she was “technically” engaged to her now best friend and for sure not crush, Ominis Gaunt. Before she understood the weight of not being able to choose who she was going to be with for the rest of her life. Before her heart was taken by the boy in front of her.

Their first meeting was rather… odd. Ominis’ mother was nothing short of kind to Y/N. Which now, after hearing all the things she’s done to Ominis, she thinks less of her. Marvolo, Ominis’ brother, was quick to tease the two, despite him also being engaged to someone he didn’t choose. However, whenever Y/N was around, everything seemed… brighter. Ominis would engage with his family, Marvolo would be tolerable, and Y/N’s mother would stop complaining.

Now… everything was different. She knew she was going to marry the Gaunt. His last name carrying an amount of notoriety that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. However, he seemed okay with leaving the name behind.

‘When did we get so close?’ Y/N thinks to herself. Ominis’ face was so close to hers, she could see every beauty mark, every dimple, every imperfection. Not that he had any. She barely noticed how he was now holding her hand, cradling it almost. She was too enraptured by his beauty, not only internally but externally too.

Ominis runs his fingers over Y/N’s slowly, feeling one of his family’s heirlooms on hers. A gift he had once given her. While they had been engaged since before either were born, she wasn’t required to wear a ring. Ominis could hear how people talked about her. Beautiful, smart, ambitious, talented.

Ominis wasn’t necessarily possessive, or at least he believes he’s not. So, he got the ring from his Aunt Noctua and proposed. Y/N wasn’t overly emotional when he proposed. He had to propose in front of his family so Y/N more so had to act like she was excited. Y/N’s mother was more excited than Y/N was. The Black family aren’t necessarily making waves with anyone but they were certainly influential in the wizarding society.

The Gaunts had been friends with the Black family for years. So when Mrs. Gaunt got pregnant the same time Mrs. Black did, it was the perfect opportunity for the families to conjoin.

Ominis’ hand slowly travels up Y/N’s arm, leaving a burning trail behind. He brings his hand to her face, slowly moving his thumb around her quickly blushing face.

A throat clearing made them jump away from each other. Y/N wrapped her hand around one of the poles on her bed and Ominis bringing his hand to the back of his neck.

“Hi Imelda…” Y/N pushes her chest out trying to look confident and her voice wavering slightly. Imelda lays on her bed on the other side of the room.

“Black. Gaunt.” Imelda eyes Y/N up and down, not bothering to look at the boy between them.

“Well, I should go.” Ominis scrambles out of the room quickly. Y/N and Imelda watch him go. As soon as he’s out and shuts the door, they hear his footsteps retreat down the iron stairs.

“So… just friends still?” Y/N picks up a throw pillow before tossing it at Imelda.

“Shut up.” Imelda cackles before she and Y/N start talking about their day.

———————————————————————————

Weeks go by, snow falling harder at the encroaching holiday season. Sebastian, Ominis, and Y/N sit together in the Great Hall.

“Sebastian, can you pass the pumpkin j-” The trio is met with the familiar caw of the Gaunt owl. Noctua, affectionately named by Ominis, honoring his aunt.

An envelope, wrapped around Noctua. She lowers herself to the table, in front of Ominis.

“Hello, love,” Ominis says, bringing his hand to pet the owl for a moment. Noctua’s ruffling her feathers. Ominis carefully takes the letter off of her, a small bit of thin rope coming off with the letter. Noctua walks onto Ominis’ arm before he raises it, helping her take off.

Ominis’ fingers move across the back of the envelope, feeling the crest of the House of Gaunt. His eyebrows furrowing and a frown evident on his face.

“Family?” Y/N says quietly, placing a comforting hand to Ominis’ arm.

“Yes. I’m not particularly excited about whatever they want.”

“Do you want me to read it?” Y/N offers, placing her hand on the letter.

“If you could, thank you.” Ominis lets go and Y/N takes it. Carefully, she breaks the seal of the envelope. The letter isn’t particularly long which is slightly unusual for the family. She flipped it over and casted Revelio, hoping the spell would reveal some kind of hidden script, but no such luck. Y/N clears her throat before starting.

‘Dear My Good Son Ominis,

I expect to see you and your fiancée, Y/N over the Christmas break. Her family is not able to host her this year, so we are going to at the Gaunt Manor. Please bring warm clothes along with anything Miss Y/N may need.

Warmest Regards,

Mother’

“Well, I suppose I’m not staying with my family over the holidays,” Y/N says, disappointed. She didn’t dislike her family. They are more than tolerable. However, she doesn’t see the reason she must stay with the Gaunts and not at Hogwarts.

“We can stay here… or… or go to Feldcroft with Sebastian.” Ominis gives options, but Y/N just shakes her head.

“No, no. It’s quite alright. We can go to the Gaunt Manor. Maybe… maybe it’ll be fun.” Ominis’ hand finds Y/N’s and she gives him a comforting squeeze. Sebastian clears his throat but the two don’t pull apart.

“If you’re having a terrible time, you can always come join me and Anne.”

“Thank you for the offer, Sebastian. I’m sure everything will be fine though.” Y/N waves Sebastian off with her other hand.

“Yes, it seems my family tends to be… kinder… when you’re around.” Ominis lifts Y/N’s hand to his mouth and kisses it. He lets go and goes back to his meal. Y/N is still after he kisses her hand. A blush made its way to her face faster than a golden snitch. Sebastian seemed too engrossed in his meal to point out Y/N’s quickly reddening face.

“It’s settled then.” Y/N smiled, bringing her fork to her mouth.

———————————————————————————

“Are you cold? Did you forget your gloves?” Ominis’ voice rings out in Y/N’s ears.

“A bit, yes and it appears I did,” Ominis frowns before taking his gloves off and putting them on Y/N’s hands.

“But now your hands will be cold, Ominis.” He holds out his arm for her to take, which she accepts. She places her other hand on his arm, bringing him closer to her for added warmth

“Better, yes?” Y/N’s face goes scarlet and stutters out,

“Y-yes. Yep. Better.”

“Lovely.”

The two walk through the gates of the Gaunt Manor. There’s a light snowfall. Y/N keeps taking quick glances at Ominis, his cheeks glowing from the cold. The air is crisp and bites at the couple's cheeks. The courtyard is surrounded by tall, ancient trees that are now adorned with a layer of powdery snow. The tree branches sway gently in the wind, causing snow to fall from the branches and create a serene atmosphere.

In the center of the courtyard, a beautiful fountain stands, now frozen over and covered in snow, giving the impression of a snow-draped sculpture. Its water spouts are now quiet, frozen in place by the cold. The snow-covered ground is a beautiful contrast of white and dark stone, with a few patches of greenery poking out here and there.

The buildings surrounding the courtyard are stately, with tall and imposing stone walls. The snow adds a beautiful accent to their already impressive architecture, creating a peaceful and idyllic winter scene. The stairs are slippery but with the hold they have on one another, they stay upright.

Y/N politely knocks on the door before placing her hand back on Ominis’ arm. The door swings open to reveal Marvolo, Ominis’ older brother.

“Y/N! Lovely to see you!” Marvolo exclaims, rushing the couple inside.

“Marvolo, how are you?” Ominis moves behind Y/N, having her shrug off her coat for him to hang up.

“I’m well, I’m well. How is Hogwarts? Are you still planning on being a professor?” Y/N giggles at the excitement of the older brother, who’s normally a pain.

“I’m not entirely sure yet-”

“Are Ominis and Y/N here?” Ominis’ eldest sister comes sliding into the room, wrapping her arms around the younger girl. The sister pushes back slightly to get a better look at Y/N.

“You look so beautiful! Oh, Merlin, I haven’t seen you in ages. You’ve gotten taller!”

“It’s been ages, it’s lovely to be here. Thank you for having me.”

“Of course. Let me go get Mother, I’ll be back in a moment.” The sister drags Marvolo out of the room to help search for their mom.

“Oh, darling, let me help you. Your tie got all crooked.” Y/N stands in front of Ominis, readjusting his tie. He takes her hands and slides the gloves off, placing them in his coat pocket before placing it on the coat rack.

“Are you alright?” Y/N whispers, her face close to Ominis’.

“I am. I’m glad you’re here.” He smiles. While, yes, he is happy she’s here with him, he does wish it were under different circumstances. Not the ones his family placed on him before he had a choice. He wishes he could bring her here as his girlfriend, not as his chosen wife. He wanted them to develop feelings over time. Now, more than anything, he’s worried she hates him for what his family has put upon them. If she did hate him though, she had a funny way of showing it.

“Well, I’m glad I’m here too. It’ll be fun. Right?” Ominis nods, not finding any words to answer her question. He raises his arm to her once again, her casually finding her place next to him as if it didn’t make Ominis’ heart beat out of his chest.

“My dear boy! Y/N! So glad you made it alright. The weather was absolutely horrible this morning. Seems you brought the sun with you.” Ominis’ mother beams at the two. Y/N can tell that she clocked the two standing close next to each other and looks more than pleased.

“Oh, yes. The trip was rather scenic.” Ominis’ mother brings Y/N in for a tight hug before moving to her son. She wasn’t a very affectionate woman but Y/N did seem to bring out a side of her that Ominis wasn’t used to.

“I’m sure, I’m glad the carriage found you both well. Did the coachmen help with your bags?” Ominis’ mother turned around snapping at a few house elves to fetch everyone some tea.

“Yes, they took them for us.” Ominis sits down, bringing Y/N down with him. He moves his hand to find hers. It wasn’t intentional, just being home reminded him of so many awful things. Of everything really. He knew his hearing would start to give out if he thought about it for too long. Y/N kept him grounded, her thumb making its way back and forth across his hand.

He’s not sure how long he’s sitting there. His hand in hers. It feels right and he knows it's right. Her giggle, the way he can hear her smile, hear her blush. The way she never stops comforting him even when she’s being bombarded with a million questions.

He felt Y/N stand and pull him to his feet. He followed her like a lost puppy. Her scent enraptured him. She made him feel safe. Even when he knew he wasn’t. The Gaunts were not people you could feel safe around. He came back to reality when the scent of lavender got lost with the scent of dinner.

Ominis pulls out Y/N’s chair for her. He then slides into his own chair, moving it as close to her as he can, not wanting to bring attention to it but needing to be near her.

Dinner, truthfully, couldn’t have been slower. Ominis was thankful for the attention to not be on him, and for Y/N to be so quick to answer. Every now and then Y/N and Ominis’ hands would brush by. Y/N knew she was blushing but she hoped everyone would just think it was because of the attention she’s receiving.

“Thank you for the dinner. I’m going to wash up and head to bed if that’s alright. Today was just a lot of traveling.” Y/N smiled and stood up, taking hers and Ominis’ plates to the kitchen.

“Of course! Marvolo will show you to your room.” Marvolo stands and ushers Y/N down the hall.

The room is dark and moody, with heavy curtains covering the windows, casting the room in a dim light. The walls are painted a deep, rich forest green and adorned with ornate patterns.

The bed is the centerpiece of the room, with a grand, four-poster bedframe made of dark wood and draped with luxurious fabrics in dark grays and greens. The bedding is piled high with plush pillows and soft, heavy blankets, creating an inviting and cozy atmosphere, despite its exterior.

The room is decorated with antique furniture, a wooden dressing table with a large mirror, a high-backed armchair, and a matching set of drawers with intricate carvings. The windows are framed with heavy drapes, adorned with tassels and fringes, which can be drawn shut to create a sense of privacy.

The lighting in the room is soft and warm, with lamps and candles casting a golden glow throughout the space. The room has a fireplace, adding warmth and comfort to the ambiance.

In the corner of the room, there’s a record player, one Y/N had brought over a few years ago.

“If you need anything, please let us know.” Marvolo flashes a quick smile before stepping out. Y/N goes over to her bags, noticing Ominis’ on the bed as well.

‘Great. This is so great. I’m… happy.’ She forgot about how she has to share the bed with the Gaunt boy every time she stays here. Even when they were younger. It’s become more comfortable now. Y/N thinks back to a time when she woke up with Ominis’ arm around her. She wanted to indulge herself, fall back asleep, but she wanted to save him the embarrassment in case he didn’t mean to do that.

“Love, are you… decent?” Y/N giggles at Ominis’ choice of words.

“Yep, come in,” She turns around and sees the door open, Ominis walks in and makes his way to the bed.

“I’m just going to shower real quick, I hope you don’t mind,” Ominis shakes his head. He hears her footsteps begin to retreat before he quickly grabs her wrist, moving to her hand. His fingers finding it’s way to his aunt's ring once again. They stay there for a moment, Y/N’s eyes studying Ominis’ face. Trying to get any sort of understanding from what's happening.

“Ominis?” Her voice is quiet.

“Thank you, for being here. I think you just make everything better by just being around. No, sorry. You do make everything better by being around.” Y/N’s face breaks out in the familiar heat once again.

“Oh, darling, you know I’ll always be around for you. Always.” She pulls him in for a hug, to which he reciprocates. Her hands slide into his hair, scratching his scalp and sending shivers down his spine. Ominis breathes her in. Wanting to get lost in her for as long as he can.

“Can we just stay here a moment?” Ominis’ voice comes out a bit shaky, afraid of her answer.

“Always.” She places a kiss on his cheek before settling her head against his chest, letting her arms drape around his neck. He keeps his arms around her waist, holding her as tight to him as he possibly can without hurting her. That is until he feels her pull away slightly.

“I’m very sorry, I didn’t mean to make you-” He gets cut off by feeling her lips press against his. Just as fast as they were there, they’re gone. Y/N’s eyes try to read his face and she bites her lip, waiting for him to say something.

Anything.

“Ominis, I-” Before Y/N can continue, Ominis’ mouth is on hers, it's as if time stands still for them. The pining, the fingertips brushing, the shared nights. Their embrace is passionate, yet tender, as if they are savoring each and every moment. The electricity between them is palpable, their bodies pressing against each other as they hold on tightly, unwilling to let go.

Their kiss is filled with a mix of intensity and tenderness, as if they are trying to convey all the emotions they've been feeling for so long through this one act. Ominis’ hands pull Y/N closer as her hands get lost in his hair. They've both been waiting for this moment, and the anticipation has been building up for so long that it's almost overwhelming. It’s dizzying. Their kiss is filled with longing and desire, yet it's also filled with a sense of relief and contentment.

As they finally break apart, their foreheads rested against one another as they try to catch their breath. They know that they've finally crossed a threshold and that their lives will never be the same again. They hold each other tightly, basking in the warmth of each other's embrace, and knowing that they will never have to be apart again.

“Uh, I uhm… I kinda like you, Ominis.” Y/N manages to say once she gets her breathing fairly under control. While it’s not exactly what she was feeling, she felt as if she needed to say something.

“If I can be honest, I think I’m in love with you.” Ominis steps back slightly, taking Y/N’s hands in his. He slides the ring off her finger before getting down on one knee.

“I know we’ve done this before, however, then I didn’t have the right words to say to you. I didn’t know how to tell you that I am in love with you. I believe I was then as well, and now, it’s only grown. You’ve been there for me when I couldn’t be for myself. You talk to me as if I’m anyone else, yet, I feel special whenever you talk to me. Your aura is intoxicating. I find it hard to not be near you. The moment you leave, I lose a part of me. I long for the moments when you’re near me again. I think I was okay with our arrangement in the past couple of years because I knew, even if you hated me, I would be yours. I didn’t care how much you didn’t want to be around me because I knew my heart would still belong to you. Maybe it was pure destiny that we are to be wed. Maybe it’s dumb luck. But if I get to spend the rest of my life with you, I would do it. I will be whoever you need me to be. I’d leave my family behind. I’ll go wherever you want. I just want to be with you, love.”

Y/N’s eyes swell with tears that immediately pour over, she pulls Ominis up from his knees and kisses him softly.

“Will you be mine?” Ominis whispers against her mouth, holding the ring in his hand still.

“Darling, I was always yours.” Ominis breaks out into a smile before pulling Y/N into a kiss again. He slides the ring onto her finger before bringing his hands to her hair, tangling it. Y/N brings her hands to his chest before she feels his tongue slide into her mouth, deepening the kiss. Ominis pulls back suddenly.

“Oh, fuck.”

“Ominis!” Y/N not used to hearing Ominis curse. “What?”

“I owe Sebastian 100 Galleons.”

#ominis imagine #ominis x mc #ominis smut #ominis x reader #ominis gaunt x reader #ominis hogwarts legacy #ominis x y/n #hogwarts legacy ominis #ominis gaunt imagine #ominis x you #ominis gaunt #sebastian sallow #ominis #hogwarts legacy sebastian #Spotify

[makoodles]

all of these asks have got me so confused with how i would like to see sex education continue if you made a part 2 so i can't imagine how YOU must be feeling girl LMAO

but i just loved the cultural misunderstandings in some of your other fics and it just made me think of them in the context of sex education especially with all these great asks

like jake hasn't been holding out on you for years, he's deeply committed to you and neytiri so what do you mean, you're interested in someone else, you're already spoken for

sure neytiri and him have been letting you take the reigns and keeping things slow but you're theirs come on

everyone in the village knows you're their mate, you smell like them, they just haven't had sex which is totally fine! maybe you don't see them that way, it's not like you've made any overtures about them sexually. but you still love them and they're you're partners

and they hear that you're interested in other na"vi men, like Ola’netu and they're just lost, because well if you were finally wanting to experiment with the na'vi you sure as hell aren't doing it with anyone other than you're mates

but oblivious reader just thinks they're being nice when jake let's her experience um na'vi anatomy so when Ola’netu keeps showing interest, well she's not gonna miss the chance at something real

but when she tells jake and neytiri that she wants something serious not just casual sex, they're just what do you mean, we've been dating you for like six years?

lolll so sorry brainrot i just love this trope where one side is so so so oblivious they don't think the other could ever like them like they just treat me great bc theyre nice, but the other side is madly in love with them and treats them like that bc they think they've been in a committed relationship LMAO

okay but literally ahahaha i'm honestly still a little confused but trying not to think about it too much! i think i'm gonna go with the way i was originally planning it!

but YESSSSS alien cultural misunderstandings are my lifeblood! i also LOVE the idea of jake and reader both being so fucking oblivious. himbo jake being so incredibly proud of his two beautiful mates that he never actually thinks too hard about the situation - it would never occur to him that this is something he needs to talk to you about. it's just normal for the two of you. it's obvious that you're together, right?

neytiri just assumes she's getting a two for one deal on mates too, so she's content to let jake take the reigns when it comes to approaching you. it seems, for years, that you're just not interested in sexual intimacy, and that's fine! there are other forms of intimacy; sitting in laps, grooming, cooking for each other, sleeping in shared spaces, spending quality time together.

but imagine their absolute bewilderment when they find out that you are craving sexual intimacy, and are especially fascinated in the na'vi body. obviously jake leaps at the chance to showcase the na'vi anatomy to you, he's certain that's going to solve all that pesky confusion. when it doesn't work, they're more confused than ever

however bewildered jake and neytiri are, imagine how you react to finding out that you've been married to them for years

#asks #sex education #avatar headcanons #jake x reader x neytiri

[ideas-4-stories]

NOOOOOOOO I LOST THE AU I WROTE FOR YOU 😭😭😭 I LITERALLY SENT IT AND TUMBLR SAID "NETWORK ERROR". L FOR THE WIFI. L. Not cool I'm literally crying I thought that AU was genius. It was a Teacher!Buggy AU with Crocomom and Dadhawk. + Shanks co-parenting Luffy with Crocodile. That note was so long I literally spent like 45 mins writing it here on your ask and it was just. Gone. Or I think it did. Why does life hate me. I'm just gonna be brief with this cuz I still think it's golden lmao. Croco and Mihawk work long hours so their kids (Luffy, Zoro, Perona) have to wait for a few hours until they're picked up by their parents. The school doesn't have school buses bc I said so (no I am not cruel it's just out of my budget /j). So Buggy takes the responsibility to keep them comfortable and entertained while they wait. Croco and Mihawk meeting this charming (and clown looking) blue-haired guy and they start courting him. Shanks gets dragged in on the courting bc of Luffy. Also he was already courting Buggy. I didn't write their process of courting I basically skipped and went,, their wedding will take part in a Goth castle. And the design are all sunshine and rainbows (literally). Sanji, Usopp, Nami, Vivi, Zoro and Luffy being in a class along with other kids. Franky, Robin, Jinbei and Brook are in higher classes. Chopper is atom. Not here in the world yet. Perona is like, 2-3yrs older than her brothers so. Yeah *awkwardly shuffles* (I love perona I swear-). Implied Zosan. Some rando: but you didn't imply shi— Me: Shhh I did. *gaslighting*. Law is also there in the classroom with lower grade strawhats. He's suffering. He only attends 3 days a week tho, he's mostly homeschooled bc of his sickness. He's homeschooled by Cora. (You can pry Law and Cora from my cold dead hands. You can separate them when I dissolve into ashes). Don't worry as he gets older his sickness is cured. Ofc he's cured by Cora. He's saved by Cora in every universe. In every AU. Every Era. Every life they will ever live. I will die on that hill– *applies the nobody dies/everyone lives tag on this AU* let my babies be happy pls. Let my man Cora live and travel the world with this emo boy (Law). Doffy isn't real, he can't hurt anyone. Ace is there. Sabo is there. Every One Piece character is out there somewhere. They're like hidden stones and you have 0.02% of finding them. I thought I was just making a Teacher!Buggy AU but then it turns into a Modern!AU for everyone. Let's gooooo. Sora divorces with Judge and remarry with Zeff so now Sanji lives with all his brothers and his sister. They get separate classrooms tho, and reiju is perona's age so she's besties with her. (I do not play by canon's rules with ages bc i live in my own world) They both tease their brothers (Sanji and Zoro) about their crushes on each other. The heart crew is there. Bepo is a dog, a very fluffy one. Kuina is alive. Kaya is there, same classroom with Usopp. I have no idea how to continue this lmao, but I do hope you find this interesting bc Buggy is 100% great with kids and probably teaches well bc he is a big nerd and makes lessons interesting. (Also, the whole reason why I wrote this instead of letting the idea slip through my mind like the others is bc the image of two goth men courting a clown looking mf was funny to me. So here we are lmao. The way I wrote this makes Shanks look like he's the person they let into their open relationship twice lol I'm so sorry 😭😭)

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

That's really sad, I really like this idea (though I see Shanks and Buggy more as siblings, but I understand the idea of Shuggy) It's fine that this became about so many people, I really like this.

Teacher!Buggy sounds so cool, you know that he's the flashiest and maybe one of the craziness of the things he'll do to get his students good things that will boost their learning. He knows that every kid might not have the same learning paths as others.

How many classes does this man teach? Who knows, too many for how much he gets paid. All teachers needs to get paid more.

I would think Jinbei and Brook being other fun teachers in the school, like Tom could be as well!

I really like this idea, and the imagine of two gothic men trying to court a clown-looking mf is really funny to me as well.

#one piece #crocodile x buggy x mihawk #buggy the clown #sir crocodile #monkey d. luffy #dracule mihawk #roronoa zoro #perona #kuina #god ussop #kaya #black leg sanji #vinsmoke siblings #vinsmoke sora #trafalgar d. water law #rosinante corazon #cat burglar nami #vivi #too many characters #ideas~4~stories says #ask

[rinamars]

I always wondered what fics do my favorite authors read bc maybe if I start reading them too, I'll be able to write like them 😤 Kidding aside, can you recommend some Erwin x Reader fics that you really like/inspire you to write? I'm fine with on-going ones 🤩

little anon i could KISS you!! i've been looking for an excuse to make an erwin fic recs post so here we go *cracks knuckles* brace yourselves heheh (warning: most of these recs are 18+)

first of all: everything @riewritten has ever written. EVERYTHING. that goes without saying. her brain is so big. i wish i could take a trip inside her mind. rie ily

this is a story of the sea by shinzouing is a canonverse eruri x reader fic, where the three enter a relationship (or rather, erwin enters a relationship with both of them. levi and reader are idiots at first. the pining is so delicious though). where do i even begin to talk about this masterpiece? it broke me. it seriously broke me. i'm just going to say that the universe she has created in this story (as well as in the sequel which i'm going to talk about in a sec) feels so real and so right that when i finished it i needed a minute to remind myself what details that are ACTUALLY canon and what aren't. peak writing i swear. heartbreaking, but worth it.

after tiasots has broken your heart, go read beyond the sea by the same author and let it piece it back together!! it's currently being posted, and it's basically the continuation of tiasots BUT erwin survives at shiganshina (unlike in tiasots). again, same thing: peak writing, and a little universe it's sooo easy to get lost in. this story will end up living rent free in your mind, trust me.

aaand also set in the tiasots universe is certain obscure things!! it's three chapters, and in each of them they take turns between being dominant or submissive. this is smut that goes a lot harder than what you can find in tiasots but everything shinzouing writes is pure gold

to complete the eruri x reader category (aka the fics that made me go "i think i might be into the concept of throuples") there's two lovers by feelingthorny. it's also set in canonverse. erwin and levi are in an established relationship, one day they invite reader into their bed, and... Big Feelings ensue. i have another fic by feelingthorny by recommend, and oh man, she truly has a way of writing emotions that is so evocative and poetic, it truly drags you into the moment and you are able to feel exactly what they are feeling, they're so immersive. the smut parts literally drip with body worship, it's insane. beautiful.

the other fic by feelingthorny i HAVE to mention is close call. this one is pwp, but FUCK this erwin is SO DREAMY. and, as one might tell, the writing is just marvelous.

next, i recommend every! single! fic! that belongs to the to build a home series by nylondreams. the romance, the intimacy, the tenderness... ahh, they're so lovely to read. and *cough* the first fic in the series gave me a breeding kink *cough*

more recommendations in the "horny fics that also made me fall in love even more" category: e major, uncorked and treasured memories, all by whatsherquirk. delicious. that's all i'm going to say.

prying eyes by SecretsOfHarprocrates is in my opinion a depiction of erwin that's very close to how he'd behave in canon (if canon included sexy times)

four christmases by ghost_party was !!! ok i don't really know what to say about this one because it's been a while since i read it, but you have to trust me and check it out!!

i think that's all for now, i hope i haven't forgotten anything (if i have i'll just reblog this post and add more). happy reading <3

now PLEASE give me an excuse to make an eruri fic recs post (or even a levi one)

#msg #erwin smith x reader

[your-turn-to-role]

is there a canon reason why percy and vex broke up? did tal or laura ever say why exactly?

not to my knowledge? they mentioned a lot about the secret wedding, but the break up was mentioned offhand in the campaign wrap-up talks machina, when they were asked if there was anything anyone did during the year off that never came up in the campaign

i will say though that in quite a few talks machinas tal and laura talk about perc'ahlia like a celebrity relationship (or specifically say "yeah we're one of those couples"), and that's a thing you tend to see fairly often with celebrities that end up in tabloids - they have a complicated life, they break up and get back together quite a bit, so i think part of it is tal and laura having fun playing that drama and letting them be those disaster celebrities

if you want my speculation on an in-canon reason though? i think the commitment freaked them out

like vex has always had issues surrounding stability, she's not had it in her life since she was a little kid, and she's just made excuses to herself her whole life that she's fine because she doesn't want stability - she just wants her brother and to keep moving and to never have to worry about putting down roots or forming emotional attachments because it hurts less that way. it's why she gets so jealous and snippy when vax starts showing interest in keyleth, and why she keeps shutting down his attempts to tell her he's moving to zephrah - she can't keep being flighty and only attached to her brother if he wants to settle down with someone else

as much as she loves percy, and they're good for each other, we know from the grey hunt trial that the idea of settling down with him scares her, because it's new, and because it means for the first time in a long time she has something to lose

percy is almost the opposite, he lost his entire family once already and he doesn't ever want to do that again. it's why he gets so vicious when scanlan leaves, because vox machina is his new family, and no one's allowed to tear that apart again (also why we get the really tentative "i know we don't always agree and i know i can be unkind, but... you know you're family, right?" to grog immediately after)

but a relationship is a whole new step, he trusts vex about as much as he does anyone, but this isn't just trusting her with his anger issues, or trusting her with his city, this is trusting her with the future, with his future, with always being around. i don't think he's confident enough to believe she loves him that much, that anyone could, and if he lets himself take that step fully, he has so much more to lose if something happens like it did last time

so it's all well and good when the relationship is new, when they're still trying things out, when it's flirty and it doesn't have to be serious if they don't want it to

even in moments where it's emotionally heavy, like percy's resurrection, it's still new and in the moment, they're not looking past what's immediately in front of them

(and even after that heavy moment, vex got nervous percy didn't like her back and decided to push it all to the back of her brain and not think about it - vax straight up told her to go chase him bc she deserved to be happy and she instead got drunk and changed the subject)

but then the fighting's over. they're not worried about their lives every day. no one died, they're both still here. and it starts to sink in with them that this isn't going anywhere. that this can be their forever, if they choose it. and that scares both of them, and when they get scared they tend to either wall themselves off or lash out, and both would cause a schism in their relationship. and then one day it turns into an argument and in the heightened emotion one of them says they should break up and the other agrees

and now they're emotionally safe, because if they cause the relationship to end on their terms it can't be pulled away from them unexpectedly

but they're not actually happy

and maybe they come to that realisation on their own, more likely they talk about it with their friends and vax and keyleth tell them they're being idiots

and then the question is what to do about it

it's possible they went slowly back into it

or, since we know their first marriage proposals were a dare, maybe they weren't even together again yet

i could see that being exactly the sort of thing they'd do if they wanted to get back together but they didn't want to be the first one to admit that they wanted to

skip the dating phase we already did that i dare you to marry me

and maybe they talk about it much later, maybe they don't

but i think by the time they got to the marriage, they'd realised they wanted this to be more than a casual thing, and it's still probably scary, but there's no one else they'd trust to get them through that fear and come out the other side

#cr1 #percy de rolo #vex'ahlia #ask #meta #cr thoughts

[dckweed]

Hey! So I thought of something a little different.. could you do a billy Hargrove x female! hopper reader (Byers/hopper family dynamic hopper and Joyce are together) where the reader has been feeling a little bit guilty for losing her virginity to billy so she’s been very down lately. While having family dinner, el and Jonathan have been sensing that something might be wrong with the reader and ask her if she’s fine and ofc she just snaps at them, but hopper honestly just thinks it’s teenage angst which just makes the reader more upset so she abruptly leaves the dinner table, then Joyce comes to talk to the reader and she tells her how she’s feeling, what happened and they have a heart to heart.

ahhhhh anything for my favorite requester! hope this is what you wanted, mwah!

p.s. im sorry if this gets really dark/heavy im in a really sad mood, someone called me a bad mom today and that bothers me in ways that no one can understand.

p.p.s did i open myself up for a part? probably. let me know in the comments if y'all want a second part to this lmao

warnings: SEX IS MENTIONED but safe to read for all ages as no actual smut is depicted. mama byers, clueless papa hop, sad reader, guilty reader, depressed reader? not too sure on that bc i write this before i even write the request lmao.pregnancy mention.

'..I JUST FEEL SO STUPID..' billy hargrove x hopper!reader, ft mama byers.

You made your way slowly down the halls of school, your head down, eyes averted like they had been for the past couple of weeks. You couldn't bring yourself to look at your fellow peers, feeling as if everyone knew your dirty little secret, especially when said secret so openly smirked and winked at you whenever he managed to make eye contact.

You don't really remember what possessed you to go and do it, maybe it was just how sweet he was to you when you were alone together, or how charming he could be when he really wanted something, and he had really wanted something, you. Or maybe it was his hair, or the abs..or the way his goddamn ass looked so sinfully delicious in those tight, tight jeans he liked to wear, fuck maybe it was just because his hand wandering your body felt so fucking refreshing and satisfying, or maybe you were tipsier than you thought.

Whatever it was didn't matter you supposed, because either way you had gone and lost your virginity to Billy fucking Hargrove of all the boys in the world that you could lose it to, you had honestly always imagined that it would have been Steve, the two of you had had a somewhat flirting relationship since he and Nancy had stopped seeing each other, and you always assumed it would lead to more, but Steve hadn't been at that party, nor had he asked you out when you had so desperately hinted that you were going to be bored and alone over the weekend.

Fuck, did you do it to spite him somehow?

No, that was stupid even for you.

That night haunted you still, the way that you had felt so fucking good during it, so blissfully turned on, satisfied like you never knew you could be, barely noticing the pain of his large, thick cock sliding in and out of you as he focused your minds on other things.

But you felt so used afterwards, so dirty and broken. Billy had spent a while buttering you up too, making you putty in his hands when he was finally ready and you hadn't even noticed it, the week he has spent finding every excuse to compliment or be alone with you, to flirt so unashamedly in front of everyone who could see, with you of all people.

And when he finally got what he wanted, his own personal gratification of conquering his next victim, he kicked you out of his car and sped off, leaving you stranded at the party that he had asked you too, and leaving you too drunk to walk, let alone drive.

Your father hadn't known where you were, and you couldnt remember anyone else's number at the time, so you called the Byers' house, hoping that Joyce wouldn't tell your father. Thankfully, Jonathan had answered, and he heard your voice, you were slurring your words so horribly that he knew he had to come get you before you could even speak.

He found you slumped on the front porch, throwing up in the bushes as you had started drinking heavier than you ever had while waiting for Jonathan, you had decided to drink away the night, hoping that your somewhat brother wouldn't notice your sadness, your disgust for your own self.

He hadn't, but he has figured that something was wrong. You passed out in the car, and the next morning you woke up in the living room, blanket over your head and an empty trash bin next to you. You didn't remember him coming to get you, you didn't remember anything past your third cup of tequila after Billy had kicked you out of his car.

God, it was all you could think about, Jonathan had come to make breakfast and saw the look on your face immediately. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking at you as he poured coffee. "Did something happen last night?" He asks, handing you a mug as you shuffled to the kitchen, he had let you wear one of his tshirts and a pair of his sweat pants.

You look up quickly, forgetting your migraine. "What? No. Why would you ask that?" You ask almost defensive about the question.

He shrugs, leaning against the counter, trying not to let you know that he definitely knew something was wrong now. "Because you were blacked out drunk when i came to get you, and i could barely understand a word you said on the phone." He says. "That's not like you, Y/N..'

You just shrug, taking your mug and heading back to the couch. This was pretty much your second home now. "Yeah, well, maybe i just can't handle my tequila."

He knew that that wasn't true, and for a couple weeks he watched you continue to be withdrawn and awkward, sad and tired looking, like you hadn't been sleeping. He knew something was eating at you, and as your somewhat brother, he was concerned.

He looked at you as he drove you home from school, you looked like you had lost weight too. He wondered if there was something physically wrong with you, because what could be affecting so badly mentally that you were losing weight?

You glanced at him as he drove, wondering what the hell he was doing. "The fuck are you staring at?" And then there was that, god you'd been so mean lately, towards everyone, especially your dad and Joyce.

You didn't know why you were so angry, so sad all at the same time. Was it the fact that he wouldnt even look at you unless it was to tease you with those stupid fucking eyes of his? Or maybe the fact that he wouldn't even speak to you anymore? Acting like you didn't fucking exist, like you were just some fucking random hookup in the big ole city of Los Angeles, despite the fact that this was fucking Hawkins, Indiana.

Jonathan shakes his head quickly, turning to look at the road. "Nothing..nothing.." He says, turning into the driveway of his house. You were all having a family dinner together tonight, there was no need for you to go home just to turn around again a couple hours later and drive across town.

You get out of the car, slamming the door before stomping up the porch, opening the door and flinging your bag and yourself into the couch.

Joyce peeks her head out form the kitchen, eyebrows knitted together. She cocks her head towards you when she sees Jonathan and the boy just shrugs, shaking his head as he walks into the kitchen to grab something to drink.

"No clue, she's been like this for weeks." He says, before sucking out and heading towards his room to get started on homework.

He didn't come out again for a while, but he could hear his mom cooking in the kitchen, it smelled good whatever it was and he couldnt wait to sit down and eat. It wasn't long before he heard Jim's truck pulling up, and a few moments later he heard the front door open.

"Hey, Y/N, how's was school?" Jim asks, looking at you as he shrugs his coat off, it was starting to get cool outside these days.

You don't even look up at your father, ignoring him completely as you finish up some of your school work, quietly hoping that nobody would try to ask you anything at dinner. You hated that Jonathan was being so nosey, but you knew he meant well.

"What's with her?" You heard him whisper to Joyce, you don't hear her respond but you hear a beer can crack open and you roll your eyes. You thought it was funny how Jonathan had asked you what was wrong more times than anyone, your father barely saying two words to you the last couple weeks. You assumed that he probably thought it was your period.

God, he could be clueless.

Not more than half an hour later, Joyce was calling everyone for dinner and Eleven and Will were walking through the door, Mike's mom having dropped them off. You gave your little sister a half assed smile and ruffled Will's hair before sitting down across from the boys, next to Joyce and Eleven.

Dinner starts off quiet for a bit, and you push your food around in silence, taking a couple bites here and there, keeping your head down, not even paying attention to the conversation. You didn't notice anyone had spoken to you until Joyce nudged your knee with her own, giving you a concerned smile when you looked up startled, a quiet "huh?" escaping your mouth.

"Sweetie, are you okay? You've barely touched your dinner." She asks, glancing down at your plate. Her voice was gentle, sweet even and you felt so horrible for not eating her food because god it smelled good, but you just couldnt bring yourself to, so intensely upset with yourself that everything made you throw up if you ate more than a few bites, though you were starting to wonder if you were pregnant because you couldn't remember if Billy had used a condom or not, and you had thrown up a couple mornings in a row after a fitful couple of nights of sleep. "Y/N?"

You snap out of it, and nod your head, giving her the best smile you could manage. "Yeah, im okay Joyce," You say, looking at everyone to make it believable. "I've just been really side tracked these past couple of weeks, busy at school, ive been stressed and not really hungry.."

Jonathan scoffs from across the table, and you snap your head to his direction, glaring at him as hard as you could muster, putting all of your anger as of late in to it. If it scares him, he doesn't show it because he opens his mouth to speak and you damn near vault across the table to maul him. "If side tracked is moping and flat out ignoring everyone then sure, she's been busy at school."

You see Eleven nod, and you turn your gaze to her. "You have been really sad lately, i heard you crying the other night." She says, looking at Jim and you. "I just assumed it was your period.."

Will nodded. "Me too, Mike says Nancy gets really mean when she's on her period too." He says in agreeance, rubbing his shoulder as Jonathan reaches out to punch it lightly.

"that's my girlfriend you're talking about!" He says defensively, though he wasn't too far from the truth. She did get a little mean, but he knew that that wasn't what was happening with you.

Your father clears his throat. And you turn to look at him. "Yes, well, im sure she'd like to deal with her period without us asking about it so.." He quietly goes back to eating his food and you glare some more, feeling the familiar sting of tears welling in your eyes as you realized that your father didn't even care enough to ask if it was true or not.

You stand up from the table, your chair falling over as you slam your hands down onto the tablecloth, your plate and silverware rattling in response as everyone turns to look at you. "Gee dad, thanks for caring enough to ask if anything is really even wrong, how fucking stellar of you!" You yell, your voice thick with tears. He looks up with you with wide eyes, his mustache twitching as he starts to speak but you beat him to it, your gaze on the boy across from you. "And screw you Jonathan for even bringing it up in the first place, mind your own damn business because it didn't fucking concern you!"

You leave, taking off briskly down the hallway, opening the door to Joyce's room and throwing yourself face first onto the bed as you cry, overcome with emotions that you didn't even realize you still had.

Everyone looks after you in shock, and Joyce clears her throat, giving Hopper a dirty look. "Shame on you for not trying to talk to her about it, she's clearly been upset for a while now.." She says, before turning her eyes to her son. "And shame on you for just putting her on the spot like that."

She stands from the table and follows you, she had seen you slam the door to her room. She hesitates at first, heading you crying. She wants to knock but she figured you'd tell her to go away so quietly she opens the door, closing it and locking it behind her so no one would interupt. She had a feeling you needed a mom right then, and a mom is what she wanted to be for you.

She walks to the bed, sitting on the edge of it tentatively. "Y/N.." She says, her voice soft, calm and gentle. It was almost soothing and you sniffle, trying to wipe your eyes. You weren't facing her, but you weren't going to tell her to leave, she was the only one who seemed genuinely concerned and not just wondering why you were being mean. "sweetheart, you can tell me what's going on, whatever it is..it will stay between us girls if that's what you need okay?"

and damn it if your walls don't break immediately.

You roll over to face her, a fresh set of tears streaming from your eyes as you speak, some of it sounding completely like gibberish as you tell her about Billy and how he had essentially fucked you and dumped you. "I should have seen it coming and i just feel so fucking stupid because how could i let that happen to myself?" You ask her, your voice calmed, the tears slowed. You feel her reach out and wipe them from your cheeks, caressing them softly. You subconsciously move your head into her lap. "Why am I so upset about it? It's Billy fucking Hargrove for Christ sake.."

She continues to caress your face, smoothing your hair as she listens to you speak. No wonder you had kept it so pent up for so long, there was no way your father was equipped for this without breaking down into to tears himself, and Jonathan was just as clueless.

"Sweetie, i am so sorry that he did that to you, that was absolutely awful of him," She says, trying to muster the best motherly advice that she could think of as she looked down at you, giving you the softest smile she could. "Boys your age are complete and utter menaces, they're clueless to the hurt that they cause others, and even more clueless about other people's feelings, and Billy Hargrove is no exception, except from what I've heard, he's the type of boy that sets out to intentionally hurt people, he just doesn't realize how bad that hurt can touch someone."

You sniffle again, letting out a shakey breath as you listen to her, her words washing over you as you cling to her pants, relaxing at the feel of her hands in your hair. Where was your mom when you needed her, huh?

"And I learned a long time ago that the best way to get back at them, is to make them think that they haven't hurt you as much as they have, make them think that they didn't hurt you at all, because that's what's going to get under a boy like that's skin." Joyce continues, looking down at you matter of fact ly. "He expects to see you, and every other girl he messes with like this, it's part of the game because he knows that you eventually confront him, wanting his approval and then he'll get more out of you, and maybe if you're lucky he'll treat you like a queen for a while, until he gets bored and moves to the next girl.."

"You think?" You ask, rolling into your back to look up at her, a few stray tears still rolling from your eyes. "I didn't think about that..Dana Watson was the girl he was with before..i know they went out once..and she seemed down for a bit until one day they started coming to school together, acting like a..couple..oh my god he's doing the same thing to me!" You sit up, your sadness wiped away, replaced with the tiniest twinge of anger. Your voice is still thick with tears.

Joyce hums. "There's always going to be that one boy, Y/N, and there's always going to be the next girl..and there's always going to be some kind of heart ache caused by his hands and those smooth talking, pretty words of his." She says, looking at you with the tiniest smirk. "The only way to beat him at his own game is to act like he doesn't bother you, act like you were the one using him..walk into that school on Monday and act like he's nothing but the dirt beneath your shoe..guys eat that shit up, you'll have his full attention, and he'll chase you, begging you to give in..but you won't, because by that point, you're so over him that you couldnt even begin to care about it anymore."

You smile a little, wiping your puffy eyes. "You sound like you've been through this before." You says, looking at her. She shrugs.

"I've had my share of teenage dirtbags back in my day.." She says, and you can't help but chuckle, already feeling infinitely better about the situation, until your stomach lurches a little and you remember the other thing that you had been upset about.

"Um.. Joyce?" You asks, your cheeks flushing almost in embarrassment. "That's..that's not um..i feel even more stupid about something else actually.."

She looks at you, eyebrows furrowed. "What, sweetie?" She asks, her voice still gentle. You knew out of everyone she was the one you could trust to keep it a secret, to help you through it if it was what you thought.

"Um, okay..you can't tell my dad yet until i know for sure but..i think..i think i might be pregnant.." You say, and her eyes go wide, her face pale. You give her a nervous smile. "Told you that there was something more stupid.."

#stranger things #stranger things s2 #billy hargove smut #stranger things smut #billy hargove x reader #hopper #hopper x reader #billy hargrove #joyce byers #billy hargove imagine #billy hargrove x hopper!reader #hopper!reader #billy hargrove x reader imagine

[lionlena]

I'll stay with you... ( bc I love you) JavierPeñaxchubby!f!reader

A/N: Ok, I know I said this part is the last one...

And theoretically it is. If you chose non-pregnancy options. If you have chosen to be pregnant then this is the last part.

I've been having a rough day lately and I really needed something brighter. And I really believe after season three, Javier has matured and changed, so here it is: Javier as a dad.

Summary: Five years ago, you left Javier at an American airport. You refused to return to Colombia and hide pregnancy from him. Now your daughter is 4.5 years old and unexpectedly bumps into her papi.

Warnings: angst, fluff, smut, mentions of past trauma, oral sex but just a little.

*

Your daughter ran in front of you and jumped merrily. This child had boundless energy.

Guess after who?

Certainly not after you. You were tired of shopping and wanted to go home. But Mirabel begged you to take her out for ice cream.You couldn't resist the brown puppy eyes she inherited from her father.

In fact, she looked a lot like Javier. She had the same hair color, the same chin shape, same cheekbones.

God, she even laughed the same.

Only the nose and mouth she inherited from you.

You loved her. From the first moment you saw her. Not because she was Javier's daughter. Because, she was your child. And it wasn't always easy. Sometimes you missed the help of the other person when you got up in the night, but ... You weren't deceiving yourself. Even if you stayed with Javier, he'd rather go hookers than get up at night to calm down a crying baby. That's why you didn't regret anything. Well, maybe just once. When Mirabel came home from kindergarten and she crying and asked why other children had daddies and she didn't?

She was too young for to tell her the truth. So you said that her papi catches very bad people, very far away and you can't disturb him.

Fortunately, it was enough for her and she was happy again.

*

Javier was walking towards his favorite cafe when his heart stopped. Did he really see you? So many times he thought about finding you. So many times he wanted to tell you that he had changed, that he had dropped everything. Many times. But he always thought you were right to leave him. It took him a while, but he finally realized how badly he treated you. He had no right to hurt you, betray you, order you around. He didn't deserve you. And yet fate has put you in his way again. You were even more beautiful than he remembered. He barely noticed the child running in front of you. He only woke up when he saw the fear in your eyes and heard your scream:

 "Mirabel!"

 He rushed forward to save her.

*

You lost your head when you saw Javier walking towards you. You just stood there forgetting that your daughter was running in front of you. It has practically not changed. He was still damn handsome.

And suddenly a cyclist rode past you at high speed. Like in slow motion you saw him driving straight at your child. You were too far away to save her. Fortunately, Javier showed the reflexes acquired from years of chasing the sicario. He managed to grab the girl in his arms and jump aside.

 Javier smiled at the baby in his arms.

 "Are you all right, Pumpkin?"

 The little one shook her head and laughed, and he had a strange feeling that he knew the sound. By this time you had already run up to them and started to look at her. She was fine. And of course she was laughing. Why not? You placed one hand on Javier's chest and began to breathe heavily. You didn't even notice you were doing it. It was instinct.

 "Y/N are you okay? She's fine, really."

 Mirabel looked at him in surprise.

 "Do you know my mommy?"

 Javier nodded and carefully set the baby down. He was still looking at you worriedly.

 "Y/N, you're pale."

 "I'm fine, Javier."

 Your daughter picked up on his name right away.

 " Jav, will you go out for ice cream with us?"

 You really loved your daughter but sometimes you hated her openness to other people. Javier patted her head and replied:

 "Sure Sweetpea! "

 You didn't know if he agreed because he was curious about meeting you or he really worried about you.

*

Half an hour later, you watched your daughter sitting on the swing eating ice cream. Javier sat next to you on the bench and watched you closely.

 "Thank you for saving her," you finally said when you were sure your voice wouldn't shake.

 "It's okay. I feel it's my fault anyway. If you hadn't seen me, this wouldn't have happened."

 "We don't know that. Fortunately, nothing happened. She didn't even understand how dangerous it was. She'll probably talk about it all as if it was a great adventure."

 Javier really didn't want to be nosy but curiosity was eating him up. He sensed the perfect moment to ask the question that was bothering him. Did you have a husband?

 "I'm sure her dad won't be happy when she tells him what happened today."

 "We live alone" you said without even looking at him.

 "Oh... So her father was an asshole who left you?"

 You almost laughed. Javier obviously hasn't put all the facts together yet.

 "Actually, I left that asshole at the airport. I figured he had more important things to do."

 And then it clicked. Javier looked at Mirabel, then at you, then at the little girl again. Yeah! Age, looks and that laugh!

 "That's mine daughter?"

 You winced at that one specific word.

 "I don't like the word "mine""

 To your surprise, Javier immediately corrected himself.

 "I'm her father?"

 " Yes, Javier, but your part in it was very small. "

 "I guess. You handled everything on your own. In fact, I shouldn't be surprised. You've always been strong."

 You could hear the genuine admiration in his voice and you finally looked at him. He really looked different somehow. Like he hasn't changed. That handsome hot guy was still sitting next to you. Yet he seemed calmer, more composed, and more mature.

 "What happened with you?" you asked.

 "I was chasing the Cali cartel. As usual, I made a few mistakes... People died... And something finally snapped inside me. I retired. I lived with my father for a while and recently moved here. What about you?"

 "I moved closer to my cousin during my pregnancy. She and her parents were very supportive. I moved here two years ago. I found a job, bought a house, and Mirabel went to kindergarten."

 Javier looked at the baby again, and you saw delight fill his eyes.

 "She is wonderful. I would like to get to know her better." He looked at you sadly. "Someday, if you let me..."

 You felt a pang of guilt. There was a time when Javier treated you like a princess. He protected you and cared about you. He didn't deserve such suffering.

 "You can drive us home."

 You've never seen Javier so happy. Of course, like him, your daughter was also in heaven. You weren't even surprised when Mirabel grabbed Javier's hand and dragged him into the house to show him her bunny. You weren't surprised that she was sitting on his lap and enthusiastically telling him how to take care of Thumper. Although the truth was, you were the one taking care of that damn pet.

What really surprised you was Javier's behavior.

You never thought he would be so good with children. He was patient, gentle, and made Mirabel laugh. It was hard to believe that they had only known each other for a few hours. That's why you let him stay and read her a bedtime story. You promised yourself that as soon as Mirabel fell asleep you would tell him to disappear but Javier was standing in the doorway of the children's room and staring at the sleeping child.

 "Javier, can we talk?" you whispered.

 "Please give me five more minutes. I want to remember, what she looks like," he replied quietly and the despair in his voice hitting you.

 "You talk as if you'll never see her again."

 He finally looked at you and sighed heavily.

 "And did I will see? You have power over me, Y/N. If you tell me to leave, I will. I have changed."

 And you changed your mind. You couldn't just tell him to leave. You really saw that he was different. You grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the living room. You sat on the couch together.

"Do you really like that you have a daughter?"

 He nodded his head and smiled slightly.

 "Yes. It's just... I lost so much... Her first smile, first word, first step... First day of kindergarten."

 "You are mad at me?"

 "No. I'm angry but at myself." You looked at him surprised. "I know I was an asshole, Y/N. I used you and treated you like property. I never really asked what you wanted. I took everything because you gave in to me. If I had followed you at the airport then. If I had apologized for cheating... Maybe everything would look different."

 "I don't think so. I think you needed time to mature."

 Javier grabbed your hand.

 "I want to apologize to you so much. Can I stay? If you don't want to..."

 You didn't let him finish. You just jumped on him and wrapped your arms around his neck. You felt him hug you tightly and you sighed. All these years you wanted to hear that he was sorry.

 "I missed you so much. You were such an asshole." You felt tears roll down your cheek. "And yet I missed you."

 "I'm so sorry, cariño." You pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. You had to be sure he was sincere. "You know, I have never called anyone that. I've had other women, but I couldn't say this word without imagining your face."

 Javier gently wiped away your tears.

 "I love you Y/N." Your heart beat harder. "I really love you. I didn't realize it until you left me."

 "Well, I knew I loved you. I loved you even when I left you and... I wanted to stop, but no man could compare to you. They were kind and faithful, but none of them made me feel the way I felt around you. But you have to understand something. If you want to stay, you can never be an asshole again. No more whores, no more possessiveness, no more selfishness."

 "I'm done with all this a long time ago, I swear."

 You nodded your head.

 "Good, because if you hurt me, I'll cut you out of my life forever. But if you hurt our daughter, I'll kill you. I'm not kidding."

 "I know you're serious. Even though I only met her a few hours ago, I'd kill anyone who tried to hurt her."

 You laughed and suddenly you just wanted to kiss him. And you did it. You climbed onto his lap and connected your lips in a passionate kiss. You felt his hands begin to roam your body, but he did it differently. He was less pushy than before. He was cautious, like he still wasn't sure how much you would let him?

His hands gently squeezed your thighs.

 "God, I missed you so much. Your body and everything you gave me. I screwed it all up."

 "You have a chance to fix it"

 You got up and walked towards the bedroom, but Javier didn't move. You narrowed your eyes.

 "Do you need a special invitation?"

 "Are you sure?"

 "Javi , I'm not a little girl. I know what I want. Come on."

 He finally came over to you and cuddled up to your back.

 "And Mirabel? Won't she wake up?"

 "Our daughter has a very heavy sleep."

 He kissed your neck and whispered:

 "I like it when you say it, "our daughter""

*

When you found yourself in bed you were delighted with Javier's gentleness. Maybe you missed it a bit his old heat, but you knew there was still time for that. When his head was between your legs, you felt the old shiver. He didn't disappoint you. Within minutes he had you writhing and moaning. As you slowly came out of your orgasm, he kissed your stomach and ran his hands over your hips. When he finally kissed you lips, you could feel your juices on his tongue. He rested his forehead against yours and asked:

 "You want more?"

 "Are you asking if I want to feel you inside me? Who are you and what have you done with Javier? Yes, I do."

 He laughed and reached for his pants, pulled out his wallet, then found a condom. You raised your eyebrows.

 "I assume you don't want any more kids, just yet," he said.

 "I may never want to have more."

 He nodded and kissed your thigh.

 "It's okay. I'll respect any decision you make."

 You dug your nails into his arms as he sticked into you. You felt wonderful. You've had several men, after him, but none of them knew your body as well as Javier.

 You quickly felt your second orgasm approaching.

 "Javier, I..."

 "Me too honey"

 Later, when you hugged each other and catches breath, you felt really happy. Javier buried his nose in your hair and hugged you tightly.

 "You won't smoke?" you asked.

 "I quit it."

 You kissed his chest. But you had to ask one more question.

 "Will you be here in the morning?"

 "Of course. I'll stay with you because I love you. I'll be here as long as you let me."

 You snuggled closer to him and fell asleep.

*

You woke up in the morning refreshed and happy. Javier wasn't next to you, and when you looked at your watch, you became concerned. Normally, your daughter should be jumping over you, by now. You stand up quickly, and as you left the bedroom, you immediately smelled delicious smells coming from the kitchen. As you got closer, you heard your baby's laugh. You silently stood on the doorstep and your heart melted.

Javier was standing by the stove with Mirabel settled on his hip. The little girl laughed and poured pancake batter into the pan, and he praised her. Although even from a distance you were able to see that pancakes have various shapes and none of them are round.

 "Chef  Mirabel, should I turn the pancake?"

 Your daughter tilted her head slightly. She was clearly a chef and took her position very seriously.

 "Hmm... Yes!"

 You couldn't help it anymore and laughed. This, of course, drew their attention to you. Javier had to be very dexterous not to drop Mirabel when she suddenly turned to you.

 "Mommy, we're making pancakes!"

 "Yes, I see darling."

 You moved closer and kissed her cheek. You wanted to take her in your arms, but she wasn't going to let go of Javier. "As if she knew", you thought. Javier gave you a quick kiss on the lips and focused on not burning the pancake. You pulled back and watched them finish making breakfast. When the last pancake was taken out of the pan, your daughter looked at you and asked:

 " Can Jav stay with us? Will he be my uncle?"

 You bit your lip. Two pairs of brown puppy eyes stared at you with hopefully. You couldn't break their hearts. You made a decision.

 "Actually, Javier is your papi and he will staying with us."

 Your daughter's eyes widened and then she began bouncing happily in Javier's arms.

 " Papi! Papi!" she screamed and covered his face with her little hands. "You don't have to catch bad people anymore?"

 "No," he choked out and hugged her tightly.

 Javier looked so happy, like you just gave him a star from sky. He looked at you gratefully and whispered:

 "Thank you."

 You knew everything would be fine. The love in his eyes made you sure of it.

And maybe even one day, you'll let him say "mine" again. If he says it again as a declaration of love and a promise to never hurt you again.

*

 When I was young, before we begun I never thought we all had someone

I took your breath but you took the rest

I promised you always a place on my chest

 Sometimes the love, the love of your life Can make you feel weak, too tired to fight But I'm trying my best to look in your eyes 'Cause tears never age and years never die, die

 But sometimes the love that you feel is just making it worse When I'm disappointing you, we both end up hurt

 So I left a note on our bathroom mirror If you ever forget that you love me

*Isak Danielson - If You Ever Forget That You Love Me

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

#javier pena #narcos #javier pena x reader #javier pena fanfiction #chubby!reader #javier pena x you #dad and daughter #dad javier #kid fic #pedro pascal #happy ending

[oh-saints]

steward

ben never thought he'd be mistaken as a steward of the stamford bridge.

ben chilwell x student!OC

word count: 7.0k

tw: nothing

note: ben's all-black prada photoshoot still haunts me down to this day... might as well write something out of it. but as usual, not beta-read bcs i'm simply too sleepy to do so.

benjamin chilwell thought he could handle kids because he loved them—the idea of pure, untainted creature two human beings could magically create together, the joy he’d feel whenever surrounded by them. james maddison wouldn’t have trusted the life of his son cruz to ben’s hands if it wasn’t the case.

but to throw ben into an almost full-day with approximately three dozen of children, whom all are curious and creative with their questions addressed to him surely changed his perspective of having a set of twins—he wished they wouldn’t feel the loneliness he felt as the only child in a household.

or maybe, what was turning different was his perspective of how the club he got to call his relatively new home. how could the club throw him into a pool of enthusiastic chelsea junior members all by his own? a number of staffs were present, of course, to guide the group throughout the special tour of the stamford bridge, but it wasn’t like they could help him in answering the endless question marks thrown at him.

if ben didn’t know it was part of chelsea junior christmas programme, he would’ve disappeared down the tunnel until the tour was over, trying to call for any back-up available so he wouldn’t be so alone and tired during special ‘kicking’ sessions—the club so lightly put it. ben could feel himself walking towards somewhere quiet, unable to bring himself to drive home yet, for there was little to none of his energy left. before he could put some brain into his feet, he’d sat in the nearest spectator seat, just slightly behind the player’s box.

he’d never been in the bridge, or any other stadium in general, when the curtains had been drawn but he thought he should pay some more visits during this time of hour. the lights were now tamed down to match the sun setting on the background, warmer to his eyes just the way he liked his bedside lamp, but what he liked the most was the silence around the building.

no matter how much he liked going out with his friends as the effect of being the only child, he couldn’t shy away from the fact that he enjoyed tranquillity whenever he possibly could. recent years, especially, after he had emerged under the limelight of a buzzing stadium, resulting in putting him under the hot seat of public scrutiny whatever he does, whenever he goes.

“hello?”

was he really having a rough time after such a hectic, soul-sucking day that he was starting to hear things? or was stamford bridge so old that the horror stories were starting to become true?

“sir—”

the slight tap on ben’s shoulder was enough to make the footballer jolted in his seat, immediately standing as if a lightning had just struck him.

maybe he was very much lost in his thoughts that he’d indeed been struck by lightning before his brain could comprehend anything and this lady in front of him was an angel sent by god to take him away from the surface of the earth. otherwise, it wouldn’t explain why there was someone else, presumably general public judging by her attire, could be wandering at this hour, on this side of the stadium. every activity on the ground had stopped before the sun went down and not everyone had the access to roam around the grandiose fortress.

“i’m so sorry, i don’t mean to surprise you or anything—”

“‘was fine,” she looked absolutely apologetic that ben couldn’t help but fix his posture. “can i help you with anything?”

at his question, the woman’s eyes lit up, now glimmering with hope. deep inside, ben sighed because he’d seen that kind of look every so often. it brought him back to reality that he is ben chilwell, leicester city’s former number 3 and chelsea’s current number 21, and sometimes some people went to extra lengths to interact with him.

“ah, yes, there is, actually,” seeing that the lady rummaged through the pockets of her coat, ben was already putting his hands inside his jacket, ready to pose with the lady. “do you have any old iphone cable?”

what?

“i need to charge my phone,” realizing ben had accidentally made a slip of tongue, he zipped his mouth shut. “but i left my charging kit at home, which i know isn’t wise when your phone’s super old.”

is this some kind of prank? surely pick-up lines these days are better than that.

“i know it sounds weird, but i came here with a friend of mine, a massive chelsea fan,” the woman was smarter than he gave her credits for, she perceptively showed her visitor id at ben’s implied hesitance. “we were supposed to take a tour, but i fell out of it because i had to take a work call. when i tried to call her to ask where she is, my phone ran out of power.”

ben’s stance relaxed a little bit more when he noticed she held no hidden agenda towards him. (don’t ask him how, but ben had somehow mastered this kind of art.) “okay, so you’re, like, lost?”

“i wouldn’t be asking you if i wasn’t, would i?” ben was perplexed at her clipped tone—just as when he was lowering his guard to warm up to her—but he took a once-over to her again and still, he only saw a no non-sense look coming off her. she was transparent, clear as day, and he liked the fresh breath of air already.

“what do you think i am? a steward?”

“are you not?”

ben was meaning to break the ice at first, but he involuntarily shot a look at her as she responded to him, this time seriously so with his are-you-kidding-look. the other person only replied his unspoken question with a confused pair of eyebrows before darting her eyes down at his attire and ben couldn’t help but look down as well.

all black: his prada black puffer jacket on top of his black dinner trousers.

the two pairs of eyes searched for one another; one was asking for confirmation as she was confused, the other was staring back, baffled but amused at the same time. that got to be the second-best thing he heard this year after the champions league winner announcement.

“yeah, you can say that,” oh, scratch the word ‘like’ from his previous statement. ben loved her already. “why don’t we get inside first, hm? warm ourselves up with a cuppa or chocolate or something while we wait for your phone to get to at least 15%?”

“sounds lovely.”

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

“i’m still amazed that phone still works.”

for some unbeknownst reason to ben, one of his teammates still owned a very old iphone he now used as some sort of an ipod, using it purely to listen to his pre-match playlist. ben kind of remembered it because he found it funny but cool at the same time—he couldn’t recall the ages before apple music or spotify existed—but he’d never felt more grateful that his brain capability to memorise things wasn’t as short as dory’s from finding nemo.

“apple’s not letting this legend die anytime soon with all the IOS upgrade, it seems,” ben tried to lead scarlett—the woman he now took under his wing—on to his portion of locker room, to see if she caught on anything, but the woman remained unfazed with her surrounding and sat where ben gestured her to sit, eager to plug in her phone to the nearest power source. “i hope they keep doing that, though, because sure as hell this broke arse of a student couldn’t afford a better one yet.”

“so, you’re still a student?”

scarlett fumbled around with the tangled cable before she could successfully connect the electronic device to its source of power. “i think the term ‘a part-time student, full-time part-timer’ fits better.”

ben was grateful that the dressing room was empty. imagine if mason was lurking somewhere nearby and the younger lad overheard the way ben laughed naturally around a stranger he only came to know less than fifteen minutes ago, mason would’ve definitely flipped at how peculiar the scene was.

“we have a multitasking queen right here, ladies and gentleman,” ben turned his body towards the fridge for the canned drinks he stored specifically for his post-game routine. “what are you studying?”

“the major that promises an easy job-seeking opportunity after graduation, of course,” scarlett let out a sigh of relief when her phone lit up, signalling the cable did indeed work its magic. not only was her phone old, it was also sensitive. she mentally took note to start saving for a new phone. “i’m an mba candidate.”

“you certainly don’t look the age of someone’s on mba pursuit.”

“i know, they said i’m forever old.”

ben couldn’t hide his look of incredulous surprise. “who said that?”

“a lot of people,” scarlett shrugged nonchalantly but eyes roamed around the room. “i don’t have time to bother, though, unless they’re the ones who put food on my table.”

based on her answer, ben could pull off a conclusion that it wasn’t because scarlett deliberately didn’t know him—she didn’t have time to know him. she was too busy to juggle around her hectic schedule to realize the buzz happening around her.

it then ticked ben, why he felt familiar around scarlett. she resembled him, one way or another, several years ago. an ordinary boy who was busy trying to figure out how to juggle cricket and football—as if choosing one wasn’t an option—because he badly wanted to earn the best of both worlds.

“that’s a right mindset, right there,” ben handed gestured scarlett to choose his choice of drink or a bottle of evian; the woman chose the latter. “but i was meaning to say that you look so young. isn’t an mba candidate required to have five years of working experience?”

“i’ve been legit working, although part-time due to my status as student, since god knows when, so i think they took that into consideration,” ben sat down beside her, and scarlett was silently surprised at how she didn’t find herself awkward towards everything ben did. other times, she’d shrug off anyone who touched this side of her surface, but with ben—she wanted to answer his questions honestly, no more dodging; she wanted him to know. “besides, what’s the use of befriending the professor’s daughter if you can’t pull of some strings for your application?”

ben’s laughter rang around the empty room once more. he appreciated her brutal honesty and had to agree to a certain extent; networking is one of life skills. “is it the same friend who left you behind today?”

“excellent guess, senor,” scarlett nodded with a smile that reminded ben of a child on a playground, legs dangling over the edge of the swing, swinging them back and forth with amazement the gravity hadn’t swallowed them up yet. “let’s say her dragging me to come here was a payback for that opportunity. it still feels weird to be here, though.”

“why, because you’re not a football fan?”

scarlett shot ben a look of disbelief, silently asking ‘how do you know?’ through her eyes. ben thought he loved being around with mason for his expressive eyes—he needn’t exert extra energy to figure the midfielder out—but certainly it was because he hadn’t discovered scarlett’s.

“well, that’s one,” the short-haired woman shook her head, still in disbelief. “my dad’s a huge arsenal fan, i feel like i’m committing a sin of betrayal.”

coming from an arsenal family on top of these all? what is this woman, a pandora box of surprise? “you should’ve gone to the sunday mass instead of coming here.”

this time, it was scarlett’s melodious laugh booming throughout the room. “perhaps i got lost here because of that, should confess my sin tomorrow then.”

as promised, ben guided her through tunnels and hallways to get their choice for cup of while waiting for her phone to be brought to life, as well as giving scarlett a tour she never had the chance to complete.

maybe more than the usual tour because ben showed her almost every room she wanted to know, as long as he had the access for it. “my friend must’ve used all of her luck when my phone’s dead because if else, i would be recording this and shove it to her face that i got an insider tour.”

this wasn’t the first time ben laughed without constraints around scarlett. the choice of words she used on her comments was always on point—just the kind of joke he liked—that if it wasn’t because of her straight face, he would’ve thought she was lowkey flirting with him.

oh, how much ben wished she was flirting with him instead. scarlett was the personification of sunshine, an absolute joy to be around with—the fact that she had no clue of who ben is surely gave her a brownie point. he had long forgotten how it felt to talk to a woman without having to put up a wall—he’d spend the entire time talking too busy to figuring out if the woman was genuinely interested in him or his money—and how exhilarating a conversation could naturally shift to two-sided banters.

ben was slowly inclined to think maybe it was him who used up all of his luck when he decided to give this sort of fanfiction-like encounter a go.

“can i ask you a question?” ben put her cup of hot chocolate in front of scarlett as he sat down across the woman. “why the name scarlett, though?”

scarlett let out a muffled sound of appreciation as the hot liquid warmed her up against the bad weather outside. “why not?”

ben grinned, her reply always put him on checkmate position. “i’m genuinely curious because i can’t recall anyone named scarlett other than scarlett johansson.”

“as you know, my dad’s an arsenal fan, but he didn’t want to name me after something that screamed very arsenal. naming me something along ‘the gunner’ or something would be hideous, no?” while scarlett remained indifferent when speaking, ben almost spat on his cup of tea at her. “but he couldn’t name me red nor white, so he chose scarlet instead. it happened to be the shade of the jersey the year i was born.”

“i take it your dad’s funny guy?”

“how’d you know?” scarlett’s eyes went wild in disbelief, mouth agape. “okay, you’re officially a psychic.”

“i think you inherit his sense of humour.”

“oh no, you sound like my friends who think i belong to a circus, along with the clowns—”

cough, cough.

scarlett stood up in panic at her new friend and tried to soothe the choking effect by patting his back gently. “you good?”

it was safe to say that ben should definitely stay away from any drinkable liquid whenever scarlett was around him. both for his own sake of living and for his image. “clown, oh my god!”

scarlett regained her seating back, although her body language screamed that she was still worried about ben. “well, my friends call me ‘the clown’ because i’m the one cracking jokes here and there. do you need some napkins?”

ben gladly took the gesture, eager to clean himself up a bit after such an embarrassing stint. “well, your friends must’ve got lost in whatever parade they went to because there’s no clown that looks as pretty as you.”

for the first time throughout their time together, there was no banter coming from scarlett. ben looked up to the woman, who seemed to be taken aback at his comment, and he wondered in panic if he said it too direct that it caused her discomfort.

ben was about to correct himself when he noticed her cheeks blossomed with a slight tinge of scarlet, unmistakable even against the yellow light creeping in from the stadium.

“nah, i think i know why you’re named scarlett,” ben sat back, smiling in pure joy at the endearing sight unravelled before him. “it suits you perfectly.”

as if ben’s previous comment didn’t fluster her to the bone, the beautiful man had to add some more into the mix, complete with that gentle look he threw at her. scarlett had to save herself from going flushed down the toilet—pun intended—so all she could manage to reply was, “i hope you keep in mind there’s also this woman named scarlet witch, so you better watch out.”

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

“where on this bloody mother of earth have you been, sky evans!”

the front door hadn’t been entirely closed when the voice of abigail, her best friend, boomed through her flat. remind her again to never hide her spare key under the unused mails she intentionally stacked on her mailbox downstairs.

“you have no right to ask me that when you’re the one who left me behind.”

“you can’t be contacted! how am i supposed to know you’re still inside the bridge or that stupid professor of yours ran over your arse?”

“for god’s sake, abby, turn down your voice, will you?” scarlett was never a fan of screams in the first place, but after spending the evening with ben’s calm and peaceful voice, her head was banging in all the wrong places. “my phone’s dead and i was waiting for you on the player’s box, thought you’d find me easily there, but you didn’t, did you?”

by the way abby didn’t retaliate, scarlett knew she’d hit bull’s eye.

“you could’ve at least tried to flip stamford bridge upside and down to search for me, or announced over the speakers that you lost your friend or something, as embarrassing as that sounds but it could’ve worked,” scarlett pulled out her phone to text ben as promised, informing him she made it home safely. “if it wasn’t because of the fact i haven’t seen you in two years, i would’ve thrown you out already.”

“how did you get out of the bridge?”

“i asked around,” scarlett’s phone pinged with a new message from ben. wow, that was fast. “a steward was there to help, thankfully. he got me a charging kit, i think it belonged to a player who’s still using ipod, and waited until my phone’s back on. he offered me a ride home but i refused—”

“you didn’t!”

“i did,” scarlett shot a look to shut abby down. “if you’re worried about my love life because i refused a very friendly offer, worry not. i’m going out with him after the game on saturday.”

abigail ran from her spot to see the phone screen scarlett was showing her, before shrieking in pure elation and happiness that her plain-jane friend had smoothly scored a date.

good to hear you’re home safe because i just remembered we haven’t really toured the dressing room. there’s a home game on saturday, come to the bridge?

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

when ben called to tell she’d be placed at the box, scarlett wasn’t expecting the private box.

as much as she wasn’t a fan of football herself, despite coming from a very football-centred family, she knew this type of hospitality wasn’t one she could afford herself. heck, her dad would’ve flipped upside down if he found out she could indulge in this kind of luxury, one he could only dream of. no, scratch that—he would’ve erased her from the family registry the moment he found out she was given these privileges at the stadium that hosted none other than arsenal’s very own london rival.

had ben briefed her the complete experience, she would’ve brought abigail along, no matter how much she was still upset that her best friend left her behind in this very place a week ago. it was such a waste to have these padded seats on such a spacious private box all by herself, not to mention the fine-dining pre-match cuisine to devour. abigail would love to join the crowd to sing along the chants as well—probably more like screaming on top of her lungs for scarlett’s standard—like a true blues she is, without having to be reprimanded by her overprotective father.

but she didn’t think a mere steward like ben could afford this as well, frankly.

none of this grandiosity made sense to her if it came from ben, unless—

unless if he was either well-connected or he was downplaying his job.

he could be one of the owners—no, no. as far as her general knowledge went and as long as her memory didn’t fail her, chelsea’s owner is a russian oil tycoon. that left her option down to concluding that ben was well-connected because he was part of the board. board these days tended to have a young representative amongst them for strategic reasons.

“miss evans,”

at the call of her name, scarlett turned around to the waiting staff dedicated to cater her needs for the day. it felt really weird having someone to call anytime you need them, she was very much used to doing everything on her own.

“the game is starting,” the staff informed, and the line-up announcement on the background brought scarlett back to reality. “mr. chilwell wishes you to wear this for the game.”

mr. chilwell? scarlett recalled she had never interacted with someone of that surname. the latest she enclosed her private data was to ben, saying he needed her full name to be registered to the reception up front for this particular day.

despite being lowkey scared that her identity had been compromised to a wrong party, who could be wanting her dead, scarlett accepted the satin blue box from the staff. inside, she identified chelsea’s signature blue home kit showing the name chilwell and the number 21 on the back, another box, and a paper folded neatly in two. being a curious person she is, she opened the smaller box first, only to find a new set of charging kit for her old iphone.

scarlett laughed at their internal jokes, speechless at the same time at the fact ben slipped in one essential thing she most likely forgot to bring on daily basis. during the week she got to know the male, scarlett found him as a very thoughtful guy, always remembering what she threw here and there—that she sometimes forgot she’d once said so—so that he didn’t cross the line when interacting with her.

Hey, you,

I’m sorry I can’t be there in person to give you these stuffs, but I hope this letter finds you well—at least as an appropriate substitute, but perhaps as a proper apology letter too, if you may.

Knowing how smart and quick-witted you are, I’m sure you have caught on a lot of things by now, especially the fact that I’m not supposed to be the friendly staff who took you on a private tour on Sunday. You weren’t wrong to assume I work here; your guess was actually spot on—it’s just I never bothered to correct you. Not because I think you’re easy to fool, but because it completely slipped off my mind to do that. You made time and space seem so easy to be forgotten and I couldn’t recall when was the last time I enjoyed one’s pleasant company so effortlessly.

Nonetheless, I’m sorry.

But I do hope that after reading this, you’d stay.

For the post-match meals served at the box, for the post-match buffet in the dressing room, for the big game, for the fun we could have after the game and beyond the Bridge. For me, perhaps—may the God align the moon and stars in the sky.

Should you decide the otherwise, please utilize the charging kit well to support your phone in documenting today from various angle of the Bridge. My mind will rest in peace knowing you’d gone home with an ocean of photos from this once-in-a-lifetime experience to show off to Abigail’s face and gone home safely without having your battery dead.

Should you decide to stay, though… please enjoy the game as much as I enjoy our banter, and wave me from your seat every time I come close to where you are. Can’t wait to see how much you can gulp down the food from our dressing room buffet.

All the love,

Benny

okay, so ben was indeed not who she’d thought he would be.

she laughed to herself, imagining what ben’s expression would look like if he was in front of her, telling this little information of himself in person. the male would’ve been flustered inside, the tinge of red across his cheeks would’ve cracked the cold composure he was trying to gather on the surface.

scarlett laughed to herself, remembering a past occurrence where she mocked abigail for stating she’d marry someone out of her league—“a prince would be ideal but i’d settle for a chelsea footballer too”, she said then—as they watched kate middleton descended from her bridal car. this, more or less, was scarlett’s version of ‘out of her league’—surely spending time with a hotshot c-level personnel from a very lucrative industry was beyond her imagination, as someone who was brought up by a working-class family on the suburbs of london.

and she laughed to herself because never in a million years would she have thought she’d be in a scene straight from what those teen lit stories published; jitters and all the butterflies flying out of the zoo kind of stuffs when she realised that she felt the same way as ben. he made it a piece of cake for her to warm up to a stranger, something that frankly never happened to her before as long as she’d lived (due to having little to no time to socialise with her peers because work was always waiting by the door). scarlett was sure ben had sprinkled magic here and there when they were alone that she’d forget the fact that in reality, they both belonged to a totally different world with a vast ocean standing between them.

but if ben was one of the higher-ups, why couldn’t she join her in the box?

scarlett was about to ask ben’s whereabout to the staff behind her when the announcer’s voice boomed throughout the stamford bridge, announcing chelsea’s starting eleven for the afternoon.

“assisting antonio rudiger on our left wing,” it declared. “we have our number 21, ben chilwell!”

the big screen on the other stands showed the face of ben, showing the back of his blue kit—the exact someone like she was holding in her hands now—with the name ben chilwell and his signature 21 number on his right. scarlett looked down to the pitch and there he was, unmistakably so on her peripheral vision; jumping up and down on the left wing, starting his engine before the referee blew the whistle.

had someone just poured scarlett a bucket of water?

if the people on the box beside hers paid attention to scarlett, it was guaranteed they’d call for help, seeing how frozen and helpless she had become. her face was also turning to be the kind of pale that wasn’t caused by the usual london weather on november—yep, splashed by endless ice cubes would be the only reasonable explanation.

or perhaps, the urge to vomit was becoming too unbearable for her to hold it in.

oh, or maybe it was due to the fact that her head was spinning, unable to come into final conclusion that this was reality. being involved with c-level sounded more plausible than this since she’s the TA to one of the most famous LSE professors. this was turning into something no longer belonged to teen lit anymore—this was straight out of fairy tale.

benny—the sweet, easy-going benny she got to know the past week—is, in fact, a football player.

the joke was now on her.

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

“this way, miss evans,”

the waiting staff from her earlier time at the box was guiding the way to the familiar tunnel scarlett knew oh-so-well leading to the dressing room, instead of ben this time. but unlike last sunday when she was very relaxed under ben’s care, scarlett was visibly nervous this time.

everything looked the same—everything is the same—but it wasn’t at all at the same time.

“please wait here, miss evans,” the staff said, after manoeuvring both of them amidst the masses of people flocking the tunnel. scarlett could feel her mild anxiety attack towards overly crowded place creeping in, she should’ve told ben the real reason she wasn’t a fan of loud, packed surroundings. “mr. chilwell should be here any moment now, he’s just finishing up his media duty.”

scarlett didn’t know what else to do than muttered okay under her breath, her hands were involuntarily picking against each other due to the uncontainable jitters on her nerves. she also wondered why, she didn’t even feel this fidgety when she had to undergo all of her previous important life events.

“you must be benji’s girl,” a voice came up from behind, startling her in her place. “scarlett evans, no?”

the way benji’s girl rolled down his tongue did wonders to her. not because he was handsome—although deep down scarlett admitted chelsea’s number 19 had the looks to kill for—but because of the way it sent her shivers and warmth down her body at the same time.

“i actually don’t know how benny thinks about it,” and she wasn’t lying. it hadn’t occurred her what benny might be telling his friends about her, or if he tells anything in general. “but yeah, i’m scarlett. nice to meet you, mount.”

“i thought you don’t know balls?” mason pulled out a surprised face. “or has benji fed me with lies?”

“i just watched one so i can say i’ve shed this whole virgin to football status,” with that, mason immediately figured out why his mighty best friend had fallen down to the pedestal. “congratulations for the hattrick, by the way.”

laughter subdued now but mason was still smiling. “well, thank you—”

“oi, mount!” and there was the voice they both were so familiar with. “don’t you scare her off!”

“oh, bugger off, chilwell,” the younger footballer groaned as soon as his left winger pulled scarlett closer to him, playing along the skit. “why must you always have the best girl to date?”

if mason didn’t know the whole saga of chilwell getting bewitched, he would be in a state of shock at the fact that his best friend had already moulded his body perfectly to match scarlett’s. the benji he knew by far had only been this affectionate with his dog—even his parents couldn’t be on par with his furry companion.

“because they only deserve the best,” scarlett was hoping—god, please let it be true, she prayed inside—that she wasn’t hallucinating when she felt benny pecked the side of her head lightly. “now run along, child.”

“alright, alright, dad,” mason faked a disappointed sigh before turning to scarlett. “call me when benji deserts you, love.”

at the younger’s teasing, ben stepped up and ready to chase the laughing midfielder down the tunnel. he halted his steps when he felt a hand tugging his gently, all while laughing at the funny interaction laid before her. he reckoned it reminded her of her own friendship with abigail, he couldn’t help but smile at the resemblance.

as well as how dashing she looked—blue and his name on the back surely fitted her to a T. but most of all, she stood in front of him, in flesh and blood, unwavering even when mason caught her off guard.

“you’re here,” ben didn’t think twice as he embraced her tightly, breathing in the lavender scent of her hair, such a welcoming smell against the reek of the boys’ sweats. “you stayed.”

her voice muffled against the padded jacket he was wearing. “where do you think i’m going?”

“could’ve beaten me running down the left flank, you never know.”

“well, hate to break it to you but i think i’m better at staying, especially—” scarlett pulled away and ben was giddy already on a very subconscious level, he didn’t even know what she’d be saying! “when food’s involved.”

ben laughed, his body warm from head to toe from the feelings he contained inside of him he felt he could combust. he pulled her towards him again, swaying her with him left and right.

scarlett joined in his contagious laugh, her wrecking nerves long forgotten. her understanding about the concept of space became blurry whenever ben’s involved, she’d usually mind when her ex-boyfriend initiated such an intimate act of PDA. ben’s blatant adoration towards her blinded everything else in front of her. “that was a superb game, benny. or should i say, ben chilwell?”

“you’re not mad at me?”

“for what? for making me like a fool who doesn’t know who you are?” another wiggling eyebrow and ben wondered how there could be anyone beating emilia clarke’s signature eyebrows. “i thought you enjoy fooling around with me?”

“that i do,” his brain seemed to go into a havoc around scarlett—he was already tracing her luxury of having a naturally good-looking set of eyebrows with the tip of his index finger. “please stay forever, scarlett evans.”

“for you, i would, benjamin chilwell.”

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

“will you come to the next match?”

both ben and scarlett were walking hand in hand towards her flat, slower than turtle because they didn’t want this day to end. ben even parked somewhere relatively far on a usual day, moreover a chilly night—pun intended—like this.

it had been very close to be described as a lovely evening by far; ben introducing—showing off, per mason mount’s standard—scarlett to his teammates and everyone he practically knew around the ground, living up to his words by showing her the infamous dressing room buffet, taking her around for the post-game glowing pitch.

all without hands straying far from each other’s, as if they couldn’t have it enough between them. if they weren’t holding hands, ben’s hand would be flying over the small part of scarlett’s back or scarlett would close the distance to shuffle closer to ben. everything felt like a series of something overdue and not something that only took off within a couple of hours ago.

scarlett broke a part for a minute to wrap herself tighter with ben’s jacket he so kindly had draped over her as the night fell deeper. “if you promise you won’t get me the private box again.”

“why, i thought you’re not a fan of boisterous place?”

“you could’ve gotten me the worst seat on the stadium and i would’ve come anyway, because i was seriously thinking we’d watch the match with me on the stands and you guarding nearby,” noticing scarlett was rubbing her arms in a futile attempt to warm herself, ben stepped up to add some more warmth. “but it turns out to be something i enjoy being around, the atmosphere was okay.”

ben raised his eyebrow, mockingly questioning her statement.

scarlett rolled her eyes at his response, turning her body around. “though had you told me you’re on the team—first team at that as well, mind you!”

ben gently pulled the sulking scarlett towards him before she could walk away from their conversation. “what’d you do?”

“well…” scarlett still wasn’t looking at him in the eyes so ben slid his hands to conjoin hers. it worked, with a bonus of gentle smile for him. “i would’ve come anyway, for you.”

“was it too much for you?” ben couldn’t contain his happiness, her words whispered against the cold warmed up ben from head to toe. “because if it’s too much, i can—”

what was that?

“no, it was perfect,” ben was trained to face the ball head-on under a millisecond without being fazed at all but it took him scarlett’s second time placing a feathery peck on his check—this time slightly above his growing beard—to be able to sink reality in. “thank you, chilwell.”

ben could feel his cheeks burning. was this santa’s early gift for ben for having been such a very good and patient boy last week, when he was tested to face an abundance of energetic chelsea junior?

at the cute sight, scarlett laughed. “just remind me to bring abigail to the next game, but that is if you want me to be ther—”

in all honesty, ben didn’t know what came over him at that moment. he grabbed a hold of scarlett’s face and planted a kiss on her soft, plush lips. she tasted sweet, sweeter than the victory chelsea bagged this afternoon, but felt like the sweetest combination with his contribution of a goal to the big win. this couldn’t have been reality, could it?

ben pulled apart, but he was addicted to the forbidden fruit.

the sight of scarlett peacefully closing her eyes—content clearly drawn across her face—and lips gaping lightly and cheeks flushed endearingly that certainly wasn’t because of the cold weather was enough to make he, ben chilwell, one almighty to that “the bachelor” series were nothing but a bundle of bullshit, was now falling in love with the speed of a lightning. he couldn’t even believe he could contain love as big as what he felt towards this woman in his arms, small and safely tucked against the cold air of november.

so, he made himself believe and took the dive himself, his lips finding hers accurately again like his strike for the past four matches.

“i’d love you to have you on every game,” ben rested his forehead against hers gently when he once again pulled away, and scarlett slowly opened her eyes at the slight pressure. nothing was more beautiful than the combination between the sweet smile breaking into her face and those clear eyes opening only to reflect the stars above—a reminder there was endless silent witnesses hovering over them. “more than anything,”

scarlett shuffled closer to ben, resting her hands comfortably on his waist, as he continued. “nothing compares than looking up to the stands and see you’re there, supporting me even though you’d prefer somewhere else quieter, wearing my kit—”

“technically, this is not yours; this is a new kit, specialised for me. it’s just got your number on it.”

ben chuckled at her retaliation; her comment and timing were never not impeccable. “i’ll give you one of my personal treasures then, the champions league final kit i wore.”

scarlett gave him a playful disgusted look. “have you washed that?”

“deary me, woman,” ben whispered against her lips, before closing the distance completely. “you should feel lucky i love you.”

“damn it, i really should’ve pulled up my courage to confess my sins yesterday,” scarlett groaned at the loss of ben’s lips and the stubble she could feel under her fingertips as the footballer retreated. “i feel like it’s piling up. first, i went to the bridge behind my dad’s back. then, i kissed the enemy. now, i’m dating him. does the church take instalment on owning up my sins?”

ben threw his head, laughing loudly at—now officially and reciprocally—his girlfriend.

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

it hadn’t been a full ten seconds for scarlett to lean her head against the back of the door, smiling widely as she tried to sink in whatever happened today—maybe more so in regards to what went down the last fifteen minutes—when abigail’s voice shockingly shattered her train of thoughts. “who was that?”

“oh, for fuck’s sake, abby!” scarlett was genuinely startled, jumping at where she stood. “i didn’t tell you where my spare key is so you could be a creep!”

“well, i wouldn’t be if i didn’t just see you snog off someone who has the face of ben chilwell!”

only when scarlett refused to say anything, did abigail realize the seriousness of this whole situation. “wait, i thought you went out with someone working for chelsea?”

“well, technically, ben works for chelsea, doesn’t he?”

jaw dropped, done. voice box silenced from screeching, done. now, abigail was sporting bulging eyes. “no fucking way.”

scarlett loved abigail’s disbelief reaction, and she loved it more when she could rile her up. so she did, by pulling out her phone and showed her the receipts—a photo mason had ever so kindly taken of them, pressed a tad bit awkwardly in a small space along the packed tunnel and another photo ben himself took to imitate their first meeting in stamford bridge (it’s a shame we never got to take a picture that day, he said). “yes fucking way.”

“so, you’re telling me that you went out with bloody ben chilwell and yet you didn’t tell me anything about your date?!”

“in my defence, abigail peters,” scarlett regained the possession of her phone, now reminded that she wanted to text ben the first place but was distracted by her best friend’s unprecedented presence in her flat. “i didn’t know who he is until the game started, okay?”

tell me when you got home safe xx, sent. “you didn’t know he’s the ben chilwell?” the short-haired nodded to once more confirm her friend’s clarificatory question. “what on bloody earth… i thought you went to oxford!”

#ben chilwell #ben chilwell fic #ben chilwell fanfic #ben chilwell fluff #ben chilwell imagine #ben chilwell x reader #ben chilwell one shot #ben chilwell x you #ben chilwell imagines #ben chilwell blurb #oh-saints writes

[goldendoodledenny]

Requested by anon, hope y'all like it!

(bruh I had to rewrite this 3 times bc it didn't save right T-T and I rewrote it AGAIN because I didn't like that I made y/n a gobball player at first)

Adamai x fem reader-Dense muscles (sfw)

Reader is female/uses feminine pronouns and is referred to as y/n

She is weak-looking, but is actually incredibly strong

Adamai works at Alibert's inn in this bc I'm not able to watch season 4. T-T

Adamai went about his business, taking orders at the inn, like usual, then he saw a woman at one of the booths. She looked very polite and lady-like, and he didn't know her... He was intrigued by this and went over to her.

"uh... Hello there, can I get you anything? Also, I don't think I've ever seen you around here before..." He asked her.

"oh, I'm y/n, I've been traveling around and decided to pop by, who are YOU, Mr. Dragon?" She responded kindly.

"im Adamai, it's nice to meet you, y/n," he responds, holding his hand out for a handshake.

Y/n shakes his hand and warmly states, "it's nice to meet you too, Adamai," and as they shake hands, Adamai notices that her grip is unusually strong for a woman of her stature.

After they shake hands, he asks, "now, y/n, do you want to order anything?"

"oh? Yah, I do!" Y/n answered, and then she started her order.

By the end of it, Adamai is extremely confused. Was she ordering enough gobball stew for a gobball TEAM? She had ordered 20 bowls of stew. 20! Sure enough, he looked around, and she was alone, no one else at the table except him.

"uh... Is that all?" He asked, clearly confused (and maybe a bit concerned too).

She responded with a nod, as if it was normal, and smiled.

He murmured a got it and walked off to tell his brother and Alibert her order.

........

"what!? All that!? And for HOW many people!? Just one!?" Alibert yelled, not believing it, and also startling Chibi, who had been eating some raw steak.

"yah... It's strange..." Yugo stated, questioning if it was true.

"yah... Y/n must have a BIG appetite..." Adamai responded.

"y/n? That sounds familiar... Oh! I've got it!" Yugo said, having figured it out.

Yugo turned on the radio and changed the channel until he reached the one desired, the radio saying, "Aaaaand once again, y/n has beaten yet ANOTHER dojo! Will she beat every one of 'em while she continues to travel the World of Twelve? Will she keep kicking Iops butts and win thousands of Kamas? Will she beat all of them, winning the ultimate prize of five million Kamas? Who knows? Anyways, next up-"

Yugo turned the radio off, looking at his dragon brother. "Is THAT the y/n you're talking about? The one traveling, beating dojo by dojo for a thousand Kamas each?"

"no, no that's silly, that CAN'T be her!" Adamai responded incredulously.

Alibert looked out the window. "I beg to differ, Ad, that's her alright," Alibert confirmed.

"but she looks so weak..." Adamai muttered, but soon remembered how strong her grasp was, despite her weak-looking body.

"well... Whatever, take her order to her, Ad," Alibert ordered after he finished making the food.

"ok, Alibert," Adamai responded, taking the food to y/n.

..........

"here you go, enjoy, y/n," Adamai stated, lost in thought, as he gave her the food.

"thank you Adamai!" She squeeled, happy she is finally getting her food.

As she started wolfing her food down like a boowolf, Adamai walked away, taking other customers orders.

..........

Not even 30 minutes later, y/n calls for Adamai so that she can pay the bill. He walks over, expecting her to have only partially eaten it. Much to his surprise, all there is, is empty bowls. "W-woah... You ate... ALL of that?" He questioned.

"o-oh... Ya... I forgot that my eating habits are considered abnormal..." She responded, embarrassed.

"n-no, it's fine, I've just only seen a FEW people who eat that much in so little time! It impressive!" He told her, trying to comfort her.

"oh... Thank you, Adamai," she said with a smile.

She payed her tab, and as her and Adamai parted ways, he asked, "oh, uh, y/n, wait, o heard that you travel around, defeating dojos, and I wanted to test how strong you were, you know, later..."

"oh? You wanna fight me later? Is that what you said?" She questioned.

"yes, if that's ok with you?" He responded.

"yes, it's more than ok! I've wanted to fight a dragon for a while, so I'd love that!" She exclaimed.

They both talked and agreed on a time and place for the brawl to begin, and then finally parted, both excited for the fight.

..........

Adamai was the first to show up. The meeting time was the next day, at noon, in the Sadida forest. Soon, y/n showed up, waving to Adamai, "I'm here, Ad!"

He waved back at her, and after the greetings they take stances and started.

Kick! Pow! Bam!

Y/n inflicted a few blows on Adamai, throwing him off balance. All the hits were strong, and her small body was perfect for dodging. "Goddess..." He murmured, eyes wide in realization of how darn strong she was.

"How's that, Dragon boy?" She teased.

"dragon boy? Don't you have any better insults?" Adamai mocked back, regaining his balance.

Wam! Boom! Pwah!

He landed some hits back, missing a couple due to her great dodging capabilities. "Is that all you got, dragon?" Y/n teased.

"nope! I'm just getting started!" Adamai announced.

The fight went on, both seemingly tied. After a while, y/n collapsed to the ground, exhausted. "Y-you win... Adamai..." She admitted.

"thanks y/n, now let get to a doctor," Adamai stated with a lot of pride in his voice, picking up y/n.

She looked up at him, blushing slightly, remembering she had an attraction to him before, and now figured out what it was... Love. It grew during the battle, even though she was defeated.

Adamai looked at her, their eyes locked for just a second, before she had turned her head away. This split-second interaction let him to believe he felt it too... Love. He realized that even though they have not known each other for very long... He loved her.

He looked back at the road ahead of them, still walking, both of them hoping that the other felt the same...

The end💙

(this took SO LONG to write, but it's FINALLY DONE. Hope u enjoyed! Also, I changed y/n from a gobball player to a martial artist because I wanted her and Ad to FIGHT)

[linddzz]

hello, here for your opinion on odysseus! have you read madeline miller’s “circe”? if so, what did you think of odysseus?

Ooooohhhhhhhh you're nudging at a pandoras box asking me my opinions of Madeline Miller 🙃

To answer while holding the full ranting instinct back on a leash (partially bc I legit don't have much time for much typing rn AND I know lots of people like MM and idk I generally don't enjoy making people feel like they shouldn't like a thing, but I also love being salty and this is my constant internal struggle):

With a lot of her characterizations I feel like M.M. either goes too hard making them sympathetic (Circe and Patrocles being the top contenders who come to mind) or she swings too hard the other way. Odysseus is like....fine? He's not outright terrible? But he does fall into her "they are either sympathetic (cougboringcough) beauties with maayybe a couple Tragic Flaws (that are barely flaws, goD why couldn't she just let Circe have full agency and purposely curse Scylla why can't maybe Penelope be as much of a scheming suspicious fucker as her husband GOD these "feminist retelling" authors are too cowardly to touch Medea-nonono the rant is leashed I'm staying on target!) or they are horrible awful people." But she's made so many comments that make me baffled about her academic background in classics (why would you say all the gods are sociopaths Madeline??? that is an actual ancient cultures religion you're trashing??? do you not get how gods are used narratively in stories is not the same as they're worshipped esp in a religion without strict canon??? You know how we all understand that Paradise Lost isnt Christian canon what the F-Not ranting not ranting I'm good!!) lmao. She seems to fall into the common take I see where modern Anglo morality is projected on the characters divorced of the time/culture/narrative they are set in, and then go "omg how did people think this was a hero?"

Anyway I just don't see how people can look at Odysseus being a scheming ratfuck compulsive liar (who is also a great warrior in violent times bc it...was a warrior society who told his story) and go "um he's terrible why would anyone like him as he is originally????" while MCU Loki was so popular they kept bringing him back from the dead to continue being A Scheming Little Bastard.

(EDIT: uh tldr is I read Circe. The entire experience was me going "oooo it's about to get good" and then realizing that Circe is just boring the whole time. Came out the other end with more feelings about how M.M. writes women than Odysseus, but her Odysseus is part of a trend of doing a lot of black and white morality shenanigans)

#read circe and came away underwhelmed overall and esp bored by her circe #tried reading song of achilles when it came out and was bored and then angry at how she wrote thetis and patroclus #most of my other big MM opinions are opinions about how modern 'feminist' retellings just add more miserable women than the og story had #and its impossible to ignore her work if you talk about ancient lit #god im gonna be chewing glass when i need to see everyone talking about the Persephone book shes writing #if she ever writes about Dionysus and Ariadne i might commit a sparagmos #this answer IS my held back rant fodjdkdj #i was bored by circe and then the more i read the classics the more i got mad at it fifjdkdj #i added a read more for those who don't care to see me barely holding back from biting about mm

[mrsnancywheeler]

HEAR ME OUT

Because why is Finnick and his sweet girl’s teenage love lowkey ‘All Too Well’ coded?

“I walked through the door with you, the air was cold”

So to me this is when Finnick realised he had to end things with his sweet girl. The air of their relationship was warm and cosy, but now it’s cold and lifeless after Snow had left his effect. Finnick wasn’t the only one who felt the cold, reader did too :( she knew something was up when the warmth that Finnick usually radiated was now turned to ice.

“And I know it's long gone and that magic's not here no more And I might be okay but I'm not fine at all”

This is both Finnick and his sweet girl still trying to come to terms that it’s over, even years after it happened. They both act okay around their friends and to the public eye, but in reality they aren’t fine at all. They’re broken without eachother because they’re literally endgame. Finnick and his sweet girl are the definition of ‘right person, wrong time’.

“'Cause there we are again on that little town street You almost ran the red 'cause you were lookin' over at me”

SYMBOLISM. Finnick literally almost ran the red light with Snow and the Capitol because he was too focused on his sweet girl. He was so caught up in her that he didn’t realise the green light of the Capitol’s approval slowly turning yellow to red.

“You told me 'bout your past thinking your future was me”

tears are falling. He told his sweet girl everything about his past (except the whole selling part). He told her because he knew his future was with her, except Snow took that knowledge and stomped the fuck out of it.

“And I know it's long gone and there was nothing else I could do And I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to”

They were both so powerless in their situation, there was nothing either of them could do. Finnick’s sweet girl wanted to forget about him, but at the same time she didn’t. She’d still stare longingly at him while forgetting that if she doesn’t forget about him, the pain will only come back harder, especially when she sees him with other girls who desperately wish for him to look at them the same way he looks at his sweet girl😭

“And maybe we got lost in translation Maybe I asked for too much But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up”

sweet girl’s inner monologue after their break up. She was genuinely questioning if she did ask for too much, but also questioning why Finnick would say so many things about her to his friends if he was really trying to protect her. Their love was genuinely a masterpiece, they’re literally soulmates, even their break up was relatively peaceful until Finnick decided to break his sweet girl even more with his words.

Anyway that’s it, have a good day pookie!

-🌺anon

especially bc they never thought they were gonna get to be together again so it was like their story abruptly ended with so much pining left for one another

Snow literally always ruins everything, all the sweet, innocent teenage love they've had for each other he tears it away. the air is warm between them because they balance each other, finnick is always hot, she is always cold, so together they make a perfect cozy warmth. the very nature of their body temperatures working with the others is stripped away when snow leaves no choice except to be cold, withdrawn.

the enchantment they used to find in one another can only be replicated in longing glances, gifts she doesn't know he gave, and it can't be done with anyone else. reader still lives her life, she has friends even if she has less social interaction, she's still herself, but she's so broken on the inside, longing for him back. and he's kept his persona as well as he can but he's desperate for her again.

YES, you're so right. like people notice when he's supposed to be focused on them that his mind is elsewhere, he's so occupied thinking about getting home to his sweet girl and it causes trouble. snow has to strike fear into him to cause him to be as he once was.

they were so comfortable with each other, at home, fated to be one, and yet they were convinced that now it could never be. that the whole life where the promised to be the things that their past had lacked would never happen.

when he said that he couldn't explain why, but he did it to protect her, she accepted it because she believed him, she trusted him. and now she's been ripped of the warmth she once had. the pain is definitely indescribable everytime she sees him with other girls at the market or the rumours about him being player. she doesn't want to be jealous of them getting to feel his arm around them, but she does, and tries to make him feel the same which she does successfuly. but neither fill the void of needed to be with each other

when he said he wanted to protect her that's exactly what she heard, but suddenly that wasn't the story. suddenly she was pushy, clingy, needy and it was mind boggling to hear the new narrative he was weaving. was he just too kind to say it to her face so he'd left first? but they're so insanely meant to be, it felt so right so it doesn't make sense.

some choice lines I also think hold some relevance to their story

"and you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so causally cruel in the name of being honest."

makes me think of what readers thought process may have been like in the newest chapter of the river

"time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it. I'd like to be old self again,but I'm still trying to find it"

post-games behavior fr

"and did the twin flame paint you blue? just between us did the love affair maim you too? cause in this city's barren cold, I still remember the first fall of snow and how it glistened as it fell, I remember it all too well. "

I don't feel like that needs an explanation

love you pookie, you too 💋💋💋

#wanda 💋 #finnick odair x reader #the lakes #the river #🌺 anon

[lsleofthelost]

What are your honest thoughts on the book kids? Both vk and ak?

i’m gonna be so honest with you it’s been a while since i reread the books. (what’s kinda adjacent is that i wish the books, the movies and the animated stuff was more cohesive with each other but i understand that they never planned on it being such a big franchise)

let me cut it here bc it got so long, i was very into it

i most vividly remember the first one, the prequel, and i dont think we see any kids that aren't in the movies, other than mentions. though i think Audrey in it is great, like her brittle handle on being the Perfect Auradon Princess and her huge desire to just sweep all unseemly things under the rug and like almost forceful insistence that everything is fine and great and all that exists is the softness and beauty in Auradon, down to her ignoring animals that aren't cute, ones that dont coo and cuddle. but when Ben pushes her she's intense and angry and almost scary.

the second book, return to the isle of the lost, introduces fun vks and mainly just name drops some aks:

i really like Mad Maddy, i like the thought that she and Mal were besties as kids, as close as sisters, twins even. and the fact that something happened between them that made Mal dye her hair, which she still does all these years later. i also think it's fun that her and Evie immediately dislike each other upon meeting. and i like that she's never 'redeemed', she's bitter and angry and scheming. and not bitter like Uma is, who wants more and better for herself and others, but deep in 'evil over everything' bitter, she leans into it and wants worse for everyone else.

Anthony Tremaine is so cunty. like i know we never get a visual of him but i know he was serving. he was comitted to his noble aesthetic and his bored drawl. i also liked that in the books there were a lot of cousins, i think it could be fun to have like a gang of them with maybe other nobles from their country (though obvi they wouldn't refer to themselves as a gang, they're too self-important and 'above it all'). i don't remember him doing anything super important other than supporting Maddy, which makes me think he's like a passive guy re: Isle situation, just choosing whatever he thinks is going to benefit him (and by extension, Tremaines) the most. in my fics, he and the Tremaines usually are adjacent Mal's gang through Dizzy's connection to Evie, just as like gratitude for watching out for her.

Ginny Gothel is great too, i don't know why i don't use her more, i really should. she was kinda friendly with Mal in the first book, not like they run together but more like they don't really have anything against each other and in social situations they talk and drink together. i love that she stole stuff from Maleficent's apartment it's fun. she very much gives me narcissit's daughter, who internilises it all and tries to imitate her mother. i think she would probably be very competetive, especially with Evie (overall, i think they have a potential for an interesting dynamic... a lot can be said but i don't wanna get too sidetracked, send me an ask if it's interesting to u)

Yzla doesn't do much except attend the Anti-Heroes club which i took as a green light to pretty much create my oc. i still think it's kinda dumb for Yzma to have a kid but eh whatever. i think Yzma wouldn't be a stereotypically bad mother, i think she's more like neglectful in a bad mood and "my kid and i are friends, im cool" in a good mood. anyway, when i do Yzla, they're nonbinary and androgynous, and a little manic, really smart, good at engineering and chemistry, so usually i make them a part of the gang and Carlos's assistant.

genuinely don't care for Hadie. like, i think the name is stupid, i think that he's Mal's half brother is stupid (since they never do anything about it), but i think there's potential to this character.

Diego de Vil is my babygirl. i have like a whole character inside my head for him because i think the potential of Carlos having a cool older cousin is just so great. if you go to my bad apples tag, you'll see more, but i created a whole band for him (and a twin!). he has a devil may care attitude and cares for Carlos but doesn't know how to express it at all.

now for the ones i don't have much to say about: Claudine Frollo has so so much potential and i've read really cool fics with her and the religious trauma she would obviously have. Harry and Jace should probably have a cool dynamic with Carlos, what with being forced to work for the de Vil family but i honestly forget they exist a lot of the time. Big Murph is friendly and helpful that is all i have to say about him (but it's interesting that he doesn't follow Uma). Eddie Balthazar and Hermie Bing just seem like they're there to fill spaces, but i'd love if someone fleshed them out. Gaston twins, i've seen good characterisation of them as following their father's footsteps and i think they are like if himbos were evil.

for the AKs of this book:

Pin, eh, not much to say except the name's dumb. Artie is a baby, but seems hot-headed in that heroic way. Herkie (again, dumb name) should have beef with Mal. Gordon is a little jealous, but i think he opens up a possibility of like messy family drama between the kids of the dwarves lol. i don't even wanna discuss Tiger Peony because i wish they didn't touch the indigenous characters because of the implications it has in-universe and they didn't do much with her anyway.

okay, now onto the rise of the isle of the lost:

whew, i love that this is focused on uma. i know i personally don't talk about her a lot since i'm mostly absorbed with the rotten four, but i love her and the pirates dearly.

(re: the Hook sisters, i don't have strong opinions on them, just thathc that's canon to me, they're all from different mothers)

Jonas is one of the people who has a confirmed appearence and the same actor was in the rotten to the core sequence, so i choose to believe it's the same guy. in my head, he used to be a vendor at the market, bored and tired of having to protect his stand, which is why he eagerly joins Uma.

i don't remember much of the personalities of other crew members, if they were given any, but i've read great Uma-centric stuff that fleshed them out greatly and really made me care about them.

for the aks, this is the first time we meet Lonnie's older brother. i don't wanna even type out the hate crime of a name they gave him. but overall, i think it's funny that Lonnie's a little sister, explains why she want to rebel and is always in everyone's business lol. for him personally, afaik he's not that much older than the main cast and i think the fact that him and Jay are friends so fun.

for Arabella, it's never revealed who her parents are but if we base it on the live action, i'd say her mum is Perla, she's said to be charismatic and diplomatic, her kingdom values the arts, which are qualities i think we can see in Arabella. i think it has interesting implications that she can go between land and sea as she wishes, especially if we take into account that magic is practically forbidden. is she an exception? also this is the second time an ak causes a uhhh hardship? in their desperation. Jane in d1, to change herself to fit into the judgemental social world of Auradon nobility, and Arabella here to prove that she's capabel of leading. she's said to be obsessed with Evie's style and overall a huge fashion lover, which i think probably makes people call her vapid, vain, ditzy, etc and why she wants to prove herself so badly. honestly, i don't see her a lot and i don't think i've ever written her into any of my fics but she offers a good window into what it's like to be a royal.

i thiiink this is also where Aziz is mentioned again? but genuinely all i take for him from canon is just his name. i love him and Jordan (Laila's version): they're practically siblings, they're a little too carefree, Aziz is leading the sassy man apocalypse and Jordan takes every opportunity to humble him (lovingly), they're kind of party animals though media just calls them socialites lol

ok im gonna be real with you, i never read escape from the isle of the lost so i think that's all, i hope i didn't miss anyone!

#descendants #im SORRY this is soooo long #laila.txt #asks #cleverqueencommander #also sorry i know there are typos i missed lol