#there are more but it was getting long 😅

[ceesimz]

My Soul, It Did Decide!

Part 2 of this!

Here it is, as promised. I thought it was too long but I couldn't decide what to take out, so have it all. It was supposed to be done and out for Friday but when the Northern Lights come knocking you gotta go find them😅 Enjoy! Title of P1 is from my favourite Little Simz song 'Angel', this one from 'Worth It.' by Raye!

Adjusting to life with a child was as daunting as expected; having a whole human being depend on you was quite possibly the most terrifying thing in the world. Yet, when wide brown eyes stared up at you in the dead of the night and ten little fingers gripped just one of yours, it felt like you were made for it.

Newborns were possibly the laziest species of all, and you loved it. The first few weeks of her life, all Anaís did was eat, sleep, eat, and sleep some more. That left plenty of time for you to marvel at every little thing about her; the few wisps of dark brown hair she had, her perfect button nose, her tiny feet that were ever-moving, and her hands with the most adorable nails you'd ever seen, if that was possible. Not to mention the smell of her, which you thought was a myth, how women were obsessed with the smell of their baby, but you weren't embarrassed to admit it was entirely true. Alexia loved to tease you about it, but when one time in the middle of the night you'd caught her doing the exact same thing as you, she reluctantly gave in and joined you in your opinion.

The beauty of parenthood unfolds in countless ways, and the wonder of seeing the world anew through your child's eyes is unparalleled. You'd come to learn that even the simplest things made to be the most incredible memories. But the thing that got you the most though, was not only the prospect of all the memories your family were going to make, but what life Anaís might live.

Would she follow in Alexia's footsteps and become a football legend? Would she follow your path instead, a more educated and business led one? Would she become a doctor and save hundreds of lives, would she become the first astronaut to land on Mars, or would she spend her life living at home with you and Alexia? You didn't care what she would grow to be, your first rule of parenting was to never hold expectations against them beyond the normal ones of being kind and whatnot. The pride you felt towards her at such a young age was so extreme and overwhelming, you couldn't begin to process what it would be like when she came into her own as a person. Truly, there was no greater joy than being a parent, that much was true, and you hadn't even experienced any of the larger milestones yet.

There were moments over your life, before Anaís, where you worried about how much you'd be able to handle a child. Sometimes you wondered if you even wanted kids, but the thought of not having Anaís in your world now was... god, you couldn't even imagine it.

Even when she was screaming at the top of her lungs, refusing to sleep.

"Anaís, mi chiqui, por favor. Go to sleep." You begged, slowly stepping around the room whilst rocking a crying Anaís in your arms.

You'd tried it all by now, and nothing was working. Diaper change, feeding her, soothing her, cuddling her, everything you could think of. But nothing was good enough. There were tears brimming in your own eyes, thoroughly exhausted due to the restless night Anaís had had so far, and it seemed the end wasn't in sight yet.

"Please, please, little one." You sniffled, your emotions finally consuming you as one of your tears fell to merge with Anaís' own on her cheeks. "I don't get what's wrong!"

For all you knew, Alexia was in the bedroom a few feet down the hallway, soundly asleep. Blissfully unaware of the difficulties you faced in the next room over. Selfishly, the thought only made matters worse. A strangled shout escaped you before you could stop it, stressing both yourself and Anaís out inexplicably more.

By the grace of something your shattered mind couldn't name, that last call out from you had awoken the Spaniard, and she soon came stumbling into the nursery, instantly sobered from her sleep upon the sight she walked into.

Your face was red from stress and sobs, Anaís' tiny little cheeks matching yours as her face scrunched uncomfortably with each scrike she let out, and you only cried more at the sight of Alexia.

"Mi amor, what's happening?" Alexia rushes over to you, cautiously taking Anaís from your arms as her eyes flick worryingly between you both.

"She won't stop crying!" You sob, hiding your face into her neck. "I've d-done every- everything, she just won't stop."

"Okay, okay. Hey, what time is it, amor? Can you check for me please? Just that one thing, my love, that's all." Alexia asks, hoping there was a remaining part of your overwhelmed mind that was still lucid.

"Um, it's- it's almost four, I think." You choke out, slumping into the rocking chair and crying into your hands.

"Thank you, amor, that's all I needed. Stay right here, can you hold our mija for just a minute whilst I get something? I will be right back, I will be really quick."

You nod, and Alexia presses a firm kiss to your forehead before placing Anaís back in your arms. The 8-week-old had almost fully exerted herself now, no more loud cries coming from her, only a few upset whines that broke your heart nonetheless. Wiping your face on the shoulder of your shirt, you cradle Anaís closely and rest your forehead against hers gently.

"I'm sorry I can't figure it out. I'm so sorry." You mutter exasperatedly, a few tears falling onto the baby's head.

Thankfully, Alexia races back into the room, holding something that would hopefully be the solution to Anaís' problem. The realisation of what was most likely wrong with her struck your heart.

"She is probably feeling unwell from her injections, amor. Let's give her some of this, it should make her feel better."

In her hand was a bottle of medicine for young infants, made for specific times like this. The previous day, Anaís had had her 8 week jabs and the doctor had suggested that she may feel a little under the weather afterwards, something that was completely normal, and the medicine Alexia held more often than not worked in the same way paracetamol did for people with cold symptoms. Anaís didn't seem to be running a fever, much to your relief, but she was obviously in some discomfort and it killed you that you hadn't thought of it.

"Yes, yes, give it her." You respond shakily, standing up as Alexia measures the right amount into the small syringe.

It takes a little while to give Anaís the small dose of medicine, having to give tiny amounts in quick intervals since she was so young, but a few minutes later she'd had it all with little fight. She's still very unsettled, but her tears have fully stopped now, instead letting out a few grunts as she wriggles restlessly.

"Hopefully she will feel better in a few minutes. Do you need anything, amor? Anything at all?" Alexia offers quietly, her hands coming up to rest on your cheeks as she wipes your tears away so delicately.

"No, I'm okay. You can go back to sleep now if you want." You tell her, not meeting her eyes.

"Hey, I'm staying with you and chiqui. Let me know how you are, sí?" Her eyebrows furrowed anxiously as her eyes assessed your face.

"I'm fine." You sniffle, but she instantly shakes her head.

"Mi amor, you seem so tired and stressed. Let's get back to bed and relax. I can text our friends that we won't make it to lunch later too?"

"No, we can still go. It'll be fine." You give her a tight-lipped smile, hoping it'll convince her, but your eyes are bloodshot and weighed down by some dark bags, and she sees straight through you.

"They know that parenting is never perfect or straight-forward, amor, we can just reschedule. You need the rest and so does Anaís, okay? I will text them. Come on, back to bed." She wraps an arm around your shoulders and guides you out of Anaís' room.

Once you're back in your shared bedroom, you sit back against the headboard and Alexia sits on the edge of the bed next to your legs. One of her hands rests on your bare knee as you wore a t-shirt and shorts in the hot summer weather, and she gazed at you with no love lost.

"She's tired herself out I think. With all the crying." You stated, unsure what to say when she's looking at you like she was. Alexia simply smiled and nodded, watching as Anaís' eyes finally fluttered shut.

"Look. She's okay now. We're all okay." She says, shifting a little closer and pressing a kiss to you cheek. "I love you. You are the best Mama that Anaís could have."

You don't reply, overridden by worries and doubts and tiredness to even consider the statement she'd made, so you just shrug and feel Anaís properly settle down, now asleep.

"Could you put her in her cot, please?"

Alexia nods immediately and stands before picking up Anaís, careful not to wake her, and murmurs a few words in Spanish to her followed by a feather-light kiss to her cheek, then she places her in the cot beside the bed. You watched the scene in front of you, it never failing to put a smile on your face even in the worse moments of parenting.

As Alexia makes her way back into bed, you shift to lay on your side facing Anaís, a position you lay in almost every night as it's reasurring to be able to see her so close to you whilst she sleeps due to the netting on the side of the crib. Alexia shifts up behind you and leans up on one elbow to press a kiss to your cheek, before hugging you tightly back into her.

"I'm proud of you. I love watching you being a Mami. It's my favourite thing ever." Alexia whispers, her thumb stroking over the soft skin of your hip under your shirt.

"Really?" You laugh humorlessly. "Even when I'm screaming and shouting and crying because I'm so fucking stressed? Because I can't help my own baby?"

Alexia frowns and rests up on one elbow again, using her other hand to press you onto your back so she can get a look at your face.

"Why would you say that?" Alexia asks in a voice that came across more stern than she wanted it.

"You saw the state of me when you walked in. It was such an obvious solution, what she needed, and it did not cross my mind at all. She was feeling poorly and I didn't notice. I couldn't figure it out." Your ranting voice trailed off with the last two sentences, your worries all-consuming in the moment.

"Oh, mi chica." Alexia sighs, laying down and urging you to curl into her side with your face hidden in her chest. "Don't say things like that, it breaks my heart. I believe in you as a parent more than anyone in the world, there's no one I trust more with our chiqui than you, amor. It is your first time being a parent, I do not blame you for anything. Nothing at a-"

"So why are you so perfect then? It's your first time too, yet you handle everything so much better than me." You cut her off with an argument that sounds more accusing than it actually was. Thankfully Alexia knew you didn't mean it maliciously, the only nasty thing in this situation was the doubtful devil on your shoulder.

"I just try my best, as do you. I still overthink every little thing I do and I still worry all the time. It's been a long and emotional day turned night and you're exhausted, it's fine that you didn't think of her feeling poorly because the doctors said it's a fifty-fifty chance she'd even fall ill. This is why we co-parent, because when one needs the other, we're always there. And when we need to rely on each other, that's absolutely fine. When we need help, that's fine too. I'm not perfect, neither of us will ever be the perfect parent, but to me you are perfect. I promise there is no one else I'd rather raise children with. Anaís loves you so much, and I love you so much."

She rambles on, words of devotion and appreciation seemingly spilling from her like it's second nature. At some point during her impromptu speech, her free hand had travelled up to your head as she lightly stroked through your hair.

"Do you hear me, amor?"

With a shy nod, you bury your face in her chest and sigh shakily.

"I love you." You mumble, your hand that rested on her waist squeezing gratefully.

"I love you too. Put that irrational voice in your head to the side and let's sleep as long as possible before she wakes up again. Then, we can relax all day. Even if that means staying in bed the whole time, and you know I never let that happen." Alexia jokes, relieved to hear the short, quiet giggle you let out. "I will always be proud of you. Comprendo? Always."

"Sí, Ale. Thank you." You murmur, taking one last glance at Anaís who is still sleeping soundly now that she's feeling better. Then you lay back down against Alexia's chest, loving nothing more than falling asleep cuddled up to her. "Is it okay for me to sleep like this?"

"More than okay, amor. Rest well."

Despite it not being the comfiest position for her, Alexia happily lays there and holds you until you fall asleep, which happens fairly quick. With a little readjustment and a disgruntled noise coming from you, she shifts to a better position before falling into a slumber soon after.

All the lows of parenting were miniscule in comparison to the highs, because when Anaís smiles so brightly for the first time in her life the next day, the events of the previous night were almost entirely forgotten. It happened whilst Alexia was downstairs making breakfast, you'd just dressed Anaís in her nursery and as you were smiling down at her, albeit tired and slightly delirious, she just returned the smile like it was something she'd been doing all her (short) life.

When Alexia made her way back upstairs, a filled breakfast tray in her arms, her heart dropped when she walked past the ajar door to Anaís' room to hear you sniffling once more. She thought it was something to do with the previous night, so she quickly set the food down in your room before racing back.

"What's wrong?" She asks tenderly, gently placing her hands on your shoulders as to not scare you.

"She, she smiled at me." You stammer, overjoyed at such a beautiful milestone.

"She what?" Alexia lightly moved you over so that she could stand beside you at the changing table, looking down at your daughter where she wiggled happily.

"She smiled at me! A big, gummy smile!" You repeated, Alexia laughing giddily.

"Really?!" She cried out. "How?"

"What do you mean, how?" You giggled, to which she lightly nudged your side and rolled her eyes.

"How did it happen?"

"I don't know, I was just looking at her and smiling at her little outfit and she smiled back." You recounted, a few sly tears leaking from the corners of your eyes.

"Mm, who wouldn't smile at a face like yours, amor?" It was your turn to roll your eyes, this time at her charm. "Let me see if I can make her smile."

You watch on as Alexia delicately takes hold of Anaís feet with one hand as the other comes up to dance her fingers up and down the bottom of her feet. The reaction is almost immediate.

"Oh my god, she did it again!"

You giggle at the grin offered up by the little girl in front of you, your cheeks aching as the happiness of the moment is worth everything that you'd gone through and more. And the look on Alexia's face too? It's priceless.

All in all though, one of Alexia's biggest loves was of course football, which meant there was only so long she could go without playing. However, she also couldn't bare the thought of leaving your side for too long now that Anaís was in her life, so she opted out of the international pre-season camp that the team had organised and instead chose to stay back at home to do her own specialised camp at the Barcelona training facilities. Training days were longer compared to the little and often gym days she'd had over the last few months, but for her there was absolutely nothing better than knowing that you and Anaís were waiting for her with open arms, no matter how her day had gone.

Her new way of life gave her a completely different perspective for her career, and it felt like her motivation for, not only football, but her life in general had been completely redefined. She had a tiny human being to care for now, and everytime she kicked the ball, everytime she stepped on the pitch, every pass she completed, everything she did was done so with an urgency to be as perfect as possible. And no, that wasn't a toxic mindset, because as the past couple weeks had shown her, there was hardly such a thing called perfection. Undoubtedly she was annoyed at herself whenever she made a mistake, that would never change, but as long as Anaís still greeted her with that infamous gummy smile of hers everytime she saw Alexia, it was hard to be so negative when the meaning of her life gazed up at her like Anaís did.

However, the prize that was her career came at the expense of sometimes missing out on moments that tore her heart in two.

Ever since Anaís had first smiled, Alexia had been on a mission to achieve the next milestone: hearing her giggle for the first time. The happiness of her little girl was addictive, and she was sure that when she heard her laugh for the first time, she'd want to hear it every second for the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, timings weren't on her side.

In her hotel room, hours away from her family, she checked her phone for the first time since she got back from her game that evening to see a video you had sent. And what she was met with was so beautiful, but so heartbreaking.

With your friend behind the camera, you were stood in front of the TV screen with Alexia's game playing, holding Anaís over your head and slowly lowering her down until you can blow raspberries on her tummy. Her reaction? Letting out the most adorable, high-pitched giggle. Otherwise known as the sound Alexia had been dying to hear. With that, she dropped her phone to the bed beside where she sat and covered her face in her hands.

Of course she was over the moon at such a milestone, but she found herself moved to tears at the fact she wasn't there to witness it for herself. The person she'd go to when she was down was obviously you, but when she checked the time on her watch, she saw that it was about this part of the evening that you started Anaís' nighttime routine to get her settled. It was a precarious process and the less distractions, the smoother it goes. So instead, she turned to the the other woman of reason in her life, her own Mami.

"Hi mija. How are you?" Eli answers within two rings, herself back at home in Barcelona too.

"Hola Mami, I'm okay. Did you see the game?" Not quite possessing the willpower to open up yet, she started up a light and easy conversation.

"Of course I did, it was very good. Was Keira okay after the game? She went off, right?"

"Ah, yes, she did. Just cramp, I think." Alexia murmurs, a frown on her face as she messes with the corner of the pillow and concentrates on not falling apart so quickly. But after all, it is her own Mother she's talking to.

"And how are you, really?" There it is. That's the phase that breaks anyone who's on the verge of tears.

"Um, overall I'm okay, but tonight... a bit... not okay." Her voice cracks as she speaks, her frown more prominent as a single tear sneaks out.

"Why's that, mija?" Alexia hesitates. "You can tell me anything Ale, you know that. No matter what it is."

"Well, it's not really a secret that I'm not a big fan of travelling for football. It's always been that way and you've known that." Eli hums in acknowledgement down the line. "But now, it's... so much harder. Leaving my family at home. Anaís, she changes everyday and I'm missing that."

"And you rang me because you're too afraid to ring home, aren't you?" As ever, Eli could read Alexia inexplicably well, even hundreds of miles apart.

"Yes. Because it's not their fault, it's nobody's fault. I know it is just life and it's my choice, nobody is forcing me to continue playing, but now I'm starting to wonder if it's all worth it when I'm missing out on something so incredible. Anaís laughed for the first time this evening, and I was hours away, in a different country, on a football pitch, doing what?" Alexia scoffs, bringing a hand to her forehead with a quiet groan.

"You were out on a football pitch doing your job, achieving your dream, earning to provide a great future for your family, Alexia. It's not all for nothing, it's for everything. It's for Anaís' future and how well she gets to live, that's a privilege. It's for your future child's life and how well they get to live too. This is your dream, your Papi's dream, this is everything you've worked for all your life. Your children will get to reap the benefits from it, and you'll get to watch them grow up and lead beautiful lives because of the opportunities you will provide for them." Eli reasurres her, and Alexia begins to feel better by the second.

"I know. I know. You're right, Mami. Always."

"Sí, siempre." Eli agrees with strong conviction, making Alexia laugh quietly. "Think of how many more laughs you will hear from Anaís, Ale. You have a lifetime of laughter with her. Her first laugh, it was caught on camera, I got sent the video too. So you didn't miss it, you can watch it all night long tonight. Don't get so clouded about this, I know you and how your mind works and when your nena is back in your arms tomorrow, all this will be forgotten. But if we need a longer conversation about it, you can speak to me whenever."

"You... you get me everytime, Mami." Alexia smiles, Eli laughing heartily. "Thank you. You are right. I will get over all of this. T'estimo, I will see you tomorrow?"

"Mhm, at dinner. Ring your corazón tonight, escuchame? Hablar con ella, she will want to know. Then get some rest, sí? Mi hija, jo també t'estimo. Bona nit."

"Bona nit, Mami."

Before she got herself settled for the night, she fired off a quick text to you that asked for you to ring her when you had a moment. She knew it could be five minutes or five hours until you rang her, and she would happily accept either.

Once she had done her own night routine, she gets into bed knowing she will probably not get a lot of sleep tonight, even if she's not got to get up for a unhappy baby. With that knowledge, she grabs her phone again and watches the video from earlier. Before, she'd only gotten to the part where Anaís had giggled for the first time. What she hadn't seen though was the next few seconds of it, where the match broadcast had shown a close-up of herself. Stood to the side of the screen, your friend zoomed in on Anaís' face who had recognised her Mami on the screen and let out another burst of giggles before hiding her face in your neck.

It warmed Alexia's heart to no end, and all her thoughts from earlier flew out the window at the footage she'd just seen. Whether it was physical or not, she had been there in the moment of Anaís' milestone, and she had been there in the mind of her daughter at such a time. In fact, she had also made her laugh in the moment, and that meant the world to her. She just needed to experience it in real time now.

A little later, when she was watching some junk on the hotel TV, her phone finally rang with an incoming call from you.

"Hola, amor. Thank you for ringing me." Alexia breathes out as she lays on her side in bed.

"Of course, Ale. I watched the game, it was a good result. How are you after it? Feeling alright?" You whisper, sat up against the headboard and watching Anaís as she sleeps soundly.

"Sí, todo bien. How are you? Did Anaís get to sleep okay?" Alexia's eyes shut as she asks, picturing her daughter laughing to her heart's content.

"We're all good here, she's snoozing away beside me. Bedtime went as smooth as possible." You smile and resist the urge to reach out to take Anaís' hand, not wanting to disrupt her sleep. "With a few giggles here and there."

"I saw the video. Qué niña tan increíble es, no?"

"Isn't she just?" You sigh contentedly. "Did you see the part where she giggled at you on the TV?"

"I did. I just wish I was actually there to see it." Alexia mumbles, and you can easily detect the sadness in her voice.

"I know. I... I was in half a mind whether to send the video to you or not. Because I knew it would probably upset you, that you weren't here for it. I know how much you wanted to see it."

"No, no, I'm so glad you did. Forget the football game, it made my night. I will get to see her tomorrow, it'll be fine."

A few things you'd learnt in your time with Alexia: one, she was great at shunning her feelings to the side if it made other's lives easier. Two, she would reach a point where that habit of hers would cause a meltdown. And three, you were her weak point, and she could never shy away from pouring her heart out for too long to you.

"I know you, Ale." You state softly. "I know you're more upset than you let on."

"Mm. I was but I rang my Mami and I feel better now."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Alexia smiles, because she knows that tomorrow she'll have her daughter and the love of her life back in her arms, and it'll all be okay.

"Okay. Let me know if you want to talk about it, anytime at all." Alexia hums in acknowledgement. "I have an idea."

"What's that?"

"Tomorrow, instead of getting the coach back from the airport, why don't Anaís and I pick you up?" You suggest, knowing exactly what she needs, which is to see her daughter.

"I would love that. That would be amazing." Alexia replies breathlessly a few moments later. "I would really love that."

"Then it's a plan, hm? We'll be there, waiting for you. Might even make a sign. 'Welcome home, Mami! '" You tease, grinning when Alexia chuckles shyly.

"I have been gone for a few days only. I'm not coming home from prison, amor."

"Hm, don't lie, I know you'd love it if I did do that though. I see right through you, Alexia."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." You hear her stifle a yawn, and though it's not late, playing 90+ minutes of football whilst caring for a young baby are two things that are already exhausting in itself.

"Get some peaceful sleep while you have the opportunity. I'm jealous." Alexia huffs.

"You know I don't sleep after a game. Even worse when you're not with me." She complains.

"Okay, then I'll stay on the phone whilst I have a bath and I'll wait until you fall asleep." You hear the smirk before she even replies.

"And how will I sleep if I know you're in the bath?"

"You would think that now you've got a child, you'd be somewhat more mature." You roll your eyes but there's a hint of a smile on your face. "I'm not going to video call you because I know for a fact you wouldn't sleep then. I'll just talk your ear off. You normally reach a point where you stop listening when I do that."

"Anaís does too. You talk her ear off a lot."

"It's good for her development! When she starts talking at eleven months instead of twelve, you'll be thanking me."

The pair of you continue to chat and joke for long into the night, you deciding to ditch your plans for a bath and Alexia more than happy to listen to you discuss whatever came to your mind. For the whole duration of the call, there's a soft smile on her face that doubles in size when she hears you gently shushing and soothing Anaís when she fussed a little in her sleep. It was safe to say she was more excited for her airport pickup the next day than she was for anything in her life.

Because the sight of her little girl in your arms the following afternoon was a thing she didn't know it was possible to miss so dearly over a short period of time. You didn't have a sign, but in one of Anaís' tiny fists was a small Barcelona flag that matched the jersey she wore too. As soon as Alexia caught sight of you both, she ditched the conversation she was in the middle of and broke off into a light jog towards you. Anaís was turned away from her at first, but when she got closer, you shifted the little girl in your arms and pointed towards her Mami running over.

And what did she do then? At the sight of Alexia, running with her luggage and her laptop in her arms with a shy grin on her face, Anaís giggled.

"Ay, dios mío. Mi chiqui." Her voice was quiet and shaky when she spoke, immediately placing her bag down and her laptop on it before reaching out for Anaís. "Hola, nena. Hi!"

You wrap an arm around her waist and rest your head on her shoulder, laughing when Anaís reaches a little hand out to grab at Alexia's nose. The rest of the team stay back and watch the moment, Mapi having filmed it all as she knew it'd be a memory Alexia would want to keep. They had never seen this side of Alexia, where her heart was merely a puddle on the floor due to the love she held for her daughter. Anaís didn't know it yet of course, but she had Alexia wrapped around her finger from the minute she was born, and that was never going to change.

"Oh, I have missed her so much." Alexia sighs, resting her forehead against Anaís' cheek and repeatedly pressing kisses to the soft skin there. Quickly, the baby's attention inevitably falls elsewhere - being in such a hectic public space like an airport was just so intriguing for her.

"She missed you too. Look at that smile! She's dribbling all over the place." You state, Alexia shrugging nonchalantly.

"I don't care. Anaís, oye, mírame." Alexia leans back and gently pokes her daughter's cheek to gain her attention back. However, the young girl was seemingly stuck in a giggly trance as Mapi creeps closer, pulling a different face with every step she takes. "Mapi! Basta, pendeja! You are distracting her!"

You laugh at Alexia's jealousy and Mapi's subsequent pout, quickly wiping away Anaís' drool with the bib she had on.

"Ay, Ale, don't swear in front of your child." Mapi tuts, a smug grin on her face as she lightly tickles under Anaís' chin and pulls yet another giggle from her. It's simply music to Alexia's ears.

"María, come on, leave them alone." Ingrid takes Mapi's hand and pulls her away but not without a grumble from her.

Finally, now that Mapi and her childish tendencies are gone, Anaís decides to turn her attention back to Alexia.

"There is my chiqui." Alexia bops her nose lightly, eliciting her new favourite sound from her. "Shall we go home?" Anaís grins, her little tongue poking out as she does so. "Mhm, home time! Venga, Mama, let's go so we can cuddle on the couch."

With another laugh, this time at Alexia's eagerness, you pick up her laptop as well as the Barça flag that had fallen from Anaís' hand at some point, and place them both in the backpack Alexia was wearing. With Alexia holding Anaís, you go to grab her suitcase but she gets there before you.

"I have it, mamacita." Alexia smirks as she says it, and you roll your eyes and start walking. "Hm, hola to you too. I missed you also, by the way."

"Come on, my favourite groveller. Let's get dribbles here back home, she needs a nap soon."

Before she knows it, Alexia is dead to the world asleep with her head on your lap as you comb through her hair delicately and Anaís sleeps on her chest. It was a sight you had missed more than you realised, and you of course had to pull your phone out and document it. For Alexia, there was truly nothing better than being at home.

In a baby's first year of life, first-times and milestones come thick and fast. Foremost is the first feed, the first diaper change, the first sleep. Changes in both their behaviour and their appearance happen so quick, it's hard to keep up. Those initial milestones may be seen as minor, if you look past the sentimentality to them, because when the 'proper' developments start happening, that's when it gets special but utterly hectic.

Three major things seem to happen at once for Anaís. Two of them are fine, amazing actually, as they're the first step of leaving infancy: sleeping in her own room and starting to be introduced to solid food. But it's the third one that catches Alexia completely off-guard, something that happens out of the blue, and it has the Spaniard panicking like nothing else.

One moment, she's changing Anaís' diaper, the next minute, her child has vanished.

You were elsewhere in the house, probably using the valuable alone time to be productive with house chores, so you were none the wiser. Alexia had turned away for hardly a second, but Anaís was long gone.

How, one may ask?

Well, the little girl just decided to up and crawl away on her own accord.

To be honest, she didn't get very far, and neither did Alexia's panic last too long because only a few seconds later did she hear the familiar grunts of her daughter and the quiet slaps of her hands against the wooden panels of the lounge floor.

So when Alexia got up and walked towards the sound, there Anaís was, casually crawling around like it was nothing.

"Dios mío, Anaís, you scared me!" Alexia sighs, relieved, as she picks her up and puts her on her hip. "Eres tan descarada, pequeña. Honestly."

Then Alexia turned, leaving the room and wandering upstairs to find you. Anaís' nursery was empty, nor were there any sounds of life coming from any of the other rooms, so she knocked lightly on your shared bedroom door before walking in. She let out a short burst of laughter when you scrambled up off the bed, slightly embarrassed at being caught laying unproductively in bed on your phone.

"What is it?" You blurted out, cheeks a little red.

"Amor, we have a problem." Alexia sighed dramatically, worrying you slightly.

"Okay, are you going to tell me, or..?" You asked, stepping closer and smiling at the dribbling baby in Alexia's arms. She greeted you with her now toothy grin, almost like she knew the chaos she was soon to cause.

"You will never guess what just happened." Alexia laughed, as did Anaís, consequently making you laugh too.

"Tell me then!"

"I was changing her, and I looked away for one second to bag up the dirty diaper, and she was gone. She crawled away, amor. So quick." Your jaw falls in shock, eyes flicking between Alexia's slightly fearful face and Anaís' blissfully unaware one.

"You're joking." Alexia shakes her head.

"No. We have a little explorer on our hands now. We will have to tape our eyes open, otherwise we could blink and she will be gone."

You stay frozen for a little longer, eyes wide and mouth agasp, before your body deflates and you slap your palm against your forehead with a deep groan.

"Welcome to the start of toddler life, amor!"

The chaos of having a small child that now possessed many worrisome abilities wasn't all bad, because after all, there were still many moments that continuously proved everything that parenthood involved was 100% worth it.

Any challenges or difficulties that life threw at you and Alexia were almost always temporarily forgotten whenever Anaís was around. That was the best thing about having a child; they are so young and innocent and cheerful, it's hard to feel down for too long when they're giggling in your face or squealing at nothing or even just sleeping in your arms.

That's where Alexia found herself today.

Even with her newfound confidence and willpower for football, sometimes that all slipped out from underneath her feet. That was the case with the game she'd just arrived home from. Anaís had had a small sleep regression recently, causing the both of you to be up and down constantly all night. Ultimately it took its toll on the both of you, but with you still on maternity leave whilst Alexia travelled around Spain and Europe for match after match, she was inexplicably exhausted.

Everything had caught up with her it seemed, because no matter how hard she tried and how frustrated she got, nothing went her way in the game. So much so that she was taken off at the 60 minute mark due to her performance, something that hadn't happened to her in... well, she couldn't remember.

The only positive from the day was the fact it was a home game, meaning she'd be able to crawl into bed and hide from the world for sometime with her little family. She wouldn't be lying if she said she had never desired anything more.

When she got back to the house, you were in the kitchen having just eaten a late dinner as Anaís was lay in her mobile swing, the saving grace to her sleeping issues as it seemed to be the only thing to get her off to sleep at night now. There was a plate of food waiting in the microwave for Alexia, but her appetite was completely gone at this point.

"Hola." She whispered when she walked into the room.

"Ale." You smiled sadly at her broken demeanour, immediately opening your arms. With a slight hesitation, she comes over and allows herself to let go in your embrace, and the tension you feel under your arms tells you everything you need to know about her current state of mind. "I know you're probably frustrated with yourself about today, but I want you to know I'm still proud of you. For everything, absolutely everything."

"W... Why?" Alexia mumbles insecurely.

With a frown, you lean back slightly and bring up both hands to rest on her cheeks. She doesn't meet your eyes until you raise her chin up a little, and it opens up a world of emotional complexity.

"Why am I proud of you?" You repeat and Alexia nods. "Because you are playing football at the highest standard in Europe and achieving so much, whilst also being the best Mami for our little girl. That's hard, Alexia, two very difficult things to juggle at once and you just do it. I can't ask anymore from you. That is why I'm proud of you."

She makes a noise of uncertainty, almost like she can't believe you'd say such a thing. At that, you sigh and urge her to bury her face back into your neck, to which she does so instantly. One of her hands comes up to clutch at the back of your neck as the other wraps tightly around the small of your back, and you let her stay like that for as long as she needs.

Some time passed before she decided to pull back, to which she rested her temple against yours for a few seconds until she looked down at you.

"Thank you." Alexia breathes out, turning slightly to look at where Anaís was fast asleep in her swing. "I... I know she is asleep, but can I pick her up? Please?" You pull a face at the question, wondering why she's asking to pick up her own daughter, but Alexia interprets it differently. "I just need to hold her, amor. If I wake her up, it's my fault and I-"

"No, Ale, of course you can pick her up. Of course you can." You tell her, and she moves instantly.

This version of Alexia you unfortunately knew too well. Even as a senior, veteran player, her whole self-worth completely crumbled whenever she gave a poor performance in a game. It was something about her that would probably never change, so you had grown accustomed to it over time. And tonight was one of those especially bad occasions, but it's the first time it had happened since Anaís had come into your lives, so you were sure that the little girl's presence was involved in the buildup to Alexia's current mindset, but she could also be the exact solution the Spaniard needed.

With your worries for your partner in the back of your mind, you watched as Alexia delicately unclasped the buckle keeping Anaís secure before picking her up.

"Shh, mi nena, sólo soy yo, tu Mami." She quietly soothed her, one hand holding Anaís up against her shoulder as the other rubs comfortingly across her back. The little girl immediately turns her face into Alexia's neck, mewling at the disruption before she soon settled again. "Te quiero mucho, preciosa."

"Why don't you go through to the lounge and I'll heat up your dinner for you?" You suggest, watching as Alexia nods wordlessly and leaves the room.

Seeing her like this, it's unexplainably difficult. You know there is not much you can say that'll make a difference to how she feels right now, it's something Alexia has to work through on her own, a classic case of time heals all, but that acknowledgement doesn't soften the blow at all. However, you hope that spending time with you and Anaís will make her feel a little better before the night is over.

You get a hint of that when you walk into the lounge a few minutes later; Alexia is sat stiffly upright against the sofa, the uncomfortable position of her contrasted by her closed eyes as Anaís lay across her shoulder. Alexia had her face turned to the side into Anaís, and under the dim light of the room, lit up only by a lamp in the corner, you notice a stream of tears running down her cheek.

Wasting no time, you put the plate you were holding down onto the coffee table before sitting down beside them both. Careful not to disrupt the peace either of them had created, you wrap an arm around Alexia's shoulders and press a gentle kiss to her jaw. The midfielder shifts slightly so that she's leaning against you, keeping Anaís in place as you raise a hand to brush her tears away.

"Okay?" You whisper, resting your head against hers.

"Mhm." Her voice cracks slightly even as she hums, so you hug her a little tighter.

All three of you settle into silence, comforted by the sound of Anaís snoring lightly. Nothing needs to be said, nor could you think of anything, so you allow Alexia this moment to decompress from the day, wanting nothing more than for her to feel better. It doesn't matter to you how she gets there, whether that's by staying on this sofa all night long with you and Anaís, or forgetting to eat her dinner in front of her, whatever it takes you'll let her do. Because you think the world of her, and when she's feeling down, it offsets everything around you.

Until, some time later, Alexia breaks the silence with a sentiment that causes you to tear up too.

"I wish I could stay here forever."

She spoke so quietly, you would have missed it if you weren't waiting for it.

"Here, with you and with Anaís. Nobody watching us, no one asking anything from us. Just us three." It was clear from the tone of her voice that she's getting a bit teary again, and it tugs at every one of your heart strings. "Nothing can match this. I never want to do anything else again."

"Ale." You sigh shakily, suppressing cries of your own as her shoulders shake with silent sobs.

In her mind, she had to be completely silent, because if she woke up Anaís now, you don't even want to think about what her mind would tell her. It would be lethal. She couldn't handle failing at another thing, couldn't handle disappointing the two people she loved most.

"Go put her to bed before I wake her."

"Are you sure?" She nodded and shifted away from you.

"Don't want to wake her up."

With that, you stand up and watch Alexia place a final kiss to Anaís' forehead before she gives her to you. You move as quickly as possible without waking your daughter up, delicately placing her down in the crib in her room and grimacing as you do so in case she wakes up with a cry, but the universe must be on your side today because she stays asleep. A relieved sigh escapes you as you flick on the baby monitor, grabbing one of them and leaving the room. Heading back downstairs, you cautiously make your way back to the living room, not really sure what sight you'll walk into.

What you see is equally as heartbreaking as every time you'd looked at Alexia this evening.

She's seated in the same position as before, but this time her head is thrown back against the cushions of the sofa, and her face is completely stoic and devoid of emotion. The exception that gave her away were the stuttered breaths coming from her and the damp lines down her cheeks.

You join her again, wrapping both arms around her this time and pulling her fully into you. One of her hands comes up to grip your upper arm as she cries a little harder into your shoulder.

"We both love you, Alexia, so much. Please don't forget that." You remind her, stroking up and down her back as you embrace her. "You're more than good enough for us, no matter what your mind is telling you."

That seems to hit a sensitive point for her, because she only sobs harder into you. The only thing you can do now is be there for her, so you decide against speaking anymore to wait for her outburst of emotions to simmer down.

It takes longer than you expect, but eventually it does happen, and she falls quiet again whilst slumped against you. Casting your mind back through the years with her, you can't recall a time seeing Alexia as distraught as she was tonight. So, at that revelation, you gently urge her head back up from your shoulder and properly look at her. With your hands on either one of her cheeks, you lean in to press the softest kiss of mankind onto her forehead. It pulls more tears out of her, the tenderness of it, but her shoulders aren't wracking with sobs and her breathing is almost entirely normal.

"What's going on?" You question, gazing up into her normally piercing eyes, but tonight they were half-lidded and filled with defeat.

"No sé." She rasped. Her mind is way too convoluted to unravel everything going on at the moment, so she finds the words to say and pieces them together. "Not tonight. Please."

"Okay, that's okay. We don't have to." You reassure her, and you can see the relief flood her as her body deflates. "Can I talk though? I have some things to say."

"Sí." She shrugged, taking one of your hands with both of hers and fiddling with the rings you wore.

"Hey, you gotta look at me." You demand softly, tilting her chin up. You meet her eyes and smile a little, an act that rids her mind of one of the dark clouds over her. "I don't care how soppy and cliché this is, but meeting you is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Alexia chuckles at that, something she's done thousands of times in front of you, but this one perhaps means the most.

"That is cliché." She comments, grinning half-heartedly when you roll your eyes.

"I already said it was, you can't claim that one. Let me finish." You push her shoulder lightly before composing yourself again. "You are the only person I want, Ale, and you mean so much to me. I can't even put it into words, so that's all you're getting for that part."

She laughs again, this time a little more tearfully as your loving words are fighting off all her doubts.

"To Anaís and I, it doesn't matter how many goals you get in a game or how many trophies you get in a season. I just want my Ale to be happy, and Anaís just wants her Mami to be happy. We will love you no matter what, and I'll be here as I am now to remind you, and Anaís will remind you the next time she's sick from you making her laugh." Alexia shakes her head at the reminder of an incident she had certainly learnt her lesson from a few months ago, the pair of you laughing quietly about it again. "You've seen the way Anaís looks at you. She's infatuated with you, Ale. And it's possibly my favourite thing in the world."

She sniffles a few times but nevertheless nods when you finish talking, feeling indefinitely better than she did when she got home. Raising your hand, she lightly kisses your ring finger before leaning forward to envelope you in a tight hug. It's an embrace that conveys all the words she can't verbalise right now, something you instantly understand as you know the woman in your arms better than she knows herself at this point.

"You're all we both will ever need. You just need to remember that more often."

There was a conversation that you and Alexia had had during the time you were trying to get pregnant, one that all same-sex couples most likely have at that stage. But it was resolved fairly quickly, and that was that you would be Mama and Alexia would be Mami. Ever since then, you and Alexia had endlessly teased and bantered each other about what Anaís would say first out of the two options.

What you weren't expecting though, was Alexia's reaction when Anaís eventually did say her first word.

Anaís bellowed her first word at you one random morning when you walked into her room where she sat waiting for her parents in her crib. Alexia was a few steps behind where you froze in place, overcome with about every emotion one could name at the fact Anaís had not only spoken, but said Mama too.

Alexia's excitement kicked in immediately, so she skipped over to Anaís' crib and picked her up, holding her in the air and grinning up at her.

"What did you just say, chiqui? Did you say... Mama?"

"Mama!" Anaís squealed loudly, giggling when Alexia rewarded her with a barrage of kisses.

You were still stuck in place, the only difference was that there were now tears of joy dripping onto the carpet by your feet. Alexia turned with your daughter in her arms, laughing when she brought her over to you.

"Hola, Mama! Let's wipe these tears, right Anaís?" She takes one of Anaís' hands and uses it to brush the tears off of your face. "Say the magic word, nena! Mama!"

"Mamaaaa." She shouts and to add to the sentiment of the moment, she points right at you as she says it, indicating that she does actually know what she's saying.

"Yes, well done! Oh, we are so proud of you, chiqui, aren't we?" You nod and cover your face with your hands, curling into Alexia's side. It's a struggle for her to hug you whilst also holding a wiggly Anaís who is always giddy in the morning, but she makes it work. "Sí, we are, Anaís. Mama, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, perfect. I just can't believe she said it." You sniffle, removing your hands from your face but staying at Alexia's side.

Anaís grins as you reach out to cup her cheek, turning her head to blow raspberries against your hand. The three of you laugh together, you and Alexia forever enraptured by every display of Anaís' ever growing personality.

"I always knew she would say Mama first and I'm so glad she did." Alexia admits, chuckling at the confused face you pull.

"Why?" You wonder, leaning forward to kiss the tip of Anaís' nose.

"Because you deserve it. You did all the hard work with her, being pregnant and then giving birth like a campeona, and you do a great job being her Mama. It was only right for her to say it first."

You had no idea she felt such a way about the situation, and it only caused you to get emotional again. It wasn't that Alexia never voiced her gratitude towards you, she did it daily, it's just that hearing her speak so highly of you as a parent meant far more to you than you could ever voice.

"Thank you, Ale. That's unbelievably sweet of you to say." You giggle, thumbing away a few tears and leaning your head against her shoulder.

"Buena, it's the truth. Oye, Anaís?" Alexia calls back Anaís' attention, smirking when her daughter looks up at her. She raises her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for her to say the inevitable. "Ma..."

"Mama!" Anaís grins at you again, jerking forwards towards you.

"Woah!" You catch her, holding her tight against you in a loving hug. "You are crazy, Anaís."

The little girl seems surprisingly outraged at that as starts to babble away unabashedly in your arms, her hands gesturing wildly as she did so, a trait she'd clearly picked up from her Mami. You giggle at her unintelligible ramble, blushing when Alexia randomly places an affectionate kiss on your cheek.

"Loca como su Mama, amor!" Alexia comments with a poke at Anaís' leg. "She even loves chattering away like you."

"Sí, nuestra paralanchina pequeña."

You tickle Anaís' tummy, interrupting her ramble. She turns to you with an angry face that is scarily similar to Alexia's, and the pair of you have to stifle your laughter at the sight of it out of fear of whatever terrible consequences she'd release upon you both.

"Enojada como su Mama también." Alexia mutters.

It's your turn to fix her with a warning glance. She instantly backs down with her hands up in surrender, stepping away from the fury running through the veins of her two favourite girls.

"Mama?" Anaís turns back to you with a questioning glance, and you take advantage of that.

"Sí, Anaís, Mami needs to run away right now, doesn't she?" You smile politely at your daughter, one she returns, before you both look back to Alexia with those menacing grins. A second passes before she sprints out the room. Anaís laughs and you chuckle too, walking out of the room in a much calmer fashion.

If there was one thing you'd learnt about parenting so far, it was that you should never take things for granted. There's a seemingly infinite number of firsts in a person's life and being there to witness them all as a parent was an experience that couldn't be conformed to a few measly adjectives. Sure, you would hear Anaís say 'Mama' countless times in your life, but you wouldn't ever get to hear it for the first time again. Sometimes, when you thought about that, you were consumed by sorrow, but that was part and parcel of parenthood. No matter how harrowing it was, you had no choice but to accept it.

The thing that easily made up for it was spending the rest of your life as a parent to Anaís, and in the grand scheme of things, that was the biggest privilege you could ever have.

Not so long after the beautiful experience that was Anaís' saying her first word, she turned a whole year old. One year of having a little plus one with you everywhere you went, one year of seeing the woman you love grow into an amazing parent, one whole year of nothing but the absolute best memories you've ever had the honour experiencing. To say it had been the best twelve months of your life was a complete understatement.

Obviously due to your work and Alexia's games, you had a very low-key day between yourselves on her actual birthday, and 'day' was a generous word. It was more of a frantic celebration because of course Anaís chose her birthday to be the day she had her first ever lie-in. When she finally woke up, it meant you only had less than an hour to spend as a family before Alexia had to leave for training which doubled into media day that she couldn't avoid. Fortunately, the team had organised it so that she was first so she could get home as soon as possible, but she had still grumbled about it everyday since it was arranged.

The short hour was enjoyable nevertheless, if not a little emotional, and you practically had to push Alexia out of the door so that she wasn't late. You understood her defiance, knowing that if you were in her shoes you would be wrecked at having to be away from Anaís on her birthday, but it was only for a few hours and that was enough persuasion for her to go.

When she did return, she hardly let Anaís out of her sight. That was until her closest family and childhood friends came over for a calm dinner to celebrate your daughter. It was turning out that Anaís was quite the social butterfly, so she was happy to be passed around all evening to the ones you and Alexia loved most. The day completely exhausted her though, and that night you and Alexia spent far longer than normal stood over her where she slept in her crib.

The midfielder was behind you with her arms around your torso, her chin on your shoulder as you both gazed at your daughter's sleeping form. This time a year ago, you were in a hospital bed with a tiny, wrinkly baby in your arms as Alexia lay beside you. Now, a year on, that little newborn had completely grown into her own and was fast on her way to walking. It was a bittersweet contrast for sure, but you were well adjusted to how fast time moves and how to accept things, so it didn't plague you in the same way things had in the past.

To Alexia, not that she had made you aware yet, this day wasn't just about Anaís, but you too. Because a year ago today, she had graced her eyes upon the greatest wonder in the world, and that was all down to you. You, who had gone through agonising pain for much longer than just the time you were in labour, and managed to deliver her daughter perfectly healthy. Never would she take that for granted, and she had a little trick up her sleeve to make sure you knew that.

"Amor, come to the lounge with me." She whispered, pairing it with a kiss to your bare shoulder beside your vest strap.

After a last moment of admiration, you nodded and allowed her to lead you to the living room, your hand in hers as you trailed after her. When you got there, she urged you to sit right in the middle of the sofa in front of the TV before she walked off to grab her laptop. She came back in a few moments later and turned the TV on, then mirroring her laptop screen to show up on the bigger screen. You watched it all with a curious frown, none the wiser to what you were about to see.

"I wanted to make something for us to remember the past year by." Alexia said, pausing as she searched for the right file. "It is also a gift from me to you because we should celebrate you too today. You gave birth to our little girl, and that is no easy feat. So this is just a small way for me to express my gratitude to you since words will never do you justice."

You'd be lying if you said your heart wasn't beating about a hundred miles an hour by now. Alexia hadn't even shown you what she had organised yet, but you had an inkling that in a few moment's time you would be emotionally ruined.

Alexia pressed play on the video she had pulled up and came to sit beside you. Before the first image had even come on, it was still just a black screen, you scrambled to find her hand and clutched it tightly in your lap.

In the next couple minutes, numerous photos and videos of your little family of three were displayed on the screen, a compilation of all the best documented moments captured within the last year. Some of them were taken by you obviously, but the larger majority of them were from Alexia's point of view and you had a sneaky feeling that was the point of it. A lot of the things in the montage you hadn't even seen, like the video of you singing a Spanish nursery rhyme to Anaís one night when she was still a newborn, or the picture of you fast asleep with Anaís on your chest with two fistfuls of your t-shirt, and way more of the same value that had you crying almost instantly.

Next to you, Alexia had a pensive look on her face, anxious as to what your thoughts were. Obviously she noticed you were crying, but she stayed unmoving until the video ended and you reacted first.

And due to a lack of better words in the moment, you accidentally give Alexia a momentary heart attack...

"Alexia, what the hell?" You cried, one hand over your eyes. The Spaniard froze beside you because out of all the thing she expected you to say, that was not one of them.

"Did you not like it?" She asked in an insecure voice, to which you turned to her in shock.

"No, I loved it, Ale." You told her, and she left out perhaps the biggest sigh of relief you had ever seen someone do. "Why did you do it though?"

"Because I just appreciate you so much, amor, and I need you to know that. Seeing you and watching you with Anaís is a magical thing to witness and I wanted you to see it through my eyes. It is the greatest honour of my life, being able to love you both. The second greatest honour is being alive to witness you with her." She explained earnestly, her free hand that wasn't held by yours coming to cradle your face. You leaned into it immediately, the image of you with your head tilted to the side with a soft pout and tears on your cheeks drove Alexia crazy. "Look at you! I can't get enough of you, you make me go crazy."

With a wet laugh, you raised a hand up to rest on the back of hers on your face and turned to kiss her palm.

"You drive me crazy with your grand gestures like you just did! You need to tell me who made that for you so that I can get them to do one for your Christmas present." You say, Alexia chuckling and shaking her head.

She manoeuvres you so that you're sat on her lap with your back to her chest, and she hugs you tighter than ever like that.

"You see what I see now?" She murmurs into your ear, and you're unsure if the hand that settles over your stomach is a subtle hint.

"What's that?" You wonder innocently, leaning your head back to rest against her shoulder. With you like that, she turns to place a few gentle kisses to the new skin on show.

"I see the most incredible, beautiful, and caring Mami in the world. One that loves so whole-heartedly, you leave an imprint on everyone you come across. When I first met you and I fell victim to that effect, I knew I had to have you. But I had no idea quite the impact you would have on my life. I find myself doing the stupidest things in the world just so I hear two people laugh." She huffs, grinning when she hears you giggle. "I also find myself loving the two most amazing people on the planet. These two people happen to love me too, and I have to think of myself as the luckiest person in the world to say that. My fortune far precedes my most ambitious dreams, because with you and Anaís in my life, what more could I want?"

Oh, what a fool you would be to deny her of that.

Later that same summer came the World Cup, and this time around it was held in Brazil. If it wasn't for Anaís, you would have of course tried to get over there for at least one of Alexia's games. But that would be too challenging and complicated to do with a one year old, so Alexia didn't even blink twice when you fearfully brought up that fact to her on one of the last nights you would spend with her before the summer turn of games started.

Before Alexia left though, you had a small present in store for her. The morning of the day she would be leaving, you were adamant at being the one to dress Anaís because there was a vital piece of her outfit that she needed to wear.

That key item was a Spain jersey of course, with Mami 11 printed on the back. So when you walked into the kitchen where Alexia ate her breakfast, she gave you a funny look at the weird way you were carrying Anaís. But that look was wiped off her face when you place Anaís on the ground for her to walk over to Alexia. The midfielder's jaw dropped as she noticed her daughter's shirt, but it wasn't until she spotted the detail on the back that she was overcome with emotion.

"Amor, you did this?" Alexia asked, abandoning her breakfast as she crouched down and held her arms out for a wobbly Anaís to wander over to her.

"I did." You replied proudly, watching as Alexia hugged her daughter tightly before turning her around so she could get a good look at her jersey.

"Dios mío, pingüino. Look at you." Alexia whispers in amazement, then she picks up Anaís and walks over for a family hug. "Thank you, thank you. That's amazing."

And of course, for every one of Spain's matches that tournament, you and Anaís were watching with your jerseys on in full support for Alexia. Before each game, you would take a photo of you both and send it to Alexia, which she told you was what empowered her to walk out onto the pitch for every game. You and your daughter missed Alexia of course, but it was much harder for her since she was halfway across the world from her family.

It was that much harder when her team were knocked out of the tournament in the semi-finals.

...But, when she arrived back to her hotel room later that night after that dreadful game, she sensed a spark of her excitement in her chest, because the loss meant she could come home. It meant she could finally see you and Anaís after what felt like a lifetime apart, and she focused all of her energy on that eagerness she felt instead of the effects of the defeat.

And the reunion was so worth it, because this time you and Anaís did greet her with a sign at the airpot this time, and the Spaniard all but collapsed into the arms of you both when she saw you.

You thought the biggest shock of your summer would be Spain getting knocked out in the semi-finals, but unbeknownst to you, there was a whole other storm coming.

After the World Cup, Alexia whisked you and Anaís away on a holiday to escape from the world and spend time together as a family without the pressures of life. But when you were lounging on one of the outdoor beds on the balcony of your hotel room one day of the holiday, you heard a statement you were not expecting.

"I'm going to retire from the national team."

Alexia was wandering aimlessly around the balcony, trying to bounce Anaís to sleep for her mid-day nap when she had said it.

"What?" You sat up and raised your sunglasses to look at her properly, wondering if you there was a chance you had heat stroke and may had hallucinated it.

"I said I am retiring from the national team." She repeated nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just revealed huge news.

"I'm not quite sure we're on the same page, Ale. Could you explain a little?"

With a chuckle, Alexia tugs Anaís' hat further down so that it blocks the sun from her eyes when Alexia sits on the edge of your sun bed.

"I have decided to step down from the national team, for good. I have much more interesting things to do with my time now." She shrugged, glancing down at her daughter. "When we get back from vacation, I have a meeting with the federation to tell them. Nobody knows, it's a decision I made for myself."

"Are you sure?" You're a bit speechless, caught off guard by the sudden admission.

"Very sure. I'm certain that this is what I want to do. I'm content with everything I've achieved for the team, so now is my time. I'm not ready to retire fully, that's a while off yet, but I don't want to spend so long away from you both again. It's just not worth it. I'm not missing that much of Anaís' life again." Alexia explains.

You take a moment to process the sudden declaration, before you lean forward to wrap an arm around her and hugging her carefully, mindful of Anaís in between you both.

"Well, I guess that's that. As long as you're sure, Ale, then there's not much to say. I'm grateful you've made that decision, who would I be to get upset at the fact we're going to have more time together?" You say, noticing the relieved smile on her face. "You don't want to, I don't know, discuss it a bit more? With anyone, doesn't have to be me. I just don't want you to regret it."

"No, I'm completely okay with it, amor. I think I had already made this decision before Brazil. It was something I needed to figure out on my own, and I have had long enough to process it and now I'm fine with it. I think I am actually excited."

Now that she mentions it, she does have a lighter look in her eyes, like this is a weight off of her shoulders. She had come back from the tournament with that look, and it irritated you that you couldn't figure it out at first, but now you completely understood it. You smile at her, filled from head to toe with pride and love for the woman in front of you, and you lean forward to kiss her softly.

"I'm happy to hear that." You whisper, and she can't help but lean back for more.

One more thing about parenthood to add to the list, was that children had the worst timing in the world.

"Oh no. Ay dios. I'm sorry, amor, I would really love to continue this but I need to go change her diaper right now."

Before you could open your eyes, Alexia was scurrying off into the hotel room, and you didn't even want to know what had just happened.

There soon came to be a very special occasion for Alexia, one she had been dreaming of for as long as she could remember. For some time now, you and Alexia had had multiple discussions about when Anaís would go to her first game, and finally the pair of you had landed on an option.

Barcelona were due to play in the final of the Super Cup in Madrid, and you, Anaís, and other members of Alexia's family were travelling to attend the game. You were beyond excited for it; since Anaís had come into your life, you had hardly been to many of Alexia's games, something you adored doing before you had a child to care for.

Alexia, on the other hand, was encumbered by nerves as she lined up in the tunnel for the game. She can't remember the last time she had been nervous for a match, so she didn't really know what to do with herself. For the few minutes she was in the tunnel, her mind was almost in overdrive - would Anaís be okay? You and her family were there for her, she had to be. Would she kick up a fuss? She was still only young after all. Would she hate the amount of people there and the noise of it all? Well, that one couldn't be possible because Alexia had bought some baby ear defenders that she demanded you pack, so at least there was one surefire solution. She couldn't spiral for any longer though because Cata shoved her from behind when the captain didn't move.

The game went off without a hitch, and when Alexia did her pre-match tradition as she hopped onto the pitch, her mind clicked into concentration. That didn't stop her from glancing up at the section of the stadium she knew her family was in though, desperate to catch a glimpse of her daughter. She finally did spot you both as she was walking off the pitch at half-time, almost melting on the spot when she saw you holding Anaís who of course wore a Barcelona jersey on top of her jumper so that she stayed warm. With an eager wave, she admired the view for a bit longer, before jogging off to the tunnel.

She was glad to find that her nerves didn't affect her performance, bagging two assists to help the team win 3-1. It was a great match to watch as a fan, and you were thrilled for Alexia and her team, and the cherry on the cake was the fact that Anaís had been no trouble at all throughout it. For about twenty minutes of the first half, she fell asleep, but was startled awake by the crowd (and you) when Barcelona scored their first goal. Since then, she had been wide awake, and as good as gold.

From your place in the stands, you watched on with pride as the trophy ceremony carried out, forever happy to see Alexia with a medal around her neck and a trophy in her arms.

But perhaps the most exciting moment of the day for Alexia was when you walked out of the tunnel a little while later with Anaís in your arms. Alexia ran over as soon as she spotted you, knowing this was the plan all along if Anaís had coped well. She laughed giddily as she approached you and wrapped you both up in a tight hug, flooded with pure happiness.

"Well done, Mami!" You grin, patting her cheek a few times before offering Anaís out to her.

"Mami!" Anaís shouted in Alexia's face, before her attention inevitably falls to the shiny metal hanging from her neck, She tries to pick it up, but it's a little heavy for her, meaning it thumps Alexia heavily in the chest.

"Oof, Anaís." Alexia huffs, taking off her medal and putting it around your neck instead.

"Ale." You roll your eyes, cheeks slightly red, and when you try to take it off her hand reaches out to stop it.

"Leave it, amor." She smirks, kissing you quickly as you go to argue again. Leaving you a tad flustered, she turns back to her daughter. "Oye, Anaís! What's that?"

The midfielder points to one of the footballs off at the side of the pitch, and Anaís' face immediately lights up.

"Ball!" She grins, reaching a grabby hand out towards it.

"You want to play?" Alexia wonders, going over to collect the ball and walking it further onto the field before placing Anaís down in front of it. "Kick it, chiqui!"

Rather unceremoniously, Anaís does kick it but not without falling afterwards. You laugh as she tumbles down, Alexia rushing over and doting on her.

"Ale, she'll be okay, don't stress her out." You tell her, to which she nods and rights her daughter again before coming back to your side. "She doesn't quite have your elegance yet."

"I know." Alexia snickers, and the pair of you follow to wherever Anaís toddles off to. "Look at her go though. Not really a waddling little pingüino anymore."

The nickname, 'pingüino', had come about back when Anaís took her first steps just after she turned a year old, and it had stuck since then.

"No, she isn't." You hum in agreement, throwing an arm around Alexia's waist as you continue trailing after your little girl. "Uh oh."

There wasn't any real danger when you uttered that, it was just Mapi.

"Hola nena! Wow, look at you!" Mapi ran over to her and swooped her up off the ground. "What name do you have on your back... oh, boo! Boring! I think you should have my name, sí Ale?"

"Over my dead body." Alexia grumbled, elbowing you when you laughed at her grumpiness. "That is an emergency shirt, we didn't have time for a name because we didn't realise her other one was too small for her jumper."

"Blah, blah, blah... no wonder you are always sleepy, Anaís, her talking is tiring me too!" Mapi teased, wincing dramatically at the disapproving huff Alexia gives. "Oh no, nena. We need to run. Let's go play before Mami kills me, huh?"

You shake your head at Mapi's antics and watch as she steals your daughter away to play football with her. Alexia has a subtle smile on her face, and you giggle quietly when you see it, knowing she's trying to act like the captain she is but can't resist the cuteness of her daughter.

"Cálmate, Capi." You bump your hip into hers, smirking when she looks down at you with a suppressed grin. Now you take the medal off and place it back around her neck, silencing her complaints in the same way she did to you earlier. "You have too many medals and trophies now, campeona, I'm not sure our house can stand the extra weight."

"Behave." Alexia muttered lovingly, pulling you in for a proper hug. "Thank you for coming, and thank you for bringing her too."

"Of course. I loved being at a game again, and Anaís handled it perfectly. She had a little nap in the first half but stayed awake for the rest of it."

"Really?" Alexia said, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise as her face contorted to one of shy excitement, an adorable sight to see.

"Yes, she did. She didn't cry once, she was very settled." Alexia nodded and casted her eyes back over to Anaís. "Told you she would love going to your games."

At that, she finally lets herself break out into a whole-hearted grin, and she hugs you tight to her side as you watch Mapi and a few others dote over Anaís.

"I need her at every game. She is my good luck charm." She mumbles, swallowing down the lump in her throat. "Mapi is going to injure our mija."

She wasn't exactly wrong on that part; Mapi had started passing the ball softly to Anaís and urging her to kick it, to which she did but not without falling over again. The defender can't help herself: she passes Anaís the ball over and over, and Anaís tumbles down each time. Mapi would burst out laughing, before helping Anaís up and giving her the ball once more. Luckily Anaís saw the humour in it too, giggling almost just as much as Mapi.

Alexia let it happen once more before marching over. You were a little out of earshot, but you saw Alexia pick Anaís up from the floor and brush off the grass from her clothes, then she turned to Mapi with an accusing point and most likely the sternest voice she could muster. From your viewpoint, you could tell Mapi was stifling yet more laughter, but she kept up the innocent act in front of her friend. And when Alexia turned away from her with a shake of her head, Mapi looked over at you with a huge grin that you matched, letting her know she wasn't actually in trouble like Alexia tried to establish.

"That woman is the bane of my life." Alexia complained when she came back over to you, a slightly damp and grassy child in her arms.

"Mm, you love her really." You retaliate, flicking a blade of grass off of Anaís' arm.

"So what." Alexia huffed, cradling Anaís closely to her chest and swaying a little. "Oh, dios. She's so grown up."

"I know." You pout at the sight of Anaís in her arms, now calm and a bit tired. "Already kicking a ball about."

"We must buy her some football boots soon." You shake your head and laugh.

"She's not even two years old yet."

"Doesn't matter, amor. Project Putellas starts now."

The night before Anaís' second birthday was a turning point to remember; you and Alexia, in the spur of the moment, agreed on having another child in the very near future. When she initiated the decision, you hadn't even hesitated to affirm your willingness to her. It was an easy choice for you because both of you had always wanted two children, but in the past two years the topic of making that happen had hardly been brought up. You knew the time would come, and now it was here.

For the rest of the time you spent preparing the cake for it to go in the oven, the pair of you revelled in the coy anticipation that lingered in the air. Separately, your minds were running wild with the limitless possibilities that could occur in the next few years, until you stood up from placing the tray in the oven and Alexia was there, gazing at you with the softest smile she could muster.

"Another baby, huh?" She commented quietly, taking hold of your hand.

"Apparently so." You matched her smile, both of you watching the other before Alexia pulled you in for a tight hug. "You sure?"

"Amor, que pregunta tan estupida." She said bluntly, making you laugh. "I have never been so sure of a decision before. I believe now is the time for us to have another, as long as you are sure."

"Oh, what a stupid thing to say." You teased her, grinning when she grumbled and lightly hit your waist. "I'm more than ready to have another."

"Hm, good." She smirks, and her hands travel a little lower on your back. "We can go try if you'd like?"

"Really?" You scoffed, swatting her hands away and stepping out of her grasp. "Come on. Help me make this icing. And don't make any inappropriate suggestions."

From that day on, the pair of you delve yourselves into the process of IVF again. After last time, you both were more than happy with it all and how the process goes, so you chose the reciprocal type again and were there for each other through it all once again. It was a little trickier trying to do injections with an investigative toddler who wanted to be involved with it too, never straying far from you two, but you made it work.

However, not all things can go to plan. Perhaps the first time with Anaís had been too good to be true, because conceiving this time was much more difficult.

Over and over, yours and Alexia's emotions were tugged from left to right, one day on cloud nine and other days plunged into the deepest melancholia. It was a ruthless and relentless cycle of hope, anticipation, disappointment and frustration. Your self-worth took a gut-wrenching blow each time, your mind overgrown with blame and guilt and inadequacy. But, as someone wise beyond their years once said, your fortune far preceded your hopes because each and everytime Alexia and Anaís were there to pull you back up out of your pit of darkness.

"Amor." Alexia whispered gently one morning, sitting beside where you lay in bed and placing Anaís in her lap. "Wake up, mija, it is a big day, we need y-"

"Mama! Up, now!" Anaís shouted, pushing against your shoulder.

"Anaís, no! That is not nice, I told you to be gentle. Gentle, sí?" Alexia scolds quietly, about to warn Anaís again when you rolled over with a tight-lipped smile on your face.

"Morning." You muttered, bracing yourself when you saw Anaís stand in Alexia's lap. "Oof, chiqui, good morning to you too."

"Feliz navidad, mis amores." Alexia said, resting a hand on Anaís' back as a reminder for her to stay calm.

"Christmas, Mama." Anaís grinned down at you, placing two heavy hands on your cheeks, smushing them together, and giving you a quick kiss.

"Mhm, happy Christmas, bebíta." You sat up and gave her a hug that lasted about a millisecond due to her very limited attention span.

"Anaís, why don't you go get your stocking from your room? We will open it in here." She didn't need to be told twice - she leaped off the bed, briefly scaring the life out of you and Alexia, before racing out of the room. Alexia turned to you when she left, looking over you with a watcful eye. "How are you, amor?"

The previous day, cruelly on Christmas Eve, you both had found out that the third IVF attempt had not resulted in a pregnancy. What should have been a day filled with fesitivies and joy and tradition, was instead another day of grieving. After you had gotten home from the appointment, Alexia had quickly dropped Anaís off at Eli's for the afternoon so that her full attention could be on you. Not much was said or done, this had occurred one too many times now for any words to be of gratification. You both just needed time together, away from any other worries, to be able to process it. The healing process wasn't a straightforward one, you didn't magically feel better this morning, but knowing what day it was made it just a tad easier.

"Not bad, but not great. I just don't want to think about it. For one day at least." You answered, and she nodded instantly.

"We can do our best. When that little rocket is around, I think we'll be swept off our feet." Alexia said, glad to hear even just the breath of laughter you give her. "Don't hesitate to tell me if you need a break though. You let me know how you're doing, alright?"

"I will. Thank you, Ale." You told her earnestly, offering a semi-genuine smile to her.

"Te amo mucho, siempre. Siempre, amor." Alexia whispered when she wrapped you up in her arms.

Then Anaís came steaming back in, her Christmas stocking dragging along behind her unceremoniously, and you giggle when Alexia tells her off for it. The little girl sassed back a reply and Alexia can't help but laugh too, helping her lift it onto the bed. Watching your daughter's face light up with every gift she opens and how she hugs you both tightly after every single one, it's hard to be enveloped by the gloom your mind tried to subdue you into. Anaís was the best gift of all, and if a second child wasn't meant to be, you still had this beautiful girl that made you numb to all the problems life threw at you.

In the midst of this ongoing IVF journey came Alexia's birthday, and to distract yourself from the difficulty of the past few months, you had set yourself and Anaís a project to do as a gift. It was a minor token of appreciation for the woman who had been nothing short of perfect throughout it all, forever there to lean on and pick up the pieces when you need her to.

The day had come for you both to show off what you'd done for her, and though you'd already spent the morning at home with Anaís and Alexia, as well as giving her a few other gifts, this was the part you were most looking forward to. And as you pulled up to the Barcelona training facilities where you would see your hard work for the first time before surprising her, it was safe to say you hadn't felt such excitement in a long while.

"So, frecas, are you ready to surprise Mami?" You smile at Anaís through the rearview mirror of your car just as you pull into a parking space.

"Mamiiii!" Anaís sings from her seat, her little feet swinging excitedly.

"Sí, Mami!" You repeat back, turning off the car before hopping out and walking to Anaís' door. "Vale, mi niña pequeña, what do we have to remember whilst we're here?"

"Be nice, hold your hand, and... smile!"

You laugh at that last one, because you and Alexia never have to remind her to smile as it's something she is always doing anyway. The pair of you love to tell her how happy she makes everyone around her with her cheeky smile, and from then she'd taken it upon herself to do it, somehow, even more often.

"Yes, everybody loves it when you smile." You tap her nose lightly, delighted to hear her giggle. "Do you remember how today is going to go?"

"Tell me?" Anaís asks as you help her out of the car.

"Yep, I can tell you." You reply, taking her hand and leading her to the reception. "We're going to be taken to an office where we can finally see the gift you made for Mami. Then we can give it to her, and maybe if you're up for it, we can have lunch with everybody. Are you excited?"

"Mhm." Anaís mutters quietly, indicating she was feeling a little uncertain about something. When you're away from the car park and outside the main doors, you turn to her and crouch to her height.

"What's up, mi chiqui? Is there something bugging you?" You question softly, taking both of her hands and squeezing them.

"Nervous." She admits, shuffling forward in a silent plea for a hug, which you immediately engage in.

"It's okay to be nervous, isn't it? Mami and I get nervous still and we're old." You joke, hearing her giggle slightly into your shoulder. "What's making you nervous?"

"The people." Anaís tells you, to which you nod understandingly.

"That's alright, thank you for telling me. There might be a lot of people today, most of them you will know though. They're all Mami's friends, aren't they?" She nods shyly when you move back to look at her face. "They are. You just stick with me and Mami when we see her, we've got you. Always. And if you don't want to stay for dinner, let me know and we can go home. Okay?"

"Okay." She smiles brightly up at you, an image you wished you could treasure forever, and you lean forward to kiss her forehead.

"Perfecta, mi amor. Venga!" You take her hand again and press the buzzer to be let into the building. "Do you know what Mami says when she gets nervous?"

"Mami asks for your besitos!" Anaís answers with a grin, catching you off guard. The question was more of a rhetorical one, but you had underestimated your daughter's cheekiness.

"Well, she does, but that's not what I was going to say." You laugh, cheeks red, opening the doors when they unlock. "Mami says that most of the time she doesn't need to feel nervous because the thing she was worrying about is never as bad as she thinks. Do you understand?"

"No." Anaís shrugs bluntly, again making you laugh as you lead her into the reception.

"Okay, chiqui, forget I spoke." You say with a light eye roll, the small girl giggling to herself beside you.

Signing both of you in, you make small talk with the receptionist who hands you two name stickers. Anaís was currently in a phase where she just could not get enough of stickers, so you gasp excitedly for her.

"Pegatina?" She looks up at you with a giddy face, politely snatching the sticker from you and putting it in the center of her sweater.

"Sí!" You smile at her excitement, and an idea comes to mind. You turn back to the receptionist with a plan. "Existe alguna posibilidad de que tengas una hoja extra de pegatinas en blanco? Mi chiqui los adora."

"Claro! Aquí tienes." The lady smiles brightly at you and hands over a sheet of blank stickers. She waves at Anaís, who returns the gesture shyly before you turn to her and show off the item in your hand.

"Mirar, Anaís! More stickers!" Your daughter gasps loudly at the surprise, gazing up at you like you'd just given her the best gift in the world.

"Gracias, Mama!" She squeals, moving to hug your leg tightly.

"No problem, mija. You can draw on them at dinner if you'd like." You say, ducking down to kiss the top of her head. "I'll put them away for now, Mami finishes training soon so we need to go."

With Anaís' hand in yours, you lead her through the building and towards the meeting room you had been informed to go through. Nowadays you were more than familiar with your way around the facilities, having been here numerous times, but you can tell Anaís is still a bit apprehensive. And as a result of yours and Alexia's healthy parenting habits, she didn't hesitate to tell you again.

"Mama, I'm scared." She says, tugging on your hand and coming to a standstill outside the office just as you go to open it.

"Scared about what?" You frown, bending down again and brushing a few wisps of her out of her face.

"Mami will not like her gift."

That broke your heart, because you could already picture Alexia's reaction when she saw what Anaís had done for her. You made a bet with Eli and Alba that she would cry when she received the gift, something they instantly agreed with.

"Anaís, I promise you, Mami will love her present. I know she will, you don't need to worry or be scared. She will really love them. I pinky promise." You hold her hand out for her to link fingers with you, and after a moment of careful consideration, she nods and seals the promise.

"Ready now." She says confidently, so you smile and stand up again.

Knocking twice, you open the door to find a few members of staff there - a few from Barça and a few from the team you'd worked with at Nike. In the middle of the table was the box that contained the surprise, and Anaís' eyes widened so far they almost bugged out of her head.

"There, Mama." She said in a loud whisper, the others in the room smiling brightly at her excitement.

"There they are! Let's go sit down and look at them."

You lead her to the table and sit down in a middle seat, keeping Anaís on your lap. One of the Nike staff talks you through them briefly, giving you an update on the process, and the whole time Anaís bounces giddily. She was getting a little antsy and you figured it was a bit of an odd situation for her to be in; sat in a room with unfamiliar people, one holding a camera to film the day, all whilst the thing she'd been desperate to see for over a month sat waiting in the middle. Somehow she had managed to keep the whole thing a secret, Alexia to your knowledge none the wiser about the whole thing. There were nearly a few slip-ups, but so far so good.

"Okay, that's all I think. You can look at them now."

Anaís grins as you reach for the box and pull it closer, putting it within reach for her to open it.

"Go on, Anaís, you can look."

You watch her face rather than look at the gift at first, your heart clenching at the utter joy and awe on her face as she lifts the lid off of the box. She lets out an adorable gasp, reaching a hand out and delicately picking up one of the things in there.

"Mama... I love them." She states, turning to look at you and showing off the item in her hand.

"They are amazing, aren't they? They came out perfect, wow." You take the other one out from the box, examining it closely. "Mami will adore them."

"When is she coming?" Anaís wonders, and you look up to the Barça staff.

"Training will finish any second now. They'll text when she's on h-" His phone pings as he speaks. "Ah, she is on her way now."

"Great! Anaís, let's put these back in the box so Mami can open it for herself." Anaís nods eagerly and carefully puts them back in, before turning and hugging you unexpectedly. "Hey, what's this for?"

"Mami will love her gift. I know it!" She squeals, pulling back and placing a sloppy kiss to your cheek.

"Thank you for that! How lucky I am to have such a kind, cute little girl, huh?" You smile at her, leaning forward to kiss all over her face. She squeals again and hides herself in your shoulder, pressing kisses of her own to your shirt. "Do you remember what to say when Mami walks in?"

"Umm... felicidades?" Anaís says, and you nod proudly.

"Perfect! Bien, mi niña."

No less then five minutes later, you can hear footsteps and a familiar voice coming down the corridor.

"-are you making me do media without showering? It was hot today, I'm all swe-"

Alexia cuts herself when she opens the door to see you and Anaís there. It's a far better surprise than media.

"What are you two doing here?" She asks with a huge smile on her face, frozen in place at the door.

"Say it, Anaís." You whispered in your daughter's ear.

"Felicidades, Mami." Anaís says shyly, and Alexia bounds over to her to pick her up and hug her tightly.

"Thank you, princesa! What a lovely surprise!" She exclaims, looking over at you for a bit of context.

"We have a better surprise for you. Come sit down." You tell her, patting the chair next to you.

Everyone else in the room stands back and watches, and Alexia takes her seat with Anaís curled into her side. With a quick kiss to her forehead, she gestures to the box in front of her.

"This?" She wonders, and before you could get a word in, Anaís pipes up.

"Open it, Mami! It is the best gift ever!" She urges, patting her leg to try and hurry her up.

"Alright, alright. Cheeky." Alexia tuts jokingly, reaching around Anaís to flick the lid open. Her jaw drops when she looks inside, and of all things in the world, she wasn't expecting them.

Inside, were two completely customised football boots, designed by Anaís with help from you and a team at Nike.

The design of the boots were fairly similar, except for a few tiny details that were special to each one. They were mainly white, and on each toe end of the boots were Anaís' hand prints in the blaugrana colours. Under the Nike tick on the outside of each boot were Anaís' initials with a penguin beside them. Additionally, under the logo on the inside of the boots were the words 'Vamos Mami' written in Anaís' squiggly handwriting. Every single detail, from the heartwarmingly poor stick figure drawing of Alexia on the back of the boots with the words 'My Hero' beside them, to the one of Alexia's favourite flowers and the other little contextual family inclusions, sent her into an emotional frenzy.

They were obviously majoritively designed by a small child, Anaís, but that was what made them so very special to Alexia. To her, they were probably the best gift she could've received purely based off of the sentimental value of them, and she had had tears in her eyes the moment she saw them.

"Anaís... wow." Alexia choked out, hastily wiping away one that slipped out. "You made these?"

"I did! Me and Mama!" Anaís claimed proudly, grinning up at Alexia and helping her to brush her tears away. But the sight of her crying confused her, and her smile quickly turned into a frown. "Oh. Not happy?"

"No, no, I'm so happy, Anaís, so happy. I love them so much that I'm crying, how silly?" Anaís giggled at her Mami, and the whole thing to you was ineffably adorable. "Oh wow. I really love them."

"Can you wear them for your games?" Anaís wonders.

"Well, I will, but only for my most important games. I don't want to ruin them and get them all muddy."

"We have a replica pair at home so you don't need to worry about that." You tell her, and she reaches over to take your hand, squeezing it gratefully.

"Thank you both. You really thought of everything." She shakes her head and sighs shakily, unable to tear her eyes away from them. "Anaís, is this a picture of me?"

Anaís giggles and nods as Alexia points to the stick figure of herself.

"I drawed it." Anaís says, and you stifle a laugh at the ridiculousness of the drawing. It is definitely easy to figure out it's done by an almost 3 year old.

"These are the best present I've ever got." It's then that she notices even the shoelaces are customised; red and blue hearts drawn by Anaís are patterned up and down the laces, and even the aglets of them have Anaís' name written there. "You both really thought of everything."

"We did our best." You affirm, leaning into her side when she holds her arm out. The arm of the chairs make it a little uncomfortable, but it doesn't take away from the moment.

"Tengo la mejor familia, eh?" Alexia whispers, kissing Anaís' forehead again, then your cheek. "Mis amores, are you staying for lunch?"

"Anaís was a little bit nervous about that earlier." You reveal, and the little girl nods sheepishly.

"Hey, that's okay! You can stay with me and Mama if you need to, everybody just loves seeing you smile, mi sol pequeña." Alexia says to Anaís, and the girl follows through immediately with her big, cheesy smile. "Exactly like that. Shall we go now? I'm hungry and I want to show off my amazing gift to everybody."

After that, the three of you make your way round to the cafeteria. Anaís sits on your lap throughout, eating a bowl of her favourite meal, tomato pasta, before drawing personalised name stickers for everyone she knows. Her tiny mind gets blown away when she finds out Mapi's last name means lion, so she of course has to sit with her for the rest of dinner to discuss such an outrageous topic. It gives you and Alexia a moment alone after it all, and she shuffles your chair closer so that she can whisper endless amount of soft words to you. She can't believe her fortune at having two people do such an act of kindness for her, and she makes sure the two of you know it.

The only thing is, those one of a kind boots aren't the sole surprise of the day. And the next one shocks you too.

Later that evening, as Alexia is in Anaís' room reading her a bedtime story and you do your skincare in the ensuite, something catches your eye in the back corner of the cupboard when you go to get your cleanser. It's a box you haven't paid any mind to since the first round of IVF for the second baby, as it had unfairly gotten your hopes up. But now it piques your interest too much, and whilst Alexia is busy elsewhere, you decide to do it.

You're not expecting anything, having been let down too many times, and that's why you scream so loud.

"Oh my fucking god!"

About half a millisecond later, Alexia comes running in with a disgruntled and half-asleep Anaís in her arms.

"What's wrong!?" She asks desperately, noticing your trembling shoulders as you faced away from her and your teary eyes in the mirror.

Slowly, you turn around, another hCG test in you hand.

"This s-says twenty-six, Ale." You stutter, your free hand coming up to cover your mouth.

The pair of you stare at each other in disbelief, eyes wide and jaws to the floor. You're probably an image to behold, with two under-eye masks on and spot cream dotted around your face, and Anaís in Alexia's hold looks less than pleased at the events that have occurred with her wild bed-head.

"It says what?!" Alexia cries out, breaking the stand-off and coming over to you so she can catch a look at it. "It does say twenty-six!"

"Ale..." You breathe out, looking up into her eyes and shaking your head. "I'm not falling for this again."

"Amor, don't start stressing. Let's take this as a good thing for now, and we will go to our appointment tomorrow like normal. Okay? Don't stress, please, this is a very good sign." Alexia reasurres you, wrapping an arm around you and rubbing your shoulder comfortingly. Anaís still has no clue what's going on, but she sleepily puts an arm around your neck too, always one for a family hug.

"Last time though, it gave us a good score and it ended up being nothing." You sighed, closing your eyes in her hold.

"But last time wasn't as high as this. This is much better, this is an amazing sign. The only thing we can do is wait to see the nurse tomorrow, okay?" You nod reluctantly, sighing in frustration and pulling away. "Is it alright if I go put Anaís to sleep? Or do you want her to stay with us for a bit?"

You look at your daughter in Alexia's arms and instantly make a decision; you could never deny cuddles with her.

"Take her to bed with us."

For a little while, the three of you cuddle closely together in your bed, a film of Anaís' choice playing on TV even though she had fallen asleep less than ten minutes into it. Once it had finished, Alexia went to put her in her own bed before coming straight back to you. You try to settle into sleep, but it evades you due to your clouded mind, and Alexia notices. She spends an unknown amount of time reasurring you, also talking about everything and nothing to sooth you, until you eventually do fall asleep. It takes a while for her to get to sleep too, but she does with a smile on her face.

And she was right to have that smile, because the next day at your already scheduled blood test with the nurse, it's confirmed that you are pregnant. The relief is overwhelming, because it's not just the fact that you are finally pregnant, it also erases all the doubt and guilt and whatnot from the past eight months, finally clearing your head from it all. It's a huge weight off of your shoulders, and an almost equally large on off of Alexia's because the heartbreak she felt everytime, not only when a transfer failed, but when you loathed yourself after each one was so heavy, it nearly broke her in two. But here you were, healthy and happier than ever with a baby growing and a smile on your face.

Being able to tell family and friends a little while after was an incredible experience, somehow even better than telling them about Anaís, because they all knew the struggles of the past months and how difficult it had been for you and Alexia. Your favourite part though was telling Anaís, even if it was a little anti-climatic, because she simply shrugged and said 'about time' before asking to go to the park.

There was one little worry. Not a problem with your health or the baby, but with Anaís. Because she was so excited about having a sibling, except she often would say...

"It better not be a boy." She would huff grumpily, and she would say it unprompted too whilst doing things like drawing a family picture and adding a baby to the tummy of your stick figure or as she played with her dolls.

And it was certainly a worry because the baby did end up being a boy. It was yours and Alexia's plan to tell Anaís the gender on her birthday, but after finding out it was a boy, that didn't seem like such a great plan. Out of fear of possibly ruining her birthday, you told her the day after, and it went much better than you expected.

"Will he play dolls with me? And like stickers? And like drawing?" She had asked after a few moments of silence.

"He probably will, yes." You responded.

"He might even like football too." Alexia grinned, and Anaís easily matched her with a cheeky smile of her own as you rolled your eyes.

"I guess that's okay then."

As you months rolled on and you moved from trimester to trimester, Anaís fell more and more in love with her little brother. She loved talking about him, as well as talking to him whenever she was given a chance, her hands moving around your bump to feel his little kicks. With each one-sided conversation she had, she would end it with a kiss and a whisper of 'hurry up, chico!'

Your hormones had kicked in a little stronger this pregnancy, because every time Anaís would interact with your bump, your reaction would range from a lump in your throat, to full on tears. Alexia loved it, teasing you every so often, but she quickly figured out her limits after your tears of joy at Anaís soon turned into tears of pain when the baby dealt you a hard kick to the ribs. The Spaniard's face immediately paled when you screamed at her so furiously, it sent Anaís running for the hills through the house. Thankfully, the next day, the little girl forgot all about the night's events, until one day a while later she brought it up in front of her Tía Alba, and your face turned red with embarrassment.

Your little boy decided to bring himself into the world a tad early in September that year, with a bit of a longer labour and more complicated birth. But, in the end, her arrived safely and healthily, and the same went for you. Alexia had sat there, biting her nails anxiously as the doctors did their checks, but they ultimately gave you the all-clear and the nausea left her stomach.

"We still don't have a name." You huffed tiredly when Alexia took him from one of the nurses and brought him over to you.

"That's okay. We will figure it out. For now, just look at his cute face." Alexia smiled brightly, sitting beside you carefully and showing him off.

"He is cute." You sighed contently, resting your head on her shoulder. This birth had thoroughly taken it out of you, and it was a miracle you were able to keep your eyes open.

"He is chubby." Alexia hummed, and she winced when you lightly slapped her hip.

"Be nice to him." You scolded her, but Alexia was just glad to see the smile on your face that you failed to fight back.

"I am being nice, he just has very big cheeks." Alexia defended herself, raising a hand to lightly run the back of her finger along his cheek, a gesture you remember her doing for Anaís.

He was clearly much more fed up with the day then Anaís was when she was born, because he was already fast asleep. His little mouth was open, and sometimes when he fidgeted in his sleep, his tongue would poke out momentarily. Alexia laughed quietly whenever he did as you watched them both, already absolutely infatuated with the sight.

"I can't wait for Anaís to meet him." Alexia stated, and you nodded in agreement. "Can we ring her? Or do you want to rest some more?"

"No, let's ring her. I miss her."

For obvious reasons, it had been over a day since you'd last seen Anaís, the longest you'd gone without being with her. Alexia passed your son over to you and got her phone out of her pocket, going onto it and getting up her Mami's contact.

"You're sure?" She checked, and you nodded.

Within three rings, Eli answered the FaceTime call, and before she could even speak, Anaís' face took over the whole screen.

"Is he here yet, Mami?" She asked quietly, and Alexia couldn't resist.

"No, not yet, I'm sorry chiqui."

"Ale! Don't be mean, tell her."

As soon as Anaís heard your voice, she gasped excitedly, hoping she had correctly interpreted your words.

"He is here?"

"He is. There he is." Alexia turned the camera so that you and the baby were in view for Anaís to see, and her face was adorable.

"Oh my... he is so cute." She whispered, noticing he was asleep and speaking as quietly as she could. "I love him."

"You do?" Alexia said, her heart filled with more love than she ever thought possible.

"I really love him." Anaís smiled brightly. "Is Mama okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay, thank you mi niña. I am very, very tired, but I'm alright." You told her, and she nodded, glad to hear it.

"Does he have a name?" You shook your head and saw her eyes light up. "I have a name!"

"Go on." Alexia prompted her, not really expecting anything that could be a good suggestion.

"Oriol!" Anaís said proudly.

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, wondering where on earth she got that from, but happy with it nonetheless. It was already on the name list you and Alexia had, and it was actually one of your favourites. But the pair of you just couldn't choose, so you decided to shortlist a few and to wait and see until he is born. Oriol was indeed a name on the shortlist.

"Yes, that is a good name." You nodded, looking at Alexia to see what she thought.

"I really like that name, well done chiqui." Alexia replied, and the pair of you share a glance.

Speaking with Anaís for a little longer, you both notice her getting progressively more tired as it got closer to her bedtime. With the promise that she can visit tomorrow, you say goodbye to her and let her take one final look at her brother before she goes to the room she was staying in at Eli's. You stay on the phone with Eli for a few moments, smiling at all the praise she offers you, before she bids you both farewell and hangs up.

"So..." Alexia started, looking down at your son. "I think we have a solution to our problem?"

You look down at him too, knowing what Alexia was talking about, and nod.

"I think we do."

When Anaís visits the next day, she hugs you and Alexia tightly first, having missed her two favourite people in the world for the short time she was away. Then, Alexia gets the baby out of the hospital cot and shows him to her, and she's fascinated by him. She quickly has a moment of overwhelming excitement, and she jumps around on the spot away from him so that she can, in her own words, 'get it all out' before she holds him.

Sitting on the chair beside your bed, pillows scattered around her, Alexia carefully places him in her arms that hold him securely. Unsurprising to you, you immediately well up at the sight, wanting to burn the image into your mind forever. She makes sure she holds him properly, asking Alexia every so often if she's doing it right, before she leans down and kisses his hat-covered head softly. Alexia shows her a special 'trick', where she offers her finger out to the baby and Anaís gasps quietly when he wraps his hand around Alexia's finger. The moment only forces more tears out of you, and Alexia looks up at you and flashes you a teasing smile. Her attention is drawn away from you not a second later when Anaís asks something.

"Does he have a name yet?"

Just like last night, you and Alexia share a glance, before you turn back to Anaís.

"His name is Oriol."

#alexia putellas x reader #woso x reader #alexia putellas #alexia putellas one shot #alexia putellas imagine #woso fic #woso imagine #woso #woso community

[witchywithwhiskey]

bucky + “cut it out” - “what do you mean? i’m not doing anything”

getting what you want on a rainy spring afternoon

pairing: best friend!bucky barnes x female reader

warnings: 18+ content (minors dni!!!), smut, dry humping/dry sex, fingering (f receiving), consent issues (but not really? idk), dirty talk, light degradation, kissing, teasing, banter, friends to lovers

word count: 2,500ish

a/n: thank you so much for sending in this prompt!! i had far too much fun writing these two, which is why it ended up being so long 😅 (compared to my other springtime fun ficlets anyway)!! hope y'all enjoy!! ♡♡

“Stop it.” The words were barely discernible with the way they were growled, the annoyed rumbling coming from your best friend, Bucky Barnes. Your best friend who had come over on that rainy spring afternoon to hang out and had promptly fallen asleep instead.

Though you would’ve expected yourself to be a little sleepy, given the long week you’d had, you found yourself feeling more restless than anything else. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t seem to settle down and cuddle up against Bucky’s arm like you’d done so many times before. 

So you were left to your own devices with your best friend, who’d fallen asleep sitting up, his arms crossed over his chest and his head tilted back against your couch. He looked completely at ease on your couch while you were bored. You wanted Bucky’s attention and, for some reason you couldn’t fathom, you’d decided the best way to get it was to annoy him until he woke up. 

You’d been trailing your fingers over his bare arms and face, tickling him until his expression twisted and he grumbled in his sleep. It was immature, but you were having too much fun to stop, suppressing your giggles every time he made an unhappy sound.

Finally, you got some actual words out of him and you had to cover your mouth to stifle your laughter. Bucky sounded so cute when he was tired and grumpy. Maybe it should’ve made you stop, but instead you waited for him to fall back asleep, his soft snores joining the gentle rhythm of the rain and the hum of the movie still playing on your TV. 

Reaching up, you trailed your fingertips ever so lightly down the bridge of Bucky’s nose, skipping them off the edge before they fell to his mouth. You were surprised by how soft Bucky’s lips felt beneath your fingers, so different to the scruffy roughness of his cheeks and jaw, which seemed to be permanently covered in stubble.

Bucky’s lips parted as you were tracing them, and you yanked your hand away, turning to face the TV so you could pretend you’d only been watching the movie if he woke up. But you watched Bucky out of the corner of your eye, and he seemed to be sleeping still. Then his tongue darted out to wet his lips and your face heated inexplicably. 

Suddenly, your thoughts were filled with ideas about what it would feel like to have Bucky’s mouth pressed to yours, his stubble dragging against your skin. You couldn’t stop yourself from picturing your best friend kissing along your jaw and down your neck—his lips exploring even more intimate parts of your body…

Squirming in your seat and trying to ignore the heat curling through your belly, you turned fully to Bucky, watching him closely to make sure he was asleep. When you were certain hew as, you reached out, tracing his lips again with your fingertips, feeling their softness and the dampness left behind by his tongue. 

Your body warmed, and you pressed your thighs together against a pulsing ache building in your core. You didn’t want to think about your body’s reaction to touching your best friend, but you also didn’t want to stop or pull your hand away. You wanted to stay in the moment as long as possible.

So enraptured by the sight of Bucky’s mouth, you didn’t notice when his lips parted further, his raspy grumble surprising you so much you had to bite back a gasp.

“Cut it out.”

“What do you mean? I’m not doing anything.” Your reply was quick, as you pulled your hand away and leaned against his side like you were simply cuddling into him. It was normal for you to cuddle with your best friend, though you weren’t normally thinking about kissing him, or about doing other things with him, when you did.  

Unfortunately—or fortunately—your new position of leaning against his arm put your face close to Bucky’s. His mouth was right there, looking oh so enticing, and an impulsive thought popped into your mind. What if you just…brushed your lips against his? Not even fully against his mouth, just the edge of it. Could it really count as a kiss if you just brushed your lips to the corner of his mouth? 

You decided it didn’t. 

Leaning forward, your eyes fluttered closed as your lips ghosted over the stubble next to Bucky’s mouth, then connected with the softness of his lips. Your breath caught in your throat. It felt so good—his warm breath caressing your cheek and his velvety lips against the edge of yours. You could even taste the coffee he had that morning, the flavor rich and mixing with something that was entirely Bucky.

It occurred to you far too late that you were dangerously close to kissing your best friend, and you shouldn’t be doing anything of the sort—especially while he was sleeping on your couch. You knew you should pull away and go back to watching the movie, pretend nothing ever happened. But what you really wanted was to press closer, to sink into Bucky’s chest and slip your tongue past his lips. 

Instead, you just hung suspended in the moment, too wrapped up in your thoughts about kissing your best friend to notice the way his breathing shifted, his body tensing like a predator’s would right before it pounced. 

Then, all at once, Bucky moved, flipping you down onto your back on the soft couch cushions and covered your body with his own, his narrow waist fitting perfectly between your thighs. His hard bulge pressed to your core, making you gasp as pleasure surged through your body, your legs wrapping around him instinctively to keep him close.

“Not doing anything, huh, doll?” Bucky rasped in a teasing voice, a wide grin on his face. “Certainly not kissing your best friend while he’s asleep, right?” Bucky’s blue eyes sparkled in the dim daylight of your living room. You squirmed guiltily beneath him, but that only succeeded in grinding your heated core against his dick, making it twitch in his sweatpants.

“Bucky,” you whined, gripping his t-shirt in your fists and shaking them, neither pushing him away nor pulling him closer. Now that he was awake, you were painfully aware that your friendship was hanging by a precarious thread, but the heat flooding your body urged you to throw all caution to the wind. Still, you knew you needed to apologize for what you’d done, and you whispered, “I’m sorry,” in a small, pitiful voice.

But Bucky only grinned, ducking down and pressing a smacking kiss to your cheek. “Don’t apologize, doll,” he said in a warm, happy tone. “I’ve been awake since you started touching my face,” he pressed a kiss to your other cheek, trailing his lips down and blowing a raspberry against your jaw, which made you shriek with laughter. 

You tried to squirm away from his teasing mouth, but Bucky grabbed your hands, pulling them from his shirt and pinning them above your head. His face hovered above yours, his eyes taking you in like he was seeing you for the first time.

“I was wondering how far you’d go,” he said, his voice low, almost a whisper. Then, a sly smirk curved his lips and his eyes darkened, your body lighting up at the expression. “Didn’t think you’d kiss me though.” His eyes dropped to your mouth and his voice went a little distant as he murmured, “Didn’t think our first kiss would be when you thought I was asleep.”

Your lips parted and it was on the tip of your tongue to apologize when his words sank in. Had Bucky just implied that he’d thought your first kiss together was inevitable? And did his words mean he’d thought about kissing you before? How long had he been thinking about kissing you?

You didn’t have time to fully form a question in response to Bucky’s words because your best friend slanted his lips to yours, capturing them in a kiss. Immediately, the entire world fell away and your mind went blissfully blank—your guilt and trepidation melting into simple pleasure as you reveled in your first proper kiss with Bucky. 

Kissing your best friend felt like coming home and sinking into the safety and comfort and bliss of knowing where you belonged. The way your lips slid against Bucky’s, you knew you belonged with him—in his arms—always. It was overwhelming and delicious at the same time, and you never wanted to stop.  

“Taste so good, doll,” he rumbled, pulling away for only a second before he was diving back into your mouth, his tongue slipping between your lips and twining with yours. 

You moaned into him, your hips working against the bulge in his sweatpants as you writhed beneath him. Bucky groaned, trailing his hands down your arms to your sides, freeing your hands to dive into his soft brown hair. You yanked on it lightly while his hands groped your breasts in your shirt, then smoothed down your waist to grip your hips and grind himself into you.

“Bucky!” you cried, wrenching your lips from his as you clung to your best friend and writhed with him. You could feel his hard cock perfectly through the soft cotton of his sweatpants and the thin fabric of your lounge shorts. He was grinding against your clit, his lips kissing and sucking on your neck and all you felt was bliss. “Don’t stop, Bucky, please don’t stop,” you begged in a breathy voice. 

Bucky chuckled into the crook of your neck, suckling on your pulse point and groaning when you humped harder against him. “As if I could ever deprive you, doll,” he murmured, his voice warm and sweet and filling your mind with all the dirty things you could beg Bucky to do to you.

Dragging his face back to yours, you made out with Bucky, your kisses turning messy as you both got closer to the edge of your releases. Your bodies writhed together on your couch, your legs hitching around the backs of Bucky’s thighs to keep your clothed core grinding against his thick bulge. 

“Oh god, Bucky, I’m gonna—” Your words cut off on a sharp cry as Bucky rolled his hips, fucking you into couch like he was pounding into your cunt. The friction against your needy clit was perfect, and you felt the pleasure in your body surge, coiling tighter and tighter. 

“Come on, doll,” Bucky growled, his teeth nipping at your bottom lip. “Come all over your best friend’s bulge like the needy little thing you are.” He rocked his hips into yours, grinding his cock against your clit through your clothes, hitting the aching nub in just the way you needed.

The pleasure in your core snapped suddenly, and you let out a shrill cry as you came, your body going tight and taut as you clung to your best friend. Your legs held him close, your hands fisted in his hair while you moaned in his ear, your body shuddering beneath his bigger form while you rode out your release by grinding languorously against his bulge.

Then you heard Bucky groan into your neck, his hips stuttering in their rhythm as he kept humping against you. You felt a warmth between your thighs and shivered, knowing what it was and it only turning you on more that you’d made Bucky come without either of you taking off your clothes. 

A smile curled your mouth as you humped against your best friend’s twitching cock while as he came in his pants. He was groaning into your neck and you were clinging to him, feeling every trembling shudder that wracked his broad body.

“Fuck, fuck,” he muttered, riding out his pleasure by rubbing against your soaked core and milking every drop of come from his cock. “Fuck,” he groaned, drawing out the word and finally settling to lay on top of you as he collapsed. You lay entwined together for a long moment, simply enjoying each other. 

Then, Bucky pushed up on his hands and glanced down your bodies, where he’d made a mess of both his sweatpants and your shorts.

You couldn’t help but giggle, only laughing harder when Bucky shot you an accusatory look. “This is entirely your fault, y’know?” he grumbled, beginning to move off you carefully so he didn’t make an even bigger mess. “If you hadn’t felt so good coming under me…” 

You’d been about to make some flippant comment about how it’d feel much better if was inside you, but then Bucky shoved his sweatpants down and stepped out of them, walking bare-assed over to the laundry in the hallway. He turned to you expectantly, but your eyes were too busy taking in the sight of your best friend’s cock, still half-hard and swinging between his thick thighs. 

“Are you going to help me clean up, or are you gonna make me strip you out of those filthy clothes?” Bucky asked gruffly, playfulness in his tone. 

That snapped you out of your thoughts and you pushed yourself up off the couch, sauntering over to Bucky, enjoying the way his eyes drifted down to watch the sway of your hips. Once you were standing right in front of him, you tugged your shirt off over your head and pulled your shorts off, leaving you naked in front of your best friend.

Bucky’s jaw went slack, his eyes darkening as they took you in. “Christ, doll,” he muttered distractedly, his gaze taking in every inch of your bare skin with a greedy glint in his eyes. “You’re constantly surprising me.” 

“Well someone’s gotta keep you on your toes,” you teased, pushing up onto your tiptoes and pressing a kiss to Bucky’s lips before you darted around him and ran into the bathroom. You shut the door behind you and turned on the hot water, intent on taking a shower to clean up.

Before you could step beneath the warming spray, Bucky’s arms wrapped around your waist and he hauled you against his body. His thickening cock wedged between your ass cheeks and his breath ghosting over your cheek as he murmured into your ear.

“You’re gonna pay for that,” Bucky rumbled, his hand slipping between your thighs, two fingers dipping into your soaking wet slit. “You’re mine now—and I’m going to have so much fun making my girlfriend come all over my cock.” He pressed a kiss to your cheek, thrusting his fingers into your needy cunt, making your knees shake as you struggled to stay upright. 

All you could do was whimper and moan, clinging to Bucky’s arms and melting back against his chest. A smile played on your lips, though, as you realized you’d gotten exactly what you wanted—your best friend’s attention. And you knew you were going to enjoy every minute of that rainy spring afternoon with your boyfriend because Bucky, and his attention, was finally all yours.

#witchywithwhiskey's springtime fun #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x you #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan #sebastian stan characters #witchywithwhiskeywork #thyme-in-a-bubble #friends to lovers

[starrynights-sunnyskies]

as the flowers bloom, my heart does too ⋆*·ﾟmisa x putellas!reader, social media au, (9/-)

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when your relationship ends and all you want to do is hide and cry, flowers suddenly start to appear on your doorstep.

or; misa hating to see a pretty girl cry and suffer and going out of her way to cheer her up while staying anonymous

fic: coming

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yourusername: last week ☀️ Liked by bff2, sofie.svava, albaps9 and 983 others

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marisabel_rguez I miss you. liked by yourusername ↳ bff2 And we miss you!! liked by yourusername ↳ marisabel_rguez 😊 ↳ yourusername I miss you more. ↳ marisabel_rguez ☺️

alexiaputellas Missing you. ↳ yourusername alright, copycat 🖤 ↳ alexiaputellas But I do!!! ↳ yourusername 😘

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tagged: alexiaputellas, jennihermoso marisabel_rguez: Family and friends 🤩 Liked by alexiaputellas, yourusername, sofiajakobsson and 12,499 others

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jennihermoso Puta, am I not family too? 🤪

alexiaputellas ❤️

yourusername oh my god, i love you sm 🥺 ↳ jennihermoso I know they're stealing the show for you, but that's including me, right? ↳ yourusername always 🤍

albaps9 hey now, not so fast, you have to put a ring on it first before we're family 🤣 ↳ bff1 good to know you're at least consistent with your rules ↳ albaps9 oh hey, it's our deranged cousin again

username1 FAMILY????? ↳ username2 yeah, misa, explain pls 🧐 ↳ username3 you don't think they... ↳ username4 😲

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tagged: marisabel_rguez alexiaputellas: Familia 🌼 Liked by yourusername, christenpress, bff1 and 49,987 others

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username1 extended family? 💍👀

yourusername brb making this my lockscreen wtf 😭

jennihermoso Team 😎

marisabel_rguez 😊 ↳ alexiaputellas 🤩

albaps9 never thought i'd see the day ↳ yourusername 🙄

username2 sisters in law....when? 👉👈

sefutbolfem Equipo 🇪🇸 ↳ yourusername be gone 😡 liked by 273 otheres

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Groupchat

you this idiota accidentally bought us tickets for the newest paw patrol film

bff2 This is exactly what I meant with zero braincells

bff3 You say accidentally but you can't convince me jajaja

bff1 race to the rescue! 🐶🚓

bff2 Wait, please tell me you're not still watching it...

you 😶

you wellllll, we're watching until our actual film starts and we can go into that theatre so PLS keep me company until then bc she's fully invested in the film now

bff1 ryder and his team of pups will come and save the day!! 🚓

bff2 Oh god 😂😫

bff3 At least I know my baby would have a good time being babysat by you two!

you aw i can't wait until that day 🥺

bff1 that's exactly why we're practising now! trying to sus out what's a nice movie to put on for them, ya know? so hurry up and make us PAWsome aunties

bff2 😂

bff3 You might not have to wait long! ☺️

you ○○○

bff1 ○○○

bff2 ○○○

you WHAT DO YOU MEAN

bff2 Uhhhh WHAT??

bff3 Surprise? 😅

you WHAT DO YOU MEEEEAN?!!!!!

bff2 ARE YOU SERIOUS 😭😱

bff3 Yup... baby coming soon 😊❤️

bff1 we're going to be aunties? 😢

bff3 I hope so! But please don't fight over who gets godmother rights 😇

bff2 Congratulations you two!!!!!!!! 😭😘❤️

bff1 okay, but it will be me, right?

bff1 kidding, congratulations OMGGGGGGGGG 😍😍😍😍

bff2 Can we come over tonight to properly congratulate you? ❤️

bff2 Also, is Y/N still here? 😅

bff1 she's crying and our popcorn is all over the floor 🤣

you omg i'm so happy for you two im overwhelmed om im soo sorry liuu screw this film im coming over right now wtf why did you drop a bomb like that through TEXTSS im nOT OKAY !!!!!!

bff1 heck no you aren't, i paid already 😡

bff1 ○○○

bff1 sigh she won, we're in the car.

you SEE YOU SOON. I LOVE YOU.

you SO MUCH!

you 😭💖😭💖😭💖😭💖

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yourusername: city trip with olga 👯‍♀️ Liked by alexiaputellas, leahwilliamsonn, leilaouahabi and 3,113 others

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alexiaputellas Have fun and keep each other safe, por favor. Miss you 😘

bff1 remember to look right-left-right when crossing the street!!! ↳ albaps9 i second that. pls don't die in london bc after brexit, it'll be hell to ship your body back to spain ↳ bff1 how much do you think she'll cost to ship or do you think we should just let them keep her ↳ marisabel_rguez She has a heart of gold, so a lot of money, but can you girls maybe not worry me further? 😅

bff1 yeah because the wag life must be SO exhausting 😬

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Text Messages

you hey chula, i have a question. m 💌 Yes, I'd carry you around if you were a severed head. We've gone over this. 😆 you sweet! but i can't decide on something. can i send you a photo? m 💌 Princesa, I swear to god, if it's another one of those photos that'll drive me insane, I'll choke you. you oh you i wasn't going to but i now might m 💌 Noted...but okay, send me. you black or red? m 💌 YN... I swear 👀 you black or red? 😠 you sent a photo open ▼

m 💌 Oh phew they're just dresses jajaja m 💌 Hmmm... well you know what I think of you in black, but I'd love you in both 😉 m 💌 Why? What are you up to? you picking my ballon d'or dress for next week! you but ugh misa that doesn't help me m 💌 Ohh right! 😂😅 m 💌 For the record, I'd have said red if you were talking about lingerie. you ○○○ you ○○○ you great minds think alike you sent a photo open ▼

[spicy photo attached, use your imagination, teehee]

m 💌 ○○○ m 💌 ○○○ m 💌 ○○○ m 💌 YN?!? m 💌 Ale's sat beside me in the bus, dios mio m 💌 ○○○ m 💌 Fuck, you're beautiful. Amor, I love you but please!!!! m 💌 ○○○ you 😇 m 💌 😐 you oh, so are you scared of my sister now? m 💌 No. you of how she'll react when she realises the thoughts you're having about me? you because you are having those, no? m 💌 ○○○ m 💌 I am... you well i've been having thoughts about you too. you all day now m 💌 Go on. Delivered m 💌 Querida? you ○○○ you wait sorry, i have to run! m 💌 Fuck, YN, you're a menace, you know that? 😩 Delivered m 💌 And she's gone 😅 Delivered

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↳ 1h ago: yourusername added to their story

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Direct Messages

marisabel_rguez You went with black? yourusername yep, just for you 😊 yourusername (so you'll have something to fantasise about when the award show gets boring) marisabel_rguez You like doing this to me, don't you? yourusername i thought you did too marisabel_rguez I did, until you kept it going for an entire week in which I couldn't see you... yourusername oh! no! 😱! whatever will you do to me now! 🤭! marisabel_rguez Well, nothing, not anymore. And seeing as I'm currently on the train to Barca to stay with you for the weekend, that sounds like a problem for you. yourusername sorry 🥺🥺🥺🥺 marisabel_rguez Too late. yourusername fine. then maybe it will become a problem for you too because i don't think i will stop teasing. how sad for you that nothing will come out of it 💔 marisabel_rguez Always a menace, aren't you? yourusername 😇 marisabel_rguez Never change, my love.

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yourusername: my hero, my big sister. finally, after everything. it was a nervewracking night, but we had a little help from above. Liked by albaps9, alexiaputellas, marisabel_rguez and 12,389 others

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judebellingham Congrats Alexia! And lovely meeting you, YN! liked by 193 others ↳ username1 👀 ↳ username2 eh, please no? 😰

albaps9 ❤️

alexiaputellas I love you.

marisabel_rguez We screamed so loud when she won! ↳ bff3 I'm pretty sure they could have heard us in France if they tried!! ↳ yourusername 🥺 ↳ bff2 Congrats Alexiaaa! ↳ marisabel_rguez Award to the most beautiful girl in the audience went to you btw! 😁 ↳ albaps9 oh oh oh! what award did i get? ↳ yourusername the most annoying girl in the audience 🤣 liked by bff1

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alexiaputellas: All that matters 🖤 (pretend you're on here again 😔) Liked by albaps9, samanthakerr20, tobinheath and 139,319 others

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albaps9 I LOVE YOU 😊

bff2 Yaaaaay, Alexia!!!

janafernandez3 😍

bff1 still my adoptive family ↳ albaps9 ..... fine. but only bc i'm in a good mood today ↳ bff1 oh... are you? 🤭 ↳ albaps9 not like that, dipshit 🤢 ↳ username1 ✨ i don't care, i ship it ✨ ↳ albaps9 🤢 ↳ bff1 🤢

username1 😍😍😍

username2 YES ALEXIA!!!

yourusername t'estimo 🥺

username3 So well deserved 🥺

username4 finally getting the recognition!! 👏

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marisabel_rguez: Proud of you! Liked by yourusername, bff2, leilaouahabi and 19,539 others

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sofie.svava Is it as heavy as it looks? ↳ marisabel_rguez I don't know, she only let me touch it for five seconds, not hold it 😪 ↳ alexiaputellas How are you complaining when my sister is yours to hold as you please? ↳ marisabel_rguez 🤐 ↳ alexiaputellas I thought so! 😜

bff1 togeeeether, foreeeever ↳ albaps9 we're misa, and alexia ↳ yourusername ✨best friends! ✨ ↳ username1 the linda and heather meme? stop 😂 ↳ username2 im living for them taking the piss out of ale and misa 🤣

username3 we've come a looooooong waaaaay

username4 can someone edit this cute picture next to the pk pic 🤣

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↳ 1h ago: yourusername added to their closed friends story

Direct Message

albaps9 I love how misa has just accepted you're all a package deal yourusername uhhh it's the other way around, if they want me, they get misa too 🥺 liked

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yourusername: house cooling party! saying goodbye in style. thank you for making me feel home on the best and worst days of my life. Liked by bff1, albaps9, marisabel_rguez and 1,893 others

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alexiaputellas It was a fun night 😁

username1 wait, leaving? to where 👀 ↳ username2 Madrid, duh ↳ username1 you think so? ↳ username2 Where else? 😅

bff3 Finally found use again for that karaoke machine again, hm? ↳ yourusername and i'm sure the neighbours loved it too!

bff1 goodbye to my second home. i won't forget you 💔 ↳ bff2 And I'm sure it won't forget you either 🤣

albaps9 HOUSE cooling party? pffff your flat's the size of a shoebox ↳ yourusername WAS. i'm upgrading 😌

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↳ 5h ago: albaps9 added to their story

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yourusername: bye barcelona 🥺 Liked by marialeonn16, bff2, janafernandez3 and 1,893 others

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marialeonn16 Bye tiny laelia, we'll miss you!

alexiaputellas ❤️☹️

bff1 i'm honestly heartbroken and it's not even sarcastic this time ↳ bff2 Sigh, me too 😕 ↳ yourusername no please don't say that. i've already stalled packing my last few things 😔 ↳ bff3 Can we come over? ↳ bff1 yes please, can we? ↳ yourusername please!!! and never forget that my door will always be open for you guys, no matter where i live 😞

username1 but hello madrid? 👀 liked by 21 others

albaps9 still in denial but oh well, little sisters have to spread their wings and leave the nest some day i suppose. going to miss being able to show up at random times for sleepovers with you. ↳ yourusername alba 😔

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Text Messages

Alexia Hey Misa. We spoke about this already, but I just want to say it one last time. I wish you and Y/N all the best together in Madrid, you're part of our family and I love you for how you love her. And I know you know this and will do this, but please take care of our laelia. Please. She's always been our entire world and I'm still a little reluctant letting her go where I cannot be there for her. But I know she has you now, which is the next best thing 😉But truly, I trust you with her. I know we've come a long way when it comes to that, but I speak the truth when I say that I am so grateful that it's you who has her heart. Don't be hard on each other when things get a little difficult in the beginning. You both haven't lived with someone for a while, so it will take some time to adjust to each other, no matter how much you love one another. But if anyone can do it, it's you two. It feels a little silly that I'm hurting so bad, but that kind of also means you're the right person for my sister. Because if you weren't, I wouldn't be hurting that hard, because I'd know she'll come back to us eventually. I'm not so sure that's the case this time. You've got her heart now, and like it or not, I don't think you'll ever get rid of her even if you wanted to jaja. She really loves you, Misa. She's never loved someone so hard. I can see that what you have is forever, even if it's only been a year. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for what you've done for her, the way you love her and did so even when she needed time. Your patience, respect and gentleness with her has earned you our love and respect. I guess I also kind of want to apologise again for what I whispered into your ear all those months ago after the PK. Because you're family. Vale? You are. Never forget.

Misa Hey. Thank you for telling me all of this, and for trusting me to take care of her. I know how close you all are and I actually feel really terrible for plucking her away from you, from her familiarities and her routines and her people. I know it was her own decision and that she really wants this, despite feeling a little torn too. If I could, I would have us live closer to you all. I know how lucky I am with her loving me so much that she wants to make a lot of sacrifices for me, but I also can't help but feel really bad about it. She's starting all over again and that can be scary, but I'm going to make sure that she feels at home and safe and loved over here, I promise you. That she'll settle in quickly and that she will never forget she's my world. That she doesn't feel like she made all those sacrifices in vain. You can trust me that I'll keep to my promise, Alexia. She's my entire world, and I have loved her for longer than I even realised myself. I know it might be a little challenging at first, but after the obstacles we went through together, I know this will only be a small bump. I'll make sure to schedule regular visits to Barca, even if our schedules get a little busy. I don't want to come in between the bond she has with you and her friends. I would never want to take that away from her, which is why I feel so guilty that I'm indirectly kind of doing exactly that. I actually wanted to pass up on the place we found and wait with looking for anything until after the world cup, so that she wouldn't already be by herself right away. But she insisted and I have to agree, it's the perfect place for us. I think her friends are planning to stay some weekends with her while we're in Australia, so that does ease my mind. And you're also always welcome to stay and visit us, Alexia. Actually, I'd love if you could come over for a few days during our time off after the world cup. I think she'd really appreciate it. Just keep it a surprise, for now? Anyway, I have to go back to painting the next layer in the living room so all the painting is done when she arrives, jaja! She gave me clear instructions which colours to use and where. She got really serious about it and it made me love her even more. But thank you, Alexia. You mean a lot to me. I will forever cherish you and your sister. I promise you.

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tagged: marisabel_rguez yourusername: one. Liked by marisabel_rguez, begovargas, bff3 and 1,837 others

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salmaparalluelo We KNEW it was the same person!!!! ↳ ona.battle Up top! 🙏

marisabel_rguez Time flies when you're having fun 😱 liked by yourusername ↳ yourusername it sure does! 😊

ingridengen Congratulations, sweetie!

username1 brb sending flowers to my crush if this is the end result

bff1 eyo ❤️

alexiaputellas Happy one year, you two 🌼 liked by marisabel_rguez

janafernandez3 Aaaaah 😭

username3 IS NO ONE SEEING THE TAG ON THE LAST SLIDE?>>> HELLO??? ↳ username4 HOOOOOLY FUCK ↳ username5 😱😱😱 ↳ username6 quick someone screenshot before it's gone again 😅

aitanabonmati 🎉🌼

jennihermoso Congrats, tiny ❤️

albaps9 you can make me feel single all you want today 😘

leilaouahabi 😍

patri8guijarro felicidades!!!

username1 THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED! ↳ username2 only officially, bc im pretty sure we all already knew who sent the flowers lol

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marisabel_rguez: uno. Liked by alexiaputellas, sofie.svava, bff1 and 34,635 others

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yourusername thank you for the flowers, my sweet friend 😘 ↳ marisabel_rguez The couch is yours tonight. liked by alexiaputellas

bff1 what does a card game have to do with yn ↳ yourusername i have no CLUEdo you??

albaps9 😊

username1 HARD LAUNCH?? ↳ username2 HARD LAUNCH!!!! ↳ username3 I COULD CRY AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW THEM ↳ username4 as if we haven't seen them flirt, interact and post secretive pics of each other for over a year 🤭

username5 i love how they're so casual about it lol

username6 Aww yessss congrats 😭

sofie.svava yeeeeeeeehaaaa ❤️

claudiaapina 😍👏

alexiaputellas 😘

jennihermoso Cat's out of the bag!! 😝💖

bff2 Happy one year, lovelies!

mariona8co 😁🎉

marialeonn16 FINALLY

Comments on this post have been limited.

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a/n: choose a flower of your liking, hope it'll cheer you up! 🌼🌻🌷🌺

#misa rodriguez x reader #woso social media au #woso x reader

[catmiemy]

Another Chance to Live Part 1 (Ana Maria Crnogorčević x Reader)

Summary: Ana and you are both struggling with unwanted transfers, but maybe you can at least find happiness off the pitch.

A/N: This is the first part of a story I've been working on for a while. I guess my way of processing my emotions about Ana's transfer. I've been in the denial stage for a long time 😅

The next two chapters are already written (just need to edit them) and so far it's a total of about 13k words. I'm now at a crossroad which will decide how long the story becomes. So I thought I'd publish the first part and see how much interest there is in a story like this to help me decide.

It felt like a cruel joke of the universe that now, now when you had been forced to leave, the woman you’ve had a crush on for years, joined your team, or well your former team. Words that made your heart crack a little more every time you thought them. Never in a billion years had you expected your team to become your former team.

Ever since you had first laid eyes on Ana you had been dazzled by her, not necessarily only by her looks, although you definitely enjoyed them, but also by her personality and her aura. She always radiated so much kindness and positive energy. It was impossible not to be drawn to her.

Sadly your paths didn’t cross all too often and when they did, Ana was always somewhere in the heart of whatever group you were part of, while you were lingering on the edges, looking in. So the Swiss woman was probably only vaguely aware of your existence, while you soaked up every detail you could find about Ana. The more you learnt, the more you liked her.

 And yes, sometimes when you lay in bed at night you made up little scenarios how the two of you would meet. One of your favorite ones was Ana coming to Atleti, not really knowing her way around Madrid yet, so you take her under your wing and show her everything. And of course she starts falling for you as you spend so much time together. It was your imagination after all, so you could day dream all you wanted.

Now part of this little fantasy was actually coming true, Ana really was joining Atlético, and it frustrated you to no end that now that she came, you were gone.  Although perhaps it wasn’t the universe being cruel towards you, maybe it was protecting you because even if you played for the same team there was no way the Swiss woman would ever go for someone like you.

Still, you spent a good amount of time fuming about it in your apartment. Possibly also because it was easier to focus on that rather than on the fact that your childhood club had just dropped you like you meant nothing.  Every time you remembered the conversation with the club’s managers you felt like throwing up, hiding under the covers for the rest of your life, and ripping off your ears so you didn’t have to listen to one more word from them. So yeah, it was comforting in a weird way to think about your missed chance with Ana, especially since it never had been much of a chance anyway.

It was harder to hold on to that strange comfort when training actually started and you had to go to Real Madrid’s training center every day. Most days were spent attempting to do your best and keep your negative emotions in check, while thinking nonstop about how much you hated this, how much you wanted to return to Atelti, how much you wanted to leave Madrid altogether.

So all in all you weren’t having the best time, barely getting by was actually a more accurate way to describe it. Then a few weeks after the season started you got a call from Lola.

“Sooo I heard you’re doing a lot of moping these days,” she teased you.

However there was an underlying note of worry in her voice. You had done your best to pretend as if Atleti’s decision hadn’t hurt you, that these things happen in football, and you were completely fine with it, but Lola had seen right through it.

“I’m not moping, I’m just quiet and focused like usual,” you quickly defended yourself. It was only partially true, you hated every single second you spent at the training center of Real Madrid.

“That’s not what I’ve heard, but how about you convince me over a cup of coffee. Maybe tomorrow afternoon?”

You didn’t even question how Lola knew that you had the day off tomorrow, apparently she had some spies at Real. As much as you didn’t want to continue talking about the misery that was your new club, you did want to see your friend, so you agreed.

“I might ask some other people if they want to tag along. Everyone misses you,” Lola continued, making you happy and sad at the same time. It was nice to be missed, but you wished you weren’t in a position where you could be missed.

Before you could hang up, Lola told you to bring “your moping buddy Misa”, then she ended the call with a cackle, not giving you any chance to retaliate. In all honesty there was some truth to it, both you and Misa were unhappy at Real, so it wasn’t surprising that she was the only person you had really bonded with so far.

Going by Lola’s words you expected a big group the next day when you entered the café you had agreed upon. What you found however were merely three people, Lola, Misa and no one other than Ana.

Suddenly your stomach was filled with butterflies flapping their wings wildly, making you somewhat nauseous as a result. You hadn’t expected this and you weren’t prepared for it at all. If it wouldn’t have been incredibly rude you would have walked right back out of the café.

Instead you walked over to the small group, doing your best impression of a friendly smile. You could have sworn you saw a knowing glint in both Misa’s and Lola’s eyes. There was no way they knew about your crush though, right?

Lola jumped up when she saw you, hugging you tightly. “It’s good to see you, chica, I’ve missed you,” she told you.

You had to blink a couple of times to chase away the tears burning in your eyes. There was no denying that you had missed her too, all of your former teammates really. You longed to be back at Atlético, and not only because Ana was there.

Right, Ana.

You extracted yourself from your friend and smiled at the blonde. Should you hug her as well? Or greet her with kisses on the cheeks? That’s exactly why you should have been informed that Ana would be there, so that you could think this over beforehand. Or, well, over think it.

Unlike you Ana knew exactly what to do; she got up, greeted you kindly and gave you a quick hug. “It’s nice to see you again, Y/N. We’ve never had much of a chance to talk, so I’m glad we get one now.”

For a few seconds too long you started at her. You were torn between awe, and a little bit of envy, at how easily the Swiss woman had navigated this greeting, and shock. She remembered you? She was happy to see you? Once your heart slowed down from a wild canter to a moderate gallop and your brain was working more clearly again, you realized that this was probably just something Ana had said to make the situation less awkward, not something she truly meant.

“So, do you want to sit down?” Lola suggested with a smirk on her face. Thankfully she left it at that though and you quickly sank down into a chair. You felt too embarrassed to look at Ana, so you completely missed the reassuring smile she sent your way.

After that things went much more smoothly, mostly because Lola and Ana carried the conversation, allowing you and Misa to remain in your preferred role, attentive listener. Your former teammate as well as your crush tried valiantly to draw you out of your shell, but out of fear of saying something stupid, you kept your answers as short as possible without being weird or unfriendly. If only you could think of something witty to say!

On the bright side your relative quietness gave you a good opportunity to study Ana. She was stunning as always, but you could easily spot the signs of the toll this move to the Atlético had taken on her; her smile wasn’t quite as wide as usual and didn’t reach her eyes, her voice was a little duller, there were badly covered up dark bags underneath her eyes and she was a bit more subdued than normal  in general. Man, you really had spent way too long looking at any video of her you could find to notice things like that!

Then all of the sudden Misa let out a gasp. “I completely forgot I promised my neighbor I’d let in her daughter today. I need to leave right now to make it.”

You frowned at your teammate; it wasn’t like her to forget something as important as that. Was something more than her unhappiness with being stuck at Real bothering her? You made a mental note to ask Misa about it the next day, remind her that you were always there if she needed someone.

Misa’s departure didn’t really change anything in the dynamic, she hadn’t contributed much just like you. But then Lola got a phone call from her girlfriend who apparently needed your former teammate urgently. She looked at the two of you apologetically, however you could swear that there was some glee shimmering behind her regretful front.

“You girls should stay here and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Really I’m so sorry about this, don’t let it ruin your day,” Lola babbled, pressing a kiss to both your and Ana’s cheek before dashing out of the café.

You looked after her with confusion. The confusion however was short-lived, quickly drowned out by panic once you realized that you were now left alone with Ana. No more hiding behind other people, no more safety net. You weren’t ready. However leaving also wasn’t an option, there was no way you could do so without offending Ana, so you had to pull yourself together.

“I’m sorry about that,” Ana apologized, bringing your confusion back. As far as you were aware the Swiss woman had absolutely nothing to apologize for.

“They probably planned this because they think I need to be more social again. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jenni put them up to it, she’s been pretty worried,” the Swiss woman specified, leaving you reeling because you didn’t know how to deal with that much honesty.

“Oh,” you replied, praying that some more words would enter your brain. “Maybe they also did it for me. They think I’m pretty antisocial in general,” you finished, kicking yourself for making yourself look even more pathetic than you already did.

To your surprise Ana didn’t seem put off; on the contrary she chuckled and said, “Well we can be antisocial together then.”

The Swiss woman using the word ‘together’ in reference to the both of you made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, you could definitely get used to that.

In an attempt to take control of the situation and not end up blurting out something stupid if Ana asked you a question, you inquired how she was liking Madrid so far. It seemed like a normal thing to ask someone that had just moved to a new place.

However the Swiss woman didn’t answer right away, which was atypical for her who always seemed to have a reply ready. That combined with the guarded look in her eyes made you realize that this wasn’t a safe and easy topic for her. In your rush to make sure nothing that would be complicated for you came up, you had totally forgotten that Ana’s own move to Madrid had been anything but a happy occurence. Way to be selfish!

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Forget I said anything, that was such a stupid thing to say,” you apologized frantically

“No, don’t worry, it’s fine,” Ana quickly reassured you. “I just don’t really know what to say. Obviously I didn’t want to come here, I miss Barcelona. Both the city and the team. So I’m not having the best time to be completely honest. Then again I also haven’t given Madrid much of a chance yet. So…”

The Swiss woman’s openness left you stunned once again. This could never be you, sharing your thoughts and feelings so freely. At the same time you noticed with a surge of excitement and dread that Ana’s explanation gave you a good opening, not unlike your daydreams in fact.

Your fear of being annoying and overstepping was battling hard against your longing to get to spend more time with the blonde in the future. In the end you decided to go for it, maybe Ana would appreciate it and if she didn’t want to hang out again, she could just say so. Of course there was still the fear of rejection holding you back, but you shoved that to the back of your mind. If you didn’t ask the answer would always be no, right?

“If you want to I could show you around Madrid sometime. I’ve lived here all my life so I know the place like the back of my hand and know some nice places. Totally fine if you don’t of course, I’m sure there are many other people that could show you around.”

You spoke in record speed, making it hard for Ana to follow, which was why it took her a moment to answer. These few seconds were some of the most horrible ones in your life. If she said no now all your hopes would be shattered once and for all. Everyone always said it was important to know so you could move on, but honestly if the Swiss woman didn’t want to spend any time with you, you didn’t want to know.

“That sounds great, I’d love to,” Ana replied once she had enough time to process your jumble of words.

“Really?” You double checked, the words out of your mouth before you could stop yourself.

“Yeah, definitely,” the Swiss woman confirmed with a gentle smile. A smile that you returned happily. You hadn’t felt this excited in a while, it was a nice change from the bleakness that had become your constant companion.

The rest of your time together was spent chatting easily. You weren’t a great conversationalist, however with Ana it came much more natural. The blonde definitely did the heavy lifting, but you were happy with your own contributions. You even made her laugh a few times!

Later that day when you were back in your apartment you were much more critical, taking apart every single thing that you had said and coming to the conclusion that you must be the stupidest person on the planet. Thankfully you were going to get another chance in a few days and this time you would be better prepared. You would say interesting things and you would make sure Ana had a great time. The blonde deserved some joy and happiness and you would do your best to give her that.

Before your next meeting with Ana you actually made a plan; you would make a list of her interests and think of possible questions, some jokes and interesting facts you could mention. You spent one evening on it, working furiously and then you realized what you were doing, feeling very foolish all of the sudden. You scrunched up the piece of paper and threw it into the trash with some force.

This was pointless and unnecessary and totally embarrassing! Maybe you weren’t the best at coming up with things to say on the spot, but rehearsing everything like this was a role in a play was stupid. The urge to do absolutely everything to get Ana to like you was huge, however is she only liked this carefully crafted version of you that wasn’t any better than her not liking you at all.

Also, you shouldn’t even attempt to get the Swiss woman to like you. Just like you should keep your own crush in check. Ana’s life was complicated enough at the moment, you didn’t need to add your infatuation into the mix.

Unfortunately your noble plan to ignore your crush failed miserably. Whenever you spent time with Ana you fell a little more for her. It was simply impossible not to when she was the kindest, funniest, most interesting and on top of that most beautiful person in the world.

Like when you were out and about on one of your strolls to the city and a young couple approached you, asking if you could take a picture of them. As was typical for you, you hesitated for a moment; not necessarily because you didn’t want to, but because your mind was already working in overdrive, supplying you with every possible negative outcome.

Ana on the other hand smiled at them. “Of course! Where do you want to take it?”

And then she proceeded to take several pictures of the two, showing them to the couple, and when they weren’t completely satisfied yet, she even offered her own suggestions on how they might turn out even better.

All the way you were just watching them, well mostly Ana, with a goofy smile. You loved how much she cared, how much effort she put into random people she didn’t even know. No wait, you didn’t love that, you liked that, admired it.

Or when Ana convinced you to go into a tiny café. A place you would have never frequented on your own because the intimacy of it freaked you out. Not the blonde though. Within seconds she began chatting with the owner, a middle-aged woman who was thrilled someone showed so much interest in her small establishment.

The cake you got was very tasty as was the coffee and the homemade ice tea. You were quick to admit that Ana had made a good decision by forcing you to go there.

However what really pulled at your heartstring was that the Swiss woman went up to the owner afterwards and asked if it was okay to post about this place on Instagram. The poor woman almost started crying out of happiness and thanked Ana profusely, while the blonde kept insisting that this was nothing and really it should be her thanking the owner.

So it was safe to say that you fell deeper and harder every time you saw Ana. But it was okay, you had a foolproof way to make sure that the blonde didn’t figure it out and therefore her life didn’t get disrupted because of you. Whenever you echoed a statement Ana had made about how much she liked hanging out with you or that she thought you were a great person, you always added ‘friend’ into the mix; “I enjoy hanging out with you too, you’re such a great friend.” and “Aw thank you. You’re one of the best people and friends I know too!”

Sometimes when you were feeling particularly hopeful you wondered if the lack of specification on Ana’s part meant that she liked you as more than a friend. You always discarded the idea quickly though. It was much more likely that the thought of being more than friends was so ludicrous to the blonde, something that had probbly never even grazed her mind, that she didn’t feel the need to explicitly state it.

Despite having to resign yourself to the fact that Ana didn’t like you like that, it still made you happy that she was usually in a good mood when you were hanging out. Something you were secretly very proud of. Still every once in a while her sadness shined through, for example when she heard someone speak Catalan or when she saw something that reminded her of Barcelona.

One time a group of fans came up to her. They were friendly and excited and the Swiss woman matched their energy effortlessly. But then one of them mentioned how sad they were that Ana wasn’t playing for Barça anymore. You were forced to watch the blonde deflate slightly after that thoughtless statement. She was good at pretending though, so the fans were none the wiser.

When they were gone you gathered all of your courage. Up until now you had stayed in the shallows of easy conversation so this was a first and once again you worried about overstepping. But when you saw Ana’s sad eyes and the forcefully pulled up corners of her mouth, you couldn’t stay silent.

“Do you want to talk about it? I mean your transfer from Barça? I know we haven’t really talked about that or othe serious things yet, but I’m always happy to listen. I’m actually pretty good at that.”

The Swiss woman sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

“That’s very sweet but honestly I’ve been talking so much about it lately. Sometimes it feels like it’s the only thing anyone wants to talk about anymore. So if it’s okay with you could we just continue like before? The distraction has been helping a lot.”

You had been helping! Happiness flowed through you and your smile was maybe a bit bigger than was warranted for a situation like this. However unless Ana was studying you as intently as you always studied her, you doubted that the blonde would notice.

“Yeah, of course. I’m happy to help in anyway.”

Ana and you kept seeing each other regularly and it was the undisputed highlight of your current life. Honestly it was a little worrying how few other things brought you any joy, but you didn’t allow yourself to dwell on that.

So when you were put into a situation where you had to cancel on Ana you were devastated. It wasn’t an appropriate reaction to something so small, but you had a ten minute crying session until you could even begin to function properly again. Calling the Swiss woman was out of the question though, you were still chocked up and sniffling.

Instead you texted her, apologizing multiple times and explaining that you were roped into doing all sorts of things last minute for your father’s birthday tomorrow. You could have slapped yourself for not seeing this coming. Sure, your parents had assured you time and time again that everything was taken care of, but you should have known better. Then you could have done it before today and weren’t forced to cancel on Ana.

Only minutes after you had sent the text your phone started ringing with a call from the Swiss woman. With wide, panicked eyes you stared at the screen. In the end your desire to at least hear Ana’s voice if you couldn’t see her won out. Hopefully she wouldn’t notice anything.

 „Hey I just saw your text and wanted to ask if I can help out with anything.”

You smiled at your phone, your heart warmed by Ana’s kindness. There was no doubt in your mind that she would actually follow through on your offer. Not that you would ever take it.

“Aw thank you so much, Ana! But it’s okay really. Most things I have to do at my parents place anyway. You know help them clean and decorate. So I’ll be out most of the day, and then in the evening I’ll have to bake the cake. Who knows how that’s going to go.”

You chuckled, even if you were feeling slightly panicked at the idea of baking. Normally your mother was in charge of that, but she had broken her arm a few weeks ago, so that was out of the question. Moments like this made you wish that you had some siblings or some cousins for that matter, just anyone to help you out.

“Not to brag, but I’m actually a great baker. So if you want some help, I’m happy to come over in the evening and help,” the blonde offered.

It would be nice to have some help, and you always wanted to see Ana. Plus she had brought up the idea of her own accord, so surely it was okay, right?

“That would be great actually. Thank you so much,” you replied, not giving your mind any more opportunity to drive yourself crazy.

Ana and you quickly planned everything out before you hung up and left to do everything else. With the prospect of seeing the Swiss woman later today you were a lot more cheerful than before.

“What’s got you so happy?” Your mother asked you while she supervised the decorating process.

It was incredibly frustrating since she kept criticizing everything you did. Every few minutes you had to step away for a moment, take some deep breaths and visualize how your evening with Ana would be, full of laughter and fun conversation.

“Not this, that’s for sure,” you muttered, low enough so that your mothers whose hearing wasn’t the best anymore, couldn’t here you.

“What?”

“Nothing,” you said louder, “I’m just in a good mood, I guess.”

There was no point in bringing up Ana. Nothing would ever happen between the two of you and even after knowing about it for almost ten years your parents still struggled with your sexuality. To avoid unnecessary conflict and awkwardness you never spoke about women you liked unless it was something serious. So never.

“You should focus on decorating and not smile so much. Maybe then we would get somewhere.”

You rolled your eyes, but kept your mouth shut. No point in pointing out that most parents would be happy if their child was happy. And it wasn’t like your mother wasn’t happy about it, she just wasn’t good at being pleasant around you. Somehow she always felt the need to criticize you.

Hours later you got into your car, quickly drove away and as soon as you were a decent distance from your parents’ house you let out a loud scream, releasing all of the built up frustration. Then you set your focus on the near future, on the fact that you would be meeting Ana in half an hour at your apartment. Baking wasn’t really your thing, but baking with the Swiss sounded like a lot of fun. Anything was fun with her really; just being around her made you so happy.

When you got to your apartment Ana was already waiting for you, leaning against her car. A big smile appeared on the blonde’s face when she saw you and she waved at you happily. It warmed your insides, swept away any remnant of frustration from the long day with your parents, seeing how excited Ana was to see you.

You got set up quickly, putting out all the ingredients and opening up the recipe you had settled on. Then you turned to the Swiss woman expectantly.

“So any baking pro tips from you before we start?” You asked teasingly.

Ana looked at you sheepishly.

“To be completely honest I don’t really know that much about baking. I usually only bake once a year to make some Christmas cookie,” the blonde admitted, scratching her nose.

You frowned at her in confusion. This didn’t really make any sense to you, but you didn’t want to make Ana feel bad about it.

“So why did you say you did?” You asked carefully. „I mean only if you want to tell me, it’s totally fine if you don’t. I’m sure you had your reasons.”

The Swiss woman blushed a little as she explained herself, “I really just wanted to spend some time with you today.”

Your heart started racing at this confession, your hopes going through the roof.  It didn’t take long for the logical part of your brain to bring you back to earth though. Surely this didn’t mean what you wanted it to mean. Most likely Ana was just struggling today and didn’t want to be alone.

“Oh I’m sorry you’re having a hard time today. You know you can always tell me that and if it’s possible at all I’ll always make time for you. You don’t have to make up reasons to hang out.”

Ana stared at you with a pained expression. It hurt your heart to see her in pain and it made you wonder if something had happened today, perhaps something that reminded her of Barcelona?

“Do you want to talk about it?” You asked when the blonde stayed quiet, but then you thought better of it. “Wait no I’m sorry, you already said that you’re tired of talking about it before and that you prefer a distraction. So let’s bake!”

You put some extra excitement into your voice and made sure to keep up a stream of easy chatter as you got to work. For a while Ana remained a bit distant and quiet, but before too long her smile returned and she began talking and joking.

When the blonde laughed loudly at a joke you had made you felt very proud of yourself for giving Ana what she needed, a distraction. If you continued to be helpful she would keep wanting to hang out with you and that was also very much in your interest. Even if the knowledge that it meant something else to you hurt somewhat every time you thought of it.

However it was all worth it to get to spend time with Ana. Everything was worth that.

#woso x reader #woso imagine #woso fanfics #ana maria crnogorcevic imagine #ana maria crnogorcevic x reader

[thesightstoshowyou]

Sooo my Ghoul idea! So fem reader, the ghoul takes an odd job unlike his regular job with just killing people for money. A employer hires the ghoul and pays him BIG BIG “money” Caps to bring his daughter home safely across the dangerous wasteland. The reader is a vault dweller and so is the father who has outside connections so he knows who to contact and bring his daughter back. She snuck out to see what up top was really like, and to escape an assigned marriage. Reader is not so bright, basically a bimbo 😅, first time for reader, reader actually finds him attractive, cream pie, Dom Ghoul. Hopefully this is something you’d like to write! ❤️

Thank you for this request!! I hope I did it justice 😁🥰

~~

Over Your Head

Cooper Howard (The Ghoul) x F Reader (NSFW)

Warnings: Loss of virginity, degradation, thigh riding, a little of the Ghoul’s self-loathing, painful sex (that becomes not painful), nipple play, dacryphilia, spitting, creampie, copious dirty talk

The Ghoul heaves a world-weary sigh. “Listen, darlin’,” he starts as he grips your ankle to shove your foot away from where it teases his inner thigh. “Your daddy’s payin’ a hefty sum o’ caps to bring ya’ back in one piece. I don’t think he’ll appreciate me deflowerin’ his lil’ princess.” The last word is said with so much contempt even you can’t miss it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you whine, bottom lip protruding in a pout.

“Means you’re gettin’ on my last goddamn nerve.” The inhaler hisses when he sucks down a hit. Outside, the wind howls and rattles the foundation of the crumbling office building in which you’d taken shelter. He assumes the dust storm that kicked up and trapped the two of you here, alone, is some kind of divine punishment for his misdeeds. “I know there’s some fuckin’ smooth-skinned brat down in your vault who’s dyin’ to fumble around with ya’. You’re better suited for him.”

The Ghoul watches as your disappointed frown morphs into one of determination. He can almost see the gears working in your head as you try to think up a way to get what you want. You aren’t used to being told “no,” that much is clear.

Never has he regretted taking a job more than he does at this moment.

“I don’t want someone from my vault,” you say as you move onto your hands and knees. Languidly, you crawl through the sand and he can’t help the way his gaze falls on the sway of your hips. He grits his teeth when you slide into his lap, the warmth between your thighs settling right against his clothed cock. “I want you.”

“Did ya’ hit your head on the vault door on your way out, sweetheart?” he questions as your palms come to rest on his shoulders. His own hands, rough from life on the surface and scarred from rads, smooth over your hips and slide down to cup your ass. Irritation shifts into bemused resignation. Admittedly, it’s been a long, long while since he’s been intimate with anyone, and the way you’re writhing in his lap chips away at the last vestiges of his resolve.

“No?” you reply, obviously confused. Pretty…and dumb. Though, he’s still not convinced this isn’t some kind of elaborate prank. Why you’d want him of all people—when you could have anyone you want—is beyond his comprehension.

But, here you are, apparently ready and quite willing. Who is he to snuff out your hopes and dreams, as misguided as they are?

Slowly, the Ghoul inhales through his teeth as one of his hands slides up to grip the back of your neck. His thumb brushes over your nape and he feels a shiver zip down your spine. “I don’t think ya’ know what you’re gettin’ yourself into, sugar.”

Already, your eyes are half lidded and hazy, your plush lips parted to allow for quick breaths. Desperate. Innocent. “Pretty please,” comes your tremulous whisper.

He’s going to make you regret every decision you’ve ever made.

The hand on your neck twists so he can gather up a handful of your hair. He brings your face inches from his own so his lips hover just out of your reach. A grin pulls at his mouth when he feels you test his grip, desperate to close the distance.

He leans in until he’s a hair’s breadth away, until you can feel his exhale ghosting across your panting mouth. “Ain’t no backin’ out a’ this once I tear into ya’.” Hastily, you nod and a breathy whine sneaks past your teeth. Your unbridled enthusiasm is going to be the death of him.

Or you.

The Ghoul’s lips crash into yours in a searing kiss. He swallows your sweet mewl and the sharp gasp that follows when he sinks his teeth into your bottom lip. The feeling of your hips bucking in his lap and the taste of your blood on his tongue rips a rasping groan from his throat.

“Get up and strip,” he orders. He releases your hair and lands a stinging swat on your ass for emphasis. You yelp but scurry away, apparently determined to prove your obedience. The slide of your zipper fills the small space and the Ghoul’s eyes rake over your body as the vault uniform is peeled away, little by little.

The clink of his belt buckle follows and it’s nearly impossible to contain his snort of laughter when your eyes grow comically wide at the sight of him. He palms his cock and slowly hisses through his teeth when you squirm impatiently on the spot, now as naked as the day you were born. Even from here, he can see the arousal glistening between your thighs.

“Come take a seat, kiddo,” The Ghoul says as he spreads his legs and slaps a thigh. Eagerly, you straddle his quad. He wraps a hand around your throat as the other settles on your waist. Slight pressure urges the roll of your hips and soon you’re grinding your slick into his pants.

“What would your daddy say if he saw ya’ actin’ like such a desperate little slut, huh? For a ghoul, no less.” As he speaks, the hand on your waist slides up to roughly tweak a nipple. You squeal and attempt to twist away, but his grip on your throat prevents too much movement. The Ghoul clicks his tongue, “I thought I said no runnin’.”

“It hurts!” You whimper when he turns the same mean treatment on the other nipple.

“Then why are you soakin’ my pant leg, baby?” The moan you loose when his fingers slip down your belly to prod your clit heats the lust burning in his gut. He snatches one of your hands, wraps it around his length, and uses it to stroke himself. The slide of your soft palm along twisted flesh earns you a strained grunt and the briefest fluttering of eyelids.

He watches you from under the brim of his hat. Your eyes are locked on the way your hand works up and down his shaft, your bottom lip glistening where you’ve wet it with your tongue. You’re damn near drooling at just the sight of his cock. The Ghoul has had about all he can take.

“C’mere,” he growls as he grabs hold of your waist and hauls you flush against him. An anxious squeak leaves you when the head of his cock nudges your slick hole. “Deep breath, sweetheart.”

You only manage half an inhale before the Ghoul digs his nails into your hips to spear you on his girth. Your pained shriek echoes off the walls and you scramble to pull yourself up and off, but his grip keeps you seated and forces inch by punishing inch through spasming, untouched muscles. Too soon, you’re impaled up to the hilt, your eyes wide and brimming with tears, your jaw working open and closed like you can’t find the air to scream.

“Fuckin’ tight,” he mutters, nearly overwhelmed by the death grip your hot, slippery insides have on his length. A steadying inhale allows him to turn his attention to you. “What’s the matter, darlin’? Gettin’ split open by my cock not what you’d hoped it’d be?”

The Ghoul tugs you closer to drag his tongue through the fat drops now rolling down your cheeks. Pinching your face between thumb and forefinger, he forces your mouth open and spits your anguish onto your tongue. This seems to shock you enough to draw a choked, furious sound out of you.

“F-fuck-stop-it-it’s too-so full,” you stammer, your thighs shaking like the shingles on the roof above. The Ghoul chuckles, dark and low, as his teeth find the soft flesh of your throat.

“I told ya’ t’breathe, baby,” he reminds you between teasing nips and licks. Your skin is rich like the food they feed you down in that vault, your scent lacking the taint of fear that comes from living life in the Wasteland. Good enough to eat….

Laboriously, you gasp, each breath minutely relaxing your cunt, just enough for the Ghoul to give a few experimental thrusts. The sound you make is distressed, yes, but now there’s something else there to, something akin to that desperation you showed him earlier.

“That’s it, sweetheart. Learnin’ how t’relax and take it. We’ll make a good lil’ whore outta ya’ yet.” Slowly, he moves your hips back and forth as he speaks. Eventually, you get the message and clutch his shoulders to attempt a few tentative undulations of your own. The Ghoul growls, his nails digging crescents into your skin where he holds you.

Soon, no pain remains in your vocalizations. You whine and moan and keen so sweetly, your cries filling the shelter and mingling with the wet squelching of your cunt. You find your rhythm and bounce, unrestrained, in his lap as your juices soak into his pants.

Pressure builds in his groin. The Ghoul can tell by the way your hips stutter and your sweet hole clenches that you’re about to finish too. Hastily, he pulls you against him, plants his boots in the dirt, and hammers up into you until you’re screaming all over again.

You cum a half a second before he does. You freeze in climax, your back arching, so the Ghoul must dig his fingers into the flesh of your ass to work you up and down his girth. With a growl on his lips and teeth bared, his cock pulses to paint your guts in thick ropes of ecstasy.

Long seconds pass as you both hover together in that liminal space of bliss. “Ohh…oh god…” you sigh finally, slumping, boneless. He mirrors your sentiment with a pleased groan that rumbles in his chest.

A hand in your hair tips your head back so the Ghoul can assess your dazed expression. “Fucked what lil’ sense ya’ had right outta ya’, huh?”

“You don’t have to be mean about—

A yawn overtakes your affronted huff. You move to scoot off his lap. “God, I’m so tired now.”

The Ghoul hums disapprovingly and maintains his hold on your hips. “We ain’t done here, sugar. That dust storm is still howlin’ and you got two holes left for me t’abuse.”

Nervously, you laugh and shake your head. “But, I thought…I just wanted—

“A big, bad man t’pop your cherry so ya’ had somethin’ t’brag about back in your vault. Well, I intend on doin’ just that and there ain’t no sense in doin’ somethin’ halfway. Not my problem ya’ bit off more than ya’ could chew, sweetheart.” A chuckle bubbles up from his throat at your horrified expression.

“On your knees, sugar.”

#thank you for the ask #cooper howard x you #cooper howard x reader #cooper howard #the ghoul x you #the ghoul x reader #the ghoul fallout #the ghoul #fallout 2024 #fallout #fallout show #thesightstoshowyou

[bobmckenzie]

💟 pining stage ask game ! 💟

🏁 if not at the same time, who started pining first? how long until it became mutual (if ever)?

❣️describe a time one of you almost took a chance at making a move on the other, only to chicken out.

❓describe a time one of you did flirt or make a move, only for the other to remain totally oblivious.

😅 did anyone ever mistake you two for a couple? how did you both react?

🛏️ did you two ever have a "there's only one bed" moment?

💗 was either of you flirty during the pining stage?

🚫 what was holding you/them back from making a move or confessing your feelings?

🫂 what's one significant moment of physical contact you had during the pining stage?

😳 what moment flustered them the most?

😖 what moment flustered you the most?

💔 were there ever any moments of angst or jealousy thanks to the hidden feelings?

💭 who daydreamed about the other more often? what did they think about most?

🎵 are there any songs that describe your pining stage?

❌ did either of you ever try to get rid of your feelings for the other?

💘 (if applicable) what moment made them realize they were in love with you?

💓 (if applicable) what moment made you realize you were in love with them?

✨ share something random from the pining stage!

#because the pining stage is THE BEST!!!! <3 #f/o ask game #selfship ask game #self ship ask game #selfship #selfshiping #self ship

[wonwoosthetic]

Helllooo! Could we please get a nana tour update? 🤍

a/n: I know this update took longer than expected! I‘m trying to get the episodes out now quicker but writing TV programs takes quite a while so excuse it if it takes a bit longer😅🫶🏼 it also doesn’t help that I can’t hold myself back from writing long ass chapters haha; but anyways, I hope you enjoy it🥰🥰

series masterlist

word count – 11.1k

warnings – none ˙ᵕ˙

Go Together NANA Tour EP3-1. - EP3-2. 🌷 Minnie

italics is always just bonus content for you guys and wouldn’t be seen on camera ˙ᵕ˙

EP3-1. Silent Screams Part 2

"Okay!" Na PD exclaimed, "Minnie, next."

Sitting between Vernon and Dokyeom, the trio was whispering to each other, chuckling at whatever they seemed to find funny.

Mingyu, Jeonghan, Vernon and Joshua had chosen their dream activities for the following day, leaving Minnie to choose now. There were three more spots for the hot air balloon tour, one free seat in the car to Florence and five people were still able to enjoy the wine tour just down the hill.

"What are you going to do?" The producer nagged.

With a mischievous smile, she glanced at Vernon, who was already grinning at her, nodding his head. She turned back to the producing team in front of them before answering,

"I'll take Florence, please."

The two oldest, along with the '98 Liner, erupted in cheers, stepping closer to her to reach out and shake her hand while the young rapper bopped his head in clear excitement.

"Woah...," Hoshi gasped out loud. The rest of the group gazed around perplexed. "I thought you would choose the wine tour."

"Same," Dino agreed with the sub-unit's leader. The other members nodded in agreement, glancing at the small group that had formed around the ones sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Then," the producer announced, "Florence is completely sold out!" Another round of clapping and cheers filled the room.

"You didn't want the hot air balloon?" Joshua leaned back to smirk at the female member, who looked at him in shock.

"Are you insane?!" She chuckled, "Between possibly falling from like ten thousand feet in the air or visiting a pretty old city, I think I'd prefer the latter. Thank you." The older member smiled, patting her dangling leg before turning back around.

Vernon scoffed, "I don't think it's ten thousand, to be honest."

Minnie just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It's too high. Period."

Seungkwan and Minghao surprisingly chose the hot air balloon tour with pure excitement, surprising the female member as she thought her fellow '97 Liner would enjoy a comfortable day in the city.

"There's only one spot for the hot air balloon, right?" Wonwoo asked into the round, sitting up in the chair he had occupied.

Yeongseok nodded. "There's one spot for the hot air balloon. And with the wine tour...," his change of tone got a laugh from the rest of his team. "The people that are left are automatically going there!"

"Isn't it a punishment for Soonyoung to go on a wine tour?" Seungkwan wondered with an entertained grin.

With his hands intertwined, Hoshi had sunken in his posture, a painful smile decorating his face as he thought to himself. Minnie noticed the lack of reaction coming from the leader.

"Aww," a sympathetic chuckle left her lips as she leaned forward, patting his shoulders, hoping to somewhat comfort him.

The producer of the group, along with the maknae were able to pick next, thanks to their high score in the game they had just finished playing. Woozi opted for the hot air balloon, even after asking Dino for his preference, ripping the dream right out of the youngest's heart.

His decision made the room filled with whole-hearted laughter and fingers pointing at the maknae as he stood still, showing no reaction.

"He's not even interested and still chose the hot air balloon!" Jeonghan giggled out loud.

Minnie dared to take a glance at Dino, pushing herself off the counter to walk over to him. Not able to hide the amusement on her face, she wrapped an arm around his frame, patting his back as she into his side.

"Look at his face!" Mingyu called out, pointing directly at the member left standing.

The girl looked up, her hand immediately reaching to pat the top of his hair with a chuckle.

"Don't be mean to him," she mumbled with a pout, her other arm snaking around his front to give him a quick squeeze.

Even the producing team was clearly amused and in awe of the '99 Liner.

Na PD laughed at his reaction, "I think he's really angry." Making Dino respond quickly,

"No, no, no," he brushed off. "No, no, no. Disappointment!" His palm touched the left side of his chest, "Only my disappointment is strong." Minnie shook her head with another chuckle, running a hand up and down his arm before she got back to her place between Dokyeom and Vernon.

-

After the groups for the following day were officially decided, the idols were dismissed. Each of them made their way out of the kitchen to walk back up the stairs to the main floor of the house. Some went straight into their designated rooms while others decided to chill in the main living space.

"Ah, guys... I'm so jealous," Hoshi sighed out loud. His disappointment was clear in his voice.

His statement got a loud chuckle out of Vernon as Woozi wondered,

"Why?" Within a second, it hit him. "Ah, because of the hot air balloon," followed by a good laugh from the producer.

Minnie and Jun stopped one of the carton boxes they had brought in, filled with the stuff they had gotten in the grocery store a few hours before.

"Yeah, jealous," the '96 Liner chuckled to himself. The girl's eyebrows scrunched up,

"You're jealous too?"

The older member turned his head towards her, "Aren't you?" To which she just shook her head wide-eyed, getting a giggle from him in return.

"I think I might become jealous of you guys tomorrow," she admitted. Her hands reached into the box, grabbing the underwear and socks she had gotten for herself.

Jun tilted his head, "You wanted to choose the vineyard?"

Minnie shrugged. "It sounds fun. Getting to drink as much wine as you'd want."

"Why didn't you choose it then?"

"I don't know if I could start drinking that much in the middle of the day."

Her fellow unit member scoffed, "As if you haven't done that before!" Smiling at the reaction of the girl as she looked at him with an open mouth.

"But not that much!" In the next second, Minnie's clean socks smacked across his upper arm. "Don't make it sound so bad!", getting another chuckle from him. She was quick to join in too, shaking her head along with it.

"I think you'll have fun."

Jun nodded, "I think so too."

Just as she was about to leave to find her room again, she pointed a strict finger at the dancer. "But don't drink too much," squinting her eyes at him.

"You should say that to Hoshi," the '96 Liner smiled at her, passing her as he walked straight ahead.

"Oh my God...," she quietly gasped, mumbling to herself.

-

Minnie had gotten comfortable in her room, thinking about whether to shower or brush her teeth first, when a loud voice rang through the entire floor of the house.

"Who's doing the laundry?" Seungkwan wondered out loud. The girl's ears perked up, making her push herself up from the bed and rush over to the doorway.

"Are you washing your clothes?" But before the younger member could answer her, Mingyu beat him to it.

"Let's do it together if the members do it," he called out from his room on the opposite side.

"But where do we do it?" Seungkwan asked, looking around the room before turning back around to go back to the other end of the house.

Minnie retreated back, gathering the minimal clothing she had brought to the country, along with the underwear she had bought and the shirt she had gotten in one of the small shops in the city.

Right as she went back out again, her eyes found a small group of the guys walking in a straight line right behind Vernon, heading towards the stairs.

"Are you doing the laundry now?" She called out, making the '98 Liner stop in his tracks. His hand was holding onto the metal railing as he was just about to take a step downstairs.

He glanced up. "Yeah, you wanna do it too?" To which he got a nod from her in response. Vernon nudged his head towards the lower floor, "Come downstairs."

"Alright," she let him know, stepping out of her room to follow him, but not before stopping by the room directly across from hers. "Mingyu," the sound of her voice made the '97 Liner peek his head out of the attached bathroom. "Should I take your clothes downstairs?"

"They're washing them now?" He wondered, making her nod her head in return. With a big step out, he reached out to grab the bag off the chair in the corner, handing it over to the girl in silence. It was only then, he showed off his naked torso as his shirt was ready for the laundry run.

Just as she wanted to head back out, his voice made her stop.

"Who are you in a room with?" He asked her.

"Wonwoo." They talked about everything and anything during dinner, yet this didn't even come up once.

"Hm." Mingyu nodded quietly, opting for a hum to be his final answer. His silence got a giggle out of the girl, making her take a few steps forward to get closer to him as he was already back in the bathroom.

"Jealous?" She eyed him through the mirror, leaning on the doorframe as a sneaky grin spread on her lips. Her teasing made the '97 Liner turn around, his hand coming up quickly as he tried to get a hold of her arm, but she swiftly moved out of the way, stumbling slightly as she walked backwards.

Her laughter echoed through the house as she jogged towards the stairs.

-

Back in their shared room, the female member was lying on the bed, her phone in her hands as she was texting her mum about another passed day in Italy.

"Where's shampoo and body wash?" Wonwoo called out from the bathroom to her right.

She directed her sight from the bright screen over to the open door. "Isn't it in the shower?"

The rapper came out of the room, shaking his head as he glanced around, trying to see if they had placed it somewhere else.

"Are you sure?" She scooted off the bed to head into the bathroom, taking a quick peek before she came back with a frown, "But I remember putting it there. We got enough in the supermarket."

"Someone probably took it," Wonwoo explained while heading out.

With a soft sigh, the girl exited the room as well, crossing the entryway to walk into the shared bedroom on the other side. Her eyes immediately fell on Dino, who was relaxing on the mattress.

"Did you guys take the shampoo and body wash?"

The maknae glanced up at the female member. "We had it, but Seungkwan took it."

"What?" Mingyu asked as he came back, wondering what the two were talking about.

"Did you take the shower gel and shampoo from our shower?" Only getting a shake of his head in return.

Minnie was about to pass her fellow '97 Liner to continue the questionnaire when Mingyu added,

"But Jun had some earlier."

"Where did he get it from?" She wondered, but the other guys in the room just shrugged, "I thought we bought enough..." she mumbled as she went back out, only to find Wonwoo already meeting her halfway. In his grip, were three different bottles of what seemed to be toiletries.

"I got it," he let her know as they walked into their room again. "Body wash, shower gel and conditioner." Knowing they were only looking for the first two things, but since Minnie would have to take more care of her longer hair, conditioner was essential.

The thoughtful act brought a soft smile to her lips. "From who?"

"Seungkwan," he simply told her, bringing everything he had gotten to their shared bathroom.

Both of them washed up one after the other, with Wonwoo going first and Minnie last. While the girl was taking care of her long mane in the bathroom, Wonwoo found a few of the guys in the backyard of the house. They had gathered around one of the tables on the terrace, all of them sitting in comfortable silence, sharing a piece of thought every now and then. He joined them for a few minutes, exchanging some thoughts about the countryside of Italy and the clear sky they were blessed with that night, before they all headed into their individual rooms, wishing each other a good night.

The moment he entered the shared room, Minnie chuckled as she came out of the bathroom, "You know what I realised?" getting a hum from the rapper in return as he claimed the side of the bed closer to the door leading into the entryway. "You're gonna spend an entire day with a drunk Hoshi." The girl was still occupied with brushing through her somewhat dry hair, thanks to the blow dryer while Wonwoo was getting comfortable underneath the duvet.

Just as quick as he lifted his head, he let it fall again with a soft sigh, getting another giggle from the female member.

"You'll have to take care of him." 

Not only both of them, but every other member knew the drastic change in personality that came with a drunk Kwon Soonyoung. He could go from laughing to crying within a mere split second. If you think you know where he is and what he might be doing, check in on him a minute later, and he'll suddenly be on the other side of town or rolling on the ground for no apparent reason. 

"Why me?" His eyes followed her movements as she got closer to the bed, settling down on it with one knee. "I'll let the others do that. Who's coming again?"

The girl stayed quiet for a moment, puckering her lips as she thought. "Ehm... you, Hoshi... Jun, Dino, and... Dokyeom."

With a groan, Wonwoo hid his face behind his hands, making the girl laugh out loud and smack his leg underneath the covers. "I'm just gonna drink a lot too," he commented.

"Really?" Minnie pulled the other leg in as well, getting into a comfortable sitting position, and looking at the man next to her with a surprised expression.

"If I already have to do a wine tour, might as well," he shrugged. "I was surprised you didn't choose it."

"Jun said that too," she straightened her back. "But... I can drink here with you guys too. So whether that's in a vineyard or here doesn't change much for me."

"Probably better," Wonwoo admitted, "I don't know if I could take care of Hoshi and you."

Minnie gasped, "Taking care of me?! I'm not that bad when I'm drunk!"

"You get really emotional, you know that," the '96 Liner chuckled at her reaction, reaching out to take her hand in his grasp.

"Yeah, but like... loving emotional. Hoshi is... a rollercoaster." Wonwoo joined her giggles, remembering the evenings spent together drinking with the rest of the members and playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who would make sure Hoshi got home safe.

Crawling across the mattress, Minnie got herself comfortable on the other side of the bed, sliding right underneath the covers.

"Who are you going to Florence with?" The rapper changed the topic.

"Vernonnie, Shua, and Jeonghan," she simply answered getting a grunt from the rapper in return.

"You're gonna have an easy time."

Minnie chuckled, "Yeah, but you're gonna have a lot to tell afterwards."

"Maybe," Wonwoo smiled to himself, already dreading the following day. "It'll be interesting."

The female member nodded in agreement. "Always drink responsibly."

"Of course."

-

EP3-2. The optional tour day

The shrill sound of a phone alarm blasted through the shared room of the young couple. Groaning sounds came from the bed as Minnie tried to detangle herself from their intertwined legs underneath the shared blanket. She had a tight grip around the man's arm but had to let go to reach the nightstand and turn off the alarm. The room was basically completely dark, with only a faint ray of sunshine coming in, barely lighting up the space.

"What's going on?" Wonwoo's deep voice made Minnie look behind her as she sat up on the bed.

"Sorry," she whispered, "I forgot to turn it down." Explaining why the ringing sound could've woken up the entire floor with the volume it was set on.

He pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes as he tried to get them to focus in the dark. Minnie was already moving around the room, heading towards the window right in front of the bed first, pulling the curtains to the side to let the sunlight in. Her action got a loud groan from the rapper on the bed, making her chuckle,

"Sorry." He let himself fall back on the mattress with a huff while the girl stretched out her arms, covering her mouth with her hand as a yawn escaped her.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Not yet," she told him, "It's 9am. We're leaving at 10, I think."

-

In the shorts, they had gotten from Na PD after winning the game they played during their first night in Italy and the NANA tour zip-up sweater, along with a sports bra she had bought in the grocery store the day before, Minnie made her way downstairs into the kitchen. Right behind her was Wonwoo, wearing one of the Mona Lisa shirts they had bought while sightseeing along with the same sweat shorts.

Right as she came into the kitchen, the female singer glanced to her right, finding some of the producers already hurled up around a table, all enjoying their breakfast.

With a tired smile, she waved at them, followed by a "Good morning," from both members. 

Turning around, they came to sight with a breakfast menu, set up just for them, prepared by a group of chefs that were still working in the kitchen.

"Oh!" Minnie's eyes went wide, "Thank you so much!" She grinned at the producer, who proudly smiled back at her. "We don't have to play games for this?" She teased them, getting a round of chuckles in return before one of them spoke up,

"Are you that suspicious?"

Minnie giggled. "I watched all episodes of 'Youth over Flowers'! I know what you used to make others do!" The producers joined her in whole-hearted laughter.

"But Minnie-ya," Hoshi suddenly spoke up as he joined them in the kitchen. "This is a different program. They're treating us here."

"I don't yet..." she quietly joked with a grin, but still loud enough to let the others hear.

"What else do we have to do to make you trust us?!" One of the male producers called out desperately, making everyone around him start laughing, along with Minnie and Hoshi on the other side of the room.

The unit leader gave the girl a comforting pat on the head and one to Wonwoo's bottom as they switched their focus back on the breakfast items.

"We need to go drink some wine later," the rapper let a nervous chuckle fall from his lips.

"You should eat a lot now, then you won't feel the alcohol too much," Minnie advised them, but Hoshi just shook his head.

"I'm already scared," he admitted, making the girl laugh at him and place a hand on his upper arm.

"You just have to drink responsibly." To which he shook his head.

One after the other came in to grab their own variety of breakfast items while some had already gotten together to eat together. Minnie and Wonwoo decided to bring their plates upstairs, along with cups of tea in each of their grip. On their way, they walked past Dokyeom, who seemed to have just woken up, letting him know there was a menu waiting for him downstairs.

Outside, they sat down their plates and cups, before falling into the dark wicker chairs. For a second, the female dancer let her eyes fall shut, taking a deep breath in to enjoy the gentle morning breeze.

"Imagine waking up to this weather every day and just getting to eat your breakfast outside," she dreamily spoke.

"Must be nice." Wonwoo chuckled next to her, "But what about winter? Doesn't Italy get cold then too?"

"Well, that's when you'd go travel to Hawaii or Bali. They're warm all year around, I think."

"Just travelling all the time to go to warm places?" He laughed at her explanation while she seemed to just enjoy the moment. Minnie nodded excitedly, a big grin brightening up her face.

"But you like cold weather too," Wonwoo stated, reaching out to take a sip of the hot tea in his cup.

"I do," the girl shifted in her seat, "But right now I'm enjoying the warmth so much, that I want a lot of it."

Without another word, the girl got up from her chair, taking a few steps ahead to stop at the railing that held her from falling down the shallow slope that stopped at the bottom part of the garden, where the pool was. She got out her phone from the side pocket of the shorts, lifting it up to get a picture of the scenery in front of her. The Italian countryside was decorated by small hills, different colours in the grass, bright green blooming trees that grew on the side of the old streets, and different-coloured glowing flowers and bushes garnishing the gardens of the Italian-styled country houses. 

"This is so beautiful," she mumbled under her breath, turning in circles, trying to somehow capture even just a bit of the beauty of nature she was surrounded by. 

"Mum asked me for pictures," she explained, walking to the chairs again to get back into her seat. "Because I told her it looks a little bit like in France."

"Where your grandparents live?" Wonwoo asked her, getting a hum and a nod in return.

During their shared breakfast, Jun came to join them, his own plate in his hands as he settled down on the other side of the table.

"Woah," he took a deep breath in and out, his eyes wandering around the garden, "it's so pretty."

"Right?" Minnie excitedly turned towards her fellow unit member. "It looks like a painting."

"Like we're living in a painting, yeah," Jun agreed, getting up from his seat to copy what the girl had done mere minutes ago and got his phone to snap a few good pictures of the scenery.

"I think I can stare at this all day long and space out. Because it's so pretty," Wonwoo commented before a complete silence could fall over the trio.

Minnie nodded. "I could get used to a view like that." 

The rapper hummed in agreement, making her turn to glance at him, chuckling at what she came to sight with.

"What?" He asked about her sudden reaction.

With a grin, the girl reached out, her fingers brushing through the unruly set of hair on top of his head. "Your hair looks crazy." She glided her palm over the top, trying to straighten down some of the strands that had decided to stick out into different directions - and he let her.

"Noona!" The sound of the maknae's voice made her turn around, finding him sitting by a table behind them along with Hoshi. "When are you leaving?"

After a quick look at her phone screen, she answered him, "I think at 10. In like twenty minutes."

Dino nodded. "Are you excited?"

She couldn't help but smile at the youngest. "Yeah," only to let her grin get even wider as soon as the next question popped into her head. "Are you excited?"

"Ah... noona...," he sighed, getting another loud giggle out of the girl. "I really don't think it's a good idea to let me drink."

"Nooo," she tried to calm him down, getting out of the chair with her plate in one hand and her now empty cup of tea in the other, "You shouldn't think like that. You're gonna have fun."

With a shake of his head, he got up, taking his plate with him as he joined her on the way back into the kitchen.

"I have to be really careful."

-

Back in her room, Minnie was looking around at the very few pieces of clothing she had to choose from, now spread out on the bed, along with Wonwoo, who had busied himself with his phone.

A sigh escaped her lips as she ran a hand through her hair. "I really don't have anything to wear for a trip like this." The '96 Liner didn't react to her complaint, only taking his eyes off his phone, the moment, she opened her mouth again. "What if I just leave like this?"

Looking into the mirror, she grinned to herself standing there in just her jeans the sports bra she had worn before.

"You can't leave like that," Wonwoo simply told her, focusing back on the screen in his hands.

"Says who?" Teasingly, she turned around, finding the eyes of the rapper already back on her form. With her arms crossed, she got closer to his side of the bed, another sigh of hers ringing through their ears. "I don't have anything else."

"You're not leaving in your underwear." He pushed himself up from the mattress. "Didn't you guys buy something yesterday?"

"Yeah, but I haven't washed that yet," she answered him, following him out of the room, where they suddenly met Joshua and Jeonghan already waiting for them in the entryway.

"Oh-," she came to a halt, "Are we leaving?"

"In a minute, yeah," the oldest turned around, frowning as soon as he saw her outfit, but Joshua bet him to speak up.

"Are you leaving like this?"

Minnie chuckled, "No, don't worry," before passing them to enter the room on the other side. Carefully, she opened the door, her suspicion being confirmed as soon as she found her fellow '97 Liner cuddled up in his bed. With quiet steps, she walked inside, making sure not to startle him as she tapped his arms,

"Mingyu," she whispered, trying to wake up the rapper. But he didn't budge. "Oppa," she tried to again, getting slightly closer.

A soft hum escaped Mingyu as he squirmed around, opening his eyes with a frown.

"What?" His groggy voice made her smile.

"Where's your cardigan? The one you wore on the plane."

The '97 Liner shifted on the bed, getting his arm out from underneath the blanket to point towards the chair in the corner of the room across from the bed.

Without another word, Minnie walked over, lifting up one of the pillows that was placed on top of it to find the thin piece of clothing she was looking for. She stopped in front of the mirror on the wall, throwing the cardigan over her frame to see what it would look like on her.

"Why do you need it?" Mingyu suddenly asked her, making her look at him through the mirror.

"I don't have anything to wear to Florence."

"Why don't you wear the white blouse you bought at the store?"

With a huff, she took the piece of fabric off again. "I haven't washed it yet," and placed it back on the chair.

"I did."

Minnie's head snapped towards him. "What?"

He turned his head just slightly, begrudgingly opening his eyes a bit to look at her. "It was in my pile of laundry."

"Oh, then it should be outside, right?" To which Mingyu just nodded.

With a wide grin, the girl got on her way to rush out of the room, "Thank youu," only to be stopped by the call of her name.

"Huh?"

A wave of his hand told her to come closer, which she did, getting surprised by the sudden grip on her hand. She had no time to react before she got pulled in, steadying herself on a free spot on the mattress with her hand, so her entire weight wouldn't fall on top of the rapper.

"Mingyu," her giggles filled the room as she held onto his arm that he tightened around her frame, pulling her in even closer. Her hand gave up trying to hold herself up, giving into the embrace as she tried to wriggle out of it. "I have to go," she whispered, knowing he could hear her clearly due to the proximity.

He was just about to turn with her in his arms, ready to pull her fully onto the bed when the door suddenly opened, exposing Dino coming in.

"Mingyu," she repeated with a chuckle, "Please."

"Nini!" Jeonghan called out, "We have to go!" Coming in, a laugh tumbled from his lips as soon as he came to sight of the two on the bed.

"I'm trying!" She desperately called out before she finally felt the grip around her loosen. A dramatic gasp of air left her mouth, getting a chuckle from the guys in the room.

"What are you doing?" She glanced over at the maknae, rummaging through something in the corner.

"You need money," he answered, turning towards her to hand her the amount he had picked out.

Jeonghan's chuckle made the attention shift words him while his eyes were fixed on the man in the bed.

"I thought you were sleeping," he grinned at Mingyu, taking a step forward to switch places with Minnie.

"I am," the rapper simply told him, shifting in his position to start snoring playfully.

Suddenly, the '95 Liner leaned down, placing a peck on the younger member's cheek, getting a round of chuckles from the people in the room.

"What are you doing?" Dino wondered as the oldest just smiled,

"He's pretty."

In a hurry, the girl quickly handed Jeonghan the money she had gotten from the maknae before finally making her way towards the door.

"I need to get dressed," she notified them before running down the hall and down the stairs, past the kitchen to head to the outdoor area where they had put up the clothes from the washing machine and left them to dry. She easily found the white short-sleeved blouse Mingyu had mentioned, smiling to herself before grabbing her underwear and socks that seemed to be dry already too. With big steps, she was upstairs again, jogging into her room to change quickly. And within a minute, she was back in the entrance area, now with a pair of sunglasses on top of her head.

"So you did wash it?" Wonwoo addressed the top she refused to wear only a few minutes ago. He looked up from the phone in his hands as he was still sitting on the small couch in front of the entrance door. Together with Dino, he was waiting to send the small group off.

Minnie shook her head, adjusting her jeans. "Mingyu threw it in his pile of clothes he wanted to wash. I didn't even know it was there."

"The top?" Vernon asked her, pointing at the white blouse, making her nod with a smile.

Only a second later, Jeonghan and Dino exited the shared bedroom, joining the rest of the Florence trip group.

"Everyone ready?" The oldest asked into the room, looking at each of the members to see them nod in return. "Okay, then let's go!"

"Have fun, guys!" The maknae stopped by the door, right behind him Wonwoo, who waved at the four leaving the premise. "Take good pictures!"

"We will!" Minnie called out as she turned around, sending a flying kiss towards the two men, who smiled back. Dino dramatically reached forward, proudly showing her the kiss he had caught, and sent her a final finger heart before they disappeared around the corner, leaving only Minnie's warm laughter to be heard.

Together, the four left the property, walking down the short private lane before they reached the main street, where a car was already waiting for them. Joshua and Jeonghan decided to sit in the middle row, leaving Minnie and Vernon to share the very back seats. As soon as the car started, all eyes were fixed on the windows. The passing countryside was too breathtakingly beautiful to miss by closing your eyes and trying to get a quick nap, which they would usually do.

In an almost dreamy haze, Shua admired everything he could catch as they passed by, speaking loud enough to get the attention of the other members in the car.

"Oh, it's so hot," he noted, getting the girl to nod in agreement.

"I hope I don't burn," she spoke up, half-jokingly, making the '95 Liner chuckle, while Jeonghan frowned.

"Are you wearing long jeans?" Genuine concern dropped from his lips as he turned his head to the side to direct his voice at her

The female member nodded before she realised he couldn't see her. "Yeah-"

"Why?!"

"I didn't want to wear the sweatshorts to Florence! And the jeans are the only other pants I have," she quickly defended herself as soon as she noticed his voice getting more whiny.

Jeonghan shook his head with an almost curse coming from him a mumble. "Tell me when you're getting too hot. We can buy other shorts."

"Okay, okay," she agreed, slightly brushing him off. Minnie knew he was coming from a good place, but she also remembered the multiple lectures she had gotten in the past from the older members about different topics. The possibility of a speech about taking care of oneself and not joking about potentially burning in long clothes while it had a good 35+ degrees Celsius outside was just around the corner.

"It's a hot vibe," Joshua suddenly threw in again.

Minnie nodded, "The perfect summer weather."

"Shua likes hot things." Jeonghan's out-of-pocket comment got a chuckle out of the girl, making him realise what he had just said, therefore quickly adding, "Because he lived in LA."

A look of amusement was shared between the two younger members in the backseat, holding in their laughter before continuing to sit by themselves, focusing back on the world right outside their windows.

A few more minutes into the drive, Joshua continued his commentary, keeping the car filled with conversations and chuckles. Vernon stayed quiet for most of the time, glancing over at the girl whenever she had something to say or show him and Jeonghan enjoyed Shua's liveliness, answering his remarks every now and then, keeping a contained smile on his face.

"The internet is so...," Joshua spoke again. "It being slow is kinda a vibe too." The three members in the car smiled at his gentle complaint, but Minnie added a roll of her eyes.

"You're spoiled from the fast internet in Seoul," she nagged at him, making him turn around with a surprised facial expression before he continued the discussion.

"You're just as spoiled," he warned her with a raise of his eyebrows.

The girl scoffed, "I'm not complaining because of the internet."

"He's not complaining," the other '95 Liner grinned, "He... he has a good vibe."

Joshua teasingly nodded at Minnie, agreeing with the oldest member quietly, while she couldn't help but shake her head with a smile.

"I learned that vibe from you," he said to Jeonghan. "Everything is a vibe."

-

The moment the streets of Florence opened up right in front of their eyes, the car filled with gasps and exclaims of admiration. For every shop, every building, every street lamp, and even each and every flower on the corners could an acrostic poem be made, and not even then would words be enough to describe the beauty of the tourist city.

"It's nice that Shua is so happy today," Jeonghan's comment made the girl look up. While his words were supposed to be endearing, his voice sounded anything but that. His unusually dull tone brought a frown to her face.

"Oh, I'm so happy that I'm here today," Joshua nodded with a smile.

"Jeonghannie-hyung doesn't sound like he's happy today," Minnie suddenly spoke up from behind them.

One of the female producers in the very front of the car agreed with her. "You seem like you're having a hard time compared to the first time in the car." Which made the '95 Liner just chuckle before he focused back on the view outside of the car.

After a good hour of complete silence from the left side of the car, Vernon jumped into the conversation. "He needs a new type of simulation." Commenting on Jeonghan's character trait of turning suspiciously quiet if a scene stayed too monotone for too long. He did enjoy the calm times every now and then, but especially long car rides were not his cup of tea.

"I need to walk around in the streets," he stated, describing his current state in more detail.

"We'll get to walk around a lot today," Minnie assured him, already fidgeting in her seat as she couldn't wait to finally get outside.

On his phone, Joshua found a food market in the heart of the city, knowing that a regular restaurant might not be enough for a good experience as Jeonghan was still dull next to him, even though he was slowly blooming up the more they drove into the centre. 

Mercato Centrale seemed to have been the perfect decision as the moment they stepped foot out of the car, the oldest member was already smiling brightly at the sun directly hitting them. He made sure the backpack he had brought was secure on his right shoulder before he started to walk ahead, knowing the rest would follow him.

"Let's walk around the market once and around the outside too!" His exclaim brought a smile to the girl's face, happy about the change of mood as they were met with his usual bright persona again. They were quick to agree to his idea, Minnie and Joshua slightly behind the other two members in the front as they took their time looking around a bit more. With their go-pros propped up on a stick, the group made their way into the food court.

Starting off in the main area, they looked around the various restaurants lined up on the side, passing different stalls that prepared everything your heart could possibly desire - from fresh fruit bowls to pizza, grilled meat or pasta dishes.

"I think pizza would be really good," Joshua commented as they passed a specific food stall.

Minnie nodded. "If we're in Italy, pizza is always a good idea. You have to eat authentic food whenever you're in a specific country."

"That's right," Jeonghan said from where he had fallen behind her in line.

They passed one more place that seemed interesting to the four, a dumpling stall, yet in the end, all of them decided on the classic Italian cuisine.

"Let's go with pizza then," Vernon agreed as they made their way towards one of the many restaurants that offered them.

"Minnie!" Jeonghan's sudden call out of her name made her turn around as her eyes were locked on the other side of the food court, her eyes fixated on just how big the space actually was and yet how many people still managed to find spaces to sit and eat. "Is pizza okay?" He waited for her quick steps over to join the group again, excited nods making her hair bounce and him chuckle. With a soft push forward, he let her walk ahead while keeping close behind her.

"Fresh from the oven," Joshua read out one of the signs that hung above the stall they had stopped in front of. That sounded good.

"Oh, shiiit," Vernon commented, getting an immediate laugh from the girl, making him realise what he had just said. "Oh! I'm sorry," he quickly said into the camera he was holding before he felt a push to his back.

"You can't say that!" The girl admonished him.

The younger member whipped his head around to meet her eye, "I just said, I was sorry!" He whined out loud, only making her chuckle again. Only a moment later, they were greeted by a waitress, who let them know they could find a table on the second floor, right above them. 

Their gazes glided over the area, finding more empty seats than downstairs.

"Let's sit all the way at the end!" Jeonghan called out, pointing towards a free table for four right by the railing that overlooked the entire lower floor. Another waitress came along to hand them four menu cards and left them some time to settle on what they would eat. Joshua asked into the round with the oldest telling the group to choose whatever they'd want - he had never been a picky eater. While Minnie and Vernon were still going through each page of the menu, Shua had already found something, immediately asking the others what they thought of it. They settled on a mozzarella mushroom pizza.

Thanks to his confidence, the '95 Liner was chosen to order for the table, telling the waitress what they had chosen when she reminded them that they should also look for something to drink.

"We also have Aperol Spritz," she proposed, making Minnie's head shoot up.

"Oh, yes yes yes!" She excitedly nodded, making the guys chuckle.

"Should we take Aperol Spritz too?" Joshua asked her, only making her bop her head.

"Trust me," she told him, "Yes." With a smile, the waitress took the menus back into her grasp, telling them she'd be back in a few minutes.

Once they were alone again, Vernon switched his attention towards the girl. "Is Aperol Spritz that good?"

Minnie's eyes widened the second those words left his lips, but then she remembered that he hadn't had an opportunity yet to try the alcohol mixture in Europe.

"Yep," she assured him. "It's a bit... bitter, depending on how you mix it, but if it's made well it's literally the best thing you could drink in the summer."

"Better than somaek?" Jeonghan joined the two, sending the girl a teasing grin, knowing how much she enjoyed the soju-beer mix.

"So much better than somaek," her remark made the oldest lean back in his chair with a gentle gasp.

"Woah," he huffed out, "the moment we're in Europe, Korean Minnie is gone." The entire table erupted in laughter while the female member looked at him in shock.

"What?!" She couldn't hold back joining in the holer.

"Her European side comes out more," Joshua explained. "That's true."

"You guys...," with a grin, she shook her head. She went to lift her head again, ready to continue the conversation, when the ring of her phone on the table cut her off. Snatching it off the surface, she turned it around, frowning as soon as she saw who was calling her.

"I'll be right back," excusing herself without another word and answering the call right as she stood up.

"Who called her?" Vernon shot a question at Joshua since he was sitting right next to the female member, but he just shrugged turning in his seat to follow her silhouette as she stood in a corner, covering one ear, so she could hear whoever was on the other end of the call better.

While Minnie was busy with her phone call, the Aperols they had ordered arrived. Jeonghan showed them off proudly to Dokyeom, who had called in that time, but the older member abruptly ended the call to go back to conversing with the table.

"I'm so interested in how it's going to taste," Shua commented, leaving Vernon and Jeonghan to nod in agreement.

"Should we wait for Minnie?" Jeonghan wondered, but the female member was already on her way back.

"Wait for me for what?" She asked but then her eyes found the glasses on the table, "Oh!" Making her slide back into the chair excitedly. She got a hold of her own, lifting up to make the others join her.

"Cheers," she started, which the other three copied, bringing their aperitifs into the middle to clank together before each took their first sip.

The moment the taste hit Minnie's lips, she groaned.

"Ah...," she sighed after gulping down, "I love it."

"Wow... it's really good," Shua agreed.

"It's like orange champagne, it's good," Vernon remarked. "What's in it?"

All eyes switched to Minnie as nobody else knew the answer.

"Aperol, Prosecco and sparkling water," she explained. "Some also put in a little bit of Orange juice, I think. But I don't know what the original recipe is like."

"And what is Aperol?" Shua now wondered.

"Like a liquor. I don't know exactly what's in it, but I think rhubarb and bitter orange and something else."

Vernon shrugged, "It's good." Making the others nod.

For a second, the four enjoyed a short moment of silence before the oldest spoke again, his nosiness getting the best of him.

"Who called you?" To which the others' ears perked up as well.

"Oh yeah," the '98 Liner mumbled, remembering he had wondered about it too.

Minnie chuckled, as she was just about to take another sip again, deciding to put the cocktail glass down first. "Woozi's mum."

"Really?" Joshua's chuckles rang through her ear as she joined him, nodding her head.

"What did she want?" Jeonghan questioned her more, taking another gulp of his drink.

"Just asked how I was doing," Minnie shrugged. It was no rarity for her to get phone calls she declared as random in the past from the other members' parents. After a while of it repeating, she came to the understanding that they were anything but random. The mothers and fathers of the members were just as interlinked with each other as the idol singers, even calling each other from time to time as well. So, wondering about their kids wasn't something all too uncalled for.

The girl chuckled to herself. "She got really irritated with me though."

"Why?" Jeonghan grinned.

"I asked her, 'You do know we're in Italy, right?' because the phone call would be really expensive for her," another giggle fell from her lips. "And she snapped at me, 'Why would I care about money if I want to talk to you!'" She raised her arms in defence, "Sorry."

The imitation of the older woman's voice got a burst of laughter from each member in return. 

"All of our parents really like talking to you," the oldest commented. "Even my sister tells me you talk to her on the phone a lot."

"Well," Minnie flipped her hair dramatically over her shoulder, "They just love me."

[The favourite child]

"It's because they don't know how you really are," Shua jokingly added, getting a gasp and a shove to his arm from the girl.

She pouted in her seat. "That's something Cheol would say...," The chuckles from the other members were agreement enough. "Ugh, I miss him." Dramatically, she let her face fall into her hands.

"Didn't you talk to him yesterday?" Vernon asked, pure confusion lacing his voice.

Minnie lifted her head again, fixing her hair swiftly along the way, "What was yesterday?" Thinking for a second before she remembered the breakfast she, Minghao and the member in front of her shared, "Oh, yeah! But that was yesterday. Today's a new day."

"But you don't always get to talk to him every day," Jeonghan tried to reason, but she looked at him with a frown.

"I do." Her confession gained her multiple straight faces staring directly at her.

"You talk to him every single day?" In a clearly slightly concerned, yet amused and surprised tone, Joshua asked the girl, making her turn towards him. For a quick moment, she just looked at him before letting her gaze meet the other members and speaking up again.

"Wh- you... you don't?" Getting three clear shakes of heads.

"Every other day, yes, but not every day," Jeonghan explained, followed by Vernon,

"That's not normal, Minnie."

"What do you mean?" Chuckling at the reaction from the three guys. "Don't judge me like that!" But despite her exclaim, the '98 Liner sent her a face that told her more than she needed to know, so she pointed a strict finger at him. "I'm gonna tell him you cursed in front of the camera today!"

"Not without your phone you won't-" Before she could even realise what he had said, Vernon leaned forward, snatching her phone away from her to put it into the pocket of his jacket that was hung around the back of his chair.

Minnie could only look at him with her mouth hanging open. While she glared at him, the rapper kept up a contained grin. The two older members watched the young duo in amusement, smiling at their antics but keeping quiet.

Silently, the female singer propped her arm up on the table, her palm open in front of them. "Give it back."

Vernon reached for his drink to take another sip. He nodded as he enjoyed the alcohol going down his throat. "You have good taste." Reaching his hand out, he slapped her palm with his, smiling, "High five."

Minnie's chuckle didn't hide her warning tone, yet it didn't seem to face the younger member. "Give me my phone."

"I don't have it," he simply shrugged. His dull comment made the girl laugh out loud, yet desperation dropped from her lips as she whined,

"Vernonnie..., please." The older members continued to watch in giggles, not able to focus on anything else as they adored the interaction between the two youngsters.

"I really don't have it," he continued to stand his ground, knowing he was getting a raise out of the girl as she fidgeted in her seat, her tone getting stricter.

"Vernon-"

"Minnie-ya," Jeonghan suddenly interrupted, "if he says, he doesn't have it, then you should believe him."

"Huh?!" While she glanced at the oldest in pure shock, the '98 Liner couldn't contain himself in his seat, his shoulders starting to shake as laughter took over his body. Joshua joined him, shaking his head along with his chuckles.

"You guys-" the girl exclaimed, her eyebrows shot up as she looked around the table. She was once again stopped, this time by Shua, who tapped her arm and nudged his head towards the waitress who was coming back with the pizza they had ordered.

They quickly thanked her and were about to dive in, but Minnie continued to shake her head in disbelief.

"I really don't like you, guys." Letting the chuckles that followed be the end of the conversation before they started eating.

-

The four enjoyed their meal, conversing only a slight bit to comment on the taste of the pizza while Joshua continued to admire, "the vibe", making the girl smile in return. While Jeonghan and Minnie were full quickly, having had a filling breakfast not too long before, Joshua ate a tad bit more before leaving the rest to the youngest, who skipped the earlier meal to sleep in. The alcohol was only helping feeling more full, so they decided to get it in a plastic cup to-go, letting them move on with their exploration day through the city.

They left the food court to walk around the outside of the building just like the oldest had suggested when they had arrived.

"Where should we go now?" he asked into the round.

They tried to find a free space to stop and think about their next journey, but the mass of people was making it harder for them to keep together, making Minnie interlock her arm with Joshua's, who was right beside her.

"Well, what kind of vibe do you want to go for?" He asked his fellow '95 Liner.

"Don't you think we need to go to the cathedral?" He wondered in return, catching the attention of the younger members.

"Yeah, let's go there!" Minnie exclaimed.

"Cathedral?" Joshua turned to her, wondering if he had heard the other member correctly, so the girl nodded while Jeonghan continued,

"Okay, then let's go towards the Duomo cathedral!"

"We can see what's along the way or decide on what to do next once we're there," the female member proposed, which the member seemed to agree with as they started to walk together.

Vernon, who appeared to have become the designated navigator, held onto his phone as he walked straight ahead, leaving the other three to stay right behind him, following his every step.

"What do you think about the streets of Europe?" Jeonghan wondered out loud, directing his question towards Joshua, who seemed overly captivated by the architecture around him.

"It's so nice," he spoke dreamingly. "It really has a vibe." His choice of words brought another chuckle out of Minnie as she continued to sip on the plastic cup that she almost finished. "You're lucky you got to grow up in areas like that," he said to her, but she shook her head.

"It didn't look like that where I grew up," she defended herself, but Shua was quick to speak up again.

"But most of Europe has old architecture. And just a lot of history behind buildings and stuff."

"I guess, yeah... but when you grow up in Europe, surrounded by older buildings, you don't really realise just how 'lucky' you are and how... unique it is for others," she explained in detail. "I only noticed how different it was when I came to Korea. But then the way that you think about Florence now is how I thought about Seoul. Seoul was really really cool to me because it was so different."

"Yeah... you're probably right," he told her.

Minnie chuckled, "I know I am," answering him with a bright grin, earning her a nudge to her side with his hip making her slightly stumble as they laughed in chorus.

It didn't take long for them to find it. The curved rooftop of the building came into view as the height overshadowed most constructions in the city. Joshua and Jeonghan got their phones out of their pockets, holding them up to get a few pictures of the cathedral. Just as Minnie was about to do the same, reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, she found it empty. Then she realised-

"Can you take good pictures and send them to me, please?" A chuckling Vernon passed her as she decided to stand still, her eyes following him with a glare he couldn't see, thanks to her sunglasses. Her gaze followed the entire front of the construction, trying to find the very top of the roof up in the sky.

The guys couldn't believe their eyes, gasping and throwing out exclaims of admiration as they looked around the open space.

"This is the heart of Florence!" Jeognhan cheered as he walked a bit further ahead than the others. They decided to follow him as he continued their journey deeper into the city centre, making sure to admire every passing building as more marvellous churches followed.

They stopped in front of a specific one, taking a closer look at the statues that decorated the front. In awe of the stone carving, the guys made sure to not let a corner of it get un-photographed. The producers that came along with them were able to answer most questions that the group had. Mostly about the hand carving of each stone and stature right in front of them.

Each member seemed to have found their own way as they slightly parted, leaving the different cameramen to disperse as well, following them individually as they roamed the streets around the cathedral.

Suddenly, Minnie turned towards the producing crew that followed right behind her.

"Where's Yongseok-hyung?"

[All of a sudden?]

Vernon, who was next to her, erupted in chuckles, leaving the two older members, who were further ahead, in confusion, but their attention was on something else anyway.

One of the producers, holding a typical tour guide flag in his hands, laughed at the girl's question. "Minnie-ya, you're watching these beautiful buildings and you're thinking of Yongseok?" The realisation of busting the question in that situation hit her, making her laugh as well.

"No, I- I just realised I didn't even see him in the morning."

"He's preparing more things for all of you, you'll see him later," he assured her, making the girl nod quickly as she dropped a,

"Ah, okay," before she turned her focus back on what was ahead of her.

[To Na PD: please always make sure Minnie sees you before you leave <3]

They found each other again in a smaller side street, that was home to local artists who were able to portray their artwork - everything from oil paintings to pencil drawings and even caricatures, which seemed to have caught the interest of the two oldest.

"Jeonghan-ah!" Joshua called out, "Can I do a caricature?"

"I was going to ask you to do it together!" He shouted back, turning towards the younger members who were standing close by together. "You guys wanna do it all together?"

Minnie chuckled at the excitement radiating off him. She couldn't say no to a happy Jeonghan. "Sure," she nodded, glancing over at Vernon, who joined her as they made their way over to one of the artists who was unoccupied at the moment. Together, the four sat down in front of the man, taking off their glasses as they posed for the drawing. Minnie sat down between her fellow English-speaking members, running a hand down her blouse to straighten it out.

"Let's not look until it's done," the oldest suggested, to which Shua happily agreed, nudging his head at Minnie and Vernon, who were just amused at the two members next to them.

Quicker than expected, the artist finished the pencil drawing, turning his board around to let the group get a glimpse of what he had created. The singers immediately erupted in laughter, with the female member having to lean onto the '98 Liner as she hid her face in his shoulder.

"We're all the same," Vernon chuckled, slanting forward in his seat.

"I don't look like you guys!" The girl gently hit his arm as she couldn't hide her amusement as well.

The rapper shook his head. "The only thing different about you is the hair, other than that, we all look the same." And a closer look at the picture just confirmed it, only making her start giggling again.

They thanked the man and Jeonghan took the picture with him before they continued their journey.

"Ah, that was so funny," Vernon breathed out, the other members smiling along with him. "It was really unexpected."

"That's why it was fun," Jeonghan answered, still clearly amused at the drawing in his hands.

The producers asked the group to find a good spot to take a picture of them holding the caricature before they would decide where to go next. With the sun now shining directly onto them, Joshua, Vernon, and Minnie were back to wearing the sunglasses as they quickly posed for the asked picture, making sure they were standing in the same order as they were on the drawing.

-

They found themselves at the highest point of the city again after getting the recommendation to go there from the tour guiding producer. The Piazzale Michelangelo was the perfect decision, they realised, the moment the view of the entire city hit them.

"Woah...," Minnie gasped as they got closer to the railing overlooking the rest of what was in front and below them.

Joshua nodded, "That's crazy."

"It must be insane to be here at night," the girl commented, being only able to imagine the lights that would illuminate the darkness. A clear view of an ancient city skyline was not something to be taken for granted. They continued to walk around the space, staying too close to each other as they continued to talk about the view. Joshua suggested taking a few pictures of each other in front of the railing, so they looked out for a free spot to occupy. Jeonghan led them towards one, pushing Shua forward first so he could snap some pictures of his fellow '95 Liner. Vernon followed close by, getting a few shots taken of himself before the oldest pushed Minnie forward too.

"Let me take some pictures of you guys together."

The rapper had one hand on the railing, leaving enough space for the girl to come in closer as they posed together.

"Hehe," Jeonghan chuckled, "cute."

Vernon left only a moment later, leaving the female member alone for a last few pictures.

"I'll send them into the group chat." Doing exactly so only a few seconds later.

A sigh from the youngest made Minnie turn towards him, her eyebrows in a slight frown as he pulled something out of the pocket of his jacket.

"Your phone keeps ringing." In his hand now, her phone, making her scoff as she tried to get it out of his grasp. Damn his reflexes, he shot his arm up in the air, leaving the girl with a sulk as she now had to look up to where he was tightly holding onto it. The girl just sent him an unamused glare while the smile she was trying so hard to suppress was making it hard to take her seriously. Still, Vernon lowered his arm again and handed her her phone back.

"So you did have it?" She sarcastically asked him, but he just shrugged with a soft grin making his lips curl.

"I found it just now." To which Minnie rolled her eyes.

She had already seen the name on her screen, so she was quick to answer it.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you? Why did you take so long to answer?" His immediate concern brought a chuckle out of her.

"Vernon had my phone," she spoke as she glared at the man in question who just sent her a thumbs up, making her shake her head. "He gave it to me now because it was annoying him that you were calling all the time."

"Well, I was trying to reach you for a while. Are you still in Florence?" Mingyu asked her from the other end of the line.

The female member smiled in amusement, "Obviously."

"Where are you right now?"

"Ehm... I think it was called Piazzale Michelangelo. It's like an open space on top of the city."

Her wording seemed to have confused the rapper. "On top?"

"Not directly on top. It's on a hill- wait, I can Facetime you." She pulled the phone away from her ear, clicking on the button that let her turn on the camera. Her face lit up the moment she came to sight with two of her fellow '97 Liners on the screen.

"Hi, Hao!"

"Hi, Minnie! How's Florence?" He wondered.

"Woah... honestly... you would love it here. Both of you would."

"You haven't sent any pictures yet," Mingyu told her.

Minnie had to hold back a roll of her eyes as she remembered just why she wasn't able to do so just yet. "Yeah, Vernon had my phone the entire time. He didn't let me take it."

"Oh," he just said before laughing, the other member joining in.

Suddenly, another voice from behind the phone camera spoke up, "What did you do to him, Minnie-ya?"

"Yongseok-hyung!" The girl called out in cheer," Mingyu turn the phone around!" With a chuckle and a scoff, he did as she asked. "Hi!" The girl shouted into the phone, getting a whole-hearted laugh from the producer.

"Are you enjoying your time in Florence?"

"Yes! Thank you, really. We had a really nice time here. I even asked about you," she admitted.

"Me? Why about me?"

Minnie leaned against the railing behind her as she continued the conversation. "I didn't see you in the morning, so I was wondering where you were."

"Aw, Minnie-ya," the producer chuckled. "That's very sweet of you. I'll see you when you come back."

"Okay!" She grinned into the phone.

"I'm gonna give the phone back to Mingyu." To which she nodded, smiling as soon as the mentioned member was back in view.

"Look," she turned her camera around to give him a peak of what she was currently seeing. An echoed gasp came from the speakers of her phone as Mingyu and Minghao were able to get a look at the city far ahead of them. "It's for real so beautiful." The camera was back on her when she was suddenly joined by the younger member next to her.

"Shua-hyung said it has a romantic vibe."

Minnie frowned at his remark. "Then I don't know why I'm here with you guys." Getting a chuckle from the other end of the line.

"Can you send some pictures now?" Mingyu wondered, making her nod.

"Yeah, I'll do it now," she waved into the camera. "I'll see you at home."

"Have fun!" Hao shouted out.

"Stay safe," the rapper added before the girl ended the call. In a swift motion, she turned around to take a few pictures of the view before tapping on the icon that would lead her to her gallery.

With a quick suck in of air, she glanced up at Vernon.

"You took pictures with my phone!" Finding different pictures he had taken over the course of the day, some of the buildings and streets they passed and some of her as she unknowingly wandered in front of him.

"Yeah," he simply just told her, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Minnie shook her head in disbelief, "You... really..." chuckling as she clicked on a few she would want to send all while his eyes followed each movement of her fingers on her screen.

"You have a separate group chat?!" He suddenly called out, making her gaze at him in slight confusion.

Minnie chuckled at his reaction. "We live together. Of course, we have a group chat." Defending the chatroom she shared with Wonwoo and Mingyu, to which she sent the pictures she had just taken along with Vernon's photos, adding a quick message underneath before sending it.

Taglist: @waosobii @chaebb @lunarxsun @hoe4wonwoo @kimhyejin3108 @soobzao @billboard-singer @cosmicwintr @zwiehe @alixnsuperstxr @angie-x3 @smooore @allthings-fandoms @lllucere

#minnie 🌷 #seventeen #seventeen oc #seventeen 14th member #Nana tour #fluff

[saturnxlust]

Age Gap

Van der linde gang x Fem!Reader

Dutch Van Der Linde

He def goes for younger girls

He looks like the type

You caught his eye with your outfits

Hes 44 but i feel like he wouldnt want a age gap over 10 years

If you got the courage to make the first move he would admire that about you

Definitely sweet talks you about being a smart girl

Lord the amount of praise this son of a bitch would give you could boost even arthur ego

Def a sugar daddy, before the events of black water

After he would try his best but he left most of his money behind in his old house

Arthur Morgan

He isnt that old but he def wouldnt go over 5 years

He finds it odd and repects his women too much

This is the man to go to if you want a sugar daddy

He will gladly spoil you with all the money he loots from dead O’driscols

He also gives out praise but thats just the man he is

If hes not complimenting you and how stunning you are 24/7 he feels like a awful person

He would so totally call you his “sweet baby” or “babydoll”

If you wear pink dresses he’d definitely be wrapped around your little finger

If not and your more of a streatwear person he’d loose his mind at low rise or cami tops

Again you’d have him wrapped around your finger immediately

John Marston

Hes definitely not old and would NOT go under 4 years😭

This guys only 26

Hes not a sugar daddy

Sorry babe

But he thinks your cute

He def likes girls with a attitude

Just look at abigal for christs sake

He was married to her😭

He would try to be good for you

Wanting to take you and run off into the sunset, but he couldnt leave dutch like that

Not after everything dutch had done for him

You would have to get along with jack to even be on johns radar (sorry🥲)

He wants you as soon as your motherly to jack

He talks to arthur about you

He calls you “sweet girl” and “doll” in that gravily voice

Hes incredible, really

Hosea Matthews

Okay well hes old😅

Def a sugar daddy

I mean have you seen him?

He goes for at least 10-12 years younger 😍

After bessie he really didnt think he’d fall in love again but when you came in twirling you hair and giggling he’d be a teenager all over again

You could ask him to shoot the man next to him for no reason and he’d do it

Hes quite literally wrapped around your finger

I say that because he would not leave you alone

Constantly holding you and treating you to gifts and fancy things

He once bought you a diamond necklace in saint denis

Whether you protested or not is up to you

He doesnt let you out of his sight and will not stop rambling to dutch about you

Dutch is too tired and crazy to deal with hosea and sends him your way to obsess over you😊

Sean MacGuire

The belief is hes mid 20’s so im gonna say 25

He definitely is like john and goes for 3 years younger

But i see him as the type to like older women cough cough mary cough

He likes the contrast of him being a stupid asshole and you being a sweet little thing

He trys his best with money but like john has very little so if he buys you something its usually something small

Though he never really feels accomplished after he gets you something small

So he saves for a long time and buys you something a little bigger like a silver necklace or a nice bracelet

His accent gets in the way of things sometimes but he will call you “sweet thing” though it sounds more like “sweet ting”😭

Love him though

Javier Escuella

Another baby of the gang🫶🫶

Hes 26 so he goes for the same range as john

He also doesnt have much money and buys you small things

But he makes it up by calling you endearing nick names

“Mi amor” “dulce nina” “Querida”

You get the point

“Ojalá pudiera comprarte más mi amor pero debes saber que esto es de mi corazón”

I love him sm

He would sugar daddy you if he could

Probably gets upset when he cant buy you things

If your family is rich he refuses your offers of giving him money

It doesnt feel right to have a sweet girl like you give him money when he should be the one providing

It gets him upset to see you want something he knows he cant afford

Has lowkey thought about robbing a very rich man cough cough braithwates cough to buy you things

When on the boat if you go with them he keeps an eye on you

Not liking the scene already, older predatory men being all around you made him extremely uncomfortable

He doesnt want to tell you what to do he always wants it to be your choice but it scares him that he cant really do anything to protect you

Though if it was dire enough he woukd throw the whole plan down the drain to cut open a older guy that got too power hungry and grabbed you

“No te lastimó, ¿verdad, querida?.”

Charles Smith

Hes not as young but doesnt go for under 5 years

Hes got some money to buy small things every now and again

He calls you “baby” and “little girl” alot no matter the age gap

It could only be a few months and he still would💔

He shows you how to hunt and stuff as bonding

He sees killing a deer together and bringing it back to pearson as romantic

But he still takes you on dates

When he can

Hes usually on watch duty as he is literally a unit of a man

This kid is huge

Around 6’6 and 240 pounds

Dwarfs even the biggest of guys, yes even arthur😭

Josiah Trelawny

Trelawny the man you are😍

Hes definitely rich

He has a house with his wife in saint denis

He is quite old so I imagine no more then 10 years difference

He calls you “darling” and “sweet girl” in that trans Atlantic accent

He definitely spoils you rotten

Only the best for his sweet girl

He takes a lot of time to take care of you as well

He doesnt spend time with the gang and only pops up when they need him for things like stealing from rich people

He never lets you pay

Are you kidding

He’d rather die then have you pay for something

Thats a little dramatic but i know he would never feel good about himself ever again if he got to a point where you had to pay

Like what do you mean he doesnt have enough money

No no darling put yours away papa trelawny will have a sweet little chat with the man trying to embarrass him infront of his woman

“YES INHAVE ENOUGH MONEY ARE YOU INSANE, no dear its okay you dont need to pay. BACK TO YOU DONT YOH EVER-“

Obviously there are ones i didnt put in here like micah, pearson, uncle, lenny ect. I dont know enough about them nor do i like most of them (except for lenny i love him sm)

#red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #arthur morgan #arthur morgan x reader #dutch van der linde x reader #hosea matthews x reader #sean macguire #charles smith #javier escuella x reader #josiah trelawny #john marston x reader

[yourlittlettoy]

FIRST “NEST” HIGHLIGHTS ✨

Just for the sake of using this blog like an actual blogging space 💁🏻‍♀️✨ let me tell you about how my first NEST went!!

For those of you that aren’t familiar, NEST is one of the biggest fetish gatherings in North America for us t-word enthusiasts! I’ve known about it since forever ago, and this may it was my first time actually attending. It was: everything I’d hoped it would be (˘▽˘ʃƪ)・ﾟ✧♡ here are some highlights!

This gathering was probably one of the biggest I’ve ever been to in terms of the amount of friends I saw alone! There were pals from our Tumblr community, friends from Japan, everyone from my gathering friend groups, and lots of friends from my local community as well. It was really heaven to just be with all of my favourite people all at once and in one place (˘▽˘ʃƪ)・ﾟ✧♡

The events were REALLY COOL! Definitely a gathering with one of the most comprehensive schedules I’ve ever experienced! I participated in as much as I could, but notably the squid games, auctions, and t-word-theatre (which is a big public t-word show where someone get’s got in front of an audience in a very theatrical way!) was super cool! Having said that…

I GOT KIDNAPPED!! Well, “napped” 😅 don’t worry, no real felonies here hahaha. When I applied to be ‘napped like back in the beginning of the year, I didn’t hear anything back at all about the process of how that was going. Knowing not every applicant ends up getting chosen, I didn’t let myself keep my hopes up. Long story short.. after I excitedly went to the t-word theatre event all pumped to watch someone get got… to my great surprise, that person was gonna be me lmao ‼️😱 I was kinda *taken* from my seat and tied to a chair in front of everyone, then a game show-dating show scenario played out with 3 bachelors behind a curtain answering questions (really funny and witty answers, might I add) that the show host threw their way 😆. Of course, then the host eventually asks the question “our bachelorette loves to laugh, how would you make her laugh?” … and basically I watched as all of them came through the curtain to come get me 😱 one by one…. And then !!! OF COURSE ALL THREE HAD TO COME AT ONCE 😱💀😵!!! And I couldn’t take it right so I was yelling “help meeee” hahaha ya know cause pooOOooOoOor meeeee 🤪😇. And the host was like… “sure I’ll help them” AND JOINED IN ON THE LERS SIDE 💀💀💀! ANYWAYYYY despite how extremely evil that was 😜🥺, it was 10/10 one of the coolest experiences of my life, I got an “I got napped” certificate AND it made me really happy when people approached me later saying they liked my scene (˘▽˘ʃƪ)・ﾟ✧♡ THANK U NEST FOR CHOOSING MEEEE! 🩷

This was the first gathering I been to with a partner and he was beyond lovely and supportive and we didn’t struggle with feeling any kind of restrictions due to each other .. and this means a lot because I intend on going to gatherings for as long as I can and the fact that that won’t interfere with my love life is truly a dream come true for me :)

Oh, and I experienced getting t-worded by one of my most sadistic gal pals in a fully nylon body suit and 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 I think my soul left my body that day lmaoooo RIP ME

Those are the highlights!!! This post really is a summary but happy to share more details if there are any questions 😁 thank you for reading and for following along this lil journey with me <3 I adore and appreciate all of you here with me right now! We’ve come a long way 🥰 maybe see some of you next year!!! 👀😙 that would be amazing!

#cece speaks #photo #me #NEST #NEST highlights #recap #blog post #text post

[amphibiahawks321]

Hello Amphibiahawks, Muq here. It's my birthday today and I uhhhh was wondering if you could do a fic where Signora and Arlecchino team up on Male Reader 😅

Signora walked up to the House of the hearth

.....

Knock Knock

Lynette : Hm?

[Lynette walked up to the door and opens it]

Lynette : Hello?-..... Oh my.... The fair lady? What's with the sudden visit?

Signora : Is the knave home?

Lynette : Yes... Father's is in the office room right now...

Signora : Hm.... Is Y/N home?

Lynette : Yes.. Papa is also in father's office right now..

Signora : Chuckles I see...

Signora : May I come in sweetheart?

Lynette : By all means..

[Lynette bows down her head and let signora in]

Arlecchino's office

[Arlecchino sitting on her desk chair]

M!Reader : Why is signora coming here again?

[Y/N sitting on a couch next to her desk]

Arlecchino : for something important..

M!Reader : .....

M!Reader blushing : it's not about the whole... Threeway We did..... Right?

Arlecchino : Maybe not Maybe yes

M!Reader : Should I be present for this?

Arlecchino : Do you mind?

M!Reader : Weeeeeeellll~

[Y/N walked up behind her chair and placed both of his hand on her shoulders and lowers his head near her ear]

M!Reader : You'll be here.... and you know I can't refuse that right?

Arlecchino : Of course I do love...

[Arlecchino grabs his left cheek pushes it closer to her and kisses his right cheek making Y/N smile and blush]

Doors unlocked

Arlecchino : ....

M!Reader : !!!?!?'

Signora : Aah Knave it's a pleasure meeting you in such busy hour~

[Signora walked up to her desk and sees Y/N sitting on the couch]

Signora : Chuckles why hello there Y/N~

[Y/N starts blushing and starts waving at her]

M!Reader blushing : Hey Signora...

Arlecchino : Why are you here my fair lady?

Signora : Get to the chase hm~? I wanted to talk about the recent.... Experience we've done~

Arlecchino : ....

M!Reader blushing : Ahem so it is about that?

Signora : Precisely~ and I must say that was a wonderful experience~ especially on you right Y/N~?

M!Reader blushing : AHEM i I'm not saying I didn't...

Signora : you can't tell me you didn't enjoyed it too Knave~

Arlecchino : ......

Signora : so I was wondering if you're interested in a little..... 'Arrangement'

M!Reader : ???

Arlecchino : Arrangement?

Signora : I don't wanna get between your 'partnership' with Y/N buuuuuutt if your interested I can provide some more fun for you and Y/N~

M!Reader blushing : .....

[M!Reader thought 💭]

Well that's one way to put it...

Arlecchino : Sighs Your crazy...

Signora : Really~? If you're not interested you could decline my offer you know~

Arlecchino : Hm....

[Arlecchino stares at Y/N]

Arlecchino : do you have any opinion about this 'Arrangement' Y/N?

M!Reader blushing : W-well Umm.. U-uh... I-i'm okay with it... But as long as you're okay with it!

Signora : What do you say~? Y/N has two hands you know~

Arlecchino : .....

[Arlecchino stands up from her chair and walks up to Y/N]

[Arlecchino grabs Y/N hands making him stand up]

M!Reader : ???

[Arlecchino gets behind him and bites his neck]

M!Reader blushing : Uugh~!!'

Signora : Oh my~

[Arlecchino stops biting Y/N and leaving a Hickey on his neck]

M!Reader blushing : what was that for!

[Arlecchino starts staring at signora]

Signora : Chuckles a simple yes could've done it~

[Signora walked up to Y/N and starts holding his chin]

Signora and M!Reader :

[Signora leans into Y/N's neck biting it making Y/N gasp and backing his head only for arlecchino to starts kissing him on the mouth]

M!Reader blushing : MMM!? .....Mmm~

[Arlecchino pulls out of the kiss making a string of saliva between their lips]

[Y/N starts panting while Arlecchino starts biting his earlobe getting a quiet moan out of him]

[Arlecchino puts her hand between Y/N's pants slowly entering and starts jerking him off]

M!Reader : Ugh~!?

[Y/N immediately covers his mouth]

[Signora stops biting Y/N's neck leaving a large Hickey]

Signora : Oh no no dear~

[Signora grabs Y/N's hand out of his mouth]

Signora : You know we don't like it when you do that~

Signora : How about we find a place more... Private~

Arlecchino's bedroom

[Y/N laying his head on Signora's lap shirtless]

Arlecchino : Open your legs for me love~

[Y/N opens his legs]

Signora : Such abGoodboy~

[Arlecchino starts biting Y/N's thighs leaving a bunch of hickies while staring at him with absolute lust in her eyes]

M!Reader : Aah~.... P-please stop teasing... I need it...

Arlecchino : So needy~

Signora : Don't you think he deserves it Arle~?

Arlecchino : You gotta prove it to me Y/N... Beg for it....

M!Reader blushing : !!!?!?'

M!Reader : P-please.... Please-Ugh!?

[Arlecchino bites Y/N's thigh again]

M!Reader : Please!... I need it!

[Arlecchino lets out a seductive chuckle and starts sucking his cock]

M!Reader : Aah~ O-oh gosh~....

Signora : Do you want to feel more baby~?

M!Reader : Yes~ P-please~!

[Signora kneels up and moves forward showing Y/N her black panties making Y/N blushes even redder]

[Signora seductively chuckles and lowers herself down making Y/N muffle]

Signora : Lick...

[Y/N immediately starts licking the fabric making signora starts moaning]

Signora : Aah~! Oh y-yes~.... Right there~

[Signora starts grinding on Y/N's mouth making Y/N muffles more]

Signora : f-fuck... f-feels so good~... your doing so g-good baby boy~.... Oh f-fuck..

[Arlecchino keeps bobbing on Y/N's cock fingering herself while staring at signora riding Y/N's mouth]

[Arlecchino stops sucking and starts jerking off Y/N's cock, Y/N starts moaning onto the fabric making signora moan even louder]

Signora : Mmh~! Aha~.... Mmh~!... Chuckles gosh your t-tongue is so g-good baby~

Arlecchino : don't you think Y/N deserves a reward my fair lady~?

[Signora stops riding Y/N's mouth and starts chuckling]

Signora : Oh he definitely does~

[Arlecchino pulls her panties down and gets on top of Y/N's cock and starts rubbing her clit on the tip]

M!Reader : MMH~!?

[Signora lifts herself up and starts panting]

M!Reader : Pant Aah~ Pant f-fuck~...

[Arlecchino let out a chuckle and starts rubbing her clit on Y/N's tip faster]

M!Reader : Aaah~! Aaaahn~!

M!Reader : I-i'm G-Gonna!—C-Cumming-

[Arlecchino stops]

M!Reader : H-huh!?

Signora : Oh My Arle, don't you think that's a little mean to our sweetheart~?

Arlecchino : Pant can you... Pant hold it in a bit longer dear?

[Y/N starts panting but nods]

Arlecchino : Pant Aahh... Chuckles goodboy~

[Arlecchino lowered herself down]

Arlecchino : Aaah~.... Uugh~....

M!Reader : AAah~! O-oh gosh~

[Arlecchino starts riding Y/N's cock letting out moans and moans]

Arlecchino : Ugh~.... AAah~.... Augh~!

[Signora starts taking off her black panties]

[Y/N stares up and see Signora completely without her panties on]

[Signora lets out a seductive chuckle and lowered herself down]

M!Reader : MMM!?

Signora : O-oh~ yes! J-just—Aaaagh~ like t-that!

[Arlecchino grabs both of Y/N's legs and lifts them up making them on her shoulders]

30 Minutes later

Signora : Ngh~! aah~! C-Can't~ hold it m-much longerCu—Cumming!

Arlecchino : S-so C-C—Close~!

[Signora squirts all over Y/N's face]

[Y/N drank ever single drop of her cum not wasting any of it]

[Signora starts panting heavily]

Signora : Pant G-gosh... Pant t-that felt so g-good.... Such a good—?

[Y/N taps on signora's thighs making her lifts herself up]

M!Reader : I-i C-Can't hold it in m-much longer A-Arle! I'm—Cumming!

[Arlecchino pulls out making Y/N and Arlecchino orgasmed at the same time making Y/N cums all over his stomach and Arlecchino Cums all over the sheets]

Arlecchino : Pant...Pant...T-that Was-

M!Reader : Pant Amazing...

M!Reader: Pant....Pant....That...Pant....Was amazing~...

[Signora sits down and lay Y/N's head on her lap]

[Arlecchino moves forward and gently caresses his cheek]

Arlecchino : you did really amazing love...

Signora : You seriously have a magic tongue dear~

M!Reader blushing : H-Hehe! T-thanks...

Signora : So Arle~ Was that enough 'Proof' that I'm worthy of being in a 'Partnership' with you two~?

[M!Reader let out a tiny laugh]

Arlecchino : Sighs yes it was...

M!Reader : Chuckles that was fun-

Signora : Was? Oh dear we're not done with you~

M!Reader blushing : !!!?!?

[Arlecchino stares at Y/N with a seductive smile]

Arlecchino : Are you up for another round sweetheart~?

[She said leaning down kissing the hickies she left on Y/N's thighs]

M!Reader : 💧0///v///0 yes

@muqriezammer I know I'm kinda late but HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!! 🥳🎉🎉

#male reader #reader x genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #la signora x reader #reader x la signora #reader x signora #signora x reader #arlecchino x reader #reader x arlecchino #genshin impact arlecchino #genshin impact la signora

[kawataslvr]

could you do Reader x Mikey where reader works at a cafe part time & one of their regulars is Emma(occasionally dragging along Draken) but this time she brings Mikey along too & and when its his turn to order, he gets all nervous when reader asks for his name & order which catches Emma’s attention to which she quickly pipes up “Oh y/n this is my sorta famous brother! with the bike gang i was telling you about! you can call him Mikey!!” winking towards the end, seeing how flustered they both were becoming, Emma knew that reader wanted to meet Mikey after hearing about all the stories Emma had told him and meeting Draken, his best friend, wondering what Mikey was like. after eventually getting Mikey’s order, the trio left and Emma’s teasing began as they walked home, noting to bring Mikey to the cafe more often, or maybe he decides to go on his own even more often, having coffee dates with reader during their breaks or when its not so busy, after awhile Mikey finally confesses and ask reader if they would like to go on a bike ride sometime and then they end up on a hill or something watching the sunset together, then when Mikey brings reader to his apartment(lets pretend reader pays for their own place) but when saying bye, reader panicked and kissed Mikey which led them to the bedroom and doing the things they had been dreaming of since the first coffee date

or yknow, something like that lmao, i get so carried away with these requests im so sorry 😅 dont have to add the smut if u dont wanna, doesnt have to be written or written immediately either!! thanks!!

Cafe Shop .ᐟ

Note : I actually enjoyed writing this very much ,, Changed smt up a tad. Lit my longest fic yet fr

P.S: I know the request said it doesn’t have to be written immediately but this took overly long, i had huge writers block. 😭

You worked at a cafe shop right around the corner of the Sano household, so it was only natural Emma became a regular at the said Cafe shop, well.. her and sometimes Draken, who to your knowledge was always dragged in to the cafe against his will.

You two became close friends quick. Seeing how talkative the girl is, it wasn’t really a shocker. She was more of a talker than you for sure, you mainly always listened to what you she had to say and gave your advice from time to time.

Yet somehow, her older brother Mikey only came up until today. Emma sat down at the booth infront of the counter. “Hey (name)!” she smiled , while you got out the ingredients for her usual order.

“Hey Emma, i’m assuming it’s the regular?” she nodded her head and gave you a warm smile, as usual begging to tell you about her day again.

the conversation went back and forth while you made her usual Caramel Machiato and whatever bread she picked that day, until you noticed she brought up her brother “you have a brother?” you tilted your head slightly in confusion.

You set down her coffee infront of her and let her pick up whatever bread she wanted, Emma’s head peering up at you “I never told you about him?!” she let out a dramatic gasp. But really, she thought she did..

Well it’s not like you didn’t know ANYTHING about him, a little..?? Anytime you ever heard about him was because of a “meeting” of some sorts but that was only when Draken swung by with or without Emma. “No, I thought you were an only child Emma.” your voice sounded offended and dramatic while you looked at her with a fake pout and closed eyes.

“I’m sorry (name).. please.. forgive me” you both laughed after the whole fake scene you made, you looked up at the time “my breaks almost over, hurry up and tell me now.” you really only made Emma drinks DURING your break, you know you would get to distracted talking to her if you actually did serve her without being on break.

Sadly, your alarm went off right before she got to tell you “i’ll talk to you later and tell you about him!” she got up and you put your apron back on helping your friend who also just got off break.

After your shift ended, you texted Emma and you two met up mainly just walking around while she told you about her older brother, eventually the conversation had drifted off into whatever.

But you had to admit you were certainly curious about the boy, even when he wasn’t the main focus during you twos current conversation.

You looked around and then opened your phone, 7:40.. you were supposed to be home earlier to wake up early for work.

But you just got so caught up, now you have to walk back all the way home. “Emma, I should probably get going.. it’s already past 7:00.” you sighed.

Looking at the VERY long walk you had to take back home, and how sleepy you were.. you really considered just passing out thinking about it.

“Emma!!” A man’s voice called out, making both your heads turn. The sound of a motorcycle following behind it before it paused.

“oh! Hey Mikey!” Emma turned over to the blond boy who was still sitting atop of his bike. “what are you doin’ out this late?”

Mikey took a quick glance at you, well.. multiple.. “I was just talking to my friend! (name) this is Mikey, my.. sort-of-famous-brother! the one in the biker gang!” you nodded your head and stretched out your hand for him to shake. “Nice to meet you.” you gave the blond a nice warm smile.

it took him a few seconds to actually shake your hand, not because he was being weary of you.. but because he was so stunned by you. So.. awe-struck by you.

When he finally made contact with your hand, he froze up completely.. not that you were any better, seeing how awkward and shy you turned.

Emma smirked at the encounter, getting all giddy seeing how you two definitely took an immediate “liking” to each other. “Mikey, (name) here has to walk all the way back home, can you give him a ride?” Emma winked at you, while you died in the inside wishing a hole would come and eat you up.

“Oh, please it’s not a big deal. I can walk back.” you two finally let that way to long hand shake go, you wouldn’t have minded if it was anyone else.. but you had to admit you were already developing a crush on this guy.

“Don’t worry I can.” he gave you a little smile, Emma’s plan slowly working, surely.. but slowly. I mean, you two were already reeking of being in love whenever you met she couldn’t just miss this opportunity up!

You sighed and gave a defeated nod, you would probably end up passing out before you actually got to your apartment if he didn’t drive you back home.

After a few moments you finally agreed, Emma only had to walk two minutes to get home, she was fine off.. but she knew you had to walk a couple hours.

You and Mikey started talking just fine, sure a FEW flirty remarks here and there.. well maybe a bit more than just a few. But you two were actually getting along great.

The only thing that worried you was.. were you really supposed to be this close up to Mikey, I mean.. touching his back and holding onto his torso directly?? sure you were afraid of falling off but you felt like you were suffocating the dude.

Mikey knew he made you purposely sit closer than usual to him, only making you more nervous.

“Alright, where do i turn from here. Y’know i don’t just know where to go magically right?”

“oh! take two turns to the left and go straight from there until you see a (makeup a random checkpoint in a tad lazy)” Mikey nodded and continued going, you had to admit this was much better than walking.. 3 hours turned into 40 minutes. Only because Mikey was driving slower than his usual fast pace. He actually wanted to get to know you.

“Soo where do you work?” the silence was broken and you looked over at the blond “Oh, it’s that Cafe shop right around the corner of your house.” Mikey’s head perked up, that meant he had an excuse to visit you now.

“Ohhh at (cafe name)?” you nodded your head, finally seeing your apartment in sight you two got there pretty quickly.

“thank you Mikey.” you got off the bike and waved each other goodbye.

You sighed and slumped down onto your couch putting your palms back up to your face. “geez.. I need to calm down, it’s just some random guy I just met.” you sighed and smiled.

The thought of him was just so sweet though. Not that you could ever actually go out with the dude, he was out of your league and you two just met. It wasn’t like you would just get together with him.

You ended up falling asleep on the couch thinking about the guy, it had been a while since you even stayed up thinking about a guy.

The next day at work it’s like the universe meant to curse you, because Emma decided to come in with Mikey and Draken to the shop.

Knowing emma she was doing it on purpose, not to spite you or anything but because she saw how much of a crush you developed for the guy.

Emma was an expert when it came to love, or well.. so she said herself anyways. You greeted the trio and took their order. It wasn’t your break time, so they couldn’t really stay it was just for a short drink.

But the second Mikey stepped through that door you were a mess again, you took Emma and Draken’s order pretty swiftly, quickly. not waisting a second, but you froze up whenever speaking to Mikey.

Wasn’t like he was any better, he froze up just as much if not more. “What would you like?” you finally were able to muster up, even if it sounded slightly chopped up.

It took Mikey a second to fully process everything, especially with your sweet honey toned voice talking to him . “oh just a (order)” you nodded your head and went to make the trio’s orders.

Taking a deep breath and calming yourself down while you went to the back to go grab something real quick for the coffee’s , your coworker pointing out how nervous you looked and the slight blush on you. Only making you panic worse.

You calmed down, went back to making coffee’s and handed the three their order. “Thanksss (Name)!” Emma said while she took a sip of her drink, Draken and Mikey waving goodbye and the trio finally left.

Emma had gone back home.. she had already walked around enough yesterday with you and half of today, so they dropped her off at the sano house.

“Oí, Mikey, Can I ask you something?”

the short blond gulped down the rest of his taiyaki treat down his throat and looking over at the taller.

“eh? what’s up?”

“you’re into that (name) guy aren’t you.” Draken said in an almost teasing-tone laughing at the way Mikey’s face turned bright red.

“Ken-Chin what the hell!? Stop laughing!!” The blond caused a tantrum over this ordeal. Saying he didn’t, then saying he did?? then saying he might, then saying he just thought you were real cute.. then back to him liking you.

“it’s obvious you like this guy whether you like it or not.”

“Really, i haven’t seen you freeze up like that at anything over than a brain freeze from ice cream. You’re hopeless!”

“what should i do then.” Mikey slapped his hands on his hands and gave a long sigh. Draken was a little slumped on that one, he was more swinging to girls than guys.

“I dunno.”

“you sound like me , you aren’t helping.”

divider

the conversation had led to no where, they just ended up side tracking.

Mikey drove around time, but you were still on his mind. And it was already turning late, to only worsen things he saw you outside the cafe shop where you worked at stopping his bike.

“Oh, Hey Mikey.” he froze again , he was worse than Hakkai around a girl.. really. “Hey (name).”

“what brought you around here, if you’re gonna visit me then i’m already off y’know.” You softly teased at him, giggling a bit.

He forgot how pretty you were, god..

“I was just driving by, talking about that.. do you need a ride?” he was sure he sounded like a starving homeless chihuahua being held at gun point right now.

��Oh if it isn’t too much a bother.”

he just waved for you to get on and scooted over to make room for you to sit on. Helping you mount on. “thank you.” he never heard such a honey toned voice.

or met a guy so pretty. “you remember the way? or do i need to guide you again?” your teasing was making his feelings about you grow crazier.

If you were being honest, you were worse than he was on the inside. Just really good at pretend.

NSFW WARNING !!!

“Thank you Mikey.”

“No problem.”

it just felt way too empty, wayy to empty. something was missing really, you couldn’t shake it off.. and Mikey clearly couldn’t too.

Both of you stood quietly, the silence was so loud. You two had the same idea .. apparently, both of you kissed each other.

For quite some time.

“Mikey.. you wanna come in?” your voice was so quiet, and out of breath. He only nodded as you shakily pulled out your keys and opened your door, Mikey holding onto your waist and breathing down your neck .

Leaving soft kisses along your neck, you could feel his breath on you. He couldn’t wait for you really, maybe it was just you two be pent up with your feelings, but you two needed this. Clearly.

He pushed you down onto your bed and started taking off your clothes sucking on your neck and leaving hickeys. “Mikeyyy..” you whimpered , taking off his shirt, he took off the rest of his clothes swiftly after you took off his shirt.

He opened your night stand, as expected finding a bottle of lube. It was barely used, and definitely not used.. you really hadn’t used it since you were so busy with working and paying your bills.

“oh you’re really neglected huh?” he teasingly whispered into your ear. pouring the lube on his hands and kissing you while he shoved his fingers in your tight hole. Your moans were being swallowed by his kiss, his tongue didn’t even struggle for dominance.

Mikey’s fingers slid across your velvety squishy soft walls, only imagining how good they would feel around his cock.. he couldn’t wait anymore. He pulled out and you let out a annoyed whine, Mikey didn’t expect you to be so bratty. “calm down..” he shoved the tip of his cock in, making you moan, a needy loud and long moan.

“Mikeyyy.. pleasee…” how could he ever deny your pleas, really. He shoved his cock into your hole, his pace wasn’t as soft as his fingers.. it was fast and rough. He smiled watching your face turn into overwhelming pleasure.

Mikey gripped onto your hips tight as ever, his voice becoming deep, similar if not the voice he used whenever he was at a meeting. His commander voice, the combination of his cock sliding into you at a brutal pace and his assertive voice as he whispered into your ear.

The pre-cum leaking out of your untouched cock , you swore you might’ve cummed untouched. You were supposed to stay quiet, it was a unspoken rule you two had clearly set, but you could care less as you practically screamed Mikey’s name. Wasn’t like he was complaining, but your neighbors might..

turning incoherent as his thrusts becoming deeper and harsher, he started to kiss and suck on your neck again.

You were gonna have to hide those in the morning…, not that you were focused on that anymore. Mikey started to stroke your cock up and down, soft long strokes. Torture, but the fast force he was using in your ass was definitely making up for it.

You felt a white sticky liquid inside you, shortly after you felt yourself orgasm as well. “f..fuck sorry.. you feel so good..” he pulled out and grabbed some random rag around your room and cleaned you up.

“Boyfriends?”

you nodded your head as he cleaned you up.

#mikey x male #mikey x y/n #mikey x male reader #mikey tr #mikey fluff #mikey angst #mikey fanart #mikey smut #mikey #mikey x reader #manjiro x male reader #manjiro angst #manjiro sano angst #manjiro x reader #sano manjiro #tokrev manjiro #sano mikey manjiro #tokyo revengers sano manjiro #sano manjiro x reader #manjiro sano #manjiro x you #manjiro x y/n #manjiro smut #yandere manjiro #manjirou x reader #male reader #tokyo revengers #x male reader #tokyo revengers x male reader #x bottom male reader

[0cta9on]

Hey Writer-nim✌️, How's it going?.

Me? Nothing much happening this week just casually waiting for your next story, the latest one are great, not my favor the threesome act but if you can treat them equally then it is ok😅

Hey do you want to write a fluff short story of sakura after the recent Coachella,

"Despite all of the criticism she still managed to respond from her side of view. Many would say she's able to handle it all like a tough nut but in reality she needs someone to comfort her. Would you be there for her as someone she most hopes aiding her?"

Hello mikeylo! Sorry for taking so long with this one, life got in the way :,) I hope you like it and hope ur doing good :)

You knock on the door of Sakura’s hotel room with two matcha lattes and a bag of donut holes in your hands. An hour ago, she texted you to come over, so you decided to stop by a cafe for some treats, thinking she’s probably exhausted from performing for the past two days at Coachella. You still get chills just thinking about her on the stage, performing her heart out for thousands of people.

The door swings open, revealing Sakura in an oversized black hoodie, her eyes puffy and red as if she had just been crying. 

“Hey, I got you a couple tr- Oh.” Without a word, she wraps her arms around your torso, planting her face on your chest. “Is something wrong, Sakura?” The only answer she gives you is a long, depressed sigh. 

Carefully, you push her into the room, shutting the door behind you, and sitting her on the bed. Her eyes stay glued to the ground, deep in thought. A million questions flow through your mind as you try to figure out what could have happened between Le Sserafim’s performance and now. Did she get into a fight with one of her members? Did a family member die? Did you do something wrong?

“Sakura, you have to tell me what’s wrong here. I’m really worried about you,” you say, lacing your fingers with her. It takes a couple moments of silence and waiting, but eventually, she faces you, tears threatening to pour from her eyes.

“I-I… I read the comments… about our performance yesterday… a-and…” Her voice falters, cracking like shattered porcelain.  You pull her into a tight embrace as she lightly sobs into your shoulder. Some of the comments you saw online about Le Sserafim’s set were less than favorable, but you know that they’re nothing but a vocal minority. You witnessed firsthand just how amazing they were on stage, even your friends that knew nothing about the group enjoyed it.

“Hey, it’s okay,” you whisper soothingly. “I promise you a lot of people loved your performance. You did the best you could and that’s all that matters. Don’t beat yourself up just because some people want to be jerks online.”

Sakura pulls away from you, still sniffling. You wipe away her tears, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s do something fun to cheer you up, okay? You’ve been working for the past two days, I bet you’re exhausted,” you suggest.

“Can we just stay inside for today?” She looks up at you, pleading like a sad puppy. How could you ever say no to that face?

______________________________________________________________

“Yah! Stop spamming that move!”

“Stop getting hit by it, dummy!”

Your character gets launched off the stage, leading to another victory for Sakura Miyawaki. She jumps around the room excitedly, rubbing her win in your face for the umpteenth time.

When Sakura first suggested you play Smash Bros together, you figured you would go easy on her, not wanting to upset her more. However, the more she won, the cockier she became. Eventually, you decided to give it your all, but to your horror, not even your best was enough to defeat her gaming prowess.

“One more round!” She exclaims, the flame of competition burning in her eyes.

You toss your controller away and throw the covers of yourself. “I don’t wanna play with you anymore!” You say jokingly.

“Yah!” Sakura jumps on you and attempts to wrestle the covers away from you. The sound of laughter fills the room, a complete 180 from the depressing atmosphere you walked into a couple hours ago. You would gladly lose to her a million times if it meant getting to see her happy like this everyday.

The tussle ends when both of you collapse on the bed, gasping for breath. You look over at each other, which devolves into another chain of faint laughter. The sunlight peeking through the windows is replaced by the night sky, dotted with beams of light from the California nightlife.

“Oh no, it’s dark out. Guess I have to stay the night,” you tease, pulling Sakura towards you. She rests her head on your chest, filling your nostrils with the clean scent of her shampoo.

“I would like that a lot.” She peers into your eyes with a wide grin. Something about her draws you closer. Maybe it’s the way her eyes gaze so lovingly at you or the way her soft lips curl into a smile that never fails to brighten your day. Maybe it’s the way she works hard at everything she does, even if she’s not immediately good at it, or the way she never fails to bounce back from a struggle. Whatever it is, you find yourself leaning into her, closing your eyes as you anticipate the feeling of her lips.

The initial contact is soft and doughy, notes of sweetness coating your tastebuds. You fall deeper into bliss, opening your mouth to deepen the kiss only for your tongue to be blocked by something that didn’t feel like lips. You open your eyes to Sakura laughing at you while pressing a donut hole against your mouth. A wave of emotions wash over you, most notably embarrassment and shock.

“I-I… Y-you…” You sputter. “I’m leaving.” Jokingly, you jump out of bed and stomp your way towards the door.

“Noooo, wait!” She grabs your wrist and tries to pull you back, but unlike her gaming skills, her physical strength is much weaker than yours, allowing you to pull her into your arms. The two of you giggle as you engage in an impromptu slow dance in the middle of her hotel room, swaying side to side to the beat of an imaginary song that only you can hear. The warmth of her embrace leaves you feeling content and enlightened.

“Thank you for staying with me,” she mutters into your chest.

“Thank you for existing.”

Sakura looks up at you, standing on her tippy toes as she pulls you in for a kiss - a real kiss this time. She sighs happily into your mouth, her steady breath sending shivers on the skin of your cheek. You instinctively grab her waist to keep her balanced, holding her close with no intention of letting her go. The ambience of busy cars and chattering people fade into nothing but an afterthought, leaving you to bask in the intimacy of this perfect night.

#le sserafim #miyawaki sakura #le sserafim sakura #kpop fanfic #kpop gg #sakura x male oc #le sserafim sakura x male oc #sakura x male reader #le sserafim sakura x male reader #fluff #sakura fluff #le sserafim sakura fluff

[historical-fashion-polls]

another follower celebration?

hello my loves! 💕

I come to you with both good and bad news today

bad news first: we have just over 10 flower children polls left, at which time they shall all return to the gardens and fields from whence they came to continue bringing joy and whimsy to all those they meet

good news: in the meantime, we have hit 2k (!!!! 🤯🤯) and I would love to do another celebration for you all to say thank you!!

my plan is as follows: I've had a number of requests to do earlier fashion periods, and for a lot of reasons, I have limited myself to primarily commercial fashion plates/fashion illustrations (more on that here) and thus the images that I personally source for the blog don't go much further back than the mid-1700s (more on that here). HOWEVER, for our 2k celebration, I will be temporarily lifting some of those restrictions and expanding the time period of the blog!! 🥰🥰

two caveats:

sourcing these types of images takes more time and effort, so I will not be able to keep this up indefinitely (esp since I'm starting my phd program in the fall), but as I get things sorted for the celebration I'll let y'all know how long I'll be personally sourcing images from a more expansive time period and a broader range of sources

you are always welcome to submit images from earlier periods!! I just have to be realistic about what I can personally do in terms of research and sourcing for the blog, but if you have older images you want to see featured, you can send them in at any time!! (all info on submitting images can be found in my pinned post! ☺️)

but now onto what I'm best at: a poll!! I'd like to know what you all would most like to see and what areas I should focus on, so if you have thoughts, please vote in the poll below and let me know! also, some of these responses are vast ranges of time, so if you have a specific year/decade/century within one of the options, please do let me know via tags, comments, asks, etc. 🥰 also I cannot promise that I will be able to find usable images for all of these periods – I mostly want to gauge interest before I go looking for potential images to use ☺️

and yes I did use art historical classifications, please don't judge me it's what makes most sense to my brain 😅🫣

if there is a lot of interest in a specific time period, I'll likely run some more specific polls to narrow in on some key moments of interest, but please do let me know any specific things you might like to see! ☺️

#the curator speaks #curatorial updates #very historical historical fashion polls

[pennylanefics]

Picnic - Jeremy Swayman

a/n: i'm not super happy with this one 😅 i struggled with it a little because i want to focus more on writing for the canes, but i still want to write all these ideas i have LMAO a real struggle

summary: jeremy takes you on a date with some free time on his day off in another city

word count: ~1k

With a couple days off in San Jose until their next game, the guys were able to spend their first day in the city as they pleased, since tomorrow was dedicated to practice and meetings for their upcoming game. So, Jeremy decided to take matters into his own hands and plan a romantic date for the two of you.

“So, what do you want to do today?” You ask Jeremy from the bathroom of the hotel room. He was getting dressed in a casual t-shirt and shorts, collecting all the stuff he would need for now.

“I have an idea, but I’m not telling you just yet,” he calls back, making you roll your eyes. You step out of the bathroom and look at him with your arms crossed over your chest.

“Jer, come on,” you sigh. He just giggles and walks over to you, circling his arms around your waist and swaying you side to side.

“It’s a nice little date for us. I know I’ve been super busy with our schedule, so now I finally have time to make it up to you.” He places a single kiss to your cheek before pulling away and grabbing the bag he packed. The only things in it were a single blanket and a speaker for music. 

“Now come on. We have to make a couple stops along the way.” Jeremy grabs your hand and heads out the door, not before making sure you had both room keys with you.

He helps you into the passenger seat before getting into the driver’s seat, immediately reaching for your hand to hold. He drives through the city and stops at a sandwich place that he goes to every time they play in San Jose. 

“They have the best sandwiches ever,” he tells you. “I get a different one every time I come here, and none have been terrible.”

After looking at the menu for a short time, you quickly order and not long after, they finish up your food and hand it to you in a bad with a couple bags of kettle cooked chips, one barbeque and one regular, along with your drinks.

“Alright, onto the next stop!” Jeremy exclaims, eliciting a giggle from you, holding the bag of food in your lap.

“Where to now?”

“A bakery for dessert. Another one of my favorites in town.”

He continues driving down the road and parks in front of a cute little bakery named Pastries and More. Simple name, but the smell from the shop hits you as you step out of the car, and your mouth is watering almost instantly.

They have all of their pastries and desserts displayed, a variety to choose from that made the decision so much harder. Some were covered in chocolate, some had types of jam in the middle, there were a multitude of cakes and cheesecakes, already sliced and ready to pack up.

You end up getting a chocolate croissant that was drizzled with chocolate on top, Jeremy decided on a cream puff with a strawberry dipping sauce, and an extra slice of original cheesecake with strawberries on top to share, because it looked too good to pass up.

“Ready to head to our final destination,” he states, as he turns his car on.

“I hope that’s not literal, like the movies, like you’re planning on killing me,” you joke, knowing full well he didn’t mean it like that. He laughs and makes a turn, heading towards a park that appeared to be pretty quiet today.

“Definitely not, I promise you,” he replies, reaching over to grab your hand and softly stroking your knuckles with his thumb.

He quickly finds a parking spot and you grab the food while Jeremy takes the drinks and bag he packed for the two of you. You easily find a nice place to sit, not too far from the gorgeous concrete fountain that was misting your way in the wind; it wasn’t too hot out, but the mist felt nice.

Jeremy lays the plaid blanket on the slightly damp grass, as a result of the morning dew that had yet to evaporate from the morning. You take a seat while he sets your food and drinks out in front of you, dropping to your side shortly after.

“I’m glad it’s quiet today,” he murmurs, looking around at the serene atmosphere surrounding the two of you.

The wind blows ever so lightly, a ton of clouds in the sky, moving in front of the sun every few seconds, meaning it wasn’t too hot or too cold; it was the perfect day for a laid back picnic, and you couldn’t be happier that Jeremy planned all this for you.

Once your sandwiches and pastries were finished, Jeremy got up to throw the trash away, returning with a sweet smile on his face as he looks up at you. Giggling, you kiss him, figuring that’s what he wanted. 

“Thank you for all of this,” you whisper, reaching your hand up to thread through his hair.

“Hm, for what?”

“For taking me on this date. I know with your crazy schedule it’s hard to plan things like this, but today has already been so wonderful. I miss getting to spend this kind of time with you when you have back to back games or back to back road trips with no downtime.”

“I know, darling, it’s why I took advantage of that today. You deserve the best and I know I can’t always give it to you, but I do try.” You could see a hunt of insecurity flash in his eyes, which was not usual for Jeremy, so you cup his cheek and stroke his flushed cheekbone.

“You give me so much, Jer. I never feel like you aren’t trying your best, you truly are incredible and I couldn’t be more lucky.” His blush deepens a little and he shyly looks away. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he whispers, kissing you this time. He lays down in your lap, his head on your thighs, your hands tangled in his short hair. The sun comes back out, bathing the two of you in soft golden light before disappearing behind the clouds once more.

#jeremy swayman #jeremy swayman imagines #jeremy swayman x reader #jeremy swayman imagine #jeremy swayman fanfic #boston bruins #boston bruins fanfic #hockey fanfic #nhl fanfic #nhl imagines #imagines #fanfiction #fanfic

[kcfaex]

Welcome back to kc’s redacted hcs! Lasko’s listener edition!

(my listeners design is gender neutral btw!)

I LOVEE @claracatlady design for Lasko’s listener! I love the outfits/aesthetics so much

I feel like they would kinda be a hippie

not the kind of privileged white hippie that appropriates stuff from closed practices and cultures.

But as in a lover of nature and an activist for social issues, especially being a teacher at DAMN who wants to make positive change

in terms of style and personality, very kind and laid back

would get along so well with Huxley

I love fashion so I’m always thinking about clothes for the characters + their listeners

they have a hippie/70s inspired style :)

not in like a lazy pjs way, as they do work in a professional setting. more like a cool art teacher kinda vibe.

Their clothes are very beautiful. Long skirts/pants with delicate beadwork and rows of tiny mirrors sewn onto the hem. colorful scarves with metallic threading. Wears a lot of unique vintage and shops from small businesses

def a maximalist when it comes to jewelry! lots of layering different necklaces and cool vintage pieces. Always wearing bangles/bracelets and rings that Lasko loves to fidget with

has an air diffuser + scented candles in their classroom so it always smells nice

i feel like they’re a really understanding teacher and try their best to help their students understand concepts

i also think they meditate and journal

this is super long I rlly feel like Lasko now😅 tyy for reading!

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redacted fandom #redacted lasko #redacted dear #redacted damn crew

[earlgrey24]

I'd love to hear about your thesis topic (if you're not already sick to death of talking about it 😂)!

Aa, thank you for reaching out, it's so nice of you to ask!!

I'm definitely not sick of talking about it yet! I suspect that it may be the other way around and people around me are starting to get sick of hearing about it 😅

The topic is broadly a mental health disorder which supposedly plagued early 18th century Britain interpreted through a philosophical lens.

More specifically, there was this physician and philosopher called Bernard de Mandeville, who was one of those people who had thoughts on absolutely every topic imaginable, spanning from economical and social theory to medicine (he was also a huge classics nerd but with people in the 1700s, that probably goes without saying).

Supposedly to gain more patients for his practice, he wrote this wonderfully weird medical treatise on how to deal with hypochondria (the name can be misleading, but back then it referred to an unspecified mental health issue close to our current understanding of depression). It is written in a form of a dialogue between a doctor and a patient, and it discusses various symptoms of the disease as well as practical advice on how to treat it (including some great wine recommendations and seemingly endless quotes from Horace and Ovid for some reason).

One thing that particularly fascinates me about the text is that it shows a kind of proto-therapeutic approach to the treatment of mental health issues and it places a lot of emphasis on the developing relationship between the doctor and the patient. The wife of the hypochondriac who suffers from the same illness as her husband is also present, so at times, I'm attempting to go for a slightly feminist angle (Mandeville was not exactly a feminist but some of his ideas about gender were genuinely progressive for a guy writing in the early 1700s).

I'm writing it under the philosophy department, so I sadly had to minimise the historical context in my actual writing. I did research it however! A lot has been said about how hypochondria characterised British people specifically and how an increasingly easy and comfortable life of the upper-middle class may have paradoxically contributed to it. It's also been linked to philosophers/men of letters since it seemed to have affected this group of people in particular (perhaps most famously David Hume who is my supervisor's number one guy).

The result I ended up with is a bit chaotic, but I genuinely had a ton of fun researching the topic! I got a chance to engage in one of my most favourite things in the world, which I guess could be called amateur psychoanalysis of people from the 18th century.

I've also argued by the end that it is useful to study early modern texts (and by extension all historical texts) since it helps us to see which aspects of the human experience remain unchanged over time. (Spoiler: although wine is no longer recommended as a cure, we don't differ that much from people living three centuries ago in all of the important ways. Most notably, we all need positive interactions with others for our mental well-being and to some extent, we all crave others' approval).

Actually getting it printed soon — then it's just anxiously awaiting feedback and then onto the defense.

Hope my answer is not too long or incoherent and thanks again for asking!

#thesis #thesis era #asks #✨ #I can't write concisely I swear #writing an abstract was painful #philosophy #1700s