Star crossed lovers (Jude Bellingham fic)
Chapter 6
(Series Link)
Jude * female reader. Mature Language in parts.
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‘Jude Bellingham, Jude fucking Bellingham was in our house?’
Ananya was plopped onto Roma’s bed, enjoying her friend’s frantic outburst. While holding on to the black RM leather jacket he had left behind.
‘For the zillionth time, yes.’
Roma paced around the room, delirious with excitement & borderline rage.
‘And I was right here? 25 feet away? And you couldn’t call me?’
‘He was only here for like 10 mins, and….we were otherwise occupied.’
And I wasn’t really in my senses. Well, this bit she didn’t say out loud.
‘Oh my fuckin lord. Think my brain’s gonna explode. You kissed him. You kissed Jude Bellingham. Should I be happy for you or throttle you in jealousy? Fuck man!’
She continued her frantic pacing which amused Ananya further. Yes Roma had a crush on Jude (everyone did) but she had been with her college boyfriend for over 3 years. The crush was quite harmless. Borderline horny at times but generally harmless.
‘He kissed me.’
She clarified plainly, lips curving into a smile as her friend burst into another rant.
‘Yeah yeah. Lover boy couldn’t resist snogging you. I got it. But he could have said hi after.’
Ananya pulled Roma on to the bed, next to her, and hugged her tightly.
‘Next time, promise.’
That cheered her up. Her attention then went to the jacket in Ananya’s hands. When Ananya confirmed it was indeed his, she grabbed the jacket, sniffed it and hummed appreciatively.
Ananya smacked her arm in mock admonishment.
‘What? You get the whole package and I can’t even get a whiff? How’s that fair?’
Ananya just pulled the jacket back in response, wrapping it around herself.
‘Behave. Or I am telling Chris.’
Roma dismissed the false threat regarding her boyfriend.
‘Yeah yeah. Tell me, would lover boy be open to a threesome? My birthday is in a month and you’d make the Guinness book for being the best friend ever if you serve me that sweet piece of ass.’
Ananya gasped and hit her with a pillow, both bursting into a fit of giggles.
That ugly voice inside her did wonder if he had done something like that before. Also, how easy it would have been if he had met someone as easygoing as Roma. Instead of her.
But, two nights in a row, he had asked for a chance. And she wanted to give him one. So she nipped the thoughts in the bud and let Roma distract her with all the plans she was making with the three of them together.
Monday morning brought her much needed normalcy and routine. The office was still buzzing with the Classico excitement.
It hit her how nuts her weekend had been. When she left work on Friday evening, she had never met him. He had stormed into her life 2.5 days ago and turned everything upside down, inside out, consuming every waking moment of hers.
She opened her laptop, somehow zoned out of everything else, only checking her phone at lunch. Smiling at the notification.
Jude: Lads are saying am buzzing today. Wonder why.
She smiled at his insinuation. Then pictured him being a nuisance in training.
Ananya: No clue. Classico hangover? Hit your head in a tackle?
He came online when she sent the message, probably having lunch too.
Jude: Need me to come over and give you a reminder? Your office desk instead of your dining table?
He cut to the chase straightaway. Her whole body jerked as she pictured what he was implying. He wasn’t one to concede, on or off the pitch. She was starting to see that.
He also was a shameless flirt. And she couldn’t afford to let him get her all riled up in the middle of work.
Ananya: Fine, you win 🤷♀️
Jude: Good girl :)
They both said goodbyes soon after, returning to their busy schedules.
In the evening, she sent him a quick message to wish safe travels. He responded with a relaxed selfie of him onboard the flight, making his patented ‘say cheese’ face. A sweet, goofy, handsome face.
Next evening was Madrid’s away match. It was also Ananya’s most stressful day at work since she joined 5 months ago. She ended up missing the match but caught the highlights when she finally got a breather after sending her report. They looked rough - tackles, yellow cards, clashes all over the pitch. Madrid had drawn and missed out on 2 crucial points.
She checked her phone. The match had ended 90 mins ago. Where would he be and what to even say to him right now?
Ananya: Hey!
She dropped the message and quickly checked her laptop to see if there was any response from the New York team on the report yet. No new mail. It was already 10 pm but she would just have to wait in the office till they give an ok, or for 45 mins, whichever was sooner.
Her phone flashed.
Jude: Horrible day. Wanna punch someone.
Ananya: Punch my New York team, they pissed me off nonstop today. On your way back?
Jude: Oh nooo. Fuckin runway is down in this fuckall city. Red-eye flight tmrw then straight to training. Fuck my life.
Ananya: Wanna talk?
He face-timed her instantly. She rushed to find an empty cabin and answered his call.
It was quite a scene. It looked like someone had robbed him & trashed his hotel room.
He was sat on the table, in front of his laptop, head resting on his forearms. That’s how she found him.
‘Hey Jude’
‘Hmphh.’
He groaned, still keeping his head buried.
‘Want me to sing it like the fans do?’
He whipped his head up. And she saw how upset he really was. Frown lines all over that pretty face. Sparkle missing from the coffee-brown eyes. Her heart yearned to comfort him.
‘Why should you? Why should the fans? I didn’t give them any reason to cheer for me today. I let them down. Let my team down. My coach, the staff, my family. I let everyone I care about down with that horrendous display today.’
She knew he wasn’t done, so she waited patiently while he gathered his breath and continued ranting.
‘We lost two crucial points because I fuckin missed sitters. SITTERS Ananya. Not one but two. Like I can score them with my eyes closed but nope. Had to be a total wanker today. When my team needed me.’
He stood up agitatedly and paced around the table. She could see he was still fully dressed, so was probably moping around in his room since he came back.
‘Did you speak to your mum?’
He took off his watch & jacket, throwing them on the bed. His shoes flew to some other corner of the room.
‘Yes. She says I wasn’t bad & that I should stop blaming myself. But she’s my mum - of course she would say that. I know I was fucking shit not just bad.’
He wrestled with his belt, peeling it off and was midway through pulling his jumper off when she spoke next.
‘I would have to agree. Offensively you were poor today.’
Silence at the other end. He paused for 2 seconds, then took the jumper off in irritation and sat in front of her. Bare-chested. No one had said this to him tonight, even from the team or coaching staff. And obviously not his family.
She kept her eyes firmly on his face.
‘You wanted honesty right? So there you go. You didn’t make enough meaningful runs in the box, the link-up with the front line was not clicking and yes the finishing was unlike you. Should have scored at-least one of the two chances.’
That stung, especially coming from her. He wondered if it was the Madridista talking or the girl he was fascinated by. But at-least she wasn’t giving him any rosy crap.
‘Hmm.’
He stared at his hands. Eyes not meeting hers.
‘At the same time, I will also say that you were damn good defensively. All the tracking back, tackles, work rate, interceptions - on point. That’s a key part of your role and your team knows that. The fans can see that. Plus they smothered you every-time you touched the ball. Very physical tussle throughout. They really went for you. And the ref should have intervened sooner.’
He looked at her with such understanding and helplessness. The urge to hug him grew stronger.
‘The ref - what a stupid fuck. They should have had two red cards. See this?’
He pulled up his joggers to show her his badly bruised calf. And then his shoulder, where they had elbowed him twice. She felt like wrapping him up in a protective blanket.
‘Oh Jude. Just put something on this ok, don’t let it be. But here is another thing - it will happen. They will come after you coz you are a key threat now. The refs won’t always intervene. You’ll need to take it in your stride and not be agitated on the field. That squaring up with the centre back - it was a yellow, you got away. Can’t react like that, can’t bump into them so aggressively. Don’t let it get to you, don’t let them win.’
He nodded absent-mindedly, still kicking himself for all his stupidities today. Her observations were bang on though. He was almost proud of her football knowledge. Not just smart in her work but an all around star.
His grumpiness started to go down and the stiffness dissipated from his posture.
‘One last thing - what you have been doing so far is not normal. It’s the honeymoon period. You won’t score every game. A dip will come. But you will bounce back and still be great. Know why? Coz of how much you care, how much you want it, and how talented you are. If I can see it from the outside, then you must know it in your heart. Think about it, you’re 20. Last few months have been nuts. Absolute bonkers. A Ronaldo like debut even!’
That last line had the desired effect. His lips curved into a sweet smile. He knew she won’t use that analogy lightly, even for him.
‘There he is - there’s the notorious happy boy I know.’
She smiled right back and he blew her a kiss, sending her heart reeling.
While she steadied herself, he finally noticed her surroundings.
‘Ur in office? It’s 10:30 pm.’
She groaned loudly.
‘Yup. Just sent my report. Waiting for a go ahead, then I can push off.
‘Agnes can pick you up if you want. It’s raining there no?’
‘Thanks for offering. But I will take a cab, no bother.’
‘It’s not a bother, really.’
��Jude - I am a big girl. I’ll manage.’
She said it sweetly but firmly. He got the message. Starting to depend on him for any of these things was not what she wanted to do, so she was going to protect that space.
Ananya checked her mail again. Still no reply. She only had to wait 30 mins more then she could leave. He offered to be on call with her for that time. They spoke about random things for the next few mins - the distraction really helping them both.
Some time later, a knock on the cabin door startled her. She quickly minimised her video call screen when Arjun walked in with a cup of coffee and some cookies. Seeing that she was on a call, he left them on the table, waved at her and walked out.
Ananya watched him leave, and prayed to all gods known and unknown that Jude hadn’t seen who it was. But the silence on the line was deafening. She sighed and maximised the screen again.
The happy boy was gone. Replaced by a serious, hard face. Like someone had fouled him with a two-legged sliding tackle & run away with the ball.
‘The fuck was that?’
Jude said in a low, cold tone. Sending a chill down her back. She kept her tone steady & even in response.
‘Nothing. He’s my direct supervisor on this project. Both of us were working on this report and now we are waiting to hear back. He would have gone down to the cafeteria so just got me some coffee. That’s it. Nothing more.’
Jude only focused on a few words there - rest fell on deaf ears.
‘It’s just you two there right now?’
‘Well, on other floors there are more people. It’s investment banking after all. But on this floor, yes. Just us.’
Just us. Those words stung more than all the fouls on him that night.
‘Does he know you are taken?’
The way he said taken sent shivers down her back, for entirely different reasons than a minute ago. His calculated, authoritative tone wasn’t helping either.
‘We said we won’t tell anyone. So how could he know?’
‘You don’t have to tell him you are with me. But why can’t you say you are with someone? Off limits?’
He threw the logic straight back in her face. She thought about it for a few seconds.
‘It will just invite too many questions. Too many asks for me to bring along the person at parties, get togethers blah blah. Can’t make excuses all the time, so easier to say nothing I guess.’
He turned his face away, frustrated but trying to keep a lid on it, as he thought of what to say next. But he whipped his face back at her when another unpleasant thought hit him.
‘Does he drive to work?’
She knew where this was going. He was too plain to read when he got like this. Myriad of emotions took over - she was feeling guilty, frustrated & tired at the same time.
‘Yes. And before you ask, no, I wasn’t planning to take a ride back with him.’
‘But he has offered before, hasn’t he?’
She knew he had her beat. She wanted to protest that he was overreacting but logically and factually, he had her there.
‘I knew it. Fuckin hate his guts I swear!’
Ananya wanted to hold him, shake him, even kiss him to make him stop talking and thinking like this. If only they were together right now.
He was thinking the same thing. If they were together, he would have grabbed her and kissed the living daylights out of her. Pouring all his frustrations into her lips.
‘Jude - you asked me to trust you. And I did. Do you not return the sentiment?’
He wanted to slam his fits on the table, but somehow held back. Didn’t she get it still?
‘Oh I trust you. It’s HIM I don’t trust.’
‘What could he do? Even if he asks me out, I will politely refuse. And we get on with our lives. How is it different from the zillion women who come on to you all the time? This is just one person.’
She was really pushing his buttons now.
‘Oh it’s different. Because that leech would be with you day and night and would think he can grow on you. Wear you down. Make you fall for him. He won’t stop trying, till he knows you are mine. Men operate like that, sweetheart. Wake up and smell the coffee.’
‘Gosh, you can be so thick. Just like all men.’
‘Excuse me?’
Was she trying to piss him off on purpose? Testing him was not a good idea tonight.
‘Excused. Can’t you see I am not attracted to him? What will he do, some kind of voodoo to magically change my mind? In these 5 months, I have never once thought of him. Even casually. Never looked at him. And yes on paper he’s a great match for me but god damnit I don’t feel any spark there. He doesn’t make me go weak in the knees like y..’
She stopped herself just in time. His eyes watching her like a hawk.
‘Go on.’
‘No. You don’t deserve to hear it right now.’
‘Disagree.’
‘Well you can shove your disagreement where the sun doesn’t shine.’
He smiled smugly, almost appreciatively, and leaned back in the chair, moving both arms behind his neck. Giving her a full view of his bare upper body - muscles & veins flexing & bulging at all the right places.
She knew what he was doing. And tried really hard to keep his eyes glued to his face. But her gaze wandered, making him more smug.
‘Gotta do something about that mouth of yours, no dove?’
Her lips opened and closed in vain for a comeback; he had thrown her off.
‘Have half a mind to come straight to you when I land, wake you up in the middle of the night & keep you up. What say?’
Her skin started to feel hot and her hands gripped the edge of the chair to steady herself.
‘Behave, pls. I am in the office.’
‘Not so sassy now, are we?’
‘As if you don’t like that.’
She whispered under her breath.
‘Oh I love it. So much. But baby I want the sass to remain when you are wrapped around me, not just from afar.’
She sighed loudly, hating how she seemed to have no control on her senses every time she was around him. How easily he flustered her.
‘Gosh you are just non-stop aren’t you.’
‘In every which way. You’ll find out soon.’
‘Juuuuude.’
She groaned warningly. Wondering how flushed she had gotten and how she would leave the cabin now. This boy was just too much.
At least he was smiling now. Smug, proud, conquering smile. Even that looked endearing on him, damn that prick.
‘Okay okay. We are on for tomorrow night? My place?’
‘Yes - if no surprises at work.’
‘Cool, cya then. Let Agnes pick you up tmrw? Will be easier to enter the compound.
That seemed fair. She also noticed how he had framed it differently from earlier.
‘Ok, I will ping him directly.’
‘Great. And dove?’
‘Yes?’
He leaned in close to the screen. Soft expression. Genuine, sweet smile. Warm twinkling eyes. Handsomest of handsome face. She forgot she had been mad at him 30 seconds ago.
‘Thanks for everything tonight. I…it was a rough day.’
She smiled from ear to ear, fighting the urge to stroke the screen of her phone where his face was. So near yet so far.
‘Glad to see you are feeling better. Go talk to your mom now, she would be happy to see you are not in a foul mood anymore.’
45 mins were up some time ago. Still no new mail from NY, meaning she could leave now. But he somehow didn’t want to let her go. She didn’t seem to mind that either.
It surprised him how quickly she had lifted his spirits. Just with a conversation. In the past, he would have found other outlets to channel his frustration, and a heart to heart talk would not have been in the consideration set.
But she was different. And he was also different with her.
What he did next surprised both of them.
He leaned forward, smushed his lips against the laptop screen and kissed the spot where her face was, while making kissing noises.
Her heart skipped a couple of beats at the tenderness of the moment. And her hand went up involuntarily to stroke his face. Neither wanting to hang up still.
But it was getting late and she wasn’t letting him arrange a ride back. So, he had to let her go.
‘Good night, babe. Ping me when you reach?’
‘Will do. Good night, Jude.’
They hung up grudgingly. Yet, neither moved from their seats. Reliving some of the moments in their heads. Tomorrow night just couldn’t come soon enough.
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There you go. All this Jude content last few days drove me to write. As always, would love to hear your thoughts / comments / feedback. Hope you are liking the story & these two, lots more to come :)
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More clone wars headcanons (it's just Ahsoka and Anakin)
No matter how only Ahsoka gets Anakin will always see her as that little 14 year old who strong-armed her way onto a battlefield
Honestly he isn’t very aware of this but there are tiny moments when it becomes very clear
There are moments when people ask how old his padawan is and he’ll go “Oh she’s” and he’ll take a moment for some mental calculations and say “she’s 18 kriff she’s 18”
And he’ll kinda sit in silence with that fact for a couple of seconds
There’s also moments when people will call him out for getting her age wrong
Like he’ll go “Don’t bite off more than you can chew Soka you’re only 14 after all”
Ahsoka will reminds him in two days she’s be turning 20 when Anakin argues that fact Obi-Wan reminds him that he’s 25 which would make her 20 in a couple of days Anakin just kinda stares at a wall
Ahsoka tried to snap him out of it but Obi-Wan stopped her with a quite “let him grieve Ahsoka”
No matter how old the two get they will always play pranks on each other if anything the intensity grows with them
When Ahsoka when 14 she would save small handfuls of sand to put in Anakin’s shoes
And he would have thought it was just left over from some mission if the sand didn’t keep appearing after he emptied it out
That and he caught Ahsoka red-handed and chased her sneaky ass around the temple until they were both too tired to care
When Ahsoka turned 20 she hid sand everywhere in his shoes and in his pockets, girl even got it in some of his mugs
He knew it was her cause he knew her m.o but she won’t admit to it and she doesn’t stop to matter how much he begs
The breaking point is when he finds his bed covered in sand which he deems going too far cause even tho Padme literally couldn’t care less
He tracked her down and kept her in a headlock until she admitted defeat
It wasn’t a chocking headlock mind you it’s just tight enough to keep her in place he just drags her around the whole base while he goes about his business
Anakin’s prank was pretty simple he would slowly steal all her head wraps
At first she didn’t notice anything she just thought Anakin stole one during training and put it somewhere
But after a couple of days of not being able to find it she discovers another one went missing
And the cycle continued like that for years
It didn’t bother her but sometimes when she was going out with friends and couldn’t find her favorite ones you’d hear her scream “Ani where’s my leather head wrap?”
And he’d act all innocent saying that he “has no idea what you’re talking about snips maybe you misplaced it again”
And she’d groan and go look for a different one because she didn’t have enough time to interrogate him
Anakin waits a couple of years to pull off his full prank which is convincing everyone he can to wear one of her head wraps and act like nothing is going on
And he gets a good amount of people too including some of the clones and even the twins
The only people who wholeheartedly reject being a part of the plan are Padme and Obi-Wan they discovered years ago that it isn’t wise to get involved in their prank war
Honestly Ahsoka would have thought she lost her mind that day if she hadn’t found every single head wrap she lost hidden around her quarters
It kind of becomes a running joke of how protective Anakin is of Ahsoka
Some stories being blown out of proportion about how Skywalker single-handedly moved the ruble to grant her freedom form the tank
Some say how he searched on the ground day and night when Ahsoka was captured by the hunters
Criminals claim they barely made it out with their lives if they had Ahsoka in their custody
They both find these stories hilarious but Obi-Wan and Padme know there is a lot of truth in those stories
It doesn’t just stop with the enemy either this man has and will do intensive background checks on every single person Ahsoka meets
And you best believe that potential love interests are kept under the closest watch possible
Rex and his boys are happy to track down the person if they feel they’re acting a little sketchy
Sometimes this ends with actual criminals being put away and sometimes this ends with Ahsoka scolding everyone who had anything to do with it
Some people get 30+ apology letters and a promise that it will never happen again (most of those people can tell those letters were written with grit teeth and a little togruta standing close by)
Anakin does agree to tone down his protective streak and promises to never abuse his power like that again
She didn’t make him stop giving the shovel talk to literally anyone within a three-mile radius of her (mostly cause she didn’t know he was doing it) so he considered that a win
I’m always reminded of how Anakin made it a game to count how many people their squads took out and I was wondering what other games they had
How many times could they lie to the council without getting caught, how many times they crash a ship, and how many times they save each other's lives
Like imagine Ahsoka tripping Anakin and before he can ask why the hell she did that a blast hits the floor and she just goes “That’s 40 for me” as she runs away
Anakin yelled after her “yeah 40 to my 80 snips”
Those numbers also serve as a reminder and reassurance that no matter how dangerous the situation gets they’ll never let that count stop
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loving you out loud
for @locklyle-week day 1: firsts
a/n: First “I love you.” Here’s a little something I wrote because as much as I crave reading desparate confessions drawn out in the middle of dangerous situations, they also deserve something softer. Set in the future. I am v new to this fandom and writing these characters so please, be kind.
They’ve never been much for words. Or at least he hasn’t, not in the way that matters, Lockwood thinks as he peers over the top of his magazine at Lucy curled up on the other end of the couch. She’s got her nose buried in a book, completely oblivious to him. Her eyebrows are adorably scrunched together and her eyes feverishly tear across the pages in front of her.
It’s been years since she walked into his life and it still always feels like there are so many things he hasn’t told her, or doesn’t say enough. They are much more practiced at revealing things through unspoken communication. So much can be said through a glance across the kitchen table in the morning, smiles exchanged over tea, or touches and gifts and rescues that they have done a million times over by now. Sometimes it feels like they don’t ever need to articulate what’s left unsaid because they both know the score. But still, Lockwood thinks to himself, she deserves more than that.
It’s not like Lucy has ever been one to mince words. She’s called him out on his own bullshit time and time again, challenging him and reminding him that there are people who care about whether or not he makes it home alive. Her honesty was one of the first things that impressed him in that fated interview. She says what she thinks, and doesn’t back down. Truth be told it has saved them all in so many ways since then, even if it may drive him and George mad from time to time.
Looking at her now, Lockwood is once again captivated by her. In her pajamas, curled up with a quilt nestled around her and a steaming cup of tea in her hand she looks so comfortable, so relaxed. She looks radiant. It makes his heart pang with adoration. He wants to capture this moment and keep reliving it for the rest of time.
Because for every moment like this that they get, there are three more where his heart is hammering in his chest with worry or panic that something bad is going to happen to the beautiful, brave, incredible girl cozied up across from him. Too many of their firsts have happened in or been born from those moments when their lives are on the line and he aches a bit to give them both some softer memories.
Lucy chuckles lightly to herself at the other end of the couch, clearly having read something of note in that book of hers. She then takes a massive bite of the biscuit in her hand and finally looks up, meeting his eyes.
“What?” Lucy asks, “I got crumbs on my jumper or something?”
Lockwood laughs, “No, nothing like that. I just…I love you, that’s all.”
“Oh is that all?” She sits up and puts her book down next to her, a grin splitting across her face but also a hint of exasperation in her voice.
He feels himself blushing slightly, and looks down at his hands before glancing back up at her.
“Yes, well I know that sometimes I’m not the best at…articulating what I’m feeling. But I wanted to get it on the record and all that.”
“Lockwood I — “ she starts, scooting close and reaching out to take his hands in hers.
But he’s already on a roll. “I just realized I had never actually said it out loud and, well, we’ve put off a lot of other things until we’re in the thick of it and I wanted to make sure I told you now and not when we’re, you know, fighting for our lives. Point being, I don’t want that to be one more thing I’ve left unsaid.”
He’s really started rambling now, because her eyes have gone wide with something bordering on disbelief. Lucy is giving him a look that tells him she had absolutely no idea he’s been head over heels for her for…shit he doesn’t even know how long. Long enough that loving her feels as natural as breathing.
“Oh come off it Luce, you know I’ve been in love with you for a damn long time now.”
Her response comes out as a half laugh, half shout, and she smacks him with a throw pillow, “I did not, you idiot!”
Lockwood suddenly turns deadly serious, desperately needing her to understand how much he means this. How he is truly deeply, irrevocably in love. “Lucy, you make me feel seen and cared for in a way that for a long time, I didn’t think would ever be possible again. Even when everything is hard and frankly terrifying, I am still so glad you stormed into my life. I love you.”
At this, Lucy moves one hand to his face, rubbing her thumb softly along his cheekbone and looking at him with such longing and tenderness that he feels like he might just fall in love with her all over again. Lockwood slowly closes the distance between the two of them and kisses her like he’s drowning and she’s a breath of fresh air.
“I love you too, you know.” She breaks away and looks up at him with a soft and teasing smile, “to put it on the record and all that.”
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