#I think I read something to that effect last Fall for class or maybe even two classes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ceesimz · 15 days

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Who falls in love in November?

part 2 of this, also known as the happy ending everyone wanted :)

Alexia had three days remaining of her time in Menorca after you left. Never in her life had a vacation been so miserable.

Even without you there, her head was constantly on a swivel when she was out, hoping she’d turn a corner and you were there waiting for her. She was withdrawn from social occasions with friends, stuck in her head thinking about how much she wished you were by her side.

But it wasn’t going to happen. It didn’t happen.

And to top it all off, she had no evidence you even existed aside from the book you gifted her, as if you were merely a figure of her imagination. A daydream she didn’t want to come out of. It was simultaneously the best and worst summer of her life, because she had you, and then she didn’t. You slipped out of her grasp before she could do anything about it, and that fact was eating her up inside.

To be honest, as she boarded her plane home, she had never been so grateful for a vacation to end. She slumped into her seat after storing away her suitcase and sighed heavily, looking out of the window of the place that she currently held mixed feelings about. The whole island was tainted by you and the memories that remained. At the thought, she slammed the window cover shut. It was a pitiful attempt to shove you out of her mind; to be fair to her, it worked for a few seconds. Except, when she reached into her backpack by her feet, her hand grabbed something and pulled it out.

Your book. The only thing that remained of your relationship.

Relationship? Could it be classed as that? Probably not. But what else could she call it? The greatest mistake of her life?

Since she opened the first page the night you gave it to her, she had probably read the note there a hundred times. And so what if she had traced the curvature of your handwriting with her finger as her eyes burned with tears that night? You weren’t there to see it, that’s the only thing that mattered to her.

This book means a lot to me, and from all the wonderful things I know about you so far, I think you’ll like it too. We haven’t known each other for very long but I hope that changes because you’ve already had a better effect on me than anyone I have ever met, and for that I am so grateful. Let me know when you finish it.

That last sentence, as well as the accompanying smiley face that was exactly the same as the one you had drawn on another note to her a few days prior, mocked her. She couldn’t reach you if she tried. She only had your first name and the city you lived in, there was nothing to go off of if she attempted to find you. The worst part of it all is that you could be her neighbour for all she knows, but the only thing she could do was hope that your worlds aligned sooner rather than later. You could live in the apartment right beside hers, or above it, or below. The possibilities were endless and it killed her.

Maybe it was sad and pathetic, but she couldn’t bring herself to read the story. There had been one attempt so far, and it only resulted in a throbbing headache, puffy red eyes, and a damp pillow. Another sigh left her lips as she dropped it back into her bag and zipped it up with more aggression than necessary, earning a strange glance from the flight attendant that walked past her just as she did so.

A little while passed before the plane got ready for take-off, and ever the rule-stickler, Alexia took one of her earphones out as the safety video played out. At that point, she realised just how screwed she was, because she couldn’t even look at a life vest on a fucking plane without thinking back to that day with you on the boat.

“Qué coño estoy haciendo?” She grumbled under her breath, slipping her earphone back in and resting her head back against the seat, eyes closed.

Unfortunately, that was a question she would repeat to herself a hell of a lot the following months. Because, really, not a day passed by without her thoughts being infiltrated by those days with you. The second she closed her eyes at night, she saw your face. When she woke up in the morning, she wished you were beside her, even despite the fact she had never once shared a bed with you.

At one point, sometime in September, she even found herself going along to one of Mapi’s dinners in Barcelona that she always planned. Alexia had been invited to every single one in the past few years since the defender had started organising them with her closest friends, but the blonde had only attended a handful in that time. Her attendance for this one was solely for the purpose of seeing you.

However, you didn’t show up.

There was one chair at the end of the table empty, and though no one ever took it, Alexia couldn’t tear her eyes away. She had a vacant expression on her face throughout the whole duration of the evening, forcing a smile when she had to and keeping her responses short. The people there that didn’t know her too well were probably a little weirded out, but Mapi could see heartbreak in her eyes and the realisation of what likely happened brought a frown to her face. She didn’t want to intrude on a situation she knew Alexia would prefer to keep private, but it hurt to see her friend so down like she was.

Only one conversation topic truly piqued her interest that evening. Near the end of the night, someone asked why you weren’t there. The single mention of your name had her heart racing.

“-has gone to England to see her family for a while.”

The person talking, who Alexia assumed was your friend, went on a bit more about your whereabouts, but the blonde had tuned out of it as soon as she heard that you weren’t even in the country, nevermind the city.

She had the urge to just get up and walk out of the restaurant there and then at the news, but she was here, at a restaurant with alcohol available to her, and instead she decided to throw her personal laws out the window for the night and have a few drinks. They didn’t numb the pain, in fact they probably made it more prominent. Alarm bells were ringing in Mapi’s head at the sight of her friend with an alcoholic drink in her hand, especially since the new season had just started, and she waited until everyone was leaving to bring it up.

“Ale, Ale, espera.” The shorter woman lightly grabbed her friend by the arm just as she started the walk back to her apartment. “Qué passa?”

“No, Mapi.” Alexia mumbled, shaking her head and continuing to walk. Mapi kept up the pace beside her, allowing the silence to sit for a bit, before the older woman sniffled a little.

“Oye. Habla, ahora.” Mapi demanded, halting their movements on the sidewalk as Alexia kept her head down.

“No es importante.” Alexia shrugged dismissively, opting out of looking at Mapi and instead observing the streets she had walked all of her life. Ones that you have probably walked too.

“Es importante!” Mapi argued, before she pushed down her frustration and addressed her captain much more calmly. “Si estás así de triste, es muy importante, Alexia.”

“Stop, Mapi! Leave it, it has nothing to do with you.” Alexia snapped, before turning away and heading back in the direction of her flat.

The fact she slipped into English, now of all times, told Mapi everything she needed to know. Things hadn’t gone smoothly between you and Alexia. Whatever happened, Mapi would stay out of it until she was needed. That didn’t mean she was any less disappointed at it though. Not at you, or Alexia, because regardless of what had or hadn’t gone on, she didn’t blame you and she knows neither of you would have blamed each other too. Whatever had occurred was left in the hands of the world to sort it out.

Though, if she had known it was just a miscommunication that could have been easily solved, she would have grabbed you both by the ears and lectured you to no end.

The truth is, if Alexia wasn’t so stuck in her misery and just read the book given to her, all of her problems would have been solved. In her opinion, if she did read it, it would just mean finding out more about you that she couldn’t have. But, as a matter of fact, getting to the end of the story would give her the one thing she wanted all along.

By the time November rolled around, Alexia and the rest of the Barcelona team were well into the season in most competitions already. The league was going well, they had won the two Champion’s League games so far, and they had just beaten Real Madrid in the first game of the fifth, albeit unofficial, infamous competition of the season- El Clásico.

A win like that always had to be celebrated, and none of the blaugrana players were going to pass up a night of partying in Barcelona afterwards.

There was just one small thing Mapi failed to tell Alexia before they arrived at the club, however.

—

Your life after that vacation didn’t really change. The only noticeable difference was the heartache and the anguish you felt after arriving home that no one would understand. In secret you met, in silence you have to grieve.

Except, your pain wasn’t quite the same as Alexia’s. Hers surely had an expiration date, she would get over you at some point. Yours would only get stronger the longer you spent apart from her, the anxiety turning the scenario you were in from a nightmare into a reality.

You had no doubts that Alexia was a busy person, so for a few weeks, you gave her the benefit of the doubt when it came to reading. But a few weeks turned into a month, then one turned into two, and before you knew it, it was November. Maybe she didn’t want to see you again after all, maybe those few days were enough for her.

That summer felt like a lifetime ago, an out of this world experience that was nothing more than a dream. But it was real, you know it was, because you still feel the phantom touch of her lips on your shoulder and the comfortable warmth of her hand in yours. You still remember every detail about her, like the moles on her face and the depth to her hazel eyes, or the tattoos on her back and the strength of her arms when she embraced you. Not even your wildest dreams could have created such a person like Alexia. She was more than anything you could have wished for.

Perhaps you could have searched her up online, the blonde was apparently a prominent public figure after all, so it probably wasn’t that hard to find out more about her. You didn’t want to do that though, in the weirdest way, it would feel like invading her privacy. What could be found online was most likely not a true representation of her. Though she wasn’t yours anymore, and she never really was in the first place, you knew the media’s perception of her would be so different to who she actually was, and indulging in that would be a disservice to the woman you had the honour to love, even if that was for just a week.

In your time since Menorca, you had gone back to your normal life like nothing had happened. As if nothing had changed outwardly, when internally, everything had changed. You had been introduced to the true beauty of life, what it means to feel seen, only to have it ripped away from you. And maybe it was your fault that it wasn’t yours to experience anymore. If you could go back in time to that final moment in the bar, you would have done everything differently, especially if you had known it would end like this.

At some point in September, the city you loved became nothing but a mental challenge. Alexia could be anywhere, yet in your opinion, there was no morally correct way to try and find her. It all got too much, and you had to escape. Going back to England seemed like a good idea at first, however in hindsight, it just made things worse. Somehow it made the pain, regret, sorrow, it made all of it reach new heights. During the taxi ride back to your apartment in Barcelona afterwards, there were tears in your eyes that hardly left for the next two months. No matter what you tried, you couldn’t get her out of your mind, even though you were probably long gone from hers.

A night out in the city sounded perfect suddenly, in November. One mention of it from a friend of a friend, and you were in. There was some special occasion apparently, according to María, but you didn’t care that much to pay attention. All you knew was that the club was booked for you all, there was a ticket with your name on it, and alcohol waiting for you.

Only, you didn’t expect to meet a familiar pair of eyes at the bar a few hours into the night.

“Ale?” You whispered under your breath at the sight of the woman a few metres to your right, leaning against the bar with a near empty beer bottle in her hand.

With the music thumping throughout the club, there was no way she heard you. But her eyes averted to her left anyway, and they landed straight on you. Her entire body froze, eyes wide whilst the rest of her face seemed void of emotion. It was hard to get a read on her and considering there was a fair amount of alcohol in your system by this point, it wasn’t surprising when the anxiety took over and made you doubt everything.

Did she still feel the same way about you? Was there already somebody else for her? Maybe you didn’t mean as much to her as she did to you. There were probably thousands of other people she could have, when you took her supposed stardom into account. The scale of her fame was still a mystery to you, but at that moment it was too overwhelming to think about. What business did she have falling in love with someone who was nothing more than a fly on the wall?

Nobody ever noticed you, you were just there. Alexia was… Alexia. There weren’t enough words in any and all languages to describe what a person she was.

Unbeknownst to you, Alexia was freaking out too. Not in the way one would initially expect, though; there was one overwhelming feeling for her that wasn’t fear or anxiety, it was relief. Complete, utter, all-consuming relief, because you were right in front of her. Within arms reach, basically. Despite all the possibilities that could occur from here on out, she was just happy to see you.

However, her face hadn’t changed in the time the pair of you had been staring at each other agasp for the past however long, and it didn’t change as she cautiously took a few steps closer to you. With each step she took, your anxiety grew. It grew and grew, until she was about a metre away, and it reached its peak.

In true anxiety fashion, the fight or flight kicked in.

A proper glance at her face and you were breathless, and not in the swooning, romantic way, but instead out of pure panic. The club was too loud, too restricting and suffocating, and the only option that seemed plausible was getting the hell out. You didn’t care about the people you bumped into, or the voice shouting after you. The situation that confronted you back at the bar was more than you could handle and it seemed to be an insurmountable challenge that you weren’t quite prepared for.

In your mind, Alexia was done with you. The heartbreak was tearing through you already and had been for months now, you didn’t need a run in with her to increase that, and you definitely didn’t want closure. Too long had passed, you had grown content with the realisation that she had moved on seamlessly.

It took a matter of seconds for Alexia to lose sight of you in the crowded room, and what didn’t help was the sudden barrage of teammates that seemed determined to drag her to the dancefloor. They were buzzing off their copious amounts of alcohol compared to her one bottle of beer, completely unaware of the turmoil she was going through due to the winning high they were still riding. She saw the disappointed look on their faces as she brushed them off and it hurt for a moment, before she remembered the situation she was in, and then the celebrations were forgotten entirely.

The moment she exited the club, she spotted you outside the next building over, a restaurant with outdoor seating that was closed due to the late hour. You were sat in one of the chairs there, head in your hands with a leg bouncing out of intense anxiety. Alexia knew she was the reason for your current state, it didn’t take a genius to figure that out, but she also didn’t want to leave you alone when you were so clearly worked up. If you pushed her away, fine, she’d leave. She just wanted to try first.

As she prudently walked over to you with a few gentle calls of your name, like she were approaching a skittish animal, you glanced through your fingers to find the one person at the centre of your anxiety approaching you. Rather than tell her to leave, or get everything off your chest in a ‘screw you’ way, or simply pretend she didn’t exist, you removed your hands and sat up like you weren’t just having an anxiety attack. Your people-pleasing habit had no boundaries.

“Are… are you okay?” Alexia asked softly, standing a few feet in front of you with her hands, that itched to reach out and comfort you, holding onto the chair behind her which she leaned on just as an excuse to nervously fidget with something not too obvious.

“I will be.” You gave her a tight-lipped smile that you paired with a quick sniffle and a brush away of the tears on your cheeks.

To anyone else, this whole situation probably seemed ridiculous and unnecessary. Why not just exchange details in the first place? Why not ask Mapi, a mutual friend, for the other person’s details? There were so many seemingly obvious solutions and ways this could have been prevented.

But love isn’t so simple. It’s a risk to take, a fact that often goes unacknowledged and underappreciated. Especially when your heart has already been broken and stuck back together so many times, it’s hard to hand it over again. It is a delicate organ, the only one other than the brain that has the ability to feel, to hold sentiment and adoration.

There’s no rhyme or reason as to why people decide to harm it, but Alexia isn’t one of those people. She’d take your damaged goods and glue them back together with gold if she could, and you’d do the same for her. When all is said and done, there is no blame or resentment present, just guilt and regret. Your souls are too pure for hatred, they’re professionals at harbouring love for those around no matter what, and it’s evident with the way you both treat each other, despite all the unspoken sorrow and devastation individually experienced during all these months.

A week of pure, whole-hearted, unconditional love was worth all the months of anguish. That was an easy conclusion both of you had come to somewhere along the way.

“I…” There was so much that Alexia wanted to say, but she had no idea how to verbalise any of it or where to even start. She believed that nothing she could say would live up to the moment.

“We don’t have to do this, Ale.” You decided for her. Your words exuded a confidence that wasn’t there at all, and you figured that it was probably evident in your anxiety-filled appearance, but what’s the harm in trying.

“Do what?” Alexia replied with her face scrunched in fearful confusion. Ale. She had missed you saying that.

“Do the awkward back and forth whilst ignoring the fact we fell in love four months ago.”

It hurt to admit it out loud.

For months, this pain had been nothing but an internal one, hidden in the background of your thoughts at all points of the day whilst the world around you was none the wiser. The only external signs of such an event were the mascara stains on your pillow after a night of crying and the tear tracks engraved onto your cheeks when walking into work the next day.

You fell in love four months ago. And the person you were still in love with stood before you. But time had passed, and perhaps that love had to be left behind.

“Maybe I don’t want to ignore that.” Alexia’s shoulders were up in a shrug for a few moments, her heart beating away so fast in her chest that a pit of nausea had formed at the sentence she had just uttered. You looked up at her through tears that glistened in the street lamps, a glint of hope in your eyes that you loathed. In just one statement, you were wrapped around her finger again.

“What do you mean?” You questioned firmly, voice distant despite the crack in the middle of it.

“Maybe… I am still in love with you.”

Laughter wasn’t quite the response Alexia was expecting, especially spiteful laughter. Disapproving laughter with anger so clear in its undertones.

“How can you say that after you’ve obviously moved on? After I’ve heard nothing from you all these months?” You scoffed. Your pent-up exasperation wasn’t even at Alexia, she just so happened to be there and saying all the wrong things to act as the catalyst for the eruption.

No, the anger was entirely at yourself. You opened up your heart to someone you knew you couldn’t have, and still had the audacity to be so hurt by the anticipated turn of events. Alexia was never to blame, it was you.

“What? I don't understand.” Alexia retorted, and it’s unexplainably hard to continue your onslaught of misdirected blame when there’s so much pain in her voice.

“You had so much time to contact me, and yet you didn’t. I can read the room, Ale, I can tell when I’m not wanted, and I get it.” The fight left you then, your body deflating of all its tension as you curled back into yourself.

“I had no way to get to you! I don’t get it, cariño, I really don’t, because I have loved you still all these months and I missed you, and if I did have a way to get to you, I would have taken it because I have lost myself after losing you!”

“Oh, so I just gave you my favourite book with my number in the back of it for no reason then?” You scoffed once more, shaking your head as you willed the tears away once more.

Just a few feet in front of you, Alexia was going through about a million different emotions, thoughts, feelings, all that good stuff, at once. Her head was spinning, dizzy at the gravity of what you just said.

“I didn’t read your book.” Alexia whispered, her voice quiet and dripping with awe, still stuck in regretful astonishment at the fact the solution to everything had been under her hands all this time.

Your number, in the back of the book that was right beside her bed. She had you right under her fingertips and she didn’t even know it.

“What do you mean?” You asked in the same tone.

“I could not bring myself to read it because I missed you too much. Your number is really in the back? You are not doing some… some cruel joke?”

As if you’d ever.

“No! I swear, I wrote it in there that night in the bar when I gave it to you. I thought you saw me write in it!” You exclaimed, overcome with all sorts of emotions at the new revelation.

It had been a stupid mishap, nothing more. No malicious intent on either side, no animosity (aside from the last few minutes), and most of all, throughout this whole thing, there had been no love lost. It was just a mutual misunderstanding. That label felt too simple for all the turmoil that had occurred, yet at the same time, an exhilarating amount of relief came with it which soon overrode the seething irritation that flashed by. The possibility of exploring a relationship with Alexia was so much more thrilling to focus on than all that could be different.

There was no use in dwelling on what could have been if this mistake hadn’t happened. Far too often have you done that in the past, and it’s never gotten you anywhere. Alexia had done the same during those lonesome nights after hours spent in the presence of thousands of people in stadiums across the world - going from being surrounded by countless adoring fans to nothing but overwhelming silence was something she had struggled with. It opened up a world of vulnerabilities for her, as she thought and thought and thought until the mental exertion exhausted her and she finally fell asleep.

Something that came with her ACL injury was the introduction of a psychologist, and it had forced her to change so many aspects of her life for the better. Like in this scenario now, where just like you, she wanted to disregard what hasn’t happened, and instead focus on the moment, and all the amazing things that could happen. Because, really, what was standing in her way apart from the threat of a road not taken? And the best thing of all, is that with one look in your eye, she knew you felt the same.

She knew you wanted the simplicity, rather than making it more difficult for yourselves which had happened already since that last goodbye in the bar. Once the realisation settled, the only thing left to do was acknowledge that fact.

“I didn’t. I didn’t see you write in the back, only the front.” Alexia murmured, pausing for a few seconds as the pair of you fell silent.

The pulse of the music could be faintly heard, as could the distant chatter of people passing by, but none of that mattered when the prospect of the future hung within reach between you both. It was that that had Alexia turning the chair she held onto around and slumping down into it out of shock. The adrenaline had run its course, and now it left a tranquil euphoria, a brewing excitement that took its time to build.

“So… you haven’t moved on.” You said about a minute later, holding back a smile that broke out anyway when Alexia laughed at it all.

“No. Not at all.”

Words seemed a little useless from then on. There were coy smiles on each of your faces afterwards, when everything had been hashed out and made clear despite it being slightly overdue. The only thing you could do was stand from your chair, walk the short distance that separated you both, and gaze down expectantly at Alexia. She stood too, the tables turning so that she was the one looking down now, but that didn’t matter for long, because before you knew it, her arms were back around you and embracing you so tightly that your feet lifted off the ground. You laughed into her neck, which in turn made her laugh too, and then the pair of you were just a mess in each other's arms.

It felt like someone had come along and stoked the fire in your heart again. The coldness that had settled in your bones at some point during the last months was gone, instead it had been replaced with the love you’d lacked for too long. This time, it didn’t have a time limit, you were free to relish in the fact that from this day on, there was always going to be someone on your side, a person there just for you. And there was a certain level of pride that came in knowing you were going to be that for Alexia too, because the way she held you so close to her heart, metaphorically and in this moment literally too, told you enough about how she felt.

When you leaned back and looked up at her, you saw the future in her eyes, one that didn’t seem so dauntingly alone and gloomy. There were also tears there too, to your surprise, and it only amplified what you knew about her already; she was made for you. She loved you.

“Please tell me I will not lose you for a second time. I cannot do that again.” She admitted the secret quietly, and before you had even found the words to answer her, the admission was stored away safely in your soul.

“No, you won’t. I… I think I need you, Ale.” You told her, closing your eyes as you rested your forehead against hers. You sensed the relieving sigh that Alexia let out and shared how she felt; at peace.

“I need you too.” Alexia mumbled in reply, her voice cracking with emotion that for once isn’t drowning her, instead, she feels more alive right now than she had since summer. “Te extrañé mucho. Mucho.”

You smiled. A genuine one, with no layers or falsity to it. You smiled because you could, because Alexia and all she was in that moment allowed you to feel worth your weight in gold, something that hardly ever came naturally to you. But with the blonde woman holding you so tentatively, firm in her love despite her fears, you owed it to her to provide the reaction her character brought out.

“I missed you a lot too.” You breathed out, years worth of inadequacy and shame leaving you as you did so. “I’m sorry for causing all this. And for-”

“Why are you apologising?” Alexia cut you off, pulling back from the embrace as her hands gently landed on your shoulders and the frown you had strangely missed came out in full force.

“Because I just made all this so difficult and caused you so much pain for no reason, I should have thought it through more and n-”

“No, don’t.” She shook her head and tugged you back in, her arms around your shoulders and a hand on the back of your head with her thumb stroking up and down comfortingly. “Don’t take yourself down that road. Do not place blame on yourself when there is none there. Please don’t. It is not your fault.”

All you could do at that was nod into her chest. Alexia’s advice hadn’t failed you thus far, so why stop listening to it now.

“I’m so glad I found you again. In a club of all places.” You said, giggling into her shoulder as she chuckled.

“I didn’t know you would be here.” Alexia stated, keeping her hands on your waist as her eyes were wide and adoring as they moved all over your face, almost as if she was in disbelief that she was really with you.

“María invited me, I don’t normally come to these things, but… I guess it’s a good job I did.” You replied bashfully, Alexia nodding immediately and making you laugh once more. “She said it was a big occasion or something? I don’t know, but it must be pretty big if the whole club is booked out.”

“It is a big thing. For us, anyway. I…” She glanced up at the building she was in earlier and her smile faltered a little. She was caught in two minds; she wanted to spend time with you, now that you were in her arms she didn’t want to let you out of her sight, but she also had made commitments to be here with her team tonight. It was an abnormality for her to agree to a night like this, but the excitement and the pleading from her teammates made her give in, and their joy at her attendance made it worth it. “The team won a big game earlier, so they wanted to celebrate. I don’t go to these things too. They begged me, so I should probably go back to them.”

“Okay.” You said, trying to disguise the dejection burning through you. Her hands gripped your sides a little tighter, like she knew what her words had done anyway.

“Will you come back in? With me?” She asked hopefully.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to intrude on your time with your team, especially if it’s a big celebra-”

You were interrupted once more, but there wasn’t exactly any complaining from your side. Alexia’s palms were cradling your cheeks, fingertips light and warm on your soft skin, and in much the same way as she did after that first date, she kissed you. Firmly and fervently, months worth of longing reaching its peak and crumbling with each movement of your lips. It was just as mind-numbing as you remembered- you’d thought a lot about those few kisses in Menorca and how you hadn’t had enough. There was no way you could ever wait that long for one again.

“You will not ‘intrude’ on us, I promise. If I could, I would take you on a date right now, but they will be angry if I do. When you are around, there’s no one else I want to spend time with.” Her eyes bored into yours as she held your face securely in her hands, ensuring you couldn’t look anywhere but at her and take in the honesty of her words. “I want you there. You.”

“I’ll go with you.” You responded like you were in a trance. You basically were: entranced by the affirmation that she wants you and you only. The blonde grinned and ducked down again to kiss you, more than content to revel in your touch now that she has you again.

After that, Alexia took your hand tight in hers and led you back into the club. You trailed behind her, happy to follow her lead, blushing each time she looked back at you with her charming smile that overflowed with utter joy, until you found yourselves back in the main area of the club. Understandably, the vast group of people you didn’t recognise, probably Alexia’s teammates, were partying hard together. There were people on each others’ shoulders, drinks being spilt, some rather abysmal and slurred singing, and a number of new faces that lit up when they saw Alexia again.

“Some of them are a bit loco. You will get used to them.” Alexia said into your ear, and when she moved back to gauge your reaction, she instantly recognised the uncertainty in your expression. Her arm curled around your waist, her lips pressed a kiss to your shoulder, and she gave a reassuring smile. “I will be with you, I’m not going anywhere.”

Like always, she stuck to her promise. Not for a second did she leave your side as she celebrated, introduced you to her teammates, and hardly took her eyes off you. Some part of her was always touching you, whether that be her arm around your shoulders, her hand brushing against hers as a finger linked with yours, a palm resting on your lower back as she guided you through the bustling room. And though it took some time to settle into the crowdedness, you eventually found yourself joining in with her teammates as they danced and took you in like one of their own.

Throughout the night, the blonde midfielder couldn’t hold back the smile on her face. Watching you fit right in with the people she considered family, whilst knowing to some degree how much you struggled with these things, flooded her with so much admiration and appreciation for you. It reached a new level, and though it was something she didn’t understand, each second she spent with you she felt herself falling more and more in love. Even if you did say ridiculous things like…

“You know what my favourite thing is about football? When you guys sit there at the side with your little blankets like the grandparents from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

She might have rolled her eyes at the declaration, but somehow she adored you impossibly more after it. Especially when the group of her teammates you were with burst out laughing at it, some firing off into teasing arguments at it as you turned to Alexia and gave her a beaming smile at the reaction. Before any of the others could wrap you up in a conversation again, she simply took your hand like she did earlier and walked you both over to the bar. Mapi, who had been part of that group and had almost passed out from pure elation when she saw the pair of you walk in together at the start of the night, watched you leave and nudged Ingrid vigorously. The poor Norwegian had been subject to all of the defender’s speculation and conspiracies of what had transpired between her two friends, and the dark-haired woman wasn’t sure if it was that or the current overwhelming excitement of her girlfriend that was worse.

Alexia ordered new drinks for you both at the bar, before turning to where you stood beside her and smiling softly down at you. You entertained her gaze, mirroring her smile as you waited for her to speak. But instead of doing so, she moved to stand behind you and tugged you back against her while her arms enveloped you completely. Her chin found home on your shoulder, her heart bursting at the seams when she heard you let out a content sigh. She turned her face into your neck then, discreetly scattering kisses up and down the skin there.

“Ale, what are you doing? All your teammates are here.” You told her quietly, leaning back into her and covering her arms with yours.

“Me da igual. Tendrás que perdonarme por ser tan pegajosa, pero no puedo apartar los ojos ni las manos de ti.” Alexia murmured, reaching around to grab her glass and take a sip from it, before focusing her attention back to you by kissing you. Her lips were cold from the ice of her drink, but they quickly warmed up against yours as she indulged in the kiss without a care for her surroundings. It was only when your drink was placed on the wood of the bar that she broke it off, smirking down at you and the blush to your cheeks.

If this was how she was going to act, you didn’t want the night to end.

Fortunately for you, it didn’t. Something you had learnt over the years was that the Spanish knew how to have a good night, and this was no different. The music kept coming, the euphoria kept running, and the dancing didn’t stop for a second. As the hours went on, Alexia came more and more out of her shell, and you saw a new side of her that made you weak at the knees.

Her actions got bolder as her inhibitions left her, and if she was clingy before, that only increased. Even when she substituted her alcohol for water, as did you, her affection continued to pour out. You were more than happy to revel in all she had to give. This was what you had longed for since the summer, and it still felt surreal that you were here right now.

Seeing Alexia so carefree and happy sparked the same feelings in you, it willed you to be just as open and unabashed in your joy, and it was fastly turning into one of the best times of your life because of it. But there were other feelings too, ones that were becoming quite unavoidable as they built up throughout the evening. And when the celebrations somehow amped up, there was a certain level of acknowledgement between you and Alexia. Your eyes communicated that to each other, coy smiles shared between you both in anticipation.

The pair of you continued to dance together, none the wiser to the partying around you anymore. You were more than content to stay in your own little bubble, allowing the tense thrill to grow whilst waiting for the other to make the first move. Unsurprisingly, it was Alexia who cracked, her next actions conveying the desperation that fizzed between the two of you.

“I think I said I had to make it up to you after our first date, no?” She hummed from behind you, one arm around your stomach as the other brushed your hair from your neck so that she could attach her lips to your pulse as she awaited your answer.

“Yes. Please.” The second word slipped out unknowingly, only realising what you had said after Alexia smirked into your skin. Her confidence radiated from her, and you took it and ran with it. “Don’t act like you don’t need it too, la reina.”

“Don’t call me that.” She grumbled and you turned in her hold with a raised eyebrow, your arms linking around her neck.

“What would you like instead?” You challenged, feeling her hands tighten their grasp just slightly.

“You know. Ale. Alexia.” You hummed and nodded, leaning a little closer and kissing her jaw on your way to placing your lips beside her ear.

“And where would you prefer me to call you that? Here, in this club where you can hardly hear me with your friends all around? Or in your apartment, in your bed?”

It was that final question from you that had her breathing in sharply and leading you out of the club for the final time that night. Earlier, when you left in a rush, you were wracked with anxiety and self-doubt. Now, you laughed with the woman you loved as she flagged down a taxi and clambered in behind you. She listed off her address as you gazed meekly at her from your seat, heart eyes so glaringly obvious despite the dim light of the car. Granted, she could probably feel your stare more than she could see it, though there wasn’t much else that the midfielder wanted to focus her attention on.

She smirked and shook her head when she noticed, her hand travelling across the middle seat and reaching its destination on your thigh. You placed your own over it, squeezing it once and averting your eyes to the city’s scenery that passed by, unable to maintain your infatuated look due to the overloading feeling of ardour that reinforced itself every time the footballer was in your vicinity.

Throughout the car ride to Alexia’s apartment, it was majoritively silent, bar the deafening beating of your heart in your ears that grew in its volume the closer you got. The driver’s GPS sounded out as he parked outside the building, and Alexia rushed to pay him before getting out and offering her hand to you. You took it with a shy grin, swinging it between you both as you made your way inside.

Back at the club, the tension was palpable and unmistakably charged. However, it had taken a turn during the short journey. Now it was teeming with nerves, both aware of what faces you when you step foot in that apartment. There’s exhilaration and simmering desire too due to how much you want it, it was something that had been thought about individually late at night. Ultimately, this would add a whole new layer to the growing relationship, and neither of you wanted to wait a second longer to be able to savour the aftermath and the moment.

And in the end, it was inexplicably better than you could have imagined. Once the initial awkwardness wore off, the desperation took over and gave the night a tale to tell. You hadn’t experienced anything like it– it was tentative and ineffably intimate and something you wouldn’t forget. It was perfect.

Most importantly, it didn’t leave you in a pit of anxiety afterwards. Being able to freely relish in the moment when it was over in the comforting hold of the figure you loved so wholly was something you appreciated greatly. Words wouldn’t do it justice, what it meant to you. All you could do was return the benevolence handed to you on a silver platter and hope that Alexia understood the gravity behind your actions.

The sheets covered your sated bodies, you with your head on her chest as her arms held you securely and sincerely, and they rustled when she reached over into her bedside table for something. You leaned up a little in confusion, watching her curiously as she searched around the drawer, only to pull out the bane of your existence.

“What are you doing with that?” You asked humorously, nestling back down into the warm, sturdy body beneath you.

She had gotten out your book. With a hum, she opened it and flicked to the back page. There she found your number, written clearly just as you had told her.

“I don’t believe it.” Alexia mumbled, one of her fingers tracing the ink there. “It really was there.”

Quietly, without disrupting the serenity of the room that had settled, you took it from her hands and dropped it onto the table on your side. Then you turned back to her, brushing some strands of hair from her face as you rested upon your elbows and cupped her face. You looked at her with a pointed gaze, leaning down to place a slow, meaningful kiss to her lips, before pulling back.

“Forget about that. We’re here now.” You whispered, thumbs stroking softly over her cheekbones as she accepted your words, willing herself out of that regretful mindset. Because she had you, right where she wanted you.

“We’re here now.” She repeated with a loving smile, one you instantly reciprocated as you nodded at her response.

On a night like this, there wasn’t much else that needed to be said. So you laid back down then, on your side as Alexia copied your position with the covers pulled up to your shoulders, face to face and barely able to make out each other’s features in the dark room.

That book, the one you nervously handed over to Alexia back in Menorca, was possibly one of the most revealing things you had done. It didn’t quite go the way you expected it to go, but it didn’t matter in the end. You got the result you wanted and it was so much better than you anticipated. There was still a lot to learn, about each other and the lives you led, though nothing felt unaccomplishable now that you had Alexia on your team.

Alexia didn’t quite know when your book had moved from the top of the table into the drawer, but it probably had something to do with how much it hurt to look at. It still didn’t fill her with the best thoughts whenever she saw it. She had no doubts that you being with her now would change that. She could see herself reading it in the near future, with you on the opposite end of the sofa, your feet in her lap as she got a glimpse into your soul. New memories could be made with it, and even right now, despite the grievances she had with it, it was still something she treasured deeply and she knew that would only become more true as time went on.

In your current position, you could just make out how deeply she was looking at you. There were a lot of things swirling around those favourite eyes of yours, but it was the insecurities there that you hadn’t noticed previously which caught your attention. Wordlessly, you willed her to voice them, and she did.

“Things might get difficult sometimes.” She began, and you acknowledged it with a gentle nod and a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “There is… a lot that comes with my job that I do not enjoy. I am afraid it will come between us.”

You could only guess what she meant. Finding out exactly what that was, was a task for another day. Right now, she needed your belief and your assurances, you knew that.

“I don’t care about that. As long as you promise that I’ll have you, then I don’t care about anything else. I only need you, that’s all. The rest is just background noise.” You told her, pleased to see those doubts dissipate before you, her whole body language changing as it did.

“You do. You do have me. I promise.” Alexia stated firmly, quietly sighing out of relief and exhaustion.

The day was beginning to take its toll on her. It had been pretty packed, with a full game of fiercely competitive football, partying, a whole load of emotions, and the events afterwards that had gotten her to this point. Sleep didn’t come so easily to you, even after all that had happened. You gladly took the extra time to rake your eyes over Alexia’s face, who seemed so at peace as she began to drift off. There was a brief moment where you envied that fact, but you shoved that thought away as quick as it came, because that was the old you. There was a new version of you now, and it was one that did have the capability to experience that very same tranquillity that Alexia was in the midst of. And it was all down to her, the woman resting in your arms.

There was just one more thing you needed clarity about, and it unfortunately meant disturbing the blonde’s bliss, but it couldn’t wait.

“Ale, will you go on a date with me?” You asked shyly, waiting for her reaction with a grimace, for what reason you weren’t sure of. She chuckled under her breath and subtly shook her head, which was indeed not what you were looking for, until she spoke before you could panic.

“You really just asked that after we spent the evening together and had sex?”

Your hand covered her mouth immediately, though the damage was already done and she laughed at that fact.

“It was a simple question that needed a simple yes or no.” You attempted to come across as serious, but there was a smile already there as Alexia pulled your hand away and nodded.

Her lips found yours in what you thought could be deemed as the softest kiss in mankind, before she leans back just enough to be able to murmur her answer against your lips.

“You don’t have to ask.”

—

there's a bit of pressure and nerves that comes with writing a part two like this so i hope i took the right path with the plot and that it was worth the wait 🙃

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

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blahblahblees · 7 months

Note

hey!!! i was thinking about fem!reader x cole water, something like an enemies/rivals to lovers. they’re both very competitive in class and in sports. but, when cole gets injured, he stops caring about school. now, i don’t know how to continue, maybe reader goes to his house to ask him after he fails or smth and they have a fight that ends with him confessing? idk do your thing!! lots of love

ヽ｀、☁ヽ｀─── swim ミ cole walter

✎ ·˚ ༘ ─── two headstrong rivals who’ve always been competitive in everything they do suddenly stop and when push comes to shove, maybe they’ll fall in love.

wc: 1,125

cole walter x fem!reader (use of she/her pronouns & use of y/l (your last name))

tw: kissing/making out (?)

a/n: shit description from me i’m sorry 🙏. but i wanna say before reading, this prompt leans more towards the book version of cole so that’s what was in my head when writing :)

THERE WAS something about Cole Walter that irritated and intrigued her all at the same time. The way he had this “don’t care” attitude, but had been well off to have at least a “B” in all of his classes. He was Cole Walter and he had been the one people eyed in the hallways. The one guy people wanted to be with and couldn’t have unless he looked your way.

And before his injury, the two of you were always neck and neck. It didn’t matter what the topic or subject was, the two of you just had to be better than the other. If you wanted a “A” in math, he would do his best to make an “A+” just to irk you. If he wanted to run laps around the track, you’d join in and out run him by a mile.

But that was before the injury. Before he came an even bigger asshole, which you didn’t think was possible. Something had shifted after the incident and he’d simply changed. He stopped caring about the sports, the academics, the feelings, almost stopped caring about himself it seemed.

And he just pushed people away, he wanted nothing to do with some people, and maybe that’s why the “Cole Effect” had worked so well. You’d be considered lucky if Cole Walter wanted something to do with you, even if it meant for one night.

But things seemed to never go right for Cole. He started failing and if he continued on this path he would repeating his junior year.

And his teachers assigned him to a tutor for every class and she just so happened to be one of them.

She would tutor Cole for science, but none of it seemed to stick. No matter how often they met for the tutoring session, Cole would only come back to her with “D’s” and “F’s” which she didn’t understand. She was a star student herself, so she didn’t quite understand how or why Cole was failing. It looked bad on the both of them and it seemed as if Cole just didn’t care.

So, one night, she decide that she would take matters into her own hands and simply as him why.

She knocked on the door of the Walter’s and on the other side stood Jackie Howard, a small smile on her face as she looked over at the girl.

“Hey.” Jackie smiled.

“Hey.” She replied. “Is Cole home?”

Jackie nodded, opening the door to allow her inside. “He’s upstairs. His room his the first door you see when you’re up there.”

She thanked Jackie and made her way upstairs and gently knocked on the door.

There was shuffling on the other side, but the door opened and Cole stood on the other side, his shirt absent and his shorts hanging absolutely too low, but he was in his room alone, so she couldn’t quite complain.

“What are you doing here, Y/L?”

“Can we talk?”

Cole rested his hands on the doorknob, his body pressed against the frame of the door. “About?”

She sighed deeply. “You keep failing and your grades are reflecting on my tutoring. So I was just wondering-“

“I appreciate you tutoring me.” Cole said, cutting her off. “I really do, but it’s clearly not working. So maybe we should just-“

“It’s wasn’t like this before.” She said. “You’re smart, Cole. I know you. You’ve gotten better grades than I have out of spite. All I’m asking you to do is to try and… study, listen to me when I’m tutoring you-“

“And if I don’t?”

She looked up at him. She was growing angry. Why was he cutting her short? Why wasn’t he trying?

“What’s your problem?” She asked. “Have I done something to you?”

“Not at all, Y/L.” He said calmly. “But it’s getting late, so maybe you should head back home.”

With that, Cole shut his door and she stood on the other side of it, looking at the wooden piece with her brows furrowed.

It was 8:30.

So, she opened the door and slammed it shut behind her as she stood in Cole and Danny’s room. The other twin absent.

“Can I help you?” He asked.

“What’s wrong you?” She asked. “All semester you’ve been failing every class, haven’t joined any extra curriculars, and have done nothing to fix that. I’m trying my best to be nice and tutor you. I’ve been nothing but nice to you and you’ve been nothing but an asshole since-“

“Since what, Y/L?” He asked, his hands pressed against the desk, his muscles flexing as he did so. “Since the accident?” He chuckled. “I had a scholarship. I had football. I don’t have any of that now, so what’s the point?”

“The point is to keep trying.”

Cole shrugged. “I still don’t see the point.”

Her expression softened as she looked at him. "The point is, you're worth more than that. You have potential, Cole. You just need to find your purpose, something that drives you."

"I don't know anymore," Cole said, his tone defeated. "Everything I thought I knew, everything I thought I wanted, it's all gone."

“You don’t need to figure all of that out right now.”

Cole looked down at her, his eyes searching hers. He heavily sighed as he began to think. Why was she the first person to actually talk some sense into him? Out of everyone, it’d been her to make him almost feel seen.

So, he stepped forward, cupping his hands onto her cheeks and gently pressed his lips against hers. It was a soft, tender kiss at first, as though he was testing the waters to see if she would respond.

Cole pulled back, his forehead resting against hers.

“I’m not going to be one of your girls, Cole.” She muttered.

“You’re not.” He said. “I’m sorry… I- I’ll try. I’ll start trying. I just one chance.”

She followed his eyes, trying to see if he’d been lying or that it was some sort of false hope.

But she couldn’t see it, no matter how hard she looked, nothing but a chance had been there.

So, she nodded and pressed forward, gently pressing her lips against his.

This time, the kiss was more passionate, their lips moving together with more urgency. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as his hands ran through her soft hair.

She let out a soft moan as the kiss deepened, her own hands running over his muscular chest as she pressed herself against him.

They pulled away for a moment, panting and grinning at each other.

“We’ll just take things slow for now, okay?” She said.

Cole nodded. “I can do that.”

— lucy has something to say !!

the book and movie are simply not the same

but anyway, i feel like this is kind of all over the place especially towards the end but its down so that’s all that matters.

my request are opened!

you can check out my rules and such before requesting and checking masterlist to see who i write for, for more!

#cole walter #cole walter imagines #cole walter x reader #cole walter x fem!reader #my life with the walter boys #mlwtwb #my life with the walter boys imagines #mlwtwb imagines #imagines #writing #blurbs #wips #netflix #netflix imagines

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supernovafics · 2 months

Text

series masterlist | last part — next part

pairing: modern!college!steve harrington x fem!reader, bestfriend!eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 3.4k words

warnings: explicit language, mentions of alcohol/drinking, a bit of drunk!reader and drunk!eddie, a lil angst

summary: steve is by your side at a last minute party

CHAPTER FIVE | ❝𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒘, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔❞

Fall Semester 2015

Would either of us even remember any of this tomorrow?

The music was too loud to outwardly verbalize that question, and it was forgotten after a second too, which probably only proved it to be true.

Instead, your mind shifted into thinking about what led you and Eddie to this current moment— a last-second canceled date, your abrupt suggestion to go to a frat party to celebrate the end of finals and also to cheer Eddie up, and his immediate yes.

The two of you drank cup after cup of some random mix of God knows what. It tasted absolutely horrible but it did its job— barely an hour into being at the party and you were effectively drunk, and so was Eddie; maybe even more than you. You had a feeling that had something to do with Chrissy and her canceling their date.

The number of people crammed into the house was probably a fire hazard at this point and it was starting to feel way too hot.

You were leaning back against a wall, because it was the only thing keeping you steady, and Eddie was in front of you. “We should leave.”

The music blasting through the speakers in the huge living room was so loud that you could barely even hear the words leave your mouth.

Eddie heard something, though, or attempted to read your lips in the shitty lighting, because he was shaking his head. “No, we should leave.”

You could only laugh in response at first.

“That’s what I said,” You told him, that time making your voice louder, matching his.

“Oh,” He said and smiled, a perfect drunken smile that made you smile back at him.

You wondered what he thought you had just said and you were about to ask him exactly that, but then someone was bumping into him from behind, which pushed him much closer to you, and the thought of saying anything was pushed away. His hands instinctively found your hips to steady himself as he let out a breath of a laugh and didn’t immediately step back away from you.

There was no reason for you to lean in a little more, but you did. It was an impulsive decision that was made solely by your heart because your head was in an entirely different place. Your thoughts were cloudy and all rational thinking was tossed to the side. Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, this actually felt like the right thing to do. And even if your best friend would’ve rejected you in that moment— pulled away and said that this wasn’t at all a good idea— you probably wouldn’t have been too fazed about it right then.

But, Eddie wasn't pulling away. Instead, he was meeting you halfway and closing the final bit of space between you two. You didn’t even have time to be surprised about it before his lips were on yours and your already muddled mind became even more blank.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

Spring Semester 2018

“If either of you would like to suddenly become really good at Physics and explain this velocity formula to me, that would be awesome.”

You looked up from the book you were reading, a biography about a random British author from the 1800s that was assigned for one of your classes, when you heard Robin’s words.

She pushed the textbook she had opened over to your and Eddie’s side of the table that the three of you were sitting at in the library.

Everything you learned in your high school Physics class had pretty much went in one ear and out the other, so looking at what she was pointing at in her textbook unsurprisingly made no sense to you. “I don’t understand any of this.”

Eddie took the quickest look at the opened page and shook his head before sliding the textbook back over to her. “I still don’t get why you decided to take that class.”

“I have to finally get a science course out of the way and this was the only one available this semester,” Robin quickly explained and then sighed. “I truly, truly regret it now.”

She took another look at the page before simply closing the textbook and picking up her phone.

When you all studied or decided to collectively work on your respective assignments together it was always agreed that the first floor of the library was the perfect place to do it because of the idea that being in a library meant that you were being more productive. But, that really was just an idea because the first floor of the library was a free-for-all all for noise and you guys never went to any other floor, so your “study nights” almost always turned into you rarely doing any actual studying after the first hour.

“Oh, anyway, look at this video I took of you and Steve during game night,” Robin abruptly said and handed her phone over to you. “I meant to show you yesterday, but it completely slipped my mind.”

It was during the Mario Kart tournament; you were quickly able to tell that because the video started with the camera focused on the TV screen when you were seconds away from getting in first place for the final race. The camera turned to you and Steve sitting next to each other on the small loveseat when you won; you smiling in victory and him pulling you in for a celebratory hug and pressing a kiss against your cheek. You were glad to see that in the video you actually couldn’t tell how, even though the entire night you had tried your hardest to make everything seem believable and comfortable between you two, in that moment you were inwardly tensing up because of how unexpected the action was.

“The fanfare makes a lot of sense. That was the only game we won that night,” You said once the video ended and you passed the phone back over to Robin.

“I actually like him,” She told you with a smile. “I vote to keep bringing him around.”

Eddie nodded. “Sure, keep bringing him around, but I need you back on my team for game night. We’re always killer at charades.”

“Yeah, if you guys are a team again you won’t cheat at charades like you and Talia did,” Robin said.

“That never happened,” He immediately responded, which made Robin roll her eyes and you only laughed.

Your phone began vibrating on the table right as Eddie shifted the conversation and went into talking about band stuff; a gig that he and the guys had on Friday at a bar across town.

Steve’s name popped up on your screen and when Robin noticed she let out a laugh. “Woah, did I kinda accidentally manifest him?”

“Now you should try to manifest a good grade on your Physics test,” Eddie joked.

“Good idea!”

You grabbed your phone and then stood up from the table. “I’ll be right back.”

You headed down a random empty aisle and then answered the call. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Steve started. “So I told my parents about us and they want to meet you, so a dinner is set up for Sunday.”

You took a second to process everything he had just said— which wasn’t a lot but it also kind of was— and then you were nodding even though he couldn’t see you. “Oh. Oh, wow, okay.”

“I can change it to a different day if Sunday’s not good.”

“No, Sunday’s fine,” You told him, which was technically true because you had nothing going on that night, but you didn’t expect this to happen so fast so things didn’t feel entirely fine. Even though the quickness made a lot of sense because things were meant to happen fast— you and Steve were only doing this whole fake dating thing for a month. “Just please tell me it’s not gonna be at some way too fancy restaurant.”

“No, don’t worry, I convinced them to just do it at the house,” He said, which placated your worries just for a second, but then you weren't sure if meeting his family in his childhood home sounded much better either. However, it was only Wednesday, and you were quickly telling yourself not to stress about any of this until, at least, Friday.

“Okay,” You said instead of anything else.

Things were quiet for a second and you were half-reading some of the spines of the books on the shelf in front of you before mindlessly speaking.

“So, how’s your week been so far?”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”

Both your and Steve’s words were said at the same time and then after the briefest of pauses with neither of you saying anything, it was as if you both wanted to immediately follow up and respond to each other. But as he was responding with, “Oh, it’s been good so far,” you were saying, “Okay, yeah, I’ll see you later.”

Another beat of silence hit and you kind of just wanted to end the call right there, but you stopped yourself. You hadn’t talked to him since game night and you were still trying to figure out what the dynamic between you two was aside from fake dating each other, and you were starting to think that maybe there really was nothing else to it. And maybe these kinds of moments only proved that.

“How’s your week been?” Steve asked, and you were a little surprised that he actually wasn’t trying to end the conversation, and you honestly didn’t mind the mundane question being tossed onto you.

“Good,” You answered, leaning back against the shelf behind you, and then started rambling a bit. “I had a test yesterday, which went fine, and Wednesdays are usually easy for me because that’s my least busy day so it’s been good so far too.”

“Nice.”

“Also, you got rave reviews from everyone after game night, by the way,” You said and then shook your head at yourself. “I don’t know why I randomly decided to mention that, but yeah.”

“I told you that I’m good at making people like me.”

“Even though that’s actually true, there’s something about you saying that statement that makes me want to hit you.”

“Wow, ouch,” Steve said, but you could also hear him laugh. “And on that note, I’m gonna hang up now.”

“See you Sunday,” You responded. “We can talk about it more later.”

“Yeah, see you Sunday.”

You hung up then and pocketed your phone in the back of your jeans as you headed back over to Robin and Eddie.

Robin looked up at you. “Are you ditching us to go hang with Steve?”

“No,” You answered, shaking your head and sitting back in your seat next to Eddie. “He just called to ask about doing something Sunday, so I’m seeing him then.”

There was no way that you were going to explain further and tell them that you were actually going to be meeting Steve’s parents; you knew exactly how insane it would sound if you did.

“Okay, good because we need your vote.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “For what?”

“For what we should do tonight. Should we be boring and rot away on the couch, like we almost always do, or go to a party that Vickie just texted about that one of her Art major friends is throwing?”

“It’s a Wednesday and you have a test tomorrow,” You reminded her.

“Yes, but this would be fun.”

“I think rotting away on the couch would be very fun too.”

Robin groaned at your words and Eddie smiled at you.

“Thank you for agreeing,” He said.

“Okay, don’t get too happy yet,” Robin said to both of you. “Talia still has to vote and now she’s the tiebreaker.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

Apparently, this night was one of the rare moments where Talia was in the mood for a party, so you and Eddie were ultimately outvoted and by nine o’clock, you all were headed to a house that was on a completely different side of town.

Robin and Vickie broke off from the group pretty much immediately, and Talia was pulled into a conversation with someone she knew from a class, and you and Eddie were left with each other; which was something that happened more often than not. You two usually always stuck together at parties, and then after the Chrissy breakup, that became even more of an always thing.

This night, you first both grabbed a drink and then walked around the small and too-packed house before settling in a random spot. After an hour, you wouldn’t say that you were drunk, but you definitely were comfortably tipsy, and that made the game that you and Eddie were playing ten times better; which was a weird mix between rock, paper, scissors and a staring contest. It was entirely childish and dumb and barely made sense, but what else was there to do?

“I still don’t fully understand the rules of this game,” Eddie said, laughing a bit.

You nodded, laughing too. “Me neither, but I’m pretty sure I’m winning, though.”

“Okay, I don’t think that’s true.”

You could tell he was about to say something else but then his gaze was focusing on someone behind you who he waved at after a moment. You turned around and saw Steve maneuvering through the crowd and walking over to you and Eddie.

It was Robin's idea for you to ask Steve to come to the party; although it probably should’ve been yours because it was a perfect opportunity to play up your “relationship.” However, you did tell him that you knew exactly how short notice this party invite was, so if he didn’t want to come, you’d be completely okay with it. But, he said that he had no problem with coming and turning on the fake dating charm for the night. His exact words were, “If you’re going to have to suffer through a dinner with my parents, I can easily go to a party for you,” which didn’t help ease any of your worries about what Sunday would be like, but, at least, he was coming tonight.

“Hey,” Steve said, greeting you with a kiss on the cheek and wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

You were suddenly glad for your slight tipsiness because it actually made it feel easy to lean into Steve’s touch and feel entirely okay about him kissing you.

“Hi,” You looked up at him. “We’re currently in the middle of playing a game that doesn’t make any sense, but I’m winning.”

Eddie shook his head, laughing a little. “She’s definitely not winning. If anything, we’re tied.”

“If it makes you feel better to say that, fine,” You said with a shrug and only laughed when he rolled his eyes at you.

“Can I know the rules of the game?” Steve asked.

“It’s basically a mix between rock, paper, scissors and a staring contest,” Eddie started explaining and then stopped abruptly. “Hold on, Talia’s giving the signal. I’ll go help her out.”

You nodded at his words as you looked at Talia and saw that she was, in fact, doing the very subtle wave in your guys’ direction.

“Signal?” Steve asked you as Eddie walked away. He dropped his arm from your shoulders and went to simply holding your hand instead.

“Talia is always hardcore flirted with at parties like this— Art majors are always so obsessed with her “vibe” for some reason. So we swoop in whenever she wants to get out of a conversation. It’s also something we all do, if needed,” You briefly explained. You looked over at her again and saw Eddie jumping into the conversation that she was having with some random guy. You had no idea what Eddie was saying, but he was moving his arms around excitedly, which made you smile. He always did something similar to that when saving someone from a conversation; an attempt to scare the random person away with his overdramatic antics.

“Your friend group is so interesting,” Steve said and when you looked back at him, you noticed the amused smile on his face. “Also, you’re surprisingly chill right now. How much did you drink?”

“Only two cups of whatever punch was in the kitchen,” You answered, remembering just how bad it had tasted. “Did you just get here? I almost thought you weren’t coming anymore.”

“Yeah, the drive took a lot longer than I thought it would,” He said and you nodded. “I texted you.”

“Oh, I think my phone’s dead,” You responded, pulling it out of your jacket pocket to check, but it slipped out of your hand and hit the ground instead. You immediately reached down to grab it, and as you stood back up, you got hit with a wave of dizziness. “Woah, shit.”

Steve was grabbing your arm to steady you when you stumbled a bit. “I thought you said you only had two drinks.”

“Yeah, I did. I just stood back up too fast and got a little dizzy.”

“You wanna go outside for a second?” He asked, and suddenly the thought of getting some fresh air sounded really good to you.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

His hand found yours again and he led you to the backyard. There was nothing in the small yard aside from a rusty old lawn chair that was sitting under a tree in the farthest part of the backyard, but it was luckily just long enough to fit both of you.

“Be honest,” You started, turning to look at Steve. “How bad is Sunday night gonna be?”

He was quiet for a second and then shook his head. “Let’s not talk about it right now.”

“Oh, God. I’ll take that as very bad.”

He bypassed your statement. “You want me to go grab you some water or something?”

“Nice job at changing the subject. I’m okay, though,” You said. “Do you want me to get you something? I can also be a chivalrous and considerate fake girlfriend.”

Steve laughed a little. “No, I’m fine.”

You noticed the sliding doors that led to the backyard open and then saw Eddie walk out. You let your hand slowly find Steve’s and then you pushed yourself closer to him, closing the final bit of distance between you two on the patio chair.

“You okay?” Steve asked, and you realized how weird your previous actions probably seemed out of context.

“Yeah, it’s just that Eddie’s walking over to us right now, so we should play it up,” You said and then gave Eddie a quick wave with your free hand.

“Oh, smart,” Steve said, seeing him and waving too. “You’re getting good at this.”

You smiled at him. “I learned from the best serial dater.”

“I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”

“You should,” You told him and then proceeded to say something that would’ve probably taken a lot more courage to say if you weren’t tipsy. “I wish I was more like you, I think. I wish I didn’t care about relationships and feelings because if I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t be hopelessly in love with one of the most important people in my life.”

“It’s not hopeless,” Steve said, making his voice lower because Eddie was only a few feet away.

You didn’t get the chance to think about saying anything in response to that before your best friend was standing in front of you and Steve.

“Hey,” Eddie started, eyes on you. “Talia wants to leave, so I’m gonna head out with her too. Do you wanna come with us or are you staying?”

Any other time, the answer would’ve been an obvious yes— in fact, he wouldn’t have even asked the question because he already knew your answer— you’d always leave with him. But this case was different because of Steve sitting right next to you, and a girl that “really liked a guy” would stay at a party with him, right? Your slightly inebriated brain was assuming the answer was yes.

“Staying with Steve,” You ultimately answered. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Eds.”

“Okay,” He said to you with a nod, and then looked at Steve. “Get her home safe, Harrington.”

It was such a subtle statement, but it still warmed your heart all the same.

Steve nodded. “Of course.”

Eddie looked at you one more time, giving you a final small smile which you returned before heading off.

“It’s not hopeless,” Steve told you again, and that time, you felt a little bit closer to believing him.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

next part!

taglist (lmk if you want to be added or taken off<333); @eddiernunson , @loulouloueh , @the-aster , @blckburd , @totally-bogus-timelady , @yujyujj , @irhdifartzamfyaa , @mochminnie , @munsonssweets , @blckbrrybasket , @xprloki , @definitionwanderlust , @dwcode , @sun-fiower-seed , @keerysfolklore

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington x you #eddie munson x reader #bestfriend!eddie munson #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington series #eddie munson series #stranger things fic #stranger things fluff #stranger things imagine

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fanfic-wonderland · 7 months

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This Is War {Fred Weasley} - Part 2

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Summary: After avoiding Fred for so long, (Y/N) finally has to face him again when they're paired up for a Potions assignment.

Word count: 7.8k

Read part one here.

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“Are you still not going to talk to him?” Daphne asks me during lunch, the same way she has asked me every day for the past few weeks.

Ever since I told her about my little… moment with Fred, she hasn’t stopped talking about it one way or another, even when I’ve asked her plenty of times not to. She seems to have become obsessed with the idea of him and I getting together because, according to her, we’d make “an oddly cute” couple, and also “because there is nothing interesting happening in my life and I want to live through you”. I don’t know what’s gone wrong with her head; I have made it extremely clear that the kiss meant nothing to me, that it was just something that happened in the heat of the moment when I was dampened and terrified and he was the only one there giving me the slightest bit of comfort. Either she still doesn’t get that, or she just doesn’t want to. “For the last time, Daphne Greengrass,” I say through gritted teeth. “No. And It’s the last time I’ll say it.”

Daphne whines like a toddler. “But why? It’s clear that he wants to talk to you!”

The kiss happened nearly two weeks ago. After I fled the scene, Fred made numerous attempts to approach me, but I would always find a way to cut the conversation short or avoid it at all costs. He seemed to finally get the hint because It’s been a few days since his last attempt. The only one who hasn’t gotten the hint yet is the girl sitting across from me. “He has his own life to worry about. I’m pretty sure he dropped it already, and so should you.”

She pouts as I stab a piece of pork chop and chew on it. “How are you so sure if you haven’t even talked to him about it yet? Maybe he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable and he’s just waiting for you to reach out to him.”

“Forget it, Daphne, there’s nothing to talk about,” I state firmly. “I made a stupid little mistake, that’s all. It’s not like I’m going to go ahead and do it again.”

“I bet you want to, though,” she mutters as she drinks from her cup.

Her voice is low, and she thinks she’s sneaky, but I hear her. I refrain from saying anything else about it, though. It’s no use trying to convince her otherwise.

Fortunately, Daphne does not bring him up for the remainder of our lunch, nor does she bring him up while we learn how to turn vinegar into wine during Charms, or when we’re fighting not to fall asleep during History of Magic. I begin to think that maybe she’s finally gotten the hint until we arrive at the Potions classroom.

Professor Snape places a small bubbling cauldron on top of his desk as we all walk in—Gryffindors on one side of the room and Slytherins on the other. Through the corner of my eye, I spot the unmistakable pair of redheaded twins, sitting two tables to my right, and I fight the urge to turn and see if one of them is looking. “Settle down, all of you,” Professor Snape says in his usual dull voice. “Today, aside from your usual class, you will be placed in pairs for a special project. You will have to work with another student and brew the most powerful Truth Serum to ever exist—the Veritaserum. While it is very easy to sneak it into someone’s pumpkin juice, the brewing process is long and complex. That is why you’ll be working with a partner to make this potion. The longer its effect, the higher your grade.”

A Gryffindor boy raises an arm and Snape turns to him with a sneer. “Does that mean we have to work on it through Spring break?”

“Unless you want to fail, then yes, you should start on the first day of Spring break.”

Nearly every student in the classroom, including Daphne and I, groans in protest. Snape’s lips curl up into a nasty smirk. “That’s quite enough, I do not need to hear your whining. Get it done, or else you fail my class.”

As students begin to look around for their desired partners, I link my arm with Daphne’s. “It shouldn’t be too hard once we combine our geniuses.”

Daphne laughs and agrees. Professor Snape’s eyes fall on us for a quick second before he adds, “I forgot to mention that this is not a friendship project. This time, I’ll be assigning the pairings.”

The class groans even louder than the first time. “Enough,” Snape holds a hand up and we quiet down. “Perhaps when you learn to behave in my class I’ll give you the privilege of choosing your partner, but right now you'll work with what I give you. Now…”

Snape taps the cauldron with the tip of his wand twice and two small pieces of paper fly out of the cauldron. He catches them mid-air and begins to read aloud. “Johnson, Angelina and Warrington, Cassius.”

And then he does the same thing with the rest of the students. Daphne and I frown at each other once we hear her name being called alongside Alicia Spinnet but I guess it was expected that we’d be separated for this assignment from the beginning. The problem is, I realize as I scan the room, that there’s no one else I’d like to work with, and the people who would be fairly tolerable are already paired up with someone else. This assignment is looking to be the worst of the year so far.

“Weasley, Fred and (Y/L/N), (Y/N).”

The absolute worst.

Daphne gasps quietly once she hears the names, her eyes on the brink of popping out. “Did he just…”

“Uh-huh,” I can’t construct a proper reaction. It feels like someone has just slapped me.

I make the mistake of looking over at Fred only to find that he’s already staring at me. He shrugs innocently but he’s clearly trying to hold back a smile while George is dying from laughter behind him. I glare at them and turn away. It can’t be a coincidence that we ended up working together. I refuse to believe that life is this cruel. “I don’t get it,” I protest as we walk out of the classroom. “How in the bloody hell do I get paired up with the person I wanted to avoid the most?”

“Hey, look on the bright side,” Daphne suggests, like there actually is a bright side. “At least you’re not working with Crabbe or Goyle.”

“You know, I think at this point I’d rather be working with either of them. At least they’re tame.”

“Yeah, and they’ll probably be more concerned with trying to eat your lunch or something.”

I laugh at her words but it is still not enough to distract me entirely from the situation. Because at the end of the day, I’m still paired up with Fred Weasley for an assignment I could do independently. “What have I possibly done to deserve something like this? There’s no way that life would just pull something like this out of nowhere.”

Daphne places a hand on my shoulder. “I did tell you to clear things out with him.”

I sigh. “You did. Do you think I’m being punished for avoiding the situation?”

“I totally do,” She nods. “Well that, or maybe it was just that Felix Felicis I drank in the morning taking effect,”

“True,” I agree… and then I halt my steps. “Wait, what did you just say?”

She stops walking as well, blinking cluelessly. “Oh, remember that Felix Felicis I brewed months ago? Well, I drank some of it today to help me with the Transfiguration test and I guess I did a great job brewing it because I seem to keep getting good luck everywhere I go. Neat, right?”

“And you’ve also been crying about Fred and I not talking for weeks,” I grab her by the collar of her shirt and she shrieks. People passing by shoot us odd looks but I’m too busy throwing daggers at her. “You were wishing for something like this to happen and of course, as soon as you drink a bit of Liquid Luck, it happens.”

“Well…” She tries to think of something before she gives up. “Okay yeah, so maybe it was kind of my fault, but you know what? You’ll thank me soon enough.”

“Right now I want to murder you,” I push her back and start walking away.

“Oh, hush, It’s not that big of a deal,” Daphne catches up. “So what if you have to work with him on a potion that takes too long to brew? So what if you have you spend your free time with him and—”

“Stop, stop, stop,” I cover my ears. “I do not want to hear it!”

Daphne leans closer and lowers her voice. “Well, you better do something about that because I think he’s waiting to talk to you.”

I follow her eyes and turn to look at Fred, who is usually walking alongside George and Lee Jordan but now is on his own leaning against a wall, hands buried in his pockets. He doesn’t try to hide the fact that he’s staring at me and I have to turn away. “I guess I do have to talk to him at some point. There’s no way out of this…”

She shakes her head slowly and I sigh. It takes every bit of me to turn back around and start walking towards him, but I do it. For the first time in what feels like so long I’m standing face-to-face with him; the two of us just stare at each other for a few moments. “Hi,” Fred breaks the silence.

“Hi,” I say flatly.

There’s a slight flirtatious glint in his eyes all of a sudden. “So… we’re all coupled up now, eh?”

I blink. “Can you not phrase it like that? Anyway, as you already know we have to work on this potion during our Spring break.”

Fred nods slowly. “Right…?”

“So, that means that we’ll have to meet outside of Hogwarts.”

“You want me to come over to your house, then?” He wiggles his eyebrows.

I tense up. I could never consider asking him to come over to my house, not even jokingly. That place is cold and empty, and my family is not the most welcoming with families like Fred’s. Even if I’m not fond of Fred, I would never want to put him through something like that. “Your house sounds like the better option, if you don't mind.” I say.

Fred raises an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“Yes, why?”

He shrugs. “I just think that maybe my house won’t be to your taste, that’s all.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. As long as your family doesn’t mind, I can stop by.”

“They won’t. Here—” Fred takes out a folded parchment paper and hands it to me. “Here’s my address. I’ll see you, then?”

“Yeah. Until then.”

We walk away from each other and I’m feeling nauseous all of a sudden.

Bloody hell, I have no idea how I’ll survive this…

***

The first day of Spring break arrives in the blink of an eye. Part of me is glad that I don’t have to spend my day at the manor because I’d rather be anywhere else, even Fred Weasley’s house. The other good thing is that, since I can finally use magic outside of school, I can simply apparate anywhere whenever I want. We decide to meet close to sunset, so around five thirty I gather everything I need and I get ready to disapparate from my house without the need to remind my parents where I’ll be. I’m not even sure if they’re still around (or if they even care) but I don’t think of them as the horrible sensation of apparating begins. Everything twists and turns around me, including myself, until finally, I stand amid sunshine, peace, and fresh air. I take it all in once I regain my composure. The place is a beautiful meadow and in it, a few yards away from me, stands a very peculiar, very lopsided house. It’s several stories high, with about four or five chimneys perched on top of its red roof, and a nice open yard at the entrance. I look around to make sure that there are no other houses around. This has to be it.

I walk toward it, careful not to bother the chickens wandering around the yard. There’s a sign near the entrance that reads THE BURROW and that’s how I’m certain that I’m in the right place. Fred specifically wrote that name down on the instructions.

Now that I know that I’m at Fred Weasley’s house, I start getting a tad bit nervous. “Come on, (Y/N), you got this. You’re just here to work on a school project, It’s no big deal.” After taking a few deep breaths, I finally find the courage to knock on the door. For the first few seconds, nothing happens, but soon I begin to hear faded footsteps coming from inside. They start sounding closer, and soon enough someone is opening the door. It’s an older woman with lovely red hair, slightly shorter than me. I instantly know that I am staring down at Fred’s mother. “Hello, dear. You must be (Y/N),” She greets me warmly and I nod with a courteous smile. “Oh, good, how wonderful that you’ve made it! Fred has talked so much about you these past few days.”

“Has he?”

“Oh, yes—come in, come in!” Mrs. Weasley steps aside so I can cross the threshold. “And he wanted everything to look good before you arrived. It usually takes a lot to get him to do his chores, but this time he started on them without me even asking him, so I bet you’re quite a special girl. Anyway, you set your stuff over there on the sofa, make yourself comfortable, and I’ll fetch him. Dinner’s almost ready so I hope you’re hungry.”

She gives me one final smile before she walks up the stairs while calling Fred’s name, but my mind can only spiral around the things she was saying a moment ago. My face feels like It’s boiling, and it shouldn’t be, but the fact that his mom thinks that I’m a ‘special girl’ to him makes me…

Nope. No. No. You need to snap out of it, girl.

I focus my attention back on my surroundings. Everything is so different from my house… and yet, somehow, It’s so much better. The living room is welcoming and cozy and homey. The smell of roast beef and potatoes fills the air, making my stomach grumble. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was earlier. I sit down on the sofa and wait patiently for Mrs. Weasley to come back. I’m staring at the family clock, watching the golden hand with Fred’s face on it pointing at the word HOME, until I hear quick footsteps coming down the stairs. I turn to look at Fred’s real face this time. “I see you were able to get here without getting lost on the way,” He says.

I pry my attention away from the fact that his hair is dripping wet and sticking to his forehead like he just got out of the shower. “I did not doubt myself for a moment. Shall we start working on the potion so we can get it over with?”

“Wow, you really don’t want to be here, do you?” Fred chuckles. “We’re not even going to wait for dinner first?”

I sigh. “I just don’t think It’s a good idea for me to stay too long.”

“Because you kissed me.” He doesn’t say it like a question.

“Can you not say that so loud?” I shush him, making sure his mom is still out of sight, but his grin does not falter. I don’t even want to imagine how red my face is. “But… yes, kind of.”

“Well, I’m willing to look past it if you want me to,” He says. “Unless there’s another reason you don’t want to stay?”

I furrow my eyebrows. “What other reason could there be?”

“I guess I thought that maybe you’d think my house isn’t as nice as yours…”

I stare at him in disbelief. “You really have to stop assuming that I have some sort of superiority complex over you. And for your information, I think your house is lovely.”

Fred looks surprised for a moment. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I confirm. “I probably like it a lot more than mine.”

He stares at me for a second but before either of us can say anything else, Mrs. Weasley comes back to the room. “Fred, why don’t you show (Y/N) around the rest of the house? I’ll call you all back here once the food is ready.”

Fred turns to me. “You want to?”

I cannot bring myself to say no in front of his mother. “Sure,”

He starts his little house tour from the top floor, which happens to be where his younger brother, Ron, and his best friend, Harry Potter, stay. There are five floors in total but there’s not much to see. It's mostly just the bedrooms, but the house is still larger than what I had envisioned. The family is much larger as well. “This is the second floor, and our last stop,” Fred says once we take the last step. There are two bedroom doors on this floor level. “And this is mine and George’s room. I’ll let you get a sneak peek of our latest invention if you behave.”

I roll my eyes as he opens the door. “Gee, what an honor.”

Fred and George’s bedroom is somehow almost exactly as I had imagined it—not that I’ve been spending time imagining what their room looks like. It’s a simple room: it has two identical beds, each with a bedside table, a large wardrobe, some posters pasted around the walls, and a desk holding stuff… lots of different stuff. There is a particular lingering smell of gunpowder around and I cannot even begin to imagine the things that happen inside this walls. I step inside and glance at the mess on the desk. Amongst everything else, I see a briefcase with the words Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes engraved on the side sticking out from the rest of the things. I point toward it with a questioning look. “Ah,” He clasps his hands together. “I see you’ve already spotted our products.”

“Your products?”

“George and I invent joke products,” Fred explains. “We’ve actually started testing them out at Hogwarts recently.”

“Really, at Hogwarts? And you don’t get in trouble for it?”

“Well, I didn’t say that,” Fred wags his finger practically on my face. He walks to the case and opens it; a bunch of bottles, vials, and boxes of all kinds jump out all at once and set themselves in front of us like a magic exhibition. “But anyway, we mostly just want feedback. We’re planning to open our own joke shop after we graduate and we want everything to be right.”

“Huh,” I never would’ve guessed. When he mentioned their “inventions” I instantly assumed he was talking about crafts or something. I know Fred and George love to get under people’s skin with their little pranks, but I never thought that they loved pranking so much they wanted to build a living around it. But then again, we’ve never been close, so all I know about them is what I've seen back at the castle, which I also tend to avoid.

As I go over the products in silence, my eyes get drawn to the sight of a small brown box. It doesn’t have a label or a logo or any eye-catching design, but it has COMB-A-CHAMELEON handwritten on it and that’s enough to get me intrigued. I look back at him, asking for his permission, and when he motions for me to go on with his hand, I grab it. Inside I can only find an ordinary-looking hairbrush, which throws me off because I was expecting something more, I don’t know, magical? I guess my confusion is clear because Fred laughs lightly while I just keep staring. “Would you like to try it out?” He asks.

I look up at him warily, looking for any signs of malice, but all I can find is a redheaded boy who seems excited by the idea of me using one of his products. “I don’t know if I should…”

“I can promise you that It’s nothing too bad.”

“You don’t strike me as trustworthy when it comes to these things.”

“Okay, fair enough,” Fred admits. “But I’m telling the truth this time, I promise. Go ahead, try it.”

I almost back down from it but I can’t help feeling bad just thinking about it. Fred looks like a kid who attempted to make breakfast by himself and is waiting for his mom to eat it. So I grab the brush and, hesitantly, I start combing my hair. A few brushes are enough to do the trick. Soon enough, I feel some tugging happening around my head. The process lasts a few seconds and then I feel the weight of my hair go down, but it feels lighter. Fred rubs his chin while he stares at me. I have no idea how I look but he nods in approval. “Alright,” He motions toward the mirror hanging from the door. “Go ahead and take a look.”

When I turn to look, I gasp. I expect my hair, which I had let fall down my back in curls earlier, to look like a bird’s nest by the time I’m done, but much to my surprise it is now pulled back into a nice long braid. “Fred,” I run my fingers through it. “This is very impressive! And you guys came up with this from scratch?”

“Yup. Every single one of them.” He sounds proud of himself and his brother. And he should be.

“What else do you have?”

“Oh, tons of stuff,” He reaches and grabs another box, the same color but slightly bigger. This one says SKIVING SNACKBOX in big bold letters and when he opens it there's a ton of what looks like individually wrapped pieces of candy. Fred takes a single piece and removes the wrapping. One side is an orange color while the other one is purple. “This is our most tested product so far. When you eat the orange half of the candy you start to feel ill—nothing too bad, just enough to get you out of class—and then once you’re finally out, you take the purple half and you feel better again, ready to enjoy your free time. Brilliant, I know.”

“And you’re aware that this leaves a horrible example for younger generations, right?”

“Yeah, we hope so,” He rubs his palms together and it reminds me of a cheesy villainous moment. Then, he offers me the open candy in his hand. “Wanna try it out?”

I roll my eyes and push his hand away. “I can’t believe that you and your brother are throwing your talent away by making… these.”

“Wait, did I just hear a compliment in between all of that?” Fred leans close with a hand behind his ear, pretending to be bad at hearing.

My eyes roll for a second time because this boy just loves to make my eyes… nevermind. “All I’m saying is that maybe you should focus your attention on creating something more… useful?”

Fred pretends to look offended. “This is useful! Why spend so many hours in class when you can be using the time to do more important things, like playing games or sleeping?”

“Of course,” I say sarcastically. “It’s not like we need education or anything,” I then spot a bigger box, this one a bright pink color, and point to it. “What’s that?”

When he sees what I’m pointing at, he smirks at me. “Those are our WonderWitch products. They come in a variety; we have things like pimple vanishers to love potions.”

I quirk a brow. “Love potions?”

“The best love potions around,” He says, a hint of a smirk on his lips as he leans against his desk. “Although I don’t think you really need one.”

I nearly gape at him. “What do you mean?”

Fred shrugs. “I think Malfoy may already have the hots for you. I see the way he looks at you.”

“Excuse me?!” In what world does Draco Malfoy like me? And in what world would I ever reciprocate those same feelings?

“I’m joking,” Fred chuckles at my mortified expression. “But I’m sure there are guys at the school who are head over heels for you.”

I scoff. “I doubt it.”

He stares down at me, and I swear we’re standing closer to each other than before. “I wouldn’t.”

I blink a few times. I want to say something back but I do not know what. What do you even say to that? Luckily, Mrs. Weasley’s voice coming from downstairs, announcing that dinner is ready, fills in the blank space and I take the opportunity to close the subject. “We should go.”

We exit the twins’ bedroom but before we can head down the stairs, I halt my steps. “Wait,” I point to the other door. “You never told me whose room that is.”

Fred turns to look at it. “Oh,” Something flashes across his expression and I’m unsure what it is. “No one’s. Come on, Mom’s waiting.”

He keeps walking and, although I find his reaction odd, I follow him without saying anything else.

***

I have never been close to my family. Due to our differing ideals, my parents and I always end every single conversation with an argument, so we try to speak to each other as little as possible. My brother is kind of walking along the same path, unfortunately, and although he’s a bit more tolerable, a lot of times it still feels like I’m talking to a wall. Dinner, specifically, has always been a horrible time, because I get to sit there and listen to them complain about muggle-borns, support the Ministry and its lies, praise my brother for following their footsteps, and criticize me for never wanting to be like them.

With the Weasleys, it feels completely different. It feels nice and comfortable, and the topic of blood status is not brought up once. Their dynamic feels so natural and like how a true family should be. Mrs. Weasley scolds her children every five minutes but you can tell that she loves them more than anything else. She also likes to insist on me grabbing more servings, and if my stomach was bottomless I’d probably eat every single thing on the table. Mr. Weasley is fascinated by my knowledge of the muggle world and how it functions, although It’s mostly just things I’ve learned from Muggle Studies. Contrary to what I’ve always thought of her, Ginny is pretty cool. She and I share similar tastes and her impressions are hilarious and spot on. Ron is a bit awkward and is mostly just eating and talking to Harry Potter, who happens to be staying over for spring break, but now and then he asks me a question if he’s interested enough in what I’m saying. The twins get in trouble several times, one of them being when they decided to sneak a fake spider into Ron’s plate, which made him nearly faint. And although I’ve been acting like a total bitch to him for so long, Fred makes sure that I don’t feel left out, often trying to include me in the conversation or playfully teasing me in a way. But I find that I don’t mind it; It’s the most fun I’ve had in a while.

After we’re done with dinner, I am forced to decline Ginny’s offer to go flying for a bit because we still have to work on the potion, which I had almost forgotten about by the time Mrs. Weasley brought in dessert, but I tell her that we can try and get together another time to do so. Fred and I head directly back to his room so we can get it over with. I'm surprised to discover that Fred works really well as a team when he actually commits to it. “Can I ask you a question?” I ask him while I add and stir Powdered Moonstone into the cauldron.

He thinks about it but not for long. “Only if I can ask one back.”

Of course, there’s always a catch with him. “Okay, whatever,” I say defeatedly. “Whose room is the one across from yours?”

Fred sighs as his usual playful demeanor suddenly drops for a moment, but he tries to hide the fact that the question has any effect on him as he helps me slice Adder's Fork. “It’s Percy’s, my older brother,” He finally answers. “He kind of doesn’t live here anymore.”

“Did something happen?” I ask without thinking. And then I realize how nosy I sounded. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked, It’s none of my business—”

“No, I don’t mind,” He shakes his head. He’s being genuine. “You know about the whole thing happening with Harry and the Ministry of Magic, right?”

“About You-Know-Who coming back and the Ministry feeding lies to everyone because they’re cowards?”

Fred nods. “Pretty much. Well, Percy is siding with the Ministry because he's a git, and he and Dad had a very bad argument about it a few weeks ago. Then he just left and we haven’t heard from him since.”

“Oh, wow,” I say with wide eyes. “That must’ve been hard for all of you.”

“Especially for mom. She’s cried every single day after he left.”

There’s a hint of sadness in his tone that I’ve never heard from him before and I can’t shake away the uncomfortable feeling I get from it. I guess I’ve never thought of Fred Weasley as someone who gets sad now and then, who maybe even cries when he’s upset, but at the end of the day, he’s still human just like me. “I’m so sorry.” I can’t help but say.

“You don’t have to be,” Fred says, giving me a reassuring smile. “But anyway, now It’s my turn,” His tone changes drastically back to its typical self. “Why didn’t you want me to visit your house? Because I saw how tense you got when I mentioned it.”

“Simple,” I slightly raise the heat on the cauldron after Fred drops the Adder’s Fork into the mixture. “My family is not very pleasant to be around with.”

“I guess I kind of figured. Are they…?”

“Blood supremacists? Yes,” I answer. “The worst kind possible. That’s why as soon as I graduate I want to find my own place and cut all ties with them immediately. They know I want to, and they don’t care, either.”

Fred remains silent for a moment while he adds the Jobberknoll Feathers. “I didn't know that.”

I shrug. “I guess I've grown used to it. I've had to put up with them my whole life, but I'm glad I'll soon have the chance to go my own way.”

“Another question,” He says, almost like he’s asking permission to do so, but he doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Are your parents Death Eaters?”

The question stings, and I consider lying for a quick moment, but I slowly nod.

Fred’s eyes grow big. “Bloody hell.”

“Yup,” I say. It’s a conversation I don’t want to have with anyone but he would’ve found out eventually. It’s a shock he didn't know about it already. “That's why people tend to have a bad image of me once they find out. It's bad enough that I'm in Slytherin, people already think I'm a delinquent just by that alone. And that’s why I rather just not talk about my family.”

The room goes quiet for a second while I stir the potion clockwise. Then, Fred says, “Well, congrats. You’ve actually made me feel bad.”

“What for?”

“Before getting to know you better, I didn't like you for the mere fact that I thought you were an uptight Slytherin, just because you seemed to dislike mine and George’s pranks,” He explains.

I chuckle, reminiscing about the ongoing war between both of our Houses and all the times Fred and George managed to piss us off. “Hey, I don’t hold it against you. You’re not the only one. Besides, I didn’t like you either, so we’re even.”

Fred smirks. “Didn’t?”

“I guess you’re not… as bad as I thought,” I confess, avoiding his eyes.

“Huh,” He says. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me.”

***

When I leave the Burrow, there’s a hollow feeling in my chest. As soon as I’m greeted by the cold presence of my parents back at the manor, I realize how long I’ve always longed for something like what I experienced tonight. In a single day the Weasleys made me feel like I'd been a part of their family forever, something my own family has yet to accomplish.

The Easter break goes by way too slowly, and for me that’s not necessarily a good thing. I spend a lot of alone time at the manor, although sometimes I meet up with Daphne, and on the second to last day, I go back to the Burrow one more time because there is still one important step to complete in the brewing process, which is to get the potion to absorb moonlight on the night of the full moon. But we manage to do it without trouble, although, by the time I'm back at the manor, there is something deep down still troubling me.

When we’re finally back at Hogwarts, Fred finds me to test out the potion the day before we have to show it in class, and we go all the way up to the Astronomy Tower. “Okay,” Fred says as soon as we are all settled in. “You got the good stuff?”

I grab my bag and take out the the vial of colorless liquid. It might as well be water, exactly as it should be. The two of us observe the Veritaserum with pride. I reach into the bag again and take out a glass dropper I’d borrowed from Daphne while he opens the vial. “So, who goes first?” Fred asks.

I purse my lips in thought. “What if we drink it at the same time and then we just take turns asking each other a question?”

“Nice. Rock paper scissors to see who gets to ask first?”

We tie for two rounds straight before he beats me with rock. I hand him the dropper and he squeezes some of the liquid into it. “Remember, three drops should be enough for it to work,” I remind him.

He nods. He passes the dropper back to me when he’s done and I take the three drops. There’s no smell and no taste, either, which is better than it being disgusting. I wait for something to happen, any indication that the serum has started taking effect, but I don’t feel any different. Fred seems to feel the same. “So… how do we know if It’s working?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “Ask me a question, I guess.”

“Uhh… what’s your favorite color?”

“Seriously?” Fred holds his hands up in defense and I sigh and answer anyway. “Yellow.”

He raises a brow, eyeing me carefully. “Is that true?”

“It is.”

“Okay, then maybe It’s working! Now you ask me something.”

I try to think of something else, something that a guy like him usually lies about. “Did you do your homework during Spring break?”

“Absolutely not.”

“What were you doing in the meantime?”

“George and I were busy perfecting some of our products,” Fred answers. I don’t even have to question if It’s true. “Speaking of, who do you think is the cuter twin?”

“You, of course,” I say, and then I cover my mouth, but It’s too late. That’s far from what I wanted to say but I guess the serum really is working now. Fred is grinning from ear to ear without a care in the world, and he’s clearly enjoying this. Before he can say anything, I ask the first thing that comes to mind. “What do you really think about me?”

He blinks at me, taken aback, but he answers without stuttering. “Well, at first, I thought you were just another annoying, hateful Slytherin—cute, but hateful. But then I realized that you're probably the coolest girl I've ever met.”

Fred looks like he just got out of a trance and he doesn’t remember anything about the last few seconds. I smile in satisfaction. He thinks he has an advantage on this little “game” but he seems to forget that we’re both in it. I can pull a secret from him just as easily. “Interesting,” I comment. “You didn't mention thinking I was cute earlier.”

“Are you trying to start something here?” He asks.

I shake my head. “I think you started it a long time ago.”

“Okay, then,” He folds his arms across his chest. “Do you regret kissing me that night?”

I try to stop myself from talking but It’s useless. Don’t answer him. “No. I don’t think I ever did.”

Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up!

“I knew it,” Fred says, stepping closer. My back makes contact with the nearest wall but neither of us pulls away. “I knew that wasn’t for nothing.”

I ignore the way his eyes move down to my lips. “Did you like it when I kissed you?”

“Yes. I still think about it to this day,” He confesses shamelessly. “If you don’t regret kissing me, does that mean that you have feelings for me?”

I have gotten to know more about Fred Weasley than I had ever imagined. I’ve been to his house, I’ve met his family, I’ve seen how he is outside of school… “I do,” I tell him, locking my gaze with his. “I like you.”

There’s a brief moment of silence in which the two of us just stare at each other, indulging in what I just said. Maybe I wasn’t thinking of confessing my feelings today but It’s out now. I could Obliviate him so he forgets any of this ever happened but I… I don’t want to. And I don’t think he wants either with the way he wraps an arm around my waist and connects his lips with mine.

With his free hand, Fred brings me as close to him as humanly possible and tangles it in my hair. This kiss feels so different than the first one; I was cold, wet, terrified, and not in a good state of mind when we kissed that night, and he was not expecting me to do that. But this time we’re both warm, needy, and desperate, and I’m tired of fighting it. I’m tired of fighting him. I want him. “Good,” Fred pulls away, his voice breathless, and my heart jumps. “Because I like you, too.”

I grab him by the tie and kiss him again, and he responds right away. He holds me like I’m the most precious thing to him, like he needs me more than anything, and it makes me want him even more. I tug at his hair and he groans softly, coaxing his tongue with mine as soon as I have access. We get so caught up in each other that I begin to forget where we are; my vision and all of my senses are invaded by a tall ginger boy who just couldn’t leave me alone in the first place. And I’m so glad he didn’t.

I pull away and Fred moves to kiss my cheek and then my jawline. My heart flutters in the best way. “How long have you liked me?” I ask him while I wrap my arms around his neck.

“I think I’ve been attracted to you for a long time but when you really had me in a chokehold was when you nearly succeeded in taking the Cup from us,” Fred says. There’s a small smirk tugging at his lips. “I was so impressed by you, and then when you kissed me…” He makes a gesture as if he’s been shot through the heart. I fail to hold back my laughter. “I’ve been hooked ever since.”

I bite my lip, playing with a strand of my hair. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

“Yes, actually, there is,” I initially expect a joke or a silly comment, but once again Fred Weasley manages to take me by surprise. “If you ever need a place to stay after you graduate, do not hesitate to tell me because I’m sure mom would love to have you staying over.”

My eyebrows raise and my eyes go wide. “What?”

He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “I was just—you were talking about it the other day and I-I wanted you to have the option, you know, just in case…”

“Fred Weasley, are you messing with me?” I raise my fist, ready to hit his arm.

Fred grabs my wrist gently and lowers it out of sight. He’s still smiling down at me like he’s amused. “I swear that I will talk to my mom about it if you ever need me to. You can use Percy’s room or mine and George’s room if we move out.”

That’s the nicest thing anyone could ever do for me. I never thought anyone would; aside from Fred, Daphne is the only person who shows any concern over me. I know she would have no problem with me staying with her after graduation but I also know she’s leaving immediately after to live in Paris. My eyes well up with tears but I fight to keep them in. “That would be nice,” My voice is slightly shaky, but steady. “Thank you,”

A single tear escapes but Fred gently wipes it away. “You’re very welcome.”

He leans down to peck my lips. I grin in content. “Do you want to go get dinner?”

“Oh, you’re inviting me out to eat?” He wiggles his eyebrows and I hit his arm playfully. I fight back a smile.

We gather our things and head down to the Great Hall. Fred holds my hand the entire way. I must admit that it feels nice to not fight back my feelings and just enjoy my alone times with Fred, even if It's something as simple as moving from one place to another. When we're approaching the large doors, I feel Fred’s fingers abandoning mine. I look up at him and, once I see the look on his face, I realize why he does it: he thinks I don’t want to be seen with him. And, yes, maybe if Fred Weasley went to grab my hand a few weeks ago I would probably bite it off but if he doesn’t hold it now I will most definitely cry. When he’s about to turn his head, I reach to grab his hand, seeing and feeling him jump under my touch. He stares at our linked hands like he cannot believe what he’s seeing and—is that a blush tinting his cheeks? I crane my neck up and smile at him. After allowing myself to know him a little better, I’ve discovered that I love catching him off guard more than anything. It shows a whole different side of him, and It’s very attractive.

We open the giant doors to the Great Hall after Fred recovers and we walk in. A few heads turn in our direction; some of them don’t think anything interesting is going on so they go back to their plates, while others stare curiously. A few Gryffindors whisper while George and Lee Jordan smirk our way. The Slytherin table cannot help but be a bit more obvious, murmuring stuff to each other that I’m sure is nothing good and sneering at the both of us as Fred leans in close. “I think you’re getting banned from Slytherin, but don’t worry, I’m sure Gryffindor could take you in.”

I chuckle as I roll my eyes. “They’ll get over it. Anyway, I don’t care what they say. Talk to you later?”

“Of course,” Fred says.

I go to walk away but he grabs my chin and before I can ask him what he’s doing he leans down to plant a quick kiss on my lips. He walks away, leaving me standing there frozen for a moment, and before he reaches his spot on the Gryffindor table he turns his head and winks at me. That bastard, I think as I shake my head. He did that on purpose!

When I finally reach my table I feel the daggers that my housemates are throwing at me piercing through my skull, but I focus on the beaming girl sitting across from me. I sigh as I grab my empty plate and begin serving myself. “Go on. Say whatever you have to say.”

“I told you!” She bursts. “I told you there was something there, and I told you that he liked you, and I certainly knew that you were just acting stupid. You liked him, too! You stupid, stupid bitch—”

“No insults, please.”

“But you are a stupid bitch, are you or are you not?”

“I can't say I'm not.”

“Staining the name of Slytherin yet again, (L/N)?” Draco calls from the other side of the table. “You shouldn’t even be carrying your family’s last name. It’s too big of an honor for a blood traitor like you.”

A few Slytherin laugh in agreement. “Should she even be allowed to sit with us? I bet Weasley germs are spreading around our table already.” Pansy Parkinson grimaces.

“Well, the Parkinson germs have been spreading for years, haven’t they?” I snap back at her.

“Yeah, and no one’s said anything about it,” Daphne adds, shrugging innocently.

Pansy glares at the both of us but does not say anything else. When she turns back to her group, Daphne rolls her eyes. “The only con about all of this is that you have to put up with stuff like that.”

“That’s true,” I agree. “But I honestly don’t care.”

I turn to look at the Gryffindor table, and automatically my eyes find Fred’s figure. He’s already looking in my direction and when our eyes meet we smile. Okay, yes, I do like him. I like him a lot.

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burning-academia-if · 5 months

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I'm so sorry for all the notifications lmao I'm going around liking every ask because i haven't been on the page for a bit. And why the fuck is all the asks making me like Lars. I don't want to like Lara because Lara doesn't want to like my MC.. i already have enough problems with Rook 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I need to stay away from these problematic ROs. 😭

Oh quessssstiiioooon someone's probably asked this before but I've seen it on a few blogs. But since magic is obvs a thing. If someone cursed MC or gave them something that could only be broken by true love's kiss (especially since mc doesn't really have the healthiest relationship with those they are close to so who would think they could break a spell like that)

and it's after they've confessed to the ROs. How would they react to MC not waking up at first after they kissed them... but waking up after they've started having a major meltdown after all?

If you have gotten this ask could i please have a link because finding anything on tumblr is... 😒

And i literally fall in love with this goddamn IF every time i read anything on this page. It's a curse in itself... I hope you have a lovely weekend 🤣😇💜

Omg never apologize for mass liking, that's literally anyone on Tumblr's lifeblood lol

Also you know, I feel like Lars, despite being the biggest asshole of the ROs, is still less of a handful then Rook lmfaO good luck with dealing with them!

Also I have not been asked this one before! Felt very inspired it with, so I turned it into a prompt!

Rook:

You’re so still against the touch of his lips. You’re still even after he pulls away. His chest buzzes so loud it echoes in his ears. You don’t move, not even the flutter of your lashes and he should have known. How can he be your true love, when he spent so many years running away?

Whoever it is, would look you in the eyes when you said you loved them. They’re someone who would have taken you in their arms instead of turning away again and again. He sinks to his knees, hands clutching at the side of the bed where you lay. Tears burn at his eyes, but not a single one falls.

Even before he made this foolish decision, he knew. All that’s left is to find the one could wake up. If you’re life lays in the hands of someone else, a fact he always knew, then so be it.

He’ll let you go, like he should have so long ago. He will. He just needs another moment here with you before he turns away. He needs to hear your heartbeat and the cadence of your breathing for one last time.

Time passes as slow as honey, thick and opaque. His body is listless. In the silence, your breath catches and he blinks. Turns. You take another shaky breath, and when your eyes open, he’s on his feet.

“MC!” He gathers you in his arms, holding on tight. “Oh, thank god. I thought I lost you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

His forehead falls against your shoulder, and the tears finally fall. Your awake, your body is warm. And maybe, just maybe, he really does have a chance to make things right.

Beck:

When you don’t move after he pulls away, he doesn’t waver. Magic is strange, it can effect everyone differently, and with how much magic has affected you, he isn’t concerned that there isn’t an immediate response.

Instead, he takes a seat next to where you lay. He brings his knees up to his chest and tells you about all the things you’ve missed. The first flowers of spring, the new used bookstore that opened up on the corner, school events, and class drama.

The time ticks down, and it pricks at his heart. He keeps talking. About himself, about his life, about how he first fell for you, about how you are the warmth of the fire on a winter day, and if even if he isn’t your true love, then that’s ok. He’s just so glad he was able to have any time with you at all.

At some point, his throat is dry and he’s run out of words. What can he say, as the sky turns a dusty orange. He swallows, eyes fluttering closed and feel the first of the tears fall. If it isn’t him to wake you up, then who will it be? And how long will you be cursed to sleep until they find you?

A world without your laugh is far worse than a world where the two of you aren’t meant to be.

Then.

You shift beside him, and he goes still. When he looks, he sees your eyes flutter open, eyebrows furrowing as you look at him.

“…You’re awake.” He says, voice barely above a whisper. He brushes his fingers against your cheek, so impossibly gently. “You’re awake.”

He laughs, a watery, trembly sort of laugh, as he runs a thumb against your cheek. You’ll still be with him.

Rhea:

“Please wake up.” She whispers, kneeling next to you. There is no sign the kiss did anything. It’s fine, this isn’t the end of the world. She has had the logic of magic seared into her brain, and she knows how it works. She’ll wait. She can wait.

But still, you remain still. She gets up and moves around, to give her body something to do as she waits. She’s not good at that, waiting. She always needs to be in the midst of doing something. Making progress. When something’s out of her hands like this, she feels like she’s in freefall.

There might be a chance, she thinks as time ticks by, that you and her aren’t the ones for each other. Somehow, it makes the anxious energy in her gut easier to deal with. As long as she doesn’t think of the heartbreak that will hit the moment she leaves your side, it gives her a plan. Something to work towards. Steps to map out to figure out where to go from here and how to wake you up. The process of even finding the one who could do so.

She’s on step four when your fingers twitch. She goes still in response. All her thoughts scatter. Like a deer in headlights she watches you, wondering if it was just her imagination. But then your body shifts and she’s next to you again, softly calling your name.

“MC? Can you…can you hear me darling?” When you blink away, she feels a smile bloom despite herself. You’re awake and well and still hers.

Zoe:

There’s doubt in their chest even before they press a kiss against your lips. For it to be them? They’re not the kind of person who makes it into fairytales. They know this. Stories are the sort of thing they’ve studied their entire life. They exist on the other side of the glass, able to peer in but never able to be.

As you remain still, they stand and lean back on their heel. Whoever your true love is, it isn’t them. It isn’t that they doubt your love, but it’s hard to imagine that kind of forever for them. If this was the fate they were dealt, then so be it. And even so, you were their first love, and that’s a kind of special whatever comes next can’t take away. Even on different paths, even living different lives, you can both still be a fond memory for the other.

But god, they’ve never experience heartbreak either or the way it collides into their body and leaves them breathless. They wanted this. Every moment with you was a dream they never thought they’d get a chance to see. They were awkward and clumsy, and they were the luckiest person alive to have been able to met you.

They press a hand against their mouth, to stop the sob that’s trying to break through them. The image of you blurs as tears collect in their eyes and stream down their cheeks. They squeeze their eyes shut, trying to collect themselves.

It’s why it startles them, when they feel a hand reaching out, “…Zoe?”

They choke on a gasp, eyes flying open to see you awake. You’ve pulled yourself up, and your eyes are open. It strikes them so suddenly, they all but throw themselves against you. Any embarrassment they used to feel is gone. They’ll never let themselves hesitate again.

Lars:

“You would get yourself cursed.” He whispered against your lips as he pulls away. He doesn’t believe in true love or soulmates. For a curse to be based on the concept, it must make it the flimsiest curse to have been made. All it really needs is love and faith and stubbornness. Maybe his faith is lacking, but he sure as hell can make up for it with stubbornness.

So he waits. He leans his head back, closes his eyes, and wonders how long it will take. His hand toys with your fingers absently. With you asleep, you won’t be able to comment on the display. He still remembers when you said you loved him, the look in your eyes that left no room for doubt. He thought you were making a terrible decision, but he wasn’t one to complain. Your terrible decision, just lead to his great decision to go along with it.

The time passes slow, but the anxiety never comes. That isn’t who he is. Not when he’s sure about this, or at least more sure about it then whatever magic was used on you. And even if the kiss doesn’t wake you up, he’ll just find whoever cursed you in the first place and make them reap the consequences.

When he feels your hand move, slipping your fingers between his, he sighs, “About time you got up.”

“Lars? My hand—”

“Don’t get used to it.” You laugh, the sound scratchy from sleep, and he feels his body relax. It was nice to have you back.

???:

They know your souls are too entwined to have a doubt. That doesn’t not mean there won’t be blood on their hands for what was done to you. How dare someone curse the one they love. How dare someone put their hands on you.

They’re kiss is so painfully soft despite the violent rage in their chest. It’s been so long since they’ve felt this burning under their skin. Did the Curse Giver think you were alone and unloved? Did they not realize you had someone who was entwined with you in every way, down to the way you take a breath.

The wraiths flicker around them, agitated by the tremble in their body. They keep close to you, body curved as a way to shield you from the rest of the earth. If you don’t wake soon, they’re hands will find a blade, and that blade will find a body. The wraiths whisper amongst each other, as though capable of soothing them.

“But you were cursed even before this, weren’t you?” They breathe, pressing another kiss to your forehead. You shift beneath them, and when they pull away you open your eyes.

You say their name, and the sound of it wraps around them. They have a Curse Giver to kill, but for now, they only lay down beside you, and ask if you’re ok. You’ve been asleep for so long, and it took too long to get to you. They’ll never be late again.

#em answers #ch: rook #ch: beck #ch: rhea #ch: zoe #ch: lars #ch: ???#true loves kiss in the world of fairytales? more likely then you think #also got to write angry ??? for the first time let's goooo

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vnyverse · 1 year

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A/n: just an idea I had, nothing new but still under edit, but feel free to lmk your thoughts on this piece!

Fall was your favourite. Red brown leaves hung on the trees, until they decided to depart and adorn the grass in their autumn hues. Accompanying the little sounds the wind chimes made, little droplets of rain visit your window sills almost like a little greeting, you liked to think. On the other side of the windows, you were taking a little break from studying, but truthfully you were distracted by your thoughts. It wasn’t that you liked to be cheesy or anything, but it felt like something was missing. You were reminded of something you’d heard of something in class today-the halo effect, was that it? Hanni, your seatmate was doing a more in depth project about it. Maybe that could explain your lean toward hot matcha especially so in the cold October evenings, how you developed an interest in amphibians and could possibly explain why you wear your glasses more often lately (she told you it made you appear more intelligent). This was all the courtesy of a person taking painfully long leisurely strolls in your mind, seeming to be oblivious of the effect they had on you.

This person also just happened to the your student council Secretary, and together with yourself, as student council treasurer, you bore the brunt of students’ frustrations when events were underfunded, teachers’ scoldings when your grades slip from spending too much time planning school events, though they were still stellar and a cut above the rest, it was an apparent cause for serious concern, with the honour of your family names at stake. Even though your family didn't take issue with your grades, it wasn’t like this in every family. You see, the Kang family has long produced accomplished doctors and scientists, while yours was the name of the large business conglomerate- L/n Industries. It really didn’t help with the President and vice President being mere faces of the student council, being the grandchildren of the school’s chairman, Mr Cha, they got away with many things. Last time when they were needed to, they simply emceed the school sport’s day for a mere ten or so minute and then ditched it to go for “enrichment classes'' which entailed chilling in the student council room to get escape the heat, leaving you and haerin to have no choice but to step up to oversee the event, despite having already done the planning of the event down to a T. Sure enough, a similar circumstance arose recently. Their poor excuse of not wanting to “exert unnecessary effortful force” on a singular broken finger of the vice president’s had both the presidents bail the planning of the school’s summer concert, thus leaving it a mess for you to untangle with your fellow secretary.

The following day was a first for you. The first, of many other firsts, that was. Taking small, light but powerful steps down the hallway to quickly get to class, you caught sight of students clamouring for better planning for the upcoming summer concert, a little too dangerously close to the first period that the discipline master would've liked. You took a glimpse at your wristwatch that read 8:15 am. Today was going to be long. Approaching the crowd of students, you make the realisation that the students were not just crowding outside the student council room, but rather surrounding an individual, accompanying the action was a flurry of insults and before you got too close to the individual, they bolted to the restroom in tears. What you did not miss was the shiny school crest shaped badge pinned neatly on the left lapel of the school blazer, indicative of the identity of its owner being a top student councillor. Ignoring the commotion, you decide to tail the figure into the restroom, taking in a deep breath to compose yourself before entering the restroom.

That’s when you saw her figure crouched over her knees, sat on the bench near the showers, whose presence could be easily overlooked. No, it wasn't that you haven't seen her before, you know that your family did supply medical equipment to her family’s chain of hospitals, and on numerous occasions you have seen her in gatherings your family had you participate in. It was just that you never really spoke to her other than sending her the occasional email about allocating budget to events, and seeing that she mainly kept to herself, and more so because she had a cold and impenetrable exterior. Now it contrasts with the silent sobs she let out, the quivering of her shoulders like a scared animal, and how she grabs harshly at the blazer anyone would think it would tear. Taking out some tissues that you always carry with you, you silently approach her and offer it to her, almost in the manner you would always approach your neighbour’s cat.

Upon realising she had company, her head perked up akin to that of a spooked kitten, yet the hot tears that ran down her cheeks seemed to tell a story of fear and dejectedness, wiped away furiously by her now unkempt, wet sleeves, and she flashes you a weak smile that stung. How stressed had this poor girl had to be to put up a front even when she is visibly crumbling away? Her smile seemed to question your intentions, as it reeked of discomfort, yet in the most graceful and put together fashion you’ve ever seen.

“Here to join in on the fun and make fun of me too?” she says, wiping all emotion off your face.

“No, I wasn’t, I know we don’t talk much but I also share responsibility for planning the summer concert. Why would you think of me that way?”

A soft sorry makes its way out her mouth as she wipes away her tears. You didn't know what got into you but you instinctively used your own blazer sleeve to wipe her tears away. “Don't cry, please” spills out of your mouth of its own accord. She lets you, surprisingly, and for a moment you think she has something to say, but you don’t press. Your extended attention on her turns into silent admiration, she could have easily dropped out of the student council altogether too many times but instead she continues to entertain the idea of overworking herself to ensure everything went smoothly. Something else comes out of your mouth, that even you yourself seemed surprised. (Sigh, you were such a simp for pretty girls.)

“Hey, need an extra pair of hands to help you plan the event? I’m just about done with planning the budget and it seems like you could use some help with logistics.”

“Really?” accompanied by the gaze of earnest (albeit slightly swollen) eyes hung on you.

“Yes, really, I think it's impressive that you excel at what you do, and I think I can learn from you too. I’ll just set a date on discord? Like not a date date, but a date to plan the event, how's that?”

You awkwardly smile, brows scrunched together, and you wonder if you’ve done it again, made a fool out of yourself, that is. The last line should have been left better unsaid, stuck in your throat and now the insinuation had left a soft pink flush cast on your cheeks, and a chucking Haerin. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea considering you had to intern at your Dad’s company after school, but maybe again it could help build closer ties within your families. What was it with you?

“Right, see you.”

Days later, when you two finally settled on a available slot, the time came for a discord meeting to decide on which rooms were to be allocated as waiting rooms, and it was also time to finalise the artists and school bands which were going to perform at the concert as well as create a rough event rundown. You felt strangely excited to see her again, hearing she had the flu and had been resting at home for the past few days.You even tried to put in some effort to look decent, applying lip balm on your chapped lips and turned on what you nicknamed the “vibe lamp” - a warm yellow lighting cast onto your wall of books and film posters.

The familiar “ding” welcomed you as you were now on a screen looking at a different Haerin, amazed at how different she looked. She wears thick, black framed plastic glasses at home, and was changed into a comfy set of white, either cotton or linen, daisy patterned pjs, positioned in a manner which looked like she was at her desk, but she looked fatigued and the laptop was really just resting on her thighs. You made it a note to record minutes for today’s planning in case she falls asleep. Her haircut, which you learned was a “hime cut”, was japanese for what translates into a princess cut, an appropriate deduction for how she looked in the moment. Long, black blades of her hair framed her face, further accentuating the sharp curve of her jaw if that was even possible, with the longer strands streaming down her shoulder, which she slowly tied into pigtails with a subtle, casual elegance.

“Haerin, the band on the third page looks like a very popular one, what do you think about them? I’m sure I can write in for a tad more funds to have them come instead. I’ve also looked through the rough plan and I think it would be beneficial to add a little buffer time between each of the performances.” Somehow within an hour, planning had come far, with you two doing much more than you had planned, even if the other at this point was just replying with “mhmm”s, nodding adorably at whatever you said and on the verge of dozing off. Nearing the end of an hour, the pocket of time agreed by the both of you to plan, you made an observation. Her head gently tilted to rest on the pillow, and her glasses were loosely hung on the bridge of her nose, threatening to fall at any moment. But no, that was not the observation, it was that the meeting confirmed your thoughts- Kang Haerin looked good doing anything, even when crying or sleeping. Hitting the “send” button, you gave Haerin a summarised copy of the meeting minutes and secretly wished that she would maybe feel a little better. For the next god knew how long, the image of Haerin dozing off was stuck in your mind. Even when you wanted to shake these thoughts off, you found yourself thinking about wanting to know more about her, and weirdly enough, wanting to look good for her. A plan started to form in your mind. Something along the lines of gift, surprise and just maybe, hug?

Kang Haerin

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it. You better have not taken screenshots of me dozing off last night. I’d like to give you a little something as a token of my appreciation :)

y/n

Don’t worry, that was nothing. Maybe I took a picture or two, nah I’m just kidding lmk if you still need help with anything else!

Let’s see. To meet at 6pm, she said. The books on fishkeeping were next to those on horticulture, on one of the last shelves at the back of the library, to your pleasant surprise. You could kill some time somewhere there weren't students mugging for tests, and you could sit on the carpeted floor and look out the window to daydream all without the interruption of the librarian trying their best to be polite by asking you to instead sit on the couches a few metres away. If you were just a normal student, you would imagine this would be something you could come to regularly enjoy.

Her head half pokes through the side of the shelf, her eyes becoming crescents and corners of her lips manage to crease as high as they could when they meet your eyes, before she fully steps out and whispers a “boo”. You had no idea why she did what she did, but that was so characteristically her, and you break eye contact with her before you’ll think she sees you as a creep. But something about her was just so arresting. The way the sunlight peeked through the shutters and cast a golden sheen onto her figure, the way she seemed to smile with her mouth, nose and even eyes, her little canines showing when the smile fished out of her was true and wide, the way soft sounds of her giggles penetrated your heart, like an unknown and somewhat sacred noise that you didn’t know how to react to.

The dark oak shelves seemed to section you off from the rest of the school, and you decided this was time to give her the present you had tried to put together for the past few days, before cowardice got the better of yourself. Trying to string a coherent sentence together under her warm gaze was by far the most challenging thing you had to do today.

“Umm.. for you”

Of course she was zoning out, you thought to yourself. Before she realises what was happening, a situation only possibly described as acting out an intrusive thought takes place. She inches toward you, allowing you to see the crease of her blazer spreading across a larger area, before you see the finger incoming, making contact with your cheek. Her finger makes an impression on your skin, almost like she was physically trying to form a dimple on your face.

Were your cheeks nice to touch? What quality about your cheeks were so enticing to the girl before you managed to ignore your words, and your gift completely? She breaks out of her trance, and now holds eye contact with you. For a second she looked like she was scrutinising you. (Note: Haerin may or may not have realised that she showed up but left her gift she was supposed to give y/n in her classroom at this moment.)

“Wow, even softer than I thought, kind of , uhm, mochi-like? Sorry, thank you” and with that, she receives your gift. You chuckle at her antics in your heart, and you perk your head up, signalling her to direct her attention toward the gift.

“May I?”Haerin asks. You don’t hesitate, allowing her to do what you thought would be, unwrap her gift. However, her arm seemed to come near you again, and before long her whole hand came down onto you, squishing your cheek like it were a food item of sorts, even though you were taller, and had a good height difference with her. You try to silently wince in pain, not knowing whether you should laugh at her antics, which would possibly get you both kicked out of the library, or to pull her out of the library. You decide on the latter, hand intertwining with the said girl’s, and eagerly rushing out the library, leaving a confused yet obedient Haerin tailing you, eyes wide yet unquestioning of your action, almost like she knew you were secretly mischievous. Today, you made another observation. You decide, in the few seconds it took you to run from the shelf of fishkeeping books to the entrance of the library, near the librarian’s corner, that you would spend your days basking in Haerin’s smile, her presence, and that you would do whatever to see that smile of hers, even of you had to join her to go against the world (of endless student council tasks to complete).

“Girls, what did I say about running in the library?”

“Sorry Mrs Kim!”

Part 2?

#gg fluff #gg imagines #newjeans fluff #newjeans imagines #gg x reader #newjeans #haerin x reader #haerin #kang haerin #newjeans haerin #Spotify

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angstylittleguy · 9 months

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The Elevator pt. 2

Part 2 of the first meeting between Rory and Bennett. (Part 1 found Here.) With Bennett now aware of Rory's abilities, he seeks her help to end the time loop he's found himself stuck in.

tw: implied death (doesn't happen)

character context: Bennett frequently gets stuck in time loops and the only way to get the loop to end is for him to survive the day. Rory is a mind reader that is unable to control her ability. The voices in her head are constant and the emotions of the people around her are often inflicted onto her.

word count: 2k

-> In Which Everything Goes Wonderfully Wrong masterpost link: Here

-> character introductions and moodboards: Here

Bennett awoke with a gasp. His hands clenched the sheets of his bed as his mind reeled with the new information. He had to find Rory.

He glanced at the time: 7:30 a.m. Bennett grabbed the sharpie he kept on the nightstand, added a tally to his growing collection on his arm, and leapt out of bed. He didn’t bother changing out of his pajamas, just grabbed a pair of socks, turned them inside out, and threw on his shoes.

His roommate began to stir at the ruckus he was making. “Can’t you do anything quietly?” Josiah groaned, rolling over in his twin-sized bed.

“No, sorry,” Bennett answered, picking up his skateboard that was propped up by the door.

“Figures. See you later, man.”

Bennett threw open the door and yelled from the hallway, “Bye, Jo!”

He found Rory walking to class at exactly 7:48. She had her headphones over her ears and her eyes were trained forwards. Bennett swiped his foot on the ground to gain speed on his skateboard.

Rory turned around when she heard him coming—like she did every time they crossed paths during these thirty days—only this time, Bennett stopped next to her. He kicked his board up into his hands.

She looked up at him perplexed. “Can I help you?”

“I know you can read minds,” he blurted.

She took off her headphones and raised a brow.

“I’m stuck in a time loop.” He told her. “My name is Bennett. My socks are inside out. That static feeling you’re getting on your neck; we think it’s because of me. Something to do with your abilities.”

“I—What are you talking about? Who are you?”

“My name is Bennett,” he repeated. “And I need you to help me. The day keeps repeating over and over again, and that’s how I found out about your abilities. We got stuck in the elevator together yesterday.”

Rory was looking at him as if he had grown three heads.

“Well, not your yesterday, but my yesterday.” Bennett was talking with his hands, obviously flustered.

“And I know it’s hard to believe,” he continued when she didn’t say anything. “But when I told you yesterday—you don’t remember this because of the time loop—you believed me. And you’re really my last option.”

She just shook her head as if she were trying to comprehend everything he was saying. “Okay,” she finally said after a while. “I believe you. But listen, Ben. I—”

“Bennett.”

“Listen, Bennett. I’ve got a psych exam that I’ve been preparing for in about ten minutes, and I really can’t miss it. If you want to meet up after, we—”

“Rory, please. I can’t keep doing this. I really need your help.”

She seemed to blanche at his sudden shift in tone. “Chill, I told you I’d help. After my exam.”

He grabbed her by the hands then. Begging for her to listen. “Rory, I’m not going to survive the day without your help. It keeps repeating because I die before the end of the day. It will only ever stop repeating when I manage to survive.”

Memories of the past month fronted in his mind. Freak accidents, desperate attempts to right a wrong gone awry, and blatant examples of giving up. Before he could even think of something else to say to Rory, he noticed that she was crying.

A side effect of the mind reading, maybe. Bennett suddenly felt self-conscious. Had she been able to see all of that just now?

Rory wiped her eyes, as if she had just realized herself that tears were falling down her cheeks.

“So, what?” She asked, still wiping at her eyes. “It’s just the universe’s way of saying screw you?”

Bennett couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Why does it want you dead so badly?”

Her question caught him off guard. “I’m… I don’t know.”

Bennett had asked himself why me? ever since he discovered his stupid ability. None of it made any sense, and he never had any control of it. He was just learning to survive one loop until he inevitably found himself caught in another one. He was like an animal: too senseless to realize he was walking into the next trap.

“What do we do first?” Rory asked him. “If I’m skipping my exam for you, we’re going to make it count.”

Bennett was so relieved that she had agreed to help her, that he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her into a hug. She was stiff in his arms but he didn’t care. This nightmare was finally going to end.

He felt her awkwardly pat his back. “Okay, buddy. Don’t celebrate just yet. Save it for after we get you out of this mess.”

Bennett explained to her what would happen with the elevator. It would ride once to the second floor. The next time it moved, it was going to get stuck between the third and fourth floor.

“Okay, so we’ll just guard the doors and stop anyone from getting in,” Rory said as they walked towards the building. “If it goes the same way it did yesterday, the elevator is going to come down to the first floor, stop at the second, and then head to the fourth. I’ll watch the first floor and you watch the second.”

Bennett shook his head. “There are four floors and only two of us. I’ve tried this already; someone is going to slip past us and get in.”

“How much do you know already? Like, could you tell who is going to be the one to get in?”

He rolled up one of his arm sleeves, revealing a mess of sloppily written notes on his skin in black sharpie marker. “One thing I found out about the loops, is that if I write something on my skin, it doesn’t go away when time resets,” Bennett explained, glancing over his notes. “Don’t ask me how that works because I have no idea.”

Bennett showed Rory his arm. “It’s hard to write down because the outcomes change depending on who I interact with. For example, you’re usually the first person to use the elevator—at least what I’ve seen—but if you don’t get in then there’s a guy on the fourth floor who has to call the elevator up to him. If he doesn’t get in, then a girl is going to take the elevator from the third floor to the first, but then three guys are going to get in from the first floor up to the fourth and they’re the ones who are going to get stuck.”

He lifted up his shirt to show more frantic sharpie writing on his stomach. It was written upside down as if Bennett had written it while laying down. As he continued to explain the timeline of who takes the elevator today, Rory zoned out. He hadn’t even noticed she was no longer listening.

“Let’s break it.”

Bennett stopped mid-explanation to look at her with furrowed brows. “Say what now?”

“Let’s break the elevator before it’s supposed to break,” Rory repeated. “We can like, take a baseball bat to the buttons or something.”

“That’s a horrible idea.”

“Do you have a better one?”

Bennett scratched at his head, looking down at their shoes. He took note of the purple hair dye staining Rory’s black high-tops and the hole in his plaid pajama pants near his ankle that he hadn’t noticed before. Rory rolled her eyes at how easily distracted he seemed when his life was literally on the line. Though, technically, it wasn’t if he would just wake up at the beginning of the day again.

“If the day doesn’t repeat, there’s no way we won’t get expelled for destruction of property. I mean, come on, it’s going to get interpreted as some kind of protest to encourage people to take the stairs or something stupid like that,” Bennett responded.

He had a point. Neither of them could really afford to get kicked out of this school. She hummed.

“What time is it?”

Rory checked her phone. “8:03.”

“Brandon’s going to take the elevator from the fourth floor down to the first in a few minutes,” Bennett said. “And he’s got a broken ankle, so I’m going to sound like such a dick when I tell him he has to use the stairs.”

Rory then snapped her fingers. “Let’s cut the power.”

“To the elevator?”

“To the building.”

Bennett perked up. “If we don’t get caught, that could work. It’s going to suck for Brandon because he’s still going to have to take the stairs, though.”

Rory shrugged. “He’d thank us if he knew.”

It was an old building, and they were both lucky that there were no cameras in the basement. The fuse box was hidden behind a couple shelves used for various storage. “Do you know how to cut the power?” Bennett asked her.

“I was just gonna google it.”

He leaned over her shoulder to watch her scroll on her phone. “They have a wikiHow for everything these days.”

“This site teaches me how to commit so many criminal activities, I swear.”

Rory broke the plastic and wire seal that secured the latch on the meter box cover. She removed it and handed it to Bennett for him to hold as she wiggled the meter free from the box. The lights immediately went out.

“Honestly, I’m surprised that worked,” Bennett said. He put the cover on the ground.

“Me too. Next time you’re stuck in a loop, come find me and we can rob a bank or something, just to see if we can.”

“Rob a bank?” He parroted, incredulous.

“Yeah, there’s a wikiHow on it and everything.”

Bennett felt around blindly as he searched for the door. “I’m sure mind reading would be handy in a bank robbery.” He grabbed Rory’s hand and helped lead her to their exit.

“So would your Groundhog Day ability—”

“Don’t call it that.”

“—we’d get unlimited attempts until we get away with it.”

Rory and Bennett snuck down the hallway, not bothering to return to the main entrance of the building, and instead leaving out a side door.

Bennett would be lying if he said he wasn’t still nervous about what was going to happen now. The elevator was no longer usable, but would they fix it? Or would they just turn it back on and deem it safe?

“Maintenance should look at it,” Rory told him, knowing what he was thinking. “They’ll see it’s out of date and then they’ll do their thing.”

“I hope you’re right.”

They stand outside the university building in the humid air, watching as students and professors ever so slowly emerged from the doors. Rory hummed. “Wanna go somewhere while we wait to see if it worked?”

“For real?”

“Yeah,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve got nothing else to do since I missed my exam.”

As the pair walked to the campus coffee shop, Rory’s phone dinged with an alert. “Holy shit,” she muttered while reading the email she just received. “The exam I missed got rescheduled for Thursday because of the power outage.”

Bennett held out his hand for a fist bump.

#wip: in which everything goes wonderfully wrong #aurora estrada #Bennett haltiwanger #superpower whump #angst #g/t #writeblr #abilities #time loop #writing tropes #whump tropes #whump writing #whump ideas #whump community #size shifter #mind reader #angst writing #angst with a happy ending #light angst

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just-some-guy-at-shiz · 10 months

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Soooo… an AU where Elphaba’s emergency life-saving tin spell fails, and that’s it, he’s dead. Totally deceased. Full-stop. All over. No coming back from this one.

Until he does. Because of course he does. We wouldn’t have a plot if he didn’t.

Okay, so two people know about this death, and one of them wants to leave immediately for the Emerald City and leave the other one to clean up her own mess. Given that she’s been in love with Boq for years, Nessa can probably be trusted to perform a decent and respectful burial? And hopefully not do something stupid? At least not the kind of stupid that gets her arrested for murder. Tell people it was sudden spontaneous cardiac arrest, he had a medical condition, then shut up before you say something incriminating. She coulda gotten help with this, easy, but she decides to go out and bury him alone in a storm because she’s dramatic about her grief.

Which gets her out of her house at the time that it’s flattened by another house.

Don’t know how the lack of dead sisters and shoes to give away affects Dorothy and Elphaba and the A plot, don’t care.

Don’t know how Nessa gets her hands on that magic living powder stuff from later Oz books, don’t care.

She does, in fact, get her hands on some Powder of Life. Dunno if she seeks it out on purpose, dunno if she comes across it by chance and her eyes light up with excitement. But she goes out and does a little necromancy with her shiny new beginners’ reanimation kit.

So Boq’s back. He didn't get a chance to rot too much, and any rotting that did get done is healed pretty quickly by the Powder of Life because reasons. Still no heart, so no pulse, but I think we’re assuming that the magic gets all his other organs working normally again? It could be an interesting road to take if he’s still rotting, because again, you cannot have Boq without a little transformation body horror (unless you’re reading the novel I guess). How do you deal with literally falling apart while you’re still alive? Beyond the psychological effect, what are the practical difficulties? Looking from a scientific standpoint? But I digress.

If this went rather the same as in canon, with Boq screaming in horror and running and Nessa yelling that he should blame Elphaba, then we’re going to have to go with the rotting zombie option, and learning to deal with that is the plot. But if he’s back to normal (mostly) and feeling fine, then the plot is gaslighting.

Here’s how it goes. It’s a little too convenient, but stick with me. During physical decay, there’s a decay of memories, in reverse chronological order, obviously. So when Boq gets brought back from the dead, he’s lost all of the past like… how many years? Around three? It’d be a little too unbelievable for the last thing he remembers to be the Ozdust Ballroom, but at any rate, In his mind he barely knows Nessa, and he is supposed to be in an agriculture class right this second what is happening??

Nessa puts two and two together in the blink of an eye and doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of this. She tells him he’s got a head injury and apparently amnesia but it’s okay, she’ll fill him in on everything. And yes they’re dating, he asked her out in college and is very much in love with her and was probably about to propose, definitely. And no, she has no relation whatsoever to the evil Wicked Witch that is a thing now by the way, why would you think that? And yes you have a pulse, you must just be bad at finding it, it’s plain as day to me, don’t worry about it.

That’s it. That’s all I have for plot. Just a very easy opportunity for gaslighting. Nessa barely even has to try. I’m kind of hoping Elphaba is going to swoop in at some point and set the record straight. Maybe when she comes after hearing about the house-flattens-house thing, worried about Nessa. She’ll show up and see Boq willingly holding Nessa’s hand and know that something is very deeply wrong. And then she’ll remember that Boq is supposed to be dead, she watched him die, which makes it even more unlikely that he’d be standing there holding Nessa’s hand.

If I’m going to put Boq in this scenario, then the least I can do is send Elphaba to get him out of it once all the gaslighting has gotten as interesting as it can be and we’re ready to move on with the plot. Because it would be AWFUL if he never learned the truth.

But still. He doesn’t remember “the truth,” and he’s been spending weeks growing to love Nessa because he doesn’t have any reason not to. Even when he’s told what she’s done, he no longer has the emotions and experiences to connect that truth to, so they might not matter as much as what he knows he’s feeling right now. When he’s faced with an uncomfortable reality about the one person he trusts more than anyone.. is he really going to decide to do anything differently?

He’s always preferred a comforting lie…

#wicked #wicked musical #wicked AU #boq bfeeson #nessarose thropp #elphaba thropp #toxic. it’s always so toxic between those two #one of these days I should write a fic where nessa just Isn’t Awful #wouldn’t that be nice?

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suitov · 2 years

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Tall.

Talllllll.

He'd waited a couple of months in case his growth spurt finally showed itself. (He was still optimistic, but why did it have to take so long?) He'd doodled the hearts in his notebooks, got hold of last year's yearbook just to see what that person looked like in their photo...

(Oddly enough, that'd been a wash. Though technically included, instead of a picture there was just an X and a note that this particular student had missed photo day owing to an accident.)

He'd made so many playlists. (He'd considered Cotton Eye Joe, but it was about a troublesome stud, and he didn't want to think of his... well, fine, call them a crush, might as well admit it... that way. It didn't seem nice.)

He thought he'd basically run down the list of things you were supposed to do when you liked someone from the year above. Obviously not including some of the things in Komaru's mangas, which he was pretty sure didn't happen in real life. He didn't want to become a yandere anyway! He just... well... wished senpai would notice him...

I really am so really, totally average and boring! he'd thought, and then, because feeling hopeless had never come easily to him, he'd decided to do something about it. Take action! Like a strong, macho, tall shounen hero!

So he'd slipped an anonymous note into their locker. Like a brave, tall, etc.

He peeped around the corner under cover of picking up an assortment of books, papers and sticker sheets scattered by a broken bag strap, which was an entirely believable occurrence. He'd had to wave off several kind classmates who wanted to help him.

Eventually, his target... no, bad word choice. His crush appeared. For some reason, there were sticking plasters all over his face and even a few bruises. He tried to do what Kyoko did and deduce what'd happened, but he must not be very good at it because he doubted the school would allow some kind of huge clawed predatory animal on campus, surely(?)...

But then his crush opened the locker, found and read the note, and did something totally unexpected.

His face, the same cute face seen in a hundred daydreams, crumpled. He covered his expression with a sleeve, as if ashamed to be seen with anything other than the habitual cute smile Makoto had been hoping for, and rushed away from his locker.

In Makoto's direction, as it happened. Right towards all the dropped -- oops! -- and tripped right on his face at his feet.

Not how Makoto had hoped to make a cute boy fall for him.

"N-Nagito! Are you okay?" The panic was, at least, enough to shatter his shyness.

Nagito let himself be helped up as far as his knees. "Sorry," he said, and seemed to be trying way too hard to sound normal. "How clumsy of me. Let me tidy these..."

"It's fine!" Makoto scooped up everything in some haste and shoved the crumpled collection back in his bag. "That wasn't even you... what's wrong?"

Nagito's cute, upset eyes, more green than grey under the fluorescent tubes, darted here and there. "Ah, just in a hurry to... deliver a note for someone." His hand, on his knee, clenched a familiar paper. "Which I'd better go and do before the next class starts! So if you'll accept my apologies for not paying more attention..."

Makoto could have let the excuse stand. He could let his senior save face. He could let it go.

And then he'd never know why his dumb love confession caused that moment of pure misery.

No! He couldn't let this go!

"Nagito, uh... could you please..." He hastily cracked open the nearest classroom door and, by luck, found it vacant. "...c-come in here for a minute!" Nagito definitely looked reluctant. "Please?" he said again, lamely, and plucked at his blazer sleeve.

"I..." Nagito seemed to be looking for an excuse. But maybe Makoto's pleading look (Celeste called it "perma-puppy-face", but that was wrong; he could be manly when he wanted!) had its effect. Because, without another word, he got up and followed him into the empty room.

"Let's sit down," Makoto said. He pulled a chair back towards the desk behind and straddled it in a mature and trustworthy manner. Nagito sank down at the desk without further protest.

And Makoto was stuck for anything else to say.

"I really must be a pathetic sight," murmured Nagito, "if even someone from the junior year was moved to take pity on me."

Makoto's head jerked up. "Hey! That's not true!"

"Ah... not pity, then. Reproach? Perhaps you're here to bully me?" The paper was whisked out of sight into a pocket. "Normally I'd be happy to oblige, of course... as long as you take it easy on my face, which has already taken its share of damage today. Did you want my lunch money? I have plenty, and I wasn't hungry anyway."

How was he supposed to react to this... frankly worrying kind of talk? Makoto showed his palms frantically. "No, no! I don't want... you're older and taller than me anyway! If anything, it's me who should still be finding you intimidating!"

Nagito was silent exactly like someone who had noticed the word "still" and was turning it over.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Makoto added, scratching his cheek self-consciously. "Listen, Nagito, I'm worried because it looked like you got upset by something. That's really all! I don't want to do anything to your face. Well, not, I mean... I don't want to beat it up, is what I mean!" Smooching might count as anything, but not right now.

"Well." That word managed to convey a great deal of skepticism and, oh dear, he really hoped Nagito wasn't judging him too hard, because the situation was only going to get awkwarder from here. "That's very kind. But, as I believe I explained, the unseemly hurry on my part was only because I didn't want to be late. So, if that's all?"

This kind of thing was definitely easier in Komaru's manga! The love interest would be pouring her or his heart out on the hero's dumb brown uniformed shoulder and he could go pat pat with his strong reassuring tall hands and declare that everything would be all right...

"It's just," said Makoto, drawing on all his heroic brave courageousness to get the words out, "that what it looked like, actually, um, was that you found a note in your locker that upset you."

He didn't miss the minute twitch of the hand towards the trouser pocket.

"And, uh, that was especially troubling, because it was the one who put m-- I mean, I was the one who put it there." He gave himself full points for gumption, B minus for getting the actual words out.

Unfortunately, Nagito's reaction was... actually more of a non-reaction? His expression closed off like a slammed locker door.

"Uh, Nagito?"

"Well. So you were here to bully me after all. Well played, Makoto Naegi. You truly had my guard down. A one-two punch worthy of the Ultimate Boxer himself." Nagito began to rise to his feet.

"Wait! Please!" Makoto clutched desperately for a sleeve. That had been that same completely unexpected reaction again. "I don't know what you think's happening, but you've got it wrong, Nagito. I'm not here to do anything horrible. Listen, I don't care if you're not into guys or not into me or whatever. I just don't want to see you hurt by some... some lame confession from some nobody..."

Nagito's beautiful eyes were narrowed. But he wasn't leaving just yet! Still a chance to mitigate the damage!

"You don't have to return my feelings, Nagito. I'm not under any illusion that I'm anyone who'd get noticed among all the amazing people here, especially you. Like, you probably get a lot of admirers and stuff, and I'm really not expecting anything from you, so... so please don't be sad or mad at me! I'm sorry for however I upset you!" He kind of wished he did have that puppy face like Celeste said. He'd puppy-eye the heck out of this disaster of a conversation.

Nagito extracted a crumpled fistful of paper from his pocket. He smoothed it out on the tabletop. His eyes, greyer than green but at least not hate-filled, scanned it up and down.

"Makoto. Are you saying," Nagito asked in a flat, lifeless voice without much hope in it, "that this is an honest representation of your feelings?"

"Well, yeah! Obviously... well, I wasn't completely sure how many Es there are in 'beauteous', but other than..." Something was scrabbling increasingly urgently at his scattered attention. "Hold it... are you sa... did you think that was fake?"

Nagito gave no reply.

"Oh my gosh, Nagito, why would you ever think that? When you're so beautiful and graceful and" tall so tall please ruffle my hair and let me kiss you on tiptoe "smart and everything? And you're so cool, you have zippers on your shoes and that wallet chain with the skull, and you even share my talent, except yours seems way cooler and... how am I supposed to not have a crush on you?"

There was a pause.

"It's generally written with an A and two Es, not three," said Nagito.

"Oh. Uh. Sorry."

"Uh." Nagito bit a fingernail. It didn't look like the first time the nail had been bitten.

Is he blushing? If only those bandages weren't hiding half his face...

"I think," said Nagito, "that I have made an entirely characteristic mess of this conversation."

Makoto's laugh startled them both. "That's exactly what I was thinking a minute ago..."

"Right. Uh. Well. I'm sorry that I... all of that. I shouldn't have unloaded on you that way."

"It's fine. It's okay." Though I still don't know why he'd think... that... "Did someone play a trick like that on you before, or...?"

Nagito winced. "It just seemed the obvious conclusion at the time."

What's this guy been through if that was the obvious conclusion? "Well, like I said, it's--"

Out in the hallway, the bell rang.

"--aw, darn. And I didn't even get to ask... um. Would you be okay with talking again later? Find me at lunch? I'm usually with Mondo and Chihiro."

"Huh." Nagito blinked twice. "You actually want to hold a second conversation with me."

"More than two, I hope!" Makoto insisted.

"Hope..." Nagito smiled like he'd said something funny. He didn't get it, but the smile was the important thing. "I'll... speak to you later, then, Makoto Naegi."

"Yay!" Makoto bounced on his seat. "I mean yesss! I mean, uh... yeah, that'd be... cool. Yeah." He beamed toughly at the pretty, pretty guy.

With a shake of his beautiful head, Nagito left the room.

I... I just...

"I just talked to my crush and he doesn't completely hate me, yeeeeah!" Makoto leapt up, danced around and crashed over when his shoelace promptly tied itself around the chair leg.

"You saw nothing," he said to the desk. The desk, cowed by his tallness, said nothing at all.

#makoto naegi #komaegi #nagito komaeda

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shark-myths · 1 year

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thanks for the tag, @just-about-nothing ! for what it's worth i am completely charmed by your url, especially knowing its origin.

are you named after anyone? no and i was supposed to have a different name, my father swooped in and changed it while my mom was still loopy. my middle name, by far the best part of the whole thing, is the name of my uncle who died before i was born

when was the last time you cried? wow i'm so happy about this, it was at my fall out boy concert! but i came very near tears at the end of the 'tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow' episode of strange new worlds that i watched last night due to unfair & malicious directorial choices

do you have kids? believe it or not i am a fully fledged stepparent, despite swearing up and down since age 3 i would never be a parent and not really ever measurably wavering in that conviction.

do you use sarcasm a lot? not online really! in person, yes. i also speak in what i have decided is my cat's voice more often than you'd find cute

what's the first thing you notice about a person? lmao everything. i am a very skilled noticer (e.g., nosy). but i find most salient how i feel around them / how they seem to make others feel.

what's your eye color? like @just-about-nothing, debated. blue green grey gold, depending. my license always said green but when i moved to michigan a decade ago they changed it into blue at the dmv, and that's stuck ever since

scary movie or happy ending? i don't like scary movies but i love a scary ending

any special talents? i make the best sauces and pretty good soups, i read quickly, and i'm good at speaking extemporaneously

where where you born? outside of chicago

what are your hobbies? reading, writing, running, knitting, the michael hobbes extended universe

do you have pets? you all know i have too many cats

what sports do you/have you played? HAH never, not even one, i have never been on a team in my damn life

how tall are you? 5'5.5"

favorite subject in school? the best classes i ever took were psychopharmacology and medical anthropology

dream job? yarn store or plant store or book store. have attained career and now just want to go back to cozy retail

bonus! url significance? you have heard this before, but years ago, before i failed at something major that sent permanent ripple effects through my entire sense of myself & my future, i used to think i was a myth about a shark. you know the one: if i stop swimming, i'll die. i have had to unlearn this myth--it's not even true about sharks, why would it work as a way for me to live? reader, i didn't even like taking showers; they were an unbearable waste of time. i was racing towards the outcome of my life so fast, i didn't enjoy any of it. i was a wind-up doll made of control. so now i am here, living better, living at all. remembering always that bullshit myth about a shark. maybe now my url can remind you too!

also, like. sharks are great

#sharks ARE great #about me #i've tagged too many people lately #do this if you want bbs #tag game #tag meme

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ctrsara · 2 years

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Techless Wonder

Read on AO3

@Comfortember 2022 #16 - Shelter

“Let’s review: whose idea was it to take a tech-free camping trip, Pepper? Who insisted on it, actually?”

Oh. Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say, based on his wife’s murderous expression.

“Well, I didn’t know there was going to be a freak thunderstorm rolling in the third night, now did I?” she growled at him, a frightening mix of angry and really stressed out. “The temperature has dropped at least 20º in the last hour, and that storm system is definitely full of at least rain, and maybe snow. I admit I was wrong; I admit defeat. Now would be a good time to use your tech, Tony. Call a suit or something. Get us out of here.”

“Pep, honey. I did my very best to do exactly what you asked. I honestly don’t have access to anything until Happy gets us at the pick up point tomorrow afternoon. No FRIDAY, no suit, no phone even. All we have is what’s right here,” he said, gesturing to their campsite.

Pepper’s eyes widened as she realized how serious he was. She took a deep breath and visibly tried to relax. Because this trip was supposed to be all about relaxing. No tech, no communication, no being called back because there was an emergency with SI or with the Avengers. Her vice presidents could handle SI. Wilson and Barnes could handle the Avengers, with Rhodey as back-up. Peter and May had Morgan. This was just Pepper and Tony, being together, without any interruptions.

What a crap idea.

“Ugh.” She dropped down in a camp chair, her head in her hands. “What are the chances our tent can handle a storm like that? Or the temperatures tonight?” Then more rhetorically, “ Why did I think it was a good idea to hike a few hours away from civilization to set up camp?”

Tony wisely didn’t answer that last question. But he’d better address the others. “Hon, our tent is for summer camping. It’s really not made for it. Our sleeping bags are decent, especially zipped into one big bag, but they won’t work if they’re wet.” He looked disgruntled. “Why didn’t FRI see this storm as a possibility?”

“Did you specifically ask?”

“I thought I did. I’m sure I would have… Maybe I didn’t.”

“Tony, what should we do? Is it worth trying to make a run for it?” She knew that last one wasn’t feasible. It would be dark in two hours, and they were unlikely to be able to outrun the storm. “ Can we do anything to make this better?”

Apparently that was the right thing to say. Tony started thinking, then quickly started doing. Pepper did her best to follow his instructions and fill his requests as he relocated and remade their campsite in a flurry of activity. He asked her to disassemble the tent while he walked in a big radius around their current campsite, found a giant set of boulders that made a bit of a windfall, and re-pitched the tent with them as two of its walls. He had packed an extra tarp and some rope, so he rigged a third wall-slash-extra-overhead-rain-protection to supplement the light fly on their tent. He had Pepper gathering a bunch of dead pine boughs that he made most of a 4th “wall” with using dental floss to tie it all together. (“Who brings dental floss camping, Tony?”) and he rigged a larger shovel-like hand tool (which was surprisingly effective) to dig a big trench around their tent to divert any running water.

As they stood back and looked at his creation as the first raindrops started to fall, Pepper was amazed. “Just… wow.”

“You can tell me all about how amazing I am, but let’s get in the tent while we’re still dry, first,” he said wryly.

As they squeezed past the boulder to enter their tiny haven, Pepper asked, “Tony, you don’t even like camping. When did you ever learn any of that stuff?”

“Wilderness Survival Class my freshman year at MIT,” he said. It sounded like an easy ‘A.’ It was not. But just because I don’t enjoy something doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about it.

“What about things you do enjoy?” she said with a grin, snuggling closer and pulling him in for a kiss.

“Oh, I know much more about those. You might even call me an expert.”

-------------------

The surprising storm was one residents talked about for years. It dropped twice as many inches as they usually got that whole month, mixed with a little hail, even, and set a record low for July. But Tony and Pepper stayed warm and dry all night, courtesy of one random college course and a guy who was really good at problem-solving.

#comfortember 2022 #shelter #marvel mcu #tony stark #pepper potts #pepperony #camping #storm #fanfiction

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dynamic-instability · 4 years

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I have been seeing a lot about “long Covid” (which, as an aside, I’m sorry but that is a ridiculous name) (or maybe Tumblr has just ruined me because ~l o n g e~) and how large and ever-increasing numbers of people are now experiencing chronic/invisible illness for the first time as a result of having had a COVID-19 infection months ago, from which they have not fully recovered for reasons that are often are (as yet) unclear to medical science. Lots of the sentiment “we in the chronic illness community are here for you” which, don’t get me wrong, I love that, I’m here for that.

I study illness and disability in part because I want to be better at helping people through the experiences I’ve had, and also to improve the systems and the culture around illness and disability. I know this is important, and in theory, I am well-positioned to be a person who does like, outreach and patient advocacy and what have you, even if it’s just informally by talking to people online or whatever.

But one of those people newly encountering a life of chronic illness (well, not entirely new, but definitely new to this level of life-altering physical symptoms anyway) after a COVID infection in late March is my current roommate, who is also one of my oldest and closest friends. And I love her, and I want to be there for her, and I can relate to a lot of what she’s going through. In theory, I should be able to be helpful, at least to be there for her and to be an understanding and supportive ear. With that plus my background with studying and discussing illness narratives and how to witness them, I should be uniquely positioned among the people in her life to empathize with what she is going through.

...except that hearing her talk about things like doctors not listening to her and/or not being able to help, having to give up things she loves, reckoning with the possibility that she can’t have the career she’s always wanted, having to newly calculate how she spends her now-seriously-limited energy... it all just triggers the hell out of me.

She starts talking about something and almost immediately I just want her to shut up because it hurts. Even worse is when she responds differently to something than I would, (like for example, she’s much more likely to be angry and want to be confrontational about a doctor saying they can’t do anything for her and not doing any tests but then charging her hundreds of dollars for the visit anyway, and at this point I just accept that as par for the course, but tbh even ten years ago I never would’ve considered actually arguing with the bill even if I was upset about the lack of care) and I get angry because that feels irrationally like a condemnation of how I have chosen to respond to my own experiences. I try not to actually argue with her, but I’m sure it’s immediately obvious that I’m defensive, and it definitely fully prevents me from being supportive.

I had a roommate in undergrad who was also a friend (although not as close, and I hadn’t known her for nearly as long) and who had been chronically ill, with many symptoms similar to mine, for many years (way longer than me, actually) and living with her it was generally a relief that we had this thing in common, because she understood things about me and my life that most people don’t get. Even though we were very different in some ways in our approaches to life and to illness, she and I got along better for having had those experiences in common.

Maybe it’s because the thing we had most in common were the old callouses, the knowledge of how to just keep grinding on. With my current roommate the emotion is too raw because too much of it is new. Most of the fear has drained from my day-to-day experience of illness. I don’t have answers but I have a sort of status quo. And, of course, I’m doing much better than I was a few years ago. My daily life has stabilized immensely. But I hadn’t anticipated how much trauma I have from that time in my life, from the way it felt to be first in that limbo, when that unfathomable unanswerable “will I get better or is this just my life now” question haunted everything I did and every plan I made. I don’t know how to help, partly because sometimes there’s just nothing that can help, but I also don’t even know how to be supportive if, when she talks about her experiences, all I can do is shut down so I don’t break down.

I don’t even really feel like I can tell her this, because I know her and I know she is a person whose greatest fear is being a burden on people. She already struggles to believe it’s okay for her to share personal (especially negative) things about herself and her life, and to believe she’s worthy of love and support. Of course she’s already sensing it in my response, already avoiding the subject, but I feel like I can’t come out and say “when you tell me about your suffering, it causes me pain” because even if I followed it with “but that’s okay, I still want to know, I am still your friend and I still want you to feel like you can share with me, I still want to do my best to be here for you” I’m afraid she wouldn’t hear that part because her guilt would be too loud. Every time she wanted to share something with me, she would worry about me first. I don’t want that to happen, I just want to be able to engage better, I wish I could just acknowledge my personal trauma and then set it aside.

I want to be strong enough to do that, and maybe there was a time when I might have been, but the world is already so much, so hard, so painful right now. My own mental health is holding on by a thread as it is. I’m back in school (virtually), which has a tendency to push me to my breaking point even when we’re not living on the precipice of a climate apocalypse and the fall of American democracy, in the midst of a pandemic that has also ripped away so many of my coping mechanisms and sources of joy. I don’t have the strength to fight this, too, when I’m already either on edge or completely run down so much of the time. And on top of that, all of this is happening with the person who is my only source of regular in-person interaction. Like, that’s a recipe for roommate tension all on its own, sharing an apartment in a time of social distancing. (She is basically my only source of in-person contact, but I am not hers. She has a few other people that she sees regularly, and in some ways that’s a whole other source of sublimated frustration, the fact that she’s not being as careful as I am with her pandemic precautions, but in most other ways I am grateful, because it means we are not constantly in this apartment together, and it means she has other people on whom she can rely.)

I didn’t mean to write this much, meant to end this thought at “I want to believe that I’m part of a welcoming and supportive chronic illness community, except that personally watching someone else live this triggers me” but ah, apparently I needed to get this out or something I don’t know

#personal #chronic illness #Didn't Dori Laub write something about how to witness without just getting triggered into shutting down?#I think I read something to that effect last Fall for class or maybe even two classes #Dr. Laub tell me the answers #of course he's writing about psychotherapy/psychoanalysis for Holocaust survivors when he himself was a Holocaust survivor #and he was a clinical psychologist so like #wildly different situation and approach and outcome lmao

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justalonelyslytherin · 2 years

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It's You - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Reader

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x female Reader (callsign 'Lady')

Summary: Following the events of ‘Hold Me Close’ they find themselves waking up together the next morning. Things have shifted between them, neither really understanding nor realizing what it means. It’s the perfect breeding ground for a misunderstanding that threatens to rip the two of them apart. Their mission is fast approaching, leaving no place to resolve their differences, will a near-fatal end of the mission be able to bring them back together?

Warnings: combat/mission, getting shot at, the possibility of death and crashing, misunderstanding/miscommunication, emotional confusion, idiots in love, I know very little about the navy = military inaccuracies, fluffy ending!

Wordcount: 6.4k

A/N: the callsign 'Lady' comes from the fact that she was the shortest person in her class and still is in her squadron.

If you enjoyed reading this, please consider leaving a comment or reblogging. I don't allow for my content to be copied, translated, or reposted on other websites/apps. Please don't steal my work.

Dividers by @/firefly-graphics

Beeping filled the otherwise quiet, still darkened cabin.

The noise ripped her rather abruptly out of her slumber. Waking up felt hard. Neither her consciousness nor her body wanted to and the resistance both mustered produced a low grumble in the back of her throat.

The assailant was her wristwatch, the one she had set. Yesterday evening it had felt like a good idea, considering she needed to get up extra early to sneak into her cabin and get ready. Now she cursed herself.

Rather sleepily she registered the heavy, muscly arm slung around her waist and then the warm presence of another body against her back. Memories of the previous evening flooded back, reminding her of Hangman’s offer and how they fell asleep in his cabin.

Another groan left her mouth as she rubbed a hand over her face, finally reaching for the watch on her wrist and turning it off. Said hand had held his when they fell asleep. Throughout the night it had slipped to his forearm. She noticed they had barely shifted otherwise. Not that the tight space of the bunk allowed much movement.

Sleeping tightly embraced by Hangman felt surprisingly comfortable to her. She hadn’t ever slept that well on a ship before. If she was entirely honest with herself she hadn’t slept that well on land in a long time either. Something about having the blonde aviator behind her, so close and safe in his embrace, had a calming effect.

It was serene even, so relaxing she didn’t want to leave and get up. It would be so easy to fall back asleep right now. The realization scared her somewhat, not understanding where this came from now. Maybe it was the last shreds of sleep desperately clinging to her mind, keeping her fuzzy and her reactions slow.

Her still sleepy mind started to work anyway, trying to come up with a solution on how she would get out of this bunk. Preferably without disturbing the man clinging to her back. She had to get out of his hold somehow before she could even attempt to climb over him. Both actions seemed much too impossible for the early morning.

While she racked her brain Jake started to stir behind her. A warm puff of air brushed over her neck, setting off a hot tingle all over her back. It made her shiver and press herself against him. Jake - still in a sleepy daze himself - answered by pulling her even closer. That’s when she noticed something else. His hand had shifted during the night. It wasn’t sprawled over her stomach anymore, instead, he had snuck it under her shirt. It was alright with her. The thing she was acutely aware of was its new position.

On her boob.

Without a care in the world and comfortably as could be he held her boob, cradling it in his palm almost - and she cursed her head as she could only think how well it fit in there.

Her breath hitched as his fingers twitched unconsciously, his thumb swiping over the soft flesh directly under the swell of her breast. She couldn’t help but arch her back. Jake groaned quietly against her shoulder, burying his head into the crook of her neck. His hips pressed into her butt, a distinct hardened shape poking at her. Screwing her eyes closed, her breath came fast and unsteady. She needed to calm down.

“Jake.” He didn’t react.

“Hangman.” This time he stirred.

“What?” He mumbled against her neck, slightly lifting his head. She nearly forgot how to speak and even how to breathe. The deep drawl of his voice directly after waking up was making her dizzy in only the best way.

“Take your hand off my boob.” She could feel him freeze for only a short moment before she felt his fingers stretch. Teasingly kneading her soft flesh once.

“Why?”, he asked her in an equally teasing manner.

Why? Because they were colleagues and it was inappropriate? Because he made her body tingly and her mind cloudy? Because she didn’t know what it was between them and it scared her how nice it felt. Because she didn’t want this to end, because she was so ready to go further and commit more, to risk getting hurt and it terrified her.

“Because I have to get up.” Behind her, she felt his heavy sigh.

“What time is it?”

“Too early for you to get up,” she told him, tapping his arm with her hand. Only then he slowly retracted it and she once again cursed herself. This time because she immediately missed his touch. The warmth and comfort it had provided.

“Why are you getting up then?” It was so dark in the cabin she could barely make out his face after she had turned around to him.”

“Because I have to get back to my cabin and get ready.” There was a shower she desperately wanted to take as she hadn’t had the opportunity the previous night. Her hair needed at least a quick rinse or else it would be a nightmare to keep it fixed to regulations.

She could feel him shift around the bed. As he did her hand shot out landing on his shoulder.

“Stay,” she told him, only letting go once he was lying on his back.

“Well, how are you thinking about getting out if I don’t get up?” The sarcasm in his voice was dripping. That’s the Hangman she had almost missed yesterday evening. While his soft side was to melt for she had strangely always liked his sarcasm.

“Like this,” with that, she climbed over him. To be fair it was more like squeezing over him. The tight space of the bunk limited her movement heavily, leading to her hitting her head as she was directly on top of him. She cursed. Jake’s hands shot out to her sides, one hand on each hip.

“You okay?” His eyes flashed in the darkness as his head lifted, their noses brushing against each other.

“Yeah,” she muttered, “Just hit my head.”

She could hear him laugh quietly.

Hitting his chest wasn’t such a good idea. Without two of two arms to stabilize herself over him she sagged downwards. Jake groaned - moaned? - once more as her hips dug into him, something long and hard poked at her stomach. It drove heat into her cheeks and neck.

“Sorry.” As quickly as she could she climbed out of the bunk, jumping to the floor. She could still feel the heat radiate as she scrambled to the pile of her uniform. At least it was dark enough so he wouldn’t see her.

“Try to get back to sleep,” she told him, clearing her throat once she was almost finished with dressing. Only her shoes were left as she fumbled, buckling her belt.

“No,” he huffed, “Won’t be able to fall back asleep again. Thanks to you.” His tone wasn’t accusing. Once more it was teasing and even cocky. She was pretty sure it was an innuendo.

“Sure you don’t want to climb back in?” Jake asked her and now she was sure it was an innuendo. She bent down to tie her shoelaces before answering.

“Have fun with your hand Hangman.” With that, she turned towards the door. But before she could leave the room, she stopped and turned her head back.

“Thank you for letting me sleep here.” It was nothing more than a whisper before she slipped out of the door without waiting for his response.

On her way back to her cabin she prayed the door would be open and that Phoenix’s lover had left already. Partly her wish was granted. Turning the corner towards her room she nearly ran into him. They looked at each other, Y/N raising an eyebrow. She looked blankly at him for some moments before cracking a small smile and shaking her head. With a sign to keep her mouth shut she motioned for him to go. They squeezed past each other as she shook her head once more. This time the door opened without trouble.

Phoenix looked up as she entered the room, her roommate getting ready. The two women briefly looked at each other.

“Next time go to his room.” Phoenix's laugh conveyed some embarrassment as she nodded.

“Sorry,” she said, only to be waved off.

“It’s fine. Just don’t sexile me again.” Secretly she wanted to thank Phoenix too. Without her roommate's nightly endeavors she wouldn’t have slept in Hangman’s cabin. Thinking back to it made her heart beat faster. The sensation confused her. Why did she suddenly feel like that? Hangman and her had been on good terms before, always getting along she even considered him a proper friend. Their silent understanding had been something she prided herself in, finding comfort in the other in a way they couldn’t with any other dagger. Something had shifted the previous night. Something she couldn’t put her finger on yet.

“Where did you even sleep?” Phoenix ripped her out of her thoughts.

“Ah, you know…I found someplace.”

Neither the night nor the morning waking up in Hangman’s arms wanted to let her go. Thoughts and pictures flooded back to her in the least expected moments. Now sitting in the cafeteria she couldn’t concentrate on her breakfast one bit. Phoenix nudged her with her elbow, glaring at something in the distance.

“Hangman’s staring at you. Why is he staring at you?” She looked up, knitting her brows in surprise. He was?

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, which didn’t satisfy her fellow female pilot. Phoenix seemed to even get a little angry about it.

“If he won’t stop I’m going to make him.”

“Don’t, it’s fine.” Phoenix looked at her with one brow raised and scoffed.

“I bet that’s one of his stupid tactics to throw you off your game. I know he and Rooster are team leaders for the mission but I know Maverick is considering selecting you as dagger one.” The brunette sounded angry and ready to march over towards the blonde.

“Phoenix it’s fine really. He wouldn’t do that.”

“Did you hit your head somewhere last night? We are talking about Hangman. He got better but he is still a cocky, lonesome asshole.”

“Stop it. It’s too early for that. I just want to enjoy my breakfast.” She muttered, a finality in her words that made Phoenix stop. At least for now.

While the brunette was convinced, Y/N on the other hand felt like Hangman was staring at her for an entirely different reason. One she couldn’t explain.

He indeed was looking at her she realized as her eyes met his. They stared at each other for a moment. It made her swallow hard. His look was intense and it affected her in a way she couldn’t comprehend nor explain what it was. Subtly Hangman raised his brow, she averted her eyes. For the rest of the breakfast, she made sure to keep her eyes on her tray.

After that, the Hangar underdeck where their jets were stashed was their destination. The storm had indeed hit in the night and mostly passed over. The sea was still rougher than usual but the vessel had embarked after permission to leave had been granted early in the morning. Now they were on their way to the mission site. For the daggers that meant an easy day only doing maintenance on their jets.

She stood in front of her jet, looking over it. One of the hatches was opened to look at the interior mechanics. Standard maintenance. Running through the checklists was like second nature to her. She could do it in her sleep. Yet, even as smooth as the routine was, one part she always dreaded. Closing the hatch. Sighing she put the clipboard away and stood on her tiptoes. She was not too short for it, if she were she wouldn’t have been allowed to become a pilot, but it was always a gamble if she could do it in one go or not.

Before she could even try another arm entered her field of vision, grasping the hatch for her. As a second hand landed on her hip, softly kneading her skin, she turned her head.

Hangman. Standing behind her, his chest bumped against her back. Her heart had started to beat faster, the strange flutter back again. Confusion followed and a wave of strange anger. Both at her inability to identify these sensations and the way Hangman’s behavior had so drastically changed. It frustrated her to feel so helpless, left to be succumbed by her feelings.

“I had that,” she told him sourly.

“I wanted to help.” His answer came calmly, ticking her frustration up a notch and causing her brow the raise.

“Since when do you do that?”, she asked him snippily. It was a low blow, she knew that. He reacted rather calmly, narrowing his eyes and looking down at her but the way he had pulled his lips into a thin line told her her words had hit.

“Can I not?” He asked her dryly back. His jaw ticked slightly, making her swallow. Instead of backing down, however, she huffed.

“You done being helpful now?”

No one was close by to see them which to her was a relief. Once again she was confused about what this was supposed to be. Just like the morning, she wanted to let herself go. She could feel him so close to her, deep down she liked it. She wanted to preen and lean back against him, wallowing in the closeness, but she couldn’t.

A part even deeper down didn’t allow her to relax and let it happen. The closeness scared her. She had never wanted to do this before, never wanted to be so close to him, indulge in him. He had never come so close to her before, giving her such mixed signals.

Sure they had touched and gotten close in friendly games of dog football with the team. Hangan had occasionally even slung an arm over her shoulder when they had been in the Hard Deck or walking out to a campfire the group had organized. But never like that.

The way he pressed himself against her back, his hands on both sides of her hips subtly grabbing at her and her suit. He had never made any advances towards her that could have suggested anything but them being friends. She had seen him flirt and get handsy with ladies. Now she feared she was his next goal simply because they were on deployment and miles away from the closest shore and any civilian woman.

“Why’d you go so fast this morning and then avoid me during breakfast?” He asked her, his breath against her hair and the tip of her ear. It made her shudder.

“I had to go get ready.” Her answer evaded his question. Hangman hummed quietly behind her. She couldn’t decide if there was something here, if she was reading into the situation correctly or if he was just trying to use her as a bed bunny. The thought of the latter being true made her mad.

“Had fun with your hand?”, she asked him stubbornly, turning to grab her clipboard but he tugged her back against his chest.

“I had preferred you had been there to help.” He told her hotly, his lips only inches from her neck. Her breath rattled and her head spun. No coherent thought was able to form.

Somehow she managed to snap out of it, elbowing him in the side. Not done with him, she needed a way to let some of the anger she felt right now dissipate, she reached behind her and found his harness. Harshly pulling on it made him groan. Hangman buckled over at the uncomfortable feeling of the harness being pulled tighter around his legs and crotch. It was enough for him to let her go. Exactly what she wanted as she now turned around to him, a stern look in her eyes.

“I’m not your plaything,” she told him before turning around and stomping to the other side of the jet. Her chest was heaving and her mind reeling as she tried to calm down. He shouldn’t be able to affect her like that, shouldn’t be able to make her lose her composure.

Finally having calmed down she looked back around the jet. Hangman was gone, back to his jet but her mind was still alight with thousands of thoughts. All surrounding him. The anger in her had simmered down but there was still some disappointment bubbling in the pits of her stomach. Had she read too much into the situation? Had there been something more, something that wasn’t blatantly sexual? She had long before cracked down Hangman’s cocky mask, seeing behind the manwhore he played. Had she been wrong the entire time?

She hated how the short moment between them in the hanger had left her mind reeling, distracting her every waking moment afterward. She knew she was distracted and she knew the others had noticed as well. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to focus, she wanted to. Wanted to forget everything interpersonal that didn’t belong with the mission. She couldn’t. No matter how hard she tried to.

Hangman had kept his distance the last couple of days and while it shouldn’t it bothered her. Bothered her deeply. He was going overboard with it. The evenings the team found themselves in one of the common rooms, he stayed at the opposite end of the group, moving whenever she tried to get close. He hadn’t talked to her alone. Even in the group, he said only the bare minimum. The only times he addressed her at all, it had to do with maintenance of the jets or the mission. The distance between them now was the exact opposite.

She hated it.

At lunch, she sat together with Phoenix, Fanboy, and Payback. They were all watching her out of the corner of their eyes. The conversation they shared halted every couple of minutes to shoot her concerned looks. Slowly their behavior ground away her nerves. Her hold on her metal spoon kept getting tighter and tighter.

“What’s going on with you?” Phoenix finally asked once her spoon had clattered into the metal tray. Her roommate was equally fed up with her as she was with them. Furrowing her brows she looked at her friends and colleagues.

“You have been out of it ever since the storm.” While it sounded outright accusing deep down she knew it came from a place of concern and maybe even fear.

“Have we somehow changed dimensions? Are we in a parallel universe in which you are a horrible pilot?” Payback joked but smiled reassuringly at her. He was trying to lighten the mood.

“No,” she tells them briefly, her eyes wandering through the cafeteria. Just a couple of seats away sat Rooster, Maverick, and Bob, just behind them were Coyote and Hangman. On the latter, her eyes stayed put. If he was aware of her eyes on him he was doing his best to ignore it. She gnawed on her lip.

“Did something else happen that night?” Phoenix prodded. Looking back at the three of them she shook her head.

“Can’t be. She went to bed earlier than we did,” Fanboy chimed in good-naturedly. If he only knew, but she wouldn’t tell them that. Phoenix leaned back in her chair, one eyebrow raised accusingly. Y/N looked at her, blinking slowly and granting the brunette no reaction or clue. The brief exchange between the female pilots went entirely over Fanboy and Payback's heads.

“You still haven’t told me where you slept.” Ah, so that’s how she wanted to go about this now.

“Does that matter?” she asked defensively.

“It does if it is the reason you are off your game,” Phoenix said, increasingly getting more frustrated, “Come on, we are only trying to help! The mission is getting close and we need to be at our best once it’s time.”

She knew. Oh, how she knew. Besides Hangman there wasn’t anything but the mission in her head.

“I know! Do you think I live this? Being distracted and making mistakes in procedures I can normally do in my sleep. Do you think I enjoy this added pressure? Knowing the dire and danger of the mission?” She knew exactly what it pertained, what it meant to be distracted and make a mistake up in the air. Certain death. Even in practice, it was dangerous to be distracted. In a real mission, it was fatal.

Her stomach angrily twisted into knots. Any feeling of hunger was gone. The food in front of her repulsed her suddenly. Shoving the cutlery away, she stood up rather abruptly. Multiple eyes turned towards their group, some even following her as she stormed out of the dining hall.

One particular pair of green eyes followed her every move, standing up not long after she had turned the corner.

Too deep into the never-ending cycle of thoughts plaguing her since the night of the storm, she didn’t notice the steps echoing off the walls following her. Only when her arm was grabbed and the momentum she and her attacker had spun her around, she realized. Her back strongly collided with the metal wall.

Nestled into a nook, standing chest to chest where Hangman and her. The blonde looked down at her, both hands holding her wrists as he observed the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

“What’s going on with you?” His calmness was a stark contrast to the agitated state she was in.

“I don’t know.” She wasn’t able to look him in the eyes. Why did he go after her now? Had he finally reached the point where he had become so annoyed about her possibly messing up the mission? Or was he finally able to let her try to talk to him? To resolve what had happened? Whatever it was, now it was her turn to not want to. Instead of being confronted by him, she just wanted to go. Tugging her wrists in an attempt to free herself from his grip turned out to be futile.

“You don’t know?” Hangman scoffed, his grip tightening. He pulled her even closer, caging her in further between the hard plains of his broad chest and the cool, solid metal of the wall.

“Let me go!” She demanded.

“Not good enough. Think of a better answer.” He told her sternly, his brows crinkled deeply as he slightly shook her arms. It made her look up at him defiantly, eyes boring into his.

A pang of sadness and hurt bloomed in her heart. She didn’t want to fight with him and the way he was so angry at her hurt her deeply. How had it gotten like that? How had they gone from cuddling together in bed to fighting like this?

“What is your problem?” she asked exasperated and fighting hard to channel the anger and agitation instead of the hurt that wanted to mix in.

“Mine? What is yours?” he asked her back, leaning forward and pinning her further against the wall until his hips dug into hers.

He was so close his breath grazed her lips. Her body betrayed her as he trespassed into her personal space. Now her heart wasn’t beating furiously from the anger. The traitorous thing was beating wildly because he was so close. Because she could feel his breath on her lips and it made her realize how easily he could kiss her. His scent encompassed her, clouding her senses and numbing her buzzing mind. The tantalizing familiar tones send her straight back to the night of the storm, to the way he held her throughout the night as his scent wrapped around her like a safety blanket.

“You are.”

Her voice lacked the fight it had possessed moments before. She had almost entirely deflated, so quiet it may as well have been nothing but a whisper. But he had heard her.

His posture turned rigid and then he retracted, looking blankly at her. There was a silence between them. For the first time, it felt uncomfortable. It lasted only a couple of heartbeats but it was long enough to be torturous.

Then he was gone. In the blink of an eye, he had let her go, pulled himself out of her space, and turned on the spot. She could only stare at his retreating back. Once his form had rounded the nearest corner she slid down the wall, sinking to the floor. The adrenaline washed from her, leaving behind nothing but emptiness.

“This is it,” Maverick told them as they were all lined up in formation and donning their flight gear. The ship had reached the mission coordinates. Start of the mission was in t-30 minutes.

“Be prepared for everything that could happen, to happen. But don’t forget it is you that matters up there. It is the pilot, not the plane.” While he stood there addressing all of them with his talk, she couldn’t help but feel singled out by his looks. Her game had been off. She had only slightly recovered after the altercation with Jake as it had felt like the end of everything between them.

Maverick knew it too; she still wasn’t back on her game. She had been so sure to be exchanged with one of the other pilots, for him to choose someone else over her. He hadn’t. Because he believed in her, something she wasn't sure she could at the moment. Now she was on her way out for the mission. It felt more like she was out to find certain death high in the clouds.

“Dismissed.” At the end of his speech, the group dispersed.

Both Phoenix and Bob came up to her, the duo just about to go to their jet and get ready. Concern was brimming in both their looks. She knew they were concerned, secretly she was too. But for their sakes, she swallowed the uneasy, bitter feeling and smiled at them.

“I’m fine,” she reassured. “Got my head back together. Don’t worry.” Lies. All lies.

They didn’t look particularly convinced but didn’t prod further either. Phoenix pulled her into her arms, squeezing her tightly. Even without saying anything she knew. It was a silent message, a plea to come back together with them, to not let them get back with one person less.

“I’ll go get ready.” She could feel her throat closing up the longer they stood by her. Bob and Phoenix in turn nodded at her, letting her turn around. As she walked away they exchanged a concerned glance.

Her jet wasn’t far off. It stood on the elevator platform, ready and waiting to get lifted onto the deck. Hangman stood by his jet, the one directly next to hers. Her throat tightened even more looking at him as he stood there, his helmet in his hand, fiddling with the straps like he always did before putting it on. It was a habit of his, some sort of ritual he had told her once. Without thinking she walked up to him. Once directly behind him, she hesitated. His shoulders were broad, pushed outwards confidently but also tense.

“Hangman.” There was no way she could bring herself to say his first name. It felt forbidden to her now like she had lost the privilege of it. His head turned around. Surprise crossed his eyes briefly before they turned steely cold.

“Good mission,” she told him, inwardly cursing herself for the shake of her voice. He noticed too. As she turned back around, his hand closed around her wrist, softly stopping her.

“You alright?” He asked quietly. Nearly she burst into tears. It was so unusual of him. He didn’t care about anyone else, especially not before a mission. For him to not only show some concern but also, after all, that happened? It made her knees weak as a whimper crawled up her throat. She wanted to nod, to put up an act just like she had done in front of Phoenix and Bob. She couldn’t so instead she swallowed down the emotions and shook her head.

“Don’t do something stupid up in the air. Don’t let yourself get distracted by whatever it is that got to your head.” There was actual concern lacing his voice now. It nearly made her laugh.

His hand lingered around her wrist, his thumb softly brushing over her skin. They looked at each other, neither of them able to look away. If not for the announcement overhead that broke them apart, they would have stood there for eternity.

The landing was rough.

The wheels of her jet screeched and wailed as the aircraft harshly decelerated, coming to a rocky stop on the deck. The moment the jet had entirely stopped she slumped back in her seat. Her hands only slowly let go of the tight grip she had kept on her control stick. The adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, and her head throbbed. She felt sticky and disgusting, covered in a thick layer of sweat that had matted her hair to the back of her neck. Distinctively she felt a pearl of sweat trail down her spine.

A shuddering breath left her. There were a thousand thoughts in her mind, jumping back to the moments up in the air just before. The rush of what happened was still there, still so fresh. Yet it hadn’t hit her how close she had come to not returning.

The missing canopy above her head was a strong indicator. Where her face had been exposed to the frosty air her skin prickled, where it had hit her unshielded from the moment the hood had been lost, it stung. She wasn’t sure if it was only from the cold or also from the small metal parts that crossed her path.

All she could think about was the last exchange he had up in the air with Hangman. She hadn’t even cared that the rest of the team and the control room could hear her too.

“Shit! I got two on my tail. I can’t shake both of them!”

“Where are you? Who is closest to her?”

“No one.”

She had to swallow hard. “I can’t see anyone else from the team.”

“Lady! Hold on!” Hangman’s voice had been so stern. “Don’t do something stupid.”

“I’m not trying to,” she told him, a tick rising in her voice, a certain tremble she couldn’t hide anymore as the situation grew ever more threatening.

“Damn it, I’m hit! Engine one is down and there is a large crack in my canopy. The cockpit is depressurizing”

She remembered the way her stomach twisted as she tumbled through the sky, the first time in her life where she didn’t feel entirely at ease up in the clouds.

“Someone needs to get to her!”

She couldn’t remember who had called out.

“Trying to restart the engine.”

“God damn it. Someone get to her!” Hangman had said it with a voice that was laced with so much tight-wound desperation. It had been scary to hear him so emotional, so different to the aviator that got his callsign from leaving anyone else behind.

“Hangman,” she had told him, clenching her teeth as her fingers dug into the control stick, fighting to get control back without getting shot down.

“It’s you,” she had told him, certain it would be the last thing she ever uttered.

“Lady! You alright?” The voice brought her back, realizing she was still sitting in her cockpit. She felt dizzy but still nodded.

"Yeah. I’m fine.” As fine as someone could be after an experience like that. She wouldn’t be getting around a check-up later on, she was sure of that. For now, the deck around her was in chaos. People were running around, checking on the other pilots and jets, getting the runways cleared for every plane to fit. There were even some people already celebrating.

Slowly she climbed out of the cockpit. Her legs felt a little wobbly, so she wasn’t mad about the hand the landing assistant had on her back. When she stood on the deck with both feet she finally pulled her helmet down. Her hair was sticking to her temples and forehead, having come loose from her bun.

Unexpectedly she was yanked back and spun around. In front of her was Hangman. His eyes were frantically raking over her from head to toe. She noticed how erratic his breathing was as his fingers dug into her arms. The next moment she was pushed against his hard chest, crushed inside an embrace.

“I’m alright,” she told him softly, her arms slowly snaking around his waist. It felt good to be so close to him again, to feel his arms around her. She couldn’t help but close her eyes and revel in it. Both of them clung to each other as their hearts and breaths slowly calmed. He broke the embrace too soon for her liking.

There was conflict in those green eyes of his, she could tell he was having a fight with himself.

“It’s you.” Telling him again the words felt raw and a little too soon but now that he was standing in front of her, now that she made it back alive and in one piece, she had to tell him personally. His brows furrowed deeply in confusion.

“You are what got into my head.” Hurt crossed his face, followed by recognition as she shook her head. Not like that. Not in a bad way. There were many more things on her mind she wanted to tell him. Too many for her to know where to start.

“You are not a plaything for me,” His words - heavy with the drawl of his accent breaking through - made her gasp. Looking intently at her, he continued, “I thought it was clear. I’d never act like that with you. I’d never try to get you into bed for a one-time thing.”

She had to close her eyes. Really, she would like to hit herself. How could she have been so stupid? So insecure to even think that? Too scared of the things she felt, how she hadn’t been able to realize them at first. Now it all seemed so clear, so obvious, and easy.

Instead of dwelling on the negative emotions, she let the butterflies win, the soft tingling erupting all over her body. After all, she hadn’t imagined the pull between them that night. When she opened her eyes again he was intently watching, his eyes searching hers. She smiled at him.

Snaking her arms around his neck she pulled him down. Their lips met. It felt like the eruption of a firework. Not even the thrill of flying, the feeling of a successful mission could compare to his. Jake’s hands landed on her hips, pulling her towards him, flush against his body. As if she wasn’t already impossibly close. He was holding her as if she would disappear any moment as if he never wanted to let her go again.

Two bodies lay beside each other on the narrow bunk bed. Similar to the night of the storm in which they had first shared the close quarters. Now - just as the first night - they were embracing each other. Jake was on his back, one arm drawn around her and softly trailing his fingers through her hair. She was resting her head on his chest, snuggled tightly against his side. Their bodies were bare under the thin blanket.

They were quiet and content. The comfortable silence had returned to them, the need to say something void. A soft sigh left her lips as she nuzzled her nose against his clavicle, the smattering of his chest hair tickling her softly. Had she had her eyes open she would have seen the soft and loving way Jake looked at her. How pleased he was.

“Next time you gonna talk to me directly?”, he broke the silence after a while. She stretched to his words, slowly opening her eyes and looking up at him.

“The next time? Are you expecting us to fight again?”, she asked him. He smiled down at her and shook his head.

“No, just asking if you’ll let me into your head from now on.” There was still a pang of shame in her for the way she had handled the situation. Had she been straightforward with him from the beginning it all would have gone smoother. She wouldn’t have come so close to dying either. Besides the memories that wouldn’t be forgotten so easily, and the small bandaid on her cheek there was no other indication of the near-fatal end.

He could tell she was getting lost in her thoughts again, so he shifted, turning to his site and eliciting a small protest from her. But he knew a way to shut her up quickly. As his lips descended on hers the complaint died on her tongue. Instead, a satisfied hum left her lips.

The kiss was only broken by her yawn. Jake looked at her, smirking slightly as he swiped his thumb over her bottom lip.

“Let’s sleep.” She wanted to protest but he shushed her softly. “Sleep,” he insisted. She complied with a sigh, giving in to both the exhaustion of her body and the invite his arms provided.

They shuffled around slightly, both getting comfortable. It was a coincidence they ended up in the same position as the night of the storm, him wrapped around her back, she was content in his arms and with his hand on her stomach.

Both were close to falling asleep when her hand moved once more. She tugged on Jake’s hand, feeling him go pliant and letting her guide the appendage. A surprised noise formed at the back of his throat, just as she let out a soft hum.

“Better,” she mumbled sleepily, cuddling back into his embrace. Jake chuckled as she fell asleep to the feeling of him at her back and his hand on her boob.

#top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #jake hangman x reader #top gun hangman #hangman fic #hangman seresin

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gillianthecat · 2 years

Text

Watching The Eclipse episode 5

~ they got everyone anxious about Ayan's photo last episode and then they deploy it immediately... as blackmail... but adorable blackmail. That was cute, The Eclipse, good job.

~ I like that they've put the prefects in these more relaxed athletic outfits as a visual parallel to Akk starting to relax about strictly enforcing the rules. It also makes them look more mature than the shorts & jacket student uniform.

~ ... doth protest too much, etc.

~ this teasing conversation about the picture 💗The way these two look at each other. Their little half smiles.

~ "you bastards, do it in sync!" The metaphors in this show are not subtle. But it works somehow.

~ the mystery hands reappear. The person enforcing the "curse"? Oh no!

~ the relief on Akk's face that the judo teacher won't turn him in. I'm paying more attention to the subtleties of First's acting now, and he's amazing. This is my first watch since seeing him in Not Me, and he so totally unlike Yok here.

~ Akk's vulnerable position as a scholarship student is now text and not just subtext. Ayan looks surprised, I guess he didn't know. Is he reevaluating Akk's reasons now? He's a smart guy, it seems like something he might get right away.

~ I appreciate that they did not waste their limited budget on bruise make-up and just used bandaids. I'm being serious - I think they've been very clever about using their money as effectively as possible for the story they want to tell.

~ what did Akk want with Teacher Chadok? Report the theft? While he's in this in between stage it's harder to figure out his motivations. (Probably it's hard for him to understand them too.)

~ gathering the whole class to talk about the stolen notebook? I wasn't expecting that. I can't tell if this is a good thing - students starting to unite against "the curse" - or a bad one - invading Ayan's privacy.

~ who is asking this question about the notebook? Is that Namo? what is your deal, mystery man?

~ Again, Kan is the one bring up the curse

~ was that a passive aggressive little dig from sweet Thua? I love it!

~ Akk is worried about Ayan 💗💗

~ I love that they have "their" spot now. Oh, but Thua is approaching Ayan. I can't read Akk's expression here. Jealousy? Glad that Ayan has other support?

~ vague unformed thoughts about Ayan and earbuds and sleep...

~ ah, it is jealousy. Don't walk away Akk. He always wants to see you, even if he's still mad. (Is he still mad? I can't tell.) I'm guessing mostly he's grieving the loss of a piece of his uncle and worried about what's going to happen to his mission now.

~ and both our nervous closeted prefects are jealous.

~ oh my god, my heart leapt when he took his hand! I was not expecting that. I feel like I'm experiencing Thua's emotions right now. This whole little miniature scene! So much in like 30 seconds. I could write pages on it alone.

~ oh, puppy's pouting cause he misses Ayan too.

~ I don't understand why everyone is wearing these track suits all day, but they all look hot in them so 🤷🏻‍♀️

~ and I could write another million words on this Akk-Ayan scene. Very full. No condensed reaction available.

~ aww I like this comic relief moment with the sprinkler. Perfectly timed. Ayan is so endeared by Akk (and his wet white t-shirt, I'm sure, lol)

~ there's also a lot going on in this scene with the hoodie, but my initial reaction is mainly squeeee! This hoodie business is adorable! The tension! Plus I always enjoy a shirtless First.

~ i get you Ayan. If Akk was constantly staring at me with that wide eyed expression of startled awe I would fall in love with him too.

~ there's been focus on this custodian before. Is he going to turn out to be significant?

~ they've shown Akk doing laundry twice now. Something I haven't noticed a character doing before in a Thai bl. (Maybe it happens and I just haven't seen it). But I feel like it subtly emphasizes his class position. Plus a great chance to show him communing with his crush's clothing.

~ "Why does it have to be you?" Oh man.

~ Thua's asshole stepdad is an asshole. But I (genuinely) appreciate the nuance of making him a sarcastic asshole.

~ so far we're mostly getting scenes of the three visibly queer activist kids in the periphery, through the eyes of our main four. Which is an understandable focus for storytelling, but I'm also interested in their story (hmm, vague unformed thoughts comparing this to Not Me's focus on the activists as main characters)

~ tying some individuals' queerness to the reputation of the whole school (only a vaguely formed thought so far)

~ I like that we keep discovering new spaces around the school this episode. It a) makes the world building feel more real, like this is a full place, and b) I think reflects the way our main characters mental worlds are expanding.

~ interesting that we began with a scene focused on the school rule of no phones and we keep seeing our main characters using their phones. Is something going to happen?

~ oh, babies. Oh Thua. He is using is voice in the only way that feels safe to him.

~ ooh a mystery. My first thought was Bruce Wayne is Kan of course, but than I remembered we're in the middle of a mystery story so it could be something else

~ Wat! Opening up to the teacher. 😀 It feels like he was so ready to open up about this, just needed the gentlest nudge. And Teacher Sani is a rebel, but we knew that already.

~ all these scenes with Akk and Ayan are so full and complex I can't do a quick reaction for them. Flirting. Connecting. Grieving. Plot happening.

~ I love that they're using this same setting of the red mats for a conversation now instead of a judo match.

~ aww, baby Akk had a crush on the head prefect. And seemingly had no idea that it was a crush 🥺

~ Given the rest of this episode, I feel like this pool scene must an intentional highlighting of Ayan's wealth and the class difference with Akk. And probably also an excuse to show him shirtless and wet, lol. (also I've been recently thinking about pools as a symbol of wealth.

~ political stuff (and curse stuff) - I have unformed thoughts but it's all too complex for my quick reaction post.

~ yay! More time hanging out with the activist kids. And I appreciate how this set-up frames Akk coming in as clearly the bad guy. They're not trying to soften what his role is at this point in the story.

~ Namo, Namo, Namo. You mystery man. Who are you and what is your role in all of this?

~ I asked to get to know these activist queer kids and they delivered within thirty minutes. 🥰 and I love them and their courage and hope.

~ oh fuck! oh fuck?! oh fuck. Has it been Ayan Akk this whole time? Shocking and yet also not. And that would fit everything we know so far, I think. Or he's he just being the "curse" now, in desperation? He couldn't have stolen the notebook, after all

~ I think the last scene's shift to be from the activist kids' perspective really works to set up this new perspective on Akk's character.

~ wow what an ending. And again next weeks episode looks full.

I'm about to go unblock the tags now, and I'm excited to read everyone's reactions and theories and see your beautiful gifs and screenshots!

#the eclipse #the eclipse ep 5 #the eclipse the series #the eclipse reaction #kind of like liveblogging #gillianthecat reacts to bl #reaction by gillianthecat #long post

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randomshyperson · 3 years

Text

Wanda Maximoff x Reader - I bet i love you

Gif if not mine, but i swear she looks prettier every time i look at her.

Summary: Prompt based from @ecruzsalaz: The one where Wanda is popular, and Reader is a nerd. The popular kids do a bet that Reader will fall in love with Wanda. Everything will be reveal after their trip.

Warnings: Light angst, kissing, teasing, underage drinking, lies, Vision being an idiot completely out of canon.

Words: 13.446 k /// Read on AO3

Notes: I don’t even know what happen here. I’m been busy and this took a lot of days to be done, but it’s finally here, hope @ecruzsalaz will be satisfied haha. Good reading everyone and apologies for any typo, it sucks to translate so many words. There are a few pop culture references, i wonder if anyone will catch those.

Marks (if i forgot your name tell me i’m lost): @mionemymind @abimess

In your last year of high school, you just wish things would be peaceful.

The previous years hadn't exactly been ideal, since you were surrounded by assholes, but you are optimistic.

Your small, select group of friends, consisting of exactly two people, who you could swear were probably the only decent human beings left in West View High School, were currently the only reason you still wanted to go to high school.

Right now, for example, you were sitting in the outer cafeteria, a book of historical fiction to escape reality plus headphones with some old rock music that you weren't really listening to, since you were so focused on the story you were reading. And then someone pulled on your headphones, and you looked up ready to complain, but the mischievous smile of your best friend Bruce Banner was all you could find.

- I've been calling you for five minutes. - He said, sitting down on the stool in front of you. You smiled, apologizing, and put your cell phone on the table. - No problem, you always do that.

You laughed awkwardly, closing the book while Bruce put his backpack on the table.

- Where is Mon? I haven't seen her today. - You tell him, but Bruce shrugs.

- Maybe her mother changed shifts again. - He comments, and you make a noise with your mouth of agreement. Whenever Maria, your friend Monica's mother, switched shifts at work, she would be late for first periods. It has been like this since primary school.

- You still haven't let me see your schedule. - You told Bruce with a slight frown, and he laughed, going through his pockets. Then he took out his cell phone, fiddled with the screen for a few seconds, and then handed it to you. You read the attached class schedule with a frown. - Bruce! You didn't sign up for half the classes you took last year?

He shrugged, running his hands through his hair.

- Yeah, I think I'll focus more on what I want for college. - He explained a little shyly. - I was getting too anxious about all that stuff. And honestly, you should have done the same.

You made a grumbling sound with your mouth, and started biting your thumbnail as you finished looking at the schedule. You would barely have any classes together. And then you handed the cell phone back to your friend.

- I would do it if I had any idea what I wanted to major in. - You tell him. - It's better to have several interests on the curriculum, so I'll have more course options.

- You can also develop burnot. - He remarked with mild irony, and you laughed, looking away.

The bell for the first class then rang, and the two of you exchanged a look before getting up. Bruce kissed you on the cheek before heading in the opposite direction, and you grumbled lightly as you picked up your book and walked to the chemistry labs.

In the hallway of the main building, a few meters before the entrance to the lab, someone bumped into you. It was one of the boys from the team, who was laughing at something his colleague said. Your notebooks fell to the floor, and the boy looked at you with contempt.

- Watch where you're going weirdo. - He warned and you rolled your eyes.

- You're the one who bumped into me, you brute. - You grumbled angrily. The boy just laughed and walked away.

After picking your books, you stood up. The athletes at your school were jerks, but you didn't blame only them for their arrogance. The rest of the school, including the faculty, treated them as gods, so they behaved as such.

Sighing with impatience, you entered the chemistry labs, wishing that the day wasn't long.

Darcy Lewis had been your chemistry partner for three years. You smiled as you greeted her and sat down next to her. You were not friends, but she was very kind and extremely intelligent. You really thought you were very lucky to have her as your partner, and then, as if the universe would like to laugh at you, Professor Nakia announced that she was switching partners.

The whole class let out a chorus of dissatisfaction, and one student asked aloud.

- Please, Professor Nakia, we have been working with the same people for three years. Why change now?

- Excellent question, Miss Quinn. - Nakia said, smiling. She was at her desk, finishing putting her materials on top. - Three years is more than enough time for you to create tricks to cheat on my exams.

The room exchanged complicit and guilty looks, and the teacher kept a serious posture.

- The school board found evidence to indicate this. - She explains. - I was very disappointed to learn that there were students cheating on the evaluation method not only in this class, but in several others. You will notice that all teachers with fixed groups will rotate them from now on. This was a decision made by the principal.

You rolled your eyes, annoyed that you would lose your amazing partner and were running the chance of ending up with someone irresponsible or slacker, just because some kids were careless at cheating. The room let out a chorus of understanding, and everyone began to move around as the teacher indicated the new groups. You ended up sitting with a guy named Vision, who you didn't really know, but you knew was quite popular because he was class speaker, and head of the fencing club.

- Hello, dear. - He greeted you as he sat down, putting his coat on the chair. Vision dressed very well; he was part of the group your classmates called "preps”, even if he was usually hanging out with jocks.

You made a noise with your mouth in greeting, but he didn't seem to mind your lack of sociability.

Fortunately, Vision was a decent chemistry partner. Although he was bossy, and had a habit of interrupting or explaining as if you were stupid, he was intelligent and knew how to do the experiments. You thought that was enough, since you would only have to put up with him in this class.

Feeling a glance at you, you raised your eyes from the notebook, and were slightly startled to notice Vision looking at you with amusement and curiosity, you frowned ready to ask what's wrong, but then he let out a dry laugh.

- I knew I knew you! - he declared. - You're the Presley freak!

Vision laughed lightly nostalgically, and you felt your face flush, turning your attention back to your notebook. He was talking about the Halloween party in freshman year, where you dressed up as Elvis Presley and the track team decided to nickname you "Presley Freak" for the next whole year. The teasing died down after a while, but Vision brought it back as if it were a good memory.

Fortunately he just shook his head with amusement, and didn't mention it again. When class was over, he didn't say goodbye on his way out, but you didn't care.

//-//

The story that all the teachers followed the new norm of switching partners was true. In History, you lost your partner Bucky Barnes to sit with Natasha Romanoff, equally quiet and intelligent. For the most part, you are satisfied with the partners you got.

But then in fourth period, biology class, you ended up partnering with someone you never imagined.

Wanda Maximoff was one of the most popular girls in school. You didn't really know her. You were classmates during elementary school, and you even became friends with her twin brother in elementary school, Pietro Maximoff, before he became a complete idiot. But other than that, you didn't know much about her. Although you had a strange sympathy for the girl. Unlike the group of girls she hung out with, Wanda never tormented you at school. Or your friends. She was probably fake and sneaky like the others, but she left you alone, so you had nothing against her.

You were pulling your biology book out of your backpack as the teacher announced the new pairs, and you stopped in mid-motion when she said Maximoff and your name.

Wanda sat down beside you the next moment, smiling politely. You shook your head slightly, dropping your backpack on the floor.

Wanda was surprisingly nice. You didn't talk about anything unrelated to the subject, but she was quick enough to catch your ironic glances when Professor Darkholme made an inappropriate comment or a funny remark, and match it with a smile or a look.

As the class came to an end, Wanda nodded slightly at you, and you smiled back before gathering your materials.

It had been four months since classes had started, and you were already used to your new partners in class.

Vision was inconvenient in many comments, as if he took pleasure in recalling your most embarrassing moments in high school, but you learned to change the subject quickly whenever this happened. All you had to do was pretend you didn't know about some subject he mastered, only to hear him explain it to you in the most arrogant manner possible for the next few minutes, effectively distracting him.

Natasha Romanoff was exceptionally sarcastic and ironic, and you sometimes you felt that she was a more aggressive female version of your former partner Bucky Barnes. She was quite individualistic, and you had to make an effort not to get left behind, or you had to constantly remind her that you were a duo, but otherwise she was a good partner, and you were happy to invite her to lunch with you, which eventually became a habit after a week.

And then you had Wanda Maximoff. You weren't friends, but you had a strange kind of complicity as biology partners. You never would have guessed that Wanda would have a sense of humor so similar to yours. Two classes in a row, and you already had inside jokes about the way Ms. Darkholme caught the attention of her students. Two weeks in, and you two knew how to cheat your way through assignments. You didn't know how to make friends, and judging by the history of who Wanda was hanging out with, you had the impression that she wouldn't want to develop any kind of relationship with you. And honestly, this was your last year, you wouldn't see these people again, so you were more than satisfied to have just one good lab partner.

With the mid-winter vacations approaching, you were looking forward to getting some rest.

Non-Reader Pov

- God, Wanda, why are you talking about that weirdo again? - interrupted Vision impatiently. His girlfriend blinked in confusion, looking away awkwardly.

- I'm just commenting on a joke we…

- Really, Wanda? - He interrupted again with an accusing look. - It seems like all you do lately is "comment" on your little jokes in class. - He sneers as he settles down on the sofa. The two of them stand together outside the school, their group of friends watching the discussion with amusement. - I don't know why you talk to her at all. She is so silent and awkward with me in chemistry class.

Wanda bites the inside of her cheek, looking forward.

- I think your girlfriend has a girl crush. - Tony Stark sneered next, making everyone laugh. Wanda frowned, feeling her heart race.

- You are an idiot. - She grumbled impatiently, crossing her arms. Vision looked at her curiously.

- Honey, don't tell me that you actually appreciate that girl? - he asks ironically, and Wanda rolls her eyes without looking at him. Vision laughs.

And then Tony is holding out a craft-paper covered bottle to Vision, and he takes a sip, coughing slightly afterwards. Wanda frowns at the scene, but none of her friends seem concerned that they are drinking during school hours, as the bottle continues to pass in everyone's hand.

- You know, I think it's sweet that you have sympathy for that freak. - Tony comments a moment later and Wanda tells him to fuck off, making him laugh.

- I think we are witnessing a beautiful love story. - Mocks Pepper, Tony's girlfriend, approaching the three of them as she sits on Stark's lap. Wanda rolls her eyes, as the group laughs. And then Vision has a thoughtful expression.

- I have an idea. - He says slightly drunk, as he throws his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. - Let's make a bet.

Tony and Pepper let out excited exclamations, while Wanda frowns.

- What kind of bet?

- Well, you guys remember when the weirdo dressed up as Presley for Halloween, right? - he asked, and Tony and Pepper laughed, agreeing. - And then Pietro saw her kissing that girl who hang with the bikers, Jones something.

- Jessica. - Pepper clarified before taking another sip of her drink.

- Then we know she's a dyke. - Vision says, but Tony frowns.

- Wasn't she dating that guy with the long hair and the angry face?

- Barnes? - Vision asked and Tony nodded. - I don't think so. Anyway, she is into girls. - he said and the group nodded in agreement. - I mean the bet is this: I can prove that she is just like everyone else in this school. Give her a bit of our attention, and she will be completely obsessed.

- Vis, what are you talking about? - Wanda asked, and Vision laughed ironically.

- It's very simple, love. - He says. - You are hot. Everyone knows that, and even someone like her, who pretends not to be part of the social circles of this school, can see that. - He clarifies, and the group looks at him intently. Wanda doesn't say that she doesn't like being objectified, swallowing the bitter feeling in her stomach. - So my bet is that you win her over. It should take what, one or two dates for her to be completely in love with you.

The friends laugh in irony and Wanda thinks she should follow, but only a forced laugh escapes. Because of the alcohol, no one notices.

- This is ridiculous. - Wanda comments and then Vision looks at her with irony.

- Unless you're getting attached to the girl, dear. - He sneers, and the group laughs. Wanda swallows dryly, shaking her head in denial. - So, what's the problem? You'll just prove me right. And you will realize that there is nothing special about her.

- I think we can make this even more fun. - says Tony with a wicked smile. - I bet you a hundred bucks that Wanda will fall in love too.

Tony sneers and the group laughs with irony.

- As if anyone would even like that girl. - Vision declares, accepting another drink.

- How do we make sure it's working? - Tony asks and Vision bites his lip thoughtfully. Then he lets out an exclamation.

- Our trip! - he says, and then turns to Wanda. - Love, invite the weirdo to the cabin! We can watch you work.

Wanda frowns, but then the group is suggesting ideas of conquest, and laughing, and debauchery, and she hates it. But she smiles, and nods in agreement, accepting the liquor as the bottle comes into her hand.

Reader Pov

You intended to study during the winter vacations. And maybe get out of the room a little if Bruce or Monica visited. Your surprise was genuine when in your last biology term, Wanda Maximoff started talking to you about something other than the subject.

- Hey, are you doing anything this holiday? - she comments amiably. You didn't notice the looks Tony Stark was giving you two from the front seat.

- Huh... No?

- Are you asking me? - She replies with a smile. You blush, looking away at your notebook. Wanda bites her cheek, and it takes a moment for her to speak again. - I wanted to invite you to something.

You blink in surprise, looking at Wanda. She looks away from the board for a moment, as she wiggles her fingers against her own thigh.

- My friends and I are spending the holiday in a cabin. - She clarifies. - There's all this winter activities, you know. Skiing and stuff like that. I'd like you to come.

- Why? - The question slips out a little harshly, but you can't help it. Wanda looks away, and you almost apologize. But then Wanda smiles, shrugging.

- I'd like to get to know you better, I guess. - She says. - I think it would be fun if we could be friends outside of class.

You look at her suspiciously for a few seconds. But then you sigh, looking down at the notebooks.

- Alright, Wanda. - you say after a moment, ignoring the growing anxiety in your stomach. - Is it okay if I bring a friend?

- Of course! - She confirms excitedly. - You can take whoever you want, it's a big place.

The teacher gives a warning for side conversations next, and you shut up. You blush when Wanda approaches you to write down her phone number in her notebook. You are distracted enough not to notice her blushing slightly when Tony Stark gives her a mischievous look.

//-//

- So you actually said yes? - Bruce asked with surprise when you told him about the biology class, while you were having lunch together in the cafeteria. Monica had the same expression.

- Yes, and I would love it if you would go with me, because I think I am close to completely freak out. - You ask with mild desperation and your friends laugh. And then Monica is looking behind you.

- Look, I would be too. They are so... - She starts and you turn around, looking at the group of Wanda's friends a few meters away. The kids are sitting at the table, making noise with their loud laughter. One of them was throwing a football up in the air. A short boy walked past them and was pushed slightly. - I can't even define them.

You let out a grumble, laying your head on your arms on the table.

- This was a bad idea, wasn't it, guys? - you ask. - They're going to eat me alive.

- Why the long faces, nerds? - Natasha asked as she came over to the table, placing the tray of food next to Monica, staring at you.

And then your friends explained it to her, and you groaned in dissatisfaction when she started laughing.

- You've lost your mind, haven't you? - she asked wryly. - It's a trap, I'm sure.

- There's no reason for it. - You retorted, trying to eat a little. - Besides, it was Wanda who invited me. She said she'd like us to be friends.

- Look, I know that Maximoff is the least worst of the bunch. - Nat began as she opened her soda. - But she still hangs around with those idiots.

- Yeah, I know. - You agree with a sigh. And then you remember your classes. - I just... She has been surprisingly nice, you know? I think she was being sincere. It's just a trip, it's not the end of the world.

- Good to know you think that. - said Bruce. - Because I won't be able to go.

- What? - You then exclaim.

- I applied for an internship at S.H.I.E.L.D. Labs. - He remarks and you let out a grumble, remembering.

- Shit, it's true. - You say. - I completely forgot about it.

- Girl, I can't go either. - Informs Monica with a guilty expression, and you let out an exclamation. - I'm going to spend the holiday with my father.

You bury your face in your hands. And then you risk a glance at Natasha, and she laughs wryly.

- Don't even try. - She says. - Even if you paid me I wouldn't travel with Tony Stark.

- I'll pay you.

Nat laughs at your desperation, and stops eating, looking at you with surprising kindness.

- You, girl, are adorable and kind. A nerdy cute dork, and I'm sure that if that's not enough for those idiots, they're the problem, not you. - She assures you, and you smile wryly. - Don't worry about pleasing any of them, you're going to become friends with Wanda, aren't you? Try to enjoy the trip, and if anything happens, call me and I'll finish them all off.

You laugh, nodding slightly. You don't want to think so much about this trip, but you know it's going to be the only thing on your mind for the next few days.

The week ended quickly. And you were very anxious when the weekend arrived, and you received a text message from Wanda saying that she would pick you up at home on Saturday morning. You would spend the holiday at the Stark family's winter cottage, a property big enough to fit the whole group. Wanda said it was somewhere with mountains, near a lake, and you bit your lip, wondering if you should bring a bathing suit. Since it was snowing, you figured you wouldn't try to swim anywhere.

On Saturday you were up bright and early, your bags packed. You kissed your parents and your younger brother on the cheek before you left, finding a pickup truck parked in front of your house.

Wanda hugged you when you said good morning to her, and to the boys. Vision and Pietro were in this car, and she said that Tony was in the second car, and had gone for gas.

Vision drove towards the cabin next, and he tried a little small talk before shutting up. Wanda was in the passenger seat, and Vision let his hand rest on her thigh, and you didn't understand the bitter feeling in your stomach.

- God, put on some decent music! - asked Pietro, scrambling up on the seat beside you to reach for the radio.

- Leave it, Pietro! - complained Vision pushing the boy backwards. - You only want to play that emo shit!

Pietro laughed, not insisting. And Vision looked at you through the rearview mirror.

- Let's let our guest choose the music. - he said with a smile. You cleared your throat.

- Okay. - You agreed, pulling your cell phone out of your pocket. You turned on Spotify next, and when Vision asked if it would be any longer, you bit the inside of your cheek. And then you put on some pop rock.

Nobody said anything, and you thought that somehow you had just passed some kind of test. But then your set list started, and when the classic rock song from the 50's started playing, Vision burst out laughing.

- They don't call you Presley Freak for nothing. - He scoffs, switching to the radio next.

- I like it. - Wanda comments surprising you, but neither Vision nor her brother change their debauched posture.

- Yes, yes, your taste is terrible too. - He replies with irony. You bite your lips as you watch Wanda roll her eyes and look away to the window. Vision lets Pietro choose the music next.

The cabin was really very big.

You guys met Tony's car on the way, but he didn't stop. It didn't take long for you to arrive. You smiled in appreciation at Pietro when he carried your bags inside.

You looked at the structure impressed. Tony Stark really was very rich. Hugging your arms lightly after feeling the cool breeze, you smiled politely at Wanda's other friends as they greeted you.

- I am Pepper Potts, and this is Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. - says the blonde girl cheerfully, as she waves to the other boys. - You must have met Tony by now.

- I think I've seen all of you at school. - You say feeling out of place, but they smile as they walk into the cabin. Tony hands the bags to the other boys, and then is throwing an arm around your shoulders, and you want to push him away for the inappropriate contact.

- It's a pleasure to meet you, sweetie. - He says, and you blink when you feel the alcohol. - Who knew that nerds hid pretty girls with them?

The joke makes the group laugh, and you look around uncomfortably. Tony then releases you as you enter.

Pepper is the one who shares the rooms, and you are happy to know that you won't be sharing with anyone.

While you are unpacking upstairs on your bed, Wanda joins you.

- Hey. - She greets me as she enters and closes the door. You're folding your clothes.

- Hi, Wanda.

- Is everything okay? - she asks and you nod in agreement. - They can be a bit much sometimes, and I don't want you to get uncomfortable and... Do you like "Bewitched"?

The sudden question startles you and you blink in confusion. Wanda nods at the item in your hands. The T-shirt you are folding has the logo of the old sitcom you used to watch with your parents.

- Oh yes. - You sigh in agreement. - It is one of my favorite shows actually.

Wanda laughs in surprise, crossing her arms.

- Wow, I didn't know that. - She says. - I love this stuff. Vision thinks the jokes are stupid, so don't tell him I'm talking about it.

She jokes and you let out a wry exclamation.

- Why would I tell Vision anything? - You ask and Wanda hesitates slightly, but then smiles.

- No, it was just a figure of speech. - She clarifies as you fold your shirt.

- Right. - You say, not really understanding this conversation. - If you want, we can watch it together anytime. I think we'll have time to do it here.

Wanda looks at you with surprise and excitement.

- Really? I'd love to. - She confirms, and you smile as you finish packing.

The redhead clears her throat afterwards.

- I just wanted to check on you anyway. - she says. - I think Steve is cooking dinner tonight, so join us when you' re ready.

- Okay, Wanda. - You say. - Thanks.

She smiles before leaving. You stare at the Bewitched's T-shirt on your bed for a few moments before you leave.

Steve tries to cook some chicken breast. And he almost burns the kitchen down. So you are on your feet, investigating the cupboards, and although cooking is not your favorite activity, you don't mind making some chili for everyone.

- I love Mexican food. - Wanda comments excitedly as she stands next to you and watches you cook. The rest of the group is in the living room, the boys being very noisy as they throw a soccer ball around the room. You smile at the redhead next to you.

- God, did you see the picture that Tabitha Smith posted on instagram? - Pepper asked aloud, staring at her cell phone. She was sitting on the kitchen counter, a look of disgust on her face. Wanda approached her and quickly looked at the screen. - She put on silicone, I'm sure of it.

Wanda made a noise of agreement, exchanging a quick glance with you, clearly not caring one bit about the topic, and you smiled, turning your attention back to the pot. Pepper didn't notice and continued making comments about her classmates' social media posts.

- It's ready. - You announce. Your breath catches in your throat as Wanda puts her hand on your waist, leaning behind your back to taste the food. She lets out a satisfied groan, and you feel her cheeks flush.

But then she walks away next, and you struggle to disguise yourself as the boys are joining you, announcing that they are starving.

- Wow, this is delicious. - said Pepper as soon as you sat down at the table and started to eat. The group agreed, and you blushed with embarrassment. Soon they started talking among themselves, and you tried to keep up as best you could, but the topics weren't really of interest to you.

When you got back to the room, Tony proposed that you all play a game, and then he went through the storage room and came back carrying monopoly.

At first you thought it would be innocent fun, then there were drinks and gambling.

- It's a four! - shouted Tony excitedly. - That's my property, Wilson!

Sam let out a grumble of dissatisfaction as he moved his figure around the board. Tony laughed mischievously.

- So, how do you want me to pay the rent? - Sam asked and Tony made a thoughtful face.

- With a question. - Tony announces maliciously. - Among the people in this room, tell me who would you have sex with?

Sam laughs in surprise, as the group gives a chorus of excitement. You swallow dryly, uncomfortable with the direction of the questions. So far, the questions and challenges had been innocent and slightly awkward, but after a few beers, the group was clearly getting more excited in other respects.

- Careful with your answer, friend. - Vision warned, putting his arm possessively around Wanda's shoulders. You looked away to the board.

- That might be shocking for a straight guy, Vis. - Sam remarked with mild debauchery. - But not all of us are looking at the girls.

The group laughs in surprise, and Vision rolls his eyes.

- I would do Steve Rogers for sure. - Sam declares the next moment, and the group lets out a celebratory chorus. Steve laughs too, slightly surprised. Sam just smiles playfully, shrugging his shoulders. Then Steve steps forward, amusing himself by pretending to kiss him, and the group laughs. You smile awkwardly, not really understanding what everyone thinks is funny.

The game continues, and you are doing very well. You laugh when Pepper has to tell you all about the worst sexual experience she has ever had, but you are slightly uncomfortable when Steve has to demonstrate on a pillow his first time. A few rounds later, you grumble in dissatisfaction when you take a five and end up in jail.

- Whoa, that's has a punishment. - Tony announces when he sees your move. You look at him, and he looks excited. - Finally, Presley, your moment has come.

- Tony. - Wanda scolds him for his nickname, but Tony doesn't listen.

- Let me think about it. - He continues with a thoughtful expression, and then a mischievous gleam takes over his gaze. - Have you ever heard that shy girls are the biggest freaks in the room?

You swallow dryly, feeling your face heat up as the group lets out a laugh.

- I will not...

- Don't even start. - Tony interrupts your denial with a smile. - Don't spoil the fun. I'll give you a simple challenge.

You bite the inside of your cheek, frowning as you fight the urge to get up.

- Your sentence of freedom will be to give a hickey to the person who gets a six on the dice. - He declares, and the group lets out a chorus of excitement.

And then everyone is rushing to throw the dice and you cross your arms, feeling your face hot.

- If more than one person gets six, you'll give them both a hickey and win immunity for a round! - Tony laughs as he makes up the rules.

Pepper is the first to play, and lets out a despondent sigh when she draws two. And then Steve plays next, and complains when the die lands on four. Sam and Tony don't get six either. You hold your breath when Wanda rolls, and feel your heart race when the die stops.

- This should be interesting. - Vision comments with mild irony and mischief as he takes his arm off Wanda's shoulders, picking up the die stopped at six. Tony laughs and you can't keep your eyes on the redhead.

Vision gets a four. And then Pietro gets a six, and you grumble.

- I can't believe you're going to get both of the Maximoffs! - Wilson comments with amusement and you swallow dryly, shifting uncomfortably in your seat.

- Finally some action. - Pietro jokes as he approaches. He kneels in front of you, and you take a deep breath. - Come on, Y/N, it's just a silly challenge.

He tries to reassure you with a smile, and you try to ignore the staring eyes on the two of you. You think the boys are laughing as you bring your face closer to Pietro's outstretched neck, and land your lips on his skin. He smells like aftershave lotion, but it's just embarrassing to be so close. Pietro lets out a breathless chuckle as you begin to suck on his skin, and he clenches the support of the couch.

You stop quickly, and he pulls away. The red skin glows on his neck. He flashes you the seductive smile, and you look away, listening to the group celebrating.

- Next, please! - Tony says clearly intoxicated. You feel your racing heart echoing in your ears. Wanda gets up from the couch, and unlike her brother, she completely short-circuits your brain when she sits on your lap. You think someone whistled.

- Wanda, what are you doing? - You mumble clumsily, and she just smiles as she puts her hands on your shoulders.

- Don't you like this position? - she asks and you swallow dryly.

- Come on, girls! - Tony tells you between laughs. Someone knocks over the vodka bottle on the floor, making a mess. You think the group is barely paying attention to you, fighting among themselves to save the rest of the board and Tony's expensive rug, but you're not really taking in anything other than the girl on your lap.

You move forward, sinking your face into her neck and inhaling Wanda's scent. When you let out your breath, she trembles and squeezes your shoulder lightly, making you swallow dryly.

You let your lips kiss her skin, watching Wanda's chest rise and fall, indicating her unregulated breathing. And then you lick her skin, and she chokes. When you suck on her skin, she bites her lips hard, stopping herself from moaning. And then you let go.

Ignoring the urge to kiss the red dot again, you throw your back against the armchair, moving away. Wanda lets out a breath, and before you can say anything, Tony is complaining that the game is over because the board has been ruined, and she rushes off your lap.

Your face is very hot when Sam makes a snide remark to you, and then you are all saying goodnight. You don't have the courage to look at Wanda when you go up to your room.

//-//

The next day you go skiing.

You absolutely suck at it, but so does everybody else, so nobody really cares.

You don't want to think so much about Wanda's hands on your waist when she teaches you how to do it.

You also don't want to be so annoyed when Vision insists on getting a kiss from her while you are walking back to the cabin.

During the afternoon, you are distracted by a video game with Pietro, extremely surprised that he has invited you to do something. After dinner you go back to your room to read a little, and are astonished when Wanda appears at your door a few minutes after you have gone upstairs.

- How about we watch a sitcom together? - She invites you in, and you shrug as you smile, making space for her to enter your room. She giggles when she notices the open book on your bed. - Of course you brought a book.

You laugh awkwardly as you close the door. Wanda throws herself on your bed, opening the laptop she has brought with her. You take the book out and place it closed on the dresser, before joining her, trying to keep a respectable distance.

She ends up putting on Bewitched, and you are distracted enough by the program.

- Wow, that's kind of wrong. - You comment between giggles. And Wanda laughs lightly, turning the program's attention to you.

- What?

- The joke. - You clarify. - The way they imply that it's okay for boys to behave like that.

- Yeah, I know. - She agrees, turning her attention back to the screen. - But we're still laughing.

- Yeah. - You agree, laughing. - I guess it's okay as long as we don't find it funny in real life.

Wanda makes a noise of agreement with her mouth and then you are silent again.

Two episodes later, Wanda suggests that you eat something. Then you go downstairs to the kitchen, and find the room empty.

- Pietro had called the boys to play soccer. - She says. - And I think Pepper and Tony are in their room.

You nod in understanding, following her around the kitchen. Wanda starts preparing a snack for you two.

- What is it? - You ask as you observe her choice of ingredients. She smiles mischievously.

- My masterpiece. - She says. - Just trust me, you'll like it.

You laugh, nodding. When she warms the bread rolls, and starts to pour oregano on top you let out an exclamation.

- Wanda, are you sure you know what you're doing?

She laughs, shaking her head slightly.

- Trust me on this. - She asks with a smile, starting to cut tomatoes. You cross your arms, not believing that you are actually going to eat that.

And then the sandwich is ready, and Wanda assumes a cheerful posture. She puts the bread on a plate and turns to you, leaving the object on the counter beside you.

You take a piece while she takes another, and together you taste the sandwich while Wanda looks at you expectantly.

It's surprisingly good, and you blink in amazement when you feel the taste, looking away from her to the food.

- Wow, that's good. - You comment before taking another bite. Wanda smiles.

- Really? I'm glad you like it. Vision doesn't like it very much, he says it tastes strange.

You grumble lightly, continuing to eat. Wanda pours you two some soda. You are silent for a moment and when she leaves the phone on the countertop to wash the dishes, your gaze runs quickly across the screen as you reach for your glass.

- Hey, are you into poetry? - you ask as you look at the open Instagram post.

Wanda smiles, nodding.

- That's cool, I think we follow the same page. - You comment quickly pointing to her unlocked cell phone. Wanda looks surprised.

When she finishes washing the dishes, she asks to borrow your cell phone. You spend the next thirty minutes laughing and joking as you compare your Instagram feeds and follower list. You don't want to overthink on how many common interests you have with Wanda.

//-//

On the penultimate day you want to build a snowman.

There is a Hockey game on TV, and everyone seems excited to watch. So you just walk out of the cabin while Tony hands out snacks and drinks to everyone.

You are just finishing assembling the body when you hear footsteps.

- You are very antisocial. - Wanda jokes as she approaches, hands in her pockets. You don't want to think about how adorable she looks.

- Yeah, I know. - You comment with your attention on the snowman. - It's not your friends' fault, by the way, I'm just not a big sports fan.

- All right, I don't see what's so funny about it either. - She says as she stops beside you. - Can I help you with him?

- Let me see your hands. - You ask, and she looks at you in confusion, taking her hands out of her pockets. You deny it. - No gloves, no playing. I don't want you to get hypothermia.

She laughs lightly, putting her hands back in her pockets. You turn your attention back to the snowman.

- We can go for a walk. - You suggest after a moment. - Since we're not going to watch the game.

Wanda smiles, looking away to the cabin.

- Okay.

You finish your snowman in silence. It's decent you think.

- I used to do it all the time. - You tell her as you stand up, putting your hands in your pockets. Wanda looks at you curiously. - But then I grew up and my parents thought it was a kid thing.

- Yeah, I know how that is. - She agrees as you stare at the snowman. - One birthday is all it takes for the treatment to change completely.

You nod in agreement, and then you look at her, signaling for you to go the other way.

You walk side by side in the opposite direction of the cabin.

After spending the whole way talking about the most random subjects, you end up at a small pier, at the edge of the lake that covers the entire back stretch of the cabin. You and Wanda sit side by side on the wood cross-legged.

- We should have brought something hot to drink. - You comment with a smile, hugging your arms for a moment. Wanda nods.

- So, are you enjoying the trip? - Wanda asks and you look away, smiling at the lake.

- I suppose so.

- You suppose? - She replies with amusement, making you laugh.

You clear your throat before speaking again.

- I enjoyed the time I spent with you. - You confess, looking forward. Wanda wiggles her fingers nervously, looking away from you to face the lake as well. - Don't get me wrong, Wanda. Your friends are... nice I guess. But they're not the reason I'm here.

You look at Wanda, and she nods frantically. Your heart is racing, but playing games isn't exactly your thing. You want to know what's going on.

- And you? - you ask, studying her face. - Did you enjoy the time I was here?

- Yes. - Wanda confesses breathlessly, her face flushing slightly.

Swallowing hard, you look away to the lake again. And then you slowly move your hand against the wood, reaching for Wanda's hand next. You give it enough time for her to move away, or to strike you, and she does neither. Feeling your heart soar, you intertwine your hands, holding back a sigh at how good it feels even when wearing gloves.

Several minutes later, you let out an excited exclamation when you hear a noise in the nearby forest. Turning your head, you confirm your suspicions. A small white fox is looking at you curiously.

You help Wanda to get up quietly and slowly so as not to startle the animal.

- Hey. - You say softly to the animal, walking towards it. The fox looks at you wide-eyed, but your posture doesn't frighten him. You smile when he lets you pet him.

- He is so cute. - Wanda comments softly, kneeling down beside you. The fox lies down on the grass as the redhead strokes his head.

He tires of the attention quickly however, and the next moment he gives you a look before running back into the forest. You and Wanda laugh lightly as you two stand up.

You walk back to the cabin in silence, a tension in the air that makes your stomach turn. You don't hold hands, but you walk very close together.

When you are almost to the cabin area, you stand in front of Wanda, pushing her by the waist against a tree. You both sigh breathlessly, but you lose the courage. It's not right, not yet. Resting your forehead on hers, resisting the urge to kiss her, you close your eyes.

- Leave him. - You say and Wanda squeezes her hands in your arms.

Wanda lets out a sigh, closing her eyes like you did, and your faces come closer together.

- I won't share you, Wanda. - You whisper against her lips. - Either you're with me, or you're not.

Resisting the urge to close the distance, you sigh and turn away. Wanda's pupils are dilated as she looks at you. You lock your jaw, putting your hands in your pockets. And then you turn around, and disguise it nicely when Pepper comes out of the cabin, asking where you were, and you just smile and say you went for a walk.

//-//

Vision and Wanda argue on the last day at the cabin.

You frown as your awakened by the volume of the argument. But you decide not to pry, and when Pepper signals for you to join her on her morning walk, you agree.

- You know, you are surprisingly nice. - She comments as you two take a break for some water.

- Thanks, I guess. - You mumble, and she laughs.

- What I mean is that nerds are usually know-it-all types and not at all sociable. - She explains. - You're quiet, but you're fun.

- Who says I'm not a know-it-all. - You retort with amusement, and Pepper laughs as you walk back.

- I'm just saying that it turned out to be nice to invite you over despite everything.

- Despite everything what?

Pepper laughs awkwardly, shaking her head.

- The differences between our groups I say. - She quickly clarifies. You don't perceive the lie. - Maybe there is a chance for us to remain friends after here.

- Why wouldn't we? - you ask confused. Pepper seems to be talking as if it is impossible for you to continue talking to each other after the trip is over, and you don't understand why.

Pepper blinks in embarrassment, and then pats your arm, hurrying her steps.

- It's nothing, I'm just overthinking it. - she says. - I'm sure it will all work out.

You don't ask any more questions because she's walking too fast, and exercise isn't really your thing. You're struggling to keep up.

//-//

After your walk with Pepper, you agreed to let Steve teach you how to play a bit of hockey. And then you all had lunch together, and Wanda avoided all your attempts to start a conversation with her. You figured she was upset with her boyfriend, so you didn't press her.

Later in the afternoon, after you played snowball wars with everyone, and perhaps laughed more than appropriate when Wanda kept hitting Vision in the face, Steve made a fire in the backyard area and everyone gathered around.

- Let's tell some horror stories, please? - Pietro asked as he sat down, and Tony slapped him on the head, laughing.

- You are such a baby. - he sneered, holding out a bottle of whiskey to Steve. You rolled your eyes, impatient with Stark's annoying mania for proving his maturity.

Then he began to share sex stories, and the group seemed happy to join in. The bottle swirled around, and you let it pass you by without taking a sip. It stopped at Wanda, and she drank much more than anyone else.

- And you, Y/N, don't you have any sinful stories to share with the group? - teased Tony ironically, and you rolled your eyes.

- I prefer to be silent.

Tony laughed at her hostility.

- Now all that's left is for you to say you're a virgin! - he sneered, causing the group to laugh. You exchanged a quick glance with Wanda, who didn't even seem to be listening, the whiskey bottle still in her hands.

- I'm not, but if I were that wouldn't be your business - You retort impatiently. Tony whistles impressed.

- Tell us how it was! - he asks excitedly. - I bet it was Jessica Jones who fucked the weirdo!

You stand up abruptly as the group laughs.

- You're drunk, and you're talking shit. - you say angrily. - But if you ever annoy me again, I will punch you right in the face!

Tony seems slightly impressed by your attitude, but he is clearly drunk so he shrugs his shoulders. You then leave, returning to your room.

Non-Reader Povs

- What is your problem? - Pietro complained as soon as Y/N entered the cabin. Tony blinked surprised and alcoholic.

- It was just a joke, it's not my fault she's weird. - He retorted with a wry laugh.

Pietro let out an irritated exclamation.

- You know what? - He spoke angrily, looking at everyone. - What we're doing is wrong.

- What was that? - Vision sneered, but Pietro looked at him seriously.

- You heard me. - he said, getting up. - She's a nice girl and she's been fun to be with. That bet was stupid.

The teens exchange guilty glances, but then Tony and Vision are laughing.

- One hickey and you're in love, Maximoff? - Vision sneered and stood up, as Pietro clenched his jaw.

- You're an asshole.

- Oh, I'm an asshole? - Vision retorted ironically. - This little scene of yours is absurd, treating your friends as if we were the villains of the story. - he says laughing. - The girl is a weirdo who must be absolutely fascinated that people like us even talk to her!

Pietro looks at him impatiently, but Vision does not lose his debauched posture.

- Shut up. - Wanda's drunken speech startles the group. Vision turns to her in surprise, but then he laughs.

- That's excellent. - He says. - Both Maximoffs teaming up against the group.

- You're full of shit. - Wanda exclaimed angrily, getting up, and Vision shook her head. - She's not...

- She's not what dear? - He interrupted. - You know I'm right. In fact, I bet if you go up to her room right now, you won't even need to ask twice and she'll fuck you.

- Vision! - Pietro exclaims angrily, but he stares only at the redhead, who has her jaw clenched.

- Everyone just wants to fuck you, Wandy. - He says. - There's nothing worthwhile beyond that.

Wanda holds back the tears in her eyes, bumping into Vision as she leaves, and the boy laughs, shouting between giggles that he was only joking, but the redhead doesn't turn around.

- That was cruel. - Potts then said, and Vision let out a wry laugh.

- It was just a joke. - He says and sits back down. - You girls are so sentimental.

Pietro then leaves, and Vision rolls his eyes. Steve and Sam exchange a look with Pepper.

- You can't really think it's okay to say something like that to your girlfriend. - Steve said annoyed. Vision laughs, incredulous at Steve's insinuation. - What is it, people? - he replies. - I just said she's hot, how is that a bad thing?

- You know, Pietro is right. - Steve said as he got up. - This whole story is absurd. - Steve, come on. - No, he is right. - Sam then agreed. And then Pepper stood up, exchanging a look with Tony. - Good, then. - Vision exclaims angrily. - Be my guests! I suppose you'll start hanging out with the school's weirdos on Monday then. You guys are a joke. Hypocrites. Vision grumbles before exiting angrily, walking towards the trail. The group exchanged a guilty look.

Reader Pov

You had just finished showering and putting on your pajamas when Wanda came into your room. You frowned in surprise, and let out an exclamation when she pushed you onto the bed and sat you on your lap.

- What are you doing? - you asked, and Wanda just grumbled, trying to unbutton your pajamas, but clearly too drunk to do so. - Wanda, stop. Wanda!

- That's what you want, isn't it? - She retorts with irritation, but her eyes are filled with tears. - Everyone wants to fuck the hot girl.

- Wanda, what are you talking about?

But then she's crying, falling against you. You let your arms go around her, trying to calm her down. She only stops crying when she falls asleep.

You don't know what has happened, but you feel your heart clench. Moving to the bed, you lay Wanda down on the mattress, then cover her with the blanket.

When you consider going to sleep in the living room, she takes your hand and whispers "stay," and you obey her.

//-//

You wake up with Wanda entwined with you. It is warm and comforting, and you smile shyly at the sensation.

The redhead starts to wake up next, grumbling as she buries her face in your neck, making you smile.

- We have to get up. - You whisper to her. - We're leaving.

- In a minute.

She says and it really only takes a moment for her to open her eyes, and be startled by the position. She awkwardly pulls away from your embrace, but still lies there. You turn on the bed to look at her, resting your face on your hand.

- I'm sorry about last night. - She says embarrassed, looking down.

- No problem. - You say. - But what was that about anyway?

Wanda sighs, running her hands through her hair as she stares at the ceiling, her back on the mattress.

- Vision told me some stupid things, and well, I believed him. - She says and you look at her curiously. With your silence, she clarifies. - It was just some comments he used to make about my body, okay? Things like, people are only interested in me because I'm hot.

You frown, surprised and annoyed.

- That's bullshit.

Wanda looks at you, surprised that you said something. You look into her eyes as you speak again.

- Your boyfriend is an insecure scumbag who uses your body insecurities against you. It's sick. - You tell her seriously. - You, Wanda Maximoff, are completely passionate for a thousand reasons other than your looks. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

You smile at Wanda's surprised expression, letting your fingers wander across her features.

- Do you really mean that? - she asks insecurely, and you give her a tender look.

- You're sweet. - You start, letting your fingers caress her cheek. - Smart and sincere. You have this different energy, like you never fit anywhere and you're absolutely magnetic. - You tell her. - And of course, you also laugh at my jokes, which suggests that you are as sarcastic and perceptive as I am.

Wanda smiles and closes her eyes for a second, and then looks at you with almost guilt.

- Can I ask you a random question?

- Sure.

- If someone needed to apologize to you, what would be the best way?

- This is a very specific question, Wanda. Should I be concerned? - You retort with mild amusement, and Wanda quickly denies it.

- Come on, answer me. - She asks, and you giggle.

- I don't know, Wanda. - You say laughing, and roll your eyes slightly. - I guess it would depend on what the person did. - You explain, and Wanda looks at you with a frown. - What's that face, what would your answer be then?

- Food. - She says and you look at her with confusion. - The person would only have to buy me food and apologize and I would forgive them.

You let out a laugh, and Wanda follows. And then you assume a thoughtful posture.

- Honestly, I don't think if there is a right way. - You tell her. - I would like the person to be honest with me, and explain to me what happened. - You say, and Wanda nods with a serious expression. - That, or a really cheesy apology act.

- What? - Wanda asks with amusement.

- Yes, like in those old movies. - You clarify with a slight laugh. - If someone apologizes in the rain, or with a serenade at my window, I would probably forgive that person for the shame they are going through for me.

You and Wanda laugh and then your alarm clock starts to ring, signaling that it was already time for everyone to get up and go home. You sigh slightly.

As you sit up in bed, throwing your feet out, Wanda hugs your back, surprising you.

- Thank you. - She says against your ear. - Don't give up on me yet, okay?

You frown in confusion, laughing without understanding Wanda's seriousness. You squeeze your hands together, but then she lets go.

- Is everything all right? - you ask as she turns around on the bed and stands up in front of you. Wanda swallows dryly, nodding. She smiles before she leaves, and you ignore the strange feeling that has settled on the pit of your stomach as you stand up toward the bathroom.

//-//

The way back to your house is strangely silent. It seems that all of Wanda's friends have changed their personalities overnight. Pietro gives you a quick hug across the shoulders as you get out of the car, and Wanda kisses your cheek. Vision doesn't look at you.

You call your friends as soon as you finish packing your things in your room. And everyone is extremely surprised when you share what has happened in the last few days.

When you return to school the next day, you are feeling excited.

Your first class is Biology, which means that you would have some time alone with Wanda, and while you wait for the starting bell, sitting on the benches outside with your friends, Wanda's group passes you by.

You frown as you notice Vision with his arm around Wanda, and she quickly looks away when she notices you watching. You clench your jaw at the childish attitude, and then you are getting up and walking toward the table they have chosen.

- Can I talk to you? - You ask the redhead directly, who seems to have trouble keeping her gaze on you. Her friends also look awkward, as if they are almost embarrassed, and none of them look at you for very long. Completely unlike Vision, who has a smug posture and a wry smile.

- Leave my girlfriend alone, freak. - He then says, and you blink in surprise.

- What is your problem? - You retort in irritation and Vision lets out a wry laugh.

- What is your problem? - He repeats, getting up and facing you. You don't hesitate, but you don't understand why everyone just stares at you. - What did you think was going to happen, huh? That you would start hanging out with the cool kids?

You look at him in confusion, and then he crosses his arms.

- I just want to talk to Wanda.

Vision laughed, looking mocking.

- You're so stupid. - He accused and you took a step back. - The bet is off girl, Wanda has nothing to say.

You blink in confusion, and the redhead is getting up, pulling on her boyfriend's forearm, but you look at them feeling your heart racing.

- What are you talking about?

Vision laughs, releasing Wanda's grip. You think she whispered "Please don't," but you are trying to understand what is going on.

- Oh, your dear friend didn't tell you? - he asks debauchedly. - We had a bet. I was sure you'd be completely obsessed with Wanda by the end of the holiday, and look at you! Here you are. I don't blame you though, Wanda is hot.

You choke in surprise, taking another step back. You risk a glance at the rest of the group, and they have their heads down, guilty looks on their faces. And then you look at Wanda, eyes watering as she clenches her fists. Feeling your heart break, and your stomach clench, you nod.

- Y/N, I can explain. - Wanda starts and you laugh, running your hands through your hair.

- I've always defended you. - You say, putting your hands in your pockets. - When people told me you were false and deceitful, I defended you. I really thought you were different from them.

- I....

- I can't believe I trusted you. - You say. - Never speak to me again, Wanda Maximoff.

You turned around walking away, ignoring the times the redhead called your name as you held back your tears.

//-//

Your mother told the school that you were sick.

That's how you felt anyway.

It had been three days since you had left your room. Bruce, Monica and Natasha were sending you all the school content you were missing, and you struggled to keep your focus on that and not on the heartbreak that seemed to take over your whole body.

The weekend arrived again, and you decided to get some fresh air. You were on your balcony, sipping hot chocolate when Nat came into your yard.

- Hey, stranger. - She greets you with a smile, sitting down on the seat in front of you. You give her a sad smile.

- Hi, Nat.

- How are you?

You shrug, and she sighs.

- It will pass, I promise. - She says and you drink some of your chocolate. - By the way, I'm suspended.

- What? - You ask in surprise, and she giggles, showing you the bandage on the fingers of her right hand.

- I punched Vision in the nose shortly after you left the cafeteria. - She tells you, and you widen your eyes in surprise. - I didn't say anything before because I didn't want you to feel guilty.

- Nat! - you exclaim, slightly upset, looking at her hand. - You didn't have to do that.

- I know. - she says with a slight laugh. - But you are my friend, and he is an idiot. You're a dork who doesn't have the strength to hurt a fly, but I have a feeling you'd do the same for me.

You laugh, nodding.

- I would probably get beat up in reality.

Nat laughs in agreement.

You are silent for a moment, until Nat speaks again.

- I hate to see you like this. - She comments, and you sigh, leaving the coffee mug on the table.

- I hate feeling like this too.

Nat sighs, opening her arms. You accept her invitation to hug her, and sit down next to her on the bench, letting her wrap you in a side hug.

- You'll come out of this, dear. - She starts to say as she strokes your hair. - Next year you'll be in college, with so many people wanting to get into your pants that you won't even remember who Wanda Maximoff was.

You laugh shyly.

- I hope you are right. - You grumble, closing your eyes.

- I always am.

//-//

You go back to school the following week.

Your body always seems to notice that Wanda is in the same room as you, even though she is meters away, but you learn to deal with the feeling.

You talked to the biology teacher on Monday morning. Apparently, the news quickly spread throughout the school, and she did not refuse to change your partner.

It wasn't an ideal scenario knowing that everyone in the school was feeling sorry for you, but at least you wouldn't have to talk to Wanda in class.

And so two weeks passed.

You were almost getting used to the feeling as you walked towards the main building, after stopping by the library and returning the physics books you were using, when you heard a commotion in the courtyard.

There was already a circle of students around, and you were considering turning around, because fights are not really your thing, but you had a feeling you should check it out.

As you slipped in among the students, you let out a surprised exclamation.

- Bruce! - You shouted as you threw the bag on the ground and lunged forward, but the boy who was fighting with your friend just turned around when you jumped at him, breaking free of your grip and laughing with irony and anger. He slapped you in the face that drew a surprised chorus from the crowd. You staggered back with the impact, feeling your face burn. But you stepped forward again, but he gave you a hard shove that knocked you to the ground. As you got up to go forward again, someone grabbed you around the waist. - Pietro, let me go! Help him!

You let out another exclamation when the boy punched Bruce in the face, but Pietro pushed you away from the fight, and Steve held you by the arms in the crowd. Pietro lunged at the boy next, while Bruce fell unconscious.

You broke free of Steve's grip and ran to your friend, and then there were teachers all around you, and you were all being led into the principal's office.

The counselor motioned for you to sit in one of the chairs to wait your turn, and you used this moment to send messages to your friends. Monica told you that she heard about the fight, but that she was in the history room when it happened. Natasha didn't answer, and when she appeared in front of you, you frowned.

- Nat, Bruce he...

- I know. - She interrupted seriously with an almost tearful expression. - He was fighting for me.

- For you? What?

Nat shook her head, looking toward the direction door.

- I told him not to get involved, but he is stubborn. - She says and then takes a deep breath. - That boy over there, his name is Clint. He's my ex. He... he hit me.

- Whoa, what?

- I know, it's too much to explain. - She says. - Me and Bruce, we... we've been going out for a few weeks now. And Clint wasn't happy when he found out. I told Bruce not to get involved but…

- Hey, Nat breathes. - You interrupt by seeing her eyes filled with tears. - This is not your fault.

You hug your friend, trying to calm her down. It doesn't take long for Monica to reach you two.

Soon the director calls you to give your side of the story, and you just tell him that you arrived in the middle of the fight. As you leave, the principal asks you to go to the infirmary and only then you remember that you were beaten.

You give up the idea of getting a bandage when you find Pietro and the group of friends, including Wanda, in the infirmary, but as soon as the nurse lays eyes on you, she pulls you in, sitting you down on one of the free beds.

She starts grumbling that the students have decided to behave like savages as she rushes over with the first aid kits to attend to all the students who were in the infirmary. You don't quite understand what happened, but it seemed that some kids had made a mess in the pesticide gardening class, so there were several students with red spots on their arms complaining of pain.

- It's okay, I can do it. - You tell the nurse as soon as she approaches you with the first aid kit. She looks at you suspiciously, but then a student at your back lets out a complaint and she sighs, handing the items to you as she leaves. You get up to look in the small mirror on the edge of the bed. There is a small cut on your cheek. That guy really hit hard.

While you were preparing the alcohol swab, Wanda walked over to you. You stared at her reflection in the mirror.

- I can help you with this. - She said about the bandage.

- I don't need your help. - You retorted harshly. Wanda looked at the floor.

- I am sorry.

You blinked in surprise, and turned away in irritation.

- No. - You warned, and Wanda swallowed hard. She looked at you, ready to start talking again, but then you shook your head. - Don't you dare.

- Please…

But you left right away, bumping into her shoulder.

Almost four weeks, and your chest still hurts just the same.

You think the nurse has called you, but you keep walking towards the exit.

When you reached the outer courtyard, you collapsed.

Sitting on the floor, and trying to control your breathing and your crying, you were startled when someone touched your shoulders. Monica didn't ask questions, she just hugged you.

- I can't do it, Mon. - You said between sobs. - I love her so much it feels like I'm going to suffocate.

- Shh, it's okay. - Monica tried to calm you down as she ran her hands down your back.

- Why can't I move on? She hurt me, why can't I stop loving her? - you asked in desperation. Monica just kept calming you.

- I know it feels like the end of the world now. - Monica says. - But I promise it will pass.

You cried for a few more minutes, trying to push or smother the pain away. It wasn't fair the way Wanda had your broken heart in her hand.

//-//

Bruce did not suffer any serious injuries.

You visited him in the infirmary as soon as he was released from the principal's office. He was worried about your swollen crying eyes, but you assured him that everything was fine.

And then he told you that he was in love with Natasha, and that Clint had been expelled. You shook his hand, saying that everything would be all right now. Soon Nat was in the room with you, hugging Bruce, while you went out with Monica to get something to eat.

The week passed quietly after this.

Your friends started the "Moving on squad", and they did everything to keep you distracted and well cared for. It was sweet and caring, and it was enough to keep your feelings well under control.

A few days after that mess, you needed to buy tomato sauce for your mother and found Pietro Maximoff in the supermarket checkout line.

- Hey. - He greeted you politely. You felt your heart race at the possibility that he was with his sister.

- Hi, Pietro. - You answered in the same tone.

You were checking around for signs of the redhead, but Pietro was alone. He said something about the prices, and you just grumbled in agreement, and then it was your turn.

In the parking lot, while you were unlocking your bike, he approached you again.

- I want to apologize to you. - He announced as he approached, and you let out a sigh.

- Look Pietro...

- No. - He interrupts with a quick smile. - I meant it. I'm really sorry. You're a nice girl, and we were idiots.

You stare at him for a moment, then go back to picking the lock.

- Is that all?

- Yes. - He confirms with a wry smile. But when he turns around, you call out to him.

- I... Thank you for that day. - You say. - You pulled me out of the fight. I probably would have got hurt if... what I mean is...

- It's all right.- He interrupts with a smile. - It was nothing.

You nodded and he smiled, turning again and walking away. You finished unlocking the lock and got on your bike.

//-//

The next week you were surprised to find a box of chocolate in your closet.

Nat exchanged a mischievous look with you, and you rolled your eyes absentmindedly, opening the package. It didn't have a name on it, and only said "you are cute".

- I can't believe you have a secret admirer. - Monica commented excitedly when you told her during lunch. Bruce and Natasha were sitting next to you, laughing lightly as they talked among themselves.

- Neither do I. - You comment with humor. - But the chocolates were good at least.

- I think it’s sweet. - She comments with a smile, and you shrug, blushing.

- It's weird. - You say with a slight laugh, and Monica squeezes your red cheeks lightly, saying that you're adorable, making you laugh. - Damn, I'm terrible at these things.

You start talking about the upcoming exams after that, and then the break ends.

It is in the last period of PE that you speak with Pietro again several days after you saw him last.

- Hey. - He greets you with an excited nod. You smile politely as you tie your shoelaces.

- Hi. - You say as he joins you.

- Are you going to the game on Saturday? - he asks, causing you to frown.

- I'm not...

- My god this guy never gives up. - He interrupts with a scowl, looking at something behind you. You turn your head to see what it is, and notice Vision talking to Wanda several feet ahead, near the bleachers. The redhead looks impatient, and you feel your heart ache just by looking directly at her. Shifting your gaze back to Pietro, you notice that he is still grimacing. - They've been broken up for over a month and he still keeps insisting.

You blink in surprise and Pietro looks back at you.

- They broke up?

- I thought you knew. - He quips, slightly surprised, and then shrugs his shoulders. - They broke up that day in the yard. Wanda slapped him in the face in front of the whole school, everyone talked about it for weeks.

- I'm not really into school gossip. - You comment and Pietro laughs.

- Of course not.

You stand up next, your gaze quickly shifting to Wanda, but you disguise it by looking at Pietro, who has an expectant expression on his face. Then you remember the question and let out an exclamation, running your hands through your hair.

- I'm not into sports, Pietro. - You tell him and he nods in understanding, looking upset. - But I like the food. And Natasha loves the games, so maybe I'll show up with my friends there.

Pietro lets out an excited exclamation, and gives you a pat on the shoulder, saying he hopes you can make it, before heading out onto the court.

You ignore the nervous feeling in your stomach when your gaze meets Wanda's on the other side of the court, and you quickly turn away, starting to do your exercises for class.

//-//

You were slightly surprised by Natasha's outfit. She was covered head to toe in school colors, down to a commemorative hat and matching socks. You looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but she just smiled as she pulled you by the hand to Monica's truck.

- How is the story about the secret admirer going? - Nat asked as you sat in the back seat, and Monica drove to school and Bruce fiddled with the radio.

- I received flowers on Wednesday. - You tell with a smile. - And a collection of special gift vouchers.

- What are these? - She asked curiously, and Monica laughed lightly as you felt your cheeks flush.

- It's a special kind of ... eh ... vouchers for hugs, kisses, that sort of thing. - You mumbled clumsily and Natasha laughed.

- My goodness, look at your face! - She laughed. - You are loving how corny this is.

You grumbled with a hot face, turning your gaze to the window. Bruce chose a very good song next, and your friends started singing along. It didn't take long before you joined them.

//-//

The school stadium was quite crowded. Senior year games always had scouts from universities, so you weren't surprised by family members, and well-dressed strangers in the stands, as well as faculty.

- Wow, Mom is going to have fun today. - Monica commented as two you walked to the bleachers. She was looking at her cell phone, and showed you a picture of two glasses of wine that Maria had sent her. - She has a date.

- Have you met them? - you asked curiously, and Monica made a noise with her mouth of agreement.

- She's from the Air Force. Very pretty and fun, and she treated me very well. - She told you with a smile. - I hope everything works out between them, Mom deserves to be happy.

You nod in agreement and then you find empty chairs. Bruce and Natasha join you many moments later, carrying the food.

- Yay, fries. - Monica says excitedly as Natasha distributes the food among you.

The band then enters the stadium. And the crowd seems excited, you and Monica laugh at Natasha's excitement.

As soon as the band makes their formation, the cheerleaders enter the field and the crowd cheers. You try not to look at Wanda so immediately, but that is exactly what you do. When they are all in the center, and finish the performance with lots of applause, the director gets up on the stage and starts announcing the game.

- And without further ado, West View High let's...

The principal is interrupted abruptly by one of the students. You and the audience watch intently as Pepper nudges the principal on the shoulder, and he turns around confused and surprised. She smiles innocently as she quickly takes the microphone from his hand.

- We had a slight change of plans, West View. - she announces, smiling. And then the band is moving on, and you recognize the music quickly. It was an old rock song. The audience sings along excitedly, surprised and in shock, but still happy with the music.

As the music plays, Pepper turns back to the director, and they discuss something. He lets out a sigh and shakes his head, and she gives an excited little jump, and then is joining the cheering team again.

When the song ends, it is not Pepper who comes up to the podium with the microphone, but Wanda, which generates a lot of comments from the audience.

- Is that? - Natasha starts and you feel your stomach turn.

- Yep.

- Hello West View. - Wanda begins looking nervous, the audience looks at her in anticipation. - Many of you must think me a complete bitch after the rumors that surfaced a few weeks ago.

- Oh my God. - You mumble clumsily, feeling the stares of some people on you.

- I think I should explain what happened. - Wanda says tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and ignoring the comments from the audience, she continues talking. - My ex-boyfriend and my best friends decided to make a bet. - She explains, and you clench your jaw. - He bet my friends that if I gave even the slightest bit of attention to our colleague, Y/N Y/L/N, she would become obsessed with me in one weekend. - The audience seems shocked by the confessions, but Wanda was looking at you. - The funny thing is, it was the exact opposite. Y/N is this amazing girl, sweet and caring, and I can't stop thinking about her. It must be because I am completely in love with her. - She confessed, and you felt your eyes fill with tears. - But I blew it. I was mean and cruel, and I'm sorry. I'm here to apologize to you Y/N, and you don't even have to forgive me. I just wanted you to know.

The audience erupted in murmurs at the confession, and you were in shock to react. Wanda was also teary-eyed.

A mixture of "forgive her" and " start the game" and various other comments began to grow louder, and then Director Fury was approaching Wanda, and asking for the microphone back. She took one last look at you, before bowing her head and walking off the field. The audience let out a mixed chorus of celebration and sadness, and then Monica was pushing you slightly, and you waved frantically as you hurried to catch up to Wanda.

- I can't believe you did that! - You shout at her as soon as you reach her in the gymnasium hallway, the noise of the game starting muffled by the distance.

Wanda turns around in surprise, wiping away tears.

- I just...

- When I said the perfect apology would be like a cliché, I can't believe you took it seriously. - You comment as you approach laughing lightly. Wanda looks surprised at your friendly posture. - You are such a dork.

And then you kiss her as you bring your hands to her waist, and she sighs in astonishment, but responds the next second, trembling as your tongues touch.

You push her against the wall of the hallway, and she slips her arms around your shoulders, melting into the kiss. You separate your mouths for breath.

- I'm sorry. - She asks again with her eyes closed. - I'm really sorry.

- I know. - You agree breathlessly. - Just... don't ever do anything like that again.

She nods in agreement, kissing you again. It's delicious the way your tongues feel together, making your head spin. You are blushing because Wanda is sighing and making a warm tightness rise in the pit of your stomach.

- I love you too, Wands. - You confess against her lips and she opens her eyes in surprise, you look at her with a smile. - I guess ever since you laughed at my joke in biology class.

Wanda lets out a short laugh, her eyes sparkling with joy.

- I love you. - She answers by kissing you quickly. - I love you. - She repeats and starts depositing kisses all over your face, making you laugh. She repeats and repeats until you kiss her again, intensely this time.

You stay like this for several minutes. Exchanging not-so-innocent kisses against the gymnasium wall. Until the first half of the game is over, and you hear the sound of the players returning to the locker room, and then Pietro is reaching for you, making a false threatening posture when he notices your swollen lips, and Wanda's lipstick on your face.

- Please get a room. - He then jokes, continuing on his way to the locker room.

You and Wanda agree to leave the stadium, wanting to enjoy some time together without the stares of the audience on you.

You two end up in the back of Monica's truck, staring up at the stars, your hands entwined.

- So it was you who sent the presents. - You conclude by looking at Wanda quickly, to catch her blushing cheeks.

- I was trying to find a way to talk to you. - She explained, turning to you, releasing her hand only to stroke your cheek. - That's why I made the voucher “worth a conversation”.

You laughed lightly, looking at her fondly.

- I liked the kiss coupon. - You say with amusement and she raises her eyebrow, smiling.

- Yeah? - She replies, bringing your faces together and stealing a lingering kiss from you.

- Best one.

Wanda laughs, pulling away a little. You swallow dryly, watching her carefully.

- What happens now? - you ask, and Wanda looks into your eyes.

- I don't know. - She says. - But I hope we'll be together in the end.

You smile, nodding.

- We will. - You assure her before adjusting your position to embrace her. Wanda snuggles against you, enjoying your warmth.

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