#Liebling asks Love what she does for work and Love's like oh you know

[dontyouworrydaddy]

Pretty please, reader who throughout her whole life was made to feel unattractive and undesirable and that makes her very self conscious about her body. This leads her to the inability to feel good during sex because she keeps thinking her partner is judging the way she looks. Until she does it with the 141 guys and Konig and they finally make her feel wanted and beautiful, leading to the very first orgasm of her life. If this is too specific or not your thing, feel free to ignore my ask. I love your blog, so keep up the good work.

𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍

Task Force 141 (+König) x Reader

Thank you so much for the kind words and the ask, I really really appreciate it🫶🏽 I got so excited and happy when I read this🥲

I feel like they would look at you and be like “Are you serious? YOU’RE A LITERAL GODDES“ and be extra gentle 🥹 I really hope you like it, I love youuuuu🩷❤️🩷❤️ P.S: You guys are beautiful just the way you are <3💖💋

(also I‘m comfortable with writing stuff like these so please feel free to always ask me these kind of stuff! 🫶🏽🫶🏽)

KÖNIG

König and you have been making out for a few minutes now and god he was really good at making you feel so needy.

But as soon as he switches the positions, caging you under him you felt a bit unsure and insecure. He definitely notices your mood change and stops his movement.

“What happened, schatz?" he asked curiously looking at you with concern. “Is everything okay?”

You don’t know how to reply. You don’t know how to tell him that you’re scared that he might leave you after having sex with you. You sit up straight and he notices how tears start building up in your eyes.

A part inside of you knows that he would never leave you because he is showing his face to you. And nobody knows how he looks like. Not even the people he works with. Only you.

But than there is this other part inside of you that keeps telling you that he will leave you as soon as he gets what he wants. Or worse as soon as you reveal your body, he will get scared and push you away.

“Talk to me liebling“ his voice is soft and his much larger hands gently run down your soft cheek. You look up at him but you can’t respond to him. He doesn’t waste another second and immediately hugs you and presses soft kisses on your neck. This time it wasn’t in a sexual way but in a I‘m here, it’s okay way.

Sometimes you feel bad because he is always this patient with you and you wish you could be more confident about yourself. If only you never dated your ex…

“You wanna tell me what’s wrong?” he asks you gently and you just hug him tighter. “I‘m scared” you finally tell him. You can feel his face expression change and you thought that he will push you away now but he never did. Instead he continues holding you and kiss you. “What are you scared of?” his voice is genuine. He didn’t ask you just because he feels like he has to but because he really wants to know and learn more about you.

“That you’re gonna leave me as soon as I show you my body” you reply barley in a whisper. “Oh baby… how could I leave such a beautiful woman like you. Have you seen yourself? You’re a walking goddes“ he looks at you and lets his hands are on each side of your cheek. “You’re the most beautiful woman that ever walked into this world and I would never leave you. I love you so much mein Schatz” you let out a chuckle while tears are still falling down your eyes. "I love you too” you reply and smiles softly at you.

“We can do something else, if you want to“ he suggests and something inside of you is telling you to now let that happen. You’re confused about what is happening now.

“NO“ you all of a sudden yell causing him to look at you confused. “Baby, we don’t need to do it now. It‘s really okay” he tells you and he does mean it. He would never do anything you don’t feel comfortable with. He would sacrifice his own happiness for yours. As long as you are happy, he is too. You’re his light in the darkness and his whole world. Whenever he us holding you, he feels like he is holding the whole world.

“No. I want to do this. Please make me feel good” you desperately tell him. He hesitates for a second because he is still scared you don’t actually mean it and only want to do it because he wants to. But after seeing your face turning hot he smirks and realizes that you’re being honest.

And he will show you how much he loves you.

He started kissing you again and slowly removes your shorts. Your breath hitches in the middle of the kiss as you feel his hands working on removing your clothes. He looks down at your body and he smiles softly as soon as his eyes fall on your body.

“Don’t ever hide your body from me. You’re too beautiful to hide yourself.“ he kisses his way down and stops on your stomach. His fingers push your panties to the side and circle around your heated clit.

For the first time, you don’t feel ashamed about yourself. Actually, you feel really good about yourself. And all the negative thoughts are pushed into a corner and all you could think about is the moment right now.

“Oh my god“ you moan as two his fingers slowly push inside of you. “You’re so beautiful liebling“ he moans at the feeling of you wrapped around his fingers. He continues kissing your chest and stomach because he wants to hear your pretty moans. He pumps in and out of you and you start feeling dizzy. Not in a bad way. But in a very good way.

"Please just fuck me already” you’re shocked as soon as this sentence leaves your mouth. You can feel his smirk on your stomach and he starts looking up at you.

“As you wish, mein Schatz“ his smirk so devilish yet so cute. He removes his boxers and you see his hard cock spring free. He lets the tip of his cock dance around your tip, causing your back to ache with so much desperate. “Pleaseeee” your out of breath and he can definitely hear it.

“It’s gonna hurt for a second but you‘re gonna be okay” he warns you and starts sliding into you, slowly and gently.

“Oh fuck“ a tear leaves your left eye because of the pain but the pain doesn’t last long. It soon turns into pleasure and you give König the go to start moving. And he does as you say. He slowly starts fully slide into you and out of you, still gently.

You never felt this way with no one. It’s not your first time having sex but this feels different from the others. This isn’t just sex. This is him making love to you.

“Fuck“ he moans as he keeps moving in you. Soon the room was filled with the sound of your bodies clapping and your moans.

“You’re so beautiful, mein Schatz“ he continues saying how much he loves you and how beautiful you are. And you definitely feel it. You feel his words on your body and in your heart. And those aren’t just empty words, just to make you feel good. Bug he means every single one of them.

“I‘m so close“ you feel your orgasm building up and you didn’t know this was possible. Of course you knew that having an orgasm is natural but you never knew that you would also experience this kind of feeling.

"Let it out baby“ and you did as he said. You let it out finally feeling relaxed and good. König continued kissing you and telling you how much he loves you. Other than your ex, he did aftercare with you. He bathed you and cuddled the entire night with you.

You never felt so much loved.

SIMON RILEY

One thing you loved about Simon is that he never pushes you to do anything you don’t want to do. He respects your boundaries and never questions it. He waits for you to open up as soon as you feel comfortable.

And today is the day you want to have sex with him. You guys have been together for a long time but due to your insecurity you never let him get under your panties. But this time you want to have it. You want to push your insecurities to the side and feel good.

Of course a part of you is still scared that he might leave you as soon as he gets what he wanted but than there is this other part that reminds you that he showed his face to you. He lets you remove his mask from his face. So there is not much of a chance that he would ever leave you.

And honestly you’re desperate to finally feel his touch on your skin. So you make your way to your shared bedroom and sit on his lap. He loves you sitting on his lap and holding you close. But to be honest he is a bit confused because you never did something like this just because you felt like it.

“Hey baby" he kissed your cheek and pushed your hair behind your ear. “Hey Simon“ you started kissing him and tried to show him that you are in desperate for him. After a few minutes of kissing he slowly gets the message and switched the positions. “Are you sure you want this? We don’t need to do this“ he asks you and you shake your head.

“Please Simon. Make me forget about these thoughts“ you whisper and softly smiles at you. "You’re my kind of woman. I will love you forever" he kisses you and slowly removes your clothes and his owns. The kiss soon turns into a messy one and you feel yourself getting hotter and your pussy is getting wetter. His touch always made you feel something you didn’t know was capable of feeling.

His fingers kept teasing you‘re already needy pussy and then he finally slides them into you. You let out a shaky breath and he lets out a soft chuckle at the sight. “You feel so good around my fingers“ he confesses and you smile from ear to ear.

If you told younger you that you‘d ever feel yourself getting this close, you‘d probably laugh. But it’s true. You’re starting to feel the stuff you only read in books.

Simon pulls his hands away and gently starts sliding his cock into you. You feel a little pain at first but the pain doesn’t last long. Soon the pain turns into pleasure and you feel euphoric.

“Simon“ you moan his name and he gets weak at the sound of you moaning his name. He wants to be the only one hearing you moan. And he mostly definitely will be the only one hearing you moan. Sex feels more like love with him. You feel so many emotions while he keeps pushing in and out of you. And none of the emotions are negative.

“Simon oh my god. I can’t anymore” you feel the knot forming and he knows. Oh he definitely knows. “It’s okay baby. You can come“ his voice so sweet that you could faint anytime soon.

You let go of yourself and cum on his cock. Simon kisses you and tells you how much he loves you and how much he praises you body.

You’re happy that you finally got to feel these kind of feelings and that Simon isn’t leaving you. In fact, he is taking care of you right now. He cleans you up and cuddled with you while kissing your head.

You finally faced your insecurities and you’re happy you made that decision.

JOHN MACTAVISH

John and you have been together for 3 years now but you guys never had sex in those 3 years. Whenever you were about to get to this point, you would push him and every time you pushed him, you thought that he would be annoyed of you or yell at you. But he never did any of those. He in fact did the quite opposite. He always held you until you felt better and would always kiss your forehead. He would always tell you that he will wait for you until you feel comfortable enough to talk about your situation and why you feel like that.

And today was the day where you want to take it to another stage. You want to try to push your insecurity away and finally have sex with him. Not because you feel like you need to do it but because you want to do it. You want to feel good so you knock on his office door.

“Come in” his soft yet tired voice comes from the office and you enter the room. As soon as you enter the room he lets his pen fall and his whole attention is on you. That’s one thing you love the most about him. Whenever you were in the same room ad him, he would drop everything and would focus on you and only you. But sometimes you couldn’t help but think he was just doing it so you don’t see that he is slowly losing interest in you.

You make your way to his chair and sit on his lap. He immediately wraps his arms around you and hugs you tightly while kissing your cheek.

“When are you finished” you asked him. Something inside of you hoped that he answers with I don’t know or maybe in like a few hours.

But instead he replied with, “I‘m already finished. Do you wanna do something?” which makes you a bit nervous. You can feel your heart beating faster than usual you start playing with your nails.

“I uh….” you start your sentence but you’re not sure if you want to finish it. You really want to have sex with him but a voice inside of your head keeps telling you that as soon as you reveal your body he will leave you or even worse, laugh at you.

“Yes baby, continue your sentence.” he carefully tells you and tried to comfort you. Your heart warms at his comfort. You turn to look at him and your eyes lock in with his blue eyes.

“Please be honest with me” your hands start shaking because you’re getting even more nervous. His eyebrows furrow and he notices your hands slightly shaking. “I‘m always honest with you, love.” his left hand rests on top of your shaking ones and you could physically feel your heart skip a beat.

“Would you ever leave me if I showed you my body?” you barley whisper and you’re not really sure if he even heard you. You closed your eyes, scared of his rejection. Suddenly you hear him let out a laugh and for a second your heart dropped.

“Are you joking?” he starts his sentence and you open your eyes, clearly confused. “Baby, you’re the most gorgeous looking woman in this whole world. Do you know how hard it is for me to not fight the boys because they keep joking about stealing you from me? I would rather die than leave you” he doesn’t give a chance to reply and instantly smashes his lips onto yours.

He tries to prove his point with the kiss and oh god he is definitely succeeding. His hands start resting on your waist and you let your hands wander up his chest.

After pulling away for oxygen you finally let that sentence slip out of your mouth.

“I want to have sex with you” he smiles at you and picks you up like you weigh nothing. “Whatever my princess wants“ he kisses you while moving you guys out of the office and to your shared bedroom. This time the kiss is filled with so much passion and desperation. He doesn’t give your mind a chance to let your insecurity win. It feels like he is blocking your thoughts. And for the first time you feel good about yourself. There is not a single thought about how you don’t look good or how he is gonna ditch you.

He gently lays you down on the bed and without breaking the kiss, he starts removing your cloths while you remove his. You only break from the kiss to remove your shirts and let it fall on the ground.

He stops kissing you and looks at your body. As you try to cover your chest he grabs your arms and lets them fall next to you. “Don’t ever cover yourself around me. You’re so beautiful” his voice is gentle and he starts kissing your body. The air in your throat starts to build up and you can feel yourself getting hot and the heat between your thighs starts building up.

“John” you moan his name and you’re shocked since you never moaned someones name. “Yes baby?” he teases you and he starts going down on his knees. His mouth over your clit he looks up at you. You look down at him and nod. And that’s he needed from you. As you feel his mouth collapse with your pussy, you fall back down.

For a second, you forget how to breathe. You’re starting to feel some things you couldn’t describe. “John” you moan his name again as you feel a knot building up in your lower stomach. John gets up and hovers over you. “I just came by just eating you out” he confesses which causes you to laugh. “It’s gonna hurt a bit but you’re gonna be okay” he warns you and you nod. As he pushes his cock inside if you, you couldn’t help but open your mouth and close your eyes at the feeling. The pain turned into pleasure and as you opened your eyes again and nodded, reassuring that you’re fine. You never felt this way with no one. It feels like this is your first time. But definitely better. There was not a single negative thought.

He slowly pushes in and out of you and the only sound you could hear is his whimpers and your moans. “So beautiful” he moans and kisses you while still fucking you. After a few moments he started being a bit faster but not too fast since he doesn’t want to hurt you. And you feel euphoric. The pleasure is way too good and your whole body feels better than ever.

“John, oh my god” you feel your orgasm building up. “Let it out baby” and after him saying that you let go of that feeling and create a mess under you.

“That was the first time I ever had an orgasm” you confess absolutely shocked and he lets out a cute laugh. “I‘m glad I was the one causing it, my beautiful woman”

John was the best in aftercare. He pushed your insecurities away and made sure you felt loved. He took a bath with you and even clothed you. And now you are laying in his arms, feeling happy and confident about yourself.

JOHN PRICE

John and you have been in a relationship for a while now. Even through he is gone a lot, he would still leave little notes and remind you that he loves you. Your insecurities always makes it hard for you to believe him. You keep thinking about how he doesn’t mean it. But why would he stay with you if he didn’t love you.

John was a good man. He was the best. He treats you right and gives you everything your ex couldn’t.

And right now you’re under him and you’re scared he is gonna judge your body as soon as your clothes are off of you. But as soon as he removes them you get the reaction you didn’t expect. Instead of him looking absolutely disgusted, he looks… pleased. “There really isn’t a part that isn’t beautiful. And you’re all mine” the last sentence comes out as a whisper. He kisses your body and your thighs but you’re still laying there, a bit confused. You didn’t expect this reaction from him. You feel a bit ashamed of yourself because why would you think that he would be disgusted of you. He gets on his knees and starts eating you out like a starving man. And oh boy… his tongue feels so good. You never felt this type of pleasure and you always thought that this feeling is unreal until now. You’re left with an open mouth and closed eyes trying to focus on now but it feels so good. All you could think about is what else he could do with not only his tongue but also his fingers and his cock.

After eating you out, which felt like hours, he hovers over you and starts sliding into you. You bite your lips and start to dig your fingers in his chest, leaving red marks.

“John“ you moan his name and all you could think about is how good he makes you feel. The feeling of pleasure feels unreal and this moment in general feels unreal. It’s too good to be true. His movements are gentle and shows you how much he loves you.

“You’re so beautiful. I can‘t believe you’re mine“ he whispers into your ear. You feel the orgasm building up.

“John” you moan his name and the feeling of release is getting closer. “It’s okay my baby. You can come“ and you do as he says. After creating a mess under you, you realize that john has come on your stomach which caused you to let out a laugh.

“Come here baby. Let me take care of you now“ and you allow him to do so. You don’t regret anything and for the first time, you feel loved.

KYLE GARRICK

You don’t get how Kyle was still staying with you even through you don’t really let him touch you in an intimate way. After a year and a half you thought he would leave you because he probably was getting inpatient but he never did which left you confused. He always came back to you and would never do anything that would make you uncomfortable.

And today is the day where you want to open up. You’re still scared that he might leave you as soon as he sees you and leave you like all your exes did but as soon as he sees your body… he hungrily starts kissing you and he asks you if he can fuck you.

To be honest you were confused at first. You didn’t expect him to react like this. Praising you like you‘re the queen and when you asked him if he is gonna leave you… he replied with:

“Leave you? Are you joking? I would rather die than leave you”

The kiss was messy and definitely sloppy which was making you feel butterflies and your pussy was getting soaked. He took his time but eventually he would push his cock inside of you and by just the feeling inside of you he came. Neither of you expect this to happen and that’s why you guys shared a laugh but he kept going. He kept pushing in and out of you and sooner of later you were feeling yourself getting hotter. You started breathing heavily at the feeling and Kyle noticed it.

His hands on your waist and the room was filled with your noises and the noise of your bodies. He was gentle and so caring, like he always is. You feel like you got teleported into another dimension because this feeling is everything but real.

“Kyle” you whined and he shushed you. “Okay baby. It’s okay. You can come” and you did. You let yourself release and then it hits you.

For the first time, you had an orgasm.

“So beautiful. My beautiful woman” he kissed you and held you close to him. He kept kissing you and play with your hair while looking at you with love written in his eyes. You physically felt his love and you’re so happy because of it.

You finally got what you deserve.

[russellsppttemplates]

It's time I take a stepback (Mick Schumacher)

Becoming parents of three makes you and Mick wonder if a change in the routine is the best option

Note: english is not my first language. I'm a sucker for dad!driver as I've said before, so here's another piece!

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Tw: pregnancy

Tag list: @myloverjk-blog

"So no more work for me?", you frowned. For all you knew, this was going to be a regular check up with your OB, but it didn't seem like the ones you had been in before.

"It's my advice, yes", she noted, "even though your last pregnancies were fine, and we are expecting this one to be, too, its better to be safe. The guidelines we have for people your age and with these numbers suggest that, whenever it is possible, you should rest more towards the end of the pregnancy". As she typed what you assumed your leave on the computer, your husband grabbed your hand in his, resting it on your thigh, squeezing it lightly.

"Should we keep an eye out for anything?", Mick questioned, "the usual signs, really. I know it's only busier now since you have your two little ones at home, but resting as much as possible while still keeping active, drinking loads of water and good eating. If there is anything suspicious, you can just call me or text me", she smiled, handing you the copy and getting up, "thank you so much, have a nice day", you managed to say.

The walk back to the car was done in silence, Mick closing the door on your side before getting to the driver's seat, "whatever you want to say, you can say it now, liebling. I've been with your for a long time and I know when you are keeping something, and you know I won't judge your thoughts", he teased, finding his attempt at making you smile successful.

"What does she mean 'with people your age and numbers'? Was she calling me fat? Or old? Probably both of them", you grumbled, looking to see your husband in a fit of giggles, "Liebling, I'm sorry", he excused himself, "I don't think she meant it in that way, she's just looking out for you and our babygirl. And, fortunately, we can work with what she advised", he reasoned, "besides, Sebastian and Aurora will love the idea of having us around a little more now".

"Still think she called me old and fat", you mumbled, seeing one of your favourite bakeries, "Oh, Mick, can we go there, my love? A croissant would be really good right now", you pouted, smiling when he flickered on the turn signal, "I have the best husband in the world!".

On your way home, you stopped by your workplace, handing in the maternity leave and saying a "see you soon" to all your colleagues before you went to pick up the kids. Aurora couldn't hide her surprise when she saw both of her parents by the gate, "Hey, mama! Hey, papa! Why are you both here today?", she quizzed, holding her hands out so the three of you could walk side by side, "I'm going to take some time off work, so we can spend some more time together from now on", you said as you checked of she fastened her seatbelt properly once you got to the car, "and to rest, too, let's not forget that part", Mick chipped in.

It started raininh when you arrived at Sebastian's pre-school, so Mick grabbed an umbrella and left you and Aurora in the car. "You are okay, right, mama? You're staying home because you need to rest, that's all, right?", your oldest asked, looking into your eyes through the rear view mirror. Unbucklibg your seat belt, you moved around in the space you had so you could face her, "yes, Rora. I'm all good, there's nothing to worry about. Mama just needs rest, and it's always nice that we get to spend more time together, right?", you soother her worries, seeing Seb and Mick walk to the car, "uh-oh", your daughter said, "Sebastian just walked into a big water puddle", she pointed out. Chuckling at your little boy's antics as his father picked him up, you couldn't help but shake your head, "see? It's always nice to have more hands on deck".

"Hi mama! Hi, Rora!", Sebastian greeted, pressing a sloppy kiss on his sister's cheek, "how are you and baby sister?", he asked, "we're doing good, my love. And how was your day?", you asked, fastening your belt again while Mick drove home, "it was good! But now my feet are wet, I have to change when I get home".

While Mick took care of dinner with Seb's help, you helped Aurora with her homework, coming out of her bedroom when Sebastian called, "Mama, Rora!", he yelled as he walked inside after knocking on the door, "Papa and I made lasagna! It's not as good as Oma's, but it's pretty close!", he smiled proudly at their achievement, holding your hand as he helped you down the stairs.

"I hope you didn't start eating without us", Sebastian threatened, "of course we didn't, we know mama takes a little longer on the stairs now", Aurora reasoned, tapping your baby bump cutely as she went around you to sit at the table, "I want that crispy bit, please".

The bedtime routine went smoothly as you both read stories to Aurora and Sebastian, kissing their foreheads goodnight, "I'm so tired I feel like I could sleep right here", you chuckled, arranging the pillows on the sofa.

"Do you want to go back upstairs? I can finish this here quickly and I'll join you in a bit", Mick offered, seeing you contemplate, "you really don't mind?", you squinted, "no, I don't. Go upstairs, beautiful", he added, kissing your lips as he ushered you up the stairs.

As much as you didn't like to admit it, this pregnancy was taking a big toll on you. You had two kids that despite being pretty good and calm still required your attention and energy, and as you approached the third trimester, you started to feel that the mandated rest from your doctor was actually a good decision.

"Oh, you're in bed already?", Mick asked when he closed the bedroom door, seeing you tucked in bed. He quickly did his nighttime routine, grabbing the bottle of oil on his way so he could sit next to you.

"Hi, baby girl", he began, taking the cap off and depositing some on your bump, "you're going to be a lot calmer, we hope, since mama is taking some time off", he kissed your belly button, "we are all going to do something to help her and make sure she doesn't run herself ragged".

"And what is papa going to do? Everytime mama looks at him, she gets even more flustered", you ran your fingers through his hair, teasing him slightly and not expecting his answer, "well, papa had been thinking about retiring", he gulped, looking up at you as his hands continued the ministrations on your skin.

"What?", you fixed your position, sitting properly against the headboard so you could face your husband, "where's this coming from?".

"It's not new, before you think this is because of today's appointment", Mick began, "I've been thinking about retiring so I can be home for you and the kids. With Rora, it was the first time so we managed it, and with Seb we just winged it and went along, but three kids? It's a whole different experience. I can tell that it's a lot more tiring, and while some things get easier because of experience, I wouldn't want you to have to manage three kids on your own", he explained.

"And you'd just leave motorsport? You would stop racing?", you asked, unsure of you were getting his point.

"Yes. I have won championships, I've raced competitively to my heart's content. I have a career that I'm proud of, that I'd like to tell my children about when they grow older. And I also want to spend more time with them, with you. I want to be able to help and be more present in their lives", he reasoned.

"You are present in their lives, Mick", you reasoned, "I know, liebling. But retiring would mean that I'm almost always here, and I want that", he rubbed his thumb on your hand, smoothing the skin, "I've spoken to Toto, and the team are okay with waiting a little bit. They have plans for either way, so it's just a matter of my decision, of our decision".

"You've given this some thought", you mumbled, "and no matter where this goes, my position is the same. As long as it makes you happy, we will be here to support you", you smiled, grabbing his hand and kissing it before placing it back in your bump, playing with his fingers, "I would never want you to give up something that you love so much, but if you want to do it, then me, Rora, Seb and Harriet are going to be here for you", you smiled.

"Thank you, liebling", he kissed your lips, "I love you. Also", he pointed out, "Harriet, hm?".

"I've been thinking about names and Harriet came up. Just trying it out and see how it flows, you know?", you cuddled him, kissing his chest, "I love you so much, Mick".

.

Arriving at home, Mick helped Aurora and Sebastian out of the car before they walked up to the living room together, "when I left them here to go and pick you up from Oma's, Harriet was still asleep, so we have to keep quiet, okay?", he checked, seeing the kids nod as he opened the door.

"Can we come in? I have an excited big sister and big brother here", Mick said as they walked inside. Aurora held her brother's hand in hers, urging him to go in front of her, "go, you can do this", she whispered on his ear.

The small encouragement didn't go unnoticed by you and Mick, deciding to comment on it later, "she was just asleep but she woke up, I guess she's very excited to meet you two", you smiled, arranging the pillows so both kids could sit on either side of you while they peeked at their baby sister, Mick crouching in front of you, "can I give her a kiss, mama?", your son asked, carefully kissing his sister's cheek when you nodded. The baby made a noise that caught him off guard, "Oh, she didn't like it?", he pouted, tears welling in his eyes.

Quickly, Mick caught on the moment, "no, Seb, none of that. She just didn't expect it, maybe. You know when me and mama go to your room to wake you up? You don't like it a lot, right? It's almost the same for Harriet, she wasn't counting on it, that's all", he encouraged, gesturing for his son to try again, this time seeing Aurora do the same as the baby sighed in content, "see? She's happy now, she loves those kisses", Mick finished, looking up and seeing you with teary eyes.

"It's our family, let me cry all I want", you sniffed, "they're happy tears anyway", you announced, kissing all of the children's foreheads before puckering your lips to kiss your husband's.

Later, Mick found himself feeding Harriet while you played with Aurora and Sebastian. He hadn't been home for long, but he could see how you were juggling it. You were still recovering from giving birth, but like he had predicted, three kids was a lot. His mother had stopped by for dinner, taking control of the kitchen as she baked one of her roasts.

"Thank you for this", he said to Corinna, "I don't know how you two have managed this when I wasn't here", he admitted.

"We found it in ourselves", Corinna began, "and she also spoke to me about your plans, or the option that is on the table, I guess", she clarified, wanting to hear more about it from her son.

"I feel accomplished in my career, for now at least. And I want to be involved in their lives. I never felt like dad was not involved because he always made the effort, and I want to do the same. And I want to be there when they wake up, to get them from school, and three kids requires a lot more juggling. I don't want Y/N to have to do all of that juggling, or to stop chasing her dreams because of motherhold", he reasoned, "we're in this together, and I think it's time I take a stepback".

"Corinna, they are asking for you. I may be biased, but they have some pretty cute drawings to show you. Ambiguous when it comes to what they represent, but cute nonetheless", you smiled, seeing your mother in-law wipe her hands on the kitchen towell and heading to the living room where you just were.

"Hi, little bug", you cooed, seeing Harriet resting happily in her father's chest, "you just found the comfiest spot ever, didn't you? I have to share it with three of you now".

"It's a good thing that I'll be here more often then", Mick stated, kissing the top of her head and moving to kiss yours too.

"Are you sure about that?", you asked, looking for any uncertainty in his eyes. You had known him all your life, so it wasn't hard to look for the light fog in his eyes or his nervous eyebrow twitch. But you were met instead with a peaceful expression, eyes glossy and happy. "I'm sure, liebling. I spoke to Toto this morning and I'm retiring. I want to be here with you", he confirmed, feeling your arms wrap around his torso, "I'm so proud of you, Mick, we all are. And I bet the kids will love having your around even more".

"Are you saying their mother won't love having me around more?", he teased, smirking at you, "Oh, as soon as this is all working, their mother knows exactly what to do with that time".

[apinchofm]

Requested by @angel-starbeam - Edwina is feeling homesick, so Friedrich gets Mary and Kate and they cook her favorite food.

Modern AU

Edwina loved her life in Berlin with her husband. Getting to settle in one place after all her travelling and marrying Freddie was certainly one of the best parts of her life. Her second book - a retelling of Emma set during 15th century India - would be coming out soon and there were already great reviews.

Five and a half months pregnant, she supposed she was truly beginning to feel the homesickness she had never felt before. She missed her mother and sister, particularly. Face timing was not enough but they were both busy. They were all so busy.

Edwina distracted herself by preparing for the baby - furniture deliveries came almost every other day and she went to baby boutiques.

"Liebling, what can I do?" Friedrich asked. The former navy man could come up with solutions for so many dilemmas - but he did not know how to help his wife.

He finished building a crib, the two sitting in the unfinished nursery. Edwina had a bowl of pistachio ice cream as she watched him

She sat down, pouting, as she ate, "No, I just want to nap. And eat ice cream."

"Can I have some?" Friedrich asked, amused and she smiled, feeding him some. He hummed happily.

"This is like from that place in London that we went to with Kate - you know the one in... Hackney?"

Edwina grew sad, "Yeah," She murmured and he looked at her. Friedrich put down his screwdriver, leaning over to her and kissing her bump, rubbing her stomach as he looked at her.

"Schatz?" He asked and she stroked his hair, "You miss your mother and sister, hmm?"

"Yeah, but I'm just being silly."

"That isn't silly."

"I'm an adult."

"A pint-sized one." Friedrich joked and she flicked his forehead, "It's okay to miss them. Why don't they come here? They are welcome anytime."

"Mama does not have any annual leave and Kate is so busy with her work. She had a baby just well." Edwina reasoned, "I don't want to keep asking them for stuff." She kissed him on the forehead.

—

Edwina did not think too much of what she and Friedrich talked about. She had a meeting at her publishing house and came home, tired.

She entered the house and could smell something delicious. Friedrich's cooking was always great, but this was familiar. Fragrant. Was that… paneer curry? Her favourite.

She walked into her kitchen, and was surprised to see her mother, humming to herself as she was cooking away. Multiple pots on the go of the curry, rice and she was making naan.

"Mama?" She gasped, so surprised to see her in her kitchen. In Berlin!

"Eddie! Oh, you look amazing." Mary complimented, turning down the hob. Edwina hugged her tightly, trying not to cry.

"What are you doing here?"

"Freddie called. He thought you might need a taste of home, and well, you cannot fly, so we flew to you!" She explained, "Why you did not call us sooner?"

"We?"

The front door opened and she heard her sister and Friedrich chatting.

"...I can't believe you think that the first one is better than the second!" Kate was saying as they carried bags into the kitchen.

"I did not say better - I preferred the first version." Friedrich said defensively.

Kate put down her bags and hugged Edwina, "Hello, you! Your husband has terrible taste in sci-fi."

Edwina really wanted to cry, "I can't believe that you are both here.

"Of course we are and I'm so angry for you not telling us that you were so down!" Kate scolded gently.

He brought a box of cupcakes from her favourite bakery, kissing Edwina, "I told you they would come."

"I didn't want to interrupt your lives." Edwina said apologetically, with a small shrug.

"You are a part of our lives." Mary said, "Or did you stop being my baby when you got married? Are you an orphan?" Kate rolled her eyes at her dramatics.

"Anyway, we are here for two weeks. We are going to get that nursery finished and you are going to relax." Kate listed, "And no protests!"

Friedrich looked at Edwina, "She has been bossing me around all morning." He received a punch in the arm from Kate.

"You are ex military, you should be used to it."

"Navy!" Friedrich corrected.

Edwina just laughed, so glad to have her favourite people around her.

[sporadically-writing]

Omg I love your writing so much 😭 can I request more mercy x Fem reader (gender neutral if you're not comfortable with it). Maybe smth fluff like reader is so tired from studying or smth 🥺thank youu

Awwww, thanks! Absolutely! Good luck to anyone in school right now! You're doing fantastic!

Rest Matters Too

Pairing: Angela Ziegler x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Unhealthy sleeping habits, feelings of inadequacy

Word Count: 873

School is hard. Plain and simple. It's a little different for everyone but everyone finds something difficult during their time in school. Your education induced torment just so happens to be studying. Which is fantastic considering you have a big midterm exam coming up.

You had promised yourself that you were going to actually commit to studying this time. Winging it wasn't an option, not this go around. You wanted to- well that doesn't really matter. No. What matters is studying this god forsaken material and here you are distracting yourself. Again.

Alright, alright, alright. Focus.

You can do this. Just focus.

Focus and read.

...

...

...

God, this is impossible!

You rub a hand down your face. Ugh... Might as well check what time it is.

Umm, why can't you read it? The clock shouldn't be blurry. You check the paper in front of you again, finding the text on it also difficult to read.

You groan in frustration, thunking your head against the desk. The test is two days from now, how on Earth were you going to do on the test if you can barely read your notes?

As that train of thought continues to reek havoc in your brain, the door to you and Angela's shared room opens.

You hear her sigh, "I figured this would happen."

"Hi Angel" you say, attempting to fix your position to make it look like you weren't just beating yourself up over your studies.

"Liebling, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Uhhhh..." You look at the clock again, your tired eyes finally focusing on the numbers displayed on it.

It was nearing one in the morning.

"Oh."

Mercy's voice takes on a pitying quality as she walks over to your desk, making sure to drop her doctor's bag by the door. She takes another chair and sits beside you, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, a concerned look on her beautiful face.

"This has to do with your exams doesn't it?"

You sigh, no point in trying to lie, the proof is all right there for her brilliant medical mind to find. You wouldn't be surprised if she was diagnosing your problem right now. She was just so smart. Why did she have to make everything look so easy?

"Darling?" she asks, pulling your attention back to her.

"I just- I really want to do well, you know" you respond. Technically not a lie.

Mercy raises an eye brow and it's enough. You know she knows that you didn't tell her everything. She's going to keep looking at you like that unless you tell her. Okay. Okay, fine.

Tears well in your eye, whether they be from stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation, general frustration, you aren't sure, but that doesn't really matter does it?

"I just-" you pause, attempting to keep your voice even but it's hard, "I just wanted you to be proud of me."

Mercy looks at you stunned.

You continue, "You're a medical genius, a miracle worker. You dress up like a literal angel for goodness sake! I just feel- I wanted to prove to you that I-"

Angela shushes you, wiping the tears from your eyes and then takes one of your cheeks in her hand, the other one squeezing one of your hands.

"Darling, I am proud of you all the time."

"What?"

"You work so hard. You are working to make the world a better place and trying to get your degree at the same time. That is a near Herculean task, darling. I am inspired by you everyday."

You sniff, "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

Mercy smiles at you, wrinkling her nose in that same way that flutters your heart every time she does it. "I'm a doctor, that's my job. But seriously, I mean it. You are amazing, schatz. You don't have anything to prove. Not to me, not to anyone."

She kisses your forehead and says, "You are brilliant, kind and capable of so much good. I love you so much."

She smiles, knowing everything is going to be alright once she sees you smile.

"Now," she says, "We are going to get you some water so you can rehydrate and then, you are going to get some rest. We can worry about you studying in the morning."

"But," you protest, "I really do need to study for this."

"Not at 1am you don't. I will quiz you tomorrow, after you have had a good night's rest."

"Angie-"

"Doctor's orders."

You laugh, "Okay."

To her word, Mercy helped you study and stay healthy the next day, making sure you slept properly, ate well and quizzed you periodically throughout the day. You surprised yourself with how much material you remembered! And anything you didn't quite get right, you were close. Mercy quizzed one more time before you both went to sleep, to help you sleep on the information.

The next day, you went in, took the test and came out feeling very confident in yourself. You may not have aced it, but you were pretty confident that you did just fine.

You and Angela enjoyed a nice lunch date out, the doctor once again, incredibly proud of her girlfriend.

Liebling = Darling

Schatz = Darling

Request Rules/Character Sheet

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[dragon-kazansky]

Lay beside me | Helmut Zemo

Requested by @cherry-season

Collage made for me @real---remy Thank you so much!!!

Another lengthy one. Steamy situation ahead 😏

Sometimes you wanted to curse the way the universe worked. It's as if the universe took joy in your misery and you could nothing but deal with cards you were dealt.

The four of you: Sam, Bucky, Zemo and yourself, were stopping off at a hotel for the night. The place was pretty luxurious, but with Zemo in the group, you didn't expect anything less.

After finding out he's a Baron, nothing he does surprises you any more.

You were actually kind of impressed. You had never stayed anywhere so nice before. There was nice, and then there was nice. This place certainly fell under nice.

"Why do we have to be working? Why can't this be a vacation?" You sigh, looking around the beautiful lobby.

"Perhaps this is a reason to come back in the future," Zemo suggest, looking at you.

"As if I could afford to stay here on my own."

You all stroll up to the reception desk, letting Zemo take the lead. He requests four rooms, really not caring about the cost. He assumes everyone would be happier on their own, thought he wouldn't admit he wouldn't mind sharing a room with a certain someone.

He glanced at you. You were standing beside him, looking over at the seating area in the corner. He smiled at how interested you seemed in main entrance area alone. When the receptionist addressed him, he turned his attention there.

You wouldn't say this place was posh, but it was just so... classy. You really felt like you stood out in your gear.

"There's only two room available, with the festival in town, we are otherwise full."

All of you looked at the receptionist as if she had grown another head. That meant you would have to share with someone, unless....

"The three of you can share right?" You ask, looking at the three men.

"You mean I have to share a room with Bucky and Zemo? No, why don't we share?" Sam gestured between him and you.

"And leave Bucky alone with Zemo? Is that a good idea?"

"Well, I'm not sharing a room with Zemo."

"Then you have to share with Bucky."

"Which leaves you with Zemo." Sam couldn't see any good combination out of this. "I would rather Bucky than Zemo though."

You glance at Zemo who was looking at you with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Fine. I'll share with Zemo, but I won't hesitate to stab him if he does something," you warn, looking right at the Baron.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." Sam puts his hands up.

Zemo grabs the key cards off the desk, hands one to Sam and keeps hold of the other. Bucky glares at Zemo as you all enter the elevator.

Oh, it's awkward.

Bucky is standing behind Zemo, glaring at the back of his head. Sam is trying not to say anything. Zemo is looking at you from the corner of his eye, and then there's you standing there trying to avoid looking at any of them.

The ride up feels like forever. When the doors open, you're quick to get out. Unfortunately, you can just rush off. Firstly, Zemo has the key. Secondly, you're not sure which way the room is.

For a short bit you all go in the same direction, but Sam and Bucky have to break off down another hall to their room. Sam gives Zemo another warning, before reassuring you they will come quickly if you need them. You nod and let them go.

Helmut leads the way, unlocking the door when you arrive. He holds the door open for you.

"You first, little bird," he smiles as he gestures into the room with his free hand.

You duck past him and go inside.

The room isn't massive, but there's enough room to move around. There's a bed plenty big enough for two, a chair in the corner, a small desk and a stool. A tiny TV was situated on the wall.

It would do.

To be fair, you shouldn't complain. This is the nicest room you've had to stay in for a while. You walk over and sit in the chair.

Zemo places the key on the desk and removes his coat, hanging it in the small open wardrobe by the door. He turns around to face you.

"I apologise for the turn out."

You look at him stoically.

"It's fine."

Zemo was honestly over the moon he was sharing a room with you. He had hoped this would happen, it was an opportunity to talk to you without your "bodyguards" hovering around. Helmut hadn't had much of chance to sit and talk with you since your paths crossed.

"So, sleeping arrangements." Zemo runs his hand together as he looks at the bed.

"You take it. I can sleep in the chair." You were used to it, as much as you would love to relax in the comfortable looking bed. It looked so warm and welcoming.

"I won't allow that. It looks like we'll have to share the bed, little bird." He has a sly grin on his lips as he looks at you.

"You wish."

"There is no point in discomfort if the bed can fit two. I will not allow you to sleep on the floor or the chair. I already know your boys will come running if I step so much out of line. Are you really willing to sacrifice a warm bed for your own pride?"

You glare at him, but it's hardly threatening.

"No."

You stand up and walk over to the bed. You sit down on the other side, the mattress squashing down under you.

"Fine, but I meant it when I said I would stab you."

"I know," he chuckles.

The pair of you met up sigh the boys to have some dinner down in the food hall downstairs. Both boys checked in with you to make sure you were alright with the arrangements. You assured them it was fine, much to Zemo's delight.

Helmut assured you that you could order whatever you wanted, but you kept it pretty casual, not feeling good about leaching off him off him like this.

After the meal, you returned to your room.

You took off most of your gear and grabbed the remote for the TV. You decided to get comfortable in the bed and watch something.

Zemo disappeared into the bathroom to use the shower.

You really tried not to dwell on that too much. Yet, the idea of him in a steamy shower... no! No, you couldn't.

What is wrong with me?

You tried to focus on the TV, but you can't. You glance to the bathroom door. You can hear the shower running. He's in there, hot and wet... and naked.

Damn it brain!

You covered your face with your hands. You wanted to scream, but that would just bring him out to check on you.

You didn't hear the water turn off, or the door unlock moments later. You were far too occupied scolding yourself in your head, trying not to think about him.

"Is something the matter?"

You look up in shock, startled by his voice.

Now you're staring.

He was dressed in only a bathrobe, most of the top was open, his chest on display. There was a chain necklace hanging against the damp skin exposed to you.

You didn't realise the way your eyes soaked him in, or the way you licked your lips as you stared at him.

Zemo noticed.

"See something you like?"

You blink, shake your head, and turn away. He chuckles deeply as comes over to the bed. You feel the otherwise of the mattress dip down as he climbs in.

He smells so good.

Damn it!

You do everything in your power to avoid looking at him, but his presence is so prominent. You can feel him beside you.

Zemo is staring at you. He had been since he came back in. Your cheeks were flushed, you were very early trying to avoid him, and you were gripping the bed sheets like it was a life line.

He couldn't help grinning. He had no idea he could have this effect on you.

"Little bird~"

"Don't call me that."

"Liebling, then."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing bad." He grins.

"I don't trust that."

Zemo shifts so he is resting on his side, one hand supporting his head and the other resting on the bed in front of him. He keeps his eyes on your face.

You take a glance.

His smile grows when you catch his gaze.

You sink down into the bed, still trying not to look at him. Your eyes on the TV, but you still have no idea what's going on. You can't get him out of your head.

"You must be tired."

"A bit."

"Sleep, I promise I won't do anything," he speaks softly.

"I know."

He chuckles softly. He watches as you try and get more comfortable. You let out a relieved sigh when you find the right spot. He just watches you.

"This must be nice for you," you say, looking up at the ceiling.

"What do you mean?"

"Staying in a lavish hotel, sleeping in a big bed... and the company."

"I suppose. Though you get used to being alone in a cell," he states.

You give in and roll over, racing him. You have to look up since he is propped up over you. He smiles softly down at you.

The scent of the hotel soap wafts past your nose. God, it makes you want to do things.

Brain, stop it.

Your eyes are drifting to his chest again.

"What's going through that head of yours?"

"Nothing!"

"I don't believe you."

"Well it's the truth."

"I don't think so," he whispers.

"What do you think then?"

"Judging by the way you keep looking at me, and not at my eyes I might add, I think you have plenty on your mind."

"Well," you try not to blush too much as you meet his beautiful brown eyes, "if you knew how to tie a robe properly, I wouldn't be staring."

"I don't mind you staring."

"I mind." You sit up and glare at him.

"Show me how to tie a robe then." Zemo sits up in the bed and untied the belt, allowing the robe to fall open. He sits there looking smugly at you.

You have no idea where to look.

"Oh my God!"

He laughs. The sound send shivers down your spine. It was the most genuine sound you had ever heard. He may laughing at you, but you would give anything to hear that sound again.

"Show me."

You shake out of your thoughts and look at the belt he has left laying on either side of him. You have to move closer to him to get a good angle. You sit up and face him, trying to avoid straddling him. You grab the robe and close it over him, trying so hard not to stare. Though, your eyes did wonder, you stopped yourself when you realised he is literally only wearing the robe.

One of his hands reach up and tuck under your chin, bringing your eyes to meet his. The smile on his face is subtle. His eyes take in your beauty.

"Don't be shy. You can look."

You shake your head softly and continue to close his robe, ignoring the obvious below his waist. Was he really turned on by this?

His hand had drifted from your chin to your cheek. His thumb brushed gently across your cheekbone as you tied the belt around him. This time there was far less on view.

"Done," you whisper.

His thumb moves to brush against your bottom lip. His touch is so gentle and ghost like. Your hands are resting over his covered chest. You can feel his heart beating under your hand.

Before you can think too much about it, his arms are looping around you and pulling you down into his chest. Your face falls inches away from his face. His eyes flicker over your face, taking in every little detail. Your leg drapes over his as he captures your lips with his. He's careful to roll you over so you're against the bed and he's over you. His kiss becomes more fierce when he realises you're not pushing him away. Your hands loop around his neck to hold him against you. He moves from your lips to your jaw, down your neck, pulling at the collar of your top to kiss as much skin as can access.

That's when you stop him. You place your hands on his shoulders and push him back.

"This is wrong..."

"You weren't giving that impression," he moves his face back to yours, an inch of space rests between you.

"Zemo-"

"Helmut, please."

"Helmut... I can't. It feels like I'm betraying their trust."

"They'll never have to know."

"But I'll carry that guilt with me."

Those stunning eyes of his turn almost sad. His tongue runs across his bottom lip as he moves from above you. Zemo settles on side next to you, laying as close as he can to you.

"Then allow me tonight to hold you. I may not get this chance again." He holds his arm open to you.

You admire his messy hair and soft gaze. He offers you a tiny smile. You roll over and settle into his chest, his arm drapes around you and he gathers you into his embrace. He plants a kiss to your head as you rest against his chest.

"Sleep. I want to hold you for a while."

You tilt your head up to kiss his jaw and settle into his arms, closing your eyes and listening to the way his heart races.

You wanted to tell yourself Zemo was just lonely, but as you lay there with him, you wondered of he held you in high regard. Perhaps there was more to this than you were thinking.

In the morning when you wake, you're still tangling in his arms. Your head was on his chest, his arms were still wrapped around you, though loosely. Your legs were tangled with his and his head nestled against yours.

You lay there in silence.

You're not sure how much time passed before he woke, but you had enjoyed every single second of it.

When he realised you were still resting against him, he tightened his hold on your and planted a kiss to your head, much like he had done before you fell asleep.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Liebling."

"I still don't know what that means," you mutter, not wanting to disturb the peace that had settled over you.

"I'll tell you later," he grins.

"I haven't slept that well in ages."

"I can say the same," he opens his eyes and looks at you, giving you a dashing smile.

"I almost don't want to get up."

"Then don't."

"We'll have to at some point," you tell him.

He chuckles softly as he closes his eyes again, nestling his face next to yours.

"We'll worry about that later. For now, let me enjoy this moment."

You smile and get comfortable against him.

"Alright."

Sam and Bucky and would throw a fit if they could see you now, but even that wouldn't be enough to stop how happy this man had made you in one night.

You hoped that, perhaps, you would get a second chance to do this. Maybe then you'll give him what he wanted last night.

Maybe, just maybe, something irreversible had begun.

@ajeff855 @moonstuffsteve @sky-writes-stuff @lieutenantn

[scuttle-buttle]

WC: 1973

Rated: E

Tags: technically unprotected smut, fluff, tiny bit of german

✈

“Have you checked the gauges?”

“Yes, Niki,” you huff at his question through your microphone. This was at least the third time he’d asked you to go over everything.

“What about fuel?”

You point to the little meter that showed the tank levels. “Still full.” Your husband turns to face you in the cockpit of the small plane. The look he gives you is one of false annoyance. You know he’s just doing this to be as safe as possible, to minimize risk. “Sorry, sorry,” you offer him a guilty grin. Your husband’s brow cocks before he turns back to the dashboard panel.

His little private jet only held capacity for maybe 8 people total, but today it was just you and your husband. He always said he would teach you how to fly but you never figured that you would be brave enough to follow through with learning. Now here you sit, engine purring under you, a pair of thick headphones over your ears. For the first time Niki was going to let you handle your flight - all of it. Of course, he still had the ability to use the controls on his side of the small cabin, but he made it clear that he would only do so in case of a serious emergency.

“Everything has been checked over and ready for flight,” you confirm.

He tilts his head to offer you a smile. “Gut. When you are ready, Liebling.”

Taking a deep breath, you open up the radio communication line with the air traffic control tower. You recite the technical jargon that Niki had taught you. “This is Lauda 1 requesting clearance for taxi and take off on runway B, north side, over.”

Static comes over the line for a second. “Lauda 1 you are cleared to taxi and take off from runway B, north side, over.”

You release the brakes before pushing the throttle the faintest amount. With one hand on the yoke and the other on the lever you slowly guide the plane towards the runway. It had taken a good six months of Niki being annoyed at you calling it a ‘steering wheel’ before you finally called it by its proper term.

You lined the nose of the plane up with the lines on the runway tarmac. Once you are satisfied with your positioning you pause to let the turbines rev and build up power. With a swallow you lean towards Niki. “You won’t let me fuck this up and kill us both, right?”

“Of course not. But you don’t need to worry about that, you will be fine, Liebe. I know it.” He’s relaxed next to you, as though he’s at home sitting on the couch reading one of his racing magazines.

“If you say so. I love my brother but I’ll be damned if James gets custody of the girls,” you snark with a laugh, all while releasing the brake and pushing the throttle again. Niki’s own snort can be heard over your radio headset.

The plane accelerates under your guidance. You maintain a firm but steady grip on the controls; finally you push the thrust lever all the way. The small aircraft wobbles with friction as it speeds down the track. Suddenly, the front lifts, giving a weightless calm as the nose begins to ascend into the air.

Once you have gotten far enough off the ground you flip the switch to raise the landing gear. Niki has been silent letting you work the last five minutes or so. Over the crackle of your headsets he instructs you “that was very good. Now get us to cruising altitude.”

“Yes, sir,” you acknowledge with a mock salute.

This is by no means the first time you have been in a plane, let alone flying a plane, with your husband. But it is the first time that it is you truly flying. As you travel you admire the view in front of you. It felt like you were seeing the clouds and the sunshine for the first time. The blue nearly overwhelmed you with its vibrancy. You couldn’t help but bite your lip to hold back the way your cheeks threatened to split with how hard you were beaming. Every so often you remember to check back on the gauges and meters to ensure that everything is working properly.

You don’t notice how your husband watches you from the seat beside yours. He admires your confidence at the new skill, completing the tasks with ease. He admires how bright your eyes are, lit by happiness and the light of the sky outside the windows. He admires the fact that even after close to fifteen years of marriage you still humor him and his passions.

When you finally break away from the view to look over at Niki he’s already got his eyes on you. His bottom lip is caught in his teeth. “What?” He raises his brows in question at you. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Can I not look at my meine schöne Frau?” he teases you. Even after so many years you still feel the heat rise in your cheeks when he calls you beautiful. “You look good flying my plane. You should do it more often.” Both of your hands remain on the yoke; his hand comes to rest on your thigh, giving you a little squeeze. He leaves it there the rest of the flight.

After maybe an hour or two you have circled the jet back towards the airport. Calling in, you get clearance to land on the same runway you had departed from. Carefully you lower the plane’s altitude to prepare for landing. Flipping the switch, you can just hear the grind of the wheels as they lower.

“The trick here is-”

“You want to line the stripes on the runway next to the nose visually, otherwise it’ll be crooked and I’ll go off the tarmac,” you finish for him.

He chuckles. “See, I don’t even know why I’m here. You don’t need me.”

“Of course I need you, I always need you, Niki.”

He lets you focus as you pull back on the throttle and slow your speed, further lowering to the ground. You line up just as he taught you with the painted runway up ahead. Gently you touch down, the plane jolts as it makes contact. You brake the jet to an acceptable speed to taxi. Adrenaline courses through you. I just flew a plane! you cheer to yourself.

Once the vehicle is parked within the hangar you shut off the engine. Quickly you leave the cockpit to stretch your legs in the spacious passenger cabin. Turning to your husband, your jaw is dropped. “Is this what it feels like? Every time you drove the car? Christ, Niki, I feel like I could do anything! The absolute rush!” Niki has come up behind you, so you face him before bringing his lips to meet your own.

The kiss is full of passion and energy. It deepens as you stand there in the middle of the cabin. You push him away and down into a couch-like seat. He grunts in surprise when you forcibly yank his pants from his hips. When they are to his knees you give up in favor of pulling off your own. Niki wastes no time in tugging you back to him, his mismatched lips attaching themselves to the column of your throat. You, in turn, drag your heat along his hardening shaft. When he is ready you push his cock inside your throbbing core with a groan.

Breathily, you ask “why have we never done this before now?”

His mouth moves away from your jaw to meet your gaze. “Fucked on a plane? I didn’t know you wanted to,” he huffs in amusement.

You start to push and pull your hips at a dizzying pace above him. With each pump the ridge of his cock hits you perfectly. Niki tosses his head back in pleasure, a long moan tumbling out as your walls squeeze him. His hands help to guide your hips as you ride him. “They don’t call it joining the Mile High Club for nothing, love.”

“Not sure-” he grunts at a particularly hard snap of your pelvis “-this counts.”

You shove your fingers between his curls, a bit shorter and a few streaks of silver lining near his temples, and pull his head to rest against yours. “Are you complaining?” you breathe out along his lips. Never once does your pace falter. Instead of answering he gives you a bruising kiss.

It isn’t long before his thumb finds your center, rubbing harsh patterns against your aching clit. He knows exactly how to toss you into the abyss; exactly when you are near shattering. Within seconds you are shouting out his name, clenching around his still-pistoning cock. His own cries of bliss come shortly after.

Resting atop him, Niki rubs his fingers along your clothed back. You hum into his throat where your head lays. “You did so well today, Liebling. I’m very proud of you. Pretty soon you’ll be a better pilot than me.”

You smile into him. “Bullshit,” you laugh. “Me compared to the great Niki Lauda? Impossible.” You pinch the softness of his side.

He gives a laugh of his own, his chest rising with the action. “You never know, could surprise us all.”

You roll your head onto his shoulder to be able to look up at him better. “Mmm, but with you I’ve always known.”

Niki drops a sweet kiss to you. His expression is delicate as he peers down at where you sit atop him. He scrunches his nose as he tells you “I think I knew first. I know I did.”

You study his face for a moment. His tone is confident, like there’s no way he could possibly be wrong about when you first got together so many years ago. You know that the moment for you was pretty early, before you officially even went on your first date. Curiosity wins out. “Oh really?” You sit up on his lap. “And when was that, since you’re so sure?”

“I asked if you would rather go with Hunt than come see me at Ferrari. You nearly jumped out of your skin with how hard you cringed at the idea of him.”

You’re shocked by his confession. “Alright but he’s my brother,” you groan and laugh at the same time, “and…” you think back to that day, “wasn’t that maybe five minutes after we’d met?”

“Yes, but I did not know that at the time. I thought, ‘hmm, an attractive woman that doesn’t want to sleep with that arschloch but instead visit me at the track? She’s someone special’. And I wasn’t wrong.” He brushes a thumb on the skin of your cheek.

“You know, you always tell me that you aren’t good at these things. Romance and the like.” You look up at him from under your lashes.

“And?”

“That was such a lie, Niki. You’re always so sweet to me.”

“Only you, Liebe.”

The two of you right yourselves to leave the airport for the day. The sky is clear as you walk to his car parked outside the hangar. Reaching out, you find your husband’s hand and hold it tight. “So, when can we do this again?”

He turns to face you from where he stands next to you. “That eager for more already?”

“It’s addicting, Lauda,” you shoot back playfully. So many times since you met he had described the drive or flying as addicting. To be faster, to be better, to go harder.

Niki stops suddenly, lips pursing. “Just to be clear, are you talking about flying or the sex?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” you wink.

Tag list: @ay0nha @apparrio @livvyshmiv @fictionlandslanddreams @vinylrosess @typical-bistander @ntlmundy @mymagicsuitcase @anteroom-of-death @somethingthatsaysbubbles @lieutenantn @multiversemarielle @trashbin2 @whatawildone @metalbreakfast @laura-naruto-fan1998 @greeneyedblondie44 @godidontevenknowwhat @marchingicenotes7 @mysticalexpertdaze

@loliissmut @fandom-princess-forevermore

[imagines4thepeeps]

I took him underneath my wing And that is where he stayed (Rosie Betzler x reader)

request from @stephanieromanoff: Hii! I truly loved your Rosie Betzler fic, and it’s a shame that there aren’t any fics with her here. I wanted to request Rosie x fem! reader where Jojo finds out that they’re together, he could react a little badly (he probably would honestly) but then Rosie has a talk with him and he ends up accepting the reader.

a/n: I hope you like it!

warning: homophobia, nazis

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

"(y/n)!" Rosie calls through the house, her voice filling the air. Your eyes snap to her immediately, assuming the worst. She notices. She always does. She doesn't let onto you yet though, coming to stand in front of you. Your grin widens as you wipe your sudsy hands on your apron. The minimal dishes in the sink are long forgotten as you are swept into her emerald eyes. She notices this too.

"You need to relax Mein Blume, Jojo is gone for the weekend, and all the curtains are neatly drawn just how you like them." She drawls with a mocking tone. You scowl.

"How I like them?" You ask exasperatedly.

"Oh here we go again......," She moves to wrap her arms around your waist. A flood of warmth fills you as your human safety blanket curls around you. "That's not what I meant Liebling," she mumbles into your neck, you laugh at the ticklish feeling.

"I know I know," you exaggerate as you move to meet her eyes once again. "I have something for you Mein Tänzer." Rosie quirks an eyebrow as you disappear outside. You return a few moments later, your hands neatly tucked behind your back. You stay quiet as you reveal the gift, a single red rose.

"(y/n)! it's wonderful, how did you-... oh nevermind," she crosses to you, setting the flower gingery on the counter. Her ruby lips plant a soft kiss on your nose. "What am I gonna do with you romantisch?" She questions you, a suggestive ebb to her voice.

"A kiss would suffice for now I think Sonnenschein." She nods as if it was exactly what she had been thinking. You are surrounded by her in every way. The world around you crumbling for this rare but monumental moment. In her lips came back the normalcy in the world. She smiled her earth-shattering smile as she pulled away from you. Both of your chests heaved from the heart-stopping kiss. She couldn't help but feel giddy at the sight of the red that now stained your mouth. On the earth, there were only two at that moment (y/n) and ros-.

Your heads whirled, as the clanking of metal sounded through the room like a gunshot. You shot apart in an instant, the jarring reality of where you were flooding back. It was Jojo. His shoe was untied, of course, and his knife dropped in shock. This wasn't how you had planned it.

"Jojo?" Rosie asked," why home so earl-"

"Don't!" the boy yelled out interrupting his mother. You prayed that no one could hear. "How could you," he picked up his knife placing it back inside the sheath," Hitler says-"

"Who cares what that tiny mustached lunatic says?" Rosie asked her son her fire having been lit. She moved to his level. Your legs were still frozen, the boy briefly glancing between you both.

"But my father?"

"Isn't here! Was never here." Rosie finishes for him. She glances back at you gesturing for you to come forward. You obey, your legs like jelly as you approach the mother and son. You kneel down in front of Jojo, Rosie's hand slipping comfortably into yours.

"Who was there when you learned to ride a bike, and not once ever let you hit the ground?"

"(y/n)",the boy mumbled in response.

"Who bathed you, fed you, and clothed you, and worked her fingers to the bone for us to be able to keep our house and you in school?"  

Rosie looked her son in the eye but didn't wait for a response. "Matter of fact! who taught you how to read? Or tie a tie? or plant flowers? Was it your father?" The boy shook his head, his eyes lingering on his untied shoe. Rosie followed his eye-line, she always notices.

"She's still working on that! but I swear to god Jojo if she hasn't been as much of a parent to you as I have, then I have failed you mein süßer Junge." A few escaped tears rolled down her face, her grip on your hand unwavering. Jojo sniffled too, you reached quickly to wipe both of their sadness away. Both knew all too well how you hated to see them cry.

You spoke for the first time since the boy's unexpected arrival. Your hand still remaining on his cheek. "I'm not asking to be your mom Jojo or for you to forget your father, or even for you to accept this," you gestured between Rosie and you. "I just want you to know that I love you, Bohnensprosse, and I'm asking you, as someone who loves you, to please never speak of anything you saw here tonight, ok?"

You weren't sure what you were expecting, but a timid nod from the boy definitely wasn't it. You and Rosie beamed at the boy's assurance.

"I love you too," the boy whispered as he pulled his moms in for a hug.

[sorenskyhigh]

Ok... this boy in my school that I'm friends with and likes me can speak fucking Korean and it just does something to me. I keep telling myself that 2D boys are better than 3D boys but like I cannot help it (he is from fucking Ireland btw). Anyway, if you get where I'm going with this... Tendou, Aone, Kenma and a character of choice with a spouse who can speak a different language... be creative with the languages queen and go crazy. Also as a scenario :) THANKS BESTIE :)

Ooooo i love this! Yes! I gotchu! Need a reminder of the real good men, FICTIONAL

A s/o Who Speaks Another Language

Includes Tendou Satori, Aone Takanobu, Kozume Kenma, and of course my pick is gonna be Kuroo Tetsurou but just for fun I'm gonna throw in Hanamaki Takahiro

Tendou Satori

Satori loved being in France, the language, like any, was hard to learn. Still, he loved everything about the culture here. You being his language tutor was a big help as well.

Since most all of your conversations were in French, unless you were practicing your Japanese (you wanted to learn it for him), Satori never knew you were fairly fluent in Arabic.

Arabic is one of a few of the most spoken languages in France (next to French of course and contending with Spanish, German and couple of others), so a good many people could speak it but Satori had no idea you could.

The first time he heard you speak it when you were trying to give someone directions.

You both were lounging about in the grass in The Champ de Mars, the Eiffel Tower at your backs.

It was a day off for Satori and he wanted you both to have a fun lunch out. Satori and you had both worked and cooked up a lunch to take with you to eat out in the sunshine.

You both were munching on some food, his long arm around your waist as you leaned into him when a work friend of yours came up to you.

"Hey, y/n, can you give her directions? She's trying to find her hotel I think?"

"Sure," you said, before standing up and engaging her in conversation. Turns out she was trying to find the Pullman hotel, it was known for its great view of the Eiffel Tower.

She was an older women and had no idea how to use her maps on her phone.

You gave her some quick help before she was on her way. Your friend thanked you, telling you they had no idea what to do and were so glad they saw you.

With a goodbye you turned around to join Satori and his eyes were wide in cartoony shock. You chuckle a little.

"What?"

"I didn't know you could speak, well I don't exactly know what language that was but, that was really amazing!" With that he jumped up and wrapped his arms around you , kissing the top of your head incessantly.

"Yeah, there were a lot of people at my old job that couldn't speak French very well so I learned Arabic to help them out."

"Arabic? Is that what that was?" He pulled away to look at you in excitement, his eyebrows shooting to the stars. His smile was wide and ever so slightly crooked.

"Yes," you barely get out through your giggling.

"You sounded so beutiful!" You could practically see the hearts in his eyes as he stared at you.

"Thank you, it's been awhile,-" Satori cut you off before you could dog yourself.

"Oh, my dear Paradise, as always you sound lovely. No matter the language."

He proceeded to quiet your protests of how shit your thought you were in Japanese with a rather passionate kiss.

He always surprised you with these in public. Satori wasn't shy to show affection in public, he just doesn't show it like this much.

You had to stop him when his long fingered and boney hands slowly wrapped themsleves around your ass cheeks.

Aone Takanobu

Nobu never said it, but he loved the German nicknames you gave him.

He truly loved a of them. Like when you call him your Liebling (darling) when you're asking for him to grab you something you can't reach. Then there's Schnucki when he does something cute or sweet, like when he got you something you had been wanting for a long time for your birthday.

All of these and the many more you use are great, but his favorite is when you call him your Knuddelbär. He melts when you refer to him as your cuddly bear.

You tended to use it when, obviously, you two were cuddling. Like tonight. You both were cuddled together in bed, his big, strong arms wrapped around you with his nose firmly planted onto the crown of your head, taking in your scent.

You had your face securely settled into his broad chest. His large heart beating and rumbling through your skull. It was relaxing.

Nobu liked feeling your smaller heart as well. He's such a big guy that, it didn't matter how big you were, he was bigger and absolutely loved it.

You were mostly asleep as you intook a large breath before sighing contentedly. You were barely able to get out a mumbled, "Knuddelbär," before completely passing out.

Nobu was officially awake, his face red as hell, and his mouth stretched into a massive smile as always. He sighed lightly into your scalp as he squeezed his eyes closed.

His arms wrapped around you a little tighter as it always did. His lips barely forming a kiss to place on your head.

Nobu knew he wouldn't be able to sleep for awhile. He just loved it too much.

Kozume Kenma

You played game with Kenma all the time. And he loved it. His absolute favorite thing is when you get angry and start angrily yelling.

You'd always revert to Filipino when you'd get angry. Kenma didn't like seeing you irritated or angry per se. But he did love see you get angry at video games. Of course he wanted to be happy and live happily and comfortably, but he always at the very least, cracked a smile when you'd start angrily yelling about who knows what when something happens in a game.

Like right now. There was a level you both were trying to get through. Kenna kept getting a little behind because he wanted all the extra stuff in the level. You on the other hand were trying to keep the bad guys off his back.

It was always in the same spot. Seven tries now, where you had died and had to restart the level. You were so angry that you kept making smaller and more ridiculous mistakes as you both went on.

Well you had a enough. It started out with gritted teeth mumbles as you about broke your controller from the grip you had on it.

Kenma told you to wait for him but that just angered you more. You wanted to get through this level. Honestly it wasn't even that. You wanted to destroy that mini boss.

The idea consumed your entire being. It needed to be destroyed or you wouldn't be able to sleep or rest.

So you charged forward and were taking it on on your own and, well, you were obliterated, once again.

Your hands shook as you death-grip clenched the controller. Your entire figure was shaking with rage. You were going to explode in three.......two.........one........

Now you were angrily yelling at the game and controller in Filipino. Kenma just sat there, too. Oh-so-calmly was he, with is controller in hand. His back slumped with terri ke posture as his lips lifted ever so slightly into a smile. He tried to hide it, he really did.

Kenma knew all too well what it was like to be in this situation. He had raged on camera definitely more than once for this very same reason.

But he just couldn't help it. You were all worked up and angrily pointing your finger at the screen after you had just as angrily thrown your controller on the couch.

Kenma stood up and very silently pinned your arms against your sides. He looked you straight in the eye for a moment. He liked to see you get angry, but he also knew when you should calm down and relax.

"Puddin'," he said very calmly and quietly. You stopped, smoke practically spewing from your ears. He simply wrapped his arms around you, still holding your arms down. You slowly lifted your arms as much as you could, and hugged him back.

He very lightly kissed you on your cheek before starting to rock you both back and forth. Nothing was said; nothing needed to be said.

Kuroo Tetsurou

Tetsu loved hearing you speak Spanish. He loved learning about the difference in the Spanish spoken in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and all the others.

You knew so much about the history of the language and how the culture in each country would change that slang so much. He loved when you would go on long tangents about it.

Tetsu especially loved when you sang in Spanish. His absolute favorite thing is when he get home from work absolutely exhausted and he hears you singing away as you're cleaning, making dinner, in the tub, or whatever it is that you're doing.

For example, on this particular evening, you were taking a much needed soak in the tub. Lovely smelling soaps and a couple of candles to give a nice dim light for a nice calm vibe.

Bubbles tickled your chin as you sang away. The noise echoing slightly against the walls around you. It didn't matter whether you had a magnificent voice, an average one, or a terrible one. You were just enjoying the moment.

You heard the front door handle jangle and knew Tetsu was home. You continued to sing as you heard the door open and close. The shuffle of him replacing his shoes with house slippers skitter down the hall to you.

You hear him coming closer, dropping his suitcase and then haphazardly throwing his suit jacket, more than likely on the back of the couch.

You continued to sing as his steps got closer. Then you heard a shuffle at the doorway. You opened your eyes and looked. There stood Kuroo Tetsurou, his black button up shirt stressed across his chest, his tie dangling around his neck.

He stood against the door frame, eyes closed as he listened to you. His eyes looked tired, the same as his small smile.

You continued to sing. You sang and sang until the end of the song. At the end, Tetsu smiled so happily. He opened his hazel/yellow eye to look at you. His smile quirked into a smirk as he took some tired and lazy steps towards you.

He sat himself on the edge of the tub. "Mmmmmm, my Spanish Siren. Trying to sing me a song to pull me under the depths to have her way with me, then leave my carcass for the sharks." He snorted a little at the end as he gave slow loving strokes to your cheek.

You hmmed in satisfaction before oh so calmly saying," Like this?" With that you grabbed his arm and caught him by surprise, making it easy to tug him into the full tub, water splashing out onto the tiled floors. His loud, raucous laughter as well as yours rang throughout your home.

Hanamaki Takahiro

You are his baby, his sweetheart, his lovely. Hiro loved you so much. Everything about you just amazed him. One of the many things that just amazed him, was how you sounded speaking Italian.

The first time he heard you, he was blown away. Your voice was so sexy, not that it wasn't when you spoke Japanese. There was just something about it though that he found incredible.

Hiro would urge you constantly to speak in Italian and even teach him a little. You spoke it so much that he, naturally, picked things up.

He always tells you that him speaking Italian just did not have the same ring to it as you.

"Kah-"

"Kah-"

"Mirrah-"

"Mirrah-"

"Day-"

"Day-"

"Laetto."

"Raetto."

"See, you've almost got it. Camera de letto. Try again." You say. Hiro had been wanting to learn how to say bedroom in Italian. He was having some troubles but he was surprisingly good with learning it though.

He sighed in slight defeat. "I just can't do it like you do, la mia gioia." He loved referring to you as is 'joy' but in Italian.

"Please, just one more time," you encourage him.

"I think i need a little incentive, la mia gioia," he looked at you with a small sly smirk.

You sigh before turning to him, "Quindi vuoi incentivi? Che ne dici se smetto di aiutarti?" (So you want incentives? How about if I stop helping you?)

"Oh, you sound so sexy," you cut him off with a loud laugh.

Im sorry it took so long to get this out! I've been feeling a little better and have been having actual ambition to write and wanted to do my best! Thank you as always for sending in an ask!!

@kneecapstealingalien @multifandombrainrot @vaniatslover @popcorntime-doodles @i-need-coffee-now-pls @jiheonity @shadowsbutdead @goshikisimp @anothershadeofpink @mestayanon @ghostexhibit @smallmangi @thatfunnysprout @backalley-astrologer @itsallgonnabokayihope @g00s3 @boreateo @weareallhumans123 @lil-mellow-bunbun @strawberrymakki @beelziee @mehreenackerman @taiyahhh @sakusasgerm @cr4z3d-cl0wn @detective-lazy @mainnews32 @turtletris2tumble @oshun22 @syirahtorizawa @wouldsimply31 @sadisticbelle @queenkaye33 @h3nta1t0ast3r

[bestie-enthusiast]

Chapter 1: Prologue

This is the Prologue to my PTA! Dad! Zemo fanfiction. It is the second of 11 chapters.

The Previous Chapter is for Character Introductions, if you want a more gentle introduction into this au, go check it out.

Fic summary: After the untimely death of both his wife and father due to a bombing, Baron Helmut Zemo takes his son and immigrates to America. He does not expect to find a family nor a romantic partner, and he especially does not expect to find the ability to heal. To grieve.

And yet, here we are.

This is a story about connections, growing, healing and mourning the past while still appreciating the future and all it has to offer.

Lenght: 1428 Words

If this interests you, keep reading!

“Are you ready, Carl?” Zemo asked his son, using their native tongue. He wanted his son to grow up knowing the history of their family, despite the fact that their country had been wiped off the map in all ways but physical. Carl was already fluent in Sokovian of course, as well as English and French, but he did not want his son to get rusty just because they were no longer living in Sokovia.

“Yes, papa!” His son responded excitedly, standing impatiently at the door while his father put his shoes on. He was starting at his new, American, school today. Even though he was sad to leave his home and old school, his new home was very big and exciting, and papa had told him that his new school would be “just fine.”

“Alright, come now schatz.” His father opened the door and gently took his hand. Carl eagerly skipped along the sidewalk as they walked to his new school. He was wearing his new clothes, and papa had said he looked like a gentleman. His papa was also wearing new clothes, he had a fancy coat with fur.

They eventually made it to his new school and Carl paused, looking at his father with uncertainty.

“Do not worry, my liebling. It is only for some hours and then you can come home.” His father reassured him, and Carl warily stepped into the school grounds. He continued walking, eventually finding a group of children playing hopscotch. They let him join, and soon enough he had entirely forgotten about his nervousness.

Zemo stared at his son, smiling slightly with relief when Carl found some children to play with. He was glad that Carl was able to find some children to join. The two children looked like brothers.

“Are you new to the neighborhood?” He heard someone ask beside him. He looked over, seeing a snarky faced woman. She had clearly dyed her hair a horrible blonde, and had a rather obvious fake tan.

“Ah, yes. We have just recently moved here.” He replied with a smile. It was difficult to take his eyes off of his son, but it would be more polite to look at the woman while they conversed, so he managed. He noticed her assessing his outfit and his smile grew a little more tense.

“Are you the one that bought that great big house over… oh whats the street name…” Zemo’s smile grew strained but he reluctantly prattled off the name. “Oh yes that's it! Me and my husband had been planning on buying it, you know but-” Zemo tuned her out, still politely nodding and making eye contact, but not really processing what she was saying.

“Carol!” Another voice shouted out, this time a kind looking woman. She bore a resemblance to the two boys his son was playing with, so perhaps she was their mother. Either way, she earned some respect from him, after all she was getting him out of this dreadfully boorish conversation.

The lady who he had been talking to scoffed under her breath, making him frown. How horribly impolite. “What do you want, Sarah?” She asked rudely, scowling deeply at the other women. Zemo was confused, this other lady, named Sarah apparently, appeared very kind.

“I just wanted to let you know that Hunter is throwing another fit.” Sarah responded, her once sweet smile turning a more sickly sweet, the smile of a woman who knew she had won. The rude woman, Carol, stomped off in a huff, over in the direction where a crying child was throwing themself around on the ground. Zemo grimaced slightly, some people should not have children. He turned to Sarah, giving her a slight smile.

“Hello,” He greeted, eyes flickering over to Carl briefly. He was still playing with the two boys. They had moved onto a different game, he noticed.

“Hey! Sorry about the intrusion, not that you looked like you were enjoying the conversation much.” Zemo let out a little chuckle, that was accurate.

“It is water under the bridge. You are correct, I was not all that interested in what she had to say. I apologise if this is impolite, but are those two boys yours?” He asked, pointing at the brothers that appeared to be teaching Carl some sort of game.

“Yeah, they are. Is that your kid with them then?” She asked back, and Zemo nodded. Carl seemed to be having fun, that was all that mattered. The loud bell suddenly rang, making him flinch slightly. He could see Carl jump in surprise, but he got over it quickly and rushed into line with his new friends.

“That’s a rather loud bell.” He commented quietly, waving to Carl as he went inside. There was a rather attractive man holding one of the doors open for the kids. That was one of the teachers, if he was remembering correctly. Mr. Barnes, although he went by Mr. Bucky, or more simply Bucky. Zemo licked his lips slightly, missing the beginning of Sarah’s reply.

“-get used to it. But considering how old your kid is, I’m assuming you’re not from around here?” Zemo shook his head, both in response and to clear it.

“Ah, no. My son and I recently immigrated from Sokovia.” He explained, watching as the last of the children trailed into the building. He took a deep breath and turned back to Sarah, who was already looking at him with a peculiar expression on her face.

“Sokovia?”

“Sokovia. It is a small European country located close to Serbia.” Sarah nodded and held out her hand. He gave it a firm shake, and gave her another small smile.

“Well, it was certainly nice meeting you, Mister…”

“Zemo. And you as well Miss...:”

“Wilson.” She obliged with a laugh, waving him goodbye as she started to walk down the sidewalk. Zemo spent a moment longer looking at the school, before starting his own walk home. He lived a fair distance away from the school, close enough that he could still walk with Carl on days with kind weather. On other days with worse weather? Well Oeznik could drive them.

As soon as he arrived home he jumped into his work day. Many things around the estate needed sorting out, and he was also sorting out all of his income and income sources. The day went by very quickly, and soon enough he was telling Oeznik to prepare the car so that he could pick Carl up. He flawlessly parked along the sidewalk and began the short walk over to the school.

The school day had yet to end, but he had spotted Sarah, so he made his way over to wait with her.

“Hello again, Ms. Wilson.” He greeted, giving her a slight smile.

Sarah looked at him and smiled back, hers much brighter than his. “Well, hello stranger.” She joked, hiding her smile when he once again flinched at the loud bell.

“It is so unnecessarily loud,” he complained under his breath. Sharon laughed and turned towards the school, prompting Zemo to do so as well. It took him a moment, but he soon located Carl, who was also with Sharon’s two sons. He waved and Carl waved back, weaving through the students and parents milling around. Zemo bent down and scooped him up, giving him a tight hug before setting him back down. He could see Sarah looking at him out of the corner of her eye as she greeted her own two kids.

“You really love him, huh?” She said quietly, looking at Carl as he gestured wildly in the conversation he had started with Sarah’s two boys.

“He is my everything.” Zemo replied, just as quietly, staring at his precious son. He suddenly cleared his throat, startling Sarah slightly. He would not start to cry like some of the other parents, he was a baron, nothing more, nothing less. “I will be seeing you tomorrow, yes Ms. Wilson?” He asked.

“Yes of course, and you can just call me Sarah.” She replied, giving him a soft smile. He returned it and gently rubbed Carl’s back, telling him it was time to go. Carl eagerly followed him to the car. It wasn’t the most fancy or expensive car he owned by far, but it was luxurious and comfortable. Once he had made sure that Carl was safely buckled, and started to drive home.

Carl told him all about his day, and for the first time in a long while, Zemo allowed himself to completely relax.

Tagging: @morganbritton132 (who provided the idea for this fic) and @i-ll-be-the-moon (who is very nice and wanted to read it <3)

[holidaywishes]

i can’t carry this anymore

part twelve: i can’t carry this anymore

  Summary: After Freddie goes back to Toronto, You are bombarded with questions and judgements from your family

  Warning: mostly angst but some fluff as well

  Author’s Note: Here is the angsty chapter, yay! I think I’ve only done angsty sections in this series but this chapter will be (almost) completely angst, with a touch of fluff to round it out, which either means it’s really long or really short. Since I haven’t written it yet, I can’t say yet. Also! I’ve been listening to this song nonstop and I love it. I wanted to put it into something but I didn’t really know how but then this idea of a death in the family came up and it seemed fitting. I hope you enjoy it! Stay Golden, Loves! ❤️

  masterlist

  the other masterlist

  Song Credit: I Can’t Carry This Anymore -- Anson Seabra

xx

  You hated watching Freddie leave and that Vita had to see her parents fight but you were too stubborn to admit you were wrong.

  “Why did you tell him to leave?” your mom asked

  “Mom, please” you groaned

  “Why did you let him leave?” Lauren added

  “I. Have. To. Be. Here,” you explained, emphasizing each word bitingly, “I made a promise to everyone and I can’t just bail because he needs to get back to training”

  “Baby,” your dad added softly, “it’s his job, he’s committed to it”

  “But it’s not that simple, dad,” you sighed, “he never talked to me about this. I wake up and he’s telling me we have to leave. I get that he’s committed to his job and I love that about him but this is something that is happening with me and he shouldn’t just expect me to bail on it because he needs me to”

  “Sometimes you need to compromise!” Lauren argued

  “What do you know about any of it, Laur?”

  “Hey now,” your mom tried, “don’t talk like that”

  “No, I’m serious. I’m really curious, mom,” you continued, talking about your sister as if she weren’t there, “She’s never had to compromise with anyone. Ever. Her relationships have always been easy!”

  “THAT’S NOT TRUE!” Lauren yelled

  “Girls...” your dad tried

  “All relationships need work, including mine. All relationships need to have some kind of compromise--”

  “I DO COMPROMISE!” You interrupted, “the father of my child is gone days, weeks at a time. I didn’t get to have a honeymoon because the hockey season started. I’ve spent more time talking about the Stanley Cup than I have about birthday parties and engagement parties and Christmases. He gave me a beautiful wedding and a beautiful daughter and he loves me every day and I love him every day but this was one thing, one thing that I needed him to compromise on and he wouldn’t”

  “Because of his job!” Lauren repeated

  “IT DOESN’T MATTER, LAUREN!” You yelled back, “this is my grandparents funeral. It doesn’t just end when they’re cremated or when their ashes are spread where they wanted, it doesn’t end for us the way it ends for everyone else. He should’ve understood that!”

  “HE WANTED TO BE HOME WITH YOU SO YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO STRESS OVER DUMB SHIT!” she shouted at you, the two of you standing up to face each other as close as you could before your parents pulled you apart

  “DUMB SHIT?! DUMB SHIT?!” you continued, fighting your fathers attempts to pull you away from your sister, “DUMB SHIT LIKE HELPING OUR PARENTS CLEAR OUT OUR GRANDPARENTS HOUSE? DUMB SHIT LIKE BEING A GOOD DAUGHTER? DUMB SHIT LIKE ACTUALLY GIVING A SHIT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THIS PLACE?”

  “YOU’RE NEVER GONNA LIVE HERE! SO WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THIS PLACE?!”

  “THEY WERE MY GRANDPARENTS, LAUREN! THIS IS WHERE THEY LIVED! THAT’S WHY!”

  “YOU HAVE A LIFE SOMEWHERE ELSE! WITH OTHER PEOPLE!”

  “THAT DOESN’T MEAN I DON’T HAVE THIS LIFE TOO!”

  “YES IT DOES! YOU’VE STARTED YOUR LIFE SOMEWHERE ELSE, YOU DON’T NEED ALL OF THIS!” You heard Vita begin to cry and you wanted to comfort her but your sisters words were still flying at you to a point where you couldn’t stop yourself from yelling at her

  “WHY DO YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE SO BADLY? WHAT DO YOU GET FROM ME HOPPING ON A PLANE?”

  “I J--”

  “ENOUGH!” Your dad finally yelled so the two of you would stop, “You’re both being ridiculous! (Y/N), we appreciate that you want to stay here but Lauren is right, your life is with Freddie and Vita in Toronto,” Vita was still crying but it wasn’t as intense as it was before, probably due to your mom rocking her back and forth and shielding her ears from the yelling, “and Lauren, stop yelling at your sister. I know your intentions are good but you have no idea what she’s going through so stop trying to get under her skin”

  “PAPA IT’S NOT MY FAULT, ALL I WAS--”

  “I DON’T CARE, LAUREN!” He finally snapped, his face turning bright red and his posture becoming imposing, “YOU’RE THE OLDER SISTER, ACT LIKE IT OR GET THE HELL OUT!” Everything was silent for a while before your sister eventually left the room and you were left to pick up the pieces

  “I’m sorry, Papa...” you said quietly

  “You should go home, Liebling” he confessed

  “Why is everyone trying to get rid of me?”

  “We’re not trying to get rid of you, love,” your mom added, handing Vita to you before kissing your head, “we love you but so does Freddie. You two should be together”

  “Yeah, he should’ve stayed--”

  “We’re not getting into this again” your dad interrupted

  “What your father means is that Vita should have both of her parents with her in a stress free environment. Running around trying to clean up a dusty old house so far away from home isn’t what your new family needs right now”

  “But Mama,” you tried, “I can’t just leave. I can’t just let all of you... say goodbye to them without me”

  “Is that what this is about?” your mom asked and you nodded, a small tear escaping your eye, “baby, we’re not saying goodbye without you. We’ve all said our goodbyes. This stuff here, it’s just stuff. It’s not them.”

  “But it’s all their memories. Their first date, their first fight, their wedding album, your baby pictures,” you rambled, gesturing to your mom, “their favourite shows and favourite clothes. Oma’s old jewelry that she didn’t want to ruin so she would keep in a box, Opa’s old suits that he never had a reason to wear anymore or his dress blues that he kept from the Navy.”

  “Baby girl,” your dad cooed, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and guiding you to the bench in the kitchen, “your Oma and Opa lived a very full life. They had things to keep them comfortable and content but even they would agree, that these things are just things. Just stuff, like Mama said, if you want some of it to remember them, we can put them aside for you and bring them back or send them to you. But they are not this stuff. The memories are not in some dusty old suit or tattered quilt, the memories are in here,” he tapped the top of your head and you giggled, “locked away safe where you can always get to them”

  “And they’ll never fade” your mom added

  “That’s right,” your dad smiled and you did in return, “they would want you to make new memories with your husband and let the stuff just be stuff. Miss them, love them, but don’t worry about all the stuff.”

  “Stop saying stuff,” you laughed, “oh papa.. I know it’s all things and I know that I’ll have the memories forever but it’s not just about that... It’s about Freddie wanting to leave so soon after the funeral, without even talking to me. All so he can go back to training camp for another Hockey season. It’s never about him compromising in the smallest way. I needed him here and he needed to be there... I will always come second”

  “That’s not true,” your mom said, “his job is important but you are his life. Both of you. Everything he does, he does for you and your little girl. Sometimes it sucks and sometimes it doesn’t seem like he’s listening to you or compromising for you but he is. Trust me, he talks about you two all the time and says he hates that he has to be away but he wants to give you the best”

  “I just want him around and sometimes it feels like the league is more important...” You shook your head, kissing the top of Vita’s head to find some kind of comfort in how you were feeling before you went to find your sister

  “Laur?” you whispered from around the corner

  “What?” she snapped

  “I just wanted to apologize,” you said, leading her to turn and face you, “I shouldn’t have yelled like that. I know you mean well but I was -- it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry”

  “I’m sorry, too,” she admitted, “I know how much you love him and how important it is to spend time with them. I guess I just thought that you’d want to spend as much time with him as you could.”

  “I do,” you sighed, “I just... also wanted to be here. With everyone. To say goodbye to this place, these memories, these things... I didn’t want to come back one day and pass this house and realize that it’s completely different. That whoever buys it just buys it to flip it. It’s an old house and people do that with old houses you know? I just wanted one last memory here since I haven’t been here since we were kids...”

  “I get that” she smiled

  “But it doesn’t matter...” you continued, “I know that something is going to happen to this place, unless someone in the family buys it and keeps it exactly the same. It’s going to change because it has to. Because they’re gone... God, I can’t believe they’re gone.“ You sighed, dropping your head to your hands, “I can’t believe we’ll never hear Opa’s snort when he laughs anymore”

  “Or the way Oma had to wake him up every time he fell asleep with his plate on his stomach” she laughed

  “Or the way they would hold hands anytime they walked together”

  “I remember when we were kids, they were babysitting us and we caught them kissing in the kitchen after Oma was finished baking cookies”

  “I remember that, she had dough on her cheek and he said he was helping her” the two of you giggled at the memories

  “I miss them already”

  “Me too” you said quietly

  “They loved us,” Lauren added, “but they loved you the most.”

  “They did not” you scoffed

  “No, seriously. They told me,” you laughed but she continued, “they loved me, they never denied that, but they said that you had a kindness to you that they’d never experienced before. They so admired it”

  “I got it from them”

  “I know,” she laughed, “but I just wanted you to know that you were the favourite.”

  “Oh, Lauren....” you sighed, bouncing your daughter on your knee, “I gotta go home”

  “Yes you do” she smirked

  “Do you think I screwed everything up?” you winced

  “Yes.” She joked and you scoffed in response, “no, you didn’t screw things up. But you do need to be there for him”

  “Fine...” you laughed before standing up and making your way upstairs to pack yours and Vita’s things. It appeared that your family had already ordered an Uber for you because they were waiting outside to say goodbye.

  “We love you” your dad said, hugging you tightly as the driver grabbed your bags to put them in the trunk

  “Tell Freddie we love him too” your mom added

  “And don’t forget to tell him you’re sorry.” You laughed before hugging your sister and hopping in the car to head to the airport; eager to get back to Freddie and make things right.

xx

Freddie’s P.O.V

  You got back to the house and dropped your bags before letting out a sigh. You weren’t sure what would happen when (Y/N) got back but you hoped a lot of time wouldn’t pass before she appeared at the door. Until then, you had to continue with your daily life; that meant waking up early the next morning and going to practice

  “HEY FRED!” Willy called out to you, “wait up!”

  “What’s up Willy?” you asked as you both walked to the ice

  “I heard about (Y/N)’s grandparents,” he started, “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks, bud. She’s still in Vienna for a bit but I’ll let her know you were thinking about her.” He patted you on the back before skating away from you and, needless to say, you couldn’t concentrate and you were quick to run home. Hoping that she would be there when you got there, “(Y/N)?!” You called out as soon as you walked in the door but not hearing a response, forcing you to collapse onto the couch

  “Freddie?” her voice rang through the room and to your ear, “baby?”

  “You’re here!” you exclaimed, “God, I hoped you’d be here.” You ran to hug her and she giggled as you spun her around

  “I’m sorry.. for yelling and for everything,” she said, “I didn’t mean any of it”

  “I know, elske” you said before kissing her face

  “Fred.. Fred,” she laughed, “Fred! Hold on, we need to talk about this”

  “What?” you asked and she stepped back

  “I hate that you left that you didn’t want to compromise on this... I know Hockey is important, I know it’s your job but I needed you to be with me, even if it meant not being here. In Toronto.”

  “I know,” you admitted, “but I did need to be here. Can you understand that?” She scoffed in response, pushing away your arms and walking toward the couch

  “Sometimes, Fred, it feels like it’s all up to me. To carry everything. To carry us, this relationship, this marriage. I can understand a lot, I can put up with a lot but I’m trying to stay strong for my daughter, for you, and I don’t know how much more I can push myself before I break. I need you to put in as much effort as I seem to be. I lost two of my favourite people in the world and I couldn’t re-live their memories because I had to come back here. To deal with this.” She gestured between the two of you while you just dropped your head, “I fought with my sister and made Vita cry because I was tired of compromising. I just.. I’m scared that I’ll have to be this person forever, the one who waits for you to come home. Who drops everything even when things are going well because your career needs me to. I can’t carry this anymore, I can’t be the only one doing the giving in this relationship. I need you carry us. I need you to carry me sometimes, too, okay?”

  “Of course,” you said, hugging her close and tucking your face in her neck, “I’m sorry that you feel like you have to carry all of this. I want you to drop your stuff on me, okay? Let me take your stress, let me carry you. Let me do all the things that you don’t want to do.” She giggled at your words before she lifted your chin so she could look at you

  “I guess I didn’t realize how upset I was about Oma and Opa. I mean I knew I was sad, I knew I was grieving but I think I was just holding onto all of it because I wanted to be strong for everybody, I didn’t want to crumble and cry because I knew I’d never stop if I started. So I started carrying all this pain and then I took it out on you,” she said quietly, placing her hand on the side of your face as she spoke, “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I’m sorry I was so selfish, I’m sorry I--” she interrupted you with a kiss and you tried your best not to break it, you hadn’t realized how much you’d missed kissing her until you finally had the chance again, but she needed to pull away

  “I love you.” She stated simply and you kissed her nose quickly, reciprocating her words before capturing her lips in another kiss and, this time, you wouldn’t let her go.

[inkstaineddove]

For the Love of a Father

Ships: PruHun

Characters: Hungary, Prussia, Germany; Austria

Summary: Hungary travels to Berlin to spend the weekend with Prussia and a young Germany. Due to silly misunderstandings and mortal assumptions, Gilbert convinces everyone to pretend that he and Erzsébet are married and Ludwig is their son. But there's only one question: why is he so eager for this charade?

Berlin, 1865.

The house was a warzone when Erzsébet arrived. Toy soldiers had taken over every corner of the living room, lined up in their formations. She lifted her skirts up and gingerly tip-toed around the rearguard. “Gil? Are you here?”

Before she had time to process further what was occurring, she felt a pair of tiny arms wrap around her waist. “Erzsi!” Ludwig stared up at her, a grin stretched wide across his face. “Are you the reinforcements we asked for?”

She hoisted him up into her arms. “That depends. Who are we fighting?”

“We’re invading Bohemia. Traun finally engaged us. The battle should be over in another hour due to our infantry’s superiority.”

As Ludwig spoke, Gilbert had managed to make his way over to them. Erzsébet shot him a look. “You’re still hung up on Bohemia?” She shook her head at his sheepish expression. She studied the battle occurring on the floor. “You’ve got a spot wide open for my hussars to swoop in on your left flank. It would be so easy to ride in and scatter your whole army.” She winked at Gilbert. “Better work on that calvary again.”

“Lud, go clean them up.” Once Ludwig had scampered off, Gilbert crossed his arms. “That was very rude, I’ll have you know. We were on the cusp of victory and losing that battle might dissolve the whole coalition.”

“It’s your fault for deciding today would be the day to fight Austria. Sorry for wanting my side to win. Next time I’ll throw the whole damn thing for you.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Cheer up. It’s not like I took back Silesia.”

“If you had, then we would have a problem on our hands.” He hoisted up her bag, bringing it further into the home. “I meant to mention this to you earlier, but today’s not going to be too exciting. Some kid refuses to stop growing so I have to get him some new clothes.” Gilbert nodded to one of his servants, who took the bag off his hands. “The kid wants to make a whole day out of it, so I really hope you don’t mind too much. Tomorrow can be for us.”

He was beginning to ramble. “Oh dear me, spending the whole day with you and Ludwig. How ever will I cope with such a thing?” Erzsébet rolled her eyes. “You realize that I care about Ludwig, right? I come here to spend time with both of you. It’ll be a lovely day.” She leaned in for a kiss.

“Can we go now?” Ludwig scrunched up his nose. “Do you two always have to be doing that in front of me? Is this why Roderich gets so upset by it? It really is disgusting.” He paused, something formulating in his mind. “Is he going to be mad about this again the next time I see him?”

Gilbert and Erzsébet shared a look. He began hustling Ludwig out the door, not wanting to hear any more of this from the damn child of all people. “You’re asking too many questions again.”

---

As Ludwig’s measurements were being taken by the seamstress, Erzsébet wandered around the store. Some of the dresses they had on display were quite stunning. She found herself drawn to a few of them. She visited often enough, what harm would there be in placing an order and having Gilbert pick it up for her?

“Don’t you think you have enough? I doubt you have the closet space at this point.” Gilbert snuck up on her, sliding his arm around her waist. He appraised the dress she was eyeing out. “You have one that looks like this already.”

“Not in this color!” She nudged him with her elbow. “Wouldn’t it be good for me to build up a wardrobe here? It would be easier on me.”

There was an argument he couldn’t counter. It didn’t hurt that she was smiling up at him, her eyes filled to the brim with affection. She always pulled this trick on him and it never failed to work. “You’ll look gorgeous in it.”

“Gilbert!” A middle-aged woman appeared from behind the counter, waddling over to them. “Back again so soon? Why, you were just here the other week!”

“Frau Scholz, it’s good to see you again.” Gilbert sighed dramatically. “I know, it’s incredible. The boy keeps on growing and he refuses to stop. I’m starting to think he’s doing it just to spite me.”

“I’m surprised he doesn’t take more after you. When we were children, it took you so long to ever get a growth spurt.” Erzsébet snickered. “I thought you would’ve stayed tiny forever.”

Before Gilbert could fire back his own remark, Frau Scholz had jumped in. “Is this your wife? How have I never met her before? And so beautiful too!”

That threw both of them for a loop. A blush bloomed across Erzsébet’s cheeks. She was suddenly very aware of where his arm was. She opened her mouth to correct the seamstress.

“Isn’t she stunning? Not a day passes where I don’t wonder how I ever got to be so lucky. How many years have we been married now? Doesn’t matter, I should’ve brought her over sooner. But she’s so busy! Aren’t you, Liebling?” His eyes met hers. He was silently begging her to go along with the act.

“Doesn’t matter? Not when these past nine have been the best of my life.” She laughed softly, leaning into him. Where was the harm in going all in on the act? “Yes, my father’s fallen ill and there’s no other children to care for him. That explains my absences, I hope you’ll forgive us both.”

Whatever hurt was there completely disappeared. Frau Scholz took Erzsébet’s hand in hers. “Sweetie, there’s no reason to apologize for that. Family comes first, I understand. I have some more work to attend to, but all the best to your father. And, when you have the time, please don’t be a stranger.” She disappeared from back which she came.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. “Going straight to the dying father? Way to pull the sympathy card.”

Erzsébet scoffed. “I needed to give her an acceptable reason for why your wife hasn’t tagged along before. You were too ready for that. It’s almost suspicious, Gil.” She watched him out the corner of her eye.

He made no effort to hide his happiness. “You really think I could’ve planned for that? You’re giving me too much credit.” He gently bumped her with his hip. “Have some fun with it. We can play married for a day. Now you’ll have a husband you actually love. Besides, you’re the one who’s still wearing her wedding ring. What do you want me to tell people? That I’m your mistress?”

There was a good point there. Did it really matter anyways? She doubted that anyone from Vienna would be here and, if they were, would they really be surprised? How she spent her weekends was hardly secret. The escapism of pretending to live another life would be enjoyable. Still, there was one thing nagging at the back of her mind. “Where does that leave Roderich in this little fantasy?”

Gilbert’s smile was ferocious. “Easy. He officiated for us.” Ludwig meandered about, looking round for them. “You all set, kid? Let’s go get lunch.”

The walk to the restaurant was short as it laid only three stores down. It was fairly casual, with different classes of families seated throughout, and unsurprisingly bustling for a Friday afternoon. They took a spot in the corner of the room, the farthest they could get from the other patrons.  

Ludwig’s legs were swinging furiously beneath the table. He was passionately filling Erzsébet in on the details of his life since he’d seen her a month ago. “Gilbert’s been trying to teach me to play the flute! It’s weird though, I don’t like how you have to hold it.” Spotting a schnauzer outside the window, he perked up considerably. “I really want a dog. Gilbert won’t let me get one. Can you convince him? Please, Erzsi, he always listens to you.”

She shrugged. What did she have to lose? “Gil, will you please get him a dog? Look at how pathetic he is.” She leaned over the table, stage-whispering advice to Ludwig. “Pout a little bit. That always works.” Ludwig faithfully obeyed. He even batted his eyes for good measure.

Despite knowing what was coming, Gilbert felt his heartstrings tug. An internal debate warred within him. “We’re not getting a dog.” It was important for him to keep his resolve. He gave in to too much as it was, he needed to pretend to be assertive towards them every now and then. “I don’t want to be the one responsible for the damn thing.”

“You won’t be! I’ll take care of him! Besides, aren’t you the one who’s always saying I need to learn responsibility? There’s no better way to teach me!” Ludwig had his whole argument prepared. He had been getting ready for this moment the whole week, confident that between his rational arguments and Erzsébet’s strange powers that Gilbert would change his mind.

Right when he was ready to begin it, the waiter appeared. The waiter performed the usual introduction before having his attentions settle on Ludwig. “What an adorable little boy! How old might you be?”

Met with a social interaction he hadn’t prepared for, Ludwig panicked. “Ah-I don’t know, I think I’m close to thirty now.” He looked across the table at the adults, silently begging them for intervention.

Gilbert laughed heartily. “Kid thinks he’s thirty. Drives us both crazy. You know how eight-year olds are.”

“Well, no matter what it is, your son is adorable. Now, are you all ready to order?” After fulfilling his purpose, they were left alone again.

Ludwig turned his sights on Gilbert immediately. “Your son? We’re brothers! Why didn’t you correct him?” His blue eyes were sparkling with intense curiosity.

It was Gilbert’s turn to be caught off-guard. He stumbled with the question in his mind, trying to gather his bearings and create a sufficient enough answer. “People treat us better if they think you’re our kid. Humans have a difficult time comprehending our real ages and relationships. It’s easier to go along with whatever they think.” Proud of his response, he leaned back and smirked. “So, for today, Erzsi and I are married and you’re our son. Start calling us Mutti and Vatti.”

Erzsébet rolled her eyes. “I am not a Mutti. If we’re doing this, call me Anya. Motherhood sounds so much nicer in my language.”

“Whatever you want, Anya.” Ludwig tested it out. Oddly enough, it didn’t feel unnatural to refer to her in such a way. Why did it feel so easy, as if it was what he was meant to do all along? Examining those emotions seemed beyond his realm of experience. He filed them away, where they could be examined at a later time. He appraised Gilbert, who was staring at him with what appeared to be eagerness. Why was that? Never mind that, if he was so eager maybe Ludwig could use that to his advantage. He scrunched up his nose. “What do I get for following along? For you it’s difficult. You’re not exactly fatherly.”

Unbeknownst to Ludwig, Erzsébet comfortingly rubbed Gilbert’s thigh. That remark knocked the wind out of him. He knew exactly what the kid wanted. There was no mystery to what he was angling for, some discreet strategy that needed to be deciphered. “I’ll get you the damn dog.” There were times for being firm and this was not one of those times.

“You’re the best, Vatti!” His wish finally being fulfilled, Ludwig broke into a long debate on the merits of each breed he found most attractive. He’d meticulously researched the habits of each and how they would integrate fully into their household. He’d had this planned and memorized for months, waiting for the day when Gilbert’s will finally broke.

He spoke unceasingly on the topic all through lunch. It continued even when they entered the park, only interrupted by Erzsébet gently cutting in. “Look, kicsim, there’s a whole group of kids over there. Why don’t you go see what they’re up to?” She gently nudged him along before he had any chance to protest.

“Couldn’t handle any more?” Gilbert slipped his hand in hers. They began walking along the path. Other couples, lost in their own worlds, passed them by.

“Absolutely not.” It was a lovely day out. A light breeze was blowing, making it cooler than it would be otherwise. It was no wonder why so many people were out today. Out the corner of her eye, she watched Gilbert. He was humming softly to himself, a content little smile inching up the corners of his mouth. She tried to recall a time when she saw him this at peace. She couldn’t. “You’re too happy.”

“Hm?” He had been lost in his thoughts. It took him a moment to process what she said. When he did, he chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m having a wonderful day with my son and my wife, who I love so dearly.” His smile widened. “God, I love saying that. Doesn’t it just sound so natural?”

Now his giddiness made sense. “Calm down, no one can hear us. You don’t have to keep the act up.” If she was being honest with herself, something she was loath to do, it did have a nice ring to it coming from him.

He nudged her with his elbow. “I don’t care if anyone can hear us, let me have my fantasies for today.” Said fantasies were racing through his mind. “The kids young enough, he could get used to this. I think we’d be fine if we settled down, had a few children of our own. They’d give me a plum job in the military or for the king as thanks for my years of service. The higher up you are, the less work you have to do. We’d be able to do whatever we wanted.”

She sighed, listening to him prattle on. This seemed too thought out to only be a whim. If she squinted, she could easily see the life he’d envisioned. It was almost tempting. “What a lovely life you have planned. We would never be satisfied. It’s too quaint for either of us.” She gently rubbed his right forearm. “Though, in another lifetime, I think I would enjoy that one.”

“Why can’t we have it in this one? Don’t be so pessimistic.” The look she shot him caused him to roll his eyes. “We could get away with it if we wanted.”

How to explain to him that ‘want’ wasn’t the issue? Hungary considered her words carefully. “Fine, say we do this. How do you think Roderich will react? I don’t think he’d take too kindly to our little scheme. He would be hard-pressed to convince his ministers to declare war or have legal recourse to continue seeing Ludwig, but that only spares you. What of my people?” She kicked the unfortunate pebble standing before her. “It wouldn’t be out of character for him to seek retribution against them. For the first time, I would be powerless to do anything about it.”

That certainly painted the whole idea in a much bleaker light. What she brought up was the truth; he had nothing to argue against it. Gilbert sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”

She kissed his cheek. “Don’t be so glum. Tonight, reality can be damned. I’m yours until midnight, kincsem.” A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. “Or, if you prefer, we can keep up this act for the rest of the weekend. You make a fine husband.”

Her words appeared to have their desired effect. He was in high spirits once more with a spring in his step. “There’s no harm in us continuing our little fun.” Ludwig meandered over to them, appearing worn out. “You ready to head home, Lud?” The boy weakly nodded his head. “Alright, come on. You’re not walking in that shape.” Gilbert hoisted him up onto his back. It wasn’t long before Ludwig was gently snoring into his shoulder.

The sight caused a warmth to spread from Erzsébet’s chest outwards. “You’re adorable.” For her comment, Gilbert winked at her.

The walk home didn’t take too long. The park was only a block away. Unlocking the door presented an unexpected challenge. He sighed, not wanting to bounce Ludwig around and risk waking him up. “Can you take the key out?” Erzsébet began digging around in his front pocket. Her hand took hold and his face turned a brilliant scarlet. “That’s not my key.”

“I know.” His blush deepened as she threw open the door. That could be dealt with later, his primary focus now was on tucking Ludwig in. He was pleasantly surprised to hear Erzsébet following him to Ludwig’s room.

Once underneath the covers, Ludwig wiggled around to get comfortable. Gilbert’s heart lurched. He was like an adorable little worm. “G’night Vatti, Anya.” The words were murmured through sheets, but they seemed so loud to Gilbert. His heart felt ready to explode.

He floated out of the room, never feeling so much joy in his life. He collapsed onto the sofa, clutching a hand to his chest. A dream he had been fulfilled. Erzsébet took the space besides him and he moved so his head was in her lap. Gazing up, he could see how the corners of her mouth lifted up.

“How long had you been waiting for this?” She twirled strands of his hair around her fingers.

“You know that’s a complicated question.”

“I can handle a complicated answer.” She chuckled softly. “It’s me, remember? I can manage your honesty.”

He sighed, wistful. “I think I’d been waiting for that longer than I realized. You think I could convince him to go along with that from now on? How difficult could it be?” The hope in his voice felt pathetic, but he found it impossible to suppress. His body was thrumming.

“Ah, so he’s not a puppet to you anymore?” Erzsébet closed her eyes, considering her words carefully. Honesty was needed, but it didn’t have to be cruel. “I think you should’ve been upfront with him from the beginning. Then you could have avoided this mess in the first place.”

“You know that wasn’t an option.” Gilbert knew she was being reasonable. He pointedly averted his eyes from her, lasering in on an old painting of an ancient battle on the wall. “For my sake, it couldn’t have been. It’s easier to manipulate a sibling instead of a son.”

She rolled her eyes. “So I’ve gathered from watching you and Roderich at work.” She raised a hand, silencing his objections. “It’s not a criticism. Purely an observation, don’t be so defensive.” She shook her head. “I’m not surprised you don’t see him as a puppet anymore. I didn’t believe you or Roderich when either of you tried explaining that to me. When did that change?”

When had it? A series of images flashed to mind – waking up to find a small body snuggled into his bed; blue eyes staring at him with awe as he regaled him with bygone victories; little feet scampering after him, wanting to keep up. “I don’t know. It just kind of…happened. Ludwig, he’s a good kid.” He paused. “Why aren’t you more surprised?”

“Because I know you, Gil. Maybe you can fool the rest of the world that you’ve evolved beyond a desire for personal connection, but you could never fool me.” Despite teasing him, her tone was incredibly loving. “Ludwig idolizes you, he thinks you’re the savior of the world. How could that cause you to not admit the truth to yourself? For your sake, I wish you’d done so sooner.”

“And why’s that?” He knew her answer, but he hoped he would be wrong.

“You can’t tell him one thing than tell him another. He’s smarter than that, he’ll have too many questions. Questions that I doubt you’re ready to answer.” His silence confirmed her suspicions. She smiled sadly. “Keeping him at a distance was always going to be futile. I tried telling you that, but you didn’t want to listen. Neither of you did.”

“You can’t blame me for not realizing that this is what I wanted.” It sounded so weak and uncompelling, even to his own ears. He exhaled loudly through his nose. “I made the right decision though?” Gilbert’s eyes finally met hers. He needed her to lie to him, just this once.

“I can’t decide that for you.” Erzsébet leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you made the wrong one.”

“But you think there was a better one.”

A genuine smile broke free across her face. “Don’t I always think that about whatever you do?” She laughed, the action feeling much needed. “Don’t be so glum. Seeing you so serious isn’t natural.” He could only muster up the faintest of smiles. “That wasn’t convincing, but I’ll take it.” She rose, stretching.

His eyes settled on her, having no where else to be. “Where are you going?”

“To have a little rest. In my excitement to see you both, I woke up much too early.” She extended her hand to him. “Will my husband be joining me?”

So she was still continuing with their little charade? Gilbert smiled, this time one unfeigned. “Maybe later. You go ahead. I may catch up with you.” Once alone, he rolled to face the ceiling. There were no answers up there, but he wished they would appear. It was too soon in Ludwig’s, in Germany’s, life for Gilbert to be having such regrets. He chided himself for his foolishness.

“I’m doing the right thing.” He whispered it to himself like a prayer. He would convince himself of this, any doubts remaining would have to be eradicated. There was no question that this was what’s right.

At least, it had to be. For his sanity.

[queenofbrooklyn]

1, 3, and 6 or 7 for the fic writer asks?

I’ve made this post like three times now and tumblr keeps eating it AH. 

1. What’s your personal favourite thing you wrote this year?

Definitely Surviving the Ride. It’s not super popular and incredibly niche but it’s been a vessel to improve my writing, especially dialogue. I struggle with dialogue the most and having a story where two characters primarily sit in the car and talk has been really helpful. Plus I love Spot and Sarah so much and I love their dynamic.  3. Which of your fics was most different from what you usually write? Probably a fic I’m working on right now, which doesn’t have a title and is set in canon newsies era but a different take on it, because it has supernatural bent which I never write.  6. What’s your favourite piece of dialogue you wrote this year?

“Listen, Sabrina, does Hank know you’re here?” her uncle asked.

          “Um, I don’t know who that is”

          “Your father, does he know you’re here?” Sabrina raised an eyebrow at him, she had never heard anyone call her dad ‘Hank’, but she let it slide.

          “No, no one does,” she realized how dumb that was the second the words left her mouth. There was a reason her dad never told her about these people, and here she was, a sitting duck.

          “Oh, he’s gonna love this,” he said rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

          “Are- are you, his brother?” She asked, implying of course, that this man was her uncle. He stilled and looked between her and the old woman, who was now seated next to Sabrina on the couch.

           “Mom, she doesn’t even know me. I thought he-“

           “Yes liebling,” Relda interrupted him, “This is your uncle Jacob,”

           “Jake.” He cut in, pulling Sabrina up and into a tight, albeit unwanted hug, which she returned half-heartedly.

           “And I am, of course, your Oma, your grandmother.” She continued, wrapping Sabrina in another bear hug once Jake had released her.

           “Is Daphne not with you?” she asked suddenly. Sabrina shook her head.

           “No, she has school, I couldn’t bring her,” she fibbed, in fact she hadn’t asked Daphne at all.

           “That’s alright, there’s always another time now. Now that we’re together again.”

            Sabrina nodded. Right. What had she gotten herself into?

This is my favorite cause I feel like I really got all the characters down, especially Jake!

7. What’s your favourite piece of description or narration?

“His blond hair was tussled over his forehead, his face empty of the edge it so often possessed. He looked young, his freckles dark in the washed-out light. The heat kicked on in the vent under the window. It hummed quietly and the force of it sent the curtains swaying, the soft beams of early morning washing across his face. As if he were underwater, or standing by the East River, far away in New York, the light shining off the waves. She had never seen him like that, but she could picture it now. Smiling, happy, young, two people walking down the street, nothing holding them back.”

Thanks for asking I appreciate it so much!!!

[all-chickens-are-trans]

TrudexSteve for 9, 10, 11, 12?

so you suddenly can’t let go of this ship either, huh? weird how the tables turned for us on that one lol

9. do they write poetry/songs/diary entries about each other?

hmm, I think Trude definitely writes cheesy poetry and feels very embarrassed about it, but Steve actually loves it a lot. Trude probably tries to turn it all into a joke, and Steve lets her, but deep down they both know it’s genuine and heartfelt and super sweet. <3

Steve doesn’t write poetry or music - maybe she keeps a diary, I’m not sure. If she does, it’s definitely full of observances about the people around her, Trude as well, even before Steve likes her in that way. (Steve just seems like an observing kind of character to me) But more than anything, Steve asks her tarot cards about Trude once she realizes she likes her.

10. which one steals the other’s clothes?

hmm. if we go back to my nonbinary/gnc Trude headcanon, how about they both exchange clothes on purpose? Like, Trude gives some of her fem clothes to Steve and gets her old masc stuff in return? Not everything works size-wise (because lbr the size differences between ‘male’ and ‘female’ fashion absolutely suck, especially in the bigger sizes - it makes zero sense, some of it is incredibly weirdly shaped and not suitable for human bodies at all), but it’s a nice start. It also creates some hilarity in both their friend groups because Trude will wear Steve’s old gaudy 2000′s graffiti print shirts and absolutely make them WORK and Steve will wear a cute dress that Melanie will flail over and call “90′s vintage” and Trude will tease Melanie about it, saying “when I wore that last time, I believe you used the word ‘frumpy’ instead.” It makes Melanie turn red as a beet, rambling on about how she’s learned and grown and she’s done being judgmental about people’s clothes. Both Trude and Steve get a big laugh out of it.

11. do they give each other (embarrassing) pet names?

hmm, I’m torn. On one hand, if they’re both trans, then they both know the importance of hearing their chosen names out loud (though I kinda think Steve would just continue going by Stevie because it’s badass and actually unisex?). On the other hand, I think both of them don’t care about names too much, and on top of that, their sense of humor is definitely going to be “hey let’s emulate straight couple culture” because what’s more hilarious than that, being an immensely and visibly queer couple? So I can definitely see Trude pull some awful shit like “Liebling” or “Bärchen” with a full-on grin, and Steve replying with “Darling” and “Schmusi” and similar monstrosities. Bonus points if any of these accidentally get used in a super soft, tender, and serious moment. Like, Trude opening up how difficult it is for her what she wants pronoun- and name-wise, that she feels like changing things would be a lot of work and pressure and invite in a lot of questions and shit she doesn’t want, but at the same time she feels like if she doesn’t change anything, she feels like people won’t take her identity seriously - and Steve is just about to say to her that she loves and accepts her no matter what decision she ends up making, and then slips up and starts with “Ach, Liebling...”, in a totally sincere, soft way.

not only does it crack Trude up and lighten the mood, but also, she won’t let Steve live it down for ages.

12. which trope works best for them?

I don’t know how to phrase that, into a catchy trope thing, but you know that tertiary couple in a rom com? When the main couple gets the big story arc and their supporting best friends get a smaller story arc, and then the tertiary couple is kinda left over, so in the final scene, even though they’ve barely interacted before, they look at each other, shrug, and just start to make out? 

that’s them, only this time, they’re actually the protagonists. (not like that fake third movie that doesn’t exist and does this trope to them in the most boring “oh yeah those two need heterosexual bliss as well” kinda way) I call it the “we might as well...” trope, because like - their friends are kinda busy with their stuff, both Trude and Steve feel like they don’t really get that much quality friendship time with them anymore, they feel like the leftovers of a big rom com finale, so one day they just take a look at each other, shrug and say “we might as well, huh?”

that’s how it starts at least, but what neither of them expects is that it actually WORKS. It works so well that it gets them kind of freaked out because?? this wasn’t supposed to be such a big thing?? Just a way to spend the time, to feel good, because they had nothing else to do. So they both try to figure out how to get this whole thing from a casual fling to a proper relationship, maybe? Is that even what they want? And what if they scare the other one off? Aaaaaah

One particular bonus of this trope is: Mutual secret pining while already being in a relationship, kinda. Like. ‘Shit, I want to be close to her all the time and I want to kiss her constantly. I mean, I am around her all the time. And we do kiss a lot. But?? I think I want to kiss her more? And maybe look at her when she falls asleep next to me? Oh no, that’s creepy. I don’t wanna be creepy. If I tell her that her hair smells nice, is that crossing the line? I mean I do tell her that she has a smokin’ ass every day, but the hair thing just seems like taking things too far. WHAT ARE WE’

[conceptstage]

Confidence

AO3

Alternative title: 5 Times Nott Didn’t Keep Beau's Secret + 1 Time She Did

1)

She doesn’t even make it an hour.

“Wow,” she mumbled, sitting down beside Caleb as he read in their room. “I did not see that coming.”

Caleb hummed. “What was that, liebling?”

“Hmm?”

“You said something.”

“Oh, I was just thinking about how Beau has a crush on Jester.” Caleb blinked in surprise and looked over at her but she didn’t seem to realize what she’d said and just started setting up her bedroll. She got up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek before laying down without a care in the world. “Night.”

“Ja,” Caleb mumbled, looking at Jester as she talked to Caduceus across the room. “Night.”

2)

“I don’t know if we should have let Beau and Jester go off alone,” Nott grumbled, perched on Fjord’s shoulders to see over the top of the crowd that was moving like a river through the city streets. She could hear the music of the festival from the next block over. “Beau’s gonna get distracted and the whole operation is gonna get blown.”

Fjord frowned, trying to seem nonchalaunt. “What makes you say that?”

“I don't know, you know how crushes are. They’re at the Festival of Love, off alone, looking at people making out and shit all over the place, and Jester’s in that low cut dress? Beau’s not gonna be able to focus at all.”

Fjord froze and turned his head to look at her best he could. “Hold on, hold on… Are you telling me that Beau has a crush on Jester?”

Nott made a noise of distress as the realization that yes, yes she had done exactly that hit her. “Nooooo… Of course not. Because if I was privy to that information it would have been under the strictest of confidence and Beau would definitely kill me if I let it get out.”

Fjord rolled his eyes and looked back out to the crowd. “Riiiight, sure. Do you see anything?”

Nott was glad for the change in topic and shook her head, still twisting her fingers nervously. “Not yet.”

Fjord was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke again, speaking up a little to be heard of the people passing by. “So, she told you about this?”

“This what?” Nott asked, deflecting. “The Festival? No, that was the Gentleman.”

Fjord pinched her leg where it dangled over his shoulder and she hissed and smacked the back of his head. “No, dumbass, the crush. You know this for a fact?”

“Ow. Bastard. Yeah, she told me a couple of days ago when we got drunk at the Gentleman’s place.”

“Am I the only person you’ve blabbed to?”

She suddenly remembered being drunk off her ass and talking to Caleb less than an hour after being given the secret. “Yep. Just you.”

“Good. Keep it that way. Beau will tell other people when the time is right but until then, you keep your little mouth shut.”

“I already know that you fucking- I see him!” She exclaimed, gripping Fjord’s hair painfully and pointing out over the sea of people. “Purple suit jacket, silver pin in his hair, just like our contact said.”

Fjord nodded and seamlessly joined the crowd. “Keep an eye on him.”

3)

“Can I ask you something?”

Caduceus looked up from the tea that he was steeping on the stove to Nott who was sitting on the counter while she stirred the rice for dinner. “Certainly.” He picked up a few grains of rice and popped them in his mouth, humming thoughtfully. “More spices.”

Nott picked up the spice shaker and mindlessly added more. “Well, see, I’m in a bit of a moral dilemma. One that I… may have gotten myself into.”

“Those are my specialty.”

“Right, right. See, I was told a secret in confidence and I may have accidentally blabbed it a little bit. Just to one person. Maybe two, but I was drunk that first time, I don’t really remember what I said. Should I… tell the person who told me the secret that I told?”

Caduceus looked thoughtful. “Yes, I think that would be the best course of action. Honesty is always the best policy.”

“Yeah, I was afraid you were gonna say that. What if there’s a very good chance that she will ninja kick to death when she finds out?”

“Well, imagine what Beau would do if she found out that you told from someone other than you. Is it worse?”

Nott did imagine it and winced. “Yeah.” Then she realized exactly what Caduceus had said and exclaimed in shock. “Wha- How- What makes you think that the secret was about Beau's crush on Jester?!”

Caduceus considered explaining that he had figured out the secret was Beau’s because Nott described her ninja kicking people to death but that he’d had no idea about the crush until right this moment, but then he sighed and gave Nott a kind smile as he picked up some more grains of rice to taste. “That’s good, you can stop mixing now. Go on and help Jester set the table.”

Nott was still giving him a bewildered look but she sat the bowl off the side and hopped down to the floor. “You’re some fucking kind of mind reader or something,” she mumbled as she left.

4)

Nott was helping Yasha redo the braids in her hair. They’d gotten fucked up and pulled out when she was with Obann but she only just now felt confident enough in her place in the group to ask for help with them. Nott was sitting on a tree stump with Yasha’s head resting on her knees, her body stretched comfortably as she watched Beau and Fjord sparring across the clearing.

She huffed in sympathy when Beau got a particularly good hit with her staff in Fjord’s stomach and watched in awe when Beau spun around in the air and kicked him squarely across the face.

Fjord was thrown to the ground and he nearly lost grip on his sword and Beau smirked down at him. “Come on man, this was your idea. Can’t take the heat?”

Fjord was grumbling but Yasha and Nott were too far away to make out the words as he stood up and got back in position.

“Hmm,” Yasha hummed thoughtfully. “Beau’s so badass.”

Nott’s fingers froze halfway through the third braid. “Do you have a crush on her?!”

Yasha jumped in surprise and turned her head to look at her with a raised eyebrow. “What? No, of course not.”

“What do you mean ‘Of course not’? Is she not good enough for you?”

Yasha rolled her eyes and turned back around. “For fuck’s sake, Nott, that’s not what I meant. She is great but she’s… not my type.”

“Well, what’s your type then?”

“My wife.”

Nott winced and tried to distract them both by resuming her work on the braids. “Right… Well, it’s a good thing anyway because she’s already got a crush on- nothing! No one!”

Yasha frowned. “What? Who does she have a crush on?”

“No one! It’s just an expression.”

“Oh, another one of your halfling expressions?”

“Yeah, yeah, you know, like ‘I threw my family under a bridge’ and ‘Beau has a crush on Jester’ that sort of thing.”

Yasha didn’t respond right away but she looked over at Jester who was cheering Beau on several yards away. “Right. Just another expression. Because if it had been the truth then you really threw your family under the bridge on this one.”

5)

“I’m so fucked…” Nott bemoaned as she knocked back her shot of whiskey. “I’ve told almost everyone in the group about Beau’s crush on Jester and she’s going to kill me.”

The bartender looked at her curiously. “Who?”

Nott waved him off. “Forget about it. Another shot!”

+1)

She wandered home sometime around two in the morning, stepping into the Xorhaus and wincing when the crimes rang out around the foyer.

“Nott…” said a voice in a stage whisper from the living room. “Can you come here?”

Nott wandered over that way, only tripping once, and leaned her weight against the door frame. Jester was in the living room, leaning with her back against the couch and her legs stretched out in front of her. Beau was fast asleep and laid out in Jester’s lap, snoring loudly into Jester’s stomach with her arms wrapped around Jester’s waist.

“Jes? Did you call?”

Jester nodded and pointed to a blanket folded up on the other end of the couch. “Could you hand me that? I didn’t want to wake her.”

Nott hummed tiredly but walked over and handed the blanket over. “Night.”

“Night… Hey Nott?”

Nott paused in the doorway again and looked back at her as she shook out the blanket and laid it over Beau’s body. “Hmm?”

“Do you… Do you know if Beau likes anybody?”

Nott’s eyes widened. This was her moment! This was her moment to keep Beau’s secret once and for all! “Nope! She definitely doesn’t like anybody at all. She has no romantic interest in anybody at all ever, she told me so.”

Jester’s face fell but she didn’t stop running her fingers through Beau’s hair. “Oh…I- Okay. Well, good night.”

“Night,” she said again as she marched triumphantly up the stairs.

Nailed it.

[cynicalrainbows]

Inner Voice Chpt 4

Sorry for the slight pause! I've been working hard on trying to get Kitty's inner-Henry right.... and to properly show the absolute agony of trying to negotiate non-fucked up conversations when you're used to....a certain degree of fucked-up-ness as normal. I hope I did it justice- feedback is always so very welcome please!

TW for refs to an emotionally abusive relationship.

In the bathroom, she splashes water on her face and leans her forehead against the cool surface of the mirror, willing her eyes to stop stinging and her breathing to go back to normal before she has to face the others again. The last thing she needs is to have to explain herself.

It isn’t long though before there’s a tap at the outer door.

Well, at least they aren’t just coming straight in….

‘Kitty?’

Wearily she wipes her eyes: it will cause more of a fuss if she refuses to answer, as if she’s manipulating them into being more concerned than necessary.

‘You can come in, Anna’

‘Are you ok?’

She begins to nod, mostly out of habit, but as she does, she feels her face crumple and the tears return.

‘I’m- fine-’

‘No you’re not.’ Anna’s arms are not the same arms that had comforted her in their first friendship but they’re just as warm. ‘But you will be.’

‘I’m- sorry’ Her voice catches in her throat, and she nearly chokes on it. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong- what’s wrong with me-’

By rights, Anna should push her away for making a fuss over nothing but she doesn’t. (She never has done.)

‘Just one of those days?’ There’s no judgement, just understanding, as if Anna too is guilty of interrupting rehearsals to whine beside a sink.

She lets her heavy head rest in the hollow of Anna's neck. She doesn’t have the strength to lie. ‘I’m…..so tired. Of everything.’

‘I know, liebling. Do you remember, you said the same thing to me back then?’

She does remember. Her fourth day as a Maid In Waiting, still walking on pins with the anxiety of being officially in Royal Service, still unable to find her way around the enormous palace and, as consequence, late for every one of her duties. When the new queen-to-be had singled her out and called her to speak privately, she’d expected a scolding- or worse, to be sent home in disgrace.

‘I was so homesick. Court wasn’t how I'd imagined it.’

‘It wasn’t how I’d imagined it either- but d’you know, seeing that you were new to everything too made me feel so much less alone. It made things easier, I could worry about how you were getting on, rather than thinking about how strange it was for me-’

‘I thought I was in trouble- but you were so kind…..’

(It’s funny, in a sick sort of way, to think that sending her home in disgrace is, in hindsight, the very kindest thing Anna could have done for her then.)

‘I’m glad you thought so.’

‘You said it would get easier....’

‘I did. I was wrong then, I think.’

She gave the tiniest of nods and Anna tightens her hold.

‘It will be easier this time though. I promise.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Because I'm going to take better care of you, this time around.’

She says it so very certainly, as if it’s something she’s been thinking for a while. Kitty pulls away slightly. 

‘You don't need to, Anna.’ She doesn’t want to make herself anyone’s duty. All duties, even those taken on willingly, pall over time, she knows. ‘I know what I’m like, but honestly I can take care of myself.’

Anna looks at her oddly. ‘What do you think you’re like?’

It’s the sort of question that was usually a trap- it makes her anxious. It reminds her of conversations with Henry, round and round, trying to escape a snare that she couldn't see coming until she was already inside it.

(‘What did you mean by that? What are you really saying? What does this mean?’ He was always better tuned to picking up the intricacies of what she ‘really meant’ than she was. She usually didn’t even realise that she’d said something grossly offensive- or ungrateful or cruel- until he pointed it out to her.)

‘I’m didn’t mean- I’m sorry- I-’

Oh Kitty’ Anna reaches out a hand and instinctively, she flinches away. It’s just a twitch but she still feels dreadful for it…. She’s sure Anna will be hurt by her lack of trust.

But when she takes Kitty’s face in both of her hands, her dark eyes are full of love. They made the tight bands across her chest loosen slightly.

 ‘Look at me. I promise I'm not upset with you, liebling. I’m not getting cross. I was just asking because I'd like to know, so that I can reassure you. Ok?’

There’s a moment before she can make herself respond.

‘Ok.’

Anna gives a little nod for her to continue.

‘Ok. I-’ She takes a breath that is only a bit shaky. ‘I’m-’ It’s hard but she makes herself, Anna deserves that much at least. ‘I’m….not a good person. I…. think things. And I say things. And-’ She sucks in a quick gulp of air. Being this honest is hard, she feels as if she’s breaking herself open. ‘And...I’m afraid that over time, you and the others, you’ll start to see things in me, soon, and I’m afraid of that, that you’re maybe seeing them already-’

Anna's thumb brushes away the wetness on her cheek, her face calm. ‘What things, liebling?’

‘That I’m-’ Her voice catches. She’s afraid to list her worst traits to Anna in case it makes her notice them, she’s even more afraid that they won’t come as a surprise  ‘That I’m selfish. That I'm….bad. Like earlier- when they said that I was singing for vulnerable girls, that by making my song better, I was supporting them?’

‘Yes’

‘And my thought- my first thought? Was just… that I didn't care.’ She talks faster, she wants to get it over with. ‘That I was too tired to think about that, that I just wanted to get on with things, even if the song wasn't quite right, just so it could be over. And that's- I know that’s terrible but it’s...its how I felt-’

(‘Selfish, selfish girl, selfish girl, you have a cruel soul and a hard heart. What sort of person would think such things? What sort of person wouldn’t sicken at putting herself first in every case, what sort of person could live with themselves?’)

Tears blur Anna's face and she’s glad of it- she doesn’t want to see the shock and rejection that she deserves. The moment stretches like elastic, longer and longer- and then Anna moves and she flinches away again, from the blow that she expects, that she surely deserves this time- and instead, she feels herself being pulled back into the safety of Anna's arms.

‘Oh liebling. Oh Kitty.’

‘Im sorry, I-’

‘Shhhh, it’s alright.’ Anna’s voice is heavy with emotion and it sounds odd. ‘I promise you- Kitty, I promise you, there is nothing wrong with you. Nothing at all. You’re- you’re lovely-’

‘I’m not, I’m-’

Anna talks over her.

‘You’re worn out, of course you wanted it to be over. That doesn't make you selfish, that doesn't make you bad, it makes you normal.’

There's so much sincerity in Anna’s tone that it’s hard, for a moment at least, to disbelieve her.

‘Why don't I feel like it?’

‘Because you’re a good person. Do you think bad people spend time worrying about being good? No.’ Anna doesn’t wait for a response. ‘No, they don’t. But you do. Because you care.’

Anna is waiting for a sign of agreement, and it’s hard but she doesn't have it in her to lie, even to give Anna the reassurance she wants. She shakes her head slowly, feeling the tears come back- (‘You’re just trying to make her feel guilty, to milk more sweet words and reassurance from her. She’ll tire of it, soon enough-’) but Anna doesn't look annoyed, just cuddles her close again, while Kitty grips the back of her shirt. 

‘That’s ok. I'll….just keep reminding you until you believe me.’ Anna’s voice holds a smile. ‘I can be very persistent, you know...Remember my battle with Anne over the pillow?’

She does, and it’s enough to shake a weak laugh out of her. Anna chuckles too and moves a hand up to rub her tight shoulders.

‘The others will agree with me, you know.’

Anna says it with conviction but she knows she's wrong somehow. She isn’t sure if she wants to try to convince Anna of it though.

‘I…..I don't know if i want to keep talking about this now-please-’

Anna doesn’t look irritated at her attempt to end the conversation. (It had always infuriated Henry though.)

‘That’s ok, you must be exhausted.’

‘Just a bit...’

Anna detaches slightly to pass her some tissues, and waits silently while Kitty dries her eyes for what feels like the hundredth time. They’re already feeling sore and swollen.

‘Are you ready to go back?’

‘Not really.’

‘Ok.’

‘But we should.’

She knows she’ll have to face them sometime after all.

‘Ok.’

[silverynight]

Part III of the grindelmandore sugar daddy au.

***

Ignoring text messages is not going to help Newt with his... problem, especially because he basically sees Albus every single day at college.

He's been telling his professor he doesn't have time to talk, but he knows that's not going to work forever as a believable excuse.

What Newt needs to do is just to stop seeing one of them; at first Newt thinks that he should tell Albus about it, since he's still his professor and he could get in trouble for that.

But he forgets what he's supposed to say the moment Albus manages to get him in the same empty classrooms as him.

"Did I do something wrong, baby?" Albus looks almost in pain and Newt thinks that he can't... just leave him like that. "I think I was... going a little bit fast, wasn't I? I'm sorry, Newt. I didn't mean to pressure you when I said I wanted to take you home. We can take things slow."

His professor gets closer until he touches Newt's right cheek. The redhead blushes.

"So... when you said you wanted–you were talking about..."

"I wanted to spend the night with you," Albus presses his lips against Newt's, making the boy shiver. "I still want to, but I can wait. Just don't leave me..."

Albus sits back on his chair and puts Newt over his lap, staring up at him with a hopeful grin on his face.

Well... Maybe he should talk with Gellert then, because he actually likes Albus too and he doesn't want to stop seeing him.

Newt leans, enjoying the feeling of Albus's hands on his hips. The man kisses him and he surrenders completely.

***

"Did you break up with him?" Queenie asks, trying to hide a smile.

Newt suspects she already knows what happened, but just wants to have fun hearing it from him.

"No."

"Well... That means you're gonna break up with the other one then," Queenie goes back to the kitchen to make some dinner.

"Yes," although Newt's already nervous just thinking about it, he doesn't want to hurt anybody. But it's for the best, right?

Even though he also kinda likes Gellert.

"You should break up with both," Tina narrows her eyes. "I don't trust them."

"Teenie, you should relax, let Newt have some fun," Queenie winks at him and Newt's cheeks turn pink at her mischievous smirk. "I think you should keep both."

No, he can't. And he can't just tell Gellert on a text message that it's better if they don't see each other again.

"Oh, Newt. Your man is outside!" Queenie looks through the window, completely pleased.

"I can tell him to go away," Tina offers, but Newt shakes his head when he realizes it's Gellert.

"No, I need to talk to him myself."

***

"You haven't answered my texts," Gellert says, leaning against his car. He doesn't look angry, just... sad.

"I'm sorry."

"Is it because of the man that gave you the necklace?" He asks, reaching out to Newt. The boy takes his hand without thinking and the next thing he knows is that he's being pulled into strong arms.

"Uhh... Yes," he doesn't know what else to say and doesn't even bother to move away.

There's a determined glimmer in his eyes and a mischievous smile that makes Newt's cheeks burn.

"I still want to date you," the man whispers, before giving Newt a kiss on his neck. "Give me a chance. Allow me to prove you that I'm better than him."

It's a bad idea. A really bad one. But Gellert presses his lips against his and this time he doesn't just give him a peck, it's a proper kiss that leaves Newt breathless.

"Let's go dancing, Liebling."

"I need to back and put on something more–"

"I'll buy you a new suit on our way there, don't worry, Newton. You're with me, you don't have anything to worry about."

***

Gellert is a great dancer, he leads Newt with ease through the dance floor and the boy lets himself just enjoy the moment: the music and the feeling of another body pressed to his.

He closes his eyes and chuckles when he feels a kiss on the tip of his nose...

Why everything has to be so complicated? Why does he always get himself in these kind of trouble?

Gellert seems to be okay with him dating Albus as well, but his professor doesn't know anything about it.

He needs to tell him. He'll do it.

"Are you having a good time, darling?"

"Yes," he admits, smiling when Gellert presses their foreheads together.

"Glad to hear I'm not the only one, my love."

When Gellert leaves him in Tina and Queenie's flat, the last thing Newt expects is to find his friends awake, sitting in the living room, waiting for him.

"I'm so sorry, Newt," Tina mumbles as soon as he walks inside. "I didn't know what else to do! I was worried about you!"

"What happened?"

"She called your brother, sweetie," Queenie says and Tina looks down at her feet, ashamed. "He's coming."

Now THAT is a serious problem...

***

You can read part IV on my Patreon already. <3

Kofi

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