#average italian moment

[livemedown]

One time my grandpa referred to Hatsune Miku as a "creature" and it'll never not be funny to me

[watchmegetobsessed]

ILLICIT TEMPTATION

A/N: italyrry is back in action and so am i.

WORD COUNT: 1.8k

WARNING: sexual content

SUMMARY: A business trip to Italy brings more than just professional success. One hot afternoon, deliciously cold water and a series of unfortunate events bring out the illicit temptation you both have been fighting.

PART II. TO ILLICIT THOUGHTS

MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

Harry Styles will take any opportunity to travel to Italy. Vacation, just a layover, family gathering, he is always open to visit the country he almost considers his second home.

This time, he is on an active quest to expand his business, he’s been negotiating with some possible Italian partners for months now and they seem to be heading towards the finish line. To officiate the deal Harry has headed over to Bolsena, a wonderful town that resides on the coast of Lago di Bolsena, a lake of volcanic origin. And though he usually travels alone when it comes to business, this time he is accompanied by you.

The trip is set to last four days, most of it spent with the Trevisani brothers who are looking forward to do business with Harry in the future. The first two days have been hectic, brunch with Fabio and Vittore, meetings, lunch at some luxury restaurant’s terrace, even more meetings, then business dinner and it all started again the next day.

But today is finally the first day you get to have some free time. Though the first half of the day was still filled with business, now it’s after lunch time and you finally get to go to the beach you’ve been eyeing from your hotel room’s balcony since you’ve arrived.

You agreed with Harry to meet down there, because he had to take a quick call, so you’re the first one to reach the sandy beach with your beach towel under your arm and the bikini you bought especially for this trip under your sundress. In your left there’s a rockier section and it appears to be less crowded so you opt to occupy a spot there. You put down your towel and then take off your dress, enjoying the warm breeze on your skin as you get rid of your slippers and head over to the water.

It’s so refreshing, your muscles relax the moment you sink into the water so it’s up to your chin and then you dip under the surface fully. You wish you could just float around here for the rest of the trip.

A few feet away from where you left your things there’s a rock that reaches over the water, like a natural jumping board. A group of teenagers are jumping into the water, doing flips in the air, the glistening water splashing everywhere once they fall into the lake.

You’re not that big of an adrenaline junkie, but it seems like a lot of fun, so you decide to give it a try and go for a jump. Swimming over you get out of the water and follow their route over a rocky part to arrive to the jumping spot. For a while, you stop at the back, just watching them jump in one after the other before moving closer to the edge, but there’s still enough place that they can keep jumping in while you stand there, collecting your courage.

Right before you’re about to finally take the leap you look around, as if your sixth sense had been activated and when you glance over to your towel you spot Harry.

And it all goes downhill from there.

Harry looks mouthwateringly good on an average day in the office when his body is covered from neck to toe. It’s hard even then to keep your thoughts at check, but what you’re seeing right now can only be described as a violent act against females.

Add the salty air of Italy to the equation, a slight, delicious tan over his inked body that’s usually covered by his designer clothes, a chunky, luxurious pair of sunglasses and… the absolute shortest swimming trunks you’ve ever laid your eyes on, but it’s so low on his hips as he is adjusting the waistband that his V-line could be seen from even across the lake, it’s so delicious, any sane woman would lose their mind over it, then there are those chiseled abs, his bulging pecks and the unruly curls on top of his head…

It makes you lose more than just your mind. Literally.

Because when Harry looks up and he smiles your way you lose your balance and fall right into the water in a way that’s most likely anything but gracious or sexy.

The water closes above you and there’s a moment of shock, but you recover quickly, swimming upwards until your head is above the surface again.

“Fuck,” you cough, kicking underneath the water to keep you floating and you squint your eyes before opening them, but maybe you should have just kept them closed, because the next thing you see is Harry swimming towards you.

“Hey, you alright?” he reaches you and you feel his hand wrap around your upper arm to help you keep you up and his touch sends a wave of shock down your spine instantly.

“Y-yeah,” you breathe out and then you make another mistake.

It’s hard to keep yourself floating when your heart is hammering in your chest and your nervous system is all messed up from the sight you just saw moments ago. Your hands move before you could even think twice and you find yourself holding onto his broad shoulders.

The feeling of his soft, warm skin under your touch and the hard muscles underneath waves goodbye to the last bit of your sanity.

“S-sorry,” you gasp, pulling your hands back fast, but it makes you dip under the water again, so Harry reaches for you and pulls you up, curling an arm around your waist and your body goes into full shock when you feel yourself pushed up against you in the cold water, your hands coming to rest on the base of his neck as he keeps you both up.

“Please don’t drown on a business trip, that wouldn’t look too good,” he jokes and you manage to get a laugh out, but it sounds suffocated, because it feels impossible to fill your lungs when your smoking hot boss’ body is melted against yours in the water.

“Okay,” you breathe out, looking into his eyes that are covered by his sunglasses, so you can’t tell where he is looking.

That’s his luck. Because right in this moment, Harry can’t decide if he wants to stare at your wet lips, your tits pressed against his chest or your widened eyes, framed with long eyelashes glued together because of the water dripping from them.

So his gaze keeps moving between these three things behind the cover of his shades.

“Let’s move to a more shallow part,” he suggests, but he has ulterior motives.

It’s not that he wants to let go of you, hell no! He would do anything to keep you pressed up against him for hours and he even thinks about having your legs wrapped around his waist and that’s exactly that causes the problem, because he can feel himself getting hard and the last thing he needs is for you to discover his erection.

You nod and let go of him, putting some safe distance between the two of you and Harry lets you swim ahead towards the shore. He is raking his head for anything that could help him regain control over his rather hard situation. Slowly, but he finally succeeds and he can feel himself calming down just as you reach a more shallow part. You both stand and emerge from the water and Harry catches a glimpse of your bikini clad body, the crystal clear water is dripping from your curves and in a split second, he is hardening again.

He is just about to drop back into the water to hide his erection when you step on a rock and lose your balance, falling backwards, straight into Harry’s arm.

You gasp as his arms lock around your waist, keeping you from falling into the water ant potentially hurting yourself, but this also means that your ass is now pressed against his crotch… which means that his hard cock is now wedged comfortable between your ass cheeks.

For a moment Harry is sure whoever is up above, they are playing a cruel game with him. Because seeing you in a bikini was already a burning temptation, then having you in his arms in the water and those illicit thoughts invading his mind about how it would feel to have your legs around his waist was pure torture, but this… this is something he will surely think about in the evening when he’s alone in his hotel room, his hand wrapped around his leaking cock…

He considers the chances of you not realizing his dick is pressed against your ass, but judging from the way your body has stiffened, there’s no way you didn’t notice.

You definitely did. You feel every inch of him, you feel how thick and rock hard he is and you think about how it would feel like if he was inside you right now.

Harry clears his throat behind you, his arms still around your waist.

“Are you alright?” he asks and his mouth is right next to your ear, his hot breath is tickling your neck and goosebumps cover your skin from head to toe.

Your voice is gone, all you can do is nod, but you’re still not moving.

“Y/N?” he speaks up again.

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna let you go now.”

And let’s not talk about how my cock just sat between your ask cheeks for a whole minute, he adds mentally.

You nod and put your weight back onto your feet as you pull away from Harry, his arms fall from around you and he moves back quickly a few feet so the water reaches above his hip, covering the bulge in his shorts.

“I-I think I’m gonna… head back to my room,” you stutter, only daring to look at him for a split second.

“Okay.”

“I’m gonna take a nap,” you add and Harry nods.

“See you before dinner. Fabio wants to take us out for drinks after,” he reminds you.

“Great. S-see you later,” you clear your throat and rush out of the water as fast as you can without tripping again.

You gather your stuff and head to the stairs that lead up to the hotel, but allow yourself one last glance back. In the water, you spot Harry swimming further in the lake and the feeling of his erection pressed up against you invades your mind again, making you run up the stairs, taking two steps at once and you don’t stop until you’re locked up in your hotel room. Your bikini is still dripping wet, but between your legs it’s not just because of the swimming.

You strip and then stand under the massive walk-in shower, cold water running down you as you lean against the tiled wall, trying to wrap your mind around what just happened, but it’s impossible and the next thing you know is that you have two fingers buried inside your pussy and you’re chanting Harry’s name as you chase your release.

Fuck, you think when you’ve come, tonight will be your personal Hell.

READ PART III. NOW: ILLICIT ACTS

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

[goldsbitch]

That one Bologna drive

part 2 to That one Christmas flight (strongly recommend reading that one first! made me so happy you guys liked this one, so let's continue!)

summary: They were suppose to not look for each other. So of course they didn't.

warnings: crushing hard, swear words I guess, typos probably

PS: y'all gonna hate me

Lando really wanted to keep his promise not to search for her online. He enjoyed the mystery and the option to keep this little encounter as a nice "why if". Until he didn't.

With the only information he had being her first name and the fact she was a student at Bologna university his private burner account was truly burning up. He must have seen every account of the current Bologna alumni. It was strange being on the other side of these pseudo stalker fan games. There were moments where he deactivated his account, to stop him from doomscrolling. And then there were nights when he did nothing but that.

He was fed up with the emptiness and shallow lifestyle that followed him. His friends were surprised, when he started to carry classical literature books with him. Since he hated those looks, decision to really keep all of this to himself had been made. It felt like a pose sometimes - he did not have to prove anything to anyone, he was fine as he was. But a strange feeling of wanting something more is hard to navigate when the life around you seems dead set in the current ways.

Weeks passed by with his eyes fixed on one moment in particular. The Imola Grand Prix. It felt like a cruel joke when he realized this circuit was a mere hour away from Bologna.

Lando was not sure if he was supposed to be proud or scared when finally found her account. At this point, it was hard to find a better expert on the social life of that university town. But it would be a massive lie, if he said he did not sprint up from his chair when he saw her in one of her friends insta story. Tagged.

He nearly DM'd her about 20 times. But, this was not the way it was supposed to feel. No. It seemed like a way better plan to ride up to Bologna and hang out at what seemed to be her favorite cafe / bar in the centre. If it was meant to be, he would run into her and it could all be called a second lucky accident.

He had an average start of the season. Maybe Imola would bring him luck one way or the other.

//

His plan was to ride up there the evening after his first practice - then the team debrief dragged until late hours. He hit the wall on the second day - his team made sure he went through all and every medical check up, no matter how much he protested. Then there was this and than that and suddenly he realized the only possible evening would be the Sunday one. He requested the latest flight him team would allow.

Finishing fourth felt like a joke, even though it was his best finish this season. Missing the podium by a mere second was a cruel of a metaphor.

Once he managed to run through all his duties, exhausted as truly was, he hit the road.

Within a half an hour, he was in what seemed her most favorite cafe, sitting on a bar stool, ordering a glass of white wine.

She was nowhere to be found. His heart jumped when her friends came in and sat outside, lighting their cigarettes. Lando waited. He had to laugh at himself, pathetic as he was right now. By his luck lately, she was probably in her bedroom sleeping, or worse - on a date with some Italian fuck boy. Going up to her friends and asking was absolutely not an option - he wanted to surprise her, not scare her and creep her out.

He left the bar after one hour for a stroll around. He walked around the lively square filled with young people sitting on the ground and having the time of their life, the one he saw hundreds of times on his screen. Who knew, maybe she'd be around somewhere. Jealousy swept over him, envying those who were fortunate enough to keep her company right now at this very moment. After one hour he was back for a second glass. But this time he heard his name being called loudly immediately as he stepped inside. All of his tired muscles tensed up in disbelief. And to continue with the theme of pure luck - it was an ordinary fan. The surprised guy with a Mercedes t-shirt insisted on a photo and signature. Lando smiled, signed and went back to his car.

He probably needed this closure.

//

Y/N was a person who prided herself on her principles. So when she and the mystery boy from that Christmas flight agreed upon not looking each other up, she kept herself away from doing so. Exam season and university life got in the way, providing a great distraction.

Only when she went on a date with what seemed to be a lovely French physics student, she allowed herself to think back to her encounter with Lando. That's when her internal facade fell apart. She spent the whole date imagining Lando would appear. He'd sit at a different table, right in her view, and then once her date would go on the toilet, they'd run away like little kids would do. They'd sit in a local park and laugh while sharing a bottle of wine. She knew he was somehow famous. He heart crushed at the thought that she was probably overshadowed by girls way prettier than her.

And then, on a random afternoon during a first study session the weather allowed her and her friends to spend outside, in one of the university gardens, one simple conversation she accidentaly overheard from the people sitting nearby, caused her to loose the last chance of keeping the meeting with Lando intact.

"Yeah, Lando Norris. Way hotter than Leclerc, I must say."

"I still don't understand why you love formula 1."

"They just know how to sell the story."

Surely, they were not talking about Lando. "Sure, there must be thousands of well known people called Lando," Y/N replied to her own question.

She took this as a sign, gave up on her principles and went full ballistic on her research. Downforce, penalties, the teams history, qualifying, chequered flag.

Since she was so deep in, keeping her obsession to herself as she had no idea with whom she could possibly share this, she might as well ask her mom for tickets money. The idea that she knew that he was just an hour away and she would miss that was simply not on the table.

Formula 1 race in an event meant for groups of friends to share their passion. So sitting there on the stand alone felt a little bittersweet. She made sure to push down any thoughts about seeing him up close again, let alone talking to him. It was something that half of the people present would try to do. And risking having him look through her, or worse - not remembering her - was not something she wished to live through.

But she cheered for him, she really did. Anytime he passed around her stand she got up, she watched him on the screen during interviews and when it became clear, he would have his best result of the season so far here at Imola, she celebrated with all those around her. Feeling proud that he was doing good. There was an electrifying energy in the air which could not compare to the times she watched races in her room on her laptop. If he had been standing near to her, she knew he would say something to beat himself up for missing a podium. And if she was standing next to him, she would tell him that he is an idiot and should also celebrate.

He looked a bit off during the interviews. Probably the crash few days ago. Y/N stayed sitting there just a bit longer than an average fan would.

Probably to avoid traffic...

part 3

______________________________________________________

Tagged all those who like to suffer: @prudyhoo @anuksunamon @sagestack @esquerkaren @ushygushybaby @superlegend216

[steviesbicrisis]

Eddie Munson who gets his Lizzie McGuire moment by going to Rome with an university art program.

The only requirement is to visit museums regularly and redraw the art pieces in his style and submit his work by the end of it.

What seems to be a piece of cake for Eddie, gets a lot more complicated when the average Italian museum worker is met with his peculiar drawings style -which might include evil dragons and decapitated heads in some of Caravaggio’s Still Lives and, in worst cases, some additions to Christian art pieces that have been described as “blasphemy” as he was getting escorted out and banned from the Vatican’s Museums (and maybe the whole country, Eddie still doesn’t know so he avoids that part of the city just to be safe).

And Eddie, who will never compromise his work integrity for a few Italian bigots, ends up in one of the least known and visited museums of the city. Which still, by his standards, contains fine art he can work on.

And if this particular museum, which is one hour and a half of public transport from his house, has a really hot security guard who follows him closely and barks at every tourist that tries to take a picture of his drawings, he surely won’t complain.

[octuscle]

Cursed Ken, part 7: The Greaser

Daniel's whole body was shaking. He had leafed through all the catalogs. He had been on various forums. This Ken figure didn't even exist. And yet it was offered here on ebay. It could be a prototype that had never been produced. Or a small series that had never gone on sale officially. But the doll was there. Of course, it could also be something else. A product from another company. A fake would not be out of the question. But there was currently no bidder. The auction ran for another eight minutes. The seller wanted a paltry 10 dollars. The risk was minimal. And the chance? Prototypes of such dolls had already been sold for thousands of dollars. Daniel was a cautious, no, a fearful person. A person who enjoyed collecting dolls. To put it mildly, Daniel was overweight, didn't leave the house and lived on welfare. But he had an impressive collection of Ken figures. And now he was bidding 20 dollars on this doll. Ping! He was the highest bidder. Six minutes to go. Three more. 50 seconds. No more bidders! 3, 2, 1. Mine! He had the doll. Without a counterbid. For 10 dollars. He couldn't wait. He paid immediately via PayPal. And waited…

Daniel had to wait two weeks. Two bloody long weeks. And then he held the parcel in his trembling hands. He was wearing gloves. The doll was too perfect to be a mass-produced product. The hair wasn't plastic, it had actually been waxed into an oily quiff. The jacket was made of leather, the jeans of real fabric. The doll even smelled real. Like leather and pomade. Daniel breathed heavily. With excitement. And from exertion. He had almost run up the stairs to his collection. He draped the latest doll in a place of honor. Shit, he'd left his cell phone downstairs. Panting, he went downstairs. He had to capture this moment in a photo. Downstairs, he searched for his cell phone. He had left it somewhere… "Mamma, dov'è il mio cellulare?" he called out. No answer. Where was his mamma? There was a note in the kitchen. That he should remember to buy tomatoes at the market before he came to the restaurant. What time was it? 10:30. Shit, he had to hurry. The first guests were due in an hour. And if the pasta sauce wasn't ready by then because there were no fresh tomatoes, he'd be in big trouble with his mamma and his nonna.

Danilo was the typical Italian-American in his early 20s. Hot and testosterone-driven. But a bit on the simple side. He had forgotten something upstairs. He wanted to do something upstairs and for that he needed something from downstairs. And now? He ran back to his room. Logically, he had forgotten his comb and his leather jacket. He stood in front of the mirror and smoothed his hair. The pomade was shiny. Yes, he looked pretty retro. But that was part of the family home. It was the place to go for fans of good Neapolitan cuisine. And the 50s. Well, and a lot of guests came for Danilo's sake.

"Excuse me, may I take a photo of you?" Danilo heard this an average of 1.8 times as he walked from his parents' house, where he still lived, to his parents' restaurant, where he worked. Danilo was good at striking a pose. He was a star in Little Italy. And on Instagram. And even if his mamma and his nonna didn't know it, also on Grindr.

[fluffbyday-smutbynight]

Good Omens x Michael Sheen x Ancient Rome - a crossover made in heaven Italy

I'm crawling out of the rock I've been living under - just because I feel like this post I reblogged needs some context to be fully appreciated (and you all know how much I love deep diving into the most random shit). Quoting @thiswomanshouldbewriting :

No one is doing it like the Italian Good Omens fandom, making Michael Sheen trend on twitter because Alberto Angela used his footage as Nero in his documentary. Literally no one is like us.

The mentioned footage is, as you might have inferred if you're a Michael Sheen/GO fan, from the 2006 BBC docudrama "Ancient Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire", which Sheen starred in as a very unhinged Nero. Imagine you're the average italian GO fan, channel-zapping while you do chores, or homework, or you're having dinner, and you suddenly see (on RAI1, aka the state-owned broadcasting *main* tv channel) THIS:

(and also the show somewhat restores Nero's reputation, *and* discusses at length the Romans' rampant bisexuality *and* mentions Nero's same-sex marriageS (plural) *and* the soundtrack SLAYS) (god I wish it was subtitled in English 'cause y'all would love it)

That's something to be excited about already. But wait... there's more!

If you're not Italian (hi 99,9% of tumblr) you might ask yourself: but what's all the fuss about? and who the fuck is Alberto Angela?

Glad you asked.

Alberto Angela, author and host of the documentary programme that included the aforementioned footage, is - simply put - an icon, a myth, a cornerstone of cultural divulgation in this country.

He's an accomplished paleontologist, archeologist, writer, and a very engaging communicator.

He's a son of art, since his late father Piero was an even greater public figure, an all-time favourite of the italian audience (think: the Mr. Rogers of science divulgation) -- which only adds to Alberto's fame and love by the masses.

He's been a staple on tv for a long time, a beloved chaperone to everything about science, culture and especially history, which he conveys with utmost passion.

He's also a very fine man.

It won't surprise you that, over time, he's become sort of a national sex-symbol: the charming nerd, the next-door Indiana Jones, the cultured, wholesome, handsome heartthrob.

...and a great source of memes:

"I DIVULGE. HARD."

"Deoxyribonucleic acid" *splash*

So... let's rewind for a moment: you're the average italian GO fan, channel-zapping while you do chores, or homework, or you're having dinner, and you suddenly see Michael Sheen as Nero featured on the most popular documentary programme in the country, by the most beloved & iconic tv host of recent times.

In conclusion: this is why the italian GO fandom is going positively feral on twitter. You're welcome. *crawls under her rock again*

[rainbowsky]

I haven’t had any questions lately but love your blog and your insights. In a video of the group photo at Milan fashion week, GG is sitting next to the older man and they are talking. I figure in some videos when GG is talking to others he has translators but it does not look like anyone from his staff is around and I was wondering if they were speaking in English or what other languages he might speak. Love to hear your insights and hope you are doing well.

Hi coyote! Thanks so much, I'm glad you're enjoying my blog! 😊

The man he's seen talking with a lot is Diego Della Valle, the CEO of Tod's. GG has a fantastic relationship with him, and he even referred to him as yeye (grandpa) in his Vogue interview from the show.

Last time GG was in Milan Della Valle took GG on a tour of some beautiful sites around Italy - including the Colloseum in Rome -and some sites significant to the brand (the workshop, the flagship store, etc.). GG got to spend a lot of time with him, so they had plenty of opportunity to build a strong relationship.

You can tell just by his entire demeanour around GG that Della Valle adores GG. Which makes absolute sense given how cute, gracious and charming GG is. When GG arrived at the Tod's show this year Della Valle lit up like a Christmas tree.

They sat together last year at the Tod's show as well (those who missed out on last year's trip can check out my 'gg milan fashion week 2023' tag).

Anyway, you weren't asking about Della Valle, you were asking about how GG is able to communicate with him. The simple answer is that GG does have some English!

Many students in China learn English in school, although they sometimes don't get as much opportunity to speak it, so it's probably kind of like my French - I understand quite well to hear, read and write it, but my accent and pronunciation are a bit rough around the edges (that's putting it mildly 😅).

With the international travel he's done and all the elbow-rubbing he's had to do with foreign celebrities and brand stakeholders I think GG has had a lot more opportunity than the average person to exercise his language skills, so I've no doubt he's improving all the time.

He's also a huge music lover and has many times been seen singing English songs from Avril Lavigne, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith and many more. A couple of English performances he's done in the past:

Starts at 3:22 (I'll never get over hockey player GG 🥲).

It also seems clear that GG has a general interest in languages. He knows a fair bit of Korean and he and DD are seen in The Untamed BTS speaking various languages and dialects, including English. This is also a common feature of LRLG rumors.

There are many clips to be found online of GG speaking English for ads, occasionally a few lines for drama roles, throwing in English phrases into interviews, etc. Just based those alone I think one can tell that he's got pretty good English. His pronunciation is quite good.

If you watch some of the vlogs he's posted from the international events, and some of the clips shared by brands and magazines, you can catch moments of GG having English interactions with many people at those events. One of my absolute favorites is when he's replying to a bodyguard in a vlog when he was in Florence last year (starts at 4:08).

The bodyguard is trying to teach him how to roll his r to pronounce Florence in Italian ('Firenze') and GG says, "I can't do it." The way he says it is so damn cute, I almost died when I heard it.

Anyway, so to answer your question, GG speaks in English with Della Valle and others at those events!

[lovejosephquinn]

Hope you're all ready for a fluffy fluff and smutty smut first date with Joey, this has been living in my head all day.

Word Count: 4k Under 18's DNI.

First date's are always unnerving and you'd been particularly sweating for this one since the moment Joe had asked you out. Giving you the option to choose where he took you for a meal, you simply couldn't decide on what the right answer would be so you were practical about it and gave him 3 options to choose from.

Italian - basic yet delicious.

Steakhouse - classy yet simple.

French - romantic yet alluring.

Joe kept it a surprise from you, not telling you in case you changed your mind when he insinuated in a rather innocently sexist manner that was what women tended to do, yeah he's not wrong but he didn't have to be so exact about it.

All he told you to do was dress up real nice. He had a thing about looking good in public, looking sharp and dressing like a gentleman or at least at times an old man which was something you teased him about a lot, it was never comfortable clothes with him from what you knew, only his nearest and dearest got that view and you were hoping that maybe one day, if things took off; you'd get to see a a rather messy and simple version of the man you were now dating.

You'd met through mutual friends, hitting it off instantly and going to back to his flat to continue drinking, yet instead of pursuing things further as most people would in this century; you only had the one drink and you stayed up talking all night. You swapped numbers so you could stay in contact since Joe wasn't big on the whole social media scene. It was all quite refreshing. You left fairly early that next morning after falling asleep on his sofa, waking up with a blanket draped over you seemingly after Joe had left you to slumber whilst he clambered off to bed at goodness knows what time. And he had text you almost instantly that next day and continued to for the next few days, which turned into hours and hours of talking on the phone. Whenever you'd both got a spare minute, you were spending your time giggling at something he said, Facetiming through your dinner break. Nothing but throwing jokes at one another and flirting back and fourth until your jaw was aching from all the smiles he alone brought to your face. Eventually, the smiles turned in butterflies, you'd not been used to this amount of attention before, someone clearly wanting your time over anything else. You started to like him pretty quickly, not that it was difficult and within a week he'd mustered the courage to ask you out.

And here you were, you'd had your wardrobe practically turned upside down from the amount of clothes you'd put on and then decided not to act on. Your mind was elsewhere, wondering how the date would go, you weren't particularly phased about the mess seeing as the anxiety of time getting closer to Joe picking you up from your home was drawing near. There were more important things at stake - like your sanity of finally picking something worthy of dinner with this man or making a physical impression, something he'd clearly remember for a long time and would keep him coming back for more.

You'd slicked your hair back into a ponytail, curling the ends to make it look a little more fancy, a nice face of minimal and natural looking make up and ended up sporting a beautifully low cut khaki satin dress, the heels to match and a simple blazer you could sling over your shoulders if you were to get cold at any point through the wintery chills of the evening.

The moment your phone lit up from the corner of your eye, you could've thrown up, sure the first meeting with Joe was a surprise and just your average spending time with an added bonus of wanting to be in his company for longer, though you'd had a little thing called liquid courage before you'd even set eyes on him, which helped to get you through the night and created a more confident you in the long run. But now things had gotten a little more serious if you could call it that - the first date was officially in swing and every crevice of your body was sweating; your feelings instantly getting the better of you.

You walked out the front door putting a brave face on and spotted a little further down the road a car that was in full ignition, the lights shining brightly through the dark night. You calmly strolled over, you were the clumsiest soul and would only have made a scene in tripping over yourself in the first 30 seconds if you hadn't. You peered in through the passenger window to see Joe looking down at his phone, the screen giving his face a beautiful glow.

You attempted to open the door, which was automatically locked, of course it was. Joe peered up, ridding his phone into the bottomed shelf in the side of the car door and leaned over the passenger seat, releasing the car door open and making the light come on so you could catch a gaze of one another easier. You smiled at him and he lingered a little longer to get a proper look at you, his smile mirroring yours as his sight fell upon each and every part of you he could view. He looked so sexy from below, you were sure it was illegal to look that good.

"You look breath taking, beautiful." He muttered, moving back to his seat so you could get in, your face flushed just in time for the car light to go out once you'd closed the door, the familiar feeling of the butterflies that had caught you in surprise over the previous days made a come back instantly. "Well thank you handsome." You winked back at him, his cheeks blushing as crimson as yours.

"So I'm dying to know, where are we going?" You said as he pulled of the curb and onto the road.

"Well option number 3 took my fancy, it's little French place I've walked past so many times in my life and never had someone special enough to go with me."

Special? You were special to him. Was he trying to kill you with such particular wording?

"Fantastic, I'm excited." You really needed to give yourself credit for the way you played it off so coolly.

Once you arrived, conversation well in spark over the low sounds of the radio that played in the background, Joe got out of the car and ran around as fast he could to open your door for you, offering you his hand to step out. You took it without a second thought and swivelled yourself around as ladylike as you could, getting out and shutting the door behind you. The streetlight above you gave every glimpse of the most gorgeous man you'd ever laid eyes on. He cleaned up good.

He was wearing a full black shirt, blazer and trousers, smart shiny boots that screamed expensive, his hair ruffled and messy from the wax but curls still prominent on top of his head. His facial hair neat and newly trimmed. You'd smelt him from the moment the car door opened back on your street, which made your thighs clench due to it's delicious intoxicating aroma. Joe hadn't let go of your hand, clearly under the impression you were checking him out before lifting your hands up in unison into the air, bringing you back down to reality from your gawking. "Give me a twirl." You turned all shy. Not like you. He twirled you around in a full 360 motion.

"Jesus, you're stunning Y/N. How did I get this lucky?" He couldn't take his eyes off of you again. Nobody had ever looked at you the way Joe had. Pulling you in from his grip on your hand and replacing it to the small of your back, locking his car with the other; you proceeded over the road and to the entrance of the beautifully lit and quaint little restaurant you were to be dining at.

Joe did all the things only your imagination thought a gentleman could possibly pull off, he pulled out your chair for you to sit once you were shown to your table, hanging your blazer on the back of your chair for you before sitting down himself, ordering the fanciest and most expensive bottle of champagne you could get. Let you order first in which he approved quite highly of your good taste. Most of all, his eyes just remained solidly on you and he'd only take them away if he oh so needed to. The conversation was light and brief by the time your champagne was placed in the middle of you both, clinking your glasses together and taking a sip of the sweet bubbles that hit your taste buds. Echoes of laughter begun when you fed each other the oysters you'd got to share, juices dribbling down your chin; cheeky remarks falling from Joe's lips when he saw it only making you adore him even more. The way he cold go from sweet, to cheeky and back to his radiating sunshine self over and over baffled you in more ways than one. It seemed he had the ability to make you happy, make you laugh and make you want to mount him and rip his clothes off all in one go.

You enjoyed the most delectable 3 course meal, which took hours to get through down to the way you took so long to eat since you were too busy chatting each other's ears off. He'd become someone you were comfortable around so quickly, sharing your deepest secrets and your fondest memories with one another, delving in the occasional extremely flirtatious comment and making yourselves and each other more keen by the minute. Joe had took your hand in his at some point after the second course finished, stroking his thumb over the back of your hand whilst listening to you go on about something that had happened at work that you'd forgot to tell him. His eyes just listened intensively, fluttering down a few times to your now food stained, less glossy and soft lips as he proceeded to nod to show he was still interested. He'd made such an effort and had given you a truly memorable evening.

By the time the bill came around, your eyes grew twice the size that they were before when you saw the price. You insisted on putting towards it but Joe just laughed in your face. "Who would I be if I made you pay? I asked you out - I pay." You shook your head in refusal but he wouldn't take no for answer.

"So does that mean if I ask you out again, I pay?" Joe barked a laugh at your try, but it wasn't to say he liked the thought of you mentioning seeing him for a second date.

"It's not tit for tat love, just your company, your incredible personality and the way you look tonight is worth it." You frowned, but your lips couldn't quite help the creep of a smile that froze onto them from his compliments, looking back up he was already smiling back at you. You thanked the waiter as Joe slipped him a personal tip for being such a good host to you both. He did the same as he'd done before, getting out of his seat and putting your blazer back around your arms before you got out of your chair to leave.

Joe took your hand in his this time, intertwining your fingers together as you got out of the restaurant, the knowing of this night confirmed so well by the way he held your hand so sweetly. You walked to the car, his chivalrous instincts kicking in once more, opening the door for you and shutting it behind you once you were in. You didn't want it to end and surely enough he read your thoughts.

"You want to come back to mine?" Joe spoke in a slightly nervous, shy tone, not a way you'd of imagined for him to be after the success of tonight. You'd already been to his as per the first night you met, but this felt insanely different on account of feelings flying here, there and everywhere.

You didn't leave him hanging long, you just needed to find a way to say it without sounding to desperate in your reply. "I'd love to."

Joe drove into the night, his flat a few miles out from the bustling city, having to make a short run through quieter roads to get to where he lived. His hand fell upon the middle of your thigh once he'd changed gears and you felt your heart burst through your chest. Your core aching when you looked down to watch his hand tense against the bare flesh sticking through the slit of satin, goose bumps flared under his touch, making him glance at you a few times when you suddenly looked awkward about it. You were sad when he took his hand away, resting on his own thigh and you readjusted yourself to try and calm down.

"Everything ok Y/N?" Joe broke the silence of the moment, his full attention back onto you when he hit a red light.

"Yeah I just-" You bit down on your lip and he noticed instantly, his eyes flashing down to your thighs which were clenching again, your chest puffing outward trying to breathe out regularly, a fire burning in his chocolatey gaze had him almost screaming to have you where you sat. He had kept his filthy desires to himself all night, not being able to wait to get you alone before he attempted to get his hands on you. Knowing this was unlike the two of you to want to go all the way on a first date, yet the way you wanted it so mutually was unbearable yet unknown to you both, until now.

"You just?" Joe continued, trying to urge you to come out with it.

"Can you pull over please?" You'd just hit a back country lane after leaving the main road, the city now a lit up scene behind you. Joe pulled over as requested on the side of the road. Darkness all around you, a rare sight of a car seen only minutes before so it was clear not many people would travelling down here at this time.

You took off your seatbelt, letting it fall to the side and turned to Joe. He tilted his head to the side slightly, the reflection of the lit up, muted sound system was the only thing keeping your features alight. He took off his and watched you, both of your lips parting slightly as you sat in pure silence, the only noise was the oxygen you exhaled, although in this mere moment, it felt like you weren't breathing at all.

"I hope I didn't go a step to far in asking you to come back-"

You cut Joe off, throwing yourself over to his space and enveloping your arms around his neck, crashing your lips onto his and opening your mouth slightly to deepen the kiss, your tongues plunging through to one another, dancing in unison as whimpers hummed from one to another. Joe followed your lead and the only thing that was different was the smirk that you felt from his lips as they crushed against yours making you ache. Joe hand creeped onto your jaw, cupping over it, your face tilting inward which only intensified the heat between you. Not quite the slow and quite frankly cute first kiss you imagined, actually this one was right up your alley.

You broke the kiss and moved yourself up and over the middle that blocked you from being nearer, caging yourself between the steering wheel and Joe's body, resting down onto his lap and your dress inching upwards instantly when Joe wrapped his arm around your lower back, pulling you in to him further. You kissed his lips once more before moving down to his jawline and shortly after, his neck. Something you'd never found attractive until you first saw his, you'd imagined it to be soft to the touch, his skin delicately taken by your lips when you slid your muscle down the thickness of a vein that stuck out in the middle of it, nibbling at the goose bumps that now appeared, mirroring the ones of your thighs earlier. You hit a particular spot just off to the side of his throat when you earned the most unholy groan erupting out of his mouth. The first of many.

Your clothed cunt sat upon his bulge, the hardness pressing up into you and straining through his trousers. You attacked his neck further, sucking a purple bruise into his skin, your teeth gnawing at the spot where you were marking him gave him ammunition to buck himself up into you, your hips dry humping downward as you felt the covered length throbbing as it stroked perfectly through your folds, hitting your clit in the faintest of ways.

You came up for air, your assault to his neck had your lips gleaming from the little bits of saliva that escaped you, the overpowering scent of him tinging away at your nostrils, the entirety of your body screaming for him to give you everything.

You bore your sights into one another's, perfectly silenced but watching each other. The wet patch forming on your underwear told you all you needed to know. "I want you Joe." You panted towards him, pecking at his lips, your hands resting on his chest as you picked up the pace, grinding into him, making him feel the heat radiating through your panties, appearing to be absolutely ravenous and starved on top of him as if you hadn't just eaten a full meal.

"Right here?" Joe whispered, your lips inches away.

"Right now." You confirmed.

Joe's hands settled onto your waist not a second later, lifting you slightly. You held your hands on the back of his seat, keeping yourself in a position so that he could unbutton his trousers and pull them and his boxers down to his feet. You gawked down at his now released cock, your mouth fully parted whilst inaudible noises stammered there way out from the depths of your vocal chords making him chuckle, not jokingly, more fiercely.

"Fuck, you're so-" You managed.

"Something I'm rather confident about." Joe interrupted.

His horny state got the better of him when he tugged your dress up to your stomach, pulling the thin cotton of your underwear out and gripped it into his fist. "Do you mind?" You shook your head slowly, catching on to what he meant too late when he tore the material from you, repeating the other side and taking them directly off from your front, they would of just fallen off if it weren't for the wet mess you were making against them.

"Let me make you feel good, baby." Joe positioned his cock upwards as you set yourself down, taking him in with a yelp from your throat, the girth feeling like it could rip you to shreds. It didn't matter about adjusting, you were that soaked enough for this man that he slid in pretty easy once his tip had made it's way through your entrance.

"So tight. So fucking pretty." Joe put his hands back to your hips and you gave him a nod as a signal to continue whilst practically beaming over the whole thing. He moved you up and down slowly, feeling the way your cunt clenched firmly around his length, repeating the process several times, your moans falling out of you as he hit every spot. No man had ever made you feel this turned on this quick before and it showed right through from the way you gripped onto his blazer, loud noises of skin slapping against skin filled the air. Borderline pornographic noises bouncing off every spot of the inside of the car. You pushed yourself down to the base, writhing yourself against him, grinding yourself closer to release.

Joe pushed his hand through to reach your clit, his finger finding it expertly, your folds already parted from you devouring his cock so he had better access to push down on your sensitive bud, circling around it in a way that matched the pace of you riding him.

"Joe I'm going to- oh my god." Your words only made Joe buck his hips upward, forcing you to lean midway up into the air as he began to fuck your gaping cunt with all his might. You wrapped your arms around him, your face falling into the crook of his neck whilst your fingers clawed into his curls, letting him make you feel as good as he had outspokenly promised to. Your orgasm hit you in an instant, no warning given as you almost fell from being in such a vulnerable and weak state. You managed to somehow keep yourself propped up against him, your whole body came alive, screaming his name slight with the intensity raging through your body and cum dripping down Joe's cock. Wetter than ever, his thrusts became wild and the force of your climax had Joe spewing inside of you, his body jerking the way yours just had, his eyes rolled to the back of his head when his release hit him hard. A long drawn out moan fell from his lips, your name mixed somewhere in-between.

"S-shit I didn't mean to c-cum inside." Joe panted, a mild state of panic under the bliss he was still experiencing.

"I'm on the pill, relax baby. I would've told you before but I was to eager to have you." You felt him calm at that and suddenly he didn't regret it so much anymore.

You lifted yourself off him, his slick sodden cock falling against his shirt. A whimper overcame you both from the loss of contact when you climbed back over in your seat. You sorted yourselves out, you used your defiled underwear to clean yourself up as best you could, whilst Joe just covered himself back up, a mental note given to clean up later.

Nothing but a smile came over you both, Joe reached for your hand, lifting it to his lips and planting a kiss onto your knuckles.

"You are something else." Joe grinned, hitting a wink your way.

"In a good way?" You giggled.

"In the best of ways." Joe confirmed.

"You're still coming back with me right?" As if he had to ask.

"Only if you promise to do that again."

"I promise, but this time. I'll be the one on top of you."

The first date nerves were gone in a flash, it couldn't have gone better. The feelings had multiplied and you couldn't help feeling that going back to his flat was the second date already. Except unlike last time when you went over, you wouldn't be accidentally falling asleep on the sofa, you'd be purposely under the covers with the man you were quickly falling in love with. The man you'd given yourself too, not just your body, your heart too. And maybe, just maybe you'd get to see him in sweatpants come the morning.

[lilacargent]

This is an add on to my previous idea of old weapons being redundant and everything being rays/plasma/energy based. But humans are weird little things that like hoarding weapons…

This story plays on a spaceship called the Serpentine.

Important crew:

Primoz, captain -Limoyh a four armed species-Krag, second in command (brother of Primoz)

Kit, dokter -avian, bird like, she has feathers like a swallow-

Ortez, ASR (all species resources, human resources in space) -kiltak, insectoid species, think ants but exoskeleton-

Lugea, helmsperson (does the steering) -rock like alien-

Artex, engineer/mechanic 1 -also Kiltak-

And then our humans:

Kamari, navigator -Eritrean woman- (has cat named Sidra)

Markus, weapons expert (knows how to use them and upkeep, also shields) -Swedish man-

Petrus, mechanic/engineer 2 - Italian man-

Lilly, administrator/note keeper (learns languages for fun)-english woman-

~~~~~~

Ouroboros

The mood on the Serpentine is at an all time low. Right now they were supposed to be on planet earth, getting a tour from the deathworld residents. Krag was very disappointed that the humans celebration for their 15 year tenure on the ship had to be cancelled, after all the stories he had really wanted to see the planet, at least more than the embassy or a space travel base.

Sadly this had to be put on hold, as the Counsel is at war. The big four armed alienwas looking at his brother, the captain, pacing the bridge while they slowly moved to the deserted front lines of the attack, hoping to maybe find something that gives the Unity an edge.

This had started no more than a month ago, an exploratory vessel had found a planet beyond the borders of Avian territory, on the southern side of Unity (direction is always measured from Unity as that is the point of convergence for most species and space faring) now new planets were interesting but not usually to the average person. The last message received was a voice note screaming about a wormhole in the planet the sent hundreds of ships and the ship it self failing on all fronts and shutting down.

From that day a line of dark crude ships started eating away at the Avian territory, within a week they had lost 19 colonies. Nothing is stopping them, ships that got too close shut down for no reason and were never recovered as the unstoppable line of enemy ships progressed. Weapons fired from far away did nothing as whatever beam they threw vanished when it gets close.

All that and the Unity still kept sending forces, because what else were they going to do?

So here they are, on their way to a probable death sentence with no clue about the enemy. Through his somber thoughts Krag hears laughing from the mess hall, yes, these are the moments he is extra thankful for the humans. After 15 years they were pillars in the crew, right now Lilly and Petrus were teaching the crew human “sea shanties” which were apparently doing their job of lifting spirits as the humans had explained, Lilly is writing the english words down for Kit who is learning the language in her analog book, one of her human oddities. Markus is showing some of the newer recruits the ins and outs of the weapon systems. Lastly Kamari, their leader and confidant, she has made herself indispensable to Ortez over the years. Now she was sitting in a corner listening to people pour their hearts out, giving the best advice she can.

As the ship is approaching the seemingly desolate piece of space where 23 ships float without direction or crew, hulls torn open and ransacked, the crew of the Serpentine watches in horror as there are only Unity ships, non of their enemy.

Artex and Petrus helm the out board arms in trying to get any information or remnants that are usable, when the ship shivers and stills. As the sound of something attaching to the outer hull comes through, the ships lights and computers shut down.

“DO NOT PANIC” the captain yells, “grab your weapons, and prepare for battle” as everyone prepares Markus grabs a weapon from his bag, a long gun, which Primoz recognises as an old earth weapon. “Why would you carry that?” Primoz grabs Markus’ arm, who contorts his face in one of the more terrifying human grins, one usually reserved for enemies “well we know the blasters don’t work. I thought let’s try this!” Now that the captain is looking he sees that the humans are all carrying an old weapon, Kamari seems to have a smaller version of Markus’ gun, Petrus has a sword on his hip and Lilly had several sheets with daggers strapped to her hips. Primoz turns around as Krag grabs his shoulder “if it gives them hope, let it go, what are they gonna do?”

Lugea catches their attention “something is boarding in sector three!” Immediately the armed crew members ran toward the sector, Markus directing people into an ambush formation. Blasters ready they wait.

The doors as everything else have lost power, but with a flash electricity runs through it the doors open and two tall lanky aliens skitter in (the silence from doctor who but in body armour) with voices that sound like nails on a chalk board they use the captains language “sssurendderrr, and youuu won’t ssssssufffer. Yourrr weaponsssss aree ussssseelll-“ with a swoosh Lilly’s knife flew past the ranks and embedded itself a bit in the body armour. Three blaster shots follow her knife but dissipate in mid air. Kamari’s eyes light up as she grabs her glock “looks like old does the trick!” A big bang makes the other crew members cover their ears. But the bullet hits its target, and dark yellow blood pours from a head wound.

“Thats it!” Petrus runs in and goes for a decapitation, sadly no such luck as the left over alien grabs his sword and not caring for life and limb tries to touch the human. Before he can a second loud shot rings out, Markus got a good aim.

Now there are two dead aliens but still no power. Through some investigation Kit figures out the aliens are like leeches for energy, electricity and a lot of what their stuff runs on. The ship the creatures came with is empty and sending out a signal, worried more enemy troops are coming the crew discusses. No useful ideas come up until Petrus starts speaking: “what if we make thrusters like the old ones on earth? Y’know like a fire powered one. Heck i know we have several things that are flammable in high quantities. If we put that behind the other ship we could propel ourselves away maybe find council ship? And while we are at it we could Ouroboros this ship when those leech man comeback. right Markus?" Markus gets a pensive look on his face “yea we probably could, but even if we can propel the other ship far enough how do we stop our people from trying to blow us up?’ Now Lilly speaks up ‘we can paint it? I have paints in my room, our space suit will still keep the pressure out but won’t supply oxygen. We could hold our breath.’ Rumbling Lugea intercepts ‘while i do need a little oxygen i can survive up to 58 kliks without it, i could do it?’ More and more of the crew start to speak up, Artez offers to help Petrus with the thrusters. Kit knows several flammable liquids she keeps in the med bay and has enough chemical knowledge to know what can be used as fuel so she is in on gathering the necessary ingredients. The two brothers started with decking out Lugea, and gathered several steel ropes to pull the ship in so people could get on with as little exposure as possible.

Ortez realises noone asked what ‘ouroboros’ meant and finds Kamari in a fight with Markus ‘you’re right that we’re gonna need the push if we want to get anywhere but there has to be another way?!’ The dark woman whisper shouts with a resigned look Markus grabs her flailing arm ‘we have no electricity to make a remote to do it from a distance moon, I don’t see another option.’ The fact that Markus is using Kamaris nickname and gets no scolding look makes the insectoid realise this is very serious ‘what about Lilly then? You know she won’t let you.’ Now the man looks stern ‘we dont tell her until it is too late.’ Skittering into the light Ortez speaks up ‘what exactly does ‘ouroboros’ a ship mean and why can’t you tell Lilly?’ Startled the two humans look at him, Kamari takes the word ‘ouroboros is a plan we made up for blowing the ship up, without power source. Ya know- serpentine -serpent -ouroboros is a serpent eating its own tail’ as she is speaking Ortez gets more anxious ‘okay several things 1, you made plans to blow up the ship?! 2, you just said you don’t have a remote which means you are planning on staying behind’ focussing all six eyes on Marks. Who squares his shoulders and nods.

It took two hours to get things in place, another hour to prepare and calculate the blast range.

Almost everyone has boarded the enemy ship, save for Primoz, Kamari, Krag and Markus. With tears in her eyes Kamari hugs him, Primoz grabs him by the shoulders ‘are you aure? The thrusters might be enough.’ A sad smile crosses his face ‘but it most likely won’t be captain. It was an honour serving with you.’ The three salute him while he walks to the bridge so he can see the ship and calculate when to start the chain reaction.

As the captain and his brother close the secondary doors behind Kamari, Lilly realises what has happened ‘NO,’ running for the door Petrus grabs her ‘PLEASE NO,’ as she fights and struggles the man starts whispering to her while she screams for Markus. Krag looks away towards Artez ‘start the thrusters’ now weeping Lilly cries out ‘WE LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND, we leave no one behind.’ the ships starts moving and as calculated their beautiful Serpentine blows up the shock wave propelling the now brightly coloured ship to safety.

It takes 5 hours for them to be found, after explaining the situation they are immediately transported to Unity. Where the group of humans show Lillies notes and the enemy ship. Plans are made and the human civilisation shows exactly why they are so scary when in les than a week they mass produce weapons that can hurt the newly dubbed leeches.

With the crew on the frontlines scattered over separate ships they beat back the leeches, destroying the wormhole and any stragglers are mercilessly killed off.

Humans are terrifying if you hurt them, because they never come after you alone.

~~~~~~~~~

This is technically the end of the serpentine but much room for stories in the 15 years before.

Hopefully people enjoy this.

[senanatheskenana]

Genshin Street Racers AU

Contains the OG Genshin boys (No inazuma/ Sumeru but may do them later idk)

TW- some implications of sex but not actually smut. Illegal driving. 

Please don’t break the law kids!

~~~~

Kaeya

Kaeya is infamous on the street racing scene. He's known for being unpredictable in the streets, so people often try to stay out of his way in case he drifts to close. He's agile and fearless, a combination that's both got him onto and out of a huge array of problems. 

His car is his baby- an icy blue classic Mustang, modified by the best mechanic in Mondstadt. Thanks to Albedo the car easily does 170mph,   0 to sixty in 3 seconds flat. Kaeya never races a car with a roof up, because he say there's no point without the wind in his face, so each night when he finishes a race, his blue hair is always windswept in that alluring way it had been the night you first met.. 

That's what he told you the first time he met you, shades pushed up his nose, hair completely messed with. He asks you if you've ever seen a car like his and when you say no he asks if you wanna take a ride. And like that, you ditch your friends outside the bar and hop in the passenger seat.

What you didn't expect was to be going 130 miles an hour down the Galesong highway, 'highway to hell' playing loud enough for the whole city to hear. He laughs at you when you grip the door handle like you're gonna fall out the car when he weaves between average, law-abiding drivers.

And when you get back on the unmoving ground, you surprise yourself by telling him you'd d it again.

~~~~

 Diluc

Diluc is not the sort of street racer people want to go against by choice. He's honourable, but he's completely brutal, with a car that breezes past 60 mph in less that 3 seconds. 

He drives a Chevrolet Camaro, all black on the outside, with a sleek vermillion leather interior.  It's honestly a car that completely suits him. 

The windows are tinted black- privacy more for your sake than his. He's adamant that you never stay in the car for a race but, every once in a while, you'll end up in there, wrists pinned to the Italian leather of the back seats as he kisses down your neck, making every moment count before a race begins.

Diluc keeps one of your necklaces around the rear view mirror, his good luck charm dangling like a symbolic air freshener.

~~~~~

Venti

Venti started motorbike racing at the age of 15, stopping and then restarting in his mid 20s after overcoming his alcoholism he developed in his teen years.. He's known as one of the youngest racing legends in Mondstadt.

He rides his Yamaha r1 like it's sationary, sometimes ever being so confident as to take his helmet off just so he can wink at you.  He's small but there's no rider more agile than Venti.

It took Venti a while to garner your affection- multiple races to impress you, even taking you out on his bike, going slower than he ever has before just to keep you safe. 

There's been times where Venti's risks caught up to him. He's legendary but he sometimes forgets that it doesn't mean he's immortal. It's after the close calls that he makes it up to you, leaning you against his bike while he gets to his knees in front of you. It's in those moments that he apologises for the stupid things he does. 

~~~~

Albedo

Albedo doesn't race but he knows a hell of a lot about racing. If anyone in Mondstadt needs a ride modified and chopped, he's their first pick. He's not cheap but that's the price of quality. 

It's in his body shop that you meet him, face smeared in oil as he rolls out frum underneath a car. At first he's only interested in the car, before you roll the window down and stare at him. Oh he's down for it. 

Albedo builds your car like it's his own, because he takes pride in seeing you win in a car he's chopped. Everyone knows it's a Kriedprinz car when it roars to life at the starting line and they shudder in awe.

Though he doesn't do it often, Albedo can drive- WELL. He hardly ever drives with both hands on the wheel because the other is planted on your thigh. If you weren't the owner of the car, you'd think he was the racer.

~~~~

Xiao

Xiao is always testing his limits. He's hardly ever off his bike- and make no mistake, it's fast. It's a Suzuki GSX-r1000, flat black with blue accents and an engine that roars. Easily it reaches 190 but he's always pushing it to the limit.

Xiao's identity was a relative mystery for a long time because he never took his helmet off, even after the races. In fact you were the first person to see his face. 

You had been caught in a dark alley by a group of thugs but before they could do anything, Xiao's bike had sped right between you and them. He rips the helmet off and hands it to you before ordering you to get on. Of course you do, feeling your heart pound in your ears as your arms wrap around his black leather jacket.

His manager, Zhongli often remarks about how you make Xiao more distracted but he always denies this fact, knowing full well that his first thought after and during a race is coming back to you and taking you in the dead of night.

~~~~~

Tartaglia

What a show off Childe is. He'll take any risk as long as it has a pay off of some kind. The adrenaline he gets from maxing out the speed dial is something he craves all the time.

He's a rich bitch who races purely for fun and it irritates people to no end that he's casually a driving prodigy. He drives a Lamborghini Huracan, hardly ever going the speed limit on any road- after all, who would be willing to raise a complaint to the Fatui mafia about one of their Harbingers.

He hardly ever attends a race if you aren’t there to impress. You're the only thing there that interests him. We all know what's on his mind during the races. He's only ever thinking about getting you in the car so you can fool around.

He's had to evade police multiple times for indecent exposure because of his excitable and insatiable nature.

He'll try it on anywhere. Sometimes he's even on the phone with you during a race, telling you about what he plans to do to you. Cocky fucker. 

~~~~

Zhongli

Zhongli's a now retired legend in the street racing community of Liyue, though he still drives from time to time, he really only manages his protégé, Xiao.

He's responsible but he does seemingly dangerous stunts because he's confident he can pull them off. In fact, he's one of the only guys that would be ok with you being in the car during a race.

Zhongli teaches you to drive his Nissan patiently, hands holding yours steady with you on his lap as he pushes the accelerator down and changes gear. Having you so close to him is undoubtedly making things happen but he hasn't shown any signs that he's lost composure.

It's when you meet his fellow street racer legends that things finally become clear as to exactly how renowned Zhongli- Morax was. They always called him his old stage name as a mark of respect. It's also in those moments that you're overcome with pride at seeing and being with such a master driver. And you make sure to call him by his rightful title once you get back in the car.

[sleepingdeath-light]

romano smut hcs ; 18+

requested by ; anonymous (17/05/23) [2/2]

fandom(s) ; hetalia

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; romano vargas / south italy

outline ; “hullo!! This is for UCN!! Don’t see much Hetalia content here so let’s change that shall we >:3 I’d like some relationship headcanons for Romano :D he’s so skrunkly and I love him so much (and also someone made a “most attractive guy in Hetalia” competition here and Romano’s beating the absolute shit out of every dude he’s up against xD) If it’s not too much to ask maybe we can have sfw + nsfw? 🥺 (I’m 21!! Sorry if that’s weird-)”

warning(s) ; sexually explicit content, public sex acts

minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

he has super sexually sensitive thighs and groping/biting/kissing them is guaranteed to make him moan

very vocal in the bedroom both in the sense of talking a lot and in the context of just generally being very loud

swears a lot when he orgasms

very big on dirty talk and slips in a lot of praise — also alternates a lot between english and italian in the moment

extremely possessive and won’t even consider the thought of bringing someone else into your sex life or sharing you at all

very easy to fluster if you tease him by brushing your fingers against his cock and thighs over his clothes and whisper in his ear exactly what you need

wouldn’t send nudes but would be happy to receive them, always responding with a filthy compliment in italian

clothed grinding and thigh riding are extremely common types of foreplay with him since there are times when you’re too horny to get fully undressed and just need some quick release before the main event

he has a lot of toys that he enjoys using on you and is happy to go shopping for more if you see something you’d like to try out

big on doggy style and the concubine positions, but he’s also happy to fuck you against any sort of surface that’s closest to you at the time

his high libido means that if you let him, he’s happy to take you anywhere and everywhere

empty office/meeting rooms, any room in the house, alleyways, in the garden, in a tent or in your car, etc.

loves going down on you but prefers to have you straddle his face when he does (not a fan of kneeling)

has a shocking amount of stamina and can go for a while, but usually stops after two rounds because you need to recover

he’s about average in length but incredibly girthy

bath or pool sex would be something he’d be up for

has a slight thing for bondage but he can take it or leave it based on your preference

loves covering you in hickeys but will get super flustered if you leave any on noticeable areas on him (namely his throat)

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

For funsies, do you have thoughts about what pokemon each Cullen would be most likely to have? Like idk why but I picture Emmett with a Growlithe

I swear to god I had answered this somewhere but since I can't find it, I doubt others can find it.

Let's do it.

Alice

Per the Pokemon universe, Alice is very clearly a psychic and while a powerful one is more or less bog-standard and less terrifying than Sabrina.

I imagine Alice would have a Kadabra and they would have great fun together as Alice communicates for them and uses them to teleport her places she wishes to go.

Bella

Bella has an Eevee, not only is it appropriately normal/non-interesting looking but it's very vulnerable looking, weak compared to its potential evolutionary forms, and has that evolutionary potential to become almost anything for all Bella wouldn't really recognize that fact.

She'd love Eevee because it's a normal type, just like her, because Bella is so normal it hurts.

"Bella, that means only fighting types are super effective against you"

"I am so average."

Carlisle

Carlisle has a Chansey that becomes a Blissey that is his wife Esme. See, Carlisle was working at a Pokemon Center (as one does) and one day came in a tragic Chansey that had had to run away from its trainer and in the process lost its egg.

Everyone had given up on Chansey and Carlisle, cursing himself for being a vampire and probably terrifying the life out of her, ends up taking her home.

Chansey thrives in her new environment and, as all Chansey do, becomes progressively weird the more happy she is. Chansey evolves into a Blissey, a creature that will run at lightening speeds to offer you an egg in your time of need.

It is accepted in the Cullen household that Esme the Blissey is the Cullen mom. It's so accepted, they forget it's weird.

Bella comes to their house and Edward promises she'll love his mother.

Who is his mother?

The Blissey making Italian food in the kitchen because Isaballa is Italian right? (Despite Blissey only saying "Blissey" the plot does not change at all and Bella just assumes that when Blissey goes on a long chirping rant to her it's about how great Edward is.

Yeah, Edward must be her favorite blood sucking child.)

Edward

Edward doesn't have a pokemon.

This is because as a vampire he didn't want to corrupt a good, benign, pokemon with his presence (only the fact that Carlisle and Esme are so pure prevents him from feeling too terrible about Esme). So, Edward wants to gravitate towards more... ah... let's call them tempermental pokemon such as Gengar.

However, Edward doesn't actually want a Gengar, as he wants to be a good person worthy of the world, and a Gengar also doesn't want him for that same reason.

When he meets Bella, there's a dramatic moment where she helps him accept that he too can have a pokemon like a real boy. As Bella tells him what to get, and he wants to impress her, I imagine he gets a Dragonair as it's so beautiful and elegant, just like Bella thinks Edward is (he's never allowed to evolve it into a herp de derp Dragonite).

Emmett

Growlithe and Arcanine in the pokemon world I think are a little too associated with duty/law enforcement to quite be Emmett's thing. Growlithes, while dogs, are very much watch dogs and have a steadfast seriousness when it comes to protection/the law or what have you.

I'm really struggling with him, actually.

I'm going to go with Aipom, good natured but extremely mischievous (and perhaps a little short sighted) who love to live in groups and are just looking for a good time.

Emmett would think his Aipom is the shit.

Emmett also has a Magikarp because he thinks it's hilarious. Its name is Splash. He will never ever trade it.

Esme

Esme is a Blissey. See above.

Though, a happy (but weird), day might come about when coming back from doing the shopping (which Blissey happily does now without having to worry about eating people even if the towns people of Poke Forks are a little surprised that the Blissey is just out there shopping... alone... or going to parent teacher conferences and just... acting like people) and what do you know there's an egg.

"This is our egg, Carlisle" Esme the Blissey clearly pantomimes.

"Sure," is what Carlisle says because he doesn't want to disagree (and pokemon work in mysterious ways) but he did not do the thing that you know humans do to procreate.

Anyways, point being, Esme at one point might have a little Happiny.

Rosalie looks on it with envy because while she adores Esme, EsMe CaN HaVE ChiLDrEN anD isN't a VAmPIrE.

Jasper

Jasper has a Houndoom from his glory days at war. He tries to tell people it's not a Balrog.

Jasper is wrong, it is a Balrog.

Renesmee

There's a story here.

There is great debate over what pokemon Renemsee should get as it should be as special and wonderful as she is. Edward wants to give he ran Eevee, like her mother (Bella's Eevee having since evolved into some state Bella thinks is more cool/better) and for the symbolism of potential and growth that Eevees represent.

Bella wants to give her daughter a Dratini, something that will grow up to be beautiful and elegant and otherworldly (and never a Dragonite, never, it will only stay a Dratini).

Esme of course offers her beloved daughter Happiny (but isn't that your child Esme???) as well as an egg in Renesmee's time of need.

Alice wants her with something adorable like a Pichu, Azumarill, or what have you. It will look great in pictures. And must never ever be allowed to evolve.

Emmett wants to give her a Magikarp which they will name "Splash Two" or "Splashnesmee".

Jacob, of course, wants to give Renesmee a Mightyena because it's a wolf. "It will eat her face, Jacob" Bella does not want to do this even if she admits the symbolism is touching.

In all the bickering, Renesmee stumbles across a Cleffa (stumble being that a spaceship arrived and hit her in the face). Cleffa, being extremely rare and alien, is not recognized by the Cullens who stare and wonder "what is that thing".

Alice supposes it's cute, if not what she had in mind, she can work with this. Bella, Edward, and Jacob are all still upset and trying to get Renesmee to give the thing to Esme to raise so she can have their pokemon instead.

Renesmee ends up with all the pokemon, but does not get rid of Cleffa.

Rosalie

I actually put Rosalie as having a Chikorita. Chikoritas are steadfast, loyal to those they love, as well as courageous. While a Vulpix and Ninetales would appeal to Rosalie's aesthetics, being incredibly beautiful, Chikorita would have all the qualities she'd look for in a friend/partner that is a Pokemon while also being able to be nurturing/help with chores and things (via the use of helpful vines versus well fire balls).

[shaarlslec]

gorgeous

pairing: mick schumacher x reader 

words: 6500 ish

warnings: none just reader’s anxiety 

a/n: inspired by nothing else but taylor swift’s song gorgeous of course 

masterlist 

You meet your ex-deskmate Mick Schumacher at your high-school reunion, and you are way too anxious to talk with him, but the only thing Mick does is to search for your glare in the crowded room.

“It’s Mick!” You almost shouted as you locked yourself in the bathroom stall, “It’s fucking Mick.” You repeated as your friend was desperately trying to get into the bathroom stall with you by pushing the door you so strongly opposed with your back.

“Oh come on now Y/N, are you going to lock yourself up in the bathroom the whole party just because you saw someone you had a tiny crush on in high-school?” Your friend asked, strongly pushing the door which was only hitting your back.

“Tiny?!” You commented in loud voice, “I was head over heels with this guy for two full years!” You added, wide opening the door to meet your annoyed friend’s face, “Have you seen him now? He is gorgeous!” You spoke cupping your cheeks with both of your hands to feel them burning only thinking about Mick, “I bailed out the moment he greeted me by only waving in my direction.”

Your friend’s shoulders twitched up, “I think he looks like any average German man, blue eyes, blond hair, jacked and with a cute smile. You can do better than this, what about your boyfriend? The Italian guy?” They spoke, curiously arching one of their brows as both of your arms were grabbed by your wrists to get you the hell out of that sticky bathroom stall, “What would he think if he saw you going nuts over someone you have not talked to in years?”

You rolled your eyes as your ex was mentioned in the conversation, “Fuck Italian guys, I broke up with him two weeks ago. Caught him cheating, a good for nothing tall brunette guy.” You huffed as you look at yourself in the bathroom’s mirror, “Oh fuck, how can I even say hi back to him looking like this?” You exclaimed, trying to neat your ruffled hair and the hems of your skirt that went above your thighs in your insane run to the bathroom.

“I think you are the one who is completely gorgeous.” Your friend affirmed as they helped you with putting yourself together, “I will not let you miss the party because a random ass guy’s presence, we have not missed this party in four years!”

What your friend was saying was true. You attended all your high-school reunions year by year since you have finished – mainly for networking and part for the fancy food and free drinks. It was quite exhausting to do so every year, but you all attended an exclusive high school back in your hometown that largely produced businessmen and women which where high on the social scale giving you the opportunity for new high-paid jobs and strong connections.

The gathering went the same every single year – except for this one. Mick never attended before, the last time anyone from your school saw him was at the graduation. The man was too caught up in a world that was far different from yours. And yet now, there was he standing all dressed up in the middle of the room talking and taking pictures with everyone who was stunned as you were by the man’s presence. 

Mick spotted you moments before you locked yourself in the bathroom stall and happily waved at you first, and the only thing you were capable of doing after you saw that amazing huge smile after five years of not seeing it up close was to run as if you were scared for your life – leaving him hanging and confused as Mick watched your bare back turned on him.

You whipped, “It is not just a random ass guy.” You spoke as you exhaled, “It’s Mick.”

“I know, I know.” Your friend spoke, “It’s Mick who took the same classes as you in the last two years of high-school, Mick who always picked you up for projects and bought you coffees in the morning without you asking, Mick with whom you placed silly bets about your classmates.” Your friend was kind enough to remind you, “I was there too, remember? I remember all the stories you told me.” They sarcastically inquired, “The kindest boy in school, the one that everybody liked and adored, and the one you spoke about all the time.” They added, “Let’s go back in there and think about the fact that five years have passed and maybe now your Mick is the most annoying spoiled brat at this party, ok?”

You took a fresh breath of air in, “I highly doubt that.” You spoke while lovely looking at your friend, “Thank you for trying to push me, but I need you to keep me away from him for the whole night.”

Your friend nodded with a sharp tilt, “Although, I must say,” They paused taking a better look at you, “It is really funny to see you this flustered because of a guy again, nobody ever made you feel like that by just a glance ever.”

You ironically laughed, “Yes, let’s make fun again of the girl and her crush on Mick fucking Schumacher.”

What your friend was unaware of was the fact that your crush on Mick was not as inoffensive as high-school crushes were at that time. It was not that type of a crush that lasts for a couple of months and then vanished away in thin air being replaced by some haphazard fling. It was that type of a first-time crush that can last forever and that you never really recovered from. None of your crushes resisted that long, although you tended to fall in love hungrily and at once – the Italian guy was one of the examples. And yet, there was something about crushing on a cute German guy with the brightest smile in the room that you have not managed to wrap your finger around.

Was it because Mick was kind with you? Hell no, Mick was kind with literally everybody. If you were to assign awards at the end of the senior year, the one you were constantly thinking about during those two last years would have been offered the Nicest Guy in The Whole History of The School. Yes, you had to come with a better name for it but everyone else would have agreed that not only Mick was handsome, but the personality of a man exactly matched a happy golden retriever being taken out in snow for the first time. If it was not the way Mick behaved around you, what was it? 

You never managed to find an answer to your question, because the crush continued even in the years that followed high school when you started to become a somewhat responsible adult who should have not been still in love with that one sharing a desk with her at school.

Mick being Mick Schumacher was not helping at all. After high school ended, the name was everywhere you looked. You always saw Mick’s races on television, and even went to a few when he first got the seat at Hass. You could not escape the Schumacher name even if you wanted to. You got mad every single time when somebody spoke ill of his father in your group of friends, and you even punched a guy once for degrading the family’s name. It was all worth it. It was for Mick, even if he was miles away from you and you two barely exchanged texts since graduation day.

You never let him know that you were there in the audience cheering for him at his races or that you were constantly thinking about him mainly because you never thought of him as being more than your desk-mate and little so a friend. That and the fact that you were pretty much convinced of the fact that Mick simply forgot about your existence aside from a few likes on social media and responses to your shy replies at the man’s Instagram stories.

Oh, and how wrong you were to believe that. Mick remembered you, and he remember you all too well: the way you shyly smiled at him when he quietly was late and sat next to you, the way your fingers would always tremble on the pen before taking a test, the way your laugh filled the space within your bodies when he would not get a joke from one of your colleagues or how you slightly frowned when you explained to him for the tenth time how to solve a math problem. 

And yet, the teenager boy Mick was not aware of the fact that remembering small insignificant details about somebody means falling in love when all he was thinking about was racing, but now that his seat was fairly secured in the league Mick dreamed had always dream of being part, the man recognized that the jump of his heart once he saw you posting that tall brunette good for nothing man on your social media meant something more than a simple thrill.

Mick was destined to do big things, and you were aware of it right from the start and due to that you have not dared to interfere in any shape of form to the greatness of what had to follow. You were often in different cities where both of your jobs lead to after high school, therefore you kept your exchange of texts minimal and none of you was daring enough to ask the other one out simply because none of you were aware of the mutual crushes you had on each other.

Could you have been braver when you were teenagers? Maybe you could do so, and yet Mick being most at the track and little at school, the little German gem of a guy kept himself away from forming any type of friendships or relationships during high school knowing that they will be hard for him to maintain. 

You always have considered yourself lucky enough to sit next to Mick, while everyone else was just passing by to say hi or to steal a little bit of his attention, you were the one to first be announced what happened on track the day or the person with whom Mick gossiped.

That made you happy enough at that time, and Mick too. You stood quiet at Mick’s side making silly projects together and behaving like adults by drinking coffee in the mornings, placing bets on who was sleeping with whom in the room and laughing silently when teachers told you to shut up during class.

You could have said something to Mick back then, and yet you were even more afraid as you were now five years later to glance into the gorgeous blue eyes of the man, there was not a chance for you to stare back into them when you were seventeen. And now at the first party Mick had ever attended they were fixed on you right after you gathered enough of your broken courage to exit the bathroom and go back enormous ballroom.

Mick was everything, but not a fool. The man saw you rushing to the bathroom once he spotted you after minutes of searching in the crowd. Mick knew that you will be there from your friend’s post who never failed to take photos from the last four parties in the previous years, and something about knowing that you two will finally meet after five years of no physical contact made him even more excited about the whole reunion party. 

There was not even an intention for Mick to attend when he first got the invitation, and yet something about him being around town at the right time and knowing that you will be there too convinced Mick otherwise.

You threw a short wave back at him from across the room as an apology from running away the first time. And then, you decided that it would be the best if you tried to ignore him for the rest of the night. You gulped, there was no way in hell in which you could ignore such a good-looking man dressed in a tailored-blue suit that perfectly matched those blue ocean eyes making his way through the crowded room just to meet you.

“Hello there!” Mick happily spoke as he finally reached you after what was a failure the first time, “I am so glad that you are here, I was looking for you!” The German spoke with a timid smile sprung all over his face, “I was worried that there will be no one to talk to at this party and I would have to leave early.”  

You went breathless. You have seen pictures with him on social media and you knew right away that he grew up to be even more handsome, but nothing could have prepared you for him sitting right in front of you in flesh and bones saying that he is so glad that you were there.

“And my job for tonight seems to be done.” Your friend first spoke at your right after they clicked your glass of champagne with theirs, “I will let you two catch up.” They spoke before making their exit but not before throwing you a cheeky little wink.

You watched their back from across Mick’s shoulder whose focus was only on you now, you just wanted to shout at them to come back. You mumbled something, that was the only thing that you managed to do. 

You were now alone left with Mick, and although people were passing by you like in a train-station requiring a photo of him or an autograph, you still felt like being in the room with him and only him.

“Y/N?” Mick curiously inquired as he noticed the paleness of your cheeks after he apologized for not wanting to take any pictures anymore, “Are you okay?”

You shook your head and coughed twice to adjust your voice, “Yes, yes, I am ok.” You stumbled, “Oh, you remember my name.” You muttered while looking up at him, the words not being meant to be spoken out loud into the world, but that was the Mick Schumacher effect on you.

Mick chuckled, “Yes, of course I do. What are you talking about, we were in the same classes for two whole years.” The man replied, “Besides, you have a pretty name. Why would you think that I would have forgotten that?” Mick then added, slowly leaning in to whisper your full name into your left ear to make you sure that there was no chance in the world he would have forgotten that.

Your knees went immediately soft as your glare went into Mick’s once his lifted from the ground, “I naturally assume everyone in the class forgot about my name, I was not that popular in school as you know.” You softly spoke, your brain sending shivers down to your spine as Mick was not moving nor shifting that glare from yours which was conveniently accompanied by the same shy smile that he introduced you to.

Mick let out a short sigh, “Oh come on, you were the smartest person in the class, and I know for sure that you outsmart everyone here still. I am pretty sure that everyone was envious of you. You aced everything, I bet you ten dollars that everyone in this room knows who Y/N is.”

You chuckled now that it felt like being in high school once again with him, and as if nothing changed. You have always liked how you would place bets when classes got boring, and you usually played for two-three flicks but now money sounded more intriguing and you could not help yourself but tease him, “Ten dollars from a driver in Formula 1? Do they pay that poor over there?” You joked, taking a sip of your champagne as you saw the man’s muscles relaxing underneath the fabric of the white shirt.

Mick smiled widened even more now, “Oh, I see you are up to date with what I have been up to.”

You nodded, “I think everyone is up with what you have been up to Schumacher.”

The statement you made only made you rethink again about your status compared to your ex-deskmate. Your heart sunk, Mick Schumacher was talking to you and all eyes were on him.

Mick smiled in that old-fashioned way in which he got you used to. Kind huge smile, tiny eyes covered in long lashes. You took another breath of heavy air into your lungs; it was already too much for you to handle. Being next to him, talking to him, inhaling the man’s perfume after not seeing him in flesh and bones this close for so many years. You needed an out, you needed out.  

“I talk about work all the time, tell me what you have been up to. You are way too secretive on social media.” Mick spoke, resting his elbow on the high-table next to your bodies, “I am genuinely curios.” He then added with the chin in one of his palms watching you dearly and waiting patiently for your response, “Where is that handsome Italian boyfriend of yours?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck, you almost whimpered underneath your breath. Was Mick Schumacher interested in what you have been up to? Was Mick Schumacher looking at your pictures with your good for nothing ex-boyfriend?

Your head titled, “We actually broke up.” You confessed, “So no, no Italian guy tonight.” You spoke, resting the hand that was holding your drink on the table.

“Oh,” Mick muttered, “I am sorry to hear.” Mick spoke, innocently pulling a move on you by gently rubbing your shoulder releasing his chin from the palm with which Mick was now touching you, “From what I have seen, you two looked good together.” He then added, the truth being overshadowed by that cocky smile of his that you did not think him capable of.

Mick was not sorry, not even a little, not even at all. And no, looking “good” together was the last thing Mick thought about when the photos first appeared on his feed. 

You looked good, extremely good, astonishing even. The man next to you? Not so much.

You smiled back and watched Mick’s hand departing from your already lightly shaky shoulder. You let out a short breath out while your eyes went from Mick, you were not even aware how you were able to keep your emotions under control when Mick briefly touched you. 

You stood silent, although you wanted to ask Mick the same thing. Was the driver alone at the party that night? And yet, you were not able to mutter long sentences to him, you knew that you would break at some point and make a full of yourself.

“Ok so, no Italian guy.” Mick Schumacher spoke, clapping both of his hands at his chest with a loud clasp of excitement, “What about your job? Please tell me something that does not involve cars, tracks, speed limits.” He then muttered after an exhausted gasp, “I have been here for not even half an hour and that is all people want to speak to me about.”

You sighed while Mick was not even trying to hide the delight of you not bringing a plus-one at the event, “My job is way more boring than yours; I am actually a freelance accountant so if Haas needs guidance in this direction, please do hit me up.” You partially joked with a light chuckle that was nothing but music to Mick’s ears.

The truth was that you would have loved to be ringed by Mick but not for working purposes. Mick chuckled too, “Trust me, the team is in huge need of financial advice but the only thing that would help us would be if we bring mo-”

Mick suddenly stopped with a shake of the head and apologized to you with the sincerest words, “Look at me, talking about work again.” He then added with what seemed to be a heavy sigh, “Freelance accountant? That does not sound boring to me at all, just too complicated to comprehend. Tell me more about it.”

You looked up to him again before taking an awkward look at your shoes. Mick was really interested in what you were talking. Strange, there has been awhile since someone was that genuinely interested in your work. You wanted to talk to him, you wanted to do more than just actually talking to him but then, your mouth was again unable to move once you looked into those gorgeous blue eyes of his. You shortly sighed as intrusive awful thoughts were once again invading your mind. 

The man standing in front of you was Mick Schumacher, that Schumacher and you were merely a freelance accountant. You started to doubt yourself, as you always do, although none of the people surrounding you perceive you in the way you are doing so. 

Was he interested or just bored? Was he playing some sort of a twisted game or was he frankly curious about the last five years of your life? The truth balanced to the latter, and yet your mind grasped otherwise.

“I would love to, but I actually have to go Mick.” You apologized, searching for your friend to use as an exit, “I think my friend is waiti-”

Your words were interrupted by the very recognizable laugh of your friend that was in the back of the room loudly shouting the words “shots, shots, shots” with a group of mutual friends from high school that were two years older than you and in which you immediately spotted your friend’s ex-boyfriend. 

You knew it meant trouble, but you also knew that they could handle the whole situation by themselves. And yet, you used that excuse as an out and left Mick alone without even saying a proper goodbye.

“I really do have to go, that over there is their ex-lover and I am pretty sure that it will go downhill from there if I leave them to drink on their own. See you around.” You hurryingly spoke as you were already running once again from the man whose look was now even more confused than the first time.

“Oh, ok? See you around then.” Mick embarrassingly muttered underneath his heavy breath once you were already gone.

Your heart was beating like crazy on your way to your friend while Mick’s head was filled with unanswered inquiries. 

Did he say something wrong to you? Was he too pushy or too much? Was he less than you expected? What happened? Why would you run away from him? None of you seemed to have the answers for your questions about the other yet. 

“Gimmie that.” You immediately spoke as you reached the group your friend was in and stole the shot from their hands taking it fully into down to your neck while with the other hand you were hardly holding together your exploding chest. 

You watched Mick being removed from the spot you initially talked by a group of girls that wanted to take his picture with a more beautiful background in the back. You noticed their whimpers even, and the pleading faces and then Mick’s awkward smile while agreeing to go to the spot fully dedicated for pictures. You could not have blamed him for saying yes, and even more not blame the girls from trying to steal him. 

Racing driver, fine-looking, well-liked, generous and a Schumacher.

You continued the night with a few shots after losing sight of Mick but still checking from time to time if you can spot him in the crowd, and then after the shots kicked in you decided that the best way to vent your unspoken emotions was to get on the dance floor and impress the group you were with and your friends with your silly dance moves and knowhow of all the lyrics of the songs that the DJ was playing.��

For one hour or so, you had a blast together and shots went down to your throat quite rapidly and when slow songs started you decided that it was the perfect moment to revive a little and fetch some water and a fresh breath of air outside.

You were not the only one to keep an eye on Mick from time to time over their shoulders, the man did so as well. 

He noticed you having fun with your friends and had decided to not interfere but now that he was seeing you getting away from the group and straight to the exit of the building. 

Mick was afraid that you might just go home without saying goodbye, and so he followed you outside without you noticing.

You searched for the cigs in your clutch, placed on in between your lips and lighted it just for the fun of being already dizzy from the alcohol. You took a smoke in, and then a jump once you heard the voice of Mick besides you. 

You calmed down once you spotted him, and then your heart twitched again once you became aware of the fact that you were alone with Mick in the dim light of the terrace that perfectly put in perspective that disheveled blonde hair of the man and the relaxed untied tie resting around a two-bottoms down shirt.

“Might if I join you?” Mick asked, gently titling his head to the left to watch you from a better angle. 

You were not the only one stunned by the quietness of being together and the above light illuminating your faces in the vanishing darkness of the evening. Mick was too, the only difference between the two of you was that Mick was braver to put it into words than you were, “You look beautiful.”

Simple, effective, spine-shivering, knee-softening. You gulped, muttering a weak “you too” back to him. 

Mick lightly tittered at your remark as the man’s cheeks turned slightly pink while the already ruffled hair was being even more disturbed by the man’s hand going through it in front of you.

“Do you want me to go? I am sorry that I barged in uninvited, I just saw you leave, and I thought you were not coming back in. I will leave you have your cigarette if that is what you want.” Mick mumbled, already being ready to step back in but hesitantly doing so as he patiently waited for your answer.

You declined with a shake of your head, “No, it is alright. I do not need it anyway; I just needed a breath of air.” You spoke, throwing away your just lighted up cigarette in the ashtray on one of the tables outside, “They are not good for my health anyway.” You spoke, pointing to the pack of cigarettes in your clutch.

You watched Mick taking further steps away from the entrance back in the ballroom with a smile sprung on the man’s face, “And also, I really want you to stay.” You added, making Mick’s beats of heart changing for more ups rather than downs.

“Do you?” Mick further asked, “Because from what I have noticed so far you formed a habit of ignoring me. Have I unsettled you with something tonight?” Mick asked with the kindest eyes you have ever seen, “Or perhaps in high-school?”

You laughed, “It has been five years since school, do you really think I would have remembered if you did something wrong back then?” You rhetorically inquired as you leaned your back on one of the walls with your hands crossed at your chest as your main defensive mode from Mick, “You were the cutest boy in school Mick, I do not think that you have ever made anyone upset with you in the entire place – let alone me.” You confessed, the alcohol inside of you managing to lift your filters one by one.

Mick nodded, “Ok then, did I do something tonight?” He then spoke, taking one step towards you just to notice your hands tightening around your body before backing up to the initial spot.

You declined again with a shake, “No, no.” You admitted, “It is not something that you did tonight or back then Mick, I just cannot –” You stopped, arms hanging around your body now as you tried to relax underneath the man’s glare, “I just cannot say anything to your face cause look at your face.” You spoke pointing to him, “You are gorgeous.”

Mick’s face was nothing now but just confusion. Was it a compliment? Was it sarcasm? Was it an insult? The man standing in front of you was baffled, “Thank you, I guess?” He then replied, “You are utterly beautiful too, but does that mean that we cannot talk to each other if we find the other attractive or? Have I been out of the game for too long?”  

You highly huffed as you stretched your forehead, “No, that is not the point I just—” You stopped with your other hand at your chest trying to calm that beating heart of yours as Mick called you beautiful for the second time in the last ten minutes, and not just beautiful but “utterly beautiful” continuing with somehow confessing that Mick found you attractive while acknowledging that you find him attractive too.

Mick saw your mumbling, “Ok then, instead of speaking would you like to dance then?” The man then spoke, reaching for the hand at your chest with his, “We do not have to talk.”

You watched Mick’s hand lifted in front of you waiting for yours alongside with those pleading eyes of the man. Your anxiety kicked in again, but how could you have refused such an offer? You gave Mick your hand for him to pull you closer to his body, and then you let yours to be engulfed in the slurred sound of the music coming from inside. 

You chuckled as you both seemed to be stumbling on each other’s legs on the rhythm. Dancing on slow songs was neither’s strong point. And yet, somehow you relaxed underneath the man’s touch as one of his hands went on your bare back while the other was holding your shaky fingers in it as your bodies managed to swing on the sound.

The entire time you scorned the idea of looking into the man’s eyes, and just leaned your head on Mick’s chest to better take in the acceptance of your bodies being closer than ever before. 

It did feel awkward at first, but as Mick’s grip went tighter around your waist and your fingers intertwined and as you were able to hear the man’s jumping beats of heart, you figured out that Mick was as nervous in your presence as you were in his own. You gulped again, so Mick was really interested in you and there was not such a thing as playing an act, now what about the other intrusive thoughts?

Mick kept his promise and there were no words spoken during the time of the dance, just heavy breaths being synced together underneath the dim light. You felt so good in the man’s arms, and it made Mick regret that he did not ask you sooner to dance with him that night. 

Also, the one who was holding you thought about how different his life might have looked if he asked you to prom five years ago instead of going to race practice that day and now he was thinking about how different life can look from this point on if only Mick was brave enough to confess that seeing you again made his stomach curl in ways no dangerous corners do.

You departed after what you thought was the end of the song, not being very much aware of the noise coming from inside anymore. When you did so, that was when your glares locked again, and you felt your face burning while Mick’s neck went dry as if it was gripped around a crown of thorns.

“See, was it that hard?” Mick managed to spoke after couching to adjust his tone of voice, “If not speaking will make me able to stand next to you for the rest of the party, then let’s do this all night.” Mick then joked, mimicking step dance steps.

You chuckled, “You cannot spend the rest of the night with me, I bet that people are already searching for you inside and they are wondering where you left.”

“You are one of the reasons why I attended this.” Mick suddenly confessed, “Hell, in fact you are the only reason I attended this; why would I care about people I have not even talked to in high-school speaking to me about their ten-million dollars idea after coming to take pictures with me just because I am Michael Schumacher’s boy?”

You frowned, “You know that this is not true. People do not want to talk to you just because you are Michael’s son, they want to take pictures with you because you are you and you are now more successful than you have ever been. Come on now, you were the popular guy in high school as well.”

Mick bit the bottom of his lips, and you could see the man’s pristine expressions being slightly changed into annoyed ones, “And why was that? Was it exactly because I am my father’s son?” He then asked, “You were the only person back then that was not interested in that at all and that talked to me, but now I am seeing that it is not the case anymore. Is it because I am more of a Schumacher now that I am a Mick?”

You shook your head, though you knew that part of what Mick was saying was right. You were intimated by him now more than you were in high school only because he was somehow a figure in the Formula 1 world that everybody knew. And yet, him being the inheritor of the name family played such a small role in you being too anxious to talk to such a fine man. 

You knew exactly how little Mick abused of his name into the racing world, you were not intimidated by him taking on his father’s name, you were embarrassing by you not being enough for him.

“No Mick, I cannot speak to you because I had realized once I saw you coming in that I still have a fucking huge crush on you.” You blurted out all at the same time in an unconscious string of loud words, “I had it for the whole two years you have been in our classes, and I never told you anything exactly because you were a Schumacher, and I knew that you will not have time for stupid things such as your colleague confessing to you. Therefore no, I am not interested in you being more of a Schumacher now rather than a Mick, I cared about that too much back in high school.” You spoke, taking quite a few steps back from him, “Now you know.” You spoke, leaning your back on the wall again, “Oh fuck, now you know.” You repeated, holding your chest with your hand as the rush of adrenaline just from earlier vanished and you were becoming aware of what just happened.

Mick smiled the entire time you spoke, there was nothing that could have calmed him down better than you confess the feelings you had for him. Mick dared to take the steps you put again in between the two of you away. 

The distance from your bodies was once again shattered by Mick’s bravery. Your hand was taken into his and pressed against the man’s lips with nothing but tenderness. 

Your eyes widened as Mick were closed, taking your scent and the feeling of kiss your skin all in.

“Glad I came then.” Mick spoke once opening his eyes and grabbing your hand tight around his to bring your body back close to him with a short hinge, “Glad that the Italian guy is now out of the picture as well, never liked him anyway.” Mick spoke as his face foolishly crooked while the other hand of the man went in the curve of your neck and shoulder just to make its way fully on the back of your neck, “You are not the only one Y/N.” Mick spoke after a soft sigh, “Teenager Mick was unaware of the fact that waking up in the mornings thinking about the same girl and getting back to sleep doing the same thing meant having a crush on somebody.”

Your heart jumped again for the thousand time that day, “You did?”

Mick nodded, “Oh, and for how many mornings and nights.” The boy muttered, “To be honest, some of them were not that orthodox.”

You both chuckled, and you gained enough courage to wrap both of your hands around the man’s neck, “One more dance?” You asked him, getting on your tiptoes for your mouth to be as close as it could with his, “We do not have to talk.” You whispered, not waiting to waste any minute away from Mick’s mouth that night.

Mick smiled as you were kissing him, and he waited for a while to tease you before he replied. You two started to dance again, but this time you were not even paying attention to whatever song was playing inside to match with the rhythm of it. You left each other breathless countless of times, and each time you went back in craving for more and more with every bite, every tease, every clash of tongues. Five years apart liking each other can do that to two almost adults crushing on their teenager versions.

Mick’s hands went fully on your waist, pushing you into him as much as it was permitted to be done in a public dimmed light space. One of your legs went across his waist then and he held your tight underneath your dress pressed to him for as long as you kissed making your job of turning him on easier.

“Can we go now?” Mick breathlessly asked once your back was glued to the wall and the other leg went on the poor man’s waist, “Please, can we go?” He then pleaded again watching you back with those gorgeous blue eyes that made you crazy once again, “And by the way, have I ever told you how hot I find freelance accountants to be bent over a desk or something?”

You laughed after you nodded “yes” to Mick’s initial question, “Have you ever been with one to know that?” You inquired, your feet being back on the ground and your hand tightening around Mick who was more than edger to run away from the party, “I just have to say goodbye to my friend and then we can go, alright?” You reassured him patting the man’s chest.

“No, but I have always dreamt of doing that.” He spoke, making way for you to enter the ballroom first but without giving up to your hand once while entering, “Be sure to be a quick goodbye.” Mick then chuckled, showing you how much he wanted for his long-life dream to be fulfilled that night.

___ 

(btw send me in songs + driver name if you liked this short drabble and i might write others if i feel inspired thank you for reading it;;)

[haunted-plush]

Cars Music Headcanons Because why the Fuck not

Lightning

Got a red electric guitar because he thought it was cool

Tried to learn to play but stopped after a week because he wasn't immediately good at it [adhd curse...]

After he crashed into Radiator Springs and finished his big race he got lessons

Average singer, passable enough to sing while he plays

His favorite band is System of a Down

Mater

Doesn't own a banjo but knows how to play

*Does* own a fiddle but rarely takes it out because it's actually one of the more expensive things he owns, the only object he took with him when he left home actually, and he keeps it in the case most of the time

REALLY good at playing it, he could play just about anything and can improv at any moment

Yes he actually knows how to do proper scream vocals

His normal singing voice is very deep and rich

Great whistler

Sally

Good singer, she's shy about singing in front of people but when she's by herself she has a really pretty voice

Knows enough about piano to claim that she can play it

Not shy about dancing, if a song comes up she likes she will get up and dance without getting embarrassed

Favorite song is I Wanna Dance with Somebody, close second is Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

She said she wished she could get better at piano, which she can't do because she doesn't have one, so Lightning got her one for the lobby of the Cozy Cone as a gift

After a few months of practice she invited everyone to come down one evening for a little concert, and she played a few really beautiful songs for them, everyone thought it was lovely

Doc

Likes to have the radio on while he works in his garage

Sometimes he has it on when he sits outside with a cigar by the little firepit, but just as often he'll just listen to the fire cracking and enjoy the quiet

One time Lightning asked him why he doesn't like to have it on all the time when he sits out there and he said "the best music is the sounds of mother nature" which Lightning thought was the cheesiest thing he'd ever heard

He likes the sounds of the crickets and the coyotes at night

He secretly used to be in a band when he was young, Lightning found photos of him playing drums one time [he never told anyone about it though]

Generally likes dad rock with no specific bands or musicians

Flo and Ramone

Flo picks the music at her cafe and Ramone picks the music at his tattoo shop

Flo's favorite is Dolly Parton, she got into her music through her more pop focused songs, but she learned to branch out to her country also

Ramone's taste overlap with Lightning, and when he knows Lightning will visit his shop he'll put on some metal for the background

Sarge and Fillmore

Obviously they have very different opinions on basically everything, but surprisingly there are a few songs out there they both like

Sarge isn't big on music in general, he would listen to tornado sirens if he had the choice

Fillmore can play basically any stringed or woodwind instrument

Over time Sarge learns to live with Fillmore's Beatles vinyls he's always playing

Luigi and Guido

They both listen to music basically exclusively in Italian

They love singing the songs they play in the shop while they clean as loudly as possible

Sometimes they get weird looks from the customers when they do that but they ignore them

One time Luigi tried to take Guido to the opera but Guido kept falling asleep so they just left early and Luigi took him to get something to eat

If this gets notes I'll make a part 2 ig

[kingofthering]

vr46 Marc AU + follow-up of this

Valentino truly pauses, looks at Marc and deadpans: “And they say I’m the dramatic one between the two of us. Bullshit. They truly don’t know you like I do.”

Marc almost opens his mouth, aborts the movement, tries to think the words through, figure out how they make him feel. If Valentino really knew him like he wanted to pretend to, there are so many actions of Marc he would have never questioned like he did. Which— again, not the fight to pick right now. Not when Marc’s brain is just a little foggy and a part of him wants to refill his glass and ask Valentino questions he’s had burning on his mind for years now.

“Yeah?” Marc eventually asks.

“Yeah,” Valentino smiles, finishing his drink.

“Tell me something about me that you’re the only one to know right now.”

Marc can tell that Valentino didn’t expect the question. His surprise reads in his open mouth and the light tilt of his head, the way he frowns and lets his eyes leave Marc for a moment before coming back on him.

Marc puts his glass on the table, doesn’t reach for the Amaro bottle.

“You’re getting one hell of a hangover tomorrow if you don’t drink at least a liter of water before going to bed.”

Marc scoffs, as much from his anticipation being snapped in half than because Valentino decided to be ridiculous, breaking the tension that had built up after Marc’s demand.

“I know how to handle myself after a couple of drinks, thank you,” Marc says back, only half pretending to be offended.

“You’ve drank less in your 31 years of existence than the average 16 years-old Italian but it’s fine if you wanna pretend otherwise. Actually, the boys were sensible tonight because of training tomorrow but if I give them a free pass, they’ll be happy to drink you under the table. I’ll just have to tell them that they’re the ones taking care of putting you to bed.”

Valentino stops in front of Marc after getting up, his palm is warm when he grabs Marc’s hand to help him up from the couch.

“Good night, Marc.”

“Good night, Vale.”

As he takes the stairs up to his room, Marc’s brain goes “this is the first time he’s called me by my name and not Marquez in years”.

It feels like a very silly thing to notice. It’s probably just the alcohol talking.

Marc drinks two tall glasses of water before going to sleep. He wakes up with the barest hint of hangover.

[theemporium]

[1.5k] all rafe cameron wants to do is give his girlfriend a nice homemade dinner for valentine’s day. so of course nothing goes to plan.

. 

Rafe Cameron knew from the moment he first met you that you were opposites, but maybe that was a part of the intrigue. 

He was cocky, brash and arrogant. He acted like the world was in the palm of his hands and he walked around the whole island like he damn knew it. He was confident and he was so sure of himself, he threw money around like it meant nothing to him because it didn’t—not really. He was an extrovert, he thrived off attention and he goddamn loved the spotlight. 

You were quiet and you stuck to yourself most of the time. You weren’t a pushover, you could hold your own when the time came but you tried not to attract that kind of attention. You preferred to hide in the shadows and large crowds, preferred quiet nights over keggers in the boneyard. You thrived off solidarity and quiet and your own thoughts. 

But then again, opposites attract and all that jazz. 

And when Rafe met you, he made the simple mistake of thinking you were like every other girl he had met on the island. He used his usual tactics, his swoon-worthy actions that made girls drop at his feet—only to be humbled pretty quickly when he realised none of that bullshit was ever going to work with you. 

It was honestly charming seeing the Kook King be brought to floundering around, desperate to lap up any bit of attention you gave him, and despite the fact it took him a while, he learned what you liked and what made you swoon. 

And from that point on, it was hard to deny the feelings you had towards Rafe Cameron.

Rafe had to learn the hard way that you never liked the big, complicated, over-achieving acts of love. Rafe had to learn that there were subtle, simpler ways to show you how much he cared about you. 

His most recent challenge came in the form of Valentine’s Day.

If you had asked him to plan this night a few months ago, it would have followed something along the lines of the following: taking you on a day out to buy you the prettiest and most expensive dress he could find (which he totally planned on ripping off you later), getting you all packed up for a weekend away on the mainland, making sure you are all dolled up before taking you to the most expensive restaurant the mainland had to offer before spending the rest of the weekend eating chocolate-covered strawberries and drinking champagne that costed more than the average man’s car. 

But that was nothing short of your worst nightmare, and Rafe knew that. You hated when he spent unnecessary money on you, and he knew you’d hate nothing more than spending the night in some high-end restaurant where you spent the meal trying to decipher which kind of fork you were meant to be using. 

Rafe knew you, hence the reason none of that plan even saw the light of day.

Instead of fancy forks and uptight waiters, he chose something he knew you would love: a homemade dinner for just the two of you, and a night-in where you could do nothing and everything you wanted from spending the night in sweats watching trashy movies or hands gripping his headboard as he took you from behind. 

That was the kind of night he knew you’d love. 

The only problem was that growing up with the luxury and privilege as Rafe did, he had spent just as much time in the kitchen as he had in the state of California. And his arrogance only took him so far before he realised that it was pure dumb luck he hadn’t burned the place down. 

A quick glance at the clock told him he had less than an hour before you arrived and the panic really set in. But with no other choice, he grabbed his phone and called the nice Italian place in town and emphasised the heavy tip they would receive if they managed to get the food here before the hour. 

And he truly, truly thought he had gotten away with it. 

When you knocked on the door exactly on the hour, the food had been plated and the evidence had been disposed of and Rafe felt like he hadn’t completely ruined what was meant to be the most romantic night of the year. 

“Happy Valentine’s, baby,” Rafe greeted you, a sweet kiss pressed to your lips as he dragged you inside and shut the door behind you. 

“Happy Valentine’s, Rafe,” you said with a smile that he couldn’t quite decipher, but you always looked so pretty when you smiled so he couldn’t actually complain all that much. 

Your jacket was hung by the door and your shoes kicked off to the side before he guided you into the dining room. The room was set up with low lighting, candles and cheesy heart buntings that made you snort and made the awkward ride to Party City so worth it. 

“Really went all out, huh?” you teased, your hand still in his as you walked deeper into the room. 

“Just wait until you see what I have up in my room,” he murmured into your ear, and he enjoyed the way your body shuddered in response.

He led her towards the table, settling her into her seat and leaning down to sneak another chaste kiss against her lips before he headed towards the kitchen to start bringing out the meals. 

“This pasta is really good, baby,” you told him with a warm smile, watching in amusement as he squirmed in his seat.

“Uh, thanks,” he cleared his throat, suddenly so interested in the plate in front of him instead of your adoring eyes. And he could feel his cheeks burn up when you leaned over to take his hand, squeezing it in gratitude. 

“Is it a family recipe?” you asked innocently. 

“Uh,” Rafe paused with a frown. “Yes?” 

You raised your brows. “You don’t sound very sure about that.” 

“I mean, yeah, it is a family recipe,” he quickly corrected himself with a nod of his head, and he wasn’t really lying. It was a family recipe, just not his family recipe.

“I never knew my boyfriend was such a good cook,” you commented teasingly as you reached to take a sip of the (undoubtedly) expensive wine he had poured for you. “Maybe you should start your own restaurant.” 

Rafe choked on his food, quickly hitting his chest as he flashed you a sheepish smile. “Yeah, maybe!” he said, his voice a little more high-pitched than it usually was but he didn’t give you a chance to question it before he scuttered out the room to ‘check on the desserts’. 

You shook your head, wasting no time in quickly following your boyfriend into the kitchen. You stood at the doorway for a moment, watching as he leaned against the counter and muttered to himself. You couldn’t quite catch what he was saying, but the few words you heard—namely ‘bad’, ‘embarrassing’, ‘boyfriend’ and ‘deserves better’—gave you an idea of just what he was going on about.

“I think it’s cute,” you said loudly enough to announce your presence as his head snapped around to look at you. 

“What is?” he asked with a frown. 

“That you feel so guilty about buying me a nice meal,” you said and grinned when his eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed like a fish. 

Rafe instinctively reached out to you. “Baby, I can explain—” 

“Rafe, it’s fine,” you said softly as you took his hands in yours and pulled yourself closer to him until you were chest-to-chest with him. “Like I said, it’s cute.” 

“I wanted to make you a nice dinner,” he admitted with a heavy sigh, hands falling to your waist and his fingers fiddled with the hem of your sweater. “But then I burned the chicken and the potatoes fucking exploded and—” 

“Breathe,” you murmured as you tried to tamper down your own giggles. 

“I just wanted tonight to be perfect,” Rafe whispered to you, his gaze softening as he nudged his nose against yours. “I wanted to be your best valentine.”

“You are my best valentine,” you told him as you placed a hand on his cheek, lips twitching as he leaned into your touch. “And tonight is perfect.” There was a brief pause before you spoke again. “I mean, you got food from my favourite Italian place.” 

He let out a groan, his head dropping down to your shoulder as you laughed. “How did you find out?” 

“Despite the fact I’d recognise those mozzarella sticks anywhere? I saw the takeout boxes in the trash,” you said with a snort, your hand resting on the back of his neck. “You aren’t very good at hiding the evidence.” 

“This is embarrassing,” Rafe muttered but his words were muffled against your shoulder. 

“It’s adorable,” you said as you lifted his head up, hand on either cheek as you kissed him like you fucking meant it. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” he said with a happy sigh as he melted into your touch. “Thank you for putting up with me.” 

You grinned. “Any day, baby. Now, c’mon, I wanna finish dinner, I was promised more surprises in a different room…” 

Rafe’s smile was nothing short of wolfish and wild. “Gotta be patient for dessert, baby. Gonna take my time with you.”

.