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edenesth · 4 months

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TWTHH Spinoff: Love to Hate You [2]

Pairing: royal secretary!San x female scholar!reader

AU: historical au (Joseon era)

Word Count: 10.7k 🤡

Summary: San prided himself on his knack for building easy connections with women, viewing himself as a trusted ally for the opposite gender. Thanks to his deep bonds with his mother and sister, he possessed keen insights into the female mindset. Never did he imagine facing the ire of a woman, until he encountered a resolute female scholar with a strong dislike towards men.

A/N: I'd recommend listening to Laufey's Valentine while reading this, the song is quite perfect for this spinoff.

Part 1 | Main Story | Spinoff Masterlist

"Now, tell me, why were you crying?" you inquired, halting at the doorway of your house, careful to shield your mother from the conversation. You understood that she would only blame herself if she knew he was upset, despite none of it being her fault. Deep down, you knew she carried the burden of not being able to protect her children, always feeling like an inadequate mother.

Siwoo shook his head, "It's nothing, noona. I just... I was just overwhelmed with all the schoolwork on my first day. But don't worry about me, I feel much better after letting it all out," he reassured, attempting to alleviate your concerns. Yet, you couldn't fully accept his explanation. While a part of you ached to think he might have been bullied by his classmates, as you had feared, another part of you swelled with pride at his resilience.

That's my boy.

"Is that so? Well, come on then, dinner might be ready," you responded, and he brightened at the mention of food. "Dinner sounds good, I'm starving! Mother, we're home!" he called out excitedly, darting into your modest abode almost immediately.

"How was school, Siwoo?" your mother asked, her fingers smoothing down his unruly hair as he dug into his meal with gusto. Siwoo grinned and nodded. "It was okay! Master Lee looked after me really well, just like noona said he would!" Your mother smiled warmly and wiped a stray bit of food from his cheek. "That's good to hear."

You couldn't help but smile at their exchange, though you sensed Siwoo's words were meant to reassure your mother more than convey his true feelings. While Master Lee might have looked after him in their presence, you knew all too well the dynamics of school life and the possibility of bullying when no adults were around. Unfortunately, he would have to learn to navigate those challenges, just as you had.

Finishing your meal, you tousled your brother's hair. "So, what did that man from earlier say to you?" Your mother raised a curious eyebrow. "Man? What man?" Siwoo perked up. "Oh, that kind hyung-nim! He was just making sure I was okay."

You scoffed. "Kind? You don't even know him. People can seem nice but have hidden motives. Don't trust too easily, or he might want something from you." Turning to your mother, you elaborated, "It's His Majesty's royal secretary. We had an unpleasant encounter at the palace. I had hoped never to see him again, but somehow he was at Siwoo's school when I went to pick him up. How many coincidences can there be? I'm certain he's up to something. So, you," you directed a stern look at your brother. "Don't entertain him if he shows up again, okay?"

Siwoo nodded reluctantly, his expression turning sullen. Your mother shook her head. "Or perhaps he's genuinely nice...? He's an important figure, after all. You shouldn't make an enemy out of him, dear. I worry for you." You offered her a reassuring smile. "I'll handle it, mother. Don't worry about me."

Later that night, as you lay in bed, the soft breathing of your brother beside you with a comforting rhythm, you couldn't help but feel a pang of bittersweet emotion. Siwoo, once the tiny bundle you cradled in your arms, had grown so quickly before your eyes. Memories of his infancy flooded your mind, the moments when you'd rocked him to sleep and comforted his tears.

Now, here he was, trying to shield his own emotions from you, not wanting to burden you with his struggles. Your heart swelled with both pride and a tinge of sadness as you gently stroked his head, leaning in to plant a tender kiss on his forehead. How you wished he could remain your precious little brother forever, sheltered from life's harsh realities.

Yet, another part of you longed for him to mature, to become the pillar of strength this family needed. You yearned for the day when he would stand beside you as a protector, capable of shouldering the burdens that weighed heavily on your shoulders.

"Sweet dreams, little one," you whispered softly, your voice barely a whisper in the darkness. With a sigh, you closed your eyes, letting the tranquillity of the night envelop you as you drifted into slumber, your dreams filled with hopes for the future.

The next day unfolded much like the one before, with the familiar routine of dropping Siwoo off at school. Kneeling beside him, you tenderly adjusted his hanbok and smoothed down his hair, your actions a comforting ritual between siblings.

"Well, I have no new advice for you today, except to stay strong and not let the words of others affect you. Remember, they're just words, and you can choose not to let them bother you," you imparted, noticing the flicker of surprise in his eyes, as if he had been caught keeping secrets from you. With a warm smile, you gently pinched his cheeks to alleviate any worries he might have.

"Now, go on and get in there. And no causing trouble!" you teased, prompting a playful protest from Siwoo as he swatted your hands away and stuck out his tongue. "Bye, noona! See you later!" he called out cheerfully as he headed off to join his classmates.

As you watched him go, a soft smile lingered on your lips, filled with both pride and a touch of wistfulness.

He'll be fine; we've been over this.

You proceeded towards your educational institution to resume your own studies, putting aside worries about your brother for the moment. As you arrived at the entrance, you took a deep breath to ready yourself before entering, clutching your books tightly to your chest.

"Well, well, look who decided to grace us with her presence. Miss Smarty Pants finally showed up. Heard she even resorted to borrowing books from the royal library," Namgil, the scholar with the wealthiest father and your longtime tormentor, remarked as he annoyingly strolled alongside you, trailed by his group of cronies. One of them chimed in with a smirk, "Poor thing can't even afford her own books. Maybe if she catches the eye of some high-ranking officials in the palace, she won't need to study so hard at all."

Maintaining a neutral expression, you continued walking towards the foyer, where you could begin your studies undisturbed with the presence of teachers. Despite the taunting remarks being a regular occurrence during your journey from the outside to the inside of the institution, you had grown accustomed to them.

Reaching the foyer, you pivoted to face the group with a wide, sarcastic grin. "Well, boys, have you had your fill? If we're done wasting precious time trying to bring others down to boost our own fragile egos, maybe we should focus on our studies. After all, if we want to avoid squandering dear old daddy's money, we'll need to graduate. Time's ticking, gentlemen. Are we going to remain stuck in this childish behaviour forever?"

The satisfaction was palpable as you flashed a victorious smile and turned to stride into the foyer, leaving them no room for a rebuttal as a teacher emerged to greet the group. They hastily composed themselves, offering respectful bows and pretending as though nothing had happened.

Fools, you thought to yourself. This was precisely why you harboured such disdain for men. They were simplistic creatures, falling into one of two categories. The first, like Namgil and his cronies, were openly mean-spirited, condescending, and misogynistic. The second, exemplified by Royal Secretary Choi, was the cunning, duplicitous types who sought to earn your trust through false kindness before exploiting you. In the end, they were all cut from the same cloth.

At the end of the session, following a quiz intended to assess everyone's preparedness for the final examination, you unsurprisingly emerged as the top scorer once again. The teacher's announcement was met with the usual mixture of reactions, but your attention was drawn to his subsequent remarks.

"Miss Moon, once again, you've secured the top spot. Namgil, while second place may seem like an achievement, you should feel nothing but shame. All of you should. It's unacceptable to be outperformed by a woman. Study harder; I expect to see a different outcome in the next quiz."

You shook your head in disbelief at the teacher's words, seething inwardly at his ingrained bias. The implication that a woman should not surpass men in intellect spoke volumes about his archaic mentality. You were tired of being spoken about as if you weren't in the room, tired of the inherent sexism that permeated every aspect of your academic life. Graduation couldn't come soon enough; you were determined to prove these narrow-minded individuals wrong.

I'll show you morons.

"Oh boy, I know that look," Haneul remarked, shaking her head with a disapproving sigh as San emerged from his room the next day. Despite the dark circles under his eyes, his usual enthusiasm and determination shone through. She suspected her discouraging words from the previous evening had backfired, knowing her brother was just an optimistic idiot like that.

He scoffed, "What do you know? Go home already, noona. Your husband might start to worry if you keep visiting so often."

With a smirk, she lightly whacked him on the head. "I'm leaving today, don't you worry. But don't say I didn't warn you when whatever silly plan you might have ends up falling through. You men just love learning things the hard way, don't you? Let her be, Sannie."

"Yeah, yeah. Safe travels. I'll catch you later."

Haneul rolled her eyes in defeat. "Fine, fine. Send me away like I'm a nuisance. You should learn something from little Siwoo."

Turning back with a sarcastic grin, the royal secretary teased, "If you say so... love you, noona!" and blew her exaggerated kisses, earning a mockingly disgusted reaction. "Yuck! Save that for your future wife, gross!" she exclaimed, pretending to gag.

San strode through the palace corridors with newfound determination, his mind buzzing with plans and possibilities. He greeted the palace staff with a bright smile and a confident demeanour, earning curious glances from those he passed.

As he approached the royal study, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. Today was the day he would begin executing his plan, the day he would show Scholar Moon that he was different from the rest, that he was sincere in his intentions.

Entering the king's presence, San found himself greeted with the warm smile of His Majesty. The elderly man's eyes twinkled with amusement as he observed his secretary's energy.

"You seem quite cheerful today, Royal Secretary Choi. Anything exciting happening in your life?" the king inquired with a chuckle as their daily meeting concluded.

San's grin widened, his heart racing with anticipation. "I suppose so, Your Majesty. I won't say more until I see positive results," he replied cryptically, unknowingly leaving the king to interpret his words as he wished. Little did the fool know, his vague response led His Majesty to believe he was referring to romantic pursuits.

The king's face lit up. "Oh, I can't wait to hear the good news. Best of luck, my boy. That's all for today. Carry on with your tasks," he said with a playful wink, dismissing San with a clap of his hands.

Secretary Choi bowed deeply, feeling grateful. "Thank you, Your Majesty!" he exclaimed before leaving the royal study, his mind already buzzing with plans to win over the female scholar.

He made his way through the library, exchanging nods with a few scholars absorbed in their studies. As he searched the aisles, hope waned with each passing moment. Nearly ready to give up, he reluctantly admitted to himself that you might not be there today. With a resigned sigh, he turned to leave.

But as he moved to exit, a flash of movement caught his eye. Turning back, he was stunned to see you tucked away in a quiet corner, fast asleep amidst a pile of borrowed books. A wave of tenderness washed over him at the sight of your peaceful form, and he approached you with silent steps, not wanting to disturb your rest.

He couldn't resist the urge to approach and observe you, struck by how serene and angelic you appeared in your slumber, a stark contrast to your usual tough and guarded demeanour. Seeing the sunlight streaming in from the nearby window and casting a glare on your face, he settled into the seat opposite you. With a gentle touch, he lifted his hand to shield you from the brightness, intent on preserving your peaceful rest.

Looking down at you like this, perhaps it was his innate sense of chivalry, but it stirred an intense urge to protect you, to help shoulder some of the burdens you must be carrying on those delicate shoulders of yours. He couldn't shake the feeling of admiration mingled with empathy as he watched you, lost in tranquil slumber amidst the chaos of the world around you. With a soft sigh, he longed to offer you more than just protection from the sun's glare, yearning to provide solace and support in any way possible.

As he watched you stir, letting out a small groan before readjusting your head and settling back into sleep, he felt a slight panic. However, his worry melted away when he realised you were merely shifting in your slumber. A soft sigh escaped him, accompanied by a gentle smile and a flutter in his heart at how endearing you looked.

Gosh, she looks adorable.

Resting his head on his palm, he continued to observe, noting the subtle signs of exhaustion etched across your beautiful face. Unlike other girls or women who likely had access to luxurious skincare products or ample rest to maintain their beauty, it was evident that any resources you had were dedicated to supporting your family and pursuing your studies. His gaze drifted to your hands, noticing the dry skin, blunt nails and paper cuts, evidence of both physical labour and tireless studying.

Gazing at you, his mind wandered to the challenges and hardships you must have faced throughout your childhood, shaping you into the resilient and guarded person you are today. He pondered on the beliefs you held about men, likely influenced by your past experiences. Working in the palace, San was all too familiar with the despicable behaviour of some men, having witnessed their deceit and manipulation firsthand. He understood, perhaps more than most, your strong aversion and distrust of men.

Yet, in his heart, he believed that you hadn't met men like him and his friends—men of integrity and genuine kindness. Determined to prove to you that good men existed, he resolved to show you through his actions. He was determined to be the exception, to demonstrate that not all men were as duplicitous as those you had encountered before. And in that moment, as he watched over you, he silently vowed to be the beacon of goodness and sincerity that you deserved.

Lost in his contemplations, he was jolted back to reality when he felt your hand push his away. Startled, he blinked, realising that the sun he had been shielding you from was now obscured by clouds. Your voice, sharp and incredulous, pierced through his thoughts.

"What in the world do you think you're doing, Royal Secretary Choi?" you demanded, your tone laced with annoyance and curiosity.

Flustered and caught off guard by your abrupt interruption, San quickly cleared his throat and straightened in his seat, feeling the weight of your scrutiny upon him. He could only imagine how his actions must have appeared from your perspective: waking up to find an uninvited man seated across from you, hand raised in an attempt to shield you from the absent sun.

"I-I can explain," he stammered, scrambling to find the right words to justify his actions. "I was just trying to—"

But before he could finish his sentence, you cut him off with a sarcastic smile, your words dripping with disdain.

"Let me guess," you said, your tone biting. "You just wanted to help? I thought I made myself very clear yesterday, but it seems I might not have. In case you missed the point, I'll repeat it again: I don't need your help. Thank you very much."

With that, you gathered all the books in your arms and swiftly exited, leaving him feeling chastised and uncertain of how to proceed.

As he sat frozen in his seat, watching your retreating figure, the royal secretary couldn't help but admire your firm resolve. Instead of feeling discouraged by your rejection, he found himself respecting you even more for it. Your unwavering stance showed him that you weren't one to let someone into your life easily, and in a world where men could be deceitful and manipulative, that was a reassuring trait. He couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for you, even as he remained seated in the library, contemplating his next move.

Making your way out of the palace, your heart still raced from the encounter in the library as you clutched the stack of borrowed books close to your chest. Unbeknownst to Secretary Choi, you had been awake for some time, waiting to see what he would do, ready to catch him red-handed if he attempted anything untoward.

To your unpleasant surprise, you found that the glaring sun that had once been on your face was gone. Peeking through your lashes, you observed San going to great lengths to shield you from the brightness, even though he must have assumed you were still asleep. It was a small gesture, but one that spoke volumes about his character.

Even with his apparent kindness, you couldn't bring yourself to believe that he had done it without any ulterior motives. There had to be something he wanted from you; you were sure of it. You refused to let your guard down, you remained determined to stay wary of his intentions.

Despite your hopes that San would quit his efforts after the incident in the library, he proved to be annoyingly persistent. However, to your surprise, he no longer offered unsolicited help, seemingly aware that you had not asked for it. Instead, he chose a different approach to get closer to you.

Every day as you entered the palace, he greeted you with a bright smile and a friendly "good morning." You found his amiable demeanour irritating because it made it challenging for you to be rude to him when he was simply being a nice and sociable person. With no choice but to reciprocate his greetings, you returned them with a forced smile of your own, not wanting to appear impolite in front of other palace staff.

Today was no different, much to your dismay. Despite your multiple attempts to arrive either earlier or later than your usual time, he always seemed to be there. Deep down, you wanted to bluntly ask him if he had nothing better to do. Shouldn't a royal secretary be busy? Why was he always lingering around?

Approaching the entrance and spotting him, you couldn't help but slap a hand on your forehead in frustration. You tried to turn away, but he called out to you before you could make your escape.

"Scholar Moon! I see you're here early today. Good morning!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

You cursed under your breath and reluctantly turned back to feign a smile, bowing respectfully. "Indeed, I am... Good morning, Royal Secretary Choi," you replied through gritted teeth.

He beamed at you and gestured for you to join him. "Come, let us head in together!"

Letting out a sigh of disbelief, you put on your best fake smile and complied, knowing it wouldn't be in your best interest to be rude to someone of such high importance in front of other people. Damn it, you couldn't wait for the day to be over already.

Walking beside him, you sought a moment of tranquillity, but as expected, he initiated an unwanted conversation like always.

"How's Siwoo adjusting to school?" he asked, his tone overly chipper.

Suppressing the urge to roll your eyes, you briefly squeezed them shut before replying, "He's doing well. Thank you for asking."

His smile widened at your response. "That's great! I just hope he's feeling better than the last time I saw him. Poor boy was so upset."

You sighed, cutting him off before he could continue. "Yes, but he'll live—"

Before you could finish, a group of rushing court ladies surged around the corner. "Out of the way! Concubine Eom Heebin is giving birth!" Amidst the commotion, you were shoved aside, but a firm pair of arms caught you, guiding you to safety—San's arms.

You landed against his chest with a huff, and he peered down at you with wide eyes. "Careful there, watch your step! You alright?" His words lacked their usual formality, driven purely by instinct.

San gulped audibly, his gaze lingering on your features as if trying to memorise every detail. He marvelled at how beautiful you looked up close, relishing the sensation of holding you tightly against him. It felt strangely satisfying to shield you from danger, to have you vulnerable in his arms. There was an inexplicable desire within him to be the only one who knew how it felt to hold you like this.

Meanwhile, you felt a conflicting array of emotions swirling within you as you found yourself in his embrace. Despite your best efforts to maintain your dislike for him, you couldn't deny the unexpected sense of safety and comfort you felt in his arms. It unsettled you, this lack of disgust, and you hated how nice it felt, how it threatened to unravel the walls you had carefully constructed around your heart.

Realising your proximity, you blinked rapidly and pushed yourself away. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you..." For once, you meant it.

Days passed, and you found yourself in a state of inner conflict whenever you were around him. Previously, you had to force yourself to maintain politeness and hide your disdain for him, but now, it was becoming increasingly difficult to be unpleasant.

You despised this newfound feeling of guilt he stirred within you, as if he was silently reproaching you for your past behaviour. Moreover, he continued to prove himself to be just as kind as everyone claimed, further complicating your emotions.

Hate brewed within you—not for the royal secretary as a person, but for the way he was challenging your beliefs about all men being alike. He made you start to doubt the certainties you once held dear, and you resented him for it. Most of all, you detested how he was making it difficult for you to maintain your animosity towards him.

Regardless of the swirling new emotions within you, one thing remained constant: your determination to avoid him at all costs. You were sick and tired of the conflicting feelings he stirred within you, and you knew that indulging in them would only serve as a distraction from your studies.

You needed to maintain your focus and drive, especially now when your responsibilities weighed heavily on your shoulders. The last thing you needed was to be sidetracked by unnecessary emotions brought about by a man, of all things.

But of course, life seemed determined to defy your efforts. Despite your best attempts to avoid him, it felt like he was everywhere you turned. With each passing day, you found yourself encountering him more frequently, almost as if he were purposely crossing your path.

The realisation was hard to swallow: you were seeing him more often than your own mother and younger brother combined. It was infuriating to admit, but no matter how hard you tried to evade him, he seemed to find a way to appear wherever you were.

As you finished up your studies and prepared to leave the palace, a sense of relief washed over you. Today had been the first in what felt like an eternity without a sighting of Royal Secretary Choi. Hope flickered in your heart as you packed up your belongings, eager to leave the palace behind and reunite with your little brother.

But just as you approached the main entrance, the sky darkened ominously. Thunder rumbled, and lightning streaked across the sky before a torrential downpour engulfed the area. "No, no, no, not now! Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" you muttered under your breath, feeling frustration bubbling up inside you.

With no umbrella to shield you from the rain, you hurried to seek refuge under the closest shelter you could find: the awning of a nearby building. The sudden change in weather dashed your hopes of a smooth departure, leaving you stranded and drenched.

The thought of Siwoo waiting for you added to your unease. You cursed your lack of preparation, knowing that he would now have to endure more time with his bullies. It was another setback in a day that had promised to be free of Choi San's presence.

Yep, I'm convinced god hates me.

While you sheltered under the awning, your gaze remained fixed on the entrance, torn between the desire to run out into the rain to your brother and the realisation that falling sick was not an option. Too many people depended on you—your mother, your brother, and all the women in need of your assistance. You couldn't afford to be unwell, not with so many responsibilities resting on your shoulders.

Lost in your thoughts, you failed to notice a figure approaching from behind until the raindrops abruptly ceased falling around you. Looking up, you were met with the sight of an umbrella being held over your head. Startled, you turned to see San standing beside you, concern etched on his features.

"Are you alright, my lady? Please allow me to escort you to your destination," he said, his voice gentle and sincere.

The royal secretary's surprise was evident when he realised it was you, causing him to stumble over his words in an attempt to explain himself. "O-oh! It's you, Scholar Moon! I swear I didn't realise it was you, I thought you were a palace staff or someone else! I mean, I wasn't trying to offer help when you didn't want it, or maybe I was..."

He paused, then continued, "But I promise, I'm not making any assumptions! I can leave if you want me to... I'll leave the umbrella with you, of course, because obviously little Siwoo is waiting for you. Sorry, I don't mean to ramble... I just— here you go." Without waiting for your response, he thrust the umbrella into your hand and hurried off into the rain, leaving you standing frozen in bewilderment, trying to comprehend the unexpected encounter.

As you stood there, still holding the umbrella he had left behind, you couldn't shake off the words he had said. They lingered in your mind, his voice echoing gently, making you question your own feelings. For the first time, you understood why women might find him charming. Despite your resolve to dislike him, you couldn't deny his physical attractiveness and his gentlemanly nature.

But as you thought about it further, a new emotion crept in—an unsettling realisation that his kindness wasn't reserved for you alone. He would be just as sincere and helpful to anyone in need. Suddenly, a twinge of jealousy stirred within you. Why did it bother you that he treated others with kindness? Why did you feel upset that you weren't the only one receiving his attention? What was wrong with you?

Confusion clouded your thoughts as you grappled with these unfamiliar feelings. You couldn't understand why it mattered to you whether he was nice to everyone or not. But the fact that it did matter left you feeling even more bewildered. What were these emotions, and why the hell were they stirring within you now?

Lord, I must be out of my damn mind.

In the days that followed, your annoyance with San returned, but this time it was for a new reason—one you stubbornly refused to acknowledge. Despite your efforts to keep your distance and maintain your walls around him, you found it increasingly difficult to do so. His presence seemed to linger in your mind, his gentle demeanour and persistent kindness chipping away at your defences.

Meanwhile, the royal secretary remained hopeful after his recent encounters with you. He noticed the subtle changes in your behaviour—the once sarcastic smiles and curt words slowly giving way to genuine attempts to interact with him. He knew your pride was likely the barrier keeping you from fully opening up to him, but he was determined to break through it.

Perhaps it was the sense of accomplishment he felt, but he found himself increasingly consumed by thoughts of you and the challenge of breaking down your barriers to earn your trust. Each day, he eagerly anticipated going to work, knowing he might catch a glimpse of your beautiful face. Lately, he noticed it revealing more than just anger and disdain—it showed hints of other emotions too. He longed to witness them all, to be the first and perhaps the only one to see them. He felt a swell of pride, both in himself and in your progress, even if you were unaware of it.

"You like her, don't you?" San's gaze snapped up to meet his mother's, his chewing momentarily halted as he raised a questioning brow. "What are you talking about, eomma?"

She grinned, gesturing towards the additional lunch box he had instructed the servants to prepare for work that day. "Oh, you mean Scholar Moon? I mean, yeah, I guess I do...? I like everyone," he responded with a cheerful beam. However, her expression shifted to one of knowingness as she crossed her arms over her chest. "That's not what I mean, you silly boy. You have feelings for her, don't you?"

He choked on his food in surprise at her assertion. "Huh? Wh-what makes you say that? You know about my mission to prove her prejudice wrong, that's all there is to it. I don't feel any differently about her than I do about any other lady."

With a knowing smirk, the elderly woman caused him to wince. It was the same sarcastic expression his sister always wore before delivering a harsh truth. "Oh yes, because you make a point to greet every female palace staff member every morning, ask about all their family members, never stop talking about them, and ensure to pack extra lunch for them all just like you do for Scholar Moon, isn't that right?"

As his mother's words settled in, a sudden revelation struck San like a bolt of lightning. It was as if a veil had been lifted, revealing a truth that had been hidden from him until now. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when it had begun—perhaps it had lurked beneath the surface from the start, waiting for the right moment to surface.

He had been so preoccupied with proving to you that he was different, so focused on challenging your prejudices, that he hadn't stopped to consider his own feelings. What had started as a mission might have morphed into something more. The concern and care he felt for you went beyond mere kindness; it was a genuine desire to protect and support you.

Reflecting on the moments when you had occupied his thoughts—the incident in the library, the near-accident with the court ladies—he realised that his feelings ran deeper than he had admitted to himself. Even as he grappled with the conflict between wanting to take care of you and respecting your independence, he couldn't ignore the truth any longer. Choi San was a man with a lot of love to give, and he wasn't shy or ashamed to admit that he had developed feelings for you—feelings that transcended friendship or admiration. It was a realisation that both surprised and invigorated him, filling him with anticipation for what the future might hold.

But he wasn't stupid; he understood that acknowledging his feelings didn't equate to knowing yours or if you could ever reciprocate them. Despite this, he chose to find contentment in this understanding. He wouldn't expect anything from you in return. Your happiness would suffice to make him happy, even if it meant remaining mere acquaintances.

With this resolve, he bid his parents farewell before heading to work, his heart fluttering at the prospect of seeing you once more.

Later that afternoon, San strolled around the area where you often spent your lunch breaks. Spotting you in the secluded pavilion near the royal library, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. Instead of your usual packed lunch, you were nibbling on a meagre steamed bun. Approaching you with a grin, he greeted you.

"Good afternoon, Scholar Moon. I see you're having lunch as well," he greeted, and you nodded quickly, feeling self-conscious and embarrassed about your modest meal. Just as you were about to ask him what he wanted, he revealed the bag of lunchboxes he had been hiding behind his back.

"That's wonderful then. My family estate kitchen staff seemed to have made an extra set of lunch, and I was just wondering if maybe you would like to have it," he offered. You raised a sceptical eyebrow. "An extra set? That seems highly unlikely to happen."

He tried to maintain his composure despite being caught in a fib. "Fine. If you're not interested in it, I'm sure there are other palace staff who would enjoy it," he said, turning to leave. Panic surged within you as he started to walk away. "W-wait! I'll take it... please," you pleaded, reaching out to grasp his arm. With a satisfied nod, he settled down beside you.

That's what I thought.

As you opened the meticulously prepared lunchbox, a look of awe graced your features. The royal secretary chuckled at your adorable expression. He observed as you hesitated for a moment, glancing at him as if seeking approval before starting to eat. With a nod of encouragement, he joined in.

Little did you know, he had overheard some court ladies discussing the struggles faced by a female scholar, which could only be you, as you were the only one known. They recounted your struggles to afford essentials at home due to your brother's school fees and your own lack of income, all because of your dedication to your studies.

As you both began to eat, you didn't notice San biting his lip to hold back his laughter. Your eyes had widened and sparkled with innocent amazement at the flavours, a look he had never seen before. The sight made his heart flutter, confirming his feelings for you. He wanted to protect that innocence forever and be the only one to witness this endearing sight. He could easily picture spending time with you like this for life, and he knew he wouldn’t complain.

When you looked up and caught him staring, he quickly returned his gaze to his food. You blushed and checked your lips for any stray rice, wondering why he had been looking at you like that. Like a creep.

How annoying.

Relieved that there was nothing on your face, you continued eating. However, you furrowed your brows as you noticed the secretary picking at his food from the corner of your eye. Unable to contain your curiosity, you turned to see him pushing aside all the greens in his container. Raising an eyebrow, you asked, "Saving the best for last?"

He chortled, "Like hell I am."

Realising what was going on, you scoffed, "Seriously? The great Royal Secretary Choi doesn't eat his vegetables? Even my brother eats his. You should be ashamed of yourself."

He sputtered, clearly embarrassed, and you snickered at how flustered he appeared over your teasing. Glaring at you, he retorted, "Is that any way to talk to the kind samaritan who just treated you to lunch?"

You shrugged. "I'll treat anyone who doesn't eat their veggies the same way, with discrimination. If you won't eat them, give them here, you big baby."

He pouted, about to hand them over until you added, "Siwoo's going to be so disappointed when he hears about this. He looks up to you and thinks of you as his role model, you know." You gasped, realising you had revealed something you hadn't meant to share, but all your regret dissolved when you saw his reaction to your words.

San's jaw dropped, and he quickly snatched the greens back, stuffing his face with them. "There, I finished them. You happy now?!"

You couldn't help but burst into laughter. In moments like this, you wondered how wonderful it would be if all men were like him. You admired how his eyes crinkled as he joined in your laughter. He could be so annoyingly cute and likeable. Gosh, you hated it. You hated how warm he was making you feel, hated how good it felt.

As the two of you calmed down from your giggles, the smiles remained on your faces. You finished the last of your food, neatly wrapped the lunchbox back up in his bag, and handed it to him. "Thank you, Royal Secretary Choi," you said, your voice sincere.

His heart skipped a beat at your genuine gratitude. With a nod of acknowledgement, he reached out to take the bag from you. Both your breaths hitched when your fingertips brushed against each other. The unexpected contact sent a small, electric jolt through you both, causing you to momentarily lock eyes.

San's eyes softened, filled with an emotion you couldn't quite place. The world seemed to pause, and for a fleeting moment, the two of you were the only ones that existed. You could feel your pulse quickening, the warmth of his touch lingering on your skin.

"You're welcome," he finally replied, his voice barely above a whisper. He took the bag, his fingers lingering a moment longer than necessary before pulling away.

You quickly looked down, trying to steady your racing heart. "I should get back to my studies," you said, standing up and smoothing out your clothes.

"Of course," he replied, standing up as well. "Take care, Scholar Moon."

With a final nod, you turned and walked away, feeling his gaze linger on your back. A small smile tugged at your lips as you wondered what it would be like if moments like these with him became a regular part of your life. You found your own thoughts baffling, as no man had ever made you feel such emotions before.

Could he possibly... be the only exception?

No, he could not.

You should have known better. Should have recognised the trouble he brought along despite his constant insistence on helping. Initially, you felt grateful for his frequent gestures, like bringing you lunch and accompanying you to pick up your brother from school during the rainy season, the three of you huddled under his umbrella—a sight that warmed your mother's heart.

For a while, it felt like being on Cloud 9. But in hindsight, you must have lost your mind to let him get so involved in your life. It seemed foolish to rely on him so much, to let him become so close to you and your family.

And inevitably, there were consequences.

You reached your breaking point when the bullying at your educational institution intensified. Rumours about you and the royal secretary spending time together spread like wildfire among your fellow scholars, leading to endless torment.

As you tried to leave the institution, hoping to find solace at home after enduring what felt like hours of torment, Namgil and his cronies blocked your path, their mocking laughter echoing around you like a cacophony of cruelty.

"Leaving so soon, Miss Smarty Pants? Off to see your beloved Royal Secretary Choi, I presume?" he jeered, his voice dripping with malice. "Who would've thought your success was all thanks to him? Must have made quite the deal to get him to treat you so well. Bet you're not so innocent anymore, huh?"

His words cut through you like knives, causing your steps to falter as you froze in place, the implications of his cruel insinuations hitting you like a ton of bricks. "Should've known," Namgil continued, his tone laced with venom. "All you women are good for is spreading your legs."

You felt a wave of humiliation wash over you, a burning rage rising up within you as you struggled to hold back tears. They had no idea what you had been through, the sacrifices you had made to get to where you were. But at that moment, all you could do was stand there, feeling utterly defenceless against their relentless cruelty.

Meanwhile, San couldn't shake off his growing concern for you. He hadn't caught sight of you all day, and his inquiries around the palace yielded no sightings of you either. The court ladies confirmed that you hadn't visited the palace at all, which only deepened his worry. You had never missed a day before, and the thought of you being sick or in trouble made his heart sink.

Leaving work that day, the extra lunch he had prepared for you still in his hands, he hurried over to your brother's school in hopes of finding you there. However, his heart sank further when he only found Siwoo waiting by the entrance as usual. The child's face lit up when he spotted the royal secretary.

"Hyung-nim! Did my noona send you here to pick me up today?" Siwoo asked eagerly. The royal secretary shook his head, his concern evident in his expression.

"No, Siwoo-yah. She hasn't been to the palace either. Do you know where her institution is?" San inquired. Your brother's expression turned worried, but he nodded.

"Yes, I do! Let's go find her!" Siwoo suggested, but San gently shook his head.

"No can do, you tell me where and I'll go. Your mother will worry if neither of you are home," San explained. The child reluctantly agreed, but not without making a request.

"Okay, but promise me you'll bring her back," Siwoo pleaded. The secretary gave him a reassuring smile and pinky promised him.

"Don't worry, I will."

As San approached your institution, relief washed over him when he spotted your familiar figure not too far from the main entrance. However, his relief quickly turned to concern when he noticed you weren't alone. Surrounding you were a group of male scholars, their expressions and body language indicating that the conversation was far from pleasant. His heart twisted uncomfortably at the sight of your wet eyes and defeated look. Were you being bullied?

With clenched fists, he stepped closer, his brows narrowing in anger as he overheard snippets of the conversation. It was clear that the group was making disparaging remarks about you. His blood boiled when he heard the leader of the gang suggesting that you had been selling your body in exchange for your success. How dare they?

These bastards.

While San understood that your previous encounters with men must have been unpleasant for you to harbour such a strong dislike for them, witnessing you being treated in such a manner was a first for him. It was no wonder you hated them so much; who could blame you? But he was here now, and he was determined to change that.

He stalked over, his towering and intimidating presence startling the scholars. "Are my ears deceiving me, or did I truly just hear such vile words coming from a scholar?" he demanded, his voice icy and authoritative. "Watch your words because rest assured, your headmaster will hear about this. Not only were you being misogynistic, but how dare you insinuate such despicable things about Scholar Moon? This woman has more integrity than all of you combined. She doesn't need any man's backing—not even mine—to get where she is today. She is fully capable of achieving that on her own, and I think you know that, given how your insecurity and jealousy are blatantly showing through your nasty actions."

The scholars' faces turned pale, their bravado evaporating in the face of the royal secretary's fury. He stepped closer, his fists clenched, ready to defend you from any further insults. The leader of the gang opened his mouth to retort but quickly thought better of it, swallowing his words and casting a nervous glance at his friends.

"L-let's go, guys," Namgil stuttered, bowing before scrambling away. They weren't stupid. This was His Majesty's royal secretary, and if he reported them to the king, they would face dire consequences. There was nothing to gain from angering him.

San turned his gaze to you, his eyes softening. "Are you okay?" he asked gently, his voice a stark contrast to the harsh tone he had just used.

Instead of a grateful nod like he had expected, you met him with a darkened expression. Taking deep breaths, you tried to hold back your tears and calm yourself down. When you remained silent, glaring at him, he sighed. "Was that too much? I—I'm sorry, I know you can defend yourself, but I just—"

You cut him off, speaking in a low voice, "This is all your fault, Choi San."

He froze, his heart clenching painfully at the last words he expected to hear from you. You continued, harshly wiping away stray tears with your sleeves, "If only you'd just leave me alone like I asked from the beginning… I've been bullied all my life, but the usual nonsense I could endure. Not once—never—had anyone ever implied something like that," you whispered the last part. "And it's all because of you. Haven't you done enough? If you truly want to help me, then please—god—please, just leave me alone."

With that, you walked out of the institution, leaving him reeling in shock and hurt at your words. This was not how he had imagined things would turn out.

San finally realised that maybe his sister had been right. If distancing himself would make you happier, he’d do it, even if it meant suffering from being away from you. From that day onwards, he would make sure to keep his distance, honouring your wish.

You went to your younger brother’s school that evening and were surprised to hear that he had already been picked up. Panicking, you rushed home and were relieved to see Siwoo safely at the entrance, waiting with your worried mother. He clung tightly to you as you stroked his hair.

"Who brought you home?" you asked softly.

He sniffled, "Sannie hyung-nim… he promised he’d bring you home, but he lied. You came home alone."

You sighed, holding the child closer as guilt slowly crept into your heart. "He didn’t lie, Siwoo-yah. He did come to me, but I was the one who left him."

Your mother watched you with concern, her eyes reflecting relief and confusion. She reached out, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. "What happened, dear?"

You hesitated, the weight of the day's events pressing down on you. "I— I just... he won't bother us again, mother. I made sure of that."

Siwoo looked up at you, his eyes wide with innocence and confusion. "But why, noona? He was so nice to us."

Tears threatened to spill from your eyes as you hugged your brother tighter. "It will protect us. It will make things easier."

You were aware that you were trying to convince yourself more than anyone else. But you would rather die than admit it. You were Scholar Moon, the first female scholar in Joseon, and you didn't need a man to survive. You never did, and you never would. Choi San was merely a hindrance, but he was now in the past. Things would finally return to normal. You would excel in your exams and fulfil your dreams. Everything would be fine.

Or would it really?

Days following that proved much harder than anticipated. The royal secretary had indeed left you alone, as you'd requested. While you should have been glad, a part of you felt irritated by his obedience. You resented that he hadn't fought harder, but you knew you had no one to blame but yourself. You felt difficult to deal with. Surely, a man as good as Choi San deserved someone better than you. He had gone above and beyond to help you for the past few months, yet all you gave him in return were harsh words you... likely didn't mean at all.

Wait, what even are these thoughts? None of that should matter; it's all in the past. You needed to focus on your studies.

With a massage of your temples, you attempted to reread the same sentence you had been struggling with for the past hour. However, endless thoughts of that stupid man kept resurfacing, haunting you and weighing heavy on your heart with an unpleasant feeling you wished would disappear. God, did you hate him. Why was he so annoying even when he wasn't around?

You hated how he consumed your thoughts.

Everywhere you turned in the palace, he lingered in your mind. Each time you picked up your brother, he intruded into your thoughts, and even passing by your educational institution's entrance reminded you of him. What was wrong with you? What had he done to you? You were fine before meeting him, and you would be fine now. You kept repeating this to yourself, but all resolve crumbled when you saw him approaching one morning in the palace. It was the first time seeing him since that day—the day you'd uttered those cruel words to him.

You froze, clutching your books tightly to your chest, bracing yourself for whatever words or actions he might deliver. However, your heart sank when he simply passed by with a respectful nod. Why did that sting so much? You had brought this upon yourself. The urge to chase after him was overwhelming, and you squeezed your eyes shut to suppress the longing.

Pull yourself together, this is for the best.

You didn't need him.

Or did you?

Why does it hurt so much?

The atmosphere between you and the royal secretary had shifted, turning awkward and strained. Everyone in the palace could sense the change, the tension that now defined your interactions—or rather, the lack thereof. The once easy camaraderie had vanished, replaced by uncomfortable silences and fleeting, cautious glances. It wasn't long before word reached Namgil, who seized the opportunity to make your life even more miserable. The bullying intensified, but you endured it all, determined to pass your final exam without incident.

Time flew by, even as you suffered.

You buried yourself in your studies, hoping to push him out of your mind. Every page you turned, every line you read, was an attempt to forget the way he made you feel. The palace corridors, once filled with the warmth of his ever-comforting presence, now echoed with your lonely footsteps and the quiet rustle of your books.

Days turned into weeks, and before you knew it, your final examination was approaching. The weight of the upcoming test pressed down on you, but it was a welcome distraction from the pain in your heart. You could still see him in the palace, still catch glimpses of his familiar figure in the distance, but the gap between you felt insurmountable.

On the eve of your exam, you found yourself in the palace library, surrounded by stacks of books and scrolls. The dim light of the lantern cast long shadows across the room, mirroring the shadows in your heart. You took a deep breath, trying to calm your racing thoughts.

Then, without warning, the door creaked open, and there he was. San, standing in the doorway, looking just as conflicted as you felt. Your heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, neither of you moved.

"Scholar Moon," he finally said, his voice low and hesitant. "I heard your final exam is tomorrow. I wanted to wish you luck."

You nodded, trying to keep your voice steady. "Thank you, Royal Secretary Choi."

He took a step closer, his eyes searching yours. "I know you asked me to leave you alone, but I just want you to know that I believe in you. You are more than capable of achieving your dreams."

Tears threatened to well up in your eyes, but you blinked them away. "I appreciate that," you replied, your voice barely above a whisper.

For a moment, it seemed like he might say more, but then he simply nodded and turned to leave. As the door closed behind him, you felt a pang of regret. You had to fight everything in you to resist running after him, holding onto him, telling him how much you regretted everything, how wrong you had been, how much you… missed him.

No, stop it.

You took a deep breath and returned to your books, knowing that tomorrow's exam was the key to your future. You had to stay focused. You had to succeed, even if it meant pushing aside the feelings you couldn't quite shake.

The next morning, your mother smoothed your robes as you prepared to leave for the palace where the final examination would take place. Her hands were gentle, but the pride in her eyes was unmistakable.

"This is it," she whispered, a soft smile on her face. "All your hard work will pay off today. You will finally be someone in this land. The first female scholar-official in Joseon."

You nodded, taking a deep breath to steady your nerves. Today was the day you had worked so tirelessly for. Today, you would prove yourself.

"You look beautiful, noona!" Siwoo cheered, his excitement contagious.

You smiled down at your little brother, ruffling his hair. "Thank you, Siwoo-yah. I'll make you proud."

As you stepped outside, the morning sun casting a golden hue over the palace grounds, you felt a surge of determination. You wouldn't have time to think about a certain annoying man who had been invading your thoughts more than you cared to admit. You wouldn't let the memory of Choi San torment you more than Namgil and his friends ever could.

With each step towards the examination hall, you reminded yourself of your goals. You were Scholar Moon, the first female scholar in Joseon. You were about to make history.

As you entered the courtyard, the confident bounce in your step reflected the culmination of years of hard work and determination. You were oblivious to the devious grins Namgil and a few other scholars exchanged as their gazes followed your figure.

"There she is," Namgil sneered, nodding toward the bridge above the large pond that everyone would later cross to reach the examination hall. A wicked idea formed in his mind. "Remind me, boys. It would be impossible for someone with drenched clothes to participate in the final examination, is that correct?"

They snickered, immediately understanding his implication. "Yes, I think that is right."

You moved through the crowd, nodding to a few familiar faces, your mind already focused on the examination ahead. You had no idea that behind you, Namgil and his cronies were plotting to ruin everything you had worked all your life for.

As the time approached for the scholars to cross the bridge and enter the hall, you took a deep breath, steeling yourself for the challenge ahead. This was your moment, and nothing would stand in your way.

Or so you thought.

As you stepped onto the bridge, Namgil and his cronies moved into position. With a quick, coordinated push, you were sent plummeting into the pond below. The cold water enveloped you, and panic set in immediately. You flailed, trying to keep your head above water, but it was futile. "H-help! Please!"

Laughter erupted from above. Namgil and his friends stood at the edge of the bridge, their mocking laughter ringing in your ears.

"Oops! Looks like Scholar Moon won't be making history today," Namgil taunted, his voice dripping with malice.

"I... c-can't swim..."

Everyone froze, the courtyard falling silent as your bully's laughter ceased. The realisation hit them like a ton of bricks: the pond was much deeper than they had anticipated, and you couldn't swim. Your desperate cries for help echoed in the sudden stillness, turning their malicious prank into a potential tragedy.

Panic spread among the scholars as they realised what they had done. What began as sabotage could now be seen as attempted murder, and their futures hung in the balance. Namgil's face drained of colour as he watched you struggle, knowing full well the consequences of their actions.

Fortunately for you, and unfortunately for them, San happened to be dropping by to observe the examination. His heart plummeted at the sight before him. Without a second thought, he pushed through the panicked crowd of useless men and plunged into the pond, desperate to save you.

His strong arms wrapped around you, pulling you up from the depths. He swam with determined strokes, bringing you to the safety of the pond's edge. As he hoisted you onto solid ground, he checked for signs of life, his own breath coming in ragged gasps from the effort and fear.

You coughed and sputtered, expelling water from your lungs as you gasped for air. San's relieved expression melted into one of fierce protectiveness and anger. He turned to face the group of terrified scholars, his eyes blazing with fury.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, his voice a low growl. "Do you have any idea what you almost did?"

Namgil and his friends could only stammer incoherent excuses, their earlier bravado replaced by sheer terror. The royal secretary's intervention had saved you, but it had also sealed their fate.

A few examiners rushed out just in time to witness the chaos, their expressions darkening at the sight of the guilty, terrified faces of Namgil and his cronies. Realising the gravity of their actions, the bullies pleaded for mercy as they were escorted away to face the consequences.

The royal secretary turned toward you, gently brushing aside the damp strands of hair that clung to your face, his touch tender. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, his concern evident in his expression.

Your lips quivered at the tenderness in his voice and the worry etched on his face. He was the first and only man to care so deeply for you, and you couldn't fathom how you had repeatedly pushed him away. But now, tired of denying your feelings, you couldn't hold back the tears that welled up in your eyes. With a broken sob, you shook your head. "No… I'm not," you whimpered, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your face in his shoulder.

He hesitated for a moment, startled by your sudden embrace, before returning it, enveloping you in his arms. "What's wrong? Tell me," he murmured, his voice laced with concern.

You sobbed harder, weakly hitting him. "It's you… y-you're so annoying, you know that? I hate it so much… hate that I love you."

He pulled back, wide-eyed, holding your shoulders at arm's length as he gazed into your tear-filled eyes. "Wh-what did you say…? This isn't a dream, is it?"

Through your tears, you chuckled at his reaction. "I finally muster the courage to confess to you, and that's your response?"

His smile broke through, the one you adored so much, the one where his eyes disappeared into slits, bringing warmth and comfort no matter how hard things got. Pulling you back into his arms, he stroked the back of your head. "I love you too..."

"How's your first day as a Scholar-Official, Moon?" inquired the royal secretary as you grinned at him. "It's going well, Royal Secretary Choi. Thank you for asking."

After he assisted you in petitioning His Majesty for another chance at your final examination, arguing that you were merely a victim of foul play, you were granted the opportunity. As anticipated, you passed with flying colours, ranking at the top of the batch. Finally, you held the prestigious title of scholar-official.

However, that wasn't the only change in your life. Choi San openly courted you, much to the king's approval, solidifying your status as a formidable power couple.

Leaning down to plant a kiss on your forehead, he smiled, "I'll see you after work."

You blushed and gently pushed him away. "Not here, please. But yes, I'll see you later."

As you left the palace after your day's work, you spotted a familiar face. Smiling, you greeted her, but your steps faltered when she bowed respectfully.

"Hi there. I remember you," you said, trying to recall where you had met her before.

She grinned knowingly. "Yes, it's good to see you again, Scholar-Official Moon. I suppose you believe my words about the royal secretary now, don't you? After all, you and he are the talk of the palace."

Your cheeks flushed, recalling that she had been the court lady to disclose San's identity during your initial encounter. You nodded awkwardly, trying to recover from your embarrassment.

She chuckled softly. "Well then, don't let me keep you. Royal Secretary Choi is waiting for you by the entrance."

Your heart soared at the sight of San standing by the entrance, just as the court lady had claimed. He was waiting for you, and the realisation filled you with an indescribable warmth. This wasn't just any man; this was your man. Yours alone. The sight of him, tall, handsome, kind, and caring, reaffirmed your feelings.

Without a second thought, you ran over, calling out, "Sannie!" He turned towards you, his face lighting up with that beam that never failed to make your heart race. His arms opened wide, and you leapt into them, feeling a rush of joy at being in his embrace.

"I missed you, honey," he whispered, his voice filled with affection.

You pressed your lips against his, relishing the moment as his response came swiftly, his kiss soft and reassuring. Pulling back slightly, a smile played on your lips, your heart dancing with joy. "I missed you too, my big baby," you teased.

"Come on, remember you wanted to learn more about my past?" you said, chuckling at the pout on his face as you pulled away.

He nodded eagerly, and you took his hand, leading him towards a place you hadn't visited in a long time.

"So, this was the root of your hatred for men…" he murmured, his gaze fixed on your father's grave as you stood beside him. You had just finished recounting everything that had transpired, from the beginning of your existence to the hardships you endured to reach where you are today.

"Yes, but you showed me that not all men are the same," you replied softly, your voice tinged with gratitude.

He gently squeezed your hands, turning to face you with a serious expression. "And I won't stop showing you. I promise I'll be different from your father and every other man you've encountered. I'll protect you and your family as if they were my own. I'll strive to be the best husband to you and father to our future child. You'll never have to suffer alone again. I'm here for you," he whispered, his forehead resting against yours.

You chuckled softly through your tears, nodding in response. "That's amusing… I don't recall agreeing to be your wife just yet. What are you talking about, Choi San?"

He let out a playful whine, "Hey! You—wait... you said 'yet' though, so that means... you will eventually, right?" he asked hopefully.

Teasingly, you stuck your tongue out at him before turning and running away. But deep down, you knew that no matter how far you went, he would always be there to catch you.

Of course, you idiot.

Holy crap, I was gone for like 2 weeks and I return to 1.85k+ followers?! ASDFGHJKL thank you all so much😭

Anyway, I hope this was decent, y'all... I swear, I didn't plan for this part to be so freaking long HAHA but I just felt like it would take quite a bit for her hatred to turn into love hehe I hope the ending didn't feel rushed or anything :3

As always, thank you for reading and let me know your thoughts! ❤️

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#edenesth #the way to this heart #love to hate you #twthh spinoff #ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fanfiction #choi san #ateez san #historical au #joseon era #choi san x reader #choi san x you #ateez fic

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vetteltea · 9 months

Text

Green Eyes [CL16 Ending]

Those green eyes. The ones you had married.

Charles visibly breathes out when he sees you, sitting up, blinking towards him. He wants to rush to you, to cradle you in his arms and tell you to your face how much he loves you, cherishes you more than anything else the universe has ever or will ever create.

The moment is more visualized in his head. In reality, Charles’ knees buckle, crouching by the door, tears flowing freely from his eyes. The flowers he had picked up from the giftshop are still in his grasp, almost on the floor as he tries to compose himself, to make his legs strong again.

“Charles.” You speak softly. “It’s okay.”

That seems to be enough to draw him further, to stand him up and get to her bedside, placing himself in the plastic chair, hands abandoning the bouquet of flowers and holding your face, a hand pressed to either of your cheeks as the tears pool around his lower lash line. His breathing is erratic, he’s scared. It’s like you’ll be pulled away from him at any moment, he doesn't want that. He cannot have that.

“Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you still hurt?” His mind can’t catch up with his mouth, a barrage of questions which will surely send him into a spiral. Your heart is racing, you were certain if connected to a monitor, they would think you’re spinning out of control. This time, your actions overtake you, resting a hand on either side of Charles’ rambling face and pulling him to mesh your lips together.

This time, you kiss Charles Leclerc.

His words immediately cease, a tiny whine leaving his lips as he presses back against you, hands freezing on your face and pulling you closer. He tells himself that if he lets go, you’ll be gone. You’ll stop kissing him.

The idea of somebody else, of Carlos, is immediately wiped from your mind. He’s not Charles. He’s not your husband.

Eventually, you have to for the sole reason that you need air. You gently remove yourself, foreheads pressing against one another, the only sounds radiating around the room being the soft catch of breath from yourself and your husband’s racing heartbeat.

“I’m okay.” You whisper. The quietness sounds unusual, clearing your throat and trying again. “They said it’s a precaution. Dehydration, Stress, that sort of-”

“-Stress?” Charles cuts you off. The guilt begins to settle in his stomach. Stress. Following him around each weekend. Stress. Wondering whether he’s going to come home to you each and every night. He was the one who had- who was-

“I’m sorry.” Charles murmurs, he’s not able to form his sentences properly. Your mind isn’t configuring correctly, convinced he’s still talking about not being there when you had been taken to hospital, about your current health. You don’t think as you shrug, letting him apologize before you start to speak again.

“Charles. It’s okay. You were in media with Joris-”

“Merde. No, that isn’t what I'm apologizing for.” He freezes, the pregnant pause in the room only growing by the moment. Is he really going to do this? Right here, right now. His wife- your eyes are wide, waiting for him to continue speaking.

When your hand reaches out to overlay his, he feels the fingers, the lack of your cool wedding band on your ring finger, instead it rests in his pocket. It’s as if your contact has flipped a switch, remoting him to continue speaking.

“I’m sorry.” He pauses, making sure you didn’t interrupt with an immediate acceptance. “I’m sorry for what I’ve made you go through for the past year.” His second hand rests atop of yours, he’s so cold, it sends a shiver through your arms. “I didn’t want to be married, I didn’t want to be settled but…it was for the best. It was for my career. I never- I never thought about how you must have felt the same way.”

He’s correct; when you had been told by your father of the arrangement, it was the last thing you had ever desired. Being married to a Formula One driver may have been a dream, but not at the expense of finding love.

“I didn’t give you a chance. You looked-” He pauses changing the past tense. “You look after me. On my best and worst days, you were there. And what did I do? I kept pushing you away, pushing myself towards women who were not my wife.”

“Charles.” You try to speak, images of his mistress flickering through your mind. “You loved her-”

“-I didn’t love her.” It was true. “I desired her. She was something which reminded me of when I was single. I kept…I wanted to hold onto what I had previously been, that I was single, fun and free.”

You shrug, looking down to where his hands interlocked over your own, careful not to nudge or injure you. “Charles, I get it. It was an arranged marriage, I never should have caught feelings. Not when-”

“I’m not finished.” Charles shakes his head, smiling now. “You were there. You stayed there, you were always there with a kind word and a warm heart. And the entire time that you were there…I ignored it.” He shakes his head. “And it took me so long to realize that what I wanted was a marriage.“

“It took-” You pause, you’re not able to be cruel. Your husband isn’t stupid, he knows what you were about to say.

“-It took him. Yes.” He pauses. “To realize that all I want is you. That all I want is to come home to your arms, to take you for dinner at all the places I should have. To take you for boat rides and tell you how beautiful you look with wet hair and that perfect grin.”

By this point, your mouth hangs ajar, your heart swelling. He’d never spoken so…honestly to you before. Eyes flicker down to his fingers, how they reach around for his right-hand pocket, sliding out a pocket square, the blue fabric which was ever-present at your wedding all those months ago.

“I know you will never be able to forgive me for what I did.” He lets the fabric fall away, revealing your own wedding band. Immediately, your eyes snap down to your fingers, only just realizing that the ring had been removed. It wasn’t uncommon; after the six month mark, you had only worn the ring when appearing in public. Even now, it rests away from your finger, instead in your husband’s grasp.

“You can tell me to go right now.” His tone has raised, he’s clearly terrified that is what you’ll want. “I’ll go. You can have the house, the cars, everything. You’ll never see me again and I promise that.” Tears are pooling at his eyes again and you feel your stomach drop. He doesn't want that, of course he does not, but the fact he’s willing to let you go if it will make you happy burns through your heart.

“But.” He lifts the ring, holding it just over your hand, letting the glistening band reflect across the hospital lights. “I want you to stay. I want to stay with you.” He sighs, his shoulders still so tense. “I promise you. I will do everything in my power to make you happy, to make you feel loved forever. I- I love you.”

Your heart skyrockets; if it was possible for an organ to spontaneously combust and heal itself in a split second, you were certain it had happened to you. Your husband lifts the ring further, taking your left hand in his own, eyes still full of hope, of tears, of love.

“Will you marry me, again?” His voice is so quiet. You’re so overwhelmed. “We can do it again. Our wedding. Just us, whatever we want.” It flickers through your mind; somewhere quiet, intimate. A soft white dress that is completely different from your original; rings slid onto one another's' fingers as you promised love all over again. But this time, it could be real. He would look you in the eye to say it, not off to the side, clearly refuting his role in the deal.

This time, he looks into your eyes.

“I promise.”

This time, you can’t hold back the tears in your own eyes, nodding as the ring is slid back onto your finger. You can’t describe it, the way the cool band belongs there, it’s a part of you.

No. The man sliding the finger onto your finger is the part of you. Wordlessly, Charles pulls you closer, pressing a kiss to every inch of your face, soft lips caressing each part, letting your head fall to his shoulder, breathing synchronized as a hand trails up your back, keeping his wife oh-so-close to him.

“Let’s go back to the house.” He murmurs. “Let’s go back home.”

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lvnleah · 9 days

Text

013. | Welcome home

word count: 2.7k

find the masterlist here!

another cute and emotional one, the next few will be like this :)

one more part left after this, my anon is back on some come and talk to me about anything! 💗

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March 30th 2024 | a few hours old.

The sun had barely risen when you and Leah woke up to the soft cries of your newborn son, Finley. His tiny fists waved in the air as his face scrunched in a way that made your heart swell with love. Leah, already half-awake, gave you a sleepy smile and kissed your forehead before slipping out of bed.

“I’ll get him,” she murmured, moving to the bassinet where Finley was laid beside you. He calmed as she gently picked him up, his cries turning to whimpers as she held him close.

You felt like your heart was going to melt as you watched Leah gently rock Finley around the room, you were sure it was a sight you’d never get used to seeing.

You didn’t think that you could fall in love with Leah anymore than you had but after seeing her with Finley, your love for her had somehow grown even more.

After the nurses had cleaned Finley up, done their checks and helped you feed him for the first time, they had left you and Leah to have some time with your newborn son. While Finley slept cradled up in your arms, you and Leah laid in the bed and couldn’t but just stare at him for hours. You didn’t realise how long you’d been staring at Finley until he’d woken up for his next feed at 3 AM.

Once he was settled again, you and Leah tried to get some sleep but you were both anxious about Finley. It was a new experience for both of you, you had no idea what you were doing and in all honesty you were both just winging it with the guidance of the nurses.

You both managed to fall into a light sleep around half three but now and then you’d find yourself waking up and checking on Finley.

The clock had just struck half-five in the morning

“I think a little man wants a feed again.” Leah said, pressing a kiss to Finley’s forehead. “Do you want your pillow to rest him on?”

You nodded, "Yeah, that would be great," you replied, your voice filled with exhaustion. You reached for the pillow, positioning it carefully to support Finley as Leah handed him over to you.

Finley's tiny mouth opened and closed instinctively, “Wait a minute, Bubba.” You giggled, brushing your hand over his head before helping him latch on.

Leah laid beside you, the both of you took in his perfectness as he fed. After a while, Finley finished feeding and Leah burped him for you before he fell asleep on her chest. You’d both discovered that he liked to lay on her chest when she had just a bra on, one of the nurses explained that it was because newborns loved skin-to-skin.

"He's amazing," Leah whispered, her voice filled with awe. "I can't believe he's finally here."

"Neither can I," you said, resting your head against her shoulder. "I can’t believe how much he looks like you."

Leah chuckled softly, her fingers gently tracing patterns on Finley's back. "You think so? I see so much of you in him too."

That’s what you loved the most about being able to use Leah’s egg and your brother's sperm, Finley was related to both of you and you could pick out different features that belonged to you and Leah.

"He’s perfect," you whispered, reaching out to stroke Finley's tiny hand. His fingers curled around yours instantly. “Absolutely perfect.”

Leah nodded, her eyes never leaving Finley's face. "We did good," she said softly. "We really did."

You leaned over and kissed Leah's cheek, "I love you," you said simply.

She turned to look at you, "I love you too. More than I ever thought possible, thank you for giving me him.”

Eventually, Finley stirred, making a little noise as he wriggled on Leah's chest. She smiled down at him, her fingers brushing over his tiny bit of blonde hair. "Looks like someone’s ready for another nap," she murmured.

You nodded, watching as she gently transferred him back to the bassinet. Finley settled almost immediately, his tiny breaths evening out as he drifted back to sleep.

“Are you hungry, pretty girl?” Leah asked you from the end of the bed. “It’s six o’clock so the canteen is serving breakfast now.”

You nodded, "I would die for some scrambled eggs," you admitted, realising you hadn't had a proper meal in hours.

After you’d given birth, the nurses bought you round some toast and a cup of tea which felt like the best meal ever but you hadn’t eaten since then.

Leah smiled as she kissed your temple, “I’ll run down and grab us something. I won’t be long.”

As she left the room, you glanced back at the bassinet, watching Finley sleep so peacefully. His little legs would kick now and then, you smiled finally being able to see the tiny feet that had been kicking away for the past nine months.

A few minutes later, Leah returned with a tray that had scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, a cup of tea for you and a bottle of orange juice for Leah. The sight of the tray made your mouth water.

"Breakfast is served," she announced, setting the tray on the little table beside the bed. You both sat in the bed and dug in.

Between bites, you talked about the plans for the day. No one had met Finley yet and you were planning on introducing him to them once you got home. A couple hours after Finley was born, she sent a picture of him in her arms to the Arsenal group chat as well as the lionesses one. It was safe to say that everyone was excited to meet Finley whenever they were going to get the chance.

As you finished eating, Finley began to stir again, his little face scrunching up as he prepared to cry. Leah quickly picked him up, soothing him with gentle murmurs.

"Looks like someone's hungry again," she said with a chuckle.

You took another sip of tea and watched them, "He's got quite the appetite.”

Leah nodded, cradling Finley close. "At least he’s not picky like his Mumma yet," she teased, and you both laughed softly.

The morning passed in a blur of feedings, naps, and visits from the nurses. Each moment felt precious, every little sound and movement from Finley was a new thing to cherish.

By the time the clock struck ten, you both felt a bit more human, despite the sleep deprivation. You knew the coming days and weeks would be challenging, but as you looked at Leah and Finley, you felt ready to be in a tiny bubble with them.

Finally, it was time to leave. The nurses helped you gather your things and double-checked Finley’s car seat before you were allowed to depart. You and Leah exchanged nervous glances as you carried Finley out to the car, the reality of having a newborn finally hitting you.

You climbed into the backseat beside Finley’s car seat, determined to keep a close eye on him during the drive.

“Ready to go home?” Leah asks from the front seat as she looks at you through the mirror.

You nodded your head and smiled, “I’m ready.”

Leah drove slowly, hyper-aware of every bump and turn. Finley slept through it all, his tiny chest rising and falling while your hand rested on his stomach. You couldn’t take your eyes off him, you couldn’t believe he was all yours.

When you finally pulled into the parking garage under your apartment building, Leah sighed in relief. “Welcome home, Finley,” she smiled, turning to look at you both.

Leah carefully unbuckled the car seat and carried Finley inside. You tried to offer to carry the bags but Leah was quick to stop you and tell you she’d come down later for them.

You made your way up in the elevator to your apartment, Finley still sound asleep, before making your way inside your apartment for the very first time as a family of three. Leah set Finley’s car seat down on the kitchen side before carefully unstrapping him and cradling him in her arms.

Leah smiled at you, "Why don't we give Finley a tour of his new home?"

You nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Leah started in the kitchen, rocking Finley gently as his eyes looked up at her. "This is where your Mummy loves to cook. She's a master of it because Mumma can’t cook," she teased, glancing at you with a warm smile. "And this is where we'll prepare all your bottles for now."

You walked over, rubbing Finley's head, his eyes turning to you despite his vision not being the best. "You’re going to love it here, little man. You won’t be a picky eater like Mumma."

Leah then moved to the living room. "This is where we'll have lots of family time. Movie nights, storytime, and right here," she pointed to a cosy corner with a plush armchair, "is where I'll read to you every night."

Finley stirred slightly and made a little cooing noise. You felt your heart swell, picturing the evenings spent with your son.

Next, Leah carried him to the nursery. "And this, Finley, is your room. We spent months getting it ready for you," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion. She pointed to the crib with its soft bedding and the mobile of stars and clouds hanging above it. "You’ll sleep here, surrounded by love."

You ran your fingers over the edge of the crib, remembering all the nights you and Leah had spent setting up the nursery, choosing each item with care. "We can't wait to see you grow up here," you said softly.

Leah gently swayed with Finley, her eyes taking in the room as if for the first time. "And over here," she pointed to a mini Arsenal shirt hanging up, "is a mini version of Mumma’s shirt! One day you’ll get to wear it."

You smiled. "Maybe a Spurs one if Jacob gets the chance," you murmured.

Leah then carried Finley to your bedroom. "And this is where your Mummy and I sleep. You’ll be spending a lot of time here with us, at least for the first few months. Then you can come in here for morning cuddles!”

You moved to the bedside, touching the bassinet that was set up for Finley. "This is where you’ll sleep, right next to us."

Finley stirred again, making a small noise, and Leah looked down at him with a smile. "Looks like someone’s enjoying it," she said softly, kissing his forehead.

You reached out to take Finley in your arms, holding him close. "Welcome home, Finley," you whispered.

Leah wrapped an arm around your waist, resting her head on your shoulder as you both looked down at your son. "This is just the beginning," she murmured. "We have so many memories to make together."

The pair of you settled on the sofa with Finley, you fed him before Leah burped him and handed him back to you for another snuggle. She made you both a quick lunch, a sandwich which was within her cooking skills range.

The afternoon slipped by, and soon there was a knock at the door. Leah handed Finley to you and went to answer it. Moments later, she returned with Amanda, Jacob, and David in tow.

Amanda came over to you. “How are you doing, darling?”

“Sore but I’m good,” you laughed, “I’m just in a little bubble of perfection right now.”

“What about me?” Leah asked, “I’m your daughter, what am chopped liver?”

Amanda playfully waved Leah away, “Oh shush you! I spoke to you earlier, and you’re fine. You might be tired but you’re not the one who’s given birth!”

She handed over a dish covered in foil to Leah. “I bought lasagna for dinner. You two need to eat properly.”

“Thanks, Amanda,” you said as Leah joined you on the sofa, and you watched as Jacob and David approached, their faces lit with excitement.

“Congratulations!” David said, pulling you both into a hug. Jacob was practically bouncing on his toes, his eyes wide with excitement.

You watched as Jacob stared at Finley in your arms, “You okay, Jake?”

“Can I hold him?” Jacob asked, his voice a mix of awe and nerves.

“Of course,” Leah replied as he sat on the sofa before carefully transferring Finley into Jacob’s eager arms. Jacob’s expression softened as he gazed down at his nephew, his eyes glossed over with tears.

“Hey there, little guy,” he whispered. “I’m your Uncle Snake.” He glanced up, catching Leah’s eye with a grin. “We’re going to make sure you’re a Spurs supporter, just like us,” he joked, nudging Leah’s dad who chuckled in response.

You and Leah exchanged a look, her eyes playfully rolling in response. You were wrapped in a moment of pure happiness, surrounded by family.

After Jacob had held Finley, he passed him to Leah’s dad, David.

David took Finley, his face lighting up. “Hello there, little Finley,” he murmured, his voice soft. “You’re going to be so spoiled by your Grandpa.”

Leah wrapped an arm around your shoulders, and you both watched as her dad rocked Finley gently. “He’s already loved so much,” you whispered, leaning into her.

The afternoon was filled with warm chatter and laughter as everyone took turns holding Finley. Amanda had been waiting patiently, her eyes shining with a grandmother's love and excitement. Finally, after David had his turn, he carefully handed Finley over to Amanda.

Finally, it was Amanda’s turn.

“Oh, look at you, precious boy,” Amanda cooed, cradling Finley. Her eyes filled with tears as she gently rocked him. “You’re absolutely perfect.”

You watched Amanda with a soft smile, feeling your heart swell even more. “He loves you already, Amanda,” you said, your voice thick with emotion.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” she replied. “He’s going to be so spoiled by his Nanny, aren't you Bubba?” She brushed a gentle kiss against Finley’s forehead, causing him to stir slightly but then settle into her arms.

She turned to you and Leah, her expression serious but kind. “You two are going to be amazing parents. And remember, we’re all here to help you every step of the way. You’re not alone.”

You and Leah both nodded. “Thank you, Amanda,” you said, “We appreciate it.”

Leah smiled, “And thanks for the lasagna. We needed a good meal today.”

Amanda chuckled softly, “You were scared you were going to have to cook, weren’t you?”

After a few more moments, Amanda reluctantly handed Finley back to you. “Alright, little one, back to your Mummy now,” she whispered once Finley became restless.

As the afternoon went on, you and Leah shared stories of the birth and the first few hours with Finley. The room was filled with laughter, love, and a lot of fuss over Finley as he was passed from one loving pair of arms to another.

When the sun began to set, Amanda insisted on helping Leah with dinner while you rested on the couch with Finley. Jacob and David tidied up the living room, making sure everything was in its place for your first night home

Leah brought you a plate of lasagna, and you both ate together on the couch, Finley nestled in his Moses basket. “This is perfect,” you said, taking a bite. “I couldn’t ask for more.”

Leah smiled, leaning over to kiss your cheek. “We’re just getting started,” she replied. “There’s so much more to come.”

“Call us if you need anything,” Amanda said as they made their way out.

Leah saw them to the door, locking it behind them before returning to the couch. She sat beside you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as you both looked down at Finley, who was now peacefully asleep.

“We did it,” you whispered, your eyes filled with tears of happiness. “We’re a family.”

Leah nodded. “Yes, we are. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

You both sat there for a while, soaking in the quiet and the overwhelming amount of love that filled your home. Eventually, you carried Finley to the bedroom and fed him before laying him gently in his crib next to your bed.

As you crawled into bed that night, Leah pulled you close, her warmth and love surrounding you. “Goodnight, pretty girl,” she whispered.

“Goodnight,” you replied. “Goodnight, Finn.”

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liked by bethmead_ and 396,728 others

leahwilliamsonn proudly introducing Finley Jake Williamson, bubba boy was born a few days ago and is absolutely perfect ❤️ proud of my wife x

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#awfc x reader #lvnleah #leah williamson #leah williamson x reader #the williamson’s #Finley Williamson

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ladykailitha · 5 months

Text

Sweet Home Indiana Part 2

Hello! My elbow was doing better this morning and then I took a nap and hurt it again somehow...(head desk) so I'm still putting out my backlog without being able to build up more because of it, hopefully it gets better before I run out of backlog because that would be embarrassing.

Here we get some backstory as Eddie strolls back into Steve's life.

Pt 1

****

When Robin came into open the store she found Steve wearing the clothes he had been wearing the night before. None of the bread dough was rising, none of the cookies were baking having not even been made, the cakes were out on the cooling racks instead in the freezer to chill enough to have frosting put on them.

He was curled up next to their large stand mixer dubbed the Beast, cradling his sides like he was trying to hold in his innards.

“Steve...” she called out gently.

Steve looked up at her and her heart broke. His eyes were red and puffy, his cheeks tear-stained and blotchy. Snot ran down his nose and pooled on his upper lip.

She sighed and then turned around. She hunted around for a marker and a piece of paper. She wrote that they were closed for the day and hung it up outside the front door. She locked it behind her and went to go sit down next her best friend.

Steve laid his head on her shoulder and sighed.

“Eddie’s getting married.”

Robin had to force herself from jerking her head around to look at him because he needed her support more than he needed her ire in that moment.

“Who do I have to kill?” she muttered darkly, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair soothingly.

Steve barked out a bitter laugh. “She’s this hot shot legal assistant from Barbados. Like I didn’t even know that was a country until I looked it up. It’s in the Caribbean. Did you know that?”

“I did.”

Robin blinked for a minute. “Wait...she?”

Steve just shrugged. “People change, Robs. Don’t make it a thing.”

She bit her lip and worried it between her teeth. Because fucking hell she wanted to make a big deal out of it. Someone should make a big deal out of it.

“Nancy’s back in town visiting her family,” she said instead. “Holly’s graduating next week.”

Steve threw his arms in the air. “Great! I’m being invaded by my ex. Just put me out of my misery now, Robs. I don’t think I can take it.”

Robin smacked his arms. “No. There will be no killing of the Steve. If anyone wants to make it your problem, then they’re going to have a problem with me, got it?”

“Thanks, Robbie,” he murmured, running his fingers through his hair. “Like the way he went about it was such complete shit. Like how dare he think that a simple annulment is going to get him off abandoning me for fame and fortune and then not coming back when it fell through?”

Robin’s head did whip around that time. “He fucking did what?”

Steve sighed and waved at the papers in the trash. She got up and picked them up. She read through them with increasing ire. Her hands started to shake and her face burned with indignation.

“Screw killing her,” she hissed. “I’m going to kill him. Just as soon as I find his scrawny ass. How dare he?”

He huffed out a bitter laugh. “I hunted down his number and called him out on it. I told him if he was so desperate to be free of me he had to tell me to my face.”

“So what you’re telling me...” Robin said slowly, “is that your not just being invaded by one ex, but most likely two exes. And like your two biggest heartbreaks ever?”

Steve got to his feet and lopped over to her. “That about sums it up, yeah. I know you closed the store, but I still have to make Mrs. Laurence’s cake. She’s supposed to pick it up at 3pm.”

She patted him on the shoulder and tossed away the papers. “Let’s make this cake. We can’t disappoint Mrs. Laurence.”

Steve and Robin went through and tossed everything that couldn’t be salvaged. Steve pulled the two chocolate sheet cakes out of the freezer and set them on the decorating table. He went into the walk-in freezer and got out the two large tubs of frosting; one chocolate buttercream and the other vanilla buttercream.

Robin pulled out the food dyes and began mixing the colors they would need for the cake. Steve went and grabbed one final thing from the fridge before closing the door. A raspberry filling.

He got to work starting with a crumb coating and then took the purple colored frosting from Robin and began covering the whole cake. Once it was completely covered he started adding design elements and darker purple flowers.

Then he passed it over to Robin who wrote “Happy 50th Anniversary” on the top.

All in all it had taken about an hour. Then he called up Mrs. Laurence and told her that Robin would be delivering the cake today because the shop was closed. He didn’t explain why and she didn’t ask. Mostly she was just grateful that it was going to be delivered.

Then Steve got to work preparing for tomorrow. Things like cookies and pastries that could stay in the fridge over night were made first. Then he started on the thing he was most famous for: his brownies.

He had four kinds, a triple chocolate that was dark chocolate brownie with milk chocolate frosting and chunks. The second one was a peanut butter marble with fudge drizzled over it and topped with chopped peanuts. The third was a cheesecake and caramel that was super popular with the high school kids. But the most famous, the one every raved about was the mint brownie. It had mint in the brownie itself, mint frosting, and fudge and crumbled brownie bits covering the top.

The Monster as it was fondly called by Steve’s customers could turn even the most fervent of mint haters over to the dark side, it was that good.

Finally everything was ready for tomorrow.

When Robin came back from delivering the cake, she sat down at the decorating table and leaned on her elbows, clasping her hands together.

“When are you going to get some people into help you?” she asked gently. “You know I won’t be here forever and you can’t keep doing it on your own.”

Steve who had just finished cleaning everything up looked up at her with his big puppy dog eyes. “You’re going to leave me?” he asked with a pout.

She slapped at his arm. “You know that I’m heading to college in the fall, just as soon as I pick which one I’m going to. You’ll have all summer to train a couple of people to take my place.”

He sighed. “I know. I’ll think about it after I deal with my exes this week.”

Robin rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I also get to interview these new peeps and make sure they’re good enough.”

“Deal!” he said and they shook hands.

****

Because they were closed the day before Steve had a line of customers lining up on the sidewalk when he turned the closed sign to read “OPEN”.

Robin and he got to work helping all the customers.

It was fine up until Mrs. O’Donnell came in absolutely bitching about how she always gets her bread on Wednesdays and he knows that he should have been open for her. Especially since Mrs. Laurence got her cake, so Steve should have been able to open for her to get her bread.

She had completely bottlenecked the whole line. Robin was working as hard as she could to keep up with demand on her side of the counter, but Steve could see she was starting to falter.

“Enough!” Steve barked and the whole shop went silent. “I had a personal matter come up that couldn’t have been avoided and Mrs. Laurence had paid for her cake well in advance which is why she still got it. And unless you don’t want to get your precious bread ever again, because I have banned you, then you better stop harassing me, get your damn bread, and get the fuck out of my store.”

Mrs. O’Donnell let out a small “eep!” before paying for her bread and leaving quickly. There was a small amount of clapping and Steve grinned.

“Next, please,” he said and the next customer came up.

Things went smoother after that.

Two hours later, the rush had ended and Robin and Steve worked on restocking the shelves.

“You always were a bitch, Steve,” a voice said from the corner on the shop were there were a couple of tables people could use to eat their tasty delights. “But watching you take down that bitch O’Donnell was like poetry in motion.”

Steve stiffened, hands clenching on the tray of brownies he was carrying. He slowly turned around and sure enough in all his black clothes, leather jacket, and many chained glory was Eddie Munson.

He gritted his teeth and slid the tray home in the display case. He pulled the towel off his shoulder and wiped off his hands. “Nice to see you finally got tired of running.”

Eddie got to his feet and moved to step toward the counter when a little bell went off announcing a customer.

In walked this soft round woman with a bright smile. She didn’t even notice Eddie standing there, she just walked right up to Steve.

“Mrs. Laurence!” Steve greeted warmly. “How was the cake yesterday?”

Mrs. Laurence smiled. “It was lovely as always, dear. Nothing but rave reviews from all.”

He smiled at her fondly. “I’m glad. So what can I get you today?”

She tapped her finger on her lips as scanned over the case. “I’ll take a half dozen raspberry truffles and a monster please.”

Steve’s smile turned into a grin. “You’re just in time, I just finished a fresh batch of monsters just before you came in.”

“Lucky me indeed,” she said with a giggle. “They are so much better fresh. Not like your peanut butter ones. They taste better after a day or two to really set the peanut butter.”

Steve laughed as he packed her order. “I always feel like the opposite, give the brownie bites on top time to get chewy and they’re...” he did the chef’s kiss. “But I like how gooey the fresh peanut butter ones are fresh out of the oven.”

Mrs. Laurence laughed too. “Agree to disagree, dear.” She paid and turned around.

“Oh my goodness!” she huffed. “I didn’t even see you there, you must think me rude just jumping the line like that.”

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t think you’ve got a rude bone in your body. Jeffy takes after you that way.”

She tilted her head. “Eddie?”

Eddie nodded mutely, lips pressed into a grim line. She swept him up in a hug.

“My Jeff didn’t say anything about you coming to town,” she admonished her youngest child.

Eddie just shook his head. “It was a last minute decision. Just something I have to take care of.”

She looked back at Steve who had his head tucked to his chin and then back to him. She nodded sagely. “I see. Do take care of yourself, Eddie.”

She wave back at Steve. “Bye, dear. Thank you so much again for the cake yesterday.”

“Of course, Mrs. Laurence, you have a good day,” Steve said softly.

Eddie finally made it to the counter.

“I forget she’s Jeff’s mom,” Steve muttered as he wiped down an already clean counter.

Eddie cleared his throat. “Yeah. Like I forgot he was in town for his parent’s wedding anniversary. I guess time does that to you.”

Steve nodded. “So you’re actually here.”

“So I’m actually here,” he agreed. “But first I want to know what the fuck a monster is?”

Steve’s eyes misted as he pulled out a brownie from the case and set it on a piece of parchment paper.

“It’s called that because it’s big, green, and ugly, but soft and sweet,” he explained like he was reading from a script, refusing to look up at Eddie, “just like the Frankenstein monster from that super old horror movie.”

Eddie looked down at the so-called monstrosity with a wave of affection for the man in front of him. That wasn’t why it was named the monster. The reason it was called that was because that’s what the towns people were calling him before he left for fortune and fame, because he played D&D, like metal music, and was an out and proud gay man. That and the fact that they thought he had killed a bunch of kids with a batch of bad blow.

Which had been bullshit. Considering he had never sold meth or cocaine and didn’t have any on him. So when they tested his hair, his clothes, his uncle’s trailer and couldn’t even find so much a speck of the stuff, let alone the stuff that killed the kids, they let him go.

As far as Eddie was aware they still don’t know who sold them the drugs.

So yeah, Steve made him the brownie when he was at his lowest to tell him how soft and sweet he was despite being called a monster.

Eddie opened his wallet and got out the cash for the brownie and handed it to Steve.

Steve went through the motions of getting him his change. Which Eddie immediately put in their little tip jar.

Steve boxed up the brownie and handed Eddie the box.

Eddie pulled out an envelope out of his messenger bag and handed it to Steve.

Steve sighed and pulled them out. He began to look over them over and had a pen in hand, when he looked up to see Eddie moaning around the brownie.

He clicked the pen and shoved it back in his apron. “I better have my lawyer look over this, after all I’m just dumb, right Eddie?”

Eddie’s eyes widen and he choked down the bite of the brownie. Flashing back to their last major fight.

“God!” he screamed. “How can you be this stupid? Those kids are in high school now, they have their own parents, for fuck’s sake. Where is your ambition? This is just bullshit. You aren’t chained here for fuck’s sake.”

Steve’s face shuttered and the mask he only pulled out when his parents were around dropped over his features. Bland, clueless, and absolutely frightening in its uncanny valley.

That’s when Eddie knew he’d fucked up bad. He had said the three things he swore in his wedding vows he’d never say to Steve. That he had no ambition, that he was stupid, and that he was bullshit.

He turned on his heel and never looked back.

Steve smirked as if he knew what was flashing through his mind and walked away, leaving Eddie standing there with hand near his mouth, the expression of shock still on his frozen features.

****

Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Tag List:

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

2- @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 @a-little-unsteddie

3- @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @danili666

4- @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

5- @justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690

6- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

7- @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

8- @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @blackpanzy

9- @amazing-spiderkeys @oldpinghai @raisedbylibrarians @kultiras @swimmingbirdrunningrock

10- @steddie-as-they-go @captain--low @micheledawn1975

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #rom com au

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turcott3 · 3 months

Text

never lose you

luca fantilli x estapa sister

warnings?: cursing, pregnancy, fluff and kissing

masterlist

“mark, i threw up again this morning.” you groan, holding the cold towel to the back of your neck as you walked into his room.

“come here.” he waves you over pressing his hand to your forehead.

“nope still not warm. somethings up with you, and i think i might know what it is.”

“i don’t want it to be true.” you whine.

“i know, but you’re not alone. go put on some shoes im gonna take you to Walmart. you’re taken care of okay? we can work it out sis. i’ve got you.”

“thank you.” you reply tearfully as he hugged you.

“i’m always here to protect my baby sis. it’s my job.”

“only by a year and a half.”

“well it’s 2 years when you look at the number.” you giggle smacking his arm.

“go get your shoes,” he laughs lightly, sliding his slippers on. he met you out at his car, nonstop picking at your nails.

“moms gonna kill me.”

“no she’s not y/n. you’re 20. sure you’re young but you’re not a teenager. you’re in school and have a good job. everything will work out. and besides you don’t even actually know yet.” he says shaking your shoulder, forcing a small smile out. you and mark had thankfully always been really close and you knew you could trust him with anything.

once you were checked out at the store, mark paid for everything. you almost wanted to cry. your brother was always supportive but he knew this could be the biggest obstacle of your life possibly.

“you didn’t have to pay for all of this stuff.”

“it’s the least i can do. you’re just giving me stressed vibes and i wanna try to help.” he replies.

“farah has made you a softy.” you laugh and he smacks your arm.

“hey that’s a good thing. we love her.”

“the most.” he giggles, driving you safely home.

“moms at work so, i’ll just sit out here while you do your thing and just come out when you’re ready.” mark says sitting on the end of your bed, turning on a tv show so you could be properly isolated.

you sat impatiently on the edge of your tub, waiting for the timer to go off. once it finally rang, you stood up and walked over to the counter, your breath uneven. you picked up the test flipping it over.

just as mark had suspected. positive.

“mark.” you say aloud, your voice growing weak.

“what is it? do you want me to come in there?” he asks, pausing the tv.

“yeah.” you say wiping a tear.

“whats the verdict?” he asks and you simply hand it to him and he sighs.

“how do you feel?” he asks, looking back up at you.

“i don’t know.” you reply, feeling the tears begin to well up in your eyes.

“do you need anything?”

“i just need you bubba, i’m scared.” you say, calling him the nickname that hasn’t left your mouth since his 12th birthday, choking on the tears that threatened to fall.

“hey no no, don’t cry.” he says pulling you into his chest, cradling your head comfortingly.

“what do i do?” you sniffle.

“you need to talk to mom when she comes home. don’t tell luca first. as much as i know you might want to.” he says,’letting you go and taking the test back out of your hands, setting it on the counter.

“okay.” you reply weakly.

“hey, everything’s gonna be okay. i’ve got your back. one hundred percent.” he states, confirming the sense of comfort he was giving you.

“thank you mark.”

“of course. i can’t believe my homie knocked you up.” he giggles and you shove him jokingly. he’d always joked about you and luca dating but he honestly adored the fact that one of his best friends was able to make you the happiest he’s ever seen you.

“too soon man, too soon.” you giggle, hugging your older brother one last time before exiting the bathroom.

it now felt like a waiting game, waiting for your mother to get home. you waited and waited until you finally got the text that she was on her way. going over and over in your head what exactly you should say to her, what questions you’re gonna ask her. it was all happening so quickly.

“hey y/n.” your mom says walking in the door and you say hello back, letting her get settled. the longer she was home the more nervous you grew. after a few short minutes, you called her into the living room.

“what’s up? you seem so serious.” she giggles nervously.

“mom can i please just ask that you won’t be mad at me when i tell you this.” you start, already feeling the tears well up, mark sitting and listening at the bar. supporting from a distance.

“i mean i can’t promise any-“

“please mom.” you beg, wiping the single tear that fell.

“okay okay, what’s wrong?”

“momma i’m pregnant.” you say, your voice cracking slightly before breaking down in tears once again.

“oh honey.” she replies, hugging onto you instantly.

“i’m sorry.” you cry into her shoulder.

“no sweetheart don’t apologize. it’s gonna be okay.” she says softly, letting you go.

“i’m so scared. we didn’t plan for this at all.”

“i know you didn’t, it’s okay we all make mistakes, but hey, at least we know who the father is,” she giggles, “have you told him yet?”

“no mark told me to tell you first.”

“atta boy.” she winks at him as he giggles.

“are you sure you’re not mad?” you ask, sucking up your tears.

“no y/n, im not mad. you’re 20 years old. you’re not 16 anymore. you’re a grown up.” she says rubbing your arm.

“what do i do? i need help.”

“and that’s why i’m here, im your mother. im always going to help you. you’re my only baby girl, you’ll always be taken care of my love.” she says, wiping your final tear.

“thank you momma.” you reply, hugging her once again.

“why don’t you invite luca over tonight, you can tell him. and if he needs a moment, i’m here. we’re all here for you y/n.” mark adds in.

“that’s a great idea. call him.” she replies and you nod, inviting luca over to stay the night which he of course accepted. about an hour later, luca was walking in the door. your heart dropping at the sound of his voice.

“hi baby.” he says sweetly, walking over to kiss you as you sat anxiously laid back on the couch.

“hi.” you reply before he says hello to mark and mom.

“luca, go sit with my sister. it’s important. but i’m staying right here.” he insists, directing luca back to the couch.

“oh um, are you okay?” he asks, the nerves in his voice ticking immediately.

“well, i’m not really sure. how you react to what im about to tell you will determine if im okay.” you giggle, scratching the back of your head.

“whatever it is, i won’t be mad.” he reassures you, concern filling his eyes.

“lu im-“ you pause, breathing out before continuing, “im pregnant.”

“what?” he replies quietly.

“i’m pregnant luca.” you repeat. he says nothing and pulls you in for a hug. he still hasn’t said anything which wasn’t making you feel the best.

“if you need a second i understand, im still processing it too” you say as he pulls away and nods at your words, mark pulling him into the guest room. you shuffled quietly over to the shut door, pressing your ear against it.

“bro why didn’t you say anything?” mark asks.

“i didn’t know how to reply, i don’t want to upset her.”

“what’s that supposed to mean? are you gonna dump her? are you gonna tell her what to do about it? what is it?”

“no of course not, i fucking love her dude, i love that girl like crazy, i would never leave her to do this alone. ever. i was just in shock. i still don’t even know what to say to comfort her. i know she’s probably taking it really hard.”

“well get out there, and use your words dude. she’s crazy about you. and hearing any kind of words of affirmation ate important to her, especially right now.” mark replies as you quickly shuffle back over to the couch, the door opening once you sat down.

“y/n, i’m sorry i didn’t say anything back. i- i was just in shock. i know this is my fault and im fully prepared to take on that responsibility. whatever you choose to do, i’m here to support you. i love you so much baby. you’re not alone, you’ll never be alone.” he spits out, spilling a few tears taking your hands into his.

“thank you.” you reply tearfully as he presses a sweet kiss to your lips.

“always. you’ll never lose me y/n, i swear to god you won’t.” he reassures you as you cuddle yourself to his chest, leaned back on the couch.

“okay.” you reply quietly.

you were about 4 months along now. still sick every morning, back pain sinking in. your belly was still a little small but definitely growing.

“no no fuck.” you whine, your favorite jeans now no longer able to zip.

“what’s wrong? i heard you from out there.” luca says burst through the door.

“luca my favorite jeans don’t fit anymore.” you frown, tears threatening to spill.

“hey no no, it’s okay baby. those jeans will hug your beautiful body again in a few months my love. go put on some of my sweatpants and we can go find you some new jeans. is that okay?” he asks stopping your tears.

“okay. thank you.” you reply softly.

“anything for you, you know i’ll always take care of you.” he replies, kissing your head and reaching for his shoes.

luca had moved into your house to be with you during your pregnancy. he couldn’t bare the idea of sleeping in his bed while you slept in yours. he’s been great helping out around the house and making sure you don’t have to go or drive anywhere on your own. making sure you and your baby were safe at all times. you grew more comfortable with him day by day.

you picked out a few pairs of jeans as well as a couple of dresses to try on. just to make sure you were getting something you’d actually wear.

“okay here’s the first pair.” you said before pulling open the curtain revealing the maternity jeans that closely resembled your favorite jeans.

“so?”

“you look beautiful.” luca says, a smile growing widely on his face as he observed your body.

“well we know this size fits so, i’ll show you the dress i picked out.” you giggle, walking back into the dressing room and shutting the curtain, quickly yanking the jeans off and pulling the dress over your head. you adjusted it and looked in the mirror. your bump was showing well in this dress. you turned to the side and frowned. it hit you all at once what was happening, tears welling up in your eyes.

“everything okay in there?” luca asks, standing outside the curtain.

“yeah, can you come in here?” you ask, wiping the tear, turning to face the curtain.

“oh wow.” he says tugging the curtain shut behind you as he looked at you before noting your expression.

“what’s wrong y/n? you look absolutely gorgeous.”

“i know but look.” you frown turning to the side running a hand over your small bump.

“what about it?”

“look at me luca. just look.” you frown a quiet sob leaving your mouth.

“don’t cry baby no.” he says pulling you to his chest.

“it’s just all hitting me so fast. my body is changing so fast.” you sniffle.

“i know i know, but you’re gonna be such a beautiful momma. baby fantilli slash y/l/n has the most beautiful mommy in the world. i know you may not feel the greatest but you’re so gorgeous y/n. you look so fucking perfect.” he says running his hands over your stomach and on your sides only making you cry more.

“shhhhh it’s okay.” he says hugging you tighter, cradling your head in his hand, grazing his thumb softly over your hair.

“so.”

“so?” you question mark as he enters your room and plops on your bed.

“i got you something, well it wasn’t all me, it was like ninety percent luca.” he says holding up target bags full of things.

“something? looks like more than that.” you giggle.

“yeah well, luca left early for family dinner so that he could go shopping for you and the baby. he wanted my help so, do you wanna see?”

“i mean i guess i don’t have much choice do i?” you laugh, grateful they’d thought of you while out together.

“okay so,” he starts before showing you everything him and luca had picked out for you and the baby. your heart melted more and more with the thoughtfulness of each object.

“thank you for everything mark.” you reply as he finished, hugging him tightly.

“luca has one more thing, but he’ll give it to you once he’s home.” mark smiles, putting everything back in the bags and setting them on the floor.

“oh? okay.” you reply as he exits your room with a goodbye. it shouldn’t be too much longer that luca would be gone. you hoped at least. you sat in your bed looking through the objects when luca came in the room.

“hi baby,” you smile as he walks over to kiss you sweetly.

“how was dinner with the family?” you continue.

“it was so good. they were asking me about how everything was going and they wanted me to give you this check from them. it’s for a thousand dollars. my brother and parents all chipped in.” he smiles, unfolding the check from his pocket and handing it to you.

“that’s so sweet of them.” you pout looking up at him and hugging on tightly.

“they wanted to make sure you’re taken care of. this money is for you. not the baby. for you.” he repeats and you nod.

“i also have something else for you.” he says quietly.

“go on?” you smile.

“close your eyes.” he says smiling and you do so, smile growing wider. you feel a ring slowly pushed onto your ring finger, you stomach dropping at the sensation.

“open.” he says quietly and you open your eyes to a delicate diamond ring. a simple design and a small diamond.

“luca what-“

“this is not a marriage proposal, you know i would go all out for that. this is just a promise ring.”

“it’s beautiful.” you say looking closer at it.

“i got it because i wanted to show you how truly serious i am about this. im so in love with you, and im in love with our future. you’re everything to me, our baby is everything to me, we are everything to me. and more.” he says, grabbing onto your hand, running a thumb over your knuckles.

“this almost feels like a dream and like it’s gonna be over soon.” you say shedding a tear.

“well it’s not a dream and it’s not too good to be true. i also got the ring so that no creepy guy would try to think you were some young single struggling mom. had to stake my claim properly.” he giggles.

“well thank you for thinking of me luca.”

“always.”

“i don’t wanna do any parties or anything.” you tell luca as you sat in the ultrasound room.

“no showers?”

“can we just mail out like an announcement and maybe we’ll get some gifts and stuff.” you ask.

“if that’s what you want, it’s entirely up to you.”

“i’m already stressed enough, that would probably make it worse.” you giggle.

“then we’ll do that.”

“okay my lovebirds, i have the gender right here. do you want me to save it? or do you want it now?” the doctor asks, entering the room.

“now, please.” you smile anxiously.

“i’ll hand it off to you.” she smiles at luca as she hands the paper off to him.

“it’s a……” he pauses scanning the paper before stopping, a smile growing across his cheeks.

“it’s a girl.” he says sweetly.

“really?” you exclaim.

“yes baby, it’s a girl.” he says showing you the paper. quickly you jump up off the bed, wrapping your arms tightly around him.

“luca fantilli, girl dad, has a nice ring to it.” you giggle pulling away.

“y/n fantilli, girl MOM, has a better ring to it in my opinion.” he giggles.

“come here.” you say to the doctor, squeezing her tight, thanking her for this special moment.

“i’m so glad you guys are happy. please come back and see me once she’s born.”

“absolutely we will.” you smile as she guides you back to the waiting room.

“god i’m only a few weeks away.” you grown, leaning on your hands over the counter in hopes of relieving the stress on your back.

“hey y/n, we gotta try this.” luca comes sliding around the corner, tossing his phone on the couch.

“try what?” you groan sitting up.

“okay turn your back to me.” he says and you do so.

“ready?” he asks.

“yes?” you question. moments later feeling all of the pressure leave your back.

“oh my god.” you breathe out as he holds your belly up.

“does that feel good?”

“yes fuck yes. i feel like i can breathe properly.” you giggle with borderline orgasmic pleasure lining your tone.

“unfortunately i cannot stand here forever but i will gladly do this whenever you need it.” he says gently lowering your belly.

“thank you baby, that felt amazing.” you say turning around and pressing a sweet kiss to his lips.

you laid restlessly in the hospital bed, luca lying awake on his phone in a chair just across the room. your water broke at home but you were nowhere near ready to give birth.

“i can’t sleep.” you groan.

“me either.” he replies, shutting off his phone.

“can you come lay with me?” you ask softly.

“yeah of course.” he says getting up off the chair and instantly finding his way to your side.

“i’m so scared lu.” you whisper.

“i know. it’s scary, but im here. your mom is here. mark will be here.”

“will you hold my hand when the time comes?” you ask, nuzzling yourself to his side as best as you could.

“of course baby. let’s try and get some sleep in you okay?” he says.

“okay.” you reply, shutting your eyes. after what seemed like hours of silence your consciousness dwindled.

“i’m so proud of you.” he whispers pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. those words being the last you heard before you finally drifted off to sleep.

you woke up the next morning with jerk and a sharp pain.

“ouch.” you groan, seeing luca had already been awake and moved to the chair.

“oh gosh, are you contracting?”

“yeah, good morning to me.” you groan, squinting your eyes shut.

“do you want me to get your mom?” he asks and you simply nod, gritting your teeth. he calls your mom on his phone, her entering just moments later.

“how frequent?”

“well this was the first one so i don’t know.” you reply, the pressure subsiding.

“i’ll go grab a doctor and they can check you out. just hold tight honey.” she says, rushing back out the door.

“what if it happens like soon soon?” you ask luca nervously.

“we’ll all be by your side. i can’t sit here and say it’ll be easy because it’s definitely not, but i’ll hold your hand and make sure you’re doing okay. that’s my job.” he says, reassuring that you were not alone in this process.

“okay miss y/n. how are you feeling? i heard you had a contraction.” the nurse says entering the room.

“yeah, that’s what i woke up to.” you sigh.

“what a pleasant wake up call.” she giggles.

the nurse stayed in the room keeping tabs with your dialation. you grew more and more nervous at every update.

“come on baby, just one more.” luca says as you held a death grip on his hand, your knuckles turning white. you somehow mustered up the strength to give one last push, resulting in the sound of your precious baby girl crying, resulting in you sobbing instantly.

“you’re baby daddy?” the doctor asked luca and he nods, being beckoned over.

“well boyfriend and baby daddy but yes.” he giggles as a nurse pats him on the back.

“he’s cutting the cord y/n.” your mom says kissing the side of your head, brushing the hair off of your sweaty face. you brushed over the ring on your finger. it was unreal that this was your life now.

all you could do was cry. the wait was finally over.

“hi baby.” you frown sweetly as they handed you your daughter, luca finding his way back to your side immediately.

“she’s beautiful.” you sob out, sniffling.

“just like her momma.” luca replies, kissing your temple a few times, his hand rested on top of yours as you held her. admiring your beautiful creation, the one you were so afraid of those 9 months ago.

“i like lilly.” you say to luca quietly.

“lilly fantilli. i love it.” he smiles.

after some hours, the nurses trickled out and the room became quiet again. you’d been holding her for hours, never wanting to let go. not until it was just you, her and luca.

“hey momma, before you leave can you do something for me?” you smile.

“yes of course sweetie.” she replies as she walks over, whispering in her ear. you handed the baby off to your mom, who carried her over to luca.

“now i know im your mother-in-law so this is gonna sound weird. but i need you to take off your shirt.” she says in her humor that you always adored. you wanted to cry as his face lit up. he slid his shirt off quickly and got comfortable before your mother carefully handed her off to him, resting her softly on his chest.

“oh my god.” he stuttered out, a tear falling down his cheek, followed by a sniffle.

“lu don’t cry honey.” you said softly, carefully getting out of bed finding your way to his side. luckily since you were young, recovery wasn’t so hard.

“i can’t help it, look at what we did. she’s perfect.” he continued, quiet sobs leaving his mouth. in all the time you’d been together, you’d never seen him like this. so vulnerable and sweet.

“awe baby.” you said, lightly scratching his scalp.

“i love you my sweet lilly girl, i’ll never let anyone hurt you and i’ll always be here for you. daddy loves you so much.” he cried quietly to her on his chest, bringing you nearly to tears.

“i can’t believe this is our life now.” you say in his ear pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

“i would never change it, not for anything in the world.” he replies finally looking at you. his eyes puffy with tears.

“i love you luca, so so much.”

“i love you more, zero argument.” he smiles, you roll your eyes playfully pressing a kiss to his lips, closing the last chapter of your youth.

this was your life now. mother of lilly mars (mark wasn’t a good middle name for a girl) fantilli, and obviously future wife of luca. it was the best gift the universe could’ve ever blessed you with.

#luca fantilli #luca fantilli imagine #luca fantilli x reader #luca fantilli fluff #umich imagine #umich hockey #mark estapa #hockey imagine #turcs’ talk

209 notes · View notes

janeyseymour · 6 months

Text

Won't You Be... My Neighbor?- pt 4

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.

super quick installment because @schemmentis wants the torture to drag on despite her claiming none of this is her fault

Summary: Joe shows up.

WC: 1.1k

(this gif is exactly what mel wishes she would've done to joe but doesnt)

Your eyes jump open at the woman’s earpiercing scream. And when they open, Joe is standing over top of the two of you.

“What the fuck?!” he screams as he winds up his bat again. Melissa raises her arms in self-defense, but its futile when the metal bat still comes into contact with her body and she yelps out in pain again. She falls to the floor, and before you can get up, the bat is hitting you too. You refuse to show any signs of pain or weakness though.

“You divorce me for fucking around with the babysitter, only for me to find you fucking your lawyer the day our divorce is finalized?!” he slurs out. His bat comes down on her a few more times while you’re still hissing in pain, and you swear you can hear her ribs crack as he delivers the final blow to her body.

Melissa lays there, clutching at her ribs and gasping out for air. And then he’s swinging at you again.

In reality, the two of you should be able to fend him off. Being snuck up on and jolted out of your dreaming state though makes it much harder as you try to blink away the sleep in your eyes while also trying to defend yourself and hissing out in pain from the first strike.

“G-get JJ,” Melissa croaks out, not even bothering to fight the pain at this point as she cries freely.

Almost in an instant, your eyes and Joe’s go wide, and you both race for the bedrooms. You’re faster than him, of course you are. He’s drunk, and you are stone cold sober and running on adrenaline at the mention of the innocent little boy hopefully still sleeping peacefully (although you’re not sure how he could possibly still be sleeping with his mother’s loud cries). Speed doesn’t matter though. Even with you trying to wrestle the bat out of his hands as you enter the hall, he’s able to strike you- once in the side, and once in the knee. At the blow to the knee, you stumble and fall.

He’s able to get ahead of you, and he violently whips the door to his son’s bedroom open. He snatches the little boy from his bed harshly enough that JJ wakes up with a small cry.

“Shut the fuck up,” the grown man seethes. “Shut the fuck up!”

He stumbles out into the hallway, where you’ve just managed to pick yourself up off the ground. At the sight of that sweet little boy that has wormed his way into your heart, you see red. You never understood those stories that you would hear about adrenaline taking over and being able to do things that shouldn’t be possible, but here you are. There’s a fire in your eyes as you wrestle JJ out of the arms of a man who is easily double your size and cradle him as closely to your chest as you possibly can. You’re able to stumble your way into the bathroom and lock the door before Joe can get to you again.

“Y/N,” JJ cries as he clings to you, absolutely terrified. “Is this a nightmare? Why can’t I wake up?!”

“It’s real life, honey,” you whisper as you lean against the door. “But I have you, and you’re going to be okay, and your father can’t-” There’s a force against the door, and it shakes you where you stand pressed up against the piece of wood. “He can’t get to us,” you say quickly. You glance at the window. You’re on the second floor, and if it were just you, you would fly through it and deal with the injuries later. But with JJ? You don’t know if you can do that. You don’t know which option is safer at this point- flying through a second story window with a four year old cradled to your chest, or facing the wrath of a drunk and belligerent man hellbent on getting his son back.

Before you can decide though, he comes crashing through the door. Apparently his adrenaline is flowing now too in the haste to get to his son. You fight with him tooth and nail to keep that little boy in your arms, but when Joe throws a mean right hook that collides with your jaw, your grip loosens just enough for the man to grab JJ. Unfortunately, the little boy still has his arms clasped tightly around your neck, and when Joe pries him off, you can see the way that his shoulder pops out of its socket. The blood curdling scream that the youngest Schemmenti lets out is forever embedded in your head. The man is able to throw another punch at you, successfully temporarily stopping you from fighting with all your might just enough to get a head start on you. And then, Joe is off.

With the absolute searing pain now very apparent in your leg, you do your best to run after him, but by the time you make your way out the front door, you see his car peeling away with that little boy inside.

Defeated, you hobble your way back into the apartment complex. You wonder how no one on your floor had woken at the commotion. When you get back to Melissa’s her door is wide open, and she’s still laying there on the floor clutching at where Joe had struck her. Despite the pain rippling through your body, you kneel down next to her.

“Please,” she whispers through tears. “Please tell me you got JJ.”

You shake your head. “Joe has him. But I’m going to call 9-1-1, I’m going to tell them he broke and entered, we need an ambulance for you, and that an amber alert needs to go out on JJ.”

“I- I’m going to kill him,” Melissa hisses as she tries to sit up.

You gently push her back down to the floor. “You need to stay down while I make calls.”

It doesn’t take long for you to rattle off the necessary information to the call center, and when you come back, Melissa is still lying there gripping at her side.

“They’re coming,” you whisper as you sit down next to her. “They already have cops combing the area for him. He’s not going to get away with this.”

“He might,” the redhead groans out. “The motherfucker knows his way around.”

“He isn’t getting away with it this time,” you promise her. “And when they catch him, he’s never coming back.”

TAGS, and let me know if you want to be added! : @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @thesamesweetie @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels--slut @gwennybriggs @megamultifandomtrashposts @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude @sapphicxrat @a-queen-and-her-throne @sunsol-22 @notinmyvocab @melanielaufeyson

#melissa schemmenti fanfiction #melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti fanfic #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti #abbott elementary fanfic #abbott elementary fanfiction #abbott elementary

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luveline · 1 year

Note

Steve zombie au with reader getting hurt at the new camp (like always) and Eddie offering support as a friend but Steve gets all jealous while trying to take care of HIS girl

for you my love ♡ steve zombie au —steve is riddled with guilty jealousy as you and eddie become friends. fem!reader 2k

It's a brave new world.

For starters, there are enough guns at camp and able bodied gunmen for fires in the daytime. There are warm meals eaten under the sun, songs sung quietly but nonetheless sung around the fire. There are happy children. There are books to be read to them, and batteries to power flashlights for story time under the stars.

Things aren't perfect, but after the tragedy of The College, things are good enough. Steve can bring himself to leave your side (though not for the first few days where he's bed bound, and not for a few more after that).

He can't lie, he hates that you like Eddie so much. His jealousy is a raging monster of stiff spines and dry eye twitches, insecurity that you've met someone new and that you trust them so quickly.

You were cagey at The College, scared of Steve's friends and petrified Steve was going to break up with you. He couldn't understand at the time how you would ever think such a thing, but now, with Eddie sitting by your knee and a piece of string between his fingers weaving a cat's cradle, your eyes alight with delight, Steve gets it. He totally gets it.

"It's not hard," Eddie promises you, letting the string fall from his fingers and into your lap.

"I don't have a complicated brain," you say.

"It's not rocket science. Even Steve can do it."

Steve picks an overcooked Lima bean up from his discarded dinner tray and aims to flick it between Eddie's eyes. You're gathered around the campfire in your cold weather coats, a procession of young (ish) adults knee to knee chatting away the worthless hours. When the Lima bean smacks Eddie in the cheek, Steve could pin it on any number of the people gathered. Christopher is a renowned professional when it comes to bothering people, and Jonathan has that older brother's penchant for being irksome, but Steve owns up to it.

"That's a touchdown."

Eddie gives him the finger as he instructs you, completely unbothered. "It's those two fingers– No– Yeah, you got it. And then push this finger under this, and this finger… Nice."

In another life, there's a Steve who doesn't care. He hasn't had to vy for your attention before besides sharing your friendship with Robin, and he's pathetically sorry about it —you should have friends. Steve thinks unabashed that you're the best person they ever made. All you want (all you've ever wanted) is to be loved and to give love back. He's known that about you for a very long time. And in his eyes you deserve what you want.

You deserve to have friends. He can share Robin, and you can have friends of your own, too. You can have everything.

Steve can't get a handle on how it's making him feel, is the issue. He's envious as a teenager with their first crush.

"You honestly just need to practise," Eddie assures you, laying back in the grass with his arms behind his head.

"You'll have to show me again."

You stay sitting and Eddie shows you the pattern again without sitting up. You aren't flirting with one another. Steve wonders if that would feel better, to be jealous of something substantial, but you're doing normal things. Eddie is treating you with exactly the kindness and friendship you deserve. Steve wishes he managed it himself when you first met, because you're his best love and his best friend.

Robin not included. (Robin is always included. Steve would die for her.)

Like she can sense his devotion, Robin puts a hand on his shoulder, pulling his weight gently to the left. "You'll burn a hole in his leather jacket."

"I hope he catches on fire."

"What are you so worried about? She had plenty of chances to leave you for somebody new. Jonathan's been nothing but sweet to her the entire time they've known one another and she barely notices."

Steve grimaces. "Jonathan likes her too?"

"He wants to be her friend, just like Eddie. I, on the other hand, want to marry her."

"Funny." Steve yanks grass up from its roots, the blades soft and cold between his fingers. There's an ice patch growing on his ass and thighs from the cold as the temperature drops. "It's fucking cold."

"You can move closer. I need to go and find Sarah for a bit. Don't burn your new kicks, Steve, they were a great trade."

Robin swapped a useless handgun for them to the resident portable blacksmith. Steve wriggles his toes in them gratefully.

Steve and the remaining group move closer to the fire slowly. When the sky is black and smooth as velvet dotted only by stars like pin holes, Will comes running with a miraculous bag of marshmallows, trailed by his ragtag group of friends; Dustin with his fraying hat, Lucas, and a teenaged boy named Peter.

Steve couldn't believe Lucas was alive at first. Eddie told the story to him when he was recovering in the shitty portable medbay. You'd been sleeping in the plastic chair by Steve's bed, your face pressed to his chest, a puddle of drool soaking into his t-shirt. He'd stroked your forehead for hours.

Eddie and a whole bunch of Hellfire members didn't quite manage the escape rendezvous orchestrated by Hopper at the start of the apocalypse. You and Steve must have just missed them when they set out in Eddie's van for safety. The story goes that Eddie's shit with directions, and while he managed to get to Michigan eventually, it was hard. They met up with a group of much older people who were able to take some of the weight off, eventually finding a group of military soldiers who'd been drafted to protect a politician's family. Their group kept growing and growing. While they never set up camp somewhere permanent, they've kept it together. If Eddie's group (or moving community) had managed to make it to The College, Steve thinks they might have survived the attack.

But you're together now. Hawkinites reunited, Hopper alive and well and nursing new plans.

"Hopper give those to you?" Christopher asks Will.

"How's that fair?" Eddie asks. "Family favouritism."

"I have to share them," Will says.

"Oh, well. Never mind. Accusation renounced."

The teens kidnap Eddie and run off to find sticks for marshmallow roasting. You turn to Steve with a smile that makes him feel worse rather than better, so subtly devoted.

"How's your arm?" you ask, leaning into his shoulder.

"Aches."

"Can I have a look?" you ask.

Steve offers his arm with no qualms. You fight to push back the sleeve of his coat and jacket. His wound is closed and healing nicely, but the infection must've been in his muscle or something because the ache won't go away. It feels as though he's done a hundred pull ups with one arm alone.

You don't touch anywhere near the site.

"I think it's looking better." You thumb over one of his little moles. "Pretty."

"You're pretty."

"You're prettier," you say, folding his sleeves down again with infinite care. He thinks you might be batting your lashes at him. That, or he's whipped to the point of delusion. "You feel okay, hm? You're mopey tonight. Do you want to go sleep?"

Steve shakes his head vehemently. "And miss marshmallows? No way."

You both notice that your question of mood went unanswered. Luckily for him, you dip down to rub your cheek against his sleeve. "Love you."

He loves you too. He says it under his breath, pressing his cheek to your head for as long as you're willing to stay there.

"Y/N-kins, Steven," Eddie says, returning with a handful of long branches covered in foliage. "I have a job for you."

You pull leaves off of the branches. It should be an easy job with the three of you sitting criss cross applesauce yanking the twigs naked excitedly, but you pull with too much enthusiasm and stab the meat of your thumb.

You hiss and look down. Your noise draws Eddie and Steve's attention in tandem, Eddie closest to the injured hand.

"Oh, shit," Eddie says, pulling his sleeve over his hand. He presses it to your skin as a surprisingly fat rivulet of blood springs and drips down to your wrist. "Here, don't get it on your clean coat."

Steve doesn't know why he does it. He isn't proud. But he thinks, That's my girl. Eddie's being friendly, and Steve knows that's all it is, but he can't stop himself from batting Eddie's hand away and moving in protectively.

"Cop a feel somewhere else, Munson," he bites.

"Steve!" you say, laughing.

Eddie rolls his eyes, sitting back in his spot with a laugh of his own. "Ridiculous. I wouldn't cop a feel ever 'cos I respect women–"

"Nice," you say.

"And if I were trying to flirt with her, Harrington, I'd definitely do it better. But as you both know my heart is promised to someone very important. I'm busy keeping the memory of metal alive, I don't have time for stealing girlfriends. Not that you're not worth stealing, Y/N."

Steve dabs your hand. You wink at Eddie playfully. "You keep her alive, Eddie. Are you gonna play some more rock songs for us tonight?"

"Duh."

"How do you manage to hurt yourself every single day?" Steve asks, distracted from the conversation by your cut. It can't be a quarter of an inch long but it's bleeding in a rush.

"See how it got faster when you came to save me?" you ask Steve. His heart drops, but you continue, "My heart gets faster when you're close. My blood pressure rises."

Steve tries not to show how pleased he feels at the compliment. You tap his elbow knowingly.

Steve assesses your cut. It stops bleeding just as soon as he leaves it alone and the kids arrive with their marshmallows, putting an end to Steve's makeshift medbay.

Someone puts a couple more logs on the fire to get it roaring now that night is creeping in. Steve insists on roasting a marshmallow for you.

"I have one working hand left," you protest.

"And knowing your luck, you'll burn it."

"I'd never control you like that," Eddie says, deadpan.

Steve stabs Eddie with a stick that's lightly smouldering at the tip. You tell Steve off, but when he presents you with a roasted marshmallow for eating you give him the world's greatest thank you kiss. Another after you've eaten it, your lips sticky with sugar.

"Do you want mine?" Steve asks.

You wrap your arm around his waist for a lopsided hug. "No. Don't ask me again though, I might say yes."

"Do you want mine? Seriously, honey–"

"I'll have it," Eddie says with a shit-eating smile, eyes trained on the fire where he toasts his own marshmallow.

You wave your hand at him. "No, you won't." You lift your chin to kiss his cheek. "It's yours. Don't let it burn, handsome."

Alright, Steve might have jumped the gun on the whole jealousy thing.

#steve zombie!au #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington #steve harrington fic #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington drabble #stranger things x reader #stranger things fic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington fanfiction #stranger things #stranger things 4

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ugotcooneycrossed · 1 year

Note

19 for Alessia?

After coming home from work/a long trip, finding your lover sobbing on the couch/in bed after a hard day, wiping away their tears with soft touches and gentle words--trying to convince them it's okay, and that you're there for them now.

a/n: some hurt/comfort for the soul

your heart breaks watching the game- and even more when the cameras post-match, keep showing your girlfriend crying

she's got tears streaming down her face- her lips formed into a pout and you feel your heart shatter completely.

you weren't able to make the trip out to australia to see her, but you made sure to text her and call her everyday.

you to 'lessi bear'

-> hi baby, i love you so much, im so, so proud of you. call me when you can.

you get a text two hours later.

'lessi bear' to you

-> hi baby

her contact photo flashes on your screen- its from the euros last year. alessia pulling you into a kiss from the family and friends stand at the final.

when you pick up the call- alessia's blotchy face fills the screen.

"hi."

her voice cracks and she sounds absolutely exhausted.

"hi my stargirl."

she doesn't reply- just stares at you tiredly.

"lessi baby- why don't you try to sleep? i'll be right here when you wake up."

you want nothing more than to reach through the screen and hug her tight to you- never letting her go.

you stay on facetime with her- watching her sleep, even in her sleep she looks sad.

you dont hear from her again for awhile- you text her of course, but no reply- you know she's probably sleeping after such a long travel day, but you still can't help but be worried.

she normally always texts you- no matter what.

opening the door to your flat, you stop dead in your tracks. alessia is sitting right there, on your couch.

you don't even take a second to think, before you rush to her- practically climbing on top of her.

you hug her close to you, and you feel her strong arms hold you just as tight back.

"hi my sweet girl- i missed you so much."

she doesn't reply- only holds you tighter and buries her face in your neck

you wrap your arms tighter around her, when you feel her shoulders start to shake from crying, tears wetting your neck.

"shh- it's okay lessi baby, i'm here. you did so, so well darling. i am so, so proud of you."

you kiss her- cradling her cheeks so she can look at you.

"you're okay- i'm right here, i promise."

#alessia russo x reader #woso x reader #woso imagine

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katelynnwrites · 7 months

Text

Sydney's Little Liebe | Sydney Lohmann x Child!Reader

warnings: not proof read but i promise you it's fluffy

word count: 900

summary: the very first time your favourite tante meets you, part of Sydney's Little Liebe

a/n: look at that! i've upgraded my game to making my own gifs 😂

You’re only a couple hours old when you meet your Tante Syd.

Of all your Tantes, she is the first to meet you.

In fact, other than Momma and all the medical staff, she is the very first person you meet.

Your Momma is absolutely exhausted after having you but she texts Sydney a photo of you nonetheless.

The midfielder has just finished a gym session when she sees the photo, as well as the caption, ‘Look who’s here….Do you want to meet her?’

You’re all red in the photo but you look to be sleeping peacefully. There’s a pink blanket swaddling you and your face is kinda squashed but Sydney is positively sure she’s never seen anything cuter.

She had known you were due to be born any moment but she didn't think that today would be the day.

With one hand already throwing her belongings back into her bag, she uses her other hand to reply to your Momma, telling her that she’s already on her way.

It’s not even twenty minutes later that your Tante's knocking on the door of Momma’s hospital room.

She had only stopped to pick up a bouquet of flowers and to rub her hands with a liberal amount of hand sanitizer, the bottle being conveniently located at the hospital elevator lobby.

Your Momma says to come in and Sydney pushes open the door.

‘Oh.’ She breathes as she sees you in your bassinet.

The blonde is not even aware that she’s crossing the room until she is right by your side.

You’re awake and less red now, more of a pink really and Sydney gently touches your hand.

She jumps when you close your hand around her finger, her heart beating fast.

‘Hi…’ She murmurs, completely and utterly taken by you.

Your Momma laughs, knowing that you have worked your charm on the midfielder and that she’s definitely going to spoil you silly.

Sydney takes you in for another long moment, looking at how tiny you are and how you already have the beginnings of fine hair growing on your head.

You look so serious, with your wide eyes and she can’t help but cry a little.

‘She’s entirely perfect. You’ve made the most perfect baby on Earth.’ She chokes out, to your Momma.

Walking over, she places a delicate kiss onto her fellow Bayern Munich player’s forehead and passes her the flowers.

‘She’ll have a lot of people looking out for her. Honestly, there is no way you’ll be able to keep our team away from her once they find out she's been born, especially Glo but I am here for you okay? I’m looking out for you. Anything you need, anytime you need it, just let me know. I will be there.’ Sydney promises.

‘Thank you Syd. That means more to me than you will ever know.’

Your Momma’s voice is soft and slightly tearful. She reaches for the midfielder’s hand and squeezes it before smiling, ‘Do you want to hold her?’

Sydney’s bottom lip trembles, ‘Really?’

‘Of course really.’ Your Momma tells her, slowly getting out of the hospital bed and picking you up.

The blonde remains motionless, staring at you with nothing short of awe.

Momma chuckles and quietly asks her to sit down.

So Sydney mechanically does but her hazel eyes never leave you.

‘I-I don’t know how to carry a baby. I’ve never held one before.’ The midfielder nervously stammers.

’You’ll do alright Syd, just make sure to support her head.’ Your Momma reassures her.

Then she transfers you into your Tante’s waiting arms.

Sydney releases a shaky breath. You are far lighter than she expects and she keeps her arms steady so as to not jostle you.

By cradling you to her chest, she gets an up close look of your little features.

‘She’s beautiful.’ The blonde murmurs.

‘You’re so precious.’ She whispers to you, brushing her finger across your cheek.

She makes sure to do as your Momma asked, supporting your head in the crook of her elbow.

You wiggle in her hold and scrunch your nose up, making her laugh.

‘I’m your Tante Syd and when you’re a bit bigger, I promise you that we’re going to have so much fun. I promise, Little Liebe.’

Your Momma giggles, ‘Little Liebe is cute and I know I’ve been referring to her as it for a while but don’t you want to know what her name really is?’

‘Oh so you finally decided on one?’ She teases.

Momma rolls her eyes, ‘Yes, yes I did and while I didn’t use any of your suggestions….’

Your Tante pouts, ‘Not even Sydney? What’s wrong with my name?’

‘No and that’s just it, it’s your name but…I did the next best thing. Her middle name is Tilly. Short for your middle name, Matilda.’

Sydney inhales sharply.

She’d tried so hard to keep her tears at bay earlier but now she’s completely unable to.

Your Momma takes a photo as the blonde emotionally presses a kiss onto your forehead.

‘I’m going to be the very best Tante in the world for you. I’m gonna buy you so many presents, I'm going to teach you how to play football with your Momma and get you all the ice creams you want when you're older. Just you wait Little Liebe because you and I? We're going to be best friends.’

German Translations:

tante - aunty

Little Liebe - Little Love

#sydney lohmann #sydney lohmann x reader #sydney lohmann imagine #woso #woso x reader #woso imagine #dfb frauen #gerwnt #fcb frauen #woso fanfics #katelynnwrites

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lycheedr3ams · 1 year

Text

Death's Angel

Part 7: Sacrifice

royal!fem!reader x executioner!konig

Summary: It's 1554. You're one of the eight daughters of the Austrian royal family, and your parents do everything they can to ensure their kingdom is prosperous and peaceful. No royal court is complete without their hand-picked executioner, one who stands out against the sea of black, faceless bodies that make up the profession. It just so happens that your family's new executioner, one who has made a name for himself far and wide for his skill with the axe, has caught your eye and ruined you for good.

Warnings: MDNI! smut, mutual pining, forbidden love, death (konig is an executioner duh), mean sisters, mentions of medieval-type violence, overbearing parents, konig is brooding and a perv, some predator/prey dynamics, possessive!konig, maybe dark themes bc reader likes seeing him kill people and bc he's a perv?

Part 6 | Part 8

I know it's been a while since I've updated this series. My life has been super busy, and I even moved. Thank you all for your patience and I hope you enjoy! One more chapter to go. as a reminder, the taglist is closed

.......

series inspired by the art below!

It was evening when the horse Konig had chosen collapsed from exhaustion. You were stranded in the middle of the dark forest, hours away from any landmark you recognized. Your horse lay panting on the mossy forest floor, and you held your head in your hands.

"what are we going to do? we have no money! we're lost! they're going to come looking for us!" you mumbled furiously as you began to pace. konig came over immediately and put his large, solid hands on your shoulders.

"Engel, i told you i would take care of you, didn't i?" he asked as he lifted your chin to look up at him. he gently wiped away your warm tears with his axe-calloused thumbs. "i will figure this out. we will be okay."

"but..but how! and all the gifts you gave me, they're back at the castle, and --" you nearly shrieked. you had never had a panic attack before, had never felt such fear and confusion. your life, unlike konig's, had always been planned out, set in stone, predictable, cushy. every hour of every day was always set with lessons and meals and events. but now your dress was torn, and your broken heals lost during the escape. the cold, damp earth almost stung underneath your soft feet. konig squeezed your shoulders and shook you.

"Engel!" he said, a bit louder this time. you looked up at him with wide eyes. "we are going to be okay. i told you i would take care of you, and that is exactly what i shall do. do not worry about the things i gave you. i will give you that and tenfold again."

he pulled you into a tight hug, grounding yourself in his body rather than your racing, chaotic mind. his arms were almost rock solid, but his body was so, so warm as he embraced you. for a moment, the entire world faded away, and it was just the exiled princess and her forbidden love.

the furious panting of your exhausted horse also brought you back to reality. you gently turned your head against konig's chest and looked at the poor creature laying on the ground.

"will he be okay?"

konig gently rubbed your head. "yes, we just exhausted him. we're not going to be able to go anywhere else for the night. we should not be discovered out here."

you look up at konig. "but what if we are discovered?"

his eyes were soft as he looked down at you. "then i will protect you."

you looked at him sadly. "i hope it doesn't come to that."

"as do i, Engel," he soothed as he cradled your head. "for now, we need to rest. we cannot risk a fire, the smoke will draw the soldiers. we will have to lay close for warmth."

you smile softly at him and can't help the heat that surges to your cheeks. "i'm not complaining."

konig chuckles quietly. "and neither am i."

konig removes his overcoat and wraps it around you before gesturing for you to lay on the mossy ground.

"i..." you look at the moss, feeling a little disgusted.

"ah," he said as he shook his head. "you've never slept on the ground. i almost forgot."

you look uneasily down at the damp, green moss, and take a deep breath. "it's fine." you offer konig an uneasy smile as you hesitantly lay down on the moss. the only surface you had ever slept on was silken sheets on a down bed. never once had you imagined you would be sleeping on cold, damp moss with the one whom you were never permitted to speak to.

konig laid down behind you and wrapped his arm around you, spooning you. "when i build us a house, Engel, you will have the finest sheets and silk like you once did."

you rub his arm. "konig, i don't need any of that. all i want is you."

he gently squeezes your shoulder. "yes, yes, but i still want you to have the finest sheets."

you turn around slightly and lift his hood up to reveal his surprisingly soft lips. you look into his eyes, silently asking for permission, before you closed the gap between you and gently kissed him. you had never felt your humanity so intensely as you did in this moment: laying on the damp earth, kissing your forbidden love under a canopy of leaves and stars.

you snuggle into konig's chest and wrapp yourself tightly around him.

"sleep well, Engel," he whispers. "all will be well."

...

"send out all our troops to find the executioner! he has kidnapped my daughter!" your father screeched to the army commander the moment he saw you and konig disappear beyond the castle grounds. the army commander bowed and swiftly went to assemble his soldiers. your mother broke down on the ground, crying hysterically. your sisters stared in disbelief and disgust.

"you have your orders," the army commander said to his hastily formed troops. "you are to find the princess, and kill the executioner on sight."

the mail-clad soldiers nodded, and set off on horseback to every last corner of Austria.

...

the next morning, you and konig began to wander the wilderness on horseback. with no sense of direction other than the sun, all you knew was that you were heading far, far away from Austria. your heart nearly leapt out of your chest whenever a stray bird rustled in the leaves, or when a deer leaped through the forest. konig sat behind you on the horse with his arms around you as he held the reins. his eyes were sharp from beneath his hood as he constantly scanned the forest for threats.

by midday, you could see a break in the forest. and beyond the meadow that lie past the forest, a silhouette of a mountain could be seen.

"once we reach the mountains, they will surely never find us," konig assured you as he kicked the horse to a trot.

you nodded and held onto the horse's mane.

"HALT!" a voice sounded from behind you.

you froze completely, and all the blood drained from your face. konig stopped the horse instantly.

"turn the horse around," the voice commanded. konig obeyed.

you came face-to-face with a small band of soldiers from your kingdom's army, ones sent by your father. they drew their swords and bows on their horses.

"by decree of the king, executioner, you are to be killed for your crime of kidnapping the princess," the leading knight said in a stern voice.

your eyes widened and your breath almost died in your throat.

"no! i wasn't kidnapped! I went willingly!" you yelled, startling your horse a little. konig whispered something in your ear.

"princess, there is no need to worry. you will be okay from here on out. we will save you," another soldier said.

"no! i mean it! i went with him on my own!" you shook your head as tears began to fall down your face as you panicked. konig did not take his eyes off any of the soldiers for an instant.

"you have been brainwashed, princess, by this devil," the leading solider said. "please, your highness, dismount the horse."

you began to hyperventilate, the air suddenly feeling quite thin in your lungs. your vision on the periphery began to blur, and you could barely hear your voice as you screamed.

"i haven't been brainwashed! I went willingly! i wanted to escape!"

before you could say anything else, your horse was suddenly struck with an arrow right in its skull. the beast toppled over and sent you and konig tumbling to the ground. konig gently grabbed your head and lessened the blow of your skull against the earth.

"step away from the princess!" one knight yelled as they dismounted with weapons drawn.

you and konig still lay on the ground as the soldiers came closer with their swords and bows. you stood up in front of konig and wiped your tears. konig stared up at you in shock as the roles were suddenly switched as you protected him. A princess protecting an executioner; such a thing had never been seen before.

"i won't let you hurt him! he's done nothing wrong! i wanted to leave! can't you see?!" you yelled.

the soldiers quickly surrounded you and konig in a circle. konig hastily stood up but did not dare to touch you.

a knight held out his free hand to you. "princess, you will be safe now."

"NO!" you yelled as you backed into konig and bumped into him. the knights were getting closer to you and him. there was nowhere to run.

"Engel, do not do this," konig whispered to you. you turned and looked up at him in panic.

"do what?! i'm not going with them! I'm going with you!"

suddenly, a knight grabbed you by the arm and yanked you away from konig and out of the circle. konig now stood alone in the center of the circle, not even daring to defend himself against the armed group of knights. there was nothing he could do.

your heart pumped loudly and your blood rang in your ears as you saw a knight behind konig raise his sword.

you couldn't hear your bone-chilling scream as you pushed through the circle with inhuman strength and cast konig aside right as the sword swung.

a cold feeling tore through your chest.

all were frozen.

you looked down at your blood-soaked dress. you felt a pair of strong arms grab you and hold you tight, and the knights threw down their weapons.

your forbidden lover held you as your vision faded black.

taglist: @kneelingshadowsalome, @plumdreadful, @dumb-dumb-idiot-girl, @elichisstuff, @konig-breedme, @tr4psta, @cutiecusp, @konigsleftkidney, @local-vampire-s1ut, @ihaveaproblematicbrain, @twice360noscope, @madzeesstuff, @crazy-phan-girl13, @babygirl-panda19, @warrior-of-justice, @eluffi, @mooniesthings, @elowynnlane, @zaxlrza, @red-bed-bug, @alexdoesntlikeyou, @helmipss, @11aplacesange11, @rouge-swears, @pasta-m1lk, @ghostinvenus

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ash-whimsicalfanfic · 1 year

Note

Hope things are going well for you!

Could you do a Gibbs x y/n where there son falls at home and gets a broken arm and y/n feels horrible/guilty that she let it happen under her watch. He meets them at the ER where the son refuses to let him go and y/n won't meet his eye. On the way home he holds her hand and convinces there son that his cast is cool and he can ask others to sign it. When they get home he goes to play. Gibbs finds y/n crying asks him "why am I such a bad parent"

Bad Mom?

Leroy Jethro Gibbs X Fem OC/Reader

Word Count: 2461

Warnings: Mild language, blood, injury, gore, angst…

A/N: Hopefully, this is okay! I really enjoyed writing this! Sorry it took so long for me to get this done! Xx

You hum softly as you continue working on the salad to go with dinner. Jethro would be home a little later, but you always make sure he comes home to a nice, relaxing dinner.

Your guys’ son, Maddox Leroy Gibbs, was upstairs playing with his newest birthday gift. Jethro had got him a wood-carving kit and now Maddox couldn't keep his hands off it.

All of a sudden, you heard thumps before the most pained scream you've ever heard. You dropped the glass bowl of salad, ignoring the glass shattering on the ground as you race towards the crying.

There was Maddox laid on the ground, cradling his arm. You fall to your knees beside him and gently grab him.

"Baby, hey, I need you to tell me what happened. What hurts?" You ask softly.

"M-My arm!" He wails.

You gently pull his hand away as your stomach flips and your throat tightens seeing blood and bone. He screams, wailing louder.

"Look away." You demand as you stand, picking him up as you grab the keys and your phone on the way out.

You barely were able to lock the door as you run out towards your car. You get him in the booster seat, grabbing the first aid kit and quickly taping gals over it loosely so he wouldn't be able to see it.

You hurry to the drivers side, starting to drive the way that Jethro drives. You open your phone with shaky hands and dial his number. It rings and rings until it says his mailbox was full. You throw the phone down in the seat next to you as your shaky hands grip the wheel tighter as you break every driving law to make it to the hospital.

You were out of your car, running to his side of the car as you swung the door open, picking him up and running inside. Immediately nurses flank you, having you place him on a gurney before your told to move your car.

You felt irritated, but you also understood. You quickly move you car before finding your way inside. You weren't allowed to go in the room with him as they had an officer on the way to question you. You knew they thought this was some abuse case, but it wasn't. You grab your phone dialing his number again and you kept dialing until he finally answered.

"Hon, I'm in the middle of a case right now." He says irritated.

"J-Jethro, h-he fell down the stairs and he hurt his arm really bad. T-They won't let me see him! They have an officer coming to question me because they think this an a-abuse case!" You sob into the phone, ignoring the nurses who gave you the stink-eye.

"Hon, I'm on my way. Do not answer any questions. Tell them your waiting on me." He says sternly.

Before you could say anything, he had hung up. You let your head fall into your hands as you cry harder.

"I want my mom!" He wails and you stand as you rush towards him.

"Ma'am, you can't see him until you've been questioned and cleared." A nurse snaps, pushing at you.

"He's my son! I'd never hurt him! Let me see him!" You snap, trying to push through towards your son.

"Mommy!" He wails.

"It's okay, baby! Daddy's on his way!" You say as tears fall down your cheeks and big burly security guards push you back towards the little sitting area in the hallway.

They cuff your hands behind your back and make you sit as you refused to leave. You looked at the ground, your head racing as terrible thoughts went through your head.

Jethro parks his car hastily, getting out of the car as his team followed him in. He tried to get them to stay and work on the case, but they refused. Maddox was their nephew and they'd do anything for the kid.

Jethro walks in, his eyes finding you. For a brief moment, he felt relief until he saw the cuffs on your wrists.

"Take the cuffs off her, now." He barks, striding towards you.

"Sir—now!" He interrupts.

The security guard fumbles with the keys as he roughly pulls you up before Jethro pinned him against the wall. Tony grabs the keys off the floor, undoing the cuffs on your wrists.

"Don't you ever put your hands on my wife like that again." He warns.

"Hey sweet cheeks, your okay." Tony murmurs as he hugs you.

"They won't let me see him." You mumble numbly into his chest.

"They will once Gibbs is through with them." He teases and you couldn't help the small shaky smile.

"Hon, come on." Jethro says.

You walk towards him, keeping your eyes casted to the floor. His arm wraps around your waist protectively as he walks towards the desk.

"Where is my son?" He demands.

"S-She needs to be questioned." The nurse says weakly.

"My wife wouldn't ever lay a hand on our son. He fell down the stairs, kids have accidents all the time. Let me see our damn son." He snaps.

"O-Of course, right this way sir." She says and starts to lead us towards the room he was in.

You hesitate and hang back towards the doorway as Jethro heads towards Maddox who was sat up in the bed with a light blue cast on his arm.

“Daddy!” He exclaims, throwing himself towards Jethro who chuckles and catches him.

You catch sight of stitches across his eyebrows and you let a shaky breath out.

“Careful buddy, you can take someone out with that thing.” Jethro teases which makes Maddox giggle.

“I don’t really like it. It’s going to stop me from being able to do my wood carvings.” He pouts.

“I think it’s a really cool cast. You can have people sign it even! And you can take a break from the wood carving, son. I’ll get you some more while you got the cast on so we can let the supplies build up.” He says.

“Okay! Uncle Tony, will you sign my cast?” He asks.

“Of course! I even so happen to have a sharpie on me!” He exclaims with a childish grin.

Your heart aches and you sit down as you watch Maddox with soft and sad eyes. Jethro was in the corner of the room, on the phone with director as he kept an eye on Maddox as well.

You look away from Maddox and at the floor when a nurse walks in. She looks at you as if you had the plague, in which Maddox notices and frowns.

“Why are you looking at my mommy that way?” He snaps.

The nurse was taken aback as you look up alarmed. You stand, walking over to the bed and reach a shaky hand out to brush his hair away from his eyes. You leave a kiss on his head.

“It’s okay, baby.” You murmur.

He looks at you confused. He was a smart child for his age. He definitely had his fathers profiling skills, that’s for sure. He looks back at the nurse, his eye narrowing as he latches onto you, hugging you tightly. Jethro was grinning in the corner as your lips part in surprise.

“Ma’am, we still have to follow protocol.” The nurse says in which your heart shatters.

“Protocol? Mommy, what’s she talking about?” He asks, looking up at you with Jethro’s blue eyes.

“It’s nothing, baby. Mommy will be back, I promise.” You murmur.

“No. I’ll be back, buddy. Mommy will stay with you.” Jethro says.

You watch confused as he leaves with the timid nurse. Tony throws an arm over your shoulder and smiles.

“Trust me, boss will handle it. Your a good mom, don’t let them tell you otherwise.” He says.

“Are they saying your a bad mommy?” Maddox asks confused.

“I-I, no…they just have to follow protocols they put in place to keep people safe.” You explain slowly.

Thankfully, Jethro was back quickly and even somehow managed to get his prescriptions whilst filling out the discharge papers. Jethro sent the team back in the work car and was going to drive you and Maddox home. Tony offered to drive Jethro’s car home, but you settled on taking Jethro to work tomorrow as you felt guilty for calling him from work early.

Maddox was asleep in the backseat, and you were focused on the building and other structures out your window. Jethro kept glancing over, sensing you weren’t okay. He grabs your hands and squeezes it gently.

“Sorry I snapped at you on the phone earlier today, hon. I don’t want you to think you can’t call me. For now on, I’ll answer immediately if I’m not out in the field.” He promises.

“Jethro, I’m not upset you didn’t answer or that you snapped at me. I know your working on a case right now.” You say softly.

“Then what has you upset?” He asks as he pulls into the driveway.

“Nothing.” You lie, getting out of the car.

“I’ll get him. You get the door opened.” He says.

You nod, heading towards the door and unlocking it. You are greeted with blood on the ground and you immediately grab your cleaning caddy from the closet and start cleaning it up. Jethro walks in, holding Maddox. He frowns seeing your shaky hands scrub at the puddle of blood.

“Hon, I got that. Let me go put him in bed and then I’ll clean that up.” He says.

“No, it’s okay. I got it. Here, you go on up and I’ll finish this up.” You say quietly.

You move just enough so he can get up the stairs. He gets to the third or fourth step before looking back down at you concerned. His eyes find your bruised wrists and his frown deepens. He turns, focusing on getting Maddox up to bed.

“Daddy.” Maddox mumbles sleepily.

“Yes, buddy?” He asks softly, tucking him in.

“Why did the doctors think mommy is a bad mommy?” He asks.

“Because they are a bunch of knuckleheads and don’t know what a good mommy you have. Don’t worry about it, buddy.” He says.

“Daddy?” He whispers as he starts to fall back to sleep.

“Yes?” He asks.

“Can mommy give me a little brother or sister?” He asks.

“I…I mean, I’ll talk to mommy and see what she wants to do, but she loves you so much. I think she’s happy with just you.” He murmurs.

Little did Maddox know, Jethro was scared to have another one. He was scared to have Maddox after what happened with Shannon and Kelly. He barely let you in and then finding out you were pregnant nearly sent him over the edge. You loved kids and you want a whole damn school bus of kids.

Maddox goes to say something, but it was little mumbles before he was softly snoring. Jethro chuckles, brushing his hair out of his forehead before leaning down and kissing his head.

He heads downstairs to see the blood cleaned up. He goes to the kitchen where he heard you. You were sweeping up the salad and broken bowl into a pan.

“What happened?” He asks, taking the dust pan to hold it.

“When I heard Maddox scream, I just dropped the bowl and ran for him.” You mumble quietly.

“Hon, go take a bath and relax. I’ll finish the clean up. I promise you that Maddox is okay.” He says.

You hesitate, but with a stern look from him, you nod slowly. You head up the stairs, starting your bath. He finishes up the floor before he cleans up what would have been dinner. He does dishes and takes the trash out before deciding to check on both Maddox and you. He checks on Maddox first to see him sleeping.

He nears the bathroom before slowing his steps as he hears your muffled crying. He walks in and sees your face buried in your knees, suds covering your bits from view.

“Hon, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” He asks, kneeling by the tub.

“Why am I such a bad mom?” You sob.

“Y/N, what are you talking about?” He asks.

“He’s hurt because of me, Jethro. Those nurses had every right to look at me like that. I’m a terrible mom. There was blood, everywhere and the bone was sticking out. His screams…gosh his screams were so loud. I didn’t even notice he cut his eyebrow until I saw the stitches.” You sob.

“It’s not your fault, Y/N. He’s a kid and kids have accidents. Maddox loves to run throughout the house and we could tell him until we were blue in the face not to run in the house. He slipped and fell. It wasn’t your fault. You know how many times I got hurt as a kid? A lot. We can’t protect him from everything as much as we wish we could. Things like this will teach him why we tell him not to run in the house or why not to go outside barefoot. We can only do so much. Your an amazing mom. He knows so.” He murmurs, rubbing your back.

“I can’t even look at him. I feel terrible. It’s all my fault.” You whisper.

“It’s not your fault and you know that. He knows that and I know that. He knows your a good mom. He told me when he woke up briefly because he caught onto the way the nurses were treating you. He actually wants another siblings. He told me.” He says, sighing as he plops on the ground.

Your head flies up, your eyes wide as you look at him. You reach a hand out and grab his hand, rubbing it gently.

“You know we don’t have to. I know how scary it was when you found out I was pregnant with Maddox. I am perfectly content with Maddox and you.” You say softly.

“I think I might want another one. Maybe we’ll get a little girl this time.” He murmurs.

“Really?” You ask surprised.

“Yeah.” He says with a soft smile.

“Your such an amazing dad, Jethro. Maddox absolutely loves you. He always tells me that he wants to be an NCIS agent just like you.” You say with a soft smile.

“And your such an amazing mom. He tells me all the time. He also tells me how much he loves you and how much he wants to make you proud. Whether it be cleaning up his toys or helping with the groceries. He loves you and he idolizes you so much.” He murmurs.

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