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#buy my best friend and my mother a car
honeyed-disgraceful · 3 months
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I'd be so fucking powerful if I could access top surgery and therapy and if I weren't poor lmao
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beiasluv · 6 months
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don’t you ever grow up | l. norris (4)
yourinsta’s story | landonorris’s story
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maxfewtrell’s story
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landonorris: you didn’t have to fact check me mate.
: no one or carlos is buying it mate, we know you’re just making excuses to spend time with yn
landonorris: not necessary to point out, at all 🙄
: of course
/
yourinsta: drive safely 😬
: he definitely arrived in one piece
yourinsta: good. McLaren still needs him.
: and you too?
message was not sent
: right away 🫡
f1gossips
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liked by username, username and 25,926 others
f1gossips following the appearance of her son in the instagram story of landonorris, yn ln was spotted in the mclaren garage this morning.
credit to the video owner on twitter
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username MOTHER (literally) is back in town
username Zak rn: 🧍‍♂️
username NO cause literally everytime she’s back in the paddock the whole team starts to work again 😭
username petition for yn to stay the whole season rn
username I miss archie with danny ric 😔✊
username IKR danny raised my boy
username NAH DONT DISCREDIT LANDO
username lando was the best uncle, fight me 🤷‍♂️
username i would never forgive what mclaren did to daniel ric, fight me 🤷‍♀️
username I’m sure Oscar’s going to be a great uncle as well 😔
username Y’ALL SEEN MAX FACT CHECKING LANDO? 😭
username rizz up that baby mommy‼️‼️
username carlos, once again, the scapegoat
username new here, Archie’s her son??
username yep. I’m guessing that she’s a single mom, we don’t know who the dad is
username she don’t need no man, SLAYYY
yourinsta
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liked by mclaren, oscarpiastri and 281,146 others
yourinsta congratulations to both of you!! the team is proud of you guys! honored to finally witness it first hand this time!! landonorris oscarpiastri 🧡🙌
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oscarpiastri thank you! 👊 back to you
liked by yourinsta
landonorris thank you! 🍀🧡
username WHAT DID I FUCKING TOLD YOU?
username PETITION TO MOVE YN TO GARAGE FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON
username y’all are delusionalll the cars were meant for susuka
username DONTT CAREEE
username clover leaf. not slick LANDO
username ‘lucky charm’ my ASS
yourinsta
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liked by landonorris, danielricciardo and 95,267 others
yourinsta thank you uncle lando!!
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landonorris anything for the favorite driver title! 👊
danielricciardo not fair, I brought him snacks
yourinsta so it WAS you
danielricciardo maybe 😬
mclaren favourite boy on the grid!!
liked by yourinsta
username I LITERALLY SAW HIM TODAY WITH YN!! too cute 😩
username HOW DOES IT FEEL TO LIVE MY DREAMM
username girly I would pay anything to be archie
username anyone coming back to this post after her sighting today 😭
username me 😔✊
username he grew up too fast
username I can’t BELIEVE that this was already one year ago
username ARCHIE STOP GROWING 😭
1 year ago
landonorris
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liked by maxfewtrell, carlossainz55 and 286,620 others
landonorris drivers by day, professional babysitters for life 👊
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yourinsta thank you guys! dinner’s on me 🫡
landonorris anytime!
danielricciardo when’s the next time?
maxverstappen see you at p’s birthday 👊
carlossainz55 I have presents from spain 😄
yourinsta miss calos! -arch
yourinsta thankie!
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username shut upp 😭😭 archie and p are best friends??
username i think they got to know each other through lando
username SHUT UP that’s fucking adorable my heart 😔😩
username it’s probably because they’ve spent so much time together at the paddock 😔🥺
username kudos to lando and everyone respecting yn’s decision to keep archie private
username i WOULD literally show off my son if he has lando, daniel and the whole grid as his uncles
username she’s protecting her child 🤷‍♀️
username ikr people. she’s not exploiting her child
yourinsta’s story
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yourinsta
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liked by charles_leclerc, oscarpiastri and 102,971 others
yourinsta summer break!
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danielricciardo how’s arch doing! love from aus!
yourinsta hi danny! miss you! -arch
danielricciardo aw bud! miss you too! tim tams are on their way!
yourinsta i love you but i cannot go through the Tim tams phase for breakfast, lunch and dinner again 😭
danielricciardo one pack? 🥺
yourinsta fine😔
charles_leclerc nice to see you in monaco! maman looks forward to see you both again soon!
yourinsta thank you! it was nice meeting her, glad she loved arch 😊
username I AM SO JEALOUS OF ARCHIE WHAT?? HE KNOWS THE LECLERC AS WELL 😭
username SO NO ONE is talking about her story.
username lando, you’re acting fishy ASF
username the flowers, even inviting her to monaco for the summer break? yeah, that’s obviously what drivers and their engineers do right?? 😩
username MAX tell us something WE DONT KNOW
username he thought he was slick by giving the flowers though archie huhhh? well played, lando
username I feel bad asf for oscar 😭
username shut UP oscar definitely ships them so bad
username EVERYTIME she appears in McLaren challenge, oscar just exits 😭
username lando, this is your warning cus yn is for the girls ‼️‼️
username IKR?? she has been slaying as a icon for so long, and I can’t handle the thought of her being with lando 😭😭
username let her be happy with who she wants? PEOPLE
username he is no longer going to be ‘uncle’ lando 😭😔
username GOOD DAY FOR ME 🦅🦅🦅🦅
username I’m sure they are mature enough 🤷‍♀️ she has been through archie's dad before. miss girl should know what she wants
username PREACH BESTIE
lando.jpg
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liked by carlossainz55, maxfewtrell and 384,281 others
lando.png back to the seas 👊 yourinsta
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yourinsta thanks for babysitting! 🤭
lando.png always 🙌
username he didn’t even bother to tag max and his friends LMAOOOO
username he’s got his priorities straight
username when’s the hard launch bestie.
username it’s coming, bestie, I COULD FEEL IT IN MY FUCKING BRAIN
username delulu is THE solulu, PREACHHH
landonorris
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liked by danielricciardo, maxverstappen and 986,267 others
landonorris sorry guys :)
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carlossainz55 congratulations, mate 👊
username A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR THE SCAPEGOAT
yall ate the poll uppppp 🥺🫶🤪 slayed
if you liked it, interactions and COMMENTS would be appreciated!! if not, then yolo ig.
today’s a great day to take care of yourself!!
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𝐁𝐫𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞
Pairing: Chan x Lee Know little sister!fem!reader (non-idol au) Genre: Fluff + Smut angst kinda >.>(im bad at writing it forgive me...) Word Count: 8.6k (HOLY SHIT THATS THE LONGEST ONE YET) Warnings: mutual pining, mentions of cheating, protective Minho, underage drinking if you pay close attention, fighting >.> <.< DONT DO IT, unprotected sex pullout method >.>, cringe ending as usual. i think thats everything?
A/N: I genuinely started tweaking writing this uh requests are open until like august. this request is old... so... im sorry i only just got to it ;-; I'm also so sorry if the story is >.>... cringe T_T my brain has been like fried eggs lately.
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The first time Chan agreed to go to Minho's house, he was in his sophomore year of high school, when Minho had mentioned he had a sister, Chan hadn't thought much of it.
Until Chan saw you; the pretty, sweet (to him at least), smart 8th grader that was Minho's little sister.
You had poked your head into Minho's room, "Bro have you seen my hair rollers?"
Chan looked up at you from his book.
Minho looked at you and made a face. "I don't know where you put that stuff."
"Minho!" You threw the door open and frowned at him. "You borrowed them!"
"WHY WOULD I BORROW THOSE???"
"I DON'T FUCK-" You paused, eyes flicking to Chan.
Minho smiled evilly. "I'm telling mom!"
"MIN!" You shouted, "OH!" You stomped your foot for a moment before huffing. You took long strides to Minho's bedside table and grabbed his wallet.
"Where are you going!?" He shouted as you went back to the door.
"Buy more hair rollers." You said, slamming the door behind you.
Chan looked at his book and cleared his throat trying to disguise his laugh. You were cute, just a little bit.
Minho looked at his friend before his eyes narrowed. "Hey."
Chan looked at him, "Huh?"
"Chan... You're my guy. My best friend." Minho got up from his bed and smiled genuinely at him, "For the sake of our friendship, don't..."
Chan raised a brow. "Don't what?"
Minho made a face. "Chan."
Chan laughed. "Minho. I couldn't. Be for real. She's your sister. I'll be with her and be constantly reminded of you." He shuddered.
"Haha." Minho punched him. "Promise?"
"How old are we?" Chan raised a brow.
Minho looked serious.
Chan sighed. "I promise."
Yet... he couldn't keep that promise. Not while you were so busy being you.
You pulled into your parents' driveway. You had just finished your sophmore year of college, you checked your phone and messaged Minho saying you were home and to open the door.
You waited for a few minutes, scrolling on instagram before checking to see if Minho had read your message. It was still on delivered..
You sighed and called his phone. It rang and rang, but he didn't answer. "MINHO!" You made a face and finally decided to check your brother's location.
He was an hour away. At the mall.
You were about to call him again when he called you first.
"Oh, you're home already?" he asked, munching on something.
"Yes." You exhaled. "Why aren't you here to let me in?!"
"HEY HEY HEY!" He said, "Someone is there."
"Who?" You fianlly got out of your car and grabbed your bag from the trunk, dragging it to the front door.
"Chan."
You made a face and rang the doorbell. "Yada yada."
"Hey, respect me. I'm older than you!" Minho huffed.
"Ah hush." You rang the bell again. "Is that weirdo friend of yours even here-"
The door opened and you looked at the man standing there, his hair was unruly and he looked like he just woke up. You looked him up and down for a moment- he looked different, older, more muscular, the tank top wasn't helping much, you could see the outline of his pecs. "Chan?"
"AH I told you he'd open the door-" Minho started but you hung up the phone.
The muscular man crossed his arms. "Do I know you?"
"Uh- I live here?" Your brows furrowed.
"The only women I know live here is Minho's mother and a silly 11th grader I haven't seen in years." Chan sighed, "Minho doesn't take squatters. He already has 3."
"Bang Christopher Chan." Your eyes narrowed. "Did you just call my babies SQUATTERS????"
Chan's mouth fell open. "Y/n-"
"I'm telling Minho!" You pushed into the house and Chan trailed behind you.
"Let me carry that bag for you-"
"No, no, no!" You swatted his hand away. "You think my babies are squatters." You huffed and ran to your elder brother's cat, Soonie, that happened to be looking around the corner.
Chan rolled his eyes and you picked it up and started baby talking to it. "It's a cat-"
"You speak fluent baby to Berry. Don't judge me." You walked with the cat up the stairs to your room.
Chan sighed deeply.
"Chan, bring my bag upstairs thanks." You smiled sweetly and skipped back up the stairs with the cat.
Chan tongued the inside of his mouth a bit annoyed, you hadn't changed one bit. You just looked more mature. More like a woman, the curve of your waist more defined to your hips, you seemed prettier, your- … What are you thinking...
Chan pursed his lips and grabbed your bag, taking it up stairs.
He watched as you entered your room.
"Did Minho touch any of my stuff?" You asked looking around.
"Not that I know of." Chan hummed setting the bag on the bed.
You turned and gasped. "MY GUDETAMA PLUSH IS GONE!"
Chan tilted his head. "Your what?"
You fumed. "MY EGG PLUSHIE!"
Chan's face fell. "The one that was over there-" He pointed to your desk.
Your eyes narrowed. "Bang Christopher Chan. Where is my egg-"
"HERE!" Minho shouted, sliding into your room, holding up a Gudetama plushie.
You looked at your older brother. "Minho. It's not even the same plushie."
Minho opened his mouth then closed it.
"MIN!"
"AHHH JISUNG DROPPED IT IN PAINT!"
"WHAT WERE YOU EVEN DOING IN MY ROOM??!?!"
"It was Changbin's idea!"
"OHH!! LEE MINHO! GET OUT!" You fumed.
Chan and Minho scurried away before Minho burst out laughing as he got to the bottom of the steps. Chan rolled his eyes and laughed.
"I'll give her the money to replace it later." Minho sighed, "Tryna get some drinks? Jisung is paying."
Chan nodded, grabbing his phone from the table and staring at your cat Dori. The brown, grey striped cat tilted its head at Chan and the man pet it gently. "Tell Y/N I'm sorry yeah?"
The cat purred and Chan smiled before following Minho out.
Chan finished off his alcohol and turned to Hyunjin, "Hyunjinnie."
The long, dark haired man looked at him, "Huh?"
"That egg thing Jisung covered in paint."
"What about it?" Hyunjin asked, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
"What was it called?"
Jisung looked up from his food. "Gudetama?"
"Yeah that." Chan hummed. "Where do I get one that looks like it? Exact replica.."
Hyunjin shrugged. "Google it."
Chan huffed, and started searching.
Minho looked at him, "Why are you wondering?"
Chan pursed his lips. "We did mess it up."
Minho grabbed Chan's phone. "Chan." His face was expression was blank.
"Minho, I'm just trying to replace it." Chan grabbed his phone back and sighed.
Hyunjin gave Minho a look and kept eating.
Minho didn't say anything to Chan until everyone was going home only saying "see ya."
It was over a week later you came home with your friend Sua to hang out and when you opened your bedroom door you smiled at the sight of the a new Gudetama plushie. The CORRECT one.
"Where did that come from?" Sua asked as she sat on your bed, grabbing your Cinnamoroll and hugging it.
"Minho probably got it." You grabbed the egg and admired it except as you brought it to your face and inhaled, past the scent of the store... you smelled the cologne it smelled like... You pulled Gudetama away from your face and stared at it for a long moment.
"What?" Sua asked.
"Nothing..." You murmured.
Sua took the Gudetama from you and inspected it. "It's definitely new.. it smells like the store but..." She smelled it again. "Who's cologne is that?"
You rolled your eyes and grabbed it back, hugging it. "Doesn't matter.." But as you thought about the way he'd looked at you when he opened the door, the way his muscles seemed to strain against his shirt as he crossed his arms... You shook your head. So what if he had grown up a little bit. So had Minho's other friends, it didn't matter.
Yet recognizing the faint scent that lingered on the plushie, the faint scent you'd picked up from him as you pushed past him, you hugged the plushie just a little bit tighter.
Chan spun in the spinning chair in the library. He looked up at the ceiling, brain racing with so many thoughts. Had you seen it? Had you liked it?
"Chan." Hyunjin flicked his forehead. "Did I write my part good?"
"Uh huh." Chan said dismissively.
"You seem lost in thought..." Jeongin said, rolling over in his chair. "Something on your mind?"
Someone.. "No, nothing." Chan shrugged.
Jeongin's eyes narrowed, "I think..."
Chan looked at him. "Wha-"
Jeongin grabbed Chan's laptop and ran off with it, "THE SECRETS ARE HERE!" He shouted, "PROTECT ME HYUNG!"
Hyunjin tried his best to hold Chan in his chair but the latter easily sprang away and sprinted after Jeongin.
"INNIE RUN AWAY!" Hyunjin squealed.
As Chan was about to pounce on the younger man, the library assistant, a young woman with dark hair and brown eyes with a small mole on her cheek, cleared her throat. As Chan got a better look he realized the woman was your friend, Sua.
"Please be quiet." She rolled her eyes before walking into the small room and pushing the chairs back into place, she sniffed slightly, as if sick and Hyunjin offered her a tissue which she gratefully accepted before leaving the room.
Chan grabbed his computer from Jeongin and sat back in his spinning chair. "There is no secret."
The younger men looked at each other, "Sure," Hyunjin said, "Totally," Jeongin huffed.
As Sua walked away she smiled to herself and looked back. So that's who got Gudetama...
You were out with Sua at the mall, "Y/N." She smiled, "This would look so good on you." She pushed a very short skirt into your hands.
"Are we going to a strip club??" You stared at your friend in shock. "Min will kill me if I wear this."
She nudged you, "You can't stay so single and innocent forever." Sua's eyebrows bounced comically. "But then again.." She pulled the skirt to herself. "Do you think Seungmin would like me in this?"
You rolled your eyes. "If Seungmin noticed you."
She shoved you. "MEANIE!"
You giggled and kept looking for clothes.
"Ok..." She sighed.
You turned to the jewelry area and left Sua looking at bottoms alone. As you looked at the earrings and necklaces and bracelets, a pair of earrings caught your attention, it was simple, small silver half hoop earrings. You moved down the glass to get a better look and as you rested your hand on the glass display, a hand brushed yours. You looked at the hand for a brief moment before seeing the veiny arm, your stomach flipped.
You looked at the man, he looked at you, brow raised.
"Sorry." You pulled away.
"It was my fault." The man laughed. "I was just looking at those earrings." he pointed to the earrings you had your eyes on.
"Oh-" You smiled slightly, "I was looking at those too."
His eyes widened slightly, "You probably saw them first-"
"No it's fine." You were about to move away.
"It's fine really." the man waved over the store clerk. "How much for these?"
Your brows furrowed. "I-"
"550,000 sir." The clerk said.
The man slid his card across the table and smiled at you. "It's the least I can do, I think I made you uncomfortable."
You opened your mouth then closed it. What was this guy doing..
"I'm Minseok." He put his hand out to shake yours.
You smiled sheepishly. "Y/N, and really you don't have to get me these-"
The store clerk came back with a key and opened the glass display, closing the earrings box and putting it in a bag. The clerk handed the bag to Minseok with his receipt and card.
"I insist."Minseok handed you the bag.
"Y/N, did you find someth-" Sua came over, carrying a lot of bags and looked at you then Minseok and back at you, a devious grin spread across her lips and you wanted to hide.
Minseok wrote something on the back of his receipt before handing it to you. "Call me?" He smiled and walked out of the store.
"WHO WAS THAT FINE GLASS OF WINE????" Sua grabbed you, "What did he give you?" She grabbed the bag and smiled at the earrings, "Oh my, a man of taste! What's his name-"
"SUA!" you grabbed your friend's face. "Stop rambling. He bumped into me."
"And bought you earrings for 550,000 won as an apology?"
You sucked in a breath.
"He was definitely into you." She smiled dreamily. "If only I could find Seungmin in such a way."
You rolled your eyes. "Let's go."
But you had ended up shooting Minseok a text... why not?
Chan came over with the guys to celebrate Minho getting a promotion. "Ah, look at the best dance instructor this city has ever seen." Chan hugged him tightly as he entered the house.
Minho rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
"Congrats man." Jisung patted Minho on the back, "Now with the money you're making you can finally pay when we go out to eat."
Minho made a face.
"Stop annoying him," Jeongin smiled. "But really congrats."
Minho smiled, "Come on in guys," He led the men in and to the dining room, "Tada!"
The men smiled at the sight of the barbecue and they all began eating. Chan teased Minho most of the evening until, he heard steps on the stairs. He turned to look at the stairs and his heart skipped a beat.
You were coming down the steps with Sua, dressed up to go out, skirt that showed your perfect legs and a shirt that drew attention to your curves and cleavage.
You came to your older brother and gave him a quick hug, "Congrats Minho."
As you started to pull away he grabbed your hand. "Jacket?" He asked.
You held up your jacket.
"Phone?"
You held up your phone the yellow Gudetama case that Sua had bought you drew Chan's attention momentarily.
"Pepper spray?" Minho tilted his head.
You shook your purse a bit.
He smiled, "Have fun. Don't let a creep touch you."
"Yeah yeah." You followed Sua out.
"Where's she going?" Changbin asked, munching on his beef.
"Party." Minho shrugged.
"Bound to get attention dressed like that," Hyunjin sipped his soda, "Who's party?"
"Some guy from college apparently." Minho shrugged. "Sua's with her so she should be fine."
Chan's eyes narrowed, "Minho, you're letting her go to 'some guy's' party?"
Minho looked at him. "She'll call if something happens, besides she knows not to drink."
Chan sighed, "Alright."
The other men looked at them, but no one said anything.
After the little celebration Chan was driving home, it was almost 1 in the morning, he came to a red light in front of a bar and tapped his thumb on the wheel to the rhythm of the music. He glanced out at the bar and his brows furrowed. There was a girl who looked suspiciously like you, stumbling out.
Chan was about to ignore it when a man came out of the bar after the girl. He sighed, the cars at the cross section slowing down and just as he was about to drive he watched as the girl reached into her bag for something and pulled out a yellow case with lazy egg.
Chan pulled off to the side and got out of his car as the man grabbed your shoulder. You shoved him off in your drunk daze but he was persisting.
And right as he grabbed your wrist Chan grabbed his forearm. "Can't you see she doesn't like you?" Chan's eyes narrowed, "Get out of here before I beat the shit out of you."
The man stared at Chan for a moment. Chan gripped the man's arm tighter.
"Bitch." The man released you roughly and stormed off down the street.
"Chan-" You looked at him, about to speak.
"Get in the car." He said lowly.
You opened your mouth, then closed it as he tilted his had at you daring you to say something back. You walked to the car and he opened the door to let you, closing it a you entered before going to the driver's side and entering.
"Please don't tell Min." You said as he settled.
"Where's Sua?" Chan turned to you.
"She ran off with some guy.." You said quietly.
"Why didn't you leave then?"
"Who are you my dad?"
"Y/N."
You looked at your hands. "I didn't want to."
Chan hook hi head and tarted the car again, before pulling back onto the road, he was about to go back to your house as he scolded you when you suddenly covered your mouth.
Chan sucked in a breath. "Y/N no- Not in my car-" Chan pulled over by a tree and you jumped out of the car and ran to the tree.
He cringed as you vomited and stepped out of the car, carefully taking your hair into his hand and holding it out of the way until you were jut dry heaving.
"You good now?" He asked.
You nodded.
Chan got you back in the car and gave you water.
"Chan..." You said after taking a drink. "Don't tell Minho. Please."
"Ok, ok, I won't." He sighed.
"Don't wanna go home."
"You have to."
"CHANNIE!" You whined.
Chan turned so fast, his head could've spun off his shoulders. He blinked before turning back to the road. Chris. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?
"If I go home, Minho will know I'm drunk and he'll tell our parents and I won't be allowed out again." You grabbed his arm. "Chan.."
Chan sucked in a breath. "Just this once."
You smiled and hugged his arm. Chan felt his face getting hot but kept driving back to his place.
Chan had really trusted you when you said you were fine, you vomited again, outside his apartment complex and this time it had gotten on your shirt. So when you had gotten into his apartment he forced you to the bathroom and gave you some of his clothes to wear.
You were lying on Chan's couch, half asleep while he got you food because you wouldn't stop asking.
Your phone rang.
Chan was about to grab it but he froze. What would Minho think...
You grabbed your phone and answered. "Hello... No... I'm at Sua's... Chan? No I haven't heard from him... No I didn't drink... No I didn't bring a guy with me to Sua's... Okay... Tell my babies I love them... Good night Min." You hung up the phone and looked at Chan. "All handled."
Chan turned to face you and his stomach did somersaults. You standing there in his shirt, his sweatpants, looking so...
You tilted your head. "Are you drunk too, Channie?" You hummed.
Chan shook his head. "Haha. Here eat."
You smiled and took the food, going back to the couch, munching. Chan closed himself in the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. He rubbed his hands over his face for a moment before tuning on the tap and splashing his face. "Christopher... It's Y/N." he told himself. "It's just Y/N.."
A knock on the bathroom door made Chan look up. He patted his face dry with the towel on the bar and opened the door.
You stood there, looking at him. "Are you okay?" You asked.
He nodded, "I'm just really tired."
"I'm sorry for bothering you." You muttered, "Thank you.."
Chan felt his heart flutter and he smiled gently. "It's okay. Sleep in my room 'kay? I'll take the couch."
"I can't.." You mumble.
Chan made a face, "Why?"
"I don't have Gudetama.."
Chan opened his mouth then closed it.
"It keeps me safe at night." You looked down and gripped the hem of your his shirt tightly in your hands.
What was Chan supposed to say... What could he say without sounding weird or mean..
"Stay with me?"
Chan broke out of his trance as he heard that. "What?"
"Stay with me.. Because I'm scared.. I won't tell Minho."
What could he have said....
"Alright."
You woke up, head pounding, in the softest bed you've ever been in, as you opened your eyes you winced as the sun entering through soft grey curtains assaulted your already pained brain. You felt a breath against your hair and were about to jump away when the scent hit you... You looked around momentarily, it must be really early.
It wouldn't hurt.. You relaxed against his chest and hugged the arm he had around your waist. He was warm. Infectiously so. You felt warm in more ways than one. You smiled contentedly and closed your eyes again. Minho didn't have to know.
When you woke up again you heard voices, you sat up and slowly got out of Chan's bed. Your head throbbed slightly but you ignored it out of curiosity, you poked your head out the door and listened.
"I'm screwed, Hyunjin..." Chan said softly.
"If you tell Minho I'm sure he won't be that mad." Hyunjin replied.
Mad why? Because Chan helped me?
"Hyunjin." Chan said, more firmly. "I promised."
"Chan, it's completely human to feel like tha-"
"Hyunjin-ah!" Chan said a bit loudly before quieting himself. "It's not that I feel like that, even when I'm not feeling like THAT, I feel like..." Chan sighed deeply.
You backed up into the room. Feel like what... You wondered before grabbing your phone and texting Sua to come pick you up with a change of clothes.
When you got in Sua's car you looked at her.
"Do I have a lot to tell you?" She said giddily.
"I don't want to hear about what you did last night-" You started.
"Not me you dummy! The guy you met at the mall."
You turned to face her completely. "What about him?"
"He followed me on instagram this morning, I think he was seriously into you. He wants you to call him so he can take you out." She raised her brows stupidly.
"I-" you closed your mouth and thought about it for a moment, what harm could there be in going on one date? "I'll give him a call later."
"Atta girl!" Sua squealed before turning on her car and pulling out of Chan's apartment complex, "But guess what?"
"What?" You raised a brow.
"I SAID GUESS!" She wined.
"Ok, ok..." You racked your brain for a moment. "You bought new shoes?"
As Sua came to an intersection she slowed to halt at the red light and smacked your arm. "No."
"OW!" You huffed. "Tell me."
"I got Seungmin's number!"
You blinked. "How?"
She smiled, "Well, as I was going home with that guy yesterday Seungmin happened to be around and saved me-"
"Didn't you ask that guy to go home with you thou-"
"HUSH I'm not done!" She huffed, turning back to the road as the light turned green. "And Seungmin saved me and told me not to go home with strangers and if I get drunk again with no ride, I should call him." She sighed dreamily before her expression snapped to one of confusion. "How did you end up in Chan's apartment?" Her eyes widened, "DID YOU GUYS-"
"NO!" You shrieked. "No, he kept his distance."
"And you slept alone? YOU?!"
You pursed your lips. "When I woke up he was in bed too bu-"
"BUTT NAKED?!"
"SUA! NO! WE WERE CLOTHED!" You felt your face getting hot.
"You were drunk, in a man's house and you didn't do anything?? Not even kiss?"
"No." You slapped your cheeks. "We didn't do anything."
"But.. did you want to?" She glanced at you before looking back at the road.
"No." You rolled your eyes. Then you remembered. How he'd looked at you in his apartment, like he wanted to pounce on you. "Bu-"
"Did he want to do something?" Sua drove into a café's parking lot.
"I..." Your face felt hotter as you remembered how Chan held you. "I don't know..."
That was all Sua needed to ramble about how Chan must be pining over you. And it was for that reason you didn't mention what you'd heard Chan telling Hyunjin that morning.
You'd called Minseok that evening, he insisted that you stay home and get past your hangover and that he could meet you another day. Though it wasn't intentional, you and Minseok spoke almost on the daily, before he asked you if you wanted to go out for lunch. You were about ready to go out when someone knocked on your bedroom door. You opened it and blinked at the sight of Chan.
He was looking at his phone for something. "Minho wanted to know when you'd be back so we could get dri-" He froze as he looked up at you.
"Chan?" You tilted your head slightly.
"Uh.. You look really pretty." He said.
You looked down and smiled slightly.
"Who are you even going to meet up with?"
You opened your mouth then closed it, no one knew about Minseok except Sua and Minho. "A guy."
Chan visibly stiffened. "Who?"
"I'll tell you about him later-" You tried to move past him but he blocked the doorway with his body.
"Where did you get those?" He pointed at your earrings.
My date.. "Sua." You lied.
He nodded. "Okay.."
You moved past him and managed to dodge your brother's inventory check as you skipped to the door. Right as the bell rang.
You opened it and smiled at Minseok. He smiled gently before his gaze flicked behind you.
You looked back at Chan and smiled.
Chan wanted to kill that guy. He didn't like him one bit, not the way he smiled or the way he took your hand to lead you out. Nothing. But more than that, Minseok always always looked at Chan as if he'd won something, as if Chan had lost the battle and the war he didn't even know had started. Two into your relationship and Minseok still had that look for Chan. Two months.
Minho had invited Minseok along with the guys for drinks. The entire night Minseok was giving Chan sideways looks. Until Minho asked, "How did you meet Y/N?"
"Oh," Minseok smiled fondly at his drink. "I bumped into her at the mall and I made her a bit uncomfortable with how awkward of an apology I gave so.. I bought her a pair of earrings and gave her my number. I didn't expect her to call back really... But fate is nice.."
Chan's brows furrowed. "What kind of earrings?"
"Silver ones-" Minseok started.
"Half hoops?" Chan pressed, gripping his bottle.
"Yeah." Minseok said, "Small, silver, half hoops."
Chan leaned back in his chair. You'd lied... You'd lied to him. For Minseok..
"Channie-hyung-" Jeongin reached for him.
Chan pushed back his chair and smiled at Minho, "I'm going to head back early," He waved at the other men and rested his gaze on Minseok for a brief moment.
"You're drunk, let me at least call you a cab-" Minho started.
"I want to walk."
"It's dar-"
"Goodnight guys." Chan turned and left them all at the table in confusion.
Hyunjin shot Seungmin a knowing look and kept drinking.
Chan wandered aimlessly for a while, lost in thought. He eventually found himself at a playground and sat down on a swing. As he swung back and forth, he thought about you and Minseok. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all..
He felt his eyes welling with tears. "What are you even crying about Chris?!" He groaned in frustration and wiped the tears from his eyes.
He cared too much, about you and Minho. He cared too much to see you with someone else. He cared so much that it hurt to care. Even as he took deep breaths to compose himself he couldn't stop the hot salty tears streaming down his cheeks.. But-
"Channie?"
He looked up at the sound of your voice. You stood there, in a sweater that definitely wasn't yours... It was probably Minseok's... and a pair of sweatpants.
"Why are you crying?" You sat in the swing next to him and stared at him.
If only you knew...
"I've just been thinking recently." He muttered.
"A penny for your thoughts?"
Chan stared at you for a long moment and then simply leaned over and rested his head in the crook of your neck and shoulder.
You stared blankly for a moment before relaxing and stroking his dark hair gently.
"Can I ask you something.." He muttered against your skin and you felt a chill go down your spine.
"Anything..." You breathed.
He pulled away and looked into your eyes. "Will you stop me?"
"From doing what?" You stared at him in confusion for a moment before he leaned into you, breath mingling with yours.
"This.." He muttered, plump lips grazing yours before they finally met your own in a gentle kiss. He pulled away for a moment, giving you the opportunity to shout at him, to slap him and ask if he was okay mentally.
But you didn't..
And he kissed you again, deeper this time, his tongue prodding at your lips for entry. You clutched Chan's shirt as his tongue slid into your mouth, the taste of alcohol still on his lips, but you didn't pull away. Not when he kissed you like that, kissed you like he'd been meaning to for months... years even. You didn't pull away even as you felt the burn of your lungs begging for air. But he pulled awa, his eyes dark, pupils blown, clouding over with something you hadn't seen before.
You sat up in bed and slapped your flushed cheeks. What on earth were you thinking...
Chan noticed you were steering clear of him like the plague. You were going back to school soon so maybe that's why. He saw you when he and Jeongin came over to see Minho but even then you only waved at him at the door and kept about your business. Maybe he had done wrong kissing you like that.
You were leaving again. Bags all packed and ready to go back to your dorm.
"AH!" Changbin hugged ypu tightly. "You're leaving us again! Who will come to Changbin Salon if you go!"
You giggled. "I'll be back in a few months for Christmas guys. Don't worry about me-"
"Y/nnie." Minho sighed, smoothing out her clothes, "Just take care of yourself. Don't get drunk. Don't stay up late. Don't talk to weirdos-"
You hugged your brother and rolled your eyes. "Whatever."
Your parents started bickering with you about taking care of yourself.
You gave Minseok a kiss and he hugged you tightly, whispering something in your ear that made you giggle.
You finally looked at Chan and smiled.
Chan smiled too, eyes widening in shock slightly as you hugged him tightly. He relaxed and hugged you back. "Take care."
You nodded, "Bye!" You got into your car right as Changbin and Minho finished throwing your stuff into the trunk.
They all waved as you pulled out of the driveway, and you were gone again...
Chan stuck around for a bit longer chatting with Minho and your parents before deciding to go home. As Chan made his way to his car he stopped as he heard someone.
"Chan."
Chan turned and stared at Minseok. "Huh?"
"Do yourself a favor," Minseok pulled out his own car keys and unlocked his vehicle. "And stay away from Y/N. 'Kay?"
Chan raised a brow. "Is there a problem with me being around her?"
"A little bird told me, you just want to get your dick wet. So I suggest you find someone else." Minseok shrugged.
He stared at the other man for a long moment. "What if... I just want to take her from you?"
Minseok's eyes went wide.
Chan unlocked his car and got in before Minseok could say anything.
You'd been in school for a couple of months, sure, you called Minseok everyday, it didn't kill the feeling of him being so far away though.
You had gotten back from class and were doing your homework when you got a text from Minseok. You smiled slightly and picked up your phone to look at it. As you read his message you rolled your eyes and called him
He answered almost immediately. "AH! Baby. It feels like I haven't talked to you in forever."
You rolled your eyes and giggled. "We talked this morning."
"Exactly, forever." He joked.
You put the phone on speaker and set it down as you started getting your materials for studying. "When did you get so needy?"
"When did you get so distant?" he countered.
You laughed. "I'll be around soon."
"Take your time with your studies.. I don't want to mess up your brain right now."
You smiled. "It's fine really."
"I'm gonna be really busy soon."
"Oh?" You flipped through your textbook, taking notes. "With what?"
"Work stuff." he said dismissively.
"Don't overwork yourself."
"Says you."
You pursed your lips and sighed. "Minseok."
"AAH! Okay.. I have to go now, sleep early. Make sure you eat. AND DRINK WATER." He said.
"Okay. Good night baby."
"Good night y/nnie."
You hung up and leaned back in your chair thoughtfully. You should visit home soon..
The next following day you called Minseok after class he didn't answer. You shrugged it off and assumed he was busy with work as he said he would be.
You called Jisung and he ranted to you about how Minho was being annoying and how Seungmin was bouncing off the walls about Sua.
You smiled as you thought about how vividly she used to squeal about Seungmin. As you were about to go to sleep, your phone rang and you looked at the contact, smiling at your boyfriends ID before answering.
"Hey love, sorry I didn't answer. I got held up at work." he said.
"It's fine," You rolled onto your back and put the phone on speaker, yawning as you asked, "Anything happen at home?"
"You sound tired." he aid, "And no."
You hummed. "I am tired."
"Sleep. You have classes tomorrow."
"Fuck class. I'd rather stay up listening to you."
"When did you get so needy?" He teased.
You giggled.
As you listened to Minseok rant about work and other things you relaxed and fell asleep even though you said you wouldn't..
You didn't notice it at first, but almost a month later, you realized that Minseok never answered your calls; he always called you back, and always very late. You could try to blame it on his work, but something just didn't sit right with you. But you ignored the feeling. Planning to visit during your break in the fall and catch up with everyone.
What reason did you not have to trust Minseok?
When you called him the day before your trip he didn't answer. Which didn't surprise you at all. But you still felt a small pang as you looked at the box you'd purchased just a week earlier. What was surprising was that he didn't call you back.
Still you got in your car the next morning, and drove all the way back home.
Minho and your parents greeted you with bear hugs and kisses.
You went out with Minho later that day to go eat and after an intense game of rock paper scissors, you had to go to the front and order. As you made your order and Minho's you noticed Chan sitting at a table with a very pretty woman. You finished your orders and approached waving slightly at Chan.
He looked at you and smiled. "You're back in town already? How's school?"
You laughed. "I'm on break. School's fine." You noticed the way the girl stirred her drink with her straw. "Who's this?" You asked.
Chan looked at her then back at you. "Yeojin. She's a friend."
The girl gave you a small smile but you felt a bit tense. As if you were challenging her... "It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand out out you."
"Likewise." You smiled and took her hand gently shaking it before turning back to Chan, "I've gotta go, maybe we'll see each other around?"
He nodded. "It was nice seeing you." As you walked away you noticed how he spoke to Yeojin so passionately, taking her hands in his. Your heart panged. You should be happy... You should be happy he finally got over what he told Hyunjin that day... Yet it annoyed you. It made you so mad you wanted to scream. But you didn't. You ignored the feeling. You had Minseok. What more could you need?
"Have you heard from Minseok?" You asked your brother as he spun in the spinning chair by your desk.
"Not recently why?" He looked at you.
You shrugged, looking at your phone. You checked Minho's location and saw he was still at work. You'd wait for him to get to his apartment then you'd surprise him with your gift and everything would be good. "He's been stressing about work recently... I just wanted to make sure he's alright."
"Go see him then." Minho said, rolling his eyes.
"When he gets back from work." You smiled, looking at the box in your bag.
So almost two hours later, when you checked your phone and saw he was finally home. You took a cab to his apartment and eagerly, pushed the button at the elevator. You jumped a bit before calming yourself. It was just Minseok... your sweet, caring, affectionate, handsome man.
Yet as you got to his floor, as you approached his door something in you twisted. You felt wary for a reason you couldn't explain. Even as you typed the passcode for his lock and it beeped in affirmation, as you opened the door to his dark apartment, something in you still lurched in suspense. Like your body knew what was coming and your heart and mind couldn't accept it. Even as you rounded the corner of the hall and saw an extra pair of shoes by the entrance.
Heels..
You still walked through the living room and kitchen area. Right down to the other hall and to Minseok's bedroom door. Even as you heard them through the crack in the door you opened it.. and the tears that had been welling in your eyes since you walked into the dark apartment finally fell at the sight of Minseok, his dick buried in some other girl.
"Cho Minseok."
He sprang up, eyes wide like a deer in headlights as he finally took in your prescene.
You threw the box on the floor and whispered. "You asshole."
"Y/n!" You ran to the elevator and got in just in time to turn and see him running as the elevator closed, bedsheet wrapped around his waist as he called after you.
As the elevator went down your mind and heart finally caught up with the rest of your body and you fell to the cold floor and cried.
The last place Chan expected to see you, was bumbling down the street at night. Drunk.
Yet when he finally convinced you to get in his car he groaned and looked at you. "What on earth are you doing?"
You didn't answer, staring blankly out of the car window.
"I'll call Minseok to come get you-"
"Don't." You said quietly.
"Y/n." He sighed. "Minseok won't judge you for getting drunk, he probably won't tell Minho eithe-"
"Minseok is busy right now!" You snapped.
Chan stared at you. "Busy with what?"
"How is it your business?" You snapped. "You hate Minseok, I get it. but our relationship isn't your business."
"When are you going to stop him from running all over you, Y/N!?" Chan shouted.
You froze."Why do you care... go back to Yeojin."
Chan stared at you. "i have nothing with her..."
You took a few shaky breaths before you buried your face in your hands.
Chan took your hand and squeezed it gently whispering. "What happened?"
You looked at him, his coffee colored eyes so sincere. No judgement or ulterior motives, nothing but patience and empathy.
You leaned against him over the console. "He's with someone else."
"Since when?" He asked, his arm wrapping around your shoulders.
"I don't fucking know and I don't give a damn."
He hummed. "You wanna go home?"
"I don't want an earful from Minho." You said, closing your eyes.
Chan pulled away and started the car. The alcohol finally claimed your consciousness. You woke up a while later on Chan's bed, you sat up, still a bit tipsy. You stood from the bed and stumbled slightly as you walked. You saw Chan on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
"You left me alone again..." you said softly.
Chan looked at you. "I thought you'd be alright."
You stared at him.
"Come here.." he muttered.
You moved to him and sat beside him on the couch, leaning into hiss body heat.
You sat in silence for a few minutes, then your mouth ran faster than your brain could help and you asked. "Do you like me..."
Chan's body stiffened.
"Be honest.."
"Y/n."
"Tell me."
"Minho would be angry at me-"
"CHAN!" You snapped, pulling away from him. "No... I understand. No one really likes me because I'm jus-"
He cut you off, kissing you. Your eyes widened momentarily before you relaxed and kissed him back. Your already cloudy mind felt like it was covered by a drape of emotion you couldn't understand, taking all your air away, wrapping itself around you like an anaconda. It squeezed the very passion from your veins and pushed it all into that kiss.
Chan pulled away for air first and your eyes met as he finally whispered. "I don't like you. I love you."
You kissed him again as he leaned into you, pinning you to the couch. His lips moved from yours to your jaw and neck before he froze. Minho... He started to pull away. "Y/n we can't-"
You grabbed his face in your hands and whispered, tears brimming in your eyes, "Please..."
Chan couldn't tell in the rush of getting you from the couch into his room how he ended up beneath you. Staring up into your pretty eyes before you leaned down to kiss him, his tongue fought with yours as your hands lifted his shirt and ran over his chiseled abdomen. When you moaned softly into his mouth something in his snapped and he grabbed you. Flipping you both and pinning you to the bed, staring down at you.
You smiled up at him and he rolled his eyes before kissing you agan, his lips moving to attack your neck and collar bones before he pulled off your shirt. You whined and tugged at his before he pulled it over his head and tossed his somewhere. You reached up and caressed his stomach before he took your hand in his and your fingers intertwined as he pinned it to the bed.
"We shouldn't..." He mumbled against your lips.
"Want you to.." You whispered.
"Fuck.." he moaned softly against your lips and rubbed his crotch against your clothed heat.
You pulled your hands free and wrapped them around him, pulling him down to you. Your world seemed to blur and darken, your only focus the man above you. How he worshipped you, lips moving from your jaw to your throat, decorating your skin with love bites. Moving lower and pulling your pants down slowly.
It wasn't painful or rushed. He kissed you slowly, filling you to the brim and more, each thrust met with soft cry from you. His hands at your hip pulling you into each push of his pelvis against yours. He leaned down and kissed you, his body caging you in, you held onto him tightly, nails digging into his broad shoulders as he bucked into you again and again. Knocking the air from your lungs every time he fucked into you, pushing deep, deep.
Mesmerized by the sight of of your pussy engulfing his cock as you whimpered and mewled beneath him.
"Are you going to cum for me?" He mumbled in your ear. "Gonna milk me dry, sweet girl?"
Your back arched off the bed at that, Chan groaned and reached between you rubbing your sensitive clit.
"Cum for me princess." He breathed into your neck, pulling out slowly before stuffing his cock into you roughly again.
"Channie!" Your pussy clenched tightly around hiss manhood and he pulled out. Pumping his cock until his release shot onto your breasts and stomach.
He held himself over you. "Fuck..." He dragged himself up to get something to clean you but when he came his eyes went wide at the sight of your hands on your face the soft sound of your sobs reaching his earss. "Y/N- I shouldn't have. Did I hurt you? I'm sorry-"
"Not you." You said, taking a deep shaky breath.
"Then-"
You took your hands away from your face and smiled. "I love you Chan.."
He smiled gently and kissed your forehead before cleaning you and getting back into bed.
"Can I ask you a question?" You said in the quiet darkness.
"Huh?" He turned to you.
"Did you replace Gudetama?"
Chan smiled. "Was it so obvious?"
"It smelled like your cologne.."
"You paid attention to how I smelled?" he gasped in shock.
"Shut up." You smacked his chest and rolled your eyes despite your face going hot.
He smirked and kissed the top of your head. "I don't mind."
You rolled your eyes but moved closer, relaxing into his warm embrace before falling asleep.
Chan hugged you to his chest, staring up at the ceiling as he caressed your hair. He heard something buzz and looked at your phone on his bedside table. He took in your peacefully sleeping face and smiled about to ignore it. Then it rang.
He moved away from you slowly and reached over you grabbing the jingling device. Minseok's face flashed across your screen. Chan made a face and answered, pulling the covers over your bare body before bringing the phone to his ear.
"Y/N! I'm so glad you finally answered! Baby it's not what you thought! I don't even know her real-"
"Y/n is busy," Chan said, looking at you sleeping.
"Chan?" Minseok asked, confused. "Pass her the phone."
"She's exhausted," Chan said, "and it's because of you. I doubt she'll call you back, so please don't call my girl's number again."
"YOUR GIRL??" He shouted on the other end of the line. "BANG CHAN! THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"
Chan smiled to himself as he said. "Going to sleep with my girlfriend." He got back into bed and smiled at your sleeping face. "Good bye Minseok."
"Oh, Chan I swear-"
Chan hung up and pulled you close to him again.
"What was that about?" You asked half asleep.
"Nothing." Chan kissed your forehead. "Go to sleep."
Chan drove you home the next morning. You were still a bit sad, but as you unlocked the front door your eyes widened at the sight of a disheveled looking Minseok sitting in your kitchen with your elder brother. Chan followed close behind you, his eyes narrowing when he saw the men.
"Y/N!" Minseok jumped from his seat and ran to you.
"Don't touch me!" You shouted as he tried to hug you.
Minho turned to you and Chan. "Minseok told me everything."
"Then why would you let him in-" You started.
"Bang Chan." Minho said quietly. "Get out."
"Minho-" Chan started.
"Get out!" your brother shouted.
"Y/n baby what happened?" Minseok touched your face and you slapped him away.
"What did you tell him?!" You pointed a finger at Minseok.
"What there was to be said." He grabbed your hands and you pulled away.
"Minho. I know what you're thinking-" Chan tried to calm your brother who was standing up now.
"Oh you do?!" Minho said, clearly getting aggravated by Chan's prescence.
"Listen to me-" Chan said, putting his hands up as MInho approached.
But he was cut off by punch to the face that made your eyes widen.
"Bro-" You tried to grab Minho but Minseok grabbed your hand.
"Let's talk about this-" He said before you slapped him hard.
"I told you to stay away from my sister." Minho said, walking up to Chan as he took several steps back.
"Minho let me explain!" Chan said, trying to stay out of his friend's range.
"There's nothing to explain!" Your brother shouted.
"Bro please!" Chan tried.
"Minho!" You grabbed your brother's arm.
He whipped around to face you. "You can't seriously defend him! Y/N!"
"Maybe I am!" You shouted, you walked between Chan and Minho. "No.. I am defending him. He didn't do anything wrong."
Your brother stared at you before looking at Chan and muttering. "Leave."
"Minho." You said softly.
Chan bit his lip before grabbing Minseok and dragging him out with him.
"Why would you do that?!" You shouted as Chan slammed the door behind him.
"Chan wouldn't care about you! IF you knew LIKE I DO you'd understand!" Minho yelled back.
"I don't know him like you do! BUt you should've let him explain!"
"What was there to explain?! He dragged you to bed when you were drunk-"
"DO YOU KNOW WHY?!" You cut him off. "MINSEOK IS AN ASSHOLE! Minseok cheated on me! Chan didn't want to go that far. I asked him to! I like Chan A LOT! Whatever rule or whatever shit you have that keeps me from being with him needs to stop..." You trailed off. "Because you might lose me too."
Your brother stood there in shock as you ran up the stairs.
It was a week later when Chan was out with Jisung, Hyunjin, and Changbin.
"Just tell Minho you're sorry." Changbin said sipping his cola as the three waited for their food.
"He wouldn't even let me talk." Chan groaned, burying his face in his hands.
"Tragic really." Jisung sighed.
Chan and Changbin looked at their friend with blank expressions as if to say be fricking for real.
Jisung sipped his drink. "I think you should just wait a bit. You know? I doubt Minho will stay mad forever, he's your good friend..."
Chan nodded. "I should just apologize whenever he calms down."
"If he doesn't just walk away from the toxic controlling friend." Hyunjin shook his head.
"Apologize now then."
Hyunjin jumped in fear at Minho's voice. "HYUNG!"
Minho looked at Hyunjin. "You'll eat tissues later."
Chan stared at Minho. "How did you even know I was here?"
Jisung looked completely invested in the bubbles floating in his soda suddenly.
Minho laughed and Chan sighed before standing. "Minho I-"
"I'm sorry for punching you." Minho said, "I'm sorry for accusing you of... things... and I'm sorry for making you stay away from Y/N..."
Chan smiled at his friend. "It's alright, I mean I didn't say I liked her before you threw that ban on me suddenly.. I'm sorry too."
The men smiled at each other.
"Hug it out! Hug it out Hug it out! Hug it-" Hyunjin started only to shrink away in fear as Minho grabbed a bunch of napkins from the dispenser on the table.
You laughed and Chan turned to you. "You're here.."
"Someone had to stop Min if he ended up attacking someone." You smiled.
"THEN HELP ME!" Hyunjin started only to get a mouthful of tissues.
You giggled and smiled at Chan as MInho gave him a look.
"May I kiss you princes?" Chan smirked, leaning into you.
MInho acted like he was going to vomit. And Jisung dramatically passed out.
"You may."
Chan pressed his lip against yours.
"ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!" MInho said rolling his eyes. "You should compensate me for the mental and emotional distress I went through, I say buy me pizza!"
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© 2024 xxkissesforchanniexx. DO NOT COPY OR TRANSLATE MY WORK
𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
@asahisimpnation, @juskz
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stevie-petey · 7 months
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we don't talk about it (we don't have the time)
﹂ season one of “come home”
being dustin henderson's older sister and jonathan byers' best friend is usually an uneventful affair, but when will byers goes missing and a girl with a shaved head claims she has super powers, your duties as a sister and a best friend become a lot more complicated. (it also makes your feelings suddenly complicated, which you're choosing to ignore). (and steve harrington definitely isn't helping). (as usual).
episode one: the vanishing of will byers - jonathan smuggles you free food in exchange for friendship, will goes missing the one time you listen to jonathan, hopper doesn't really like you, and steve harrington almost hits you with his car as you're sobbing like a damn baby (in a cool way).
episode two: the weirdo on maple street - you use your limited psych knowledge to help a bald girl, you force jonathan to accept $20 and he's later an ass to you, steve doesn't know what a "missing" poster looks like, and it's really hard being a single mother to now four kids.
episode three: holly, jolly - you and jonathan talk it out and things are better (spoiler alert: they aren't), you somehow end up agreeing with steve harrington ?? then you have a minor breakdown in front of the kids and once again fail to prevent them from experiencing more trauma.
episode four: the body - you basically have a "no babe don't cry over ur dead brother ur so sexy" moment with jonathan, hopper plays mr love doctor (cute date idea: coffin shopping), and somehow nancy wheeler makes you realize that you're a horrible babysitter and an even bigger idiot. meanwhile: steve harrington is frustratingly charming.
episode five: the flea and the acrobat - you and dustin have a long overdue Sibling Moment, at will's funeral you and jonathan exchange information and surprise ! it's all horrible news ! nancy has awful timing and when you leave her alone with jonathan one damn time you and steve end up trauma bonded on her front porch #bffs.
episode six: the monster - so nancy and jonathan are a Thing now and you really just need a good nap, the three of you go shopping for monster hunting supplies (which honestly isn't the weirdest thing you've done this week), an old man sells you a sentimental knife, and steve kind of accidentally kidnaps you with a sexy black eye.
episode seven: the bathtub - your brother basically places himself on the fbi's most wanted list and el flips a van with her mind, now you have to create a giant salt tub because of course you do, nancy tries Talking About It but hasn't she read the title ? you don't have the time. sidenote: you've somehow become a steve defender during these trying times. typical. meanwhile: steve's inner thoughts are pathetic.
episode eight: the upside down - drinking game time ! take a shot every time jonathan tries ditching you or every time you almost die at the byers house, you find out that steve really is an athlete and tbh it's hot, but you know what's even hotter ? saving hawkins and reaching a tentative compromise with steve after he loans you $5 for snacks. after, jonathan makes a promise you really hope he can keep.
⌑ set between seasons 1 and 2
﹂ episode nine: the beginning - BONUS EPISODE TIME ! steve becomes bookstrorindary's favorite loyal costumer, jonathan buys you a bug for christmas, you freak out your poor coworker alex, and suddenly steve is really hot and you're feeling so many feelings (bad ! it's all bad !).
⌑ status: FINISHED
⌑ season one title based on this song x
⌑ blurbs set within "come home" can be found here x
⌑ “come home” season masterlist
*note: this is a part of my stranger things rewrite, “come home”, and other seasons can be found linked above :)
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Text
Arrogant Ex-Husband - Chapt 1
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Character: Mob!Bucky x Model!Reader
Summary: In a strategic alliance marriage arranged for political gain, reluctant bride Y/N, dreaming of a modeling career, finds herself unwillingly wed to James 'Bucky' Barnes, a reluctant groom.
Words Count: 1,816
Series Masterlist with Prologue and Moodboard
Main Masterlist || buy me Ko-fi 🥹💓
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Y/N stared out the tinted car window, the city lights flickering in the distance. Her father, a seasoned politician, clenched his jaw as he spoke into the phone, his voice seething with anger.
"Unbelievable! I trusted you, Rick. Trusted you with our family's reputation, and this is how you repay me?" Y/N's father barked into the phone, the tension in the car palpable.
Y/N shifted uncomfortably in her seat, stealing glances at her father's furrowed brow and the visible strain in his eyes.
The weight of the scandal involving her step-brother was evident (private video got leaked), threatening to unravel her family's name and her father's political career.
"What do you mean you can't contain this? I need a solution, not excuses," her father continued, tightening his grip on the phone.
The distant hum of the city echoed the frustration in the car. Y/N caught snippets of her father's conversation as he navigated the chaotic political landscape.
"You know what's at stake here, Rick. My candidacy, the family legacy — everything! I can't have this scandal tarnishing our name."
The car sped through the city streets, the outside world oblivious to the turmoil within the vehicle. Y/N's father listened intently to the voice on the other end, occasionally gritting his teeth.
"Handle it discreetly? No, that ship has sailed, Rick. You need to fix this, and you need to fix it now. I don't care what it takes. If you can't, then don't bother showing your face again."
The call ended abruptly, leaving the car in silence except for the distant sounds of the city. Y/N's father took a deep breath, trying to collect himself, but the frustration lingered in his eyes.
"Y/N," he finally spoke, turning to his daughter. "We need a solution, and it seems Harold Barnes is offering one. I don't like it, but desperate times call for desperate measures."
Y/N nodded, her gaze shifting to the city lights, knowing that the path ahead was fraught with challenges and unexpected alliances. The weight of the situation settled on her shoulders like an unshakeable burden.
There was a helplessness in her eyes, a silent acknowledgment that she couldn't escape the intricate web of family ties and political obligations.
Suddenly, Y/n received a message from her best friend, Honey, telling her that there was a casting for a famous brand that had just opened. 
Of course, Y/n wants to join; her eyes lightened up. Her father noticed it. He grabs her phone and puts it in his shirt pocket. He said something that hurt her dream. 
"Forget it, you're going to be a rich wife. Why would you ever want to be a model?"
That's hurt Y/N's feelings. 
Did her father forget that his former wife used to be a famous model? 
Did he also didn't know what his daughter wanted?
In the confined space of the car, surrounded by the distant glow of the city, Y/N felt the suffocating lack of freedom.
The walls of her father's decisions closed in on her, leaving her with no escape. Her once-promising dreams were now tethered to the demands of a family in disarray, the consequences of choices she didn't make.
It was her step-brother who ruined her father's image. But why it has to be her who fixes the mistakes?
Y/N sighed heavily. What could she do?
Her father didn't even care about her anymore since she brought his mistress into the house without apologizing that because of his adultery, Y/N's mother took her own life.
************
As the car moved through the city's labyrinthine streets, Y/N couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped, her every move dictated by a situation she had no control over.
The path ahead seemed like an unpredictable journey, with the enigmatic figure of Bucky Barnes's grandfather looming as both a lifeline and a shaper of her destiny.
When the car arrived at Barnes Residence, Y/N and her father were welcomed by Harold Barnes, a formidable figure with a commanding presence.
The imposing mansion, nestled in the city's heart, exuded an air of authority that matched the reputation of the Barnes mafia family.
As the car stopped, Harold Barnes stepped forward to greet them. His steely gaze assessed the situation, and a subtle nod conveyed acknowledgment and expectation.
"Senator [L/N], Y/N," Harold greeted with a firm handshake for Y/N's father and a courteous nod to Y/N.
Though measured, his voice held an undeniable weight that spoke of years spent navigating the intricate world of politics and organized crime.
"We appreciate your timely arrival," Harold continued, his tone hinting of formality. "Please, come inside. We have much to discuss."
Y/N exchanged a brief, uncertain glance with her father before following Harold Barnes into the opulent residence, where shadows seemed to dance across the grandeur of the mafia leader's abode.
The air hung heavy with unspoken agreements and the looming presence of a pact about to be forged. 
In the expansive Barnes Residence, as Y/N's father engaged in a serious discussion with Harold Barnes, Y/N found herself wandering through the mansion's labyrinthine halls.
The grandeur of the house overwhelmed her, each room a testament to the power and history of the Barnes family.
As she strolled, she saw a slightly ajar door, a subtle invitation into the unknown. Driven by curiosity and the need for a momentary escape, Y/N couldn't resist the urge to take a peek. The door creaked softly as she pushed it open.
*****************
The room beyond was dimly lit, the shadows playing on the edges of the walls. In the center, bathed in a pool of muted light, sat Bucky Barnes in a wheelchair. His presence carried an air of solemnity, and for a moment, their eyes met in an unspoken exchange.
Though physically present, Bucky seemed to inhabit a world of his own. The room, filled with an unspoken weight, held traces of a life altered by unforeseen circumstances. Y/N hesitated, sensing the vulnerability in his gaze.
The silence between them spoke volumes, a shared understanding of their challenges. In that fleeting moment, Y/N glimpsed a complexity in Bucky that transcended the public perception of the disgraced figure.
There was a story etched in the lines on his face, a narrative that begged to be unraveled.
Harold was about to call the butler when he saw Y/N wavered to enter the library room.
Ever perceptive, Harold Barnes noticed Y/N's hesitation at the library entrance. With a measured stride, he approached her, a silent acknowledgment of the delicate situation unfolding.
"Y/N," he said in a voice that held both authority and understanding. "Allow me to introduce you to Bucky Barnes." With a gracious gesture, Harold opened the door wider, revealing the dimly lit room and the figure in the wheelchair.
Harold followed suit as Y/N stepped into the room, guiding her toward Bucky. The air in the library seemed to shift, carrying an unspoken weight that Harold acknowledged with a subtle nod.
"Y/N, meet Bucky Barnes," Harold said, his voice a low hum in the quiet room. "Bucky, this is Y/N [L/N], the daughter of Senator [L/N]."
His gaze meeting Y/N's once again, Bucky offered a nod of acknowledgment. His eyes were complex, a silent invitation to understand the unspoken stories that lingered in the room.
Sensing the need for a private exchange, Harold excused himself with a nod. "I'll leave you two to talk. Take your time," he said before quietly closing the library door, leaving Y/N and Bucky in a space where the echoes of their shared circumstances seemed to resonate.
Y/N offered an awkward introduction in the hushed library, her voice breaking the stillness. "Hi, Bucky. I'm Y/N." Should she continue her introduction by saying, 'I’m also your future wife. Next week we will get married.'
Bucky remained silent, his gaze steady yet revealing little. The weight of the unspoken hung in the air, threading through the quiet room.
Feeling the need to fill the silence, Y/N glanced around the library briefly before her eyes settled on Bucky's face. Despite the gravity of the situation, she couldn't help but notice his striking features—handsome, yet marked by the complexities of a life altered.
As her gaze traveled to his left arm, the room seemed to hold its breath. There, in the dim light, she observed the bionic limb, a symbol of both strength and vulnerability. Y/N's eyes lingered, recognizing the silent struggles etched in the contours of that prosthetic.
As Y/N's gaze lingered on Bucky's missing left arm, she sensed a shift in the atmosphere. Bucky, wise to her scrutiny, felt a twinge of discomfort and offense.
The unspoken vulnerability that Y/N had observed seemed to boil over into a harsh reaction.
"What, never seen a guy with a missing arm before?" Bucky's words, laced with bitterness, cut through the silence. His eyes, once steady, now held a glint of wounded pride.
"You probably think I'm some kind of freak, right?" His tone grew sharper, the pain beneath the surface manifesting as anger. "Well, get used to it. This is what I am now."
Y/N, taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere, tried to find the right words. Before she could respond, Bucky's words turned more cutting.
"And what's your game here, huh?" Bucky's voice escalated, the accusation palpable. "Marrying me for my family's wealth? Just like your father, always after power and money."
The words hung in the air, a heavy accusation stung with a truth Y/N hadn't expected. Bucky's resentment, fueled by his insecurities, lashed out, and in that moment, the library became a battleground for emotions too raw to be contained.
As Y/N absorbed the harsh words, an apology caught in her throat. Unable to face the hostility, she whispered, "I'm sorry," before swiftly leaving the room.
The door closed behind her, leaving Bucky alone in the dimly lit library. As the echo of her departure lingered, an unexpected pang of regret stirred in Bucky's chest. He couldn't quite comprehend why he had lashed out with such venom. She hadn't done anything to deserve his bitter words.
Now alone with his thoughts, Bucky replayed the scene in his mind. The realization of his unjust accusations settled heavily on his shoulders. He clenched his jaw, grappling with a surge of remorse that, though unexpected, held a raw truth—he shouldn't have said those words to her.
Bucky gazed at the window behind him, overwhelmed with guilt for involving an innocent woman in his troubled life. The agony of losing his left arm was unbearable, and the need for therapy for his leg added to his suffering.
He felt like a villain as if he had intentionally trapped an innocent woman in this marriage.
The weight of his actions pressed down on him, and the city beyond the window seemed to mock the dramatic turmoil within his soul.
At that moment, Bucky couldn't escape the feeling that he was playing the role of a heartless antagonist, making an unwitting woman suffer in the shadows of his pain.
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Author Note :
Hey friends,
If you've been enjoying the content, I've set up a Ko-fi account. Your support through tips would mean the world and help me keep creating. Only if you feel like it!
Here's the link: Ko-fi
Thanks a bunch for being fabulous followers!
I'm now offering faster release and bonus chapters for Ko-fi members. If you enjoy my content and want early access, consider supporting me on Ko-fi!
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Chapter:
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7, 8 , 9 ,10 , 11, 12 , End
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whoahoney · 2 years
Text
An Attempt at a One Night Stand
Eddie Munson x SingleMom!Reader
Part 2
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Summary: Reader is a single mother spending an evening at the Hideout with her friends when she meets the lead singer of a band called Corroded Coffin. He buys her a drink and makes her feel ways she hasn’t felt in a very very long time…
Content Warnings: AFAB/Fem!Reader, NSFW(Minors, DNI), Smut, use of alcohol & cigarettes, descriptions of depression, angst, descriptions of a romantic partner’s passing, fluff, female masturbation, nipple play, light choking, p in v sex, protected sex (WRAP IT), more plot than porn
A/N: My first published smut, don’t look at me. 😂🥲
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
Eddie Munson had it bad.
He met the prettiest girl in the world at a gig at the Hideout, the only person in the crowd that sang along with him the whole time. He knew he wanted to buy her a drink when she sang Ozzy into her empty bottle, pulling laughs from her friends while he eyes continued to flicker back to his.
Eddie loved her carefree nature about her, her energy magnetic. ‘I have to know this girl.’ He thought—her every movement fascinating him.
After some encouragement from his friends, he worked up the nerve to saunter up to her table, applying his own confident and easygoing facade the best he could. She was surrounded by an entourage of friends, all sets of eyes suddenly trained on him, halting all conversation.
Eddie glanced at each girl briefly before nodding to them, “Ladies,” then he looked at her again. Her eyes were glossed in wonder and inebriation at the boy who looked at her so intently.
“I, uh, I’m Eddie, and I couldn’t help but notice your show stopping performance tonight, and, uh, wanted to buy you a drink.” He smiled softly, his heart hammering away in his chest and sweat trickling down his temple.
She looked at each one of her friends, widening her eyes in excitement and nodding at the one on her left, a silent agreement. “I’d love that.” She stood, walking over to the bar ahead of him.
“I’m, Y/n, by the way.” She said as they settled into two seats. Eddie nodded, repeating her name inside, trying it on and getting used to the feeling it gave him. “Well, Y/n, what do you drink?” He asked, gesturing to the shelves of liquor behind the bar. Y/n’s eyes darted over the labels ahead of her, trying to focus on one at a time when she decided against whiskey.
“I’ll just have another beer.” She shrugged, thankful for the red lighting of the neon light she was seated next to. “No problem. Hey, Sal,” He called the bartender from across the room for service, ordering two bud lights and turning his attention back to her, leaning his chin on a ringed hand.
“You ever been here before?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. Y/n shook her head as their drinks were served. “What gave me away?” She shrugged, taking a sip.
“It’s rare a group of girls is sat up in here for a few hours.” He smiled, taking a drink himself.
“Are you implying that you’re here all the time?” She quirked an eyebrow inquisitively, her mouth gaping in sarcasm. Eddie looked like a fish out of water for a moment before she started giggling. “I’m just messing with you,” She pushed his shoulder playfully.
Eddie let out a relieved laugh, “Oh, god, sweetheart. I didn’t know what to do there. I swear I’m not here all the time, but I’m here a lot! As you can see I play music here, which I do pretty often...” He said with a shrug and tight smile.
“Well, I may have to come back if the talent is this nice every time, I really enjoyed the show—we all did.” She shrugged, looking to her lap to bite back a smile. “Thanks, y’know next time if you perform like you did in the crowd, I’ll have to pull you up on stage with me.” He chuckled, earning another blush from the girl across from him. “I bet you’re fun on car rides, huh?” He asked and nodded at her in understanding.
Y/n scoffed, “I mean, you could say that, I’ve had a lot of practice with car karaoke and all.” She giggled. “You had me smiling the whole time, I know performances like that take practice! It was perfect.” He said, like it was the simplest thing. Y/n sunk her teeth further into her lip to suppress another pathetic giggle.
“So what do you like, huh? What’s your story?” Eddie asked. Y/n took a swig and searched for the best way to share without sharing. “I.. work two jobs, during the day I'm a clerk at a book shop and most nights during the week I waitress at a grill.”
“I mean your hopes and dreams, babe, but also nice to know you’re a hardworkin’ woman, I respect that.” He said, raising his bottle to her before taking another drink. Y/n rolled her eyes and unsuccessfully repressed a smile. “I don’t really have any.”
“Dreams? C’mon, I know you can think big. If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?” He asked as if it were that simple.
“Uh, pfft... Damn. Hold on.” She nervously laughed as her mind blanked, no possibilities coming to the surface no matter how hard she tried. “Take your time, you got it.” He encouraged, nodding gently. Y/n looked ahead instead of at his distracting puppy dog eyes. “I don’t think my passion is gonna lie in a career, you know? I just wanna be able to find something that allows me to make enough money in order to get by and live a happy life and have good experiences with the people I love.”
Eddie wore a warm smile on his face as he scratched the bottom corner of his mouth, “You’re real cute, you know that?” He smiled, leaning forward to brush her hair away from her face.
Y/n avoided his eyes on her as they trailed down her profile; her lips, chin, neck and chest as she tilted the bottle back. When she finished she shrugged, “I’ve been told a time or two, what about you, huh? Did you know you’re real cute?” She flashed him a look and a smile, her words sending him into flattered laughter as he shook his head and drank again.
“I had a feeling I was real cute, but no one really tells me, sweetheart, so, thanks.” He winked and leaned in to get closer to her, reaching for her hand that rested on the bar beside them. “So, what’s your game, here, huh?” She asked as he played with her fingers, his eyes darting up to hers questioningly, “What do you mean?” He asked, unsure of the context of the question.
“I mean, are you trying to play the long game and take your time before you try to get in my pants or are you trying to take me out of here to fuck me in the back ally as soon as possible?” She asked bluntly with big sparkling doe eyes and then took a sip of her drink.
Eddie’s eyes widened, not in embarrassment, but because he didn’t know he came off that way, “Babe if I’m being honest, I didn’t even get this far in my head when I decided I needed to talk to you,” he said earnestly, leaning closer to her to talk over the other band now playing in the bar. “So, I guess to answer your question, I wanna play whatever game you’re playing, if that’s cool.” He shrugged easily, as though hiding his feelings wasn’t on his agenda.
Y/n sat back with her mouth gaping, running her eyes over his frame again like she’s just seeing him for the first time. “Ohh…” is all she could manage, shyness taking over briefly.
She was used to getting hit on in bars, the nights she made it out of the house during the month when she was able to leave Danny without problems. Love had been different since Adam passed. Y/n didn’t think love like that happened twice in the same lifetime—the most beautiful, head spinning love that embraced you and never wavered.
Adam and Y/n had been childhood friends, who soon grew into high school lovers. Adam and Y/n did everything together, truly two halves of a whole.
And when they got pregnant with Danny at the end of their junior year, they thought the curveball thrown their way would be the hardest it got, knowing they’d have each other for the rest of time.
Or until death.
When Adam was 18, he was involved in a car accident near the end of the pregnancy, passing at the scene. Y/n—17, pregnant, and practically widowed—swore off love, feeling as though letting another man into her life in Adam’s place was betrayal.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t lonely. Sure, parenting alone isn’t for the weak, but she had her friends for emotional support, she didn’t need a man for that, and any fun thing she could think of doing either involved her son or her best friend. The more time went by, the more she convinced herself she could do it all alone.
So, over the last couple years, she settled for one night stands, sloppy goodnight kisses, handing out fake names and phone numbers like Halloween candy. But tonight was different.
Emotional intimacy of any kind was uncomfortable, the only man she was able to stay honest and open about her feelings with was one she’d known for a decade before she let him in her pants. Eddie had known her for two seconds and was upfront about his thoughts with so much ease it made her start setting up bricks.
“I-I, wasn’t expecting that answer.” She laughed awkwardly and took another sip, the bottle now over half gone. Eddie smirked and shook his head, his eyes never leaving her being for more than two seconds at a time.
“What was the answer you were expecting?” He asked. Y/n scanned around the room, landing on her friends who looked like they were having a wonderful time with Eddie’s friends who now occupied seats at their table. “I dunno, but no one’s ever been upfront about it, let alone put the ball in my court.” She said it like it was no big deal, but Eddie knew. He knew he got through to her. “Ugh, I hate basketball.” He smiled, trying to get her to relax again, he likes when she’s in control of the conversation. She mirrored his smile and rolled her eyes, the buzz of the current beer working over her head.
“So, uh, how’d you get into music?” She asked, steering the conversation another direction, which Eddie smiled at, knowing he was getting his shot. “I love that you asked that,” He blushed, a proud smile working its way onto his face, “When I moved in with my uncle around eleven or so years ago, he played a lot of Woody Guthrie, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, you know? The originals—the good stuff!” He emphasized; the passion evident by the gleam in his eyes and his movements, which she loved, “I got really into them, like, wore out the needle on the record player. I had that thing going all the time. Well, one day, I got home from a particularly shitty day at school, and there was an acoustic guitar on my bed.” He smiled nostalgically at the memory. “Wayne got me started and I’ve been in love with music ever since.” He shrugged.
Y/n nodded, her heart smiling at his ability to be soft, “That's such a sweet story, you and your uncle must be really close! That was so thoughtful of him.” She awed, Eddie blushed a deeper shade of red as he took a swig of his drink, nodding in agreement, “He’s great, honestly the best man I’ve ever known.” He chuckled nervously, looking at his hands and hating himself for the conversation turning this way so quickly. ‘Too much, dude, c’mon..’ he scolded himself.
“So do you still listen to Willie and Waylon or did you kick the old boys to the curb when you adopted Metallica and Ozzy into your repertoire?” She asked, which soothed his worries immediately. He chuckled and shook his head, “Oh, of course I still listen to them, I couldn’t abandon my roots like that!” He nudged her arm with his, his heart leaping when she joined in his laughter. “You listen to any old cowboy country?” He asked.
Y/n nodded, “I’m familiar with those old cowboys of yours. Except I’m more of a Johnny Cash fan.” She shrugged, taking him for a Willie Nelson enthusiast. “Let me guess, Folsom Prison Blues just really has a hold over you?” He teased, though he was right. “I can casually enjoy songs about prison and crime, alright?” She played into it.
Y/n liked Eddie, that was never a question, but was she afraid? No, but kind of intimidated? Yeah, that’s more like it. She shrugged off her denim jacket, leaving her in her tank top and showing off her tattoos.
“Nice ink, care to give me a tour?” He asked, nodding to her body, most definitely not looking at her tattoos but rather her chest and abdomen, wondering if there were more under the clothes.
She smiled, no guy ever taking the time to notice and ask, the most attention they ever got were ‘Ugh, tatted girls are my favorite’ or ‘do you have any tattoos in other places?’ Eddie may be the first guy to refer to her artwork respectfully. It made her want to show him more than she should.
She pointed to the art on her forearms, the sun on one side, the moon on the other, “These were my first and second,” she nodded, turned to show him the back of her bicep, where a bundle of flowers sat in a broken vase, “this is the third,” she pulled up the side of her shirt to show the bottom of an expansive art piece on her ribs, “fourth,”
Eddie watched on intently, trying to commit them all to memory. She turned to the wall, gathering her hair up in a ponytail to show the fifth tattoo on the back of her neck, “Number five may have hurt the most,” she mentioned as he took in the detail of the moth, slightly bummed when she turned back around. “And six through ten are unable to be shown at this time,” she giggled, picking her beer back up and tilting it back til it was empty.
Before Eddie answered, he turned to order her another, a smile rising to her cheeks at the gesture until she scolded herself, ‘Oh, two beers, what a dreamboat.’
Expecting some sleazy question about when he’d get to see the rest, she was surprised when all he asked was, “So how old were you when you got your first two?” Her eyebrows shot up. A real question?
“I was 16.” she nodded, his eyes widening, “Damn, who was your artist?? I couldn’t get anyone to tattoo me till I was 17, and even then it didn’t turn out right, I was so bummed.” He said strongly, his inflection making her laugh.
“He was my friend's brother,” she shrugged, “So does this mean you’re gonna give me a tattoo tour?” She couldn't resist through giggles. Eddie raised his eyebrows at her, “Oh, I thought you’d never ask, angel.” He said with a smile that could’ve been mistaken for devious, but really that was just Eddie.
He quickly shrugged off his vest and jacket like she had, holding out his arm and turning it slowly to point out his bats. Y/n felt heat rising in her stomach at the sound of him explaining the backstory behind them all, some of which he drew himself, others he found in fantasy novels or had them drawn up by his friend at the shop he frequents now that he isn’t a minor.
“And I love this little demon dude right here,” he said to the area by his collarbone, his hand holding his neckline open more than needed, the fleshy expanse of his chest looking delicious with cinnamon colored freckles sprinkled across it.
Y/n leaned forward to look at the detail of the crazy face it made, laughing easily and looking back up to Eddie; it definitely felt like him. “This one is my most recent, after my favorite Metallica song—“ he rolled up his sleeve to show the puppet master on his forearm,
“Master of Puppets?” She asked before he could say it, his head snapped up to her with a surprise grin, “Yeah, exactly! March of ‘86 I holed up in my room and just listened to it over and over again until I could work out the chords, then it felt like I worked my fingers to the bone trying to get it down. It was a challenge, but it was definitely a defining moment in my music journey, you know?” He nodded, sharing that sliver of himself without trouble. It made Y/n intrigued, yet jealous. She wanted to be able to do that without locking up.
“Wait, you learned it by ear? Amazing! You must be some sort of musical genius.” She said, fully meaning the sentiment, when Eddie scoffed and shook his head humorlessly. “That’s really sweet, thanks, but I’m far from a genius.” He averted his gaze, shyness creeping in.
Y/n cocked her head, sensing she struck a nerve of his, one she would be sure not to touch on again. “You think I’ll get to hear you play it sometime?” She said, brushing his sitting hand with her fingers, gathering some courage.
Eddie’s eyes lit up, “I’d love to play some Metallica for you.” He nodded eagerly. Y/n giggled and took another drink, the liquid courage catching up to her. “Are you gonna give me a private performance? Or should I come back when Corroded Coffin is playing next?” She said suggestively.
Eddie perked up at this, not sure if he’s hearing the implied meaning behind her words correctly. “Why not both? I mean, if the private performance goes well.” He chuckled nervously and sipped his new beer. Y/n looked at his hands, noticing his rings and how each one was different.
The chatter of the crowd around them and the music from the stage was a good excuse to keep leaning forward, thanking herself for wearing a low cut top. She held out her hand, Eddie cocked his head and eased his hand into hers tentatively. She immediately took to his rings, ogling them.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s gonna be great. I saw these fingered working up there earlier and couldn’t keep my eyes off them. These are pretty metal, I must say.” She looked the jewlery over with a quiet and heavy lidded smile. Eddie’s cheeks heated up at their closeness, noticing how she stroked his palm and wrist and stopped paying attention to his jewelry, holding her gaze on his lips.
“Uhm,” he swallowed hard, “W-Would you wanna maybe have that private performance.. now?”
Y/n’s eyes flickered with hope, “Where at, rockstar?” She bit her lip, looking him over and interlacing their fingers. “I—Depends on how long you’re willing to wait, Princess, you think you wanna come back to my place? Or are you more of a ‘right here right now’ kinda girl?” He said in her ear slowly, taking hold of her forearm and stroking it lovingly; mapping out every scar and freckle that lay there.
“Where do you prefer?” She said, shamelessly stroking the column of his neck with her thumb, which sent shivers down his spine. “Baby, I’ll take you anywhere I can get you.” He whispered, his breath fanning over her ear and cheek. Her chest began to heave in want while her eyes roamed his body beneath his clothing, wondering where else he had tattooed.
“Y’know, I have a very spacious van parked in the alley out back, if that’s your kinda thing, but I simply can’t wait another second to touch you.” He whispered nervously, hoping he wasn't ruining everything by crossing the unspoken line between them. Y/n’s eyes turned hungry as she nodded, “Can we do a shot first?” She asked, buzzed and still giddy enough she needed to calm down.
Eddie bit his lip, “I like the way you think, sweetheart, what do you want?” He turned to call Sal the bartender.
“Tequila!” She nudged his arm, looking at the jug on the shelf. “I didn’t take you for a tequila girl.” He smiled, grabbing a shaker from behind the bar and sprinkling himself some salt on the back of his hand as Sal poured them up, setting out limes before leaving.
“I’m not, usually,” she said while sprinkling the salt onto her hand, “Figured it’d be good for tonight—makes my clothes fall off.” She shrugged before licking up the strip of beer salt and throwing back the shot, picking up the lime wedge and sucking.
A moan of relief slipped out as the fresh citrus flooded her mouth. Eddie sat unmoving with his mouth gaping, hand still at the ready to take his shot. “Oh my god.” He breathed, taking the shot and matching her speed for courage.
Y/n hopped up as he set down his glass, sauntering through the door as he paid their tab and looked across the room to his buddies who sported amused and knowing looks as their friend stuck his tongue between his teeth in a victorious grin, slapping down a $10 tip on top of the total because he was feeling especially generous.
“Don’t get your hopes up, lover boy, we’ll still be here when you get back.” Her friend said pointedly, the rest of them sniggering along with Eddie’s friends. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He said incredulously, leaning his weight back on the door to meet his dream girl outside.
She stood under the lamppost smoking a cigarette, her jacket back around her shoulders, which made Eddie eager to take it off later. “Hey, there.” He smiled, shrugging on his own jacket, the leather cold before melting into warmth at the touch of his skin. “Hiya.” She giggled behind the cigarette.
Eddie allowed himself to act on his impulses and stepped closer to her until he had to look down, the end of her cigarette a few inches away from him before she removed it and turned away to blow the smoke— ‘What a sweetheart.’ He thought.
“Think I could have a hit off that?” He smiled, his eyes looking over her pretty face in the new lighting, her features so much clearer now. He couldn’t get over the shape of her lips, watching them stretch as she revealed the sweetest smile he’d ever seen.
Instead of answering, she stuck her cigarette between his smiling lips, holding onto his shoulder to steady herself. He hummed contently at her promptness and wrapped an arm around her waist, finding the sliver of flesh that rested above the top of her jeans until he grasped her wrist and moved her hand away to exhale to the side and then interlace her other hand in his.
Y/n watched on thoughtlessly as he brought the new hand up to his lips to kiss her finger tips one at a time, then her knuckles and wrist, before flipping her hand over and pressing a kiss to her palm, nipping at it with his teeth and wrapping the arm around his neck— bringing her giggling lips to his and pulling her into a tight embrace, lips working against one another eagerly while his hands cradled her neck and upper back tenderly. Y/n didn’t realize it until she felt the shift of gravity, but she figured out Eddie was leaning her backward, trying to dip her romantically in his almost drunken state after the shot. Her hair fell back, the world slowly turning upside down at his hands, his kiss melting any sense of care away.
‘So what the moon is on the bottom and the cars are on top? I could hold onto him forever.’
‘You’re saying that because you’re drunk and horny, get on with it.’
They pulled away when they were almost falling, both of them laughing breathlessly. Eddie pressed one more kiss to her forehead before taking her hand and gently tugging on her to follow, “C’mon, pretty girl, lemme show you what else I got.” He teased, admiring how deeply pink her neck and chest were burning.
They ran like giggly school children together around the building, as if they’d get caught and have their parents called. Eddie relished in the warmth her hand gave him— wondering how warm they were about to be pressed up against each other in the van.
He unlocked the doors, swinging one open and gesturing inside, “After you.” He bit his lip, worried that at any point she’d turn back. Instead, Y/n raised her eyebrows at him briefly, shooting him a coy smile before taking his hand and stepping up and in. Eddie licked his lips and swung the door shut behind him.
From the moment he turned around, she was on him, her arm snaking around his neck, her other pulling his waist to hers by his belt loop and bringing him in for another hungry kiss.
The quiet of the van amplified the sounds they made together, every moan, gasp, smack, and groan audible, though neither of them minded, if anything they loved it. His hands found her hair, gently stroking it like he’d been dying to since he saw her flipping it around during his set.
He trailed his hand down the side of her neck, his thumb tracing her jaw sent shivers down her spine. She broke the kiss, pausing in the space between them before they went further. His eyes opened to see her looking at his lips, only looking into his eyes when he smiled softly, “You still good? We don’t have to, you know. I’ve had a lot of fun with you tonight.” He said easily, no hint of pettiness in his tone.
Y/n smiled at his words, leaning into his hand more, “I’m having a great time too,” he exhaled slowly, relief evident on his face. “I was just wondering if I needed to climb you like a tree or lay you down, big boy.” She winked with a smile on her lips, laughing when he flopped down to the floor immediately.
“You really just had to open your mouth, didn’t you?” He looked at her with wide eyes in amusement. “I swear everything you say does something to me, baby.” He mumbled, too busy watching her settle her body on top of his lap and strip off her shirt, revealing her lace bra. “Holy shit.” He gasped, wrapping his hands around her revealed bodice to get a better look at her while she leaned forward onto his chest to stroke him with her fingernails through his shirt.
Eddie sat all the way up to pull her body closer to his, “Holy fucking shit, you’re beautiful.” He struggled to look her in the eye as he bounced back and forth between her soft torso and beautiful face. She looked down at him patiently, not used to the compliments, soaking it all up while she could.
“Eddie?” She whispered, stroking his hair and pulling him from his thoughts. “Yes?” He asked earnestly, gazing into her eyes as if he were ready to do anything she asked of him, which he was. She leaned over by his ear, balling his shirt up in her fists, “Can we take this off?” She snickered, pressing a kiss to his cheek, followed by his jaw and neck.
His heart began hammering again as she mouthed at the crook of his neck, thoughts evaporating from his head—including his ability to speak. He remembered he needed to answer only when she slid her hands up underneath the hem at his side, a jolt of electricity sent straight to his dick at the contact.
“Oh, yeah,” he said through her kisses, allowing her to raise it above his head and discard it to the side with hers, her reaction to the rest of his tattoos stroking his ego as she bit her lip and ran her hands across him. “I want you to do whatever you want, sweetheart.” He whispered against her before diving back in for more.
He fixed his hands to the meat at her hips, grinding her on his cock that strained against his jeans. He smirked at the pretty little sound she made when she started moving her hips on her own, rolling them in a way that drove Eddie wild. His hands flew to her chest, massaging the plush of her breasts that begged to be let out of their confines.
“Baby, can I get rid of this?” He asked helplessly, stroking the skin above the clasp at her back. Y/n smiled, her nose bumping his as she nodded and said, “I want you to do whatever you want, sweetheart.” She bit her lip as he smiled like a child on Christmas morning. He went about popping the hooks from the small hoops and sliding the straps off her arms at a nice pace, consciously trying to make sure he wasn’t going too fast to freak her out or make her think he was too eager.
Eddie had his fair share of one night stands, fond memories for his spank bank until the next came along, but none of them compared to this. This was something he’d think of forever.
“Jesus Christ.” He said softly, his eyes taking in the ethereal sight—the bounce of her freed breasts as they fell and soft skin just begging to be marked up and grabbed.
But the best part was the tattoo that sat underneath them. “It’s beautiful.” He breathed, taking her waist in his hands and examining her body like art, trying to find the rest of her tattoos and not bust his load at her perky nipples looking so excited to see him.
“You’re divine, really, baby, I’ve never seen anyone like you before…” He trailed off in wonder, grazing his fingers softly over the ink. She looked at him looking at her, dazed and confused by this stranger’s courtesy and gentleness that could only match—
She tilted his chin up towards hers to stop the thoughts from rolling in, never thinking about Adam during times like these— let alone comparing him, and pressed a soft and hungry kiss to his lips, licking into his mouth. Eddie bucked his hips and groaned at the feeling of both her bare tits against his chest and her tongue in his mouth.
He went to work rubbing her breasts, easing her into a heated pile of mush on top of him, trying to get her to relax further into his touch. “You gonna let me make you feel good, baby?” He asked, nipping at her bottom lip to make her cry out.
“Yes, please fuck me, Eddie.” She whined breathlessly, their thrusts becoming more intense along with their breathing. Eddie laid her down backwards, her legs still around his hips as he kneeled above her, admiring the way her tits bobbed when she fell against the plush blanket pallet he kept.
Her eyes gleamed as they bore into his. He smiled down at her, brushing his fingers around her hairline and stopping at her cheekbone to unbutton her pants, her heart feeling content like a purring cat. “You’ve got me so wet, Eddie.” She whispered, palming her left tit and grazing her fingers down her stomach as he worked at sliding her pants off.
Eddie couldn’t tear his eyes away from her touching herself the way she was, only ever seeing girls do it in magazines, he never thought he’d see one do it in real life. “I wanna watch you touch yourself,” He whispered, dropping her jeans next to her shirt and opening her legs slowly to encourage her.
Y/n didn’t answer, instead, she gave him a little smile and slid her hand into the front of her panties, sighing at the contact and writhing a little as she found exactly where she needed to touch. Eddie looked on in amazement, stroking himself over his jeans as he looked down at the angel laying in front of him. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?” He mumbled and licked his lips at the wetness pooling in her panties and the bits of flesh he could make out around the straining fabric of the lavender cotton.
He sat there mesmerized at the way her fingers disappeared inside of her, the way she tweaked her clit in time with the thrusts of her wrist and the way she kept her eyes on him the whole time she did so, reminding him that even if he wasn’t touching her, he was the one making her feel good.
Eddie slowly stroked her hips where the elastic sat, tugging lightly at the band until she raised her ass off the floor so he could slip them off her legs and toss them to the growing pile. A thin sheen started to coat her skin, glittering in the dim light of the van. Eddie ran a light and tender hand up her leg and then rubbed encouraging circles on the inside of her thighs, aching to bury his face in her wetness and send her further into the abyss of pleasure.
Y/n rubbed herself gently, opening her eyes as Eddie’s hands came closer to her throbbing core. “Touch me, please…” she whined, looking at him as if she’s waited for his touch for years and then letting them fall shut. Eddie’s eyes widened, his cock desperately needing relief, her eye contact and plea just made it worse.
“I’m gonna take care of you, baby,” Eddie took off his boxers quickly, moaning in relief and stroking his dick as he eased on top of her, caging her in with his arms. She gasped when she opened her eyes again to see him naked and godly before her. “Is that okay?” He asked, pressing a soft kiss to her neck, sending her eyes rolling to the back of her head, “Yes, please… Oh, fuck…” she groaned, feeling his weight on top of her as he adjusted her thighs around him, stroking her hips and lower back lovingly. “God damn, you’re so fucking soft, baby, I can’t get enough of you.” He breathed into her, reaching for her breast and meeting her for a warm and wet kiss, complete with teeth tugging lips, tongues licking skin, and quiet and satisfied giggles slipping out every now and then.
They reveled in each other’s nakedness, the feeling of skin on skin lighting them on fire—their hands and lips roaming everywhere.
Eddie took care to latch his mouth onto her nipple as he worked the other one with his tender touch. Her hands stayed in his hair, the mess of it scattered around him as he moved, though she didn’t mind.
Y/n thought she was going to lose her mind before he touched her pussy, swollen and dripping for him when he ran a tentative finger through her folds, “You want me as bad as I want you, don’t you, baby?” He set a slow yet satisfying pace, bumping her clit with every movement as her hand slipped further into his curls, tightening her grip to Eddie’s delight.
With every pant that left her came an adorable little noise, only audible in the space between them as they moved against one another. Eddie smiled to himself, his ego loving all of the praise this girl gave him.
“If you want something you need to ask for it—wanna make you feel good.” He said in between messy kisses along her shoulder. “Eddie, I need you to fuck me.” She whispered to him urgently, pulling his face up to hers with desperation.
“Uh, y-you don’t want me to eat you? C’mon baby, don’t get shy on me now.” He stammered, having been so close to the honey pot he desperately thirsted for. “Uh-uh..” She said, gently shaking her head ‘no’ and taking his cock in her hand.
Her hand traced the length of his shaft, pulling an inhuman grunt from him, a smirk of satisfaction crossing her face as he thrust his hips involuntarily. “Just, uh, lemme..fuck, lemme—lemme get a condom,” he managed through her firm strokes.
Eddie grabbed the chain on his pants, yanking his wallet out of his pocket to retrieve a gold foil package inside. Y/n admired his waist, tracing the dragon that wrapped around the side of his torso as he worked the condom on, stroking himself a couple times before moving back over her, who took no hesitation in wrapping her legs back around him, a giddy smile on her face that matched his. “C’mere, you pretty little thing.” He growled in her ear playfully while descending upon her, pressing his fingers into the plush of her thighs that enveloped him perfectly and kissing her giggling lips like they already belonged to him.
The laughter subsided as the kisses grew deeper and longer, when they pulled back and opened their eyes, they looked at each other like more than a couple strangers fucking in the back of a van for the first time— more like lovers who’d cross space and time to be together just for one night.
“You, uh, wanna put it in?” He asked, a blush dusting his cheeks as he hovered over her, stroking her bum and thigh as he waited. Y/n gently guided his member to her entrance while Eddie placed his other hand around her breast—poised to antagonize her nipple.
After the tip pressed against her, Eddie groaned as he sunk into her, his chest flattening onto hers until they could catch their breath. “You take me so well, baby, oh fuck,” He gasped next to her head, pushing some hair away from her ear and neck to dive down and nuzzle his face there.
“You fill me up so good, Eddie, oh my god.” She gasped as he propped himself up on his hands, gazing into her eyes as he started moving, her pussy gripping him so tight it’s hard for him to pull out and push back in. “Holy shit, do—is that good? Is that good for you?” He asked in quiet awe at the sensation they created together, in and out, in and out.
“Yeah— yeah, it is.” She said, fighting against the ecstasy she was slipping into to keep her eyes open. As Eddie worked his first few thrusts, he took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together like they had many times that night, though Y/n was expecting him to hold her wrists above her head like she’s used to, but no. Eddie rested their joined hands next to her head and smoothed her hair affectionately.
“You’re such a pretty girl, y’feel so good on my cock...” He said in awe as he picked up the pace and sent a jolt to her throbbing core when he pinched and rolled her nipple in his other hand. Y/n let out a groan at the feeling, the sound only encouraging Eddie to do what he’d been dreaming of since the moment she took off her jacket in the bar.
Eddie smirked at her anguish, the sparkle in his eye only confirming the mischief he emanated. “You want me to take my time with you?” He panted, slipping his hand in between them and finding her clit, spreading their wetness over it before slowly circling it, knowing exactly how desperate she was to cum.
“No-No, no…please, no. I n-need you to go faster Eddie, I don’t want you to stop til you cum—“ without hesitation, Eddie adjusted his grip on her leg and pressed down on her clit, enough to scratch that unbearable itch that antagonized her deep in her nerves. “Holy shit, Eddie! Oh my god, keep going, yes!” Her back arched off the floor, her chin jutted upwards exposing her neck, which Eddie took advantage of and served up heated kisses all around her throat as she cried out.
“ ‘m close, Eddie, you’re so good, so fucking good!” She mumbled her eyes heavy and eyebrows scrunched in distress, her hand roamed his body with reckless abandon, giving feather light touches across his neck and shoulders then sinking her nails down his back and grabbing his hip as he slammed into her hot cunt.
“Oh, baby,” he groaned, moving a hand from her chest to her throat while still holding her other hand tenderly next to them. “ ‘s this okay?” He whispered, keeping a light hold on her neck until she answered.
“Yeah..” She whispered pathetically, bringing her free hand on top of his and closing his grip around it the way she liked, just enough to get a little dizzy on top of the beer buzz, then moaning into his touch as she rocked against him the best she could while the sounds of skin slapping skin resounded between them. Eddie looked down at where they connected, unable to get enough of the sight of his cock burrowing inside of her.
“I want you to cum, baby, I wanna feel it—wanna feel you cum on my cock.”
“Lemme ride!” She insisted quietly like a secret. Eddie's eyes lit up at her enthusiasm and nodded before promptly rolling off of her, eager for her to be back in charge. He scooted himself against the back of the seat, “You want me here?” He asked as she crawled over to him. Eddie barely noticed his hands reaching out for her, but when he did she was already settling on his lap, his member standing between them as she laid a hand against his soft chest and used her other to stroke him. Eddie sighed as he circled his arms around her waist to pull her impossibly closer. “Yeah, baby, you’re perfect.” She whispered, though she didn’t mean to let it slip—the pet name or the word perfect. Eddie preened at the praise, desperate for her validation and affection.
She wasn’t usually one for pet names, or for praising her sexual partners. Up until now, sex felt transactional, and those things weren’t apart of the deal. But with Eddie the praises dropped from her lips effortlessly, and most times involuntarily.
Her hands found his hair, lightly raking her nails on his scalp which made him lean into her. Eddie felt like he hadn’t kissed her lips in years when she pressed hers to his in a thirsting kiss, chasing after his tongue with hers. They moaned into each other as she sat back down on his dick, not wasting any time in setting her quick pace.
Eddie's jaw dropped at the feeling, the warm, wet, silky tunnel that squeezed him so unmercifully he could hardly catch his breath, though he didn’t care because he was too busy bathing in her ecstasy. “Ohh, fuck me..” he groaned against her lips as she exclaimed in delight.
She pulled back from him, her hands holding his cheeks tenderly before dropping to his shoulders for more leverage. Eddie’s hands slithered down to her hips, focusing on the softness of her skin under his hands as he squeezed and squished. “Ohh, my god, angel.. I-I don’t know how much more I can take, I need you to cum, baby, can you? Can you come for me?” He pleaded softly and felt her tighten at his words, “Oh, you like it? You like it when I talk to you?” He tested, feeling her squeeze again and watching her bite her lip as she nodded, slowing her bounces to a roll, not wanting to leave this bubble of pure pleasure just yet.
Eddie moved his hands from her hips to her breasts, pinching both of her nipples in his fingers while he bucked his hips up against her. “Your body is so fun to play with, sweetheart.” He gazed into her sparkling eyes and then her mouth while waiting desperately for his kiss, moaned at the comment. “You think I’ll make you cum?” He asked, his low and gravelly tone masking his insecurity. Should she have finished by now? Maybe made more noises?
“Yeah, yeah—you’re doing so good!” She whispered eagerly before picking up her pace and kissing him passionately. They kissed until the sensation was too much, the electricity brewing within them lighting their cores on fire as they chased their orgasms together. Their noises were involuntary at this point, though listening to one another grunt and moan drove them further to the edge at a blinding speed.
“Eddie! Eddie, are you gonna cum with me?” She asked his lips desperately, now holding back from her climax til he could answer her. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, cum! Cum, baby, cum! Cum on my dick and I’ll cum for you.” He rambled like a madman, like an addict without a fix. He had no idea that this was just the first taste, that this was only the beginning.
His words wrapped her in a wonderful haze, everything was only Eddie. “Please, baby, let me make you cum. Let me take care of you.” He panted into her ear as he kissed and nibbled her neck just under it. “Oh, fuck!” She cried out, her core tensed before the white hot pleasure melted over her body, head to toe. “Eddie, I’m cumming! Cum with me, cum with me!” She pleaded, too busy basking in euphoria to feel pathetic. She grabbed at the back of his neck with both hands, engulfing his lips with hers.
Her sounds, her kiss, the walls of her pussy clenching around him—it was all too much. He cried out as his cock spasmed inside of her, rutting up into her roughly as he lived in her warmth and and rode out the rush that eventually faded right before she went limp on top of him.
They both fought to catch their breath, settling into one another in a new way. Y/n blinked hard, noticing how her arms and legs wrapped around him to keep close, and how he wrapped his arms around her waist for the same. The embrace was comforting, like a warm hug from someone you love after a long day—it felt like home.
She typically knew where to go from here, opting to throw her clothes back on and send the guy a ‘see you later!’ before going home and forgetting their name within a couple days. But with Eddie, she found herself reluctant to leave. Instead, she stayed in this little space for now; her lips grazing the soft pale skin of his shoulder, his heavy pants against hers. Her fingers buried in the back of his curls frizzy from the humidity they produced and tickling the side of her face, though it wasn’t unbearable. She felt like she could breathe deeper with his arms squeezing around her middle as if she were his teddy bear.
“God, you were amazing, angel.” He whispered to her with a smile, stroking the length of her back lovingly and curling his other fingers in her hair, trying to learn her body the way he craved. He wanted to remember exactly how it all felt—how she felt and made him feel.
She turned her head to look at him, lightly stroking the side of his face with her fingers and smiling softly, saddened at the prospect of leaving without any intention of seeing him again—though she wanted to deeply.
Y/n pulled him in for another kiss, this one much slower as she tried to memorize him. Her mind went warm and fuzzy as they set the passionate pace, each movement she made followed by ‘Last one… another one, just one more..’ until she felt Eddie adjust them to lay backwards and begin to roll on top of her, his cock hardening again already.
“Eddie,” She panted into him as he fixed his grip on her legs, pushing her knees back and pulling a sigh from her as he continued to kiss her swollen lips. “Eddie,” she groaned as he kissed her neck again, lightly tilting her chin back with his hand and making her melt into his touch.
“I’m not afraid to stay here with you all night, baby, just tell me what you want…” He whispered, stroking the side of her neck with his thumb as he spoke into her ear.
“I-I have to go, Eddie, I’m sorry.” She managed, pushing some hair away from his face. His eyes widened at her words, caught off guard. “Oh, I’m sorry! Was I keeping you?” He sat upright, grabbing her clothes for her and handing them over before picking up his own and stripping off the condom and tying it off to be dealt with later.
“No, no, you’re fine—great, even!” She scrambled to yank on her pants, ignoring the amused smirk that sat on Eddie’s face as he tugged his own black denim over his boxers and admired her as if he’d never had her before.
She threw on her bra and leaned over to adjust her breasts in the cups, pulling a soft gasp from Eddie—he had no idea watching a girl get dressed was just as fun as watching her get undressed. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she made eye contact with him, sending him a sly smile and wink as she prepared to tug her shirt over her head.
Eddie grabbed her shoes and set them in front of her, spotting his pack of cigarettes by the rest of his clothes and grabbing one out to light as she tied her laces. He noticed the windows were fogged and he smiled around the filter while he puffed.
Though he’d watched her dress, he turned one more time to make sure she was decent before opening up the back doors to the van, the cool night air drifting in and tickling the moisture that collected at their hairlines during the fun.
“So, uh, I-I had a really good time with you tonight.” He fumbled, quickly placing his cigarette back in his mouth after he’d spoken. Y/n smiled at his nervousness and nodded in agreement. “Me too, it’s uh, it’s been a while since it’s been that good for me—with another person, you know?” She said candidly, inwardly shocked she was able to muster up the confidence to share that.
Eddies eyes widened at the information, a hopeful leap in his chest told him that sex made her open up—made her feel close. He nodded in response, removing the cigarette and exhaling. “Y-Yeah, yeah, for sure. I, uh, don’t have many one night stands, but, uh, I can say for sure that it hasn’t been like that before.” He nodded, then realized he said one night stand. His face turned to hers quickly, the alarm apparent in his eyes.
She must’ve noticed his panic, leaning in to place a quick peck on his lips before nicking his cigarette and taking a drag. He chuckled softly as she hopped out of the back and stood in front of him between his legs, retrieving her jacket and shrugging it over her shoulders, fixing her hair in the process. He placed patient hands on her waist, letting her smoke as much as she wanted to if it meant she stayed with him longer.
“When can I see you again?” He asked hopefully.
Y/n giggled, handing him the cigarette back, which he accepted reluctantly. “That’s not very ‘one night stand’ of you, is it, Eddie?” She teased, testing if his big brown eyes deflated in hope a little, though really it looked like it took the air from him.
“How about…” she trailed off and averted her eyes to the ground, searching for a reason to see him again that isn’t more than what it can be. She shouldn’t even be entertaining the idea of seeing him again, let alone wishing she could stay the night. He felt so familiar.
Eddie searched for her gaze with his, successfully pulling her eyes back on him. “How about, I come see Corroded Coffin again? You said you play here often— how often?” She asked, putting her arms on his shoulders and grinning when his hands found her arms and rubbed them softly as he nodded. “We play again next friday.” He smiled.
She nodded at him thoughtfully, not fully present but stuck in the corner of her mind that told her she was being indulgent, that leaving Danny once a month to go out with her friends was selfish as it is, not to mention sleeping with strangers just to feel something, to feel reckless as safely as possible, to feel her age— was too much. She wasn’t supposed to do things people her age did, she was a mother, and she sure as hell wasn’t supposed to feel this with someone else, the way it only felt with—
“I’ll see you next Friday.” She nodded decidedly, turning on her heel and beginning her walk to the front of the building, though Eddie caught up quickly to catch her arm before she could get any further. “Wait, wait, wait, one more?” He asked, taking a hopeful lip waiting between his teeth as he held her close.
Y/n couldn’t help but giggle at him before taking his face in her hands and laying a deep kiss to his lips, relishing the butterflies that fluttered relentlessly in her stomach when his hands slipped around her body one last time, pulling back slowly and hesitating before disconnecting their bodies. Eddie quickly took her face in his, sprinkling kisses all over her face, “Thank you, sweet girl.” He said as she giggled.
“Lemme walk you inside?” He asked like a sweet freshman boy at the end of his first date. Y/n sighed, self hatred spreading through her mind like a disease as she nodded with a smile. Eddie grinned and darted back to the van to retrieve his shirt and pull it over his head on his way back, holding out an expectant hand for her that made her heart both flutter and sink, somehow.
The only noise between them on their walk was the crunch of gravel beneath their shoes and the sounds of the night in summertime. Eddie swung their hands between them, a smile tugging at his lips as he tried to stay forward facing.
He opened the door of the bar, looking her over once more and halting her to fix her jacket collar with a focused tongue between his lips before allowing her to continue and opening the door again.
Their groups were a little drunker than they left them, talking amongst themselves and producing boisterous laughter as they walked in. “Ohh ho, look who it is!” Gareth bellowed, pointing a finger at his friend who looked so proud under his blush.
Y/n’s friends looked at her hand intertwined with Eddie’s, sending her taunting looks that said ‘we are definitely talking about this later’ and bit back chuckles unsuccessfully. She looked at her best friend Stella, who took a nonchalant sip to cover her smirk while obviously averting eye contact.
“W-We gotta go, friends!” Y/n tapped her always watchless wrist, not wanting to keep her sitter waiting forever. The girls nodded in silent understanding, always aware of the curfew she kept for herself, and stood to collect their things and pay their tabs.
The members of Corroded Coffin looked at Eddie with sparkling and expectant eyes, ready to hear about the details as soon as the ladies left the premises. Eddie had recounted his sexcapades to his friends in the past, the storyteller in him going off on all the details—both educating them and giving them material for the spank bank.
But this time he wanted to hold onto it for himself—this girl was special and she made him feel special. Something about her essence was addicting, not to mention her face was the best one he’d ever seen.
“I’ll, uh, see you later, Eddie.” She mumbled to him, easing her hand out of his. “Looking forward to it.” He smiled softly, watching her go until the others were leaving out the doors. Sabrina hung behind and looked him over as if she were sizing him up, followed with a curt nod before disappearing out the doors.
Eddie let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as the boys applauded. “I must say, I am very impressed, my friend. I can’t believe you got her back to your van so fast, wow.” Gareth speculated drunkenly to Eddie’s annoyance.
“Don’t talk about her that way. That doesn’t mean anything, girls can do whatever they want, especially if it benefits me. I would’ve taken her back to my place if she hadn’t had some curfew to beat or something. Besides, she’s coming back next week.” He said, turning a chair around backwards and straddling it while picking up a beer from the table and taking a sip. “Whoa, you have another date?” Jeff gaped. “A curfew?” Gareth asked with disbelief.
Eddie rolled his eyes, “This wasn’t a date, we just met—and I don’t know if you’d even call it a date, it’ll probably just be a repeat of tonight, and so what Emerson, like your mom isn’t on your ass about being home by 2am even if you’re a big boy now.” Eddie jeered, Gareth rolling his eyes. “Alright, say she does come back and you guys go round two, then what?” Grant asked.
Eddie paused, pursing his lips for a moment as the boys leaned forward in anticipation. “I’m following her lead so… guess I’ll know next week.” He shrugged.
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
On an excruciating car ride home, while receiving the third degree from her friends as they howled out mocking cries of ‘Eddie! Oh god, give it to me’ and ‘And you were holding HANDS! What was that all about??’ Y/n did her best to defend her time with Eddie without showing she liked it too much.
“H-He’s really sweet, alright?” Y/n shrugged their taunts off, turning her attention to the radio and puffing on her last cigarette of the night—cause she was trying to cut back. “Did you see the way he looked at her though??” Mollie shrieked from the back seat, her eyes wide in amazement. Stella laughed from the steering wheel, “Like a lovesick puppy!” She agreed. Y/n blushed and rolled her eyes, “Yeah, well, dudes do that sometimes.” She countered, mostly to convince herself.
“Okay, but— the way he didn’t wanna let go of your hand? C’mon. You’ve gotta give the poor guy a chance.” Mollie nudged her shoulder, earning a weak push back from Y/n who scoffed, “Well you’re about to be so pleased.” She smirked behind her cigarette as the whole car hushed, “Wait a damn minute, are you going out? Did he ask? Did you say yes?” Mollie freaked.
“Hey, hey, hey, slow down, Molls, I only told him we’d come back next Friday to listen to the band again.” She shrugged again, the silence already annoying.
“Oh, my GOD.” Stella exclaimed, “You do like him.” Stella argued, “Do not! Not like that.” Y/n shot back.
Everyone in the car collectively eyerolled and groaned, “How do you not? You don’t go to bars more than once a month and suddenly you wanna come back to this one next week just cause he’s, what, fun? You have plenty of fun, we all know it! And you should! But what’s so wrong with liking him? You’re allowed to love people, Y/n/n.” Stella urged while keeping her eyes on the road.
Y/n couldn’t look at any of her friends, either, unable to come up with another reason to see Eddie— one that didn’t involve her budding feelings for him, or at least the way he made her feel.
“C’mon, play pretend for a minute and tell me all the things about Eddie that made you fluttery inside.” Stella suggested, Kathy and Mollie nonchalantly leaning in to listen. Y/n sighed to the stars out the open car window, pausing before she chose to respond.
“…if I did like Eddie… it’d be because he talked to me, like actually talked to me.. It’d be because he didn’t make me feel like a piece of meat when he bought me the drink—it never felt like he expected anything in return…He never made me feel like sex was something I had to do, up until the last moment he was always asking as if I’d change my mind..
And when I told him I wanted to he told me he’d take me anywhere, to his house, to his car—if I asked him to get a motel room I bet he would. That guy makes me feel like he’d do anything I asked and it’s weird. No, not weird—scary. I can’t tell if it’s real or not, and if it is, isn’t that scarier? I’m not ready for that kind of commitment, and what if I hurt a good guy? Not to mention Danny. No 20 something year old dude is going to want someone else’s three year old boy hanging around—making me flake on dates, pitching fits when he is around, it’s just the facts. I’m not ready.” She cased.
Silence fell over the car as they pulled into Y/n’s driveway. “Y’know, you made some really good points, Y/n.” Stella said, putting the car in park. Mollie and Kathy looked at Stella in disbelief, “She did?”
“I mean, yeah, it’s every reason anyone ever decided against taking their chance on love. I just thought she’d have better reasons, or better yet; I thought she’d be braver than all of those things.” Stella shrugged, her words catching Y/n’s attention like rubbing alcohol on a scrape.
“I mean, c’mon, man, you did the whole ‘against-the-odds-teen-parent’ thing, and you’re rocking that shit, I might add.” She pointed at the young mother from across the console who blushed at the compliment and rolled her eyes trying to feign annoyance, though the girls knew how awful she was at handling praise.
“I never thought you’d be so afraid of love, man. Adam would want you to be happy, he’d want Danny to grow up with a good guy in his life!”
“Well, Adam’s not here.” Y/n bit back, the annoying prickly stinging at her eyes clouding her pride as she regretted her words. Stella hesitated before she reached out for her friend's shoulder. “I know. I know he isn’t,” Stella sighed, “But tell me I’m wrong, Y/n/n.”
Y/n looked at Stella and then Mollie and Kathy who sat patiently in the back and sighed, their eyes engaged on the conversation with quiet care. “I can’t.” She mumbled, unbuckling her seatbelt.
“Just think about it! You don’t have to have it all figured out yet.” She nodded encouragingly.
Y/n glanced at the front door and the porch light buzzed as moths darted all around it, mesmerized and unsatisfied. She stepped out of the vehicle and shut the door, leaning down to the open window. “Are we good to go for next Friday or am I going alone?” She asked, hoping she didn’t sound desperate.
The friends looked between each other and giggled, “We wouldn’t miss it. But you’re talking him into buying us a round before you ditch us, again!” Mollie jeered and stuck her tongue out. Y/n rolled her eyes playfully and tapped the window sill twice, “I gotta get in there. I love you guys. Drive safe! Gimme a call when you’re home.” She looked at all of them pointedly and jogged up the steps to her house.
She slipped through the door quietly, hanging her keys on the hook and stepping through to the living room.
“Hey! How was it?” Robin Buckley chirped softly from the recliner, setting down the remote as she stood. “It was.. needed!” She smiled. “How’d Danny boy do?” She asked, nodding towards the toddler’s room. “Great, as usual. You gotta stop worrying,we have a whole routine now! We watched the ninja turtles, played some pirates, skipped out on bath time, cause—you know,” she rolled her eyes and shrugged, referring to Danny’s problems with the water, “We ordered pizza for dinner; when I asked him what kind he looked me dead in the eyes and said ‘I eat all the pizza.” She laughed, giving her best impression of Danny’s small voice.
Y/n grinned softly, “How was he with bedtime?” She scanned the living room and through the kitchen door, looking for any stray toys or food that needed to be picked up.
“We read Green Eggs and Ham-“
“Again?” Y/n asked exasperatedly, a smile of disbelief hung on her face. Robin chuckled as she moved to the door to grab her jacket. “Three times, actually, that boy needs all the proper voices, apparently.” Robin rolled her eyes and shrugged at the boy's antics.
“Ahh, of course the voices, how could I forget?” Y/n joked, recalling all the nights Danny insists on turning back to the pages that weren’t properly read. “Someday I’ll get them right, you watch!” Robin insisted as she quietly unhooked her keys from beside the door, opening the large black door slowly.
“Wait, Robin!” She called fumbling for her purse to hand the sitter a few bills.
“Uh-uh. Nope. Nice try though! I don’t want money to watch my nephew, I’m just glad you guys finally moved closer so I can spend more time with you guys!” She said, with a genuine smile. Y/n sighed and looked at her with her head cocked, knowing that Robin shared Adam’s stubbornness, always doing for others without wanting anything in return—both a best friend to everyone around them.
“You’re too much alike.” Y/n scoffed, shoving the bills in her purse, making a mental note to slip it in her backpack or jacket sometime when she wasn't looking. Robin smiled bitterly, thinking of her late cousin—who was more like a brother. Adam spent a lot of time growing up staying at his Aunt Ginger’s house, growing close with Robin as the years passed.
When Y/n and Adam hit high school and made their love official, Robin quickly became one of Y/n’s closest friends. From the moment Danny was placed in Robin’s arms, she made a promise to herself and to her cousin that she would help his little boy live the happiest life as much as she could contribute.
“I’m happy to help! Really, don’t ever hesitate to call. He’s my best friend! Except for maybe Steve, but Danny’s way better to talk to,” Robin jokes, stepping out onto the porch when an idea hits her, “Maybe next time you can drop Danny at mine and moms for a sleepover and you can bring someone home for once.” She nodded encouragingly, yet another person in Y/n’s life vying for her to give love another chance.
Y/n scoffed and went to close the door with an eye roll when Robin stuck her boot in the door. “Y/n, I’m serious. Think about it, that’s all I’m saying.” She shrugged one shoulder and looked at the ground briefly. Y/n sighed, “Why would I wanna bring some rando home with me—Where my kid lives?”
Robin’s eyes grew heavy with good intentions, “I don’t mean a rando, Y/n! Would it be so bad to try? I know you said you will when you’re ready but—“
“And I will let you know when that day comes, Robs, I promise. And I’ll keep your offer in mind. I know Danny would love to see Gigi and eat monkey bread all evening.” She chuckled and rolled her eyes in feigned annoyance, sending Robin a smile.
Robin nodded, a content smile on her lips as she turned to leave but abruptly stopped and turned back,“I have to ask.. any luck tonight?” She asked mischievously. Y/n gaped and turned red, embarrassed at the amount of people involved in the details of her sex life.
“Wh-Robin! I-Why—how?”
“Oh my god, you so did. I thought you looked slightly disheveled when you walked in! Anyone I’d know?” She asked eagerly, as Y/n turned her by the shoulders out the door. “I hope not, see you later Robin, let me know when you get home, loveyoubyee!” She flipped on the porch light and shut and locked the door as Robin howled with laughter from the porch. “I’ll remember this, Y/n/n!”
Y/n kicked off her shoes, taking in the quietness of the house at night—her sanctuary. She walked to her bedroom, pausing to stick her head inside her son's room, his sleeping head just visible over the mound of blankets he insisted on having with him at night. She moved inside stealthily and moved the blankets further away from his face, her mom heart still cautious after two years of peaceful nights.
She continued to her room at the end of the hall, unbuttoning her pants and kicking them off by the door on her way to her bathroom at the other side of the closet. Carefully rubbing the ruined mascara around her eye, she turned on the water to shower.
As she sat down against the tub and stripped her shirt off, her time with Eddie flashed through her mind—remembering how his hands felt around her waist when she last took off her clothes; warm and rough.
The way his voice sounded when his breath panted against hers; warm and rough.
The way his kiss felt working against hers; warm and rough. She could almost feel their tongues in tandem; sometimes visible between them, others tucked away inside each other’s mouths like a home. She missed the way he tasted.
The way his eyes bore into hers like she was all he ever wished for, so intently. So warm and rough.
She shook the thoughts from her head, guilt shrouding her like the world's heaviest quilt. Crying often occurred after sex, though it was typically short lived because she was able to talk herself through it, assuring herself that she wasn’t betraying him, or trying to replace what they had. But this time felt different.
It started off as a sigh, though another deep breath was needed, which turned into quiet sobs. ‘Breathe deeply, don’t hyperventilate.’ She reminded herself, trying to switch off her brain for a minute and let herself cry.
‘He made me feel like he used to.’
‘He made me feel like I was doing everything right while I felt I was doing something so wrong.’
‘I am a single woman doing single woman things, it shouldn’t be this hard.’
‘Even if I gave him a chance he wouldn’t want someone else’s kid.’
‘No one gets serious with a single mom.’
‘He looked at me like I was everything to him.’
‘It all came so easily; the conversation, the sex, it was like magic.’
‘It’s too good to be true is what it is.’
As the thoughts rolled deeper and deeper, she wiped her face and picked herself up off the floor and into the shower. As soon as the steam cleared her senses, she could properly smell her hair; the smokey scent of the bar along with.. Eddie’s cologne.
Her tears halted, picking up a large chunk of her hair and bringing it to her nose to revel in him one more time before she had to wash him away. She tried to focus on the sounds around her and the feeling of the cold soap hitting her hands before working it in her palms and scrubbing her hair, but the safe warm feelings Eddie brought her lingered.
After accepting the calls from Stella and Robin, confirming their safety, Y/n peeled back the covers of her too big bed and slipped inside, positioning her pillows around herself to throw a leg and arm over.
She wondered what it would’ve been like for him to throw a blanket over the two of them, settle into his chest, plant kisses there and trace his beautiful face, holding him exactly like this, kissing him some more, asking him more questions about his life..
But of course, those weren’t possibilities because toddlers come before boys, always. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t think about it.
And think about it she did, until she couldn’t hold her eyes open anymore, drifting off to dream about his curly hair fanned out around him on her pillow, his hands intertwined with hers, and his smiling cheeks accepting her doting kisses.
Part 2?
@took-me-hours-to-steal-those
@samlealea
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ziggyzolch · 2 months
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Queen Bee-atch III (Regina George x reader)
These chapters have been up on ao3 and wattpad but I figured i'd put them here as well.
Warnings: Cursing, use of F-slur but its kind of stupid so dont worry
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✮✮✮
“You look like hell.” It was Thursday and Janis had invited you over. “Thanks,” you mumble out while pushing past her into her house. You could navigate her house blind, it's basically your second home now. You go into her room and flop straight into her bed. “You still having trouble sleeping?” Janis asks while plopping down onto the floor. She was surrounded by music sheets and crumpled up paper, her guitar on the ground next to her. You sluggishly sit up and look at her, “Yeah, I just can’t stop thinking.” “About what?” “Nothing, I don’t know,” You push the palms of your hands against your eyes.
You and Janis have weekly jam sessions. Chilling with your best friend and learning new songs to play together was your favorite pastime. Damien joins occasionally and sings along since you and Janis can’t sing for shit. At least you think so.
“Let’s just find a song then you can nap on my bed or something.” Janis proposes. Getting up, you pick up the acoustic guitar at the corner of the room and make your way to where she was seated. This week was your turn to pick a song.
“You’ll love this song. I discovered it recently and-”
“It’s Alex G again, isn't it? The chords he uses are so weird!”
“Yeah but-”
“Please tell me you have another song.”
You sigh, “I really thought you’d agree to that one. Let’s just play ‘Where is Your Mind’ or something.”
Janis is tuning her guitar when you get a text from your mother.
-We’re going shopping. I expect you to be at the mall in 20 minutes.-
You groan and lay your whole body onto the ground. “I know I’m already here but can I get a raincheck on the session? My mom is dragging me to go shopping” You sigh while getting up. “Yeah, no worries.” Janis replies, unbothered. God you really needed to sleep.
✮✮✮
“Seriously, mother?” Your mom was holding up a pink shirt with ‘baby gurlz’ plastered on the front. She had dragged you to the mall to upgrade your wardrobe. You needed new clothes because, according to your mother, you looked like an ‘emo beggar’. Your mother rolls her eyes “You dress like a hobo that lives at Hot Topic, baby. No offense.” It’s been 3 hours since you came in and you hadn’t found anything you liked. You take the shirt out of her hands and place it back on the rack.
“Can we just go home? I have an English test tomorrow and I haven’t started studying.” The lie comes out easily. In reality, you just wanted to nap. It’s been 3 days and you’ve gotten a total of 2 hours of sleep. A sigh comes out of your mothers mouth, “You know what, go sit in the car, you’re wearing whatever I buy you. Your outfit is going to be on your desk tomorrow morning.” She could buy you a dinosaur onesie and you wouldn’t care, you just wanted to nap.
✮✮✮
Unsurprisingly, the nap plan didn’t work out. You passed out eventually though, an hour before school, but at least it was something. You were now at your locker, clad in a white crop-top and baby blue skirt that was way too short. You hadn’t actually realized what your mother had picked out until a wide-eyed Damien grabbed your shoulder and dragged you to the bathroom. “Girl, what are you wearing? Also, did you lose weight?” You look at Damien confused, until you turn to the mirror. “Oh what the f-”
“Damien? What poor girl did you drag- the fuck?” Janis looks at you in shock, Cady standing behind her, while you stare back equally mortified. “You look like a pastel emo, dude.” Janis says while walking up to you and spinning you around. You stomp your foot. “Stop! I already feel bad enough.” You whine while pushing Janis off you and turning back to the mirror. Damien walks up behind you and stops your hands that were pulling at your shirt. “Girl you got bod, and those clothes lowkey look good on you.” Your eye roll is interrupted by the bell ringing. Shit.
Your thoughts start going crazy as you’re walking to English class. God they can see my legs! They probably know you don’t usually wear skirts. They’re probably all like: ‘look at her. You know she usually doesn’t wear skirts?’
Before you know it, you're sitting at your desk in English class, looking at your notebook. When did you get here? Huh, time flies when you’re having fun. You’re giggling at your own joke when you hear someone clearing their throat next to you. Regina?
“Did you hear anything I just said? Are you even actually physically present? It’s like I’m talking to a wall.” Regina raises an eyebrow waiting for a response. “Oh uh, hi.” You mumble out pathetically. She lets out a mocking ‘hi’ before continuing, “Anyways, I’ll pick you up after school for our project.” Project? What? You look up at the board and finally notice the list of instructions written down for a book report you had to do, with details of the partners the teacher had assigned. How much of the class had passed? Your question is answered when the bell signaling the end of the period rings.
You stand up too fast and start swaying before Regina gets up and holds you by your waist to steady you. “Woah there, slow down babe,” She pauses and looks you up and down. She bends down slightly to stare directly into your eyes and taps your cheek, “Cute outfit. See you after school.”
She packs her things and walks past you into the hallway.
You really need to sleep.
✮✮✮
It's like the bottom of your skirt was a mountain climber the way it kept hiking up with every step you took. At least it's almost the end of the day. One more period and you'd be on your way home. You were dragging your feet across the hall when you felt a slap on your ass. You turn around to see one of the jocks ,that you couldn't for the life of you remember the name of, smirking down at you.
Curse him out! Why are you just standing there? Your mouth flops open and closed like a fish, trying to come up with a devastating insult.
"F-Faggot."
...What the fuck? Your eyes widened. Before you could properly process what you said, you were pushed up against a locker with the jock impossibly close to you. "Say that again, slut." He grits his teeth, pushing you further into the locker. You're suddenly released and a very angry Regina was holding him by his shirt collar. "Apologize to her." You'd hate to be on the receiving end of the glare she's giving him. He scoffs, "You've gotten soft, Regina. Anyways, I was just giving her a compliment!" Regina's eyes somehow harden even more. "If the next words that come out of your mouth aren't an apology, Shane. I swear to god." His confidence falters and he eventually mumbles out an apology. "Walk away, and take your micro-penis with you."
Regina hears a giggle from below her and her eyes soften as she sees you on the floor. She helps you up and adjusts your clothes.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, it's whatever."
She stares at you for a second.
"Take out your phone."
"What? Why-"
She pulls your phone out of your hand.
"I'm putting in my number, idiot."
What?
"For the project? I'm picking you up after school, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Pfft. Totally."
Giving your phone back and rolling her eyes, she turns away and leaves. From the corner of your eye you catch Janis and Damien stomping over. "Dude, why were you talking to Regina? Also our plan is working, Caddy's growing on them." You look at Janis, confused before she continues, "You need to sleep dude. Whatever we have health together let's find Caddy and get to class." Damien puts his arm around you and you all start walking. "What were you talking about with Regina, by the way?" He questions while adjusting his arm around you, "We got paired up for a project. A book report or something." You avoid bringing up the fact that you got harassed.
You love Janis and Damien, truly, but they tend to be a little overprotective. "Hah! What a nightmare!" Janis laughs. You look down at the floor, your face turning slightly red, mumbling, "She isn't that bad." The conversation dies out as you approach the classroom, Cady greeting you at the door. "Hey! So, Aaron invited me to this Halloween party..." Cady's voice fades as you sit down and put your head down onto your desk.
✮✮✮
"Nice room, Blondie." You say, going further into Regina's room. She had been waiting for you outside the school in her convertible, making it impossible for you to get out of spending time with her. Despite her recent tolerability, you couldn't forget how she used to treat you.
Regina smiles, "Thanks, Y/N. It was my mom's but I made her trade it."
"Woah. 'Y/N'? Are you going soft on me, Blondie?"
"Shut up."
You walk around her room and spot a couple of vinyls. Green day? My Chemical Romance? The Yeah Yeah Yeahs? The Strokes! What!
"Blondie, you have taste?"
Regina flips around and stomps towards you, taking the 'Stereophonics' vinyl out of your hands. "Stop going through my shit, Gerard." Back to square one.
She watches you adjust your skirt and pull at your shirt uncomfortably. Walking into her closet, she finds a pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt she hadn't worn in years. You were awkwardly standing in the middle of her room before you felt a bunch of clothes hit your face.
The shock passes and you smile at her gratefully while she rolls her eyes and takes a seat at her desk. Should you go to her bathroom? Whatever, she's already seen you shirtless. Her face turns red while she pretends not to notice you changing in front of her. You finish up and take out your laptop, taking a seat on the floor. She swivels her chair to face you, "So, what book were you thinking?" You look up at her, slightly shocked. You didn't think she'd give you a choice.
"Oh. Uh. The Bell Jar?"
"Too bleak."
"It ends nicely though!"
"No! Pick something else."
"Okay, uh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation?" You propose with an eyebrow raised.
She glares at you.
"Are all the books you read just about mentally ill women?"
You sigh, "Pretty much. Oh! What about Matilda!"
She opens her mouth to argue, then pauses for a moment.
"Actually that doesn't sound too bad. Matilda it is."
✮✮✮
An hour passed before Regina looked up from her report and found you curled up on her floor, your laptop discarded to the side. After putting away your laptop, she approaches you and stares down at you. Hands on her hips, she looks around before letting out a breath and picking you up. "Gina?" You mumble out.
She shushes you and places you on her bed. "No. No, it's fine. I have to finish the report." Attempting to sit up, you whine when she pushes you back onto her bed. "We have a week till it's due. Rest." She leaves no room to argue as she tucks you in. "No! Oh wow. Your bed is so comfortable." Your eyes start drifting close and the last thing you see is Regina placing a kiss on your head.
✮✮✮
"I mean I've been dressing up as a mouse since freshman year, why would I change now?" Karen's voice takes you out of your blissful slumber. How long have you been asleep? "You're barely even a mouse, Karen." You could hear Gretchen reply. The sun had started setting, from what you could tell. You sit up, rubbing your eyes and looking around the room. Gretchen and Karen were sitting on the floor while Cady was laying above the sheets next to you. "Hey sleepyhead!" Cady pinches your cheek and tackles you when you try to push her away. She straddles your waist and starts tickling you. "Dude!...Stop!" You say in between giggles.
"What's going on here?" Regina must've been in the bathroom, "Finally up? I was getting ready to call the funeral house, Gerard." She was wearing sweatpants and a tank top. You accidentally glance down at her chest and turn away quickly, blushing, unaware of Regina's knowing smirk. She must've changed when you wear asleep.
Cady finally stops her assault on you. "Ha. Ha" You roll your eyes, moving to get up when Cady grabs your arm and pulls you back down, "Did you wrestle a bear or something?" Looking down to see what she was talking about, you notice a huge hand shaped bruise on your shoulder. You can feel everybody's eyes on you. "Oh, I fell during PE. It's nothing" You shrug her hand away and rub your shoulder, walking towards the walk-in closet, ignoring Regina's eyes burning a hole in your back. Bending down to pick up your clothes, a bright pink book catches your attention.
"Hey. Why didn't you tell Cady about Shane- No!" Regina's eyes widen as rushes towards you and pulls the book out of your hand. It's too late, your page had been the first one you found when you opened the book. Standing up, your voice wavers, "Thank you for being so accommodating, I'll get out of your hair now." You bump your shoulder into her getting out of the closet, hurting yourself more than her.
The silence that followed after you slammed the door on your way out was loud. Regina plops down next to Karen and Gretchen, Cady following after her. Running her hands through her hair, Regina sighs and stares at her bedroom door.
"Fuck."
✮✮✮
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thingsnia · 8 days
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𝑺𝑭𝑾 | 𝑴𝑫𝑵𝑰 | 𝑵𝑨𝑽𝑬𝑮𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 | 𝑺𝑰𝑴𝑶𝑵 𝑹𝑰𝑳𝑬𝒀 𝑴𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑨𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻
Imagine, imagine!! Simon! best friend, that guy you promise everyone will never be anything more than that, come on, you grew up together, you'll never kiss him, you saw him grow up, he's almost your older brother! You can't kiss a boy you saw eat dirt when you were younger, yuck.
Simon's mother swears by all that is sacred that the two of you will get married when you finish school, she even wanted to buy the house where you will live when he asks for your hand. Simon who gets so embarrassed, SO embarrassed when his mother asks such suspicious questions about you, or the time she sent Simon to buy a condom after he said he was going to sleep at your house.
Wormhead Simon, or that pathetic nickname he gave you fox — after seeing you flirting with a boy just to sit next to Simon on a school trip, he knows how you can turn on the charms with your classmates, even that he will never go out with any of them, Simon is always on the lookout to ruin all his romances, not out of jealousy. "You're like my little sister", is what he repeats whenever you ask him if he's jealous, he won't let an idiot break his heart or ruin the friendship you have.
Have you ever seen each other naked, when you were both fifteen and went swimming in a lake after escaping from a camping trip your mothers sent you — the one that Simon swears by all that is holy that he didn't stare at your ass, and thinks disgusting every time you ask if he saw it or not.
You're just friends, even when he was fixing your embroidered lipstick during the graduation party, he was so close, holding your chin while looking at you, the same one who spent the entire moment you were getting ready saying he was just going with you, knowing that you are the best. Your best friend! Simon who dances with you to every damn song, the one who voted for you 409 times to be homecoming queen.
The same one who goes up with you to get the king's crown, because you also voted for him 409 times — and even convinced everyone to do the same, saying that it would be funny to see his stupid face up there having to give a speech to a dispute that he finds so stupid. The one who promised your father that he would take you home, because you trust him so much to protect you.
Best friend! Simon who during the trip can't help but look at you, with your makeup slightly smudged, how he's tingling after dancing with you, the same one who parks at a convenience store because you needed to pee, the one who when You enter, he can't hold back and crushes his lips on yours, the one who holds you so tightly against him - the one who kisses you and can't let go, until you're both out of breath and have to push you away. The one who looks at you and makes your whole heart sure that he never saw you as just a friend.
The one who thanks his own mother for convincing him to buy those damn condoms, who parks in a house far from the road and kisses you so well, he will never stop the traffic light and act like a stupid person just wanting to take your virginity, even if If you're needy and begging him to fuck you — you don't deserve a fuck in a car, you deserve all the sweetest, most beautiful things he can offer you.
Maybe it's not all the dreams he has for you, he doesn't know if you're really going to remember it the next day or if you're going to keep telling everyone that you're just best friends — he knows he can't give you the sky and the stars , but he will give you his heart.
That heart that you always said, that is so enlightened and generous, it is all yours, it never wanted anything as much as it wanted to be yours, maybe you will never confess, but you were never just friends. And when he finally pulls up to your house, he knows that your father is awake inside waiting for you, and before you open the door and leave, he finally answers your biggest question.
"At camp dark wood, I lied, I looked at your ass. Good night, wife." He doesn't even wait for you to call him Wormhead Simon, because he doesn't want you to see how red he got when he remembered your ass.
Well, at least you have some great stories to tell your two kids, maybe his mom was right — and every time you look at him, you're sure you lied to yourself when you swore he was just a friend, and everyone They always laugh when they remember all the times you said "yuck" just thinking about kissing him, maybe he's a little less gross now, well, you don't care when you see him coming home from work, being attacked by his two little kids, the baby is in the crib and the baby inside your belly kicks.
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Text
I Miss You, I’m Sorry.
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘅 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 ! 𝗔𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘀𝗳
𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: mentions of death/ loss, ilnesses, crying, fluff i guess?, angst.
𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆:Charles has always seen you as his litte brother’s annoying best friend. What happens when you both grow up and he starts realizing things too late..
𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿: the plot is of based off of Gracie Abrams’. song, I miss you, I’m sorry. It may be off but use your creativity. I don’t see the song as two exes missing each other in this story. I used it bc the lyrics are definitely relevant to multiple situations. Might be a multi chap, but i’ll try to keep it short for my own sanity.
enjoy!
———————
From the innocent age of three years old, Y/n and Arthur have been attached at the hip.
Literally.
When they started first grade, they were put in two different classes. Clearly very upset with it, they forced the eldest Leclerc sibling, Lorenzo, to super glue their pants together. They walked , or tripped, into the school grounds the next day, smiling proudly at each other and their questioning teachers.
Their mothers obviously thought it was adorable and played along. Thought the bond was beautiful and a gift. That said bond never died. The little things keeping it alive.
Like how Arthur would tell Y/n how smart she was every time she helped him with a math question.
Or how Y/n would always tell Arthur that he’d be a World Champion when he’d discovered that just like his older brother, took an intrest in racing.
Arthur would help Y/n tie her shoes and Y/n would fix Arthur’s hair before he went to talk to a girl.
Y/n would stay up late in a cold and busy garage waiting for Arthur to finish doing laps around the track, being proud of his result and effort, not actually caring where he ended up.
Arthur would sit with a crying Y/n, comforting her when her anxiety got the best of her. Her choice in men not helping, but he’d never blame or judge her for it.
Arthur was always there for Y/n to lean on and Y/n the same for Arthur.
And for a while their mothers schemed, waiting for the moment they got together.
That suspicion changed completely when the pair were four teen years old. It completely vanished that one day in April when Y/n’ s mother died. Sat in the hospital with tears in her blue eyes, Y/n takes in the news of her mother’s passing due to leukemia. Arthur, almost as broken as the girl next to him, took her in his arms as they both sobbed.
Pascal, although absolutely crushed, observed the two. No eye contact, no tight grip, just two people leaning on each other for support.
When the little girl’s name got called, she looked up with big eyes. Pascal watched as the brunette girl was taken into her other son’s arms. She payed attention to the way Y/n gripped onto Charles’ sweater and neck, or the way she looked up from her head’s position on his chest to look into his eyes.
And when they were walking back through the white hallways to the car, and Arthur said “You’ll always be my best friend Y/n, I might have a girlfriend, but i’ll never leave you.” Pascal got her confirmation that the two kids weren’t in love, well at least not with each other..
Arthur had his middle school girlfriend and Y/n had.. well, a crush on Charles. The middle Leclerc.
A big crush.
The crush blossomed, just like Arthur and Y/n’s friendship, from the small things.
The way Charles would only throw Y/n with a piece of food at the dinner table and nobody else. It was probably just him making fun of the one person who wouldn’t stand up for themself, but 10 year old Y/n obviously saw it as Charles’ way of showing his affection.
Years down the line she would still smile over the way Charles would hear Y/n crying to Arthur and then ask her if she needed anything the second she came into his view.
The way Y/n’s stomach would fill with butterflies as Charles smiled at her from the podium.
He would buy her, her favorite candy when they go on trips, knowing her blood sugar gets low quickly.
They would fight about the dumbest things, but then Y/n would try to flirt with him ten seconds later.
He would stay awake at night, waiting for Arthur and Y/n to come home after going to a party, his excuse always being that he was waiting to show Arthur something, that he didn’t know that the girl would be with him, but he knew. He always did.
Despite all of it, Charles wasn’t interested. Amused and slightly more egotistical? Yeah, sure. But teenage Charles definitely thought he was too old for the girl and in all honesty too cool.
As they got older and Y/n got more confident, she started to try connecting with Charles, never succeeding, as she got the same excuse every time. “I’m too old for you.”
And maybe he was, she was 16 and he was about to turn 19. His other excuse was that he was very busy with racing. Driving in Formula 2 and trying to get to Formula 1.
Despite it, Charles owned her heart through it all, he even broke it a few times.
It was a beautiful day in Monaco and Arthur had invited Y/n to join the Leclerc family on the ocean, sailing across the clear waters with their boat.
Arthur brought his new girlfriend, and Y/n thought they were perfect for each other, actually being the one to set them up.
Sitting at the very edge at the front of the boat, looking at the sun setting.
Pascal watched as her middle child left the steering wheel, calling Lorenzo from the deck to take over.
She watches with intent as he takes off his hoodie and walks to the girl she would call her own and sit next to her.
The woman could see Y/n scoff at his offer, but ultimately agree to taking the piece of clothing.
“How are you?” Y/n asks him, looking at the sunset.
“Good, finally signed the contract, now I just have to follow through with it.”
“Can’t believe you’re going to be in Formula 1 next year.” you almost scoff in disbelief at it all.
“You’ve made it, Charlie.”
He looks at her with that sentence, staring deeply into her eyes. The eyes he’s looked into so many times, each time they’re just as pretty.
He turns his head again, both of them sit in silence, their presence speaking for its self.
“You miss her?” Charles asks, breaking the silence with a question that caused a chill to grow up Y/n’s spine.
“Ever day.” She simply replied.
She turned her head slightly, to be met with Charles staring at her deeply.
Y/n laid her head on his shoulder, sighing out.
“I’m too old for you, you know and with my career taking off.. it’s never going to happen, Y/n.”
“Whatever you say, Charlie. We’ll see.”
“I’m being serious.” He takes a brief pause, stuttering like he’s trying to come up with an excuse after being caught doing something wrong. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings. Arthur would kill me.”
“Hm, he would, wouldn’t he?” Y/n smiles at the thought of her best friend.
Back to Formula one though..
When he got his seat with Alpha Romeo, the whole family was ecstatic. Everyone celebrating, despite finding out the tragic news that Hervé, the boys’ dad was once again ill.
A year later Charles joined Alpha Romeo, as a rookie for the 2017 season. Nearing the Baku Grand Prix, Y/n got woken up by banging on her bedroom door. Outside the door was a frantic looking Arthur, and by the tears welling up in his eyes, Y/n knew the inevitable had came. She comforted Arthur on the way to the hospital, her heart breaking for the boy. Once he calmed down and fell asleep on her shoulder, her dad driving, her head started racing. The only thing going through her mind being if Charles was okay.
When Charles heard the brunette girls’ choked up words to his mother he quickly turned around, once again in the hospital hallway, and immediately met her gaze.
“Charlie, I’m so sorry.” she said, her arms around his neck, his face buried into her hair. For some reason the second she was near he let it all out. All of the frustration, the sadness, the anger and the utter and deep rooted pain.
They went home, the girl joining. As everyone went to bed, Y/n insisted on falling asleep to the tv playing, as she didn’t like the silence filling up her mind. Leaving her space to think about Hervé or how Charles’ arm felt around her waist.
She tried to suppress her feelings day by day. But the second he looked at her with his beautiful eyes or smiled at her she crumbled and fell for her best friends brother all over again.
And just as she was about to fall asleep and stop thinking about him, he walks down the stairs, a suit case in his hand and a tired expression on his face. It could be because of the lack of sleep or the emotional drainage today has caused.
“You really going to get on a plane right now?” she question at his sanity. “Have to.” He replies bluntly. “At four in the morning?” Y/n question once again, a little softer, feeling sympathy for the, very clearly traumatized and exhausted boy in-front of her. “I’m a bit early, couldn’t sleep.” he sighs, falling onto the couch next to her, rubbing his eyes with his right hand, the left one resting on the couch behind her.
“Are you okay?” Y/n brakes the short silence, looking intently at him.
It was silent for about two minutes. That’s what the clock on the wall said. It felt like two hours.
“I have to be. Can’t afford to be distracted.”
“Charles, your father died, you’re allowed to be sad.” the girl said, shocked at his lack of emotion.
“It’s easier for everyone if i’m not, I had a good cry. Now I have to look after Mama’n.”
The brunette girl looks at him, slightly confused why it’s his job to look after his mother when he’s not the oldest, nor the only child.
He sighs once again, looking straight forward at the clock om the wall. “Lorenzo is married and expecting and Arthur’s not only focusing on his racing and getting to F2, but he’s also falling in love, you can hear it in the way the idiot talks about her.” Charles chuckles, slightly annoyed but happy for his brothers and their success. Oh, and how it made you love him even more.
“You deserve love too, Charlie.” Y/n says, looking intently at his reaction form her view of his side profile.
He looks at her. His gaze narrowed slightly and he shook his head as Y/n placed her hand on his shoulder.
“I’m serious, you deserve that support, you deserve to feel excited about seeing someone, you deserve to be comforted and happy and to have fun. You just have to let it in..” Y/n says, hinting at Charles that she was there, waiting for him.
He looks at her again, realizing immediately that they are very much closer than they were a few seconds ago.
“Y/n..” Charles says, looking down at her lips. He was tempted, very tempted. He was confused and sad and saw Y/n as a good distraction. Or at least that’s what he told himself. Y/n tried to make eye contact, but it was impossible when all he could look at was her lips.
So she did the next thing she could think of. She leaned in. Their lips brushed together, she hesitates as Charles looked like he wanted to say something more. “Y/n.. I” Still as close as they were, Y/n’s heart beat out of her chest, so loud she was convinced Charles could hear it. This was the moment she’s been waiting for. She’s been in love with Charles for more than half her life. The thought of him finally feeling the same made her head hurt and her mouth run dry.
“I can’t.”
Two words, those two words she knew she would remember forever, she does to this day, it’s stored in the old and dusty box in the corner of her mind marked with the initials C. L on it.
The next sentence she tried to solve for years and years, that was until she watched drive to survive, and although she got some clarity, it opened the cardboard box in the back of her mind and knocked it over, all the memories spilling out of the box and filling her mind. At that moment she would’ve chosen the silence over the taunting reminder of the childhood and teenage years spent with Charles Leclerc that kept her up that whole night.
One sentence and his closed off mannerism after that, that haunted her conscience, that house and made it so much harder to get over the Monegasque.
“I promised him, I’m sorry.”
Y/n watched the Monegasque take off with tears in her eyes and more than one crack in her heart.
“He’ll come around Y/n, give it the summer.” Said her best friend from the stairs. He sighs, rubbing over his face with a hand. Once again comforting his best friend over a guy treating her like shit. Only this time, he knew she wouldn’t be okay in the morning. He knew it would take a little time for Y/n to get over this one. He knew she’d still love Charles, no matter how good or bad they were to each other.
———————
Now many years later, Y/n is once again supposed to be with the Leclerc’s on a boat. Charles’ boat to be specific. She hasn’t talked, called or seen him since he left that morning, right after completely rejecting the girl.
Charles was excited.
You could even say he’s been waiting for this moment since he saw her skiing with her friends in December three years ago. Because the truth was, he has.
Charles would be lying right out of his ass if he said he didn’t miss his brother’s bestest of friends. She and Arthur were still extremely close, despite hearing that she took off for a few months after that night in the living room.
It’s been three and a half years since that, and Charles has regretted it ever since. He gets sick to his stomach thinking about it, thinking about hurting Y/n. Because deep down he cared more for her that he would admit.
It did make him focus more on racing. He put his all into it, trying to numb the pain of losing two people at the same time. He has then since signed for Ferarri and waited for the girls call. When it didn’t come he was disappointed to say the least, but understood her view. When drive to survive came out and explained how he promised his father that he got the seat to Ferarri, he thought the girl would understand his need to focus on only that, but when his phone never rang and he never heard her voice he knew she was gone, she was done chasing him. And that hurt him more than leaving in the first place, because he knew everything he knows would bring him back to them.
Bring him back to their arguments. To their laughs, their crys, screams, emotions.
Everything would bring him back to her.
“Y/n?” Charles hesitantly said through his phone, after practically tackling Arthur to get her new number.
“Charles. H-how did you get my number?” Y/n stutters, immediately knowing who’s voice it was through the phone. I mean, how would she not. She’s spent so much of her life imagining that voice utter three little words to her. Three words that didn’t break her heart but instead healed it. But she was older now, and those fantasies weren’t forgotten, but stored very much in the back of her mind in the infamous cardboard box.
“Uh, kind of fought my brother for it.” Charles muttered shamefully.
“Oh, uhm okay. Can I ask why?”
“I miss you, Y/n.” Charles replied almost immediately. Desperate for the girl’s attention.
“Charles.. I-.” She was cut off quickly. “Why aren’t you here? You said you’d be here. Maman is going insane with all the men, she needs you here.” Charles tries to convince her.
“I don’t know, Charles. It’s been a while.” Charles sighs at the absence of his nickname. “So come and we can catch up.” he continues.
“Please.”
It’s silent for a few seconds. It felt like minutes.
“Okay.” is the only thing Y/n says before hanging up. Charles still wanted to talk to her but he figured he could do that when she gets here.
“She’s coming !” Charles yells out to his family as he walks back up to them, sitting himself down on the white couch next to Lorenzo and across from the youngest Leclerc.
Pascal was obviously very happy, Lorenzo giving them all a surprised look. But Arthur, Arthur wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
“She’s not seventeen anymore, Charles. She doesn’t have a little crush on you anymore.” Arthur immediately shuts any wrong intentions down, not liking that Y/n agreed to come because his brother, who hurt her, asked her to.
“I know Arth. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried you idiot, but you should be if you even think about making a move on her or something.”
Arthur stands up and walks away, completely unappeased with this whole thing. Lorenzo follows.
“ He’s just looking out for his bestfriend, Cherie.” His mother reasons with a angry looking Charles. “I know, i’m just offended he’d think I would hurt her again, now that i’m older and more stable.”
“You still love her?” Pascal questions.
“What?” Charles looks so confused, you could’ve sworn he just saw a flying goat. “Ma cherie, you’re a very stubborn person, but you aren’t stupid.”
Charles stares at his mother, shocked at how well the woman knew him.
“Yes I do still love her.” Charles says, looking down at his feet, deflated by the fact that he couldn’t do anything about his feelings, knowing his brother would resent him and Y/n definitely didn’t trust or care for him anymore.
“I’m sorry, Charles.” Pascal says, standing up to go get another drink, kissing her son’s forehead on her way out.
•••••••••••••••••••••
𝗢𝗞𝗔𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝟭.
this is taking lot longer that I expected..
194 notes · View notes
poppyflower-22 · 12 days
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Lando Norris
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(These are just small discerptions that explain the one shot or parts as shortly as possibly)
Fluff:
Sad, but good sad. Schumacher reader. HERE
A series of events after Lando becomes a dad. HERE
Lando finds out he hooked up with the daughter of the USA. Humor. Lando shitting his pants. HERE
Oscar and Logan feel betrayed when they find out their gird parents hid a secret family from them. Humor. Social media. HERE
Lando was late to his games session because he was picking reader up. HERE
You and Lando being THE TikTok couple. Slight social media. HERE
Fans gets glance of reader and Lando's relationship on stream. HERE
Social Media:
Lando and Schumacher reader. HERE
Lando and Russel reader. HERE
Lando thirsting over his girlfriend any chance he can get. HERE
Lando gets arrested for assaulting someone that assaulted his girlfriend. HERE
Lando and reader's sex tape gets leaked. Humor. Part 1. HERE, Part 2, Feat Oscar, HERE
A twitter thread showing Lando can't do anything without readers help, and the one time she needed his help and exposed their engagement. HERE
You're a booktuber, always posting your books and of course your boyfriend. HERE
Lando dating Leclerc reader. HERE
People think you and Lando aren't dating after saying you are. Driver reader. Part 1. HERE. Part 2 HERE
Going on different dates with Lando. HERE
In which Lando has the perfect girlfriend, everyone loves. Feat. Lilly being in love with reader. Humor. HERE
Their post breakup era is them shading each other. Drivers hating on Lando. Humor. Part 1, HERE Part 2, Them pretending they're not back together. HERE
Carlos cheated on his girlfriend, Lando gets with her, and everyone loves them more. HERE
Leclerc reader and Lando are dating but her brothers want him to stay 6 feet then 12 feet apart from her. Part 1, HERE, Part 2, HERE.
Verstappen reader releases a song that makes her fans get mad at Lando. Humor. HERE
Lando is a mega fan of reader. So much he has a fan account and then he gets discovered. Humor. HERE
Daniel realizing he is his cousin and Lando's biggest third wheel. HERE
A thread on how Lando and reader fell in love and how oblivious they are. HERE
Lando is dating the royal princess. Part 1, HERE. Part 2, HERE. Part 3, HERE
When Red Bull didn't want to let her design their car, she found a team that would. Newey reader. HERE
Lando and Reader are couple goals but don't want Oscar to feel left out. HERE
Reader is the mother of the grid, but when a football player makes a move. Lando strikes. HERE
When Lando is spotted with a woman that is his cousin, Lando confesses to his best friend that has been ignoring him. HERE
Lando's girlfriend works as a biologist. He hates fish and they took his girlfriend. Humor. HERE
Reader and Lando host the end of year grid dinner on their farm. A tale of the events. HERE
In The Middle:
Max thinks his sister and Lando's relationship is inappropriate, but he soon finds that them apart isn't much better. Hurt/Comfort. HERE
Lando helps his neighbor from her toxic ex. Part 1. HERE. Part 2. HERE
Lando forgets his date with his girlfriend making her rethink their relationship. Hurt/Comfort. HERE
Lando saves you from a stranger after you called. Hurt/Comfort. HERE
Max was your ex, and now he wants your back. You're with Lando now. possessive Lanod. HERE
Lando and Horner reader have been hooking up, she ignores him after pictures are online. Didn't sleep with anyone. Buys her a Birkin when Carlos spills, she might be seeing someone. Happy ending. HERE.
People think reader is using Lando for his money. He knows that's not true. HERE
Reader is an introvert. Hurt/Comfort. Part 1, HERE. Part 2, HERE
Polly/Charles & Lando:
Not a Verstappen, Max's sister that's a driver and gets into a relationship with Charles and Lando. Lots of parts. Link is the end of serries. Smut. HERE (My favorite series)
Reader, Lando and Charles. Out and open relationship. Social Media. HERE
Lando & Oscar:
Fellings are reveled after Lando places last in qualifying when Oscar and reader comfort him. Smut. HERE
Typical morning with your boyfriends. HERE
A Lando Oscar masterlist. HERE
Lando and Oscar dating a med student. Social Media. HERE
Lando exposing his relationship with Raeder and Oscar. HERE
Series:
Lando getting higher on Leclerc reader drivers list. But reader ends up falling in love with him. The best series. Some Social Media. HERE
Lando helps his dead teammates wife after his death. Smut HERE
Reader is Mark Webber's daughter and doesn't tell Lando scared. Part 1, HERE. Part 2, HERE. Part 3, HERE. Part 4, HERE. Part 5, HERE
Dark/Possessive:
Dark series about Lando and his neighbor. Smut. HERE
Nieve reader. Lando won't let anyone in the way. Smut HERE
Possessive/ Dark Lando with Leclerc reader. HERE
Lando was bad for you, but you couldn't resist. Smut HERE (User dose dark and possessive Lando)
Shot. Lando Mafia. Single mother. HERE
Smut:
Lando wins his first Grand Prix. HERE
Lando has a bad race and fucks reader against his car. HERE
Reader and Lando have different ideas of working out. HERE
Racing simulator. Part 1. HERE. Part 2. HERE
In which Lando hooks up with a woman in Vagas and can't get her out of his mind, until they meet again. HERE
Lando can't help but keep going back to her. Happy ending. HERE
He can't be quiet while on vacation with friends. HERE
Watching Lando work out makes you hot and bothered. HERE
A bunch of smut list. HERE
Doing it in the kitchen. HERE
A list of smut. HERE
Riding Lando in his car. HERE
Six months of married bliss. HERE
Riding Lando in his gaming chair. HERE
Filming a movie. Giddy Lando. HERE
Lando and reader like the appeal of making children. HERE
Another making a movie. Capturing the moment. HERE
Lando teasing the reader while they are in Australia. Reader being needy for him. HERE
Lando can't help but see how good his girlfriend looks and fucks her in the club bathroom on New Year's Eve. HERE
Lando and reader spend the night celebrating the las Vagas Grand Prix. HERE
Manhandling, obsessed Lando who breeds reader. HERE
Reader knowns how to treat her boy. Breast Kink. HERE
Lando posts a picture by accident while doing the deed. HERE
Lando has a bad race. Helmet on. HERE
No protection for the first time and Lando loses it. HERE
Family Vacation. HERE
Lando gives his sweet girlfriend an award for being his lucky charm. HERE
Only having fifteen minutes after Lando lands a podium. Part 1. HERE. Part 2. You're going to celebrate, even if the world was determined to get in the way. HERE
She robbed him of victory, so Lando retaliated and rewarded her at the same time. HERE
Best friend brother. Sainz reader. HERE
<><><><><>
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writingonleaves · 8 months
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i never could've seen you coming (i think you're everything i've wanted) - nico hischier
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pairing: nico hischier x original female character
warnings: swearing, mentions of death and cancer, a substantial amount of grief, so much fluff, medical school inaccuracies probably, angst if you squint, way too many mentions of all three hughes brothers..like an absurd amount (but it's part of the plot, i promise)
title: "the blue" by gracie abrams
word count: 19.7k (whoops!)
author's note: got WAY too carried away with this one lol so you may see more of this little au bc i really fell in love with it. this turned almost into a study on found family / siblinghood?? i hope you all enjoy it just as much as i enjoyed writing it and creating this little world. takes place in the 2023-2024 season.
*****
In hindsight, it probably would’ve been smarter to live closer to work and actually be in the city.  But when word got around — well, her mother telling her best friend — that Clementine was going to be even close to New Jersey, she had, in order, Luke, Quinn and Jack texting her within an hour of each other.
Lukey Hughes
Clemmy!! Congrats on the residency. Heard you’re gonna be across the river from jersey?? 👀
Quinny Hughes
Congrats on NYU! I’m happy you get to go back east even though I won’t get to see you as often. Don’t let Luke or Jack annoy you too much. Love and miss you! ❤️
Jacky Hughes
CLEMENTINE
you’re coming to new york????
you have to live with me please please please it’s not that far
and luke will probably be here next season and ik he’s your favorite 
When Clementine Sandoval found out she was placed at NYU Langone for her combined emergency room and pediatrics residency, she thought two things. Holy shit, she actually has made it this far. And holy shit, she’s excited to go back closer to home, after spending undergrad and med school in the west coast. She’s found a love for California, but nothing beats the east.
She called Jack for his birthday days after the Devils got knocked out of playoffs. She doesn’t get to talk to Jack and Luke — any of the Hughes brothers, really — as often as she’d like. She sees them even less, ever since she left for California and they moved away to Michigan from Toronto. She always tries to see Quinn and Jack whenever they come out to play at San Jose, but otherwise, that’s it. She hasn’t seen Luke since the Hughes family graciously invited her and her mom to Luke’s draft almost two years ago. So whenever she does get a chance to catch up with her childhood friends, it’s always a treat.
It took Jack — and Luke — exactly 34 minutes over the phone to convince her to move in with them. The largest part of the discussion was how much money she’d contribute for rent. She was adamant to split it three ways evenly. Jack shot that down immediately, and that resulted in a slight — read: intense — disagreement (“I don’t give a fuck that you’re making $8 million a year, Jack Rowden. I’m paying my part of the rent.”). He refused to back down, and they came to an amount that she was semi-happy with, though she insisted that she’d be in charge of buying groceries. Deep down, she knows he and Luke will fight her on that too. 
She finished out med school, went on a 10-day vacation to Europe with her friends and went back to her mom’s place in Massachusetts for a weekend, where she grabbed the key that Jack had shipped to her. Her mom helped her pack the car, and off she went to Hoboken, where she’d be living by herself in the extremely spacious apartment until Jack (and Luke) came back for pre-season in September. 
Residency started off without a hitch, Clementine loving the fact that she got to actually work with patients more. The commute to the hospital isn’t ideal — a 10 minute drive to the station before hopping on the train for almost 45 minutes — but after years of having to drive around everywhere for years, it doesn’t faze her much. It’s a time to decompress after a long shift and reflect or wake herself up for the long day ahead, and it gives her time to read or listen to music or podcasts on the train. Some of her fellow residents live nearby and are always gracious enough to let her crash on their couch after particularly grueling shifts. The first two months are peaceful if tiring, the apartment always being a welcomed silence when she walks in. 
Early September arrives, and she’s coming home after an overnight shift when she walks out of the elevator to the apartment. She thinks she might hear voices coming from inside her apartment, but they’re more likely in her exhausted brain, so she turns her key and pushes open the door. 
It takes her a moment while taking off her shoes to freeze. There are voices in the apartment. She carefully walks towards the voices, heart starting to race, before it immediately calms down and relief washes over her. 
“Jesus Christ! A warning would’ve been nice. I thought someone broke in.”
All three Hughes brothers turn their heads towards her, all looking a bit worse for wear probably due to the fact that it’s just past 7 am. Though it’s nothing Clementine hasn’t seen before. When your mothers are still really close after playing soccer together at UNH and both families happen to settle down in nearby towns in the suburbs of Toronto, you’ve all seen each other the morning after sleepovers. When you’re an only child and call these three your brothers, you’ve practically seen everything. They all blink at each other before someone — Jack — comes to their senses. 
“Clee!” Jack exclaims, sliding in his socks across the floor to pull her into a very tight hug. She feels gross and probably doesn’t smell much better, but she can’t bring herself to care as she hugs Jack, smile widening when she feels both Quinn and Luke putting their arms around her as she’s put in the middle of a group hug. They eventually let go, and then she hugs them all individually. 
She pouts, looking up at Luke. “This is so unfair. You’re so much taller than me now.”
Luke smirks, ruffling her hair. “Good to see you too, Clemmy.”
She beams up at him. “Happy birthday, by the way. Big 20!”
“Thank you.”
She yawns. “So what’s going on? I thought you two weren’t supposed to be back until next week.” She points at Quinn. “And what are you doing here?”
“Not happy to see us?” Quinn teases. 
“Always happy to see you guys. But I did just have an overnight shift and I need to be in bed within the next 20 minutes.”
“We know.” Jack says excitedly. “Did you not suspect anything when I was asking specific questions about your schedule for this week?”
She thinks back to the last time she FaceTimed Jack. He did seem awfully inquisitive. She shrugs. “I’m too old and tired to question your antics anymore, Jacky.”
“You’re only 26?”
“And you just turned 20. I’m old.” she says to Luke as he passes her a glass of water. “Quinny, aren’t you supposed to be in Vancouver soon?”
“Yeah, actually. I’m only here for the day to go to the US Open and celebrate Moose’s birthday. I’m on a flight out tomorrow at noon.”
She pouts, but her heart warms at the reminder that these three are still so close. “So soon.”
“Captain duties, am I right?” Jack says. 
It takes her a moment to realize what he just said before her jaw drops and she whips her head towards the eldest Hughes. “Are you serious?” Quinn just nods sheepishly. “Quinn!” She wraps him in another hug again. “That’s incredible. Oh my goodness. Congratulations!”
“Thanks, Clem.”
She places her hands on his cheeks. “I’m so proud of you. Not surprising at all though. Do Ellen and Jim know? I bet they’re pumped.”
“Yeah, they do. It won’t get announced until Monday though.”
“That’s awesome. Holy shit, Quinn.” She looks at the younger two. “So are you guys back for good?”
“I am. Jack isn’t. He has to go to Vegas for media day the day after tomorrow.”
She blinks. “I’m confused. Then why the fuck are you all here? You could’ve just gone to Vegas early or something. Or not make the trip here and come back when you have to be back.”
“To see you, duh. I wanted to see you on my birthday, and it’ll be awhile until we’re all in the same place again.” Luke shrugs. Like it’s not a big deal. Like they didn’t just fly from wherever the fuck to Jersey for barely a day before two of them have to fly back across the country because they wanted to see her and be together. 
“God, I-just,” she yawns. “That’s so disgustingly sweet. And I love you three. I really do. But-”
“You need sleep, yeah. We figured. Well, good news for you, you’re not needed until later anyways!” Jack beams.
She blinks. “What’s later?”
“We’re heading to Aunt Lara’s to celebrate Luke’s birthday. Mostly an excuse for some of the family to gather one last time for the summer.” Jack says.
“Also to celebrate Quinn getting captain,” Luke adds with a small eye roll. 
“And I’m assuming I’m coming to that?”
Jack blinks like she’s being ridiculous. “Uh, duh. And I know you have a day off tomorrow, so you can’t use that as an excuse. Geegs wants to see you. Everyone wants to see you, to be honest. Mom’s making your favorite just for you.”
She lights up. “Her pumpkin pie?”
“Yup.”
“I’ll be there,” she salutes to them as she stops at her bedroom archway. “Have fun watching tennis. I’ll see you when you get back?”
“Mmhmm. We’ll drive there together.”
“Brilliant,” she blows them all a kiss. “Goodnight. Or good morning. Whatever.” They all snicker as she goes into her bedroom, beelining for the shower. 
She emerges from her bedroom again at around 1:30 p.m., her stomach begging for food. She wipes the sleep away from her eyes as she heads towards the kitchen. She reaches for the coffee machine and pauses when she sees a sticky note on the handle of the pot. 
Left some pasta for you in the fridge. xoxo Quinn
She smiles, making herself a cup of coffee before opening the fridge and reheating the chicken alfredo pasta. She waits for the microwave to beep by checking her phone for the news and any unread messages (the only one being from Ellen, who’s thrilled that she’s coming by tonight.)
After eating, she realizes she should probably get something to bring tonight, and ventures a few blocks to a nearby florist. Fresh flowers can’t hurt, right? After she pays for the bouquet, she has a double take walking by the bakery she only treats herself to after an especially exhausting day. Luke has always been weak for chocolate chip cookies, and this bakery does them like no other. She grabs a box of a dozen.
Around an hour later, the front door opens again and Luke practically vibrates at the smell of the still-fresh cookies on the counter. All three of them dig in as she quickly changes, putting on a basic blue sundress and pulling out a sweater in case she gets cold. It feels like it’s been forever since she’s worn anything that isn’t scrubs. She spritzes some perfume on and ties on three very important friendship bracelets that have somehow not fallen apart even after almost a decade. 
As expected, when she walks out, Quinn’s the one who notices what’s on her wrist first. He grins, surprised. “I didn’t know you still had those.”
She shrugs, fiddling with the loose threads. “They were very important to me. They still are.”
Jack stops chewing and his eyes widen, finally realizing. “Holy shit, Clee. We made those for you, like..”
“Right before I left for college? Yeah.” She takes the last bit of a cookie out of Luke’s hand. He doesn’t even bat an eye. “I don’t wear them as often anymore because I don’t want the possibility of them getting ruined or losing them at the hospital or anything. You know I wore them when I opened my acceptance letter into Stanford, right? And I wore them under my shirt when I had my interview with NYU.” She thinks she sees Quinn’s eyes water. She definitely knows she sees Luke swallowing roughly as Jack stares at her with some sort of reverence in his eyes. But she also knows her boys and just shrugs, changing the subject to make them more comfortable again. “We leaving soon?”
“Yeah. Let me just take a piss,” Luke says as he walks towards the bathroom. 
“I call dibs after!” Quinn calls out. 
“What the fuck?” Jack exclaims. “I need to go really bad too.”
“Just go to the one in my room, Jack.” She says, rolling her eyes. He huffs, giving Quinn a glare before disappearing into her bedroom. She sits down in the chair that Jack had just been occupying. “God, I can’t believe I’m gonna be living with those two. Am I regressing?”
Quinn snorts, “Probably. How is residency, by the way?”
She sighs. “Good. Busy and tiring and really fucking hard, but that’s to be expected. I’m currently in the NICU, so it’s been interesting seeing all the babies and the reasons they’re in there for. They’re also just so fragile, which, obviously, but it’s been good. I really love it.”
Quinn hums thoughtfully. “That’s badass, honestly. But everything you do is badass in my eyes.”
“Well, it’s quite badass in my eyes that one of my dearest friends is the captain of the Vancouver Canucks at 23.”
She feels a bit of a thrill at the blush that so easily paints his cheeks. “Nothing compared to you saving lives.”
“Hey,” she warns. “None of that here. We don’t do that.”
He just nods, leaning in to kiss her temple gently. “I’m sad that I’m gonna be seeing you less now, but I’m so happy for you. Least I’ll worry less about Jack and Luke now that you’re here.”
“Oh please. You’ll always worry about them.”
He hums, not even giving an answer because they both know the truth. She wraps an arm around his waist, tucking herself into his side and even though he’s standing and she’s sitting, she feels the most comfort she’s felt in awhile. 
Nothing brings her peace like these three boys, who have always believed in her and loved her before she was anything. They could be shouting at each other and never let her get a word in and she would still feel right at home
Later that night, as she’s catching up with everyone and eating Ellen’s pumpkin pie, she’s reminded that this whole family has always brought her peace. Ellen has always said she’s like the daughter she always wanted and Jim has always been like a father to her, especially the last decade. Geegs treats her just like she treats all her grandchildren, fussing over her and insisting that she needs to eat more because “you must be so stressed all the time at the hospital, running around and saving lives.” Everyone important and close to them have always known that the Hughes brothers and Clementine are the kind of package deal that will always be strong, even if it spans countries. It’s the three boys and Clementine always.
As she watches everyone sing happy birthday to Luke, watching him tower over everybody, his face poorly lit with the candles, she places both her hands over her heart while he blows the candles and everyone cheers. 
This chapter of her life is already shaping up to be pretty damn good.
…..
She’s had October 12 circled in her calendar ever since Jack convinced her to move in. The day of the regular season home opener of the Devils. 
After her shift, she ducks into the staff bathroom and changes into leggings and a Devils jersey, Hughes and 86 on the back. Jack and Luke lost some sort of bet that had the latter pouting and the former in absolute glee. She had just rolled her eyes. She’d just wear her 43 jersey to the next game. 
As she’s clocking out, one of her fellow residents and probably the one she’s closest to, Emilia, just raises an eyebrow. “Didn’t know you were a hockey fan.”
Clementine shrugs, swiping her ID card through the reader. She never distinctly mentions her relations to America’s Hockey Family or whatever the hell the media calls them unless directly asked, but she’s sure she’s dropped some hints at happy hour, especially when asked why she’s living in Jersey. “Practically grew up with three of them. Osmosis, perhaps.”
Emilia must connect the dots because she offers a small smile. “My husband’s a big Rangers fan, so don’t tell him I said this, but Jack’s fun to watch. He’s shifty.” She laughs and bids her friend farewell, walking towards the elevator. 
Jack and Luke got her a seat in one of the boxes that’s reserved for family and significant others, the home opener bringing in a larger crowd than usual. She doesn’t know anyone, but that’s okay, because right when she walks into the box, a beautiful blonde strolls over and introduces herself with a big smile. You must be Clementine. I’m Ryleigh, she says, Dawson’s girlfriend. Jack told her to be on the lookout for her. 
She makes quick friends with Ryleigh as they grab a drink and situate themselves. The younger girl introduces Clementine to Kristen, her adorable boy Henrik and Barbora and her sweet girl Adelka. She kneels down to play with both kids, mindlessly answering questions about her life from the women. It’s refreshing getting to speak to people about things that aren’t solely residency or medical school related. 
God, she needs to get out more. 
The opening night celebrations are fun, and she cheers extra loudly when Jack and Luke’s names get called. Everyone’s on a high after a 4-3 win, and Clementine dutifully follows Ryleigh and everyone else out of the box and some tunnels that somehow lead towards the locker room. Her stomach is filled, thanks to the food and the drinks, and she’s happily buzzing. She’s excited to be able to hopefully watch more games now that she’s living here. 
Around 30 minutes later, both Jack and Dawson come out at the same time. She briefly watches as the couple embraces before Ryleigh turns to introduce Clementine, who smiles as Dawson wraps her in a friendly hug. She bids them both goodbye as they walk out.
“Clee! Did you see my goals?” Jack says after she hugs him, ruffling her hair. 
She rolls her eyes with a smile, adjusting his collar. “Of course I did. Saw the two penalties too. Good game, Jackson.” 
He beams like a child who just got a gold sticker. “Thank you.”
“Where’s Luke?”
“Taking his sweet ass time.”
She instinctively shoves him. “Be nice.”
Jack opens his mouth, no doubt about to say something snarky, before something beyond her shoulder catches his attention. “Neeks! Come here for a second.” She turns around to see maybe one of the prettiest guys she’s ever seen in her life. Obviously, she knows who Nico Hischier is, but goddamn, is he beautiful up close. 
She sticks out her hand with a small smile. “Captain. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Just Nico’s fine,” he smiles, shaking her hand before running his hand through his hair. Gosh, he’s cute. “You must be Clementine. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
She automatically grimaces. “Oh no.” She turns to Jack. “Are you just as mean to me behind my back as you are to my face?”
Jack’s jaw drops. “Absolutely not! I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m so nice to you.”
Nico laughs. “It’s all good things, I promise. And anyone who has dealt with Jack since he was a kid is a good person in my book.”
“Hey!” Jack says indignantly. “Clee loves me.”
Both Clementine and Nico decide promptly to ignore him. “You’re living with Jack and Luke now, right?” Nico asks.
“Yeah. It’s cheaper than living in the city, and it’s nice to have them around again.” She says. Jack beams. 
“You were out west before?”
Shit. Does Jack talk about her that much? “I was. I did my undergrad at UCLA, and then went to Stanford for med school. So the last eight years, I’ve been a west coaster.”
“But back east now?”
“Back east now.”
“For..residency? Right? Is that the next step?”
“Yup. I just started my residency at NYU in July,” she grins cheekily at Jack. “And now I get to bother this one all the time.”
Luke comes out and brightens up, adjusting his beanie. “Hi Clemmy!”
“Hey Lukey,” she goes on her tiptoes to give him a hug. “Good game.”
“Thanks,” he mutters into her shoulder before pulling away. “I’m hungry. Do we still have the chicken you made yesterday?”
She snorts. “Yeah. Unless someone ate it during the day.”
“Yay,” Luke says sleepily. “How was work?”
“Not as tiring as playing a game, I’m sure.”
Luke pulls a face. “Liar. You’re a doctor. And you deal with kids all day.”
“I’m barely a doctor. And I love kids.”
“Still.”
Jack snorts. “I think we should get the big baby to bed.” He expertly avoids Luke’s slap. “See you tomorrow, Hisch?”
Nico nods. “Get some rest, you two. Good game. And it was nice to meet you, Clementine. I hope I see you around more often.”
Clementine grins. “You too, Nico. See you around.” She puts her arms around both Jack and Luke’s shoulder. Or tries to. “Drive me home, friends.”
In the car, as she’s in the backseat and looking outside the window, after Jack discreetly nudges him, Luke turns around to look at her. “So, Cap, huh? He’s a pretty good looking guy.”
She immediately knows what they’re trying to do. “Absolutely not, Luke. You are way too young to be trying to set me up.”
“What?” Luke whines. “I’m just saying. I saw you two eyeing each other up.”
“You’re seeing things.”
“Wait,” Jack says, making a left turn. “Moose, you might be onto something here.”
“I know I am.” Luke says, in a matter-of-fact voice that it seems like only youngest children can get away with. “Clemmy, you have to admit that Nico’s cute.”
‘Okay, sure. He’s objectively attractive. I could say the same thing about you. Or Jack. Or Quinn.”
“Ew,” Jack says, like the middle child he is. “Also, you’re totally his type. Pretty. Smart as hell. Lowkey. Doesn’t care that he plays hockey.”
“I’m also a resident right now, so I got no time to date, Jacky.”
“You’ve never had time to date,” Jack points out. “When was the last time you went on a date anyway?”
“A few months ago!” She says hotly. She will not let them know that her romantic life has been dry for years. 
“With who?” Luke shoots back.
“Another resident, actually. Thank you very much.”
Jack snorts. “And how did that go?” She pouts. “Exactly,” Jack says. “Maybe the key is to expand your horizons. Get away from the snobby doctors you always complain about.”
“Let it go, Jackson.” She warns. “Before I start harping on you two about your love lives. If you bring girls home, keep it confined to your rooms. And don’t even think about giving them my shit.”
They both cackle as the light turns green, exchanging knowing looks that Clementine misses. 
…..
She’s coming back from a brutal overnight shift when a familiar voice asks her to hold the elevator door open. She blinks as Nico blinks back, dressed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. He looks awfully cozy. She can imagine that she looks like she got chewed and spit back out. 
She musters a smile. “Hey there.”
“Good morning,” he smiles back. “You coming back from work?”
“Yup.” She presses the button for 17 as the doors shut. “What are you and Jack and Luke up to today?”
“Not sure. I think some of us are going out to breakfast. Would you like to come?”
She chuckles, leaning her back against the wall. “I appreciate the invite, truly. I just feel like if I have to be awake for 10 more minutes, I might collapse.”
He bites his lip and stares down at his feet. She thinks it’s endearing. “Right. Sorry. Of course you’re tired.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she says. “Residency life is weird. Almost as weird as a hockey player’s.”
The doors open and Nico nods for her to go through first. “I don’t know about that. I live a pretty simple life.”
“Interesting way to define simple, Captain.” She teases. And he shrugs modestly. Clementine starts to wonder if there’s any arrogant bone in his body. He waits as she unlocks the door, closing it behind her. She walks in to see Jack pouring out a glass of juice and Luke sitting on the couch. “Found someone who may be of interest on my way up.”
She listens to Nico greet the two as she puts her bag down and lets her hair out of her ratty ponytail. “Wanna come to breakfast with us?” Luke asks with a hopeful smile. 
“Sorry, Lukey,” she says apologetically. “I’m literally a walking zombie right now. Another time?”
He pouts. “Fine. I miss you though. I feel like you’ve been MIA.”
“I wasn’t the one who was just on a long ass roadie,” she points out, giving Jack a side hug.
Nico looks around. “You guys do something different with the place? It looks different from what I remember.”
“We gave Clee free reign to spice it up a bit when she came here in the summer.”
Nico hums. “It looks nice. More…”
“Lived in? Homey? Clean?” She jokes, downing a glass of water.
The captain laughs. She watches his dimples deepen and blinks to herself several times. “All of the above,” he says. “I especially like the pillows.”
She beams. “Thank you. My mom embroidered the pillowcases.”
“Are you sure you don’t wanna come with us, Clee?” Jack begs. “We promise it’ll be quick.”
“Next time,” she promises. “I’m so, so tired.”
Nico clears his throat. “The team’s having a Friendsgiving thing in a couple of weeks since we’ll be on the road during actual Thanksgiving. I don’t know if these two have mentioned it yet, but you’re totally invited. It’s just gonna be the team and their families or whoever else they want to bring.”
“Is it at your place?” Clementine asks. 
“No.”
“So is it really your invite to extend? I don’t want to intrude.”
Jack rolls his eyes. “I was gonna ask you tonight. Hisch just beat me to it. It’s at Toff’s place. Of course you’re invited, so please come.”
She yawns. “Unless I have an overnight again, I’ll be sure to come. And even if I do, I’ll try to reschedule.”
“Atta girl,” Jack says. “You really need to get out more.” Clementine just flips him off, making Luke and Nico laugh.
“Enjoy your day, boys.” She calls out as she walks to her room. She hears them all yell out some sort of response before closing her door.
(As soon as she closes the door, Jack nudges Nico’s shoulder with his. “Make it less obvious, dude.”
Nico’s eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. “Make what less obvious?”
“That you’re interested in Clemmy.” Luke says dryly from the couch. “That’s basically our sister.”
“What?” Nico hisses, aware that she’s right down the hall. “I don’t-I mean, yeah she’s pretty. But I barely know her.”
“But you want to. You’ve wanted to ever since we showed you pictures of her,” Nico doesn’t even have the chance to defend himself as Jack smirks like the menace he is. “Don’t worry, Cap. One day you’ll catch her when she’s not sleep deprived and acting as an actual human being and you’ll be able to sweep her off her feet.”
Nico swallows. “She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d fall for that.”
“She wouldn’t. Which is why you’re perfect. So many of my friends throughout the years have tried to hit on her. Hasn’t worked once.”
“Aren’t you, like, four years younger than her?” Nico says. “That’s probably why.”
Luke scoffs. “Good point.” He’s been less pushy about it compared to Jack, partially because he’s not as comfortable with Nico yet and partially because he’s not Jack. “She’s a good one though, Cap. You’d be lucky.” He says. 
Nico just nods.)
Early the next week when Clementine goes in, she finds out that one of her babies in the NICU she had been taking care of had died. It’s not necessarily the first time she’s dealt with death in her young career, but it’s still not easy. She goes through the rest of the day robotically, simultaneously trying to pick apart what she could’ve done differently while trying to forget about it completely. 
The only upside — if there is one — was that she wasn’t there when the baby’s parents were told. Fuck, she’s not looking forward to when she has to do that one day. 
During her lunch break, she calls Jack.
“Hello?”
“Jacky?”
“Clee? Is everything okay?”
She swallows. “I’m sorry. I can’t keep track. Do you have a game tonight?”
“No. Day off today. Game tomorrow. What’s wrong? Aren’t you at work?”
“Yeah. I am. Uh, what were you planning on doing tonight?”
“Nico’s coming over and we were just gonna chill. Luke’s going on a date, I think. Or doing something. Shit, I swear I told you.”
She blinks. “You probably did. I just, sorry. I haven’t been-”
“Stop apologizing,” Jack chastises. “How about we get take out from your favorite Greek place and have a movie night? I can tell Nico to come by another time.”
“No, no! Of course Nico can come. It’s your place.”
“It’s yours now too.”
She swallows. “He can come by. Greek food sounds really good though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I’ll order some. Do you want me to go into the city to get you after work?”
“Fuck no. Are you crazy? That would be the worst drive.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind. Clee, I don’t wanna-you don’t sound like you’re okay.”
She tries to steady her voice. Worrying Jack is the last thing she wants to do. “I’m okay, Jacky. I promise. As long as you have the Greek food ready when I’m home.”
“You got it,” Jack softens. “I love you, Clementine.”
“Love you too. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.”
When she finally makes her way back to Hoboken, she feels a bit better. She hears murmured voices right before she unlocks the front door. 
“Hey,” she greets Jack and Nico. 
Jack barrels over, hugging her tightly with a smile. She involuntarily lets out a relieved sigh. “Lucky timing. I just got the food.”
“Lovely. Let me just take a quick shower and change and I’ll be right out.” She gives Nico a quick but friendly smile. “Hi Nico.”
“Hey Clementine.”
“Be right back.” She takes a quick shower and throws on leggings and a UCLA sweatshirt, choosing to let her hair air dry. When she comes back out, food from her favorite Greek place in Jersey that she discovered over the summer is laid out, along with a glass of iced tea. She could cry. 
“Long day?” Jack asks. 
She snorts, digging into her grape leaves. “You could say that. What’s been going on with you two?”
Jack knows her well enough by now that this is permission for him to ramble about anything and everything, from the more-than-usual brutal game last night against the Stars to how shitty his fantasy team is doing this week. Clementine just munches on her food while the two hockey players talk amongst themselves, her chiming in every once in awhile. She learns more about the girl Luke is currently on a date with (which isn’t saying much, because Jack barely knows anything and Nico knows even less) and complains that none of the brothers tell her these things. She only just found out that Quinn’s in a serious relationship. When Jack tries to protest with that fact she’s literally been on the other side of the country for the last eight years, she doesn’t wanna hear it. 
She finishes her iced tea. “How about you, Nico? You got any siblings?”
“Uh, yeah. An older brother and an older sister.”
“You close with them?
“Extremely.”
“Do they tell you who they’re dating and do you tell them who you’re dating?”
He hesitates. “Usually, yes.”
She gives Jack a pointed look. “See? Be like Nico.”
Jack snorts. “Please. If I were more like Neeks, you would have no one to pick on. Nico’s too perfect.”
She raises an eyebrow, shifting her gaze to Nico and she thinks she sees him blush. Nico clears his throat. “I don’t know about that.”
“Also, never listen to Clee. I’m her least favorite. She always makes fun of me.”
“Not true,” she shoots back. “You’re all my favorites.”
“What are siblings for if not for humbling you?” Nico asks. “I’m sure if you didn’t have Clementine here around growing up, your head would be way bigger than it already is.” 
“Captain’s got a point,” she sings, gathering their trash. She waves both guys away when they reach out to help. “Season’s been pretty good so far, right?”
“Thought you would be too scatterbrained to be keeping track.” Jack retorts.
“Doesn’t mean I don’t check the scores when I can.” She says, poking his side. Jack yelps. 
“You know what? Maybe you deserve to be her least favorite,” Nico jokes. “You’re so mean to her.”
“Hey!” Jack protests. 
“Thank you, Nico.” Clementine beams. “Finally, someone with sense around here. You gotta come around more.”
“Season’s going well, thank you for asking.” Jack sasses. “Oh, that reminds me. Trevor asked me if you were gonna come to the game when the Ducks are in town. Demanded, actually. Said that it’s been too long since he’s seen you and that he misses you. Not like you used to get to see him when you were in California or anything.”
She rolls her eyes. “When is he in town?”
“Sometime in December, I think.”
“Then yeah. I’ll be there. Not like I have a life outside of work anyways, as you always remind me.”
“You know Zegras?” Nico asks, before shaking his head. “Actually, yeah. Of course you do, if you grew up with Jack.”
“Not as well as you might think, though, to be fair.” She says, wanting to assure Nico that he isn’t completely wrong. “By the time Jack got into the development program, I was already out at UCLA. I was out there even before Quinn got into the program. Right at the same time, I guess. But you know, during the summers, wherever Jack is, Trevor usually isn’t far behind. He’s a good kid.”
“Clee kinda really is everyone’s older sister,” Jack says, passing a beer to Nico and a glass of wine to Clementine. “You should see how much Luke��s Michigan boys love her. And they’ve literally only met her once. Or never.”
Clementine waves Jack’s comment away. “It’s only because Luke calls me the most out of you three. And he’s my baby! I literally remember holding him when he was born.”
And the rest of the night is like this, as they exchange stories and memories, some she’s a part of, some she’s not and just likes listening to. Little mention of her work, which she’s so thankful for and knows in the back of her head is a purposeful play on Jack’s part. 
Even though she already wasn’t around when Jack left for New Jersey, she worried about him, especially after his tough rookie year. She still remembers the occasional calls she’d get of him breathing heavily and stumbling over his words and how she could do nothing about it across the country except offer a listening ear and some big sister comfort verbally. 
But now, watching Nico’s addicting smile and listening to his soft, comforting voice, she’s starting to see that Nico stepped up in that role so seamlessly and so well. It’s no wonder Jack always speaks so highly of his captain. Nico was there, and still is there, when she can’t be, whether it’s because she’s physically so far or just doesn’t understand because she isn’t a first overall draft pick. Sure, one could argue that it’s the duty of a captain. But she can tell it’s mostly because Nico is a caring guy.
That puts Nico pretty fucking high up in her good graces already. 
(Clementine retires to bed soon after, not before making sure by text from Luke that he’s safe and good. Once her bedroom door clicks, Jack attacks. 
“So…thoughts?”
“On Clementine?” Jack nods and Nico shrugs casually. “She’s great.”
“Come on, Hisch. You gotta give me more than that.”
“What do you want me to say?” Jack makes some sort of vague gesture and Nico sighs. “She’s quick, smart, funny. Deals with all your shit and you can tell she still loves you a lot. I didn’t-I mean, I knew you guys were close. I didn’t know you were that close though.”
Jack shrugs. “Yeah. Honestly I consider myself as close to her as I am to Luke or Quinn. She’s just, you know, been around for so long. It was really hard when she left for college, but she’s good at keeping in touch, which you know, thank god. Because I’m not. She came to all our drafts and she always makes the time to call or text, even though I know she’s busier than all of us combined with school and residency and all that.” Jack leans back into the couch. “It’s interesting to think about. With Clee, no one else except people who are actually close to me know about her, but she’s just as big a part of my life as my actual brothers. I mean, her mom’s the one who bought me the suit for my draft and Clee saved up to gift me the watch I wore with it. I don’t know. It’s interesting that you can think you know so much about someone but you’ll probably never get the full picture unless you’re there.” 
Nico hums, taking in Jack’s impromptu but astute ramble. “She ever play?”
“Hockey?” Nico nods. Jack snorts. “Nah. Soccer was her thing. Was pretty damn good too, if I remember correctly.” The younger boy shifts suddenly to a standing position. “If you want to know more, ask her yourself, Hischier. I’m tired. Get out of my apartment.”
Nico rolls his eyes, but stands up anyways. “See you in the morning.”)
The Devils Friendsgiving rolls around, and with a large bowl of homemade Spinach Artichoke Dip and a couple bags of pita chips, she climbs into the backseat as Jack starts the engine and Luke fiddles with his phone to pull up the directions. She doesn’t have to go into the hospital until the afternoon tomorrow, so she’s looking forward to treating herself to a couple glasses of wine and getting to meet more people. Luke puts some country song on that Jack starts humming as he starts driving. Clementine folds her legs on the seat as her chin rests on her knees, looking out at the window as the trees blur. She kicks the back of Luke’s seat when one too many country songs play in a row, knowing that they know that she prefers other genres of music. Luke just grunts, before putting on some Noah Kahan and she hums in satisfaction. 
The Toffoli’s house is spacious, and she shuffles carefully up the steps to the house behind Jack and Luke, careful not to slip on black ice. She slips off her jacket, passing the food off to Luke, before taking it back and walking into the warm home behind the boys. She just smiles and stands to the side as everyone exclaims at their arrival. She grins as Cat embraces her, thanking her for the invite. Cat waves her off and looks absolutely delighted when Clementine sets down the dip. Tyler pours her out a glass of wine and hugs her in greeting. 
The journey to being a doctor has shaped Clementine to be good at remembering names quickly, which helps her tremendously as Jack bounces around to introduce her to everyone. Everyone is so welcoming and the sprinkle of kids around makes her smile as well. It’s lovely to see that this team loves hanging out with each other off the ice when they’re not obligated to. She finds herself chatting with…everyone and is almost surprised but absolutely delighted at how kind everyone is. Some of the wives and significant others don’t hesitate to rope her into future plans and their group as a whole and she feels touched. She’s not sure how much time and energy she’ll have to go to some of their gatherings, but it’ll be nice to have some more familiar faces in the city. 
It’s when everyone’s starting to grab food does she find herself standing next to Nico, who had waved and nodded at her earlier when she walked in. “Hey Captain.”
Nico’s smile is blinding. “Like I’ve said, Nico works just fine.”
She shrugs with a chuckle. “How have you been?”
He sees her eyeing the potatoes and scoops some on her plate before he grabs some for himself. and she smiles at him in thanks. “Nothing new,” he says. “Just you know, playing hockey.”
She snorts. “Yeah, I bet. You had a sick goal the other night against the…Caps, was it?”
“Thank you,” he says as they both head towards two empty seats next to each other at the kitchen island. “You watch the games?”
“When I can. Not as much this season as I used to. It honestly used to be really effective background noise when I studied at school.”
His eyes track to her bracelets. “I’ve been wanting to ask you about those.”
“My bracelets?”
“Yeah. You wear them all the time. Is there any significance to them? If you’re comfortable telling me, of course.” He rushes the last sentence, eyes wide. 
She waves him off with an easy smile, pointing at each one of them as she goes through. “Quinn, Jack and Luke each made me one before I left for college. Gave them to me right at the airport before I went through security. Had me sobbing on practically the whole damn plane ride. I don’t wear them to the hospital, really, but otherwise, it’s kinda just habit to put them on at this point.”
“You love them a lot,” Nico observes.
Clementine just smiles, watching Luke play with one of the kids. “I do. They’re good guys to grow up with. But enough of that. Don’t think I don’t remember the explanation you promised me last time, Nico.”
A playful smile on his lips, Nico finishes chewing his food. “Explanation of what?”
“How the hell you chose soccer over hockey, when soccer is the best sport, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Nico echoes, and her smile widens. “I mean, yeah. There’s not much to it. I kinda was good at most sports. I still love watching football, or soccer. My dad used to play professionally, so I still enjoy playing pick up in the summer once in awhile. My brother played hockey, and I wanted to do everything he did. And then…”
“You were really fucking good.” She finishes for him. 
“I guess, yeah. You work with kids, right? Being their doctor?” She nods and he smirks slightly. “Even I know you have to be super smart for that. The journey to being a doctor can’t be easy.”
She chuckles a bit, feeling a bit flattered. “It has its moments. Definitely not the most simple career, by any means.”
“Anything specific with…what is it called? Pediatrics? I don’t really know how specializations work.”
“I’m actually doing an EM/Peds residency right now, which combines training in both the emergency room and pediatric medicine. There’s something about kids and the environment of an ER that I really enjoy, so putting those two together is..kinda the dream.”
“You’re incredible,” Nico says softly. And if she wasn’t blushing before, she definitely is now. Or is it the wine? “Seriously. That’s some amazing stuff. Is that common?”
“Combining residencies?” He nods. “No. Actually, NYU is one of the only teaching hospitals in the country that’s approved for this specific program.”
“So not only are you smart. You’re just the best of the best.”
She chuckles a bit and puts food in her mouth so she doesn't have to respond, because what the fuck? She’s thankful that Jonas and Nate join and divert their conversation so she can gather herself. She’s heard those words from people many times. Nico saying them shouldn’t have her stomach fluttering. 
(Later that evening, Clementine, predictably, finds herself among the moms with young kids, sitting on the floor with her back against the couch, giving them attention and watching them so that their parents can relax a bit more. 
She’s mindlessly talking and playing with Owen, Curtis and Reanne’s 3-year-old son, who’s at the age where he just loves to babble. 
Reanne bounces her son on her knee. “This is Clementine. Can you say Clementine?”
Owen claps his hands. “C-cuh-”
Clementine can tell Owen is getting a little frustrated that he can’t pronounce her name. “Owen, you know him?” She points towards Jack, who’s sitting on the couch a few feet away talking to Nico, Curtis and Jesper. Jack catches them and waves with a big smile as their conversation trickles off. 
“Unca Jack!”
“That’s right,” Clementine coos. “When Uncle Jack was as small as you, he couldn’t say my full name either. So he just called me Clee. Can you say Clee?”
“Clee!” Clementine nods excitedly and laughs with Owen as he says it again. “Unca Jack call you Clee?”
“He sure does. He still calls me Clee. And he’s a big boy now.”
Reanne grins, “Is that true?”
Clementine chuckles. “Yeah. Him, Luke and Quinn all called me Clee at one point. The other two don’t anymore, but I guess it stuck for Jack.”
Owen grabs one of his stuffed dinosaurs. “I like Unca Jack. He always buys me chocolate.”
All of them laugh as Reanne and Curtis shoot Jack a dirty look. Clementine snorts. “Busted.” Jack at least has the audacity to look a little sheepish as Owen doesn’t mind any of them, his attention back to making his dinosaurs fight each other. Owen hops off his mother’s knee and toddles over to sit in between Clementine’s legs, wordlessly passing her a dinosaur. 
Nico’s fond smile stays glued to his face as his eyes track Clementine and Owen. Jack takes note.)
…..
It’s a brisk Tuesday morning in early December, and Clementine is still trying to find her way where she needs to go. She volunteered to spend a few weeks at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center from recommendation by her mentor, since Newark is short a few hands. She’ll probably get used to the hallways and which floors are what the day before she leaves, but she’s not complaining. She’s still in an ER. She’s still working with kids. And she won’t complain about the shorter commute, even if it’s only for a short while. 
There’s a bit of a commotion outside as she’s making her rounds. Her curiosity causes her to scribble some last quick notes before stepping out of her patient’s room and clicking the door shut quietly so the 7-year-old girl doesn’t wake up. 
“Hey Caro,” she stops another resident who’s walking by. “What’s all the commotion?”
Caroline grins. “You didn’t hear? Some of the guys from the New Jersey Devils are stopping by to see the kids. It’s always a whole day thing that’s a fun day. That’s why Doc told us all to clear our schedules as much as we could today.”
Clementine snorts to herself. No, she didn’t hear. “Ah. I must’ve not been listening or something.”
Caroline offers her arm. “You coming?”
“Yeah,” she latches on to the shorter girl’s arm. “You a Devils fan?”
“I grew up in Texas, so to be honest, no.” They both chuckle. “But the guys are great. And it’s always fun when they come around. The kids have a good time too.”
“I bet,” she says softly. 
“Are you a Devils fan?”
She’s about to open her mouth to try and stumble through an answer, but they’re suddenly in a conference room and Luke is bounding over to attack her in a hug. “Clemmy!”
“Hey Lukey.” She pulls away and ignores Caroline’s confused but amused stare. “You and Jack didn’t tell me you were gonna be here.”
“We didn’t?” Jack grins, pulling her into a tight hug. “Well, surprise!”
Clementine just rolls her eyes as she waves at Jesper, Tyler, Dougie and Nico. Nico shoots her a quick wink and she gives him a shy smile before looking away. 
“Sorry,” Jack addresses some of the staff who have been openly eyeing them. “Clementine is, uh, basically family. We actually live together, which she loves.” The whole room exclaims softly in understanding. Caroline gives Clementine a look that has her holding back a laugh.
Clementine just puts her head down with a smile and waits for everyone to come into the room for the official welcome. Her pager goes off in the middle so she has to sneak out of the room quietly. She catches Nico’s eye before leaving and he gives her an imperceptible nod. 
She tries to keep out of everyone’s way as the players pop into various rooms to say hi to the kids and their parents. She poses for a few pictures at request from both PR departments, smiling the biggest when the social team asks for a picture of her, Luke and Jack together. It’s nice to see the kids really happy, and she does stick around in a patient’s room when Luke is reading a story to one of them.
“The kids like him,” she jumps slightly at Nico’s voice. He grimaces. “Sorry.”
She waves off his apology, staring at the scene. “Probably because he’s practically still one himself. I remember doing this for him when he was that age.”
“You’re a bit far away from Manhattan.”
“Yeah. I volunteered to come out here for a few weeks since they needed extra hands. I should be back at NYU after the new year. Had no idea you guys were gonna be here today. Would’ve warned everyone how annoying you all were.”
“You think I’m annoying?” Nico jokes. 
“All hockey players are annoying.” She turns to Nico and flashes a smile. “I’m kidding. Thanks for coming. The kids always love it anytime professional athletes come in to say hey.”
“The least we can do,” Nico says with a shrug. “It’s probably my favorite event of the year.”
She nudges his shoulder, “I saw you earlier, with little Artie. You’re not bad with the kiddos either.”
“Oh, thanks. They’re sweet. That’s a big compliment coming from you.”
“Well, it’s a bit different for me when interacting with kids is part of my job,” her smile widens watching as Jude, the patient, is laughing at Luke’s exaggerated voices. “Let’s leave these two be. Come with me?”
Nico falls into step with her. “Where we going?”
“I gotta check in on one of our patients, who, if I know her, is probably painting some watercolor landscape while bickering with her sister. I’m sure your big brown eyes and smile can keep her entertained while I take some of her vitals.”
Clementine stops at a room, knocks twice on a door with a purple and pink sticker-covered name card taped on the front, Lacy spelled out in big block letters. She peeks her head in. “Hey. Mind if I come in?”
“Do I have a choice?” The 11-year-old girl sasses. Clementine rolls her eyes, shooting her 17-year-old sister Maisie a quick smile. Maisie just nods in greeting before turning back to her laptop.
“I’m bringing a visitor in here too. Be nice,” Clementine warns. Lacy just keeps painting. She opens the door wider and Nico follows her in. “You recognize this guy?”
Lacy looks up and snorts, though a small genuine smile appears on her face. “Any hockey fan living in the state of New Jersey would recognize him. Hi Nico.”
“Hi Lacy. It’s nice to meet you. Can I pull up a chair for a second?”
Lacy shrugs. “Sure.” Nico shakes Maisie’s hand quickly first before grabbing a chair and sitting by her bedside. Clementine gets started on her notes. “I saw your game the other night. Against the Wild,” Lacy says.
“Oh yeah? What did you think?”
“I mean, at least you guys won in overtime. It probably shouldn’t have even gone to that point.”
Clementine coughs to hide her laugh, Maisie admonishes Lacy, but Nico just chuckles. “That’s a fair assessment. You like hockey?”
“Yeah. I used to play. Before all this.”
“Oh yeah? What position?”
“Center.” 
“That makes sense. You seem like you like to score goals.” She hums. Out of the corner of Clementine’s eye, she sees the girl offer a brush and a blank piece of paper to Nico. Clementine smiles to herself. Nico takes the brush. “You got a favorite player on the Devils?”
“Do you just want me to say you?”
“Not if it’s not true.”
Clementine chuckles, “Don’t hurt his ego too much, Lace. He might not be able to handle it. One to ten?”
“Three,” Lacy answers in reference to the frequency of pain scale she and Clementine have come up with. “My favorite is Dawson, by the way. You’re third on my list.”
“I’ll take that,” Nico says with a satisfied smile. “Who’s second?”
“Probably Jack. Or Haula. It depends on the day.”
Nico’s eyes light up as Clementine rolls her eyes to herself. “Jack, huh? Has Clementine told you that she knows him?”
Lacy stops painting for a second. “What do you mean ‘knows him?’”
Clementine gives Lacy a cup of water and waits for her to take her pill. “I’ve known Jack since he was born. Luke too.”
Lacy’s eyes pop open, and Clementine thinks that she would’ve mentioned this earlier if she knew that this was the reaction she’d get. Lacy’s been a hard nut to crack in terms of opening up to her. “Really? Quinn’s one of the best defensemen in the league, in my opinion.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him. He’ll appreciate that.”
“Pretty cool, right?” Nico remarks, carefully dipping his brush in water.
“Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier,” Clementine says. “I knew you were a hockey fan. I didn’t know you were a Devils fan. Isn’t your dad a Rangers fan?”
Nico grimaces automatically as Lacy nods. “Yeah, but red’s prettier. And the Devils are better.”
“That’s right. And don’t forget it,” Nico says. 
“Hey, Lace. Dawson isn’t here, but do you want me to go find Jack and see if he’s around?”
“Sure. I don’t have my jersey though and I wanted him to sign it.”
“We’ll send you another one and he can sign that one,” Nico says. Maisie tries to protest but Nico just shakes his head. “It’s no problem at all. I’ll send you mine though. To convince you to move me higher on your list.”
“I mean, I won’t say no to that.” Clementine and Nico just chuckle. 
“Be right back,” Clementine promises. 
She closes the door and takes a moment to watch the two. Nico’s trying to paint some sort of sunset and lets Lacy guide his hand, listening intently as Lacy gives him some artistic advice. She’s never seen such softness in someone’s eyes before as Nico is looking at the young girl. And later, when Nico hands her two tickets for a game in January, it’s the most excited she’s seen Lacy.
…..
Clementine finds that she has Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, so the three of them decide to do their own little Christmas Eve celebration — Ellen and Jim are heading to Vancouver to spend the holiday with Quinn and the various family they have out there — before going to Jack and Luke’s family again on Christmas Day. They ask her if Nico can join them Christmas Eve, before going with them to their family’s on Christmas Day, since his family can’t fly out this time around for the holidays. She immediately agrees, and digs her knitting supplies out from the few unpacked boxes in her closet and stops by the fabric store right by the hospital after work. 
Later that night, after a game, Luke waves his greeting before stumbling into his room while Jack beelines to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He casts his eyes on Clementine on the couch, Canucks game on quietly in the background and a whole bunch of yarn on her lap, her fingers twiddling around knitting needles. 
Jack raises his eyebrows. “Who’s that for?”
“Nico.” The lack of response has her raising her eyes away from her needles. “What?”
“You like him, don’t you?”
“As a person, absolutely. He’s very-”
“Fuck off. You know that’s not what I’m talking about. You like him. Like, stomach has butterflies and all that shit.”
She puts down her needles with a sigh, “Jack-”
“Listen, I know you’re just gonna deny it or whatever. Because that’s what you do. So, I’m not even gonna bother, but Clee. You could do a whole lot worse than Hisch. And he likes you too, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Jack. I’m not gonna date your captain.”
“Why not?”
“Because…I don’t wanna put you or Luke in a weird position.”
“That’s a dumb excuse. Who cares about that? Certainly not Luke and I.” He comes to sit next to her like an eager puppy. “I swear I’m not trying to set you up or whatever. Not intentionally at least. And I really won’t push and let it go if you want me to. But Clee, you seem so at ease around him. And it’s obvious that he just likes everything about you. It doesn’t have to be serious. But maybe just give it a chance before you just shut it down, okay?”
She nods, taking in his words. “Okay, okay. I will.”
“Promise?”
She rolls her eyes, but clasps her pinky with his. They’ve always taken their pinky promises very seriously. “I promise.”
Jack grins, his typical easygoing manner right back. “Good.” 
After a lazy Christmas Eve morning and afternoon watching holiday movies, drinking hot cocoa and feeling at peace, she, Jack, Luke and Nico put on some Christmas music and make gingerbread cookies to bring the next day. She scolds the brothers as they start flinging flour at each other but she does it with a smile that hurts her cheeks and a heart that feels overwhelmingly full. “Silent Night” comes on and to prevent herself from fully bursting into tears, she leaves Luke and Nico to shape the cookies and drags Jack to dance around the kitchen with her. She thinks he understands, as he places a comforting kiss on her forehead, Luke looking on in solemn happiness.
(Nico notices all of their demeanors slightly shift, but he doesn’t press.)
At midnight, they all exchange presents under the twinkling lights of their tree. Nico looks surprised when they tell him they all have presents for him, which is funny considering he has presents for all of them. As the youngest, Luke goes first, and his smile is pure ecstasy, as he receives a really nice watch from Nico, new shoes from Jack and a bottle of cologne that she knows he’s been eyeing from Clementine. Jack’s next, as he gleefully reaches for his presents. Nico gifts him a customized Snapback that has Jack tackling his captain in a hug and almost tipping the tree over, and Luke gets him the newest AirPods to hopefully discourage him from “accidentally” putting his through the wash. Clementine gets Jack a nice leather wallet she saw at a vintage shop a few weeks back and he acts surprised that she knows what he likes style wise, as if she didn’t practically grow up with him and watch his heinous style turn into something passable. 
Clementine insists Nico goes next. Jack and Luke get him a joint present of a massive box of assorted Swiss chocolates and Clementine thinks his eyes literally light up, excitedly talking about how you can’t get most of them outside of Switzerland. As Clementine hands him her present, Nico only raises his eyebrows at the large bag. 
“Should I be scared?”
She scoffs, “Just open the bag, Captain.”
They all laugh, Jack and Luke eagerly watching as Nico carefully takes out the tissue paper. Jack laughs in recognition as Luke just shakes his head fondly when Nico pulls out a giant knitted maroon blanket. 
“I know it seems a bit weird,” Clementine rushes to explain as he unfolds the blanket carefully. “But basically, when I started going to the boys’ games, I would get really cold sitting in the bleachers. So my mom taught me how to knit and I knitted myself a huge blanket, kinda like this one. The parents all saw me with it and eventually started asking if I would knit some for them. And I did, so it’s kinda a thing I like to do when I have time now. Makes for good presents too.”
Nico looks behind him to a similar looking white blanket draped across the couch. “Did you make that?”
She grins. “Yeah. I think that one was the one I gave to Jack right before he left for New Jersey. I know Luke has the one I gave him before he left for Michigan in his room.” 
“It’s super warm,” Luke says.
“Clee doesn’t make these blankets for just anyone,” Jack adds. “She only just made one for Turcs last year after he had been practically begging her for years.” 
Nico folds the blanket back up and reaches over to envelop her in a tight hug. She lets herself rest her head on his shoulder. “Thank you,” he says sincerely. “I love it.”
She just smiles, trying to tell her brain to calm the fuck down before she reaches out to grab Jack and Luke’s (and Quinn, he said to her over the phone this morning) gift for her. She pulls out a photo album and immediately starts sniffling. The first photo on the first page is of her holding Quinn at the hospital right when he was born. Written below, in what she recognizes as Quinn’s handwriting: 
Clem holding Quinn for the first time. October 15, 1999. Orlando, Florida. 
She flips through quickly, finding that it’s photos of her and all of the brothers throughout the years, before closing it and taking a deep breath. “I’ll have to look at this more carefully later when I can cry by myself in my room. Fuck. How long did this take you guys?”
“We got the idea when you told us you were moving in, but we really got to put it together over the summer,” Luke says. “It was also fun getting Mom and Maeve to dig up some of the pictures.” 
She wipes her eyes before giving them both individual, loving hugs and sweet kisses on their cheeks. “Thank you.” It’s not enough. Nothing will ever be enough. But she hopes they understand. 
“Well, I don’t know how I can follow that up,” Nico jokes softly. 
“Stop,” she scolds him lightly, taking the wrapped box from his hands. She rips the paper ungracefully and opens the box. In the box are light pink scrubs. When she unfolds the shirt, she sees tiny bluebells adorning the right side, with her initials in delicate white cursive on the right. 
Nico scratches the back of neck. “Jacky mentioned that pink’s your favorite color and I had Luke sneak into your closet one time when you were at work to grab me your measurements. My sister does embroidery for fun so, uh, yeah.”
She has to bite the inside of her bottom lip from smiling too widely. She already knows it’s going to be her favorite set. Before she can think too hard about it, she practically launches herself into his arms, half in his lap as Nico lets out a surprised grunt but easily catches her. She holds on a bit longer, even placing a quick kiss on his cheek before pulling away. 
“Thank you. I love them.”
(Jack and Luke exchange the most obvious look, yet somehow both Clementine and Nico miss it) 
The next day, they make the hour-long drive. Clementine calls shotgun, and has her feet curled up under her, white sweater stretched over her hands as Jack hums along to the Christmas music playing softly in the background. Nico insisted on getting flowers, which is all too much, but she, Jack and Luke are also bringing two bottles of some really fucking good wine so maybe they’re all on the same page. They’re the last ones to arrive, the house already filled with familial chatter, football on the TV, snacks on the kitchen island and alcohol free flowing. She watches as Nico is embraced like he’s been around for his whole life, even though realistically, he’s maybe only met a few of them in passing when they’ve come to a game. Geegs calls him handsome after .4 seconds of seeing him and she, Jack and Luke all snicker watching his cheeks turn red. It seems like it takes not even three minutes for him to charm every single damn person, especially when he gives Lara the flowers. 
Clementine immerses herself in the cheer of holiday and family, happily answering anyone when she’s asked about her residency. She answers questions about it’s like living with the “terrible two” with ease and laughter, because as much as she likes to give them shit, it’s honestly been one of the best times of her life.
Inevitably, because she might not have their last name but has been part of the family for years, she gets a few questions about her love life, or lack thereof. Lara always jokes that if the stars were slightly different, her and Quinn — or maybe even Jack — could’ve ended up together. And Clementine agrees, because those two boys are so lovely and she knows them so well and loves them so much, but the stars are the way they are, and nothing will ever happen romantically between her and any Hughes brother. 
Romance hasn’t really ever been seriously in the cards for Clementine, which is partially self inflicted. She had something in college that lasted for over two years, but since then, nothing has stuck. She’s always used the excuse of school and now residency, and it’s somewhat true. But even she knows she’s running out of excuses for herself. 
As her eyes flit over to Nico, who’s across the room talking to Luke and Ben, one of their cousins, looking so fucking soft in his gray crewneck and dark washed blue jeans, hair too fluffy and the most heartwarming smile on his face, she tells herself to get it together. 
After over two decades of being around hockey boys, she can’t be developing a crush on the captain of the New Jersey Devils. 
…..
On the morning of New Year’s Day, Clementine tries her best to go about the kitchen quietly to make her breakfast, only to find Jack and Luke already there, sipping on their coffees. 
“Morning boys.”
“Morning Clemmy.”
“Happy new year!”
“Happy new year,” she yawns. “Morning skate?”
“We’re skipping.” Her eyebrows shoot up and Luke just gives her a look. “C’mon, Clemmy. We’re not letting you do this alone.”
She swallows and her voice cracks. “You guys remembered?”
“Clee,” Jack says with a sympathetic smile. “Of course we did.” 
Before she can control it, her eyes water and she sniffles. Luke comes up and pulls her to his side, allowing her to momentarily bury herself into his sweatshirt as she tries to gather herself. Above her head, Luke and Jack share a look as Jack wordlessly grabs a thermos from the cabinet and fills 3/4 of it with coffee, topping it off with oat milk. Clementine pulls away and rubs at her eyes. 
Jack smiles at her. “Picked up some croissants from downstairs we can eat on the way. The florist should be open by now.”
“Yeah, yeah. Okay,” she turns to Luke again and pulls him into a real hug. She only forces herself to pull away so she can give Jack one too, before going to her room to change. 
They stop by the florist downstairs and she picks out a bouquet of fresh daisies. She watches Luke mull over his options before choosing the white lilies as Jack automatically reaches for the pink peonies. He also cradles a bouquet of sunflowers, and when she gives him a confused look, he just smiles.
(“From Quinn. He specifically requested sunflowers.”
Clementine bites her lip, nodding, the image of toddler Quinn almost yanking the sunflowers in the yard in front of her childhood home before her dad stopped him and explained how flowers grow passing through her mind.)
The drive to the cemetery doesn’t take too long. They may be driving in from a different direction than she’s used to, but somehow, it’s like her body knows exactly where she’s going. Once they arrive, she quietly directs them to the right hill and she takes a sip of her coffee before opening the car door. She tries to take the flowers from Luke’s hands but he just softly tells her he’s got it. She’s a step ahead of the two as she leads them to the correct place. 
She smiles as she comes close, seeing the semi-fresh bouquet of roses she knows her mother must’ve placed there three days prior, 28 years to the day they got married. She watches as Luke carefully sets down all their flowers, and she bends down to help him arrange them in a pretty way as Jack unfolds the large blanket. They all sit down and stare at the stone. 
in loving memory of
Miguel Alejandro Sandoval
April 3, 1968 - January 1, 2015
beloved son, uncle, friend, husband and father
As she starts talking softly, some of her words floating away with the slight breeze, Jack hastily grabs her hand with his and intertwines their fingers tightly as Luke adjusts his long limbs so that his head is in her lap. She uses her other hand to play with his curls and takes a shaky breath as Jack places his head on her shoulder. She talks about how she’s back east now and how much she loves residency and how fun it’s been to live with Jack and Luke and how Quinn is captain of the Canucks now and how her mom, Ellen and Jim are doing well. She talks like she’s chatting with her dad over homemade paella on a Sunday morning, rather than in the eerie peacefulness of Flower Hill Cemetery, which is five miles away from the house he grew up in. Jack and Luke don’t say anything, but she doesn’t expect them to. She’s just grateful they’re here with her. 
When they’re about to leave, the two boys request a few minutes without her and she just smiles, kissing her hand and touching the stone before walking away. She sits in the car and waits, watching as Luke leans his head on Jack’s shoulder. After six minutes, they’re all on their way back to Hoboken. 
After lunch, Jack and Luke head over to…one of their teammate’s places to watch whatever football game is on. They ask, more than once, if Clementine wants to join, but she denies. They both then insist on staying, but she overrules them and practically shoves them out the door, promising that she’ll be okay and that she’ll see them later. 
Around an hour later, she’s finishing up prepping some pasta salad for the week ahead when there’s a knock at the door. She hums to herself, confused. She’s not expecting anyone who doesn’t have a key to the place. She swings open the door. 
“Nico?” She smiles, albeit confused. “Uh, Hi. Jack and Luke aren’t here.”
“I know. I just saw them.” She’s still confused, but she goes to the side to allow him to come in, closing the door behind him. He slips off his shoes and clears his throat. “Happy new year.”
“Happy new year. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”
“I just..I was at Nate’s,” Ah, so that’s where they went. “And Jack and Luke came in and we were all bummed you weren’t coming and asked why. They didn’t say much, if that’s what you’re worried about. But I, you know, as captain or whatever, asked them if everything was okay and they said it was and I asked if you not being there had anything to do with why they skipped practice this morning and you know them, especially Jack. He’s such a shitty liar. He just said that it may be a hard day for you today, and I wanted to see if you were okay.”
Clementine isn’t offended, by any means. Too much time — nine years worth of it — has passed for her to feel any animosity of any sort about a touchy thing like this, especially when it’s just Jack and Luke looking out for her. She just smiles, reaching out a hand to take Nico’s coat. “I’m okay. But if you really want to know, it’ll take a bit of time. I’m giving you an out, Cap. It is New Year’s Day.”
“I want to know everything about you,” he says, walking further into her place. She’ll have to unpack that one later. 
“Tea or coffee? Or whatever disgusting protein shake Lukey has in the fridge?”
Nico snorts, settling himself down on the coach with the comfortability of someone who lives here. Then again, Clementine is reminded, as he unfolds the white knitted blanket, that Nico’s known the layout of this apartment longer than she has. “Coffee, please. Black is fine.”
“Abysmal,” she remarks, pouring out a cup for him and herself. She sets them down on the coffee table before smiling at him. “Be right back.” She goes into her room to dig through her bookshelf for a specific photo album that she only cracks open during January 1 of every year. It doesn’t take long before she paddles back to the living room, placing the album next to her coffee. She sits a respectable distance from Nico, but tucks herself under the blanket anyway. She watches him sip his coffee for a few moments.
“We were at the cemetery this morning. That’s why Jack and Luke asked to skip morning skate. We were visiting my dad. He died nine years ago today. Cancer,” she says, like she’s recalling a medical fact she read in her textbook. “He was, god, my best friend, really. And the best person, in my completely biased opinion. But maybe not. Miguel Sandoval, everyone used to say — still says — had a heart of gold and a smile as bright as the sun. He loved being outside. Worked as an environmental engineer. He loved chocolate ice cream. He hated mosquitos, always cursed them out in Spanish during the summer just to make me and my mom laugh. He always kicked the ball around in the backyard with me, even after an exhausting day at work. He made the best paella, made it pretty much every Sunday. God, he really did light up every room he walked into. He loved my mom. Loved me. And we loved him. Love him.” She reaches for the album and offers it to Nico, who slowly starts flicking through the pages. She looks on with him at the photos. “My mom, Maeve, and Ellen, Luke and Jack’s mom, played soccer at UNH together and just kept in touch throughout the years. My mom and dad met at UNH too. And then Ellen met Jim, and the four of them were so, so tight, I’ve been told. Double dates, all of that.” She smiles, looking at her mom and dad’s wedding photos. “Ellen was my mom’s maid of honor, and my mom was hers. They always like to remind me that I was in my mom’s stomach when Ellen and Jim got married. Anyways, I was 18 when he died, so looking back, I’m grateful that I even had that many years with him, but at the same time, it felt so short. 100 years wouldn’t have been enough time with him.”
“He sounds like an amazing man,” Nico says softly. 
Clementine smiles with him. “He was. It’s easier now. Nine years is a long time. But during the few years after, it was really hard. I felt really guilty going to UCLA just months after he died.  Was about to throw it away and go somewhere close to home instead, but my mom insisted, knowing it was my dream school. I felt guilty leaving her across the country, in a fucking different country, but it did help that she had people around to support her. It’s still not easy. This time of the year is always pretty hard on me. And it’ll never really go away. But time does heal.”
She takes a sip of coffee to gather her thoughts, as Nico continues perusing the album, laughing at some and cooing at others when the Hughes brothers start making an appearance. They stop at a picture of her father holding Luke right when he was born in the hospital, Jim proudly smiling in the background and young Jack and Quinn looking on. “My dad loved the boys and I don’t even think saying he loved them captures 1% of it. Those boys were his boys. If I didn’t have soccer games or practices, he was tagging along to all their hockey stuff after work and on the weekends. He didn’t know jackshit about the sport at first, but he eventually learned the ins and outs of the game because he wanted to support them. Did Jack ever tell you why he chose 86? Or why Luke chose 43?”
“I think Jack just said it was a family number or something,” Nico says. “Didn’t go much into it.”
“My dad’s birthday is April 3. 43. I think all of them wore it during their first year at the program. And then Quinn and Luke decided to go back to it in college and beyond, obviously. 43 doubled is 86, of course, but my dad, who was also a middle child, used to say Jack’s personality was so big and bold that it doubled his siblings’. The boys loved him just as much as he loved them.” By now, the tears are gushing down her cheeks. “Sometimes, I think that the three of them took the loss harder than I did. He never got to see them play for their country. He never got to see them get drafted. He never got to witness their first points in the show. And fuck, my dad would’ve cheered so loud. Would’ve been so proud. Probably is so proud, wherever he is. But, you know, during the big moments, and the little ones, we all know he’s there. I just know he is.”
“He is.”
She calms herself down a bit and chuckles. “Sorry, I know it’s a lot.”
“No, no.” They shift closer to each other and she leans into him as he puts an arm around her shoulder. “It’s not a lot. I-thank you. For telling me all of this. Thank you for trusting me.”
Clementine just shrugs, but the weight of her shoulders feels heavy. “I’ve never felt the need to justify to others what the Hughes family means to me, but telling people about…this usually gives them some context. I frankly don’t know if I would’ve survived and gotten through it without them. It’s more than just family friends at this point. It’s family, but it’s also something so much more. I get reminded everyday how lucky I am to have them.” 
(She swallows, thinking back to her ex-somethings that could’ve been something more had they not let their insecurities show after finding out how three of her closest friends are not just guys, but nationally scouted hockey players, thinking back to a splattering of girls who she thought were her friends but subtly changed their attitudes when they tried to get Clementine to put a good word in, thinking back to some who brushed aside her own accomplishments to fixate on her pseudo-brothers’ careers. She’s never directly mentioned it to any of the boys. It’s not their burden to worry about. But even if they aren’t as smart as her, she thinks they have an idea)
Nico nods. She thinks he may understand, weirdly enough, despite the different circumstances. It seems like Nico just understands a lot. Nico smiles, setting the album back down gently on the table in front of them. “Your ability to love greatly. Your natural protectiveness. Did that come from your dad?”
“Yeah, actually. I love my mom, of course. But she’s always been more of the tough love parent. I think the protectiveness was more of just the situation I was put in, being the oldest out of all of us and also an only child. But the love…a lot of people who knew my dad say we’re very similar in that aspect. So thank you. I’ll take it as a compliment. That means a lot to me.”
She busies herself and sips on her coffee. Nico clears his throat. "You can feel free to tell me to fuck off, but I just…did your dad’s situation influence you to want to become a doctor?”
“Sorta. I kinda always knew that I wanted to do something in science, but it definitely solidified when he died. I did think about going the oncologist route, a doctor that deals with cancer, but I ultimately decided that it hit too close to home. I-I’d like to think that in a profession that’s dedicated to trying our best to save lives, that I have a perspective on death that helps me more than harms me. Helps the patient and their family more too, hopefully.”
“That’s an extremely mature way to look at it.”
“Jesus, Cap. Way to make me feel old. I’m only 26, you know.”
“With all the stuff you’ve gone through, you’re probably more emotionally, like, 37.” Well, he kinda has a point. “But seriously though. What a beautiful perspective.”
“I appreciate that a lot, thank you.” She snuggles more into the blanket, and therefore, closer to Nico. “Bet you didn’t think you’d get this to start off your year.”
She feels the ghost of his lips press to her hair and hopes he doesn’t feel her racing heart. “Perhaps not. But I’m pretty content with how it’s going so far.”
…..
For Nico’s birthday, Clementine asks Emilia, who’s Swiss, what some traditional Swiss desserts are. After getting a recipe for a semi-complicated cake from Emilia from her mother, she gets to work.
She makes two cakes, or Zuger Kirschtorte, the larger one for Nico and the smaller one for her, Luke and Jack. It takes a good chunk of her evening, but she makes it a whole thing, putting on the Devils vs Caps game, measuring ingredients and going back towards her laptop to make sure she’s following the recipe correctly. She’s momentarily grateful that both boys aren’t here, partially so they don’t distract her in case she fucks up but mostly so they don’t start teasing her. She knows they will eventually, but she would rather hold it off as long as possible. 
The cake turns out really good, which is a bit surprising. Clementine’s always liked baking, but she’s not amazing at it. She carefully puts the larger cake in a disposable container, setting it on the counter to give it to Jack and Luke to give to Nico tomorrow morning, putting the smaller one in the fridge. Before she sleeps, she places a sticky note on the lid, “do not touch or i’ll kill you” written out in all capital letters.
(The next morning, Nico smiles when he sees that Clementine had sent him a short text reading “Happy Birthday Cap!! Enjoy your day :)” When Jack walks into the locker room, cake in his hand and beelining towards him, he’s confused. 
“Special delivery for the birthday boy,” Jack says with a knowing smile. 
Nico furrows his eyebrows. “From who?”
Jack nods to the card taped to the top of the lid. “Read the card and find out.”
Nico sets the cake beside him carefully as Jack practically skips to his stall. He ignores what he feels like are multiple eyes on him as he opens the card. He feels his throat dry up. 
Captain, 
Happy birthday!! It’s always a joy seeing and talking to you, so thank you for bringing that into my time in Jersey so far. I tried my best with the cake, so forgive me if it isn’t perfect, but I hope it brings you a sense of home. 
With love, 
Clementine
Nico takes a closer look at the cake and does a double take, before shooting her a quick text of gratitude and carefully putting it into his locker. Hours later, when he finally gets to try it, he closes his eyes in happiness, savoring the taste of a dessert his grandma used to make all the time when he was younger and thinks about the girl who made it. 
Two days later, when Clementine’s at The Rock to see all Hughes brothers together on the ice as the Devils take on the Canucks, he’s hoping to catch a glimpse of her afterwards. After getting a hattrick, he’s on a high and he’s hoping even more to get a chance to see her afterwards.
He comes out of the locker room, tired but happy, and first sees Ellen Hughes’s unmistakably bright smile. He greets her politely, grin widening as she pulls him into a motherly hug. He shakes Jim’s hand before Clementine practically jumps onto him, congratulating him on his hat trick with a happy squeal. He can’t help but laugh and squeeze her just a bit tighter before letting go and ruffling Luke’s hair. 
“Hey,” he lowers his voice so only Clementine can hear. “Thank you. For the cake. You really didn’t have to. It was delicious.”
“Really?” She says, tucking her hair behind her ears and bouncing on her toes. “Oh, I’m so glad you liked it!”
“How did you-where did you get the recipe?”
“One of my friends from the hospital is Swiss. I asked her, and she got it from her mom.”
All Nico can do is blink, because he’s so fucking touched that someone would go out of the way like that. He takes a second to look at Clementine’s beautiful smile and takes a deep breath. “I really appreciate it. Thank you.”
She just beams. Nico wants to bottle it up. 
Right as he’s slipping into bed that night, he checks his texts one last time, furrowing his eyebrows when he sees a text from Luke from four minutes ago. It’s a Twitter link. Confused, Nico clicks on it. It’s a short clip of the broadcast from the game earlier, after he had scored his hattrick. It shows him celebrating on the ice, then pans the bench, fans, before panning to the Hughes family box. He smiles, watching as everyone cheers, but he immediately notices Clementine, in Quinn’s Canucks jersey nonetheless, jumping out of her seat first and raising her arms in excitement, clapping and shouting and smiling.
As he’s watching the video again, Luke sends another text. 
Luke Hughes
Ask her out already 
I’m getting impatient
Nico just dislikes the second text. He watches the video one more time before shutting off his phone.)
…..
Residency keeps Clementine crazy busy the next few weeks, that even though she wants to go to more games, she’s either working or too tired to drag herself to The Rock. She barely can keep her eyes open even when she puts a game on the TV, and is always fully asleep before Quinn and the Canucks on the west coast even take the ice. 
But finally, on a cold Saturday, on their day off, she drags Emilia along to see the Devils face the Canadiens. It’s a plus that she gets to see Cole again, because Cole has the ability to always put a smile on her face. 
Additionally, it’s a noon game, which is super rare. And Clementine takes that as a chance to host a small little thing at their place afterwards with an open invite to any of the players — on both teams — and their families. She can’t keep track of who knows who in the small world of professional hockey. She’s getting some of her residency friends to come too. 
If she has the energy and time to host something, she’ll do it. She used to love hosting in college and med school, even if it was just something as simple as a potluck. She’s aware it’s the middle of the season and they can’t go crazy, but she loves filling her home with love and conversation. 
Right after the game, she and Emilia both bolt out of there, Clementine momentarily thankful that they coincidentally parked close to the entrance so she could fight her way out of the lot within a decent time. Luckily, a lot of significant others offered to bring something or pick something up, so she and Emilia don’t have to prepare that much. Once they reach the apartment, Emilia helps Clementine out with her giant charcuterie board before taking out the tray of lemon squares she had made the night before and starting to cut them. 
Soon enough, everyone trickles in seemingly one after the other and Clementine is bustling around, making her rounds. She practically pounces on Cole, smiling at the sight of his smile and demanding him to catch her up on everything. 
She’s so busy mingling that she forgets to pour herself a glass of wine even though the bottles have already been opened. She doesn’t really realize it until she feels a tap on her shoulder and turns around to see Nico with a smile paired with a glass of wine in his hand. 
“For you,” Nico says softly. Somehow, it stands out above the loudish volume chatter in the apartment. “Got the last of it in that glass. Figured you might want some.”
She accepts the glass with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Cap. This one is one of my favorites.”
“I figured,” he says. She raises an eyebrow. He smiles a bit shyly. “On Christmas, you brought two bottles of that when we went to see Jack and Luke, and well, your, family. And I’ve seen at least one bottle of it at the apartment every time I’ve gone in recently and I know for a fact that Luke doesn’t like wine and Jack doesn’t know a shitty one from a good one.”
She snorts. “You’d think that allowing them to sneak some from my glass at family dinners for so long would’ve given them some taste. Instead, Luke has decided that a shitty beer is always his go-to and Jack’s go-to drink is a margarita like a psychopath.”
Nico chuckles, amused. “Bashing on Luke’s drink of choice is fair, even if I don’t agree, but what do you have against margaritas?”
“Many of my not-so-great moments in college have started with tequila,” she says with a shudder. “Even the smell of it makes me want to throw up these days.”
He laughs as she sips on her lovely wine. “Party animal back at college?”
“I wouldn’t say so. But work hard, play hard was the motto for a lot of my friends, and I wasn’t always strong enough to ward away their pleas.” She nods at him. “How about you? Is your drink of choice actually beer or are you normal?”
“I’m not picky. Beer’s pretty huge back home, though. So it’s what will usually be shoved in your hand whether you like it or not.”
“I went to Zurich two years ago for a friend’s wedding. It might be the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to.”
“Zurich’s great,” Nico smiles, his eyes flashing in a way she hasn’t seen before. “The whole country. It’s beautiful. It’s home. There’s nothing like home.”
“You miss it during the season? Or are you used to it by now?”
“Mostly used to it. It makes it all the more special when I do go back in the summer, you know? Also, it’s nice to have Siegs, Schmido and Timo here. A little taste of home even though we’re so far from it. Remind me again where home is for you? Toronto, right? Or Michigan?”
She chuckles. “It’s tricky. I grew up in Toronto, but my mom lives in Boston now. And you know, I was out in California for so long. So Toronto, but also Massachusetts, but also California? I don’t really know. But I’m also going to be in Jersey for the next four-ish years at least, so right now, it’s New Jersey.”
“And you’re happy with that?”
Clementine looks around the apartment with a giddy smile. “If it’s gonna look something like this, I think so.” 
“Clem!” She turns her head to see Cole bouncing towards her. He halts quickly though. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You’re good, man.” Nico says, shooting one last smile at Clementine. “Enjoy the wine.”
“Thanks for getting it for me.” He nods once and gives a friendly pat to Cole’s shoulder before walking towards the living room. 
Cole looks between Nico’s retreating back and Clementine, a mischievous smile growing on his lips. She narrows her eyes. “I don’t like that smile, Coley. What do you want?”
“Nothing! It’s a lovely little thing you have here. Thanks for inviting me.”
“Anytime. You looked great out there earlier.”
Cole puffs out his chest a bit and she refrains from rolling her eyes. “You think?”
“Well, I’m not an analyst. Or a coach. Or an expert of the game of hockey in any way. So take all my opinions with a grain of salt.”
“Sure,” he says, leaning his hip on the counter behind him. “But with the amount of hockey games you’ve watched in your lifetime combined with how much you’ve been surrounded by it all your life, I’d say you could give even the best analysts at The Athletic a run for their money.”
“Not by choice,” she grunts. 
Cole just smiles. His default expression, which Clementine can’t help but just adore. “Sure, Clem. Sure.”
“You’re being weird. What do you want?”
“For years you’ve been around hockey players. For years you’ve been around them flirting with you. And you finally crack because of the Swiss captain?”
She plops a few nuts in her mouth. “Whatever Jack and Luke have been feeding you, ignore it. You should know better.”
“They’re not feeding me anything, thank you very much!” She gives him a skeptical look. Cole, like the weakling he is, cracks. “Okay, maybe they have. But I’m also not blind, Clem. Hischier’s well-liked in the league. I think you two would be good together.”
She points at him playfully. “It is not your job to be thinking about these things.”
“Then whose is it?” He shoots back, playful smile still on his face but with a more serious tinge on the edges. “Clem, we’re not 16 anymore. Give us some credit. Let us matchmake a little.”
She snorts. “With love, absolutely fucking not. I know Jack has this fantasy in his head that I’ll date his captain and it’ll be all great, but he needs to chill.”
“He told you that?”
“More or less. He’s not subtle.”
Cole shrugs. “I’m not pushing, Clem. I’m not Jack or, even worse, Trevor. But just, I don’t know. Maybe it’s not just a fantasy in Jack’s mind. He adores Nico. And you know he thinks the world of you. Maybe he actually sees something there. I don’t think he’d encourage it so much or fuck around with that just to fuck around. You’re some of the most important people in his life.” 
Clementine sneaks a look at Nico, who’s literally just existing, and she can’t help but smile. At the sight of his smile. At the sight of him talking to Emilia. At the possibilities. But she turns back to Cole with a dimmer smile. “I don’t know, Coley. It’s not that-Nico’s amazing. He’s honestly just so…good. I don’t think he has a manipulative bone in his body. I just feel like I come with so much baggage, you know? No one’s gonna want that.” 
Cole makes a noise in his throat. “Okay, first of all. It’s not baggage. It’s life. Everyone comes with some sort of baggage, so that’s stupid. Second of all, you have so many people who already love you despite the ‘baggage.’ What’s adding one more person to that list?” 
She just hums. Cole offers her a smile, before switching topics to the Taylor Swift concert he went to last summer, which she knows he’s bringing up just to rile her up.
…..
On April 3, Clementine wakes up for work, to see that Jack and Luke are already awake, much to her surprise. She looks to the kitchen island and sees a plate of blueberry pancakes. She smiles sadly — her dad used to always make blueberry pancakes for breakfast if the boys were over. She doesn’t say anything and just hugs them both tightly as they all dig in. She has to run to work, and kisses them both on the cheek before heading out, promising to see them tonight.
After her shift ends, Clementine ducks into the staff bathroom to change. No jersey this time, but a cropped black Devils crewneck she cut herself with skinny jeans. She bids farewell to her coworkers before swiping her keycard and hopping on the train to Madison Square Garden. She’s meeting up with Emilia, who had the day off, and her husband Tony to watch the Devils take on the Rangers.
She’s grown to love The Rock, but going to a game at Madison Square Garden is pretty cool, even if she gets playfully chirped by Rangers fans multiple times as she walks in. She happily sips on her rum and coke, chatting with Emilia and Tony as she sees the seats slowly fill with blue. Hockey is always fun to watch, but she hasn't been to a game yet that has a rivalry quite like this one. 
As the game starts and she naturally gets into it, she finds herself having a moment where she wishes her father was in the empty seat next to hers. Luke scores a goal, and for a split second, her fingers itch to reach out to hug him as if he was there. She shakes it off and just keeps cheering and playfully getting up in Emilia and Tony’s faces while trying not to spill her second rum and coke for the night. Seeing the 43 on Luke’s jersey makes her emotional and she bites her lip to keep herself together.
Afterwards, after a tough 2-1 loss, she bids Emilia and Tony goodnight as she tries to find the path to the locker rooms, even though she always insists that she doesn’t need an all-access pass or whatever, especially at an away game. But Jack and Luke always insist (“We’re literally all going to the same place after anyways. And this one is at MSG. We gotta make sure you haven’t been injured by their fans.”) and she’s learned to pick her battles with them. 
It’s a nice enough night out, so she decides to wait outside instead of inside the hallway, texting Jack and Luke that she’s outside the exit. She ends up chatting with Jared, one of the guys on their equipment team, about how his daughter is just about to finish her first year of med school at UMass before the doors swing open. As usual, she gives Luke and then Jack comforting hugs, kissing their cheeks and ruffling their hair. Various members of the team start trickling out and she greets them all with smiles, chuckling softly as Dawson wraps her in a tight hug. 
Since MSG is decently close to Newark (without traffic, that is, which is practically impossible for New York City), a lot of the guys drove together to come to the arena this morning. So she watches as they debate who’s getting in whose car, since apparently it has to be different from this morning because of who lives where and a bunch of factors Clementine doesn’t understand. As long as she’s getting home somehow, she doesn’t care. 
She’s tuned them out so it takes Jack calling her name twice for her to pay attention. “Sorry. What’s up?”
“Do you mind riding with Neeks?” Jack says, waving his hand around. “We have a bigger car and it’s easier if we drop off Nate, Holtzy and-”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine,” she turns to Nico. “You sure you have room? I can always just take the train back.”
Nico snorts, “Jack and Luke would kill me if I had you going back on the train this late. I have plenty of room in my car. I’m just taking Bratter back.” 
“Only if you’re sure,” she says, before nodding at Jack and Luke. “See you both at home.”
(She misses the look that the boys all give Nico)
She insists that Jesper take the front seat, practically shoving him and quickly climbing into the back, making Nico laugh. Somehow, the traffic in Lincoln Tunnel is bearable and they’re in Jersey City in just over half an hour. Clementine hops out to give Jesper a hug once they reach his place before sliding into the passenger seat. 
Nico hands her the aux cord, as Jesper had been auxing earlier. She gives him a look. “Are you sure?”
He looks behind him before pulling back on the road. “Why wouldn’t I be?” She hums in response, satisfied, before shuffling one of her playlists. “When do you have to go into work tomorrow?”
“Uh, not until after lunch.”
“Perfect. Are you hungry?” 
“A bit actually, yeah.”
“Wanna grab a quick bite to eat and maybe a drink? I know a place that’s pretty close to here.”
She looks at the side of his face with a smile. “Yeah,” she says softly. “That sounds great.”
Nico catches her eye quickly, and smiles back. “Okay, great. Yeah.”
Within 10 minutes, Nico parks his car in the parking lot of a beer garden. It’s lively, but not crowded enough to overwhelm her. The outside patio is beautiful, and Nico just looks behind her with an encouraging smile. Without thinking, she grabs his hand and they walk in. 
He confidently strolls up to the bar, greeting the bartender, who seems to recognize him and greets him with a friendly handshake, causing her to let go of his hand. The bartender, Adam, he introduces himself as, is already filling up a pint of beer for Nico as he asks her what she wants to drink. She orders herself a rum and coke. He asks if Nico wants “his usual” for the food order and Nico nods, also adding something else that he says too fast for Clementine to decipher. But Adam just nods, before saying he’ll put the order in and goes to prepare their drinks. 
“You come around here often?”
Nico shrugs. “I guess. A bunch of the boys do. It’s a good place to hang out and grab some food.” They both grab their drinks and Nico leads her to the outdoor patio with his hand hovering over her back.
She slides into her seat, putting her hair up and taking a sip of her drink. “I’m sorry about the loss.”
“It’s not the end of the world, since we’ve already clinched playoffs…”
“But it still sucks?” She finishes for him. He nods, and she offers a sympathetic smile. “I get it, especially against the Rangers, I’m sure. But you guys still skated really well.”
“Thanks.” He smiles over his glass. “How was your day?”
Clementine blinks repeatedly, her throat suddenly feeling rough. It’s more likely that he’s just asking to be polite, but the fact that after a tough loss, he’s interested and cares enough to even ask. He must notice something shift in her eyes because he softens, hands itching to grab hers. She does the job for him, grabbing his hand probably too quickly. But before she can think too much on it, he loosely intertwines their fingers on the table. 
She clears her throat. “Honestly, not the best. Ending on a good note though.”
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
She chuckles weakly. “Would you even wanna hear it?”
“Of course I would.”
She finds nothing but sincerity in his eyes. She takes another sip of her drink. “One of the our cancer patient’s chemo results came back ineffective, which is just…so fucking shitty. Docs aren't deterred though and they talked with the kid’s parents today about targeted therapies which is good…” she trails off with a shrug. “Just being in the room as they broke the news, it…I don’t know. It’s always tough. Had me thinking.”
“Back to your own dad?” Nico asks carefully. 
Clementine nods, surprised that he remembered. Before she can respond, their food comes and her stomach is happy seeing the large tray of loaded fries in front of them. They dig in for a moment and she nods. “Yeah.”
“Do you do anything special to celebrate? For his birthday?” He asks. 
“Nothing really set in stone. I always try to do something, whether it’s watch his favorite movie or listen to his favorite songs. Something small and personal. I’m usually not in town to visit his grave, but my mom tries to go. He used to always make blueberry pancakes, so Jack and Luke made some this morning, which was sweet.”
“Jack and Luke know how to make pancakes?”
She snorts. “I’m just as surprised as you are. Yeah, so nothing crazy. Called my mom during my lunch break just to make sure she was all good.”
“What does she do?”
“She’s a teacher. 5th grade. So 10 and 11 year olds. She loves it. All the teachers have their own little group. She has her summers off to travel and spend time with family and friends.” Clementine pulls out her phone, quickly finding a picture in her camera roll of her and mom earlier this year at her graduation. “Good old Maeve. Irish to the core and proud of it, yet still can curse you out in Spanish pretty well. Says that that was one of the first things my dad taught her when they were in college.”
Nico laughs. “I still automatically switch to Swiss-German when I wanna curse and chirp. It takes a couple of seconds to translate to English in my head. But sometimes it just sounds so much better in Swiss-German that I wish people could understand.”
“Do you think in Swiss-German still, or do you think more in English?”
“It depends. I would say day to day, definitely Swiss-German. But if I’m at the rink and I’m, you know, talking to the team and stuff, usually English. I’ve trained myself in games to think pretty much in English now, since it’s so fast. But if I’m tired, my brain just switches back to Swiss-German.”
“That makes sense.”
“Do you speak any other languages?” 
She wipes her fingers on her napkin. “I speak enough Spanish to be able to get by, though it’s not as great as it used to be. Apparently I was fluent as a child.”
“Is all your family in the states?”
“Nah. Every year during the summer when I was a kid, we used to go to Spain and Ireland to see family over there. I haven’t gotten to go back there in a few years, but I’d like to at some point.”
Nico hums, just as a waiter comes with a plate of two large chocolate chip cookies. Clementine grins at Nico, who just nods at her to dig in. “Where in Spain is your family from?”
“Seville area, so more south.” She smiles, picturing Seville in her head, some of the rum and coke finally hitting her. “I loved getting to see where my dad grew up. Playing soccer in the fields where he played. Eating at the small restaurants he used to eat at. Remember when you asked me where home was?” Nico blinks for a moment before nodding. “I think I lied. It’s physical places sure, but it’s always been more of the people for me. And their joy and where they feel the most joy. So if we’re basing it off that, home could be Seville. Home could be Cork in Ireland. Home could be Toronto. Home could be Boston. Hell, home could be fucking Michigan with Q, Jack and Lukey even if I’ve only been there, like, three times.” 
“Well, where’s home for you at this second? Right here. Right now.”
“I don’t know. Everywhere? Nowhere?” She looks down at the table, eyebrows furrowing at herself at how emotional she’s getting. She blames the rum, from just now and earlier at the game. “That’s a depressing answer. I’m sorry. I guess, I just, when Luke scored tonight, the 43 on the back of his jersey, for a split second, I thought my dad was sitting next to me. I reached out to the empty seat next to me like he was. But he wasn’t. And I’m so, so sad he wasn’t.” She sniffles, “I’m sorry. Fuck. This isn’t-”
“Hey, hey.” Nico assures, holding her hand across the table again. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, okay? Nothing. I promise.”
She doesn’t let any tears fall and just stares into Nico’s comforting eyes with a small laugh. “I feel like you’ve seen me emotional a decent amount considering how short of a time we’ve known each other.”
“That’s okay. Emotions are good.” She chuckles again and his dimples grow deeper. “I-I figured today might be hard. I wanted- I wanted to check in and make sure you were okay.”
“So you only asked me to grab food for ulterior motives? Not just cause you wanted to hang out?”
His eyes widen almost comically. “No! No. I-I love spending time with you. I just-”
“Relax, Nico. I’m just messing with you,” she giggles as he rolls his eyes. “I appreciate it, though. Really. I think you’re too kind to me.”
“I’m just the right amount of kind to you.” 
She watches as he finishes off his beer and has a sudden urge to lean across the table and kiss him. 
…..
(That night, when she comes home, she expects Jack and Luke to be asleep. They aren’t. Instead, they’re both sitting on the couch, some random hockey game on quietly in the background. Their heads snap in her direction as the door clicks shut. 
She immediately holds up her hand. “Don’t even. I don’t wanna hear it.”
“Hear what?” Luke says. “That you’re fucking our captain?”
“Crude, first of all. Untrue, second of all. And third of all, and most importantly, you guys are annoying.”
“You’re deflecting,” Jack sings. 
“You haven’t asked me a question,” she shoots back. “Goodnight, you two.”
They both groan. “Can you both just get over whatever the fuck you two have going on and make it official?” Jack whines. 
“Goodnight,” she repeats, walking to her room. “Don’t forget breakfast tomorrow!”
She collapses on her bed and screams into her pillow)
…..
If Clementine’s completely honest to herself, making it to the home games for the playoffs is a priority because she just wants to be there just as much, if not more, than she wants to be there to support. Hockey with stakes is nerve wracking, but it’s also a completely different game than the regular season. Even after what could be the most bone-tiring day of work, she’s excited to have the next month or so be filled with as much hockey as possible. She doesn’t even try to fight when Jack and Luke automatically put her name down for a ticket for every home game. Even if she won’t be able to make it come the day, she’ll just leave it for one of their friends. She heard that some of Luke’s Michigan friends are trying to make it out, to which she’s simultaneously elated by but also dreading. Their apartment will not be quiet for the foreseeable future.
The day of their first game against the Penguins, she doesn’t have to go into the hospital, since she had just done two overnights in three days. She sleeps soundly until 2 p.m., and crawls out quietly, knowing both Jack and Luke’s door are shut as they’re taking their pregame naps. She pours out a cup of coffee, makes herself a sandwich, before settling on the couch with a textbook beside her and her notebook on her lap. 
She hears Jack and Luke start getting ready, shower heads running and closet doors opening and shutting. When they both come out in their game day suits, she insists on taking a picture of the both of them, to which they both groan at. They relent, and she sends the picture to Ellen, Jim and Quinn, before squeezing them and telling them good luck, promising them that she’ll see them afterwards. 
After they leave, she starts getting ready, humming to herself as she heats up the flat iron to put some waves and volume into her hair. She figures she has the time, and she hasn’t done anything to her hair in awhile. 
As she’s about to put the flat iron to her hair, someone knocks on the door. She rolls her eyes and yells out, “You two have keys, you know? Use them for once.” No response, just three more knocks. She huffs in annoyance, sets her flat iron down and walks to the door. 
“I’m going to fucking kill-oh.” It’s Nico, in his perfect game day suit with his hair styled perfectly. “Nico. Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be-”
He kisses her. 
Oh. 
He’s still kissing her, both his hands on her cheeks and she finds herself fisting his shirt. He’s still kissing her, and she doesn’t want him to stop. He tries to pull away, but she pulls him back in, and she smiles against his lips at the little noise that comes out of his mouth. He tastes like mint and home.
He does eventually pull away, flushed and delighted and flustered. “I have to go.”
“You have impeccably shit timing, Cap.”
They both chuckle. He takes a hold of her hands. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I just had to.”
“Why?” She’s not letting him go that easy.
He squeezes her hands. His stare is making her feel the most seen she’s felt in awhile. “Well, I-I have a long answer that I don’t think I can think of right now. But the short answer is that I like you. A lot. And I’ve wanted to kiss you since the day at the hospital and every day since.”
She swallows, straightening his shirt that she messed up. “Go. I’ll see you after the game, yeah?” She kisses him on the cheek before forcing herself to back away. With one last grin, he shoves his hands in his pockets and turns around. She leans her hip against the door frame, “Nico?”
He turns back around in the middle of the hallway, “Yeah?”
She grins, fondness in her skin and bones. “Good luck. You’ll be great.” With one last salute from him, she closes the door. She leans her back against her door and lets out a little squeal. 
…..
(The second Nico walks out of the locker room, all she can see is him. His hair is messy as all hell and he looks exhausted, but his face lights up, and for the first time, she knows it’s because of her.
Without another word, she walks over to him and kisses him. It’s hard to ignore the cheers and whistles from the other people around them, but she ignores them, catching her breath with a giggle. She finally hones in on the other people in the room. Dawson’s grinning, Ryleigh shoots her a thumbs up, Curtis is audibly ‘aww’ing, Jonas is yelling something that she can’t understand but Nico can, judging from his blush. 
“Ew,” Nico and Clementine whip around to see Luke with his nose scrunched up. “Like, I’m happy that you two finally, you know, got your heads out of your asses, but ew. I don’t wanna see it.”
Jack, who’s right next to him, is just grinning. For once, he’s saying nothing. Clementine’s suspicious. She narrows her eyes at him. “Nothing to say, Jacky?”
“Nothing Hisch doesn’t already know,” the two centers exchange a look that has her whipping her head between the both of them. “He’s just lucky we already played Vancouver so he doesn’t have to encounter Quinn.”
“You guys are ridiculous,” Clementine scolds. “Leave him alone.”
“Never, especially not now. Now he’s really stuck with us.” Jack beams. “You gonna ride with Cap or are we taking you home?”
She pokes Nico in the side. He looks down at her with a sweet smile. “Drive me home?” She asks.
“Always.”
For herself, but more to annoy Jack and Luke, she kisses him one more time. They both groan as Clementine feels Nico’s smile against her lips.)
466 notes · View notes
iamnotoriginalphil · 5 months
Text
Sweet Girl (Billie Dean Howard x f!Reader)
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Synopsis: Meeting your mother's friend was the best day of your life.
Words: 6.9k
Warnings: Semi-choking, praise kink, smut, age gap, marking, alcohol consumption, swearing
“Hey, mom, I-”
You paused in the doorway. The blonde woman who looked up at you, hands curled around one of your mother’s mugs, steam wafting upwards, was most certainly not your mom. Her pink lips quirked up into a smile, eyes sweeping over your body before settling on your face again.
“You’re not my mom,” you said.
“I’m certainly not,” she replied.
You weren’t sure what else to say. She was still watching you, head tilted to one side, and you felt yourself tremble under her gaze. There was something about it that felt like a caress across your skin.
“Um, is my mom around? Only I’m pretty sure this is still her house. Unless she moved without telling me which I wouldn’t put past her,” you said.
“She’s upstairs,” she replied.
“Right.”
Your weight rocked forward before you fell back. Looking away, you were feeling something growing in your stomach, familiar and warm, making your fingers itch. You shoved your hands into your pockets. Her low chuckle was throaty, your eyes snapping up to her again.
The silk blouse she was wearing was open just one button too far, an enticing shadow making you want to lean forward and run your tongue between the valley of her breasts. She crossed one leg over the other, drawing your attention down to where her skirt fluttered around her calves. A hand tipped in pink acrylics began to drum over the tabletop, slow and deliberate. You felt breathless, standing under her gaze.
“Ah, darling, you’re here. Wonderful. Have you met Billie? You must have,” your mother said, coming down the stairs.
You dragged your eyes away from her guest, Billie, to look over to her. She was smiling at you, looking ready for brunch. In your jeans and t-shirt, you were definitely the most underdressed in the room.
“Why are you dressed like that?” your mother asked, sweeping past you to sit at the table with Billie.
“You asked me to come over. Is everything okay? What’s going on?” you asked.
“Darling, we’re going to brunch,” she replied.
“What? Mom, I have class in twenty minutes. I thought this was an emergency,” you said, your exasperation leaking through.
“Surely you can skip just this once,” your mother said, “you’re always too busy to see me anymore.”
“Mom,” you sighed.
“Billie was so looking forward to meeting you,” she said.
“Come on,” Billie said, leaning towards you, “live a little.”
“Fine,” you said, “fine, but you’re buying my meal. And drinks.”
“Whatever you say, darling,” she said.
Sitting in the back of your mother’s car as she drove, you did your best not to stare at the blonde head in front of you. Her eyes kept finding yours in the rear view mirror, sparkling brown, while she kept up with her conversation with your mother. You felt like a sullen teenager sitting there, silent and annoyed. The guilt churning in your stomach was an irritant, your mother knowing how to push your buttons.
The restaurant you were brought to was fancy, fancier than you would ever go to with your friends. From the way you were being looked at, you knew you weren’t dressed well enough for the place. You sat outside, across from Billie, your mother between the two of you. Your server poured iced water into the glasses before leaving the three of you, your quiet thanks the only one given.
“What are you studying?” Billie asked.
“Media and communication,” you replied, fiddling with your cloth napkin.
“A useless choice,” your mother scoffed, scanning over the menu, “I told her to choose something worthwhile. Like biology or accounting.”
“I want to make documentaries,” you said, ignoring your mother completely.
“Well, that sounds wonderful,” Billie said.
“Don’t indulge her,” your mother said.
“Mom, we’ve talked about this,” you sighed.
“You’re so smart, darling. You could do more with your life than making silly movies about things people don’t care about,” she said, placing her menu down.
You gave a cursory glance over yours, not wanting to answer her. You’d had that very same argument time and time again, there was no point trying again. She had her opinion and there was no changing it in your experience.
“Perhaps I could put you in contact with some documentarians,” Billie said before your mother could go into it again, “or if you’d like work experience my show is always looking for interns.”
“Show?”
“Darling, you know Billie. There’s no point feigning ignorance,” your mother sighed.
“Billie Dean Howard,” she said, extending her hand over the table, “medium to the stars.”
You shook her hand, the brush of her skin over yours bringing heat to your cheeks. She was giving you a small smile, chin tilted down, her eyes sparkling with interest. Your breath caught, tongue darting out to wet your lips. Her gaze dipped down to your lips, making heat bloom in your stomach.
“You know her,” your mother was saying, not noticing of the moment you were having, “I’m sure you’ve seen her show. It’s always on.”
“Mom, I don’t… own a TV,” you said, breaking the moment, turning away from Billie and the gravity you felt begging you to fall into her.
“You don’t?” Billie asked.
You turned to look at her, finding her resting her chin in the palm of her hand. Your breath caught again, the way she was looking at you was like you were the most interesting thing she could imagine. You weren’t used to being looked at that way.
“May I take your orders?”
You startled, not having noticed the waiter approaching. A curse slipped over your lips, Billie’s throaty chuckle only bringing more heat to your cheeks. You muttered your order, passing over the menu.
“And a round of mimosas,” your mother said.
You opened your mouth to argue but then shut it again. Billie caught your eye, giving you an amused smile. Butterflies burst in your stomach. You looked down to your lap, not needing this while also dealing with your mother. Why did your mother have to have such a beautiful friend?
You listened as they talked, staying silent. Billie kept catching your eye across the table, a twist of her lips and wandering gaze making you wonder if this wasn’t some kind of torture. Your mother seemed none the wiser of your crisis, but the blonde was watching you as you did your best not to wonder what her fingers would feel like trailing along your skin as they circled the rim of her mimosa.
You downed yours in your attempt to keep yourself from groaning when her tongue darted out, chasing a drop of orange juice at the corner of her lips.
Your French toast was placed down in front of you, the mimosa replaced without being asked. Digging in, you watched Billie salt her eggs Benedict. Your mother wrinkled her nose at you.
“Darling, at some point you’ll have to raise your palette to something more adult,” she said.
“You know I have a sweet tooth,” you mumbled.
“It’s hard to resist something so sweet, isn’t it, sweet girl?” Billie said and you thought you had to be reading too much into her words.
There was no way she’d blatantly flirt with you in front of your mom. Would she? Maybe she would. You didn’t know her at all.
You wanted to though.
As you went to take a sip from your replenished mimosa, you felt a foot graze along yours. You spluttered, dribbling some of the cocktail down your chin. You wiped it away, ignoring your mother’s admonishment to glare across the table. Billie had her lips pressed together, suppressing laughter as she peered back at you, eyes twinkling.
Her foot was slow to glide up your leg, taking her time as you felt yourself become more unhinged. Swiping up some of the sauce on her plate, her tongue licked along her fingers before she sucked it into her mouth, cheeks hollowing, dark eyes keeping your attention hostage. Your mother was still speaking, but it was on the periphery of your senses, your entire being focused on the feeling of her foot brushing your leg, her tongue flicking over her skin, her eyes boring into yours.
Her small smirk told you she knew exactly what she was doing to you.
“I should go,” you said, abruptly standing.
“So soon?” Billie asked.
“I have class,” you muttered, “I’ll text you later, mom.”
You fled from your brunch, heart racing and skin tingling. Dark eyes haunted you on your trek to college and you found yourself wondering what pink lips would taste like. You were stuck contemplating the entire experience instead of listening to your classes, not willing to admit how much you wanted her.
Later, at home, you watched clips of her show on YouTube, one hand in your underwear, imagining it was hers.
A week later, against your better judgement, you agreed to join your friends at one of the bougie bars that you knew was overpriced but catered to a certain clientele. Growing up with a relatively rich crowd, you still felt out of place, even with your mother’s money. It had always settled around you like an uncomfortable skin. But every now and then, you joined your childhood friends for a night out.
This time you did not come underdressed. Your dress was nice and your hair was styled. You’d even put on some makeup. You had heels on. No one could suggest you hadn’t dressed up for your night out.
The lighting was dim, making the atmosphere feel intimate. It was the kind of place you’d bring a date, if you wanted to show off the way your father tried to buy your love by filling your bank account.
Your friends claimed one of the tables, plush leather seats cushioning your body. A bottle of champagne was bought for the table, starting off your night. You kept relatively quiet, listening to what your friends had been up to, not wanting to admit that you were still pursuing a college education in something not business adjacent. You’d heard every joke under the sun from them when you’d first started. Mostly about how you were going to be a homeless bum by the time you were thirty.
A large group came in somewhere between the third and fourth round of drinks. You kept your head bent, not caring, only concerned for the noise that would come from them. There was a part of you considering going home, not sure you should have said yes to coming out with your friends. You were getting pleasantly buzzed, but you were tired and looking to curl up in bed with your laptop and thoughts of dark eyes and pink nails.
Noticing your drink was empty, you got to your feet, wandering up to the bar. You hoisted yourself into one of the seats, one leg crossing over the other, the hem of your skirt riding up as you lent forward.
“Hello, sweet girl,” a warm voice purred in your ear.
You startled, turning your head to look over your shoulder. Blonde curls resting against her shoulder, lips pulling up into a wicked smile, dark eyes glittering, Billie Dean Howard looked as if she’d stepped right out of your fantasies. You could feel your eyes widening as you watched her take the seat beside you, long fingers tapping on the top of the bar, pink acrylics making a pleasing noise where they connected with wood.
“What are you doing here, sweet girl?” she asked, “I wouldn’t think this was your kind of a place.”
“My friends,” you gestured somewhere behind you, “they uh… this is their kind of place.”
She didn’t even bother glancing at your group. Her eyes had settled on you and you weren’t sure they would be moving any time soon. The barman arrived and she didn’t even bother looking to him, ordering for both you and herself. Your heart fluttered. She oozed confidence, as if there was no doubt in your mind that she was charming you.
She was.
A green cocktail was placed down in front of you, the gin and tonic she’d ordered far simpler than your drink. She waited for you to try it before she sipped from her own drink, humming low in her throat. You shuddered, sweetness bursting on your tongue from the sugar rim on the glass. You licked some away, watching the way her eyes darkened as she watched your tongue drag along the glass.
“Are you enjoying it, sweet girl?” she asked.
You nodded, “thank you. You didn’t have to.”
“Let me spoil you,” she said, hand landing on your leg.
Her thumb brushed the inside of your thigh, your skin almost electrified under her touch. She lent towards you, her nails digging in just enough to feel the sting. Heat coursed through your veins. You found yourself leaning towards her too, not able to stop yourself.
“Would you like to be spoiled, sweet girl?” she asked in almost a whisper.
Your mouth turned dry, knowing you definitely weren’t reading too much into her words now. Her eyes drifted down, lingering on your cleavage, shown to great effect in your dress. Her hand shifted up, just an inch, making you shiver.
“Well?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Yes please,” you breathed.
Any reason to say no was gone from your head. That fact she was friends with your mom didn’t even register. All you could focus on was the heat pooling in your stomach and the brush of her thumb over the vulnerable skin of your inner thigh. Your teeth sunk into your lower lip, her eyes finding it, focusing as she lent forward even closer, breath ghosting over your skin.
“Hey, who’s this?”
An arm was slung around your shoulders, your friend, Rachel, leaning against you. Billie lent back, hand slipping to rest on your knee. You had to press your lips together to keep your whimper inside, not able to live down the thought of your friend hearing you.
“This is Billie, she’s uh… she’s a friend of mom’s,” you replied.
“Wait, shit, I know you. You’re that psychic off the tv,” Rachel said.
“Medium,” she replied, voice much colder than when it had been directed at you.
“You talk to ghosts and shit,” she said, voice loud from right beside your ear.
“I do,” she replied, tilting her chin up, looking down her nose at your friend.
“That’s crazy,” she said, “you actually think you’re talking to ghosts?”
“I am actually talking to ghosts,” she replied, sounding icier than you’d ever heard her.
“Crazy,” she said again, awed by her supposed insanity.
“Well, it was lovely seeing you,” she said to you.
She rose from the stool she’d been sitting in, leaving your heart thumping wildly. She gave you one lingering look before leaving you be with Rachel. Your friend swooped in, stealing her seat, leaning towards you with her forearms resting on the bar.
“Were you trying to go home with her?” she asked.
“What?” you laughed.
“Celebrity fucking. Are you in on it? Because if you are I think Matthew is winning on that front. He got a Kardashian,” she said, “but hey, I get it. You have to start somewhere. Work up to the big guns.”
“What are you talking about?” you asked, indignation beginning to rise.
“Start with some insignificant woman with a show before you move on to the hot ones. She’ll be easy, I bet. Probably a good ego boost to have someone so young pursuing her. I doubt she’s fucked anyone in ages,” she said before clicking to get the barman’s attention.
“I’m gonna…” You didn’t bother finishing your sentence before you walked off, leaving her to order more drinks.
Outside, you found her again, leaning against the wall, cigarette between fingers, smoke curling out of her mouth. You watched her for a moment, letting your eyes linger on the way her lips pursed, the clinging silk blouse, the long fingers brought to her mouth then away again.
“You’re staring,” she said.
“You’re beautiful,” you replied, then immediately worried you’d been too bold.
She turned to look at you, looking less than impressed at your answer. You clasped your hands together behind your back, not wanting her to see you fidgeting. You swallowed past the lump in your throat.
“I’m sorry about her,” you said, “I don’t think you’re crazy.”
“Many do,” she said.
“Billie,” you breathed out, stepping closer to her until the scent of her cigarette wrapped around you, “I don’t. I think there’s plenty out there we can’t explain and who am I to say if ghosts exist. What I do know is that I’ve been thinking about you since we met.”
She softened, turning her body towards you. You reached out, fingers brushing over the back of her hand. She stubbed her cigarette out on the wall, dropping it into the bin just behind you. In one motion, she curled her arm around your waist, pulling you closer until your body brushed against hers.
“And what have you been thinking when you think about me?” she asked.
“About how you taste,” you groaned.
She grasped your chin, acrylics digging in to the skin of your cheeks. She pulled you forward, breath ghosting over your lips. You finally let yourself whimper. Her smile stretched.
“How can I deny you, sweet girl?” she murmured.
Her lips brushed against yours, tantalising, almost teasing, barely there but making your heart pound and your knees grow weak. Your hands slid along her hips, wanting to pull her closer, wanting to feel her body against yours. She drew back, her hand still holding your chin, keeping you from leaning towards her again.
“How was that?” she asked.
You shook your head, trying to dip back in. She held you tight enough to make you whine, refusing to give you what you wanted.
“Use your words, sweet girl,” she said.
“More,” you whined, “I want more.”
The door to the bar opened, the chatter from inside leaking out. She looked over your shoulder at the couple leaving, a blank mask falling over her face. Dragging her eyes back to you, she softened again.
“Let me take you home, sweet girl,” she said, “say I can have you for the rest of the night.”
“Yeah,” you sighed, “you can have me as long as you want.”
“Careful or I might just end up keeping your forever,” she warned.
You were finding it hard to see that as a bad thing.
She called for a car, keeping one hand on your body, thumb stroking over skin until you were a trembling mess. In the back seat of the car, her hand was slow as it slid up your thigh, keeping up a conversation with the driver, practically ignoring you. You were biting down on your lip, trying to keep silent. Her eyes flashed over to you, glittering when she noticed your struggle. Her thumb passed so close to your heat if you’d shifted your hips just an inch, she could have been touching your panty covered core. Even with the material in the way, you were sure she’d be able to feel how wet you were.
The car pulled up outside a nice home, two stories and large enough for a family to live in. Billie held the door open for you to slide out, her hand settling on the small of your back, leading you up the porch. She pushed the door open, waiting for you to step inside.
“Would you like a drink, sweet girl?” she asked, closing the door.
You’d been expecting her to be on you the moment the door was closed, but instead all she did was trail her fingers along your shoulders before leaving you be. You followed behind, disappoint curling in your gut. Your eyes drifted down to her swaying hips, skirt only accentuating her figure.
She flicked on the light in her kitchen, a wide wall of windows staring back. You followed, not sure what else to do. Reaching above her head, she pulled down a wine glass, only one, before turning back towards you. Her eyes swept over you, from head to toe, smile curling up one corner of her lips.
“You didn’t answer,” she said.
“No.” You shook your head, “I think if I have any more you’ll be taking advantage of me.”
“Well, we can’t have that,” she replied.
She poured herself a glass of white wine, pulled straight from her fridge. She took a sip from it, watching you as she did. Her tongue dragged along her lower lip, catching a drop of stray wine. You made a small noise, her smirk only growing.
“Billie,” you whined, your self respect long since gone. All you wanted was her hands on your bare skin, not this waiting game she was forcing you to play.
“Yes, sweet girl?” she asked.
“Please,” you begged, “I need you.”
“Do you?” She raised an eyebrow at you.
“Yes.”
She placed her glass of wine down before taking a step towards you. With strong hands, she lifted you onto the counter, stepped between your parted legs. Her hands were sliding up the skin of your thigh, making you shiver.
“How’s this?” she asked.
“Uh huh,” you replied, beyond words just from her touch.
Her nose skimmed along your jaw, making your breath hitch. Your legs tightened around her, pinning her there as you whimpered. Her lips were soft as they pressed to your skin, head falling back to give her more access. Her tongue flicked out, tasting you with a soft hum. Your fingers clenched around the edge of the marble countertop, breath already ragged.
Her nails scraped along your skin, pushing up underneath your dress. You would have torn it from your body if she asked, uncaring of anything but giving her more access to you. Her teeth scraped along your skin before sinking in just enough for the sting to be pleasurable. Tongue swiping over it, you could feel her smile against your throat at the strangled noise you made. The way she sucked on your pulse point had your head growing fuzzy.
Your hands found their home on her shoulders, fingers curling as you tried to haul her closer. The throbbing between your legs was insistent but ignored by her. You wanted to reel her in, press against her, rub yourself against her like an animal. Her nails were scraping along your skin, drawing patterns on your skin in a way that had you shivering.
“Billie,” you gasped out, “please.”
“Sorry, sweet girl,” she murmured against your skin, “I can’t get enough of your taste.”
Her tongue swirled again, her soft sigh making you burn. Your fingers curled in her hair, tugging until you were leaning towards her, breath ghosting over her skin. She looked up from under eyelashes, coquettish and innocent, undone by the twist of her lips.
You kissed her, no longer just a brush of lips, all innocence gone. You groaned into her mouth, fingers tightening on blonde curls, tongue licking into her mouth. She allowed you, nails digging into your skin as you did your best to taste her, to explore, to delve deeper until you couldn’t remember what it was to not be kissing her. The taste of wine and cigarettes lingered on her tongue, something sweeter and deeper underneath.
You moaned, chasing her taste, wanting to burn it into your brain until nothing else remained. She was forcing your legs further apart, fingers on your inner thighs, stroking closer and closer to your heated core. She chuckled into your mouth when you whined, hips shifting, trying to urge her on.
Desperate lips trailed down your neck again, nipping at skin. Your fingers, still buried in her hair, clenched, pressing her closer, your pleas ignored as she took her time. Her teeth sunk in as her index finger ghosted over your centre. The noise that came from you had your cheeks heating before your embarrassment was washed away by the need for her touch.
Her finger stroked over you again, still over the top of your underwear. She was sucking another bruise onto your skin, her teeth and her tongue only making you desperate for more. Her finger pressed down, finding your clit through your panties. Her name was a strangled noise, back arching towards her.
“You’re so wet, sweet girl,” she said, “god, you’ve soaked right through.”
You whimpered as she continued to circle it, tortuously slow. She pulled back, eyes sweeping over your face, watching you. Her other hand slipped from under your dress, soft as it drifted up your body. You arched into her touch when she found your breast, begging her for more. She ignored you, hand continuing up until fingers rested on your throat, thumb stroking over the point she’d been sucking on before.
“Do you know how pretty you are?” she asked you, those dark eyes smouldering up at you, “you make such lovely noises for me.”
“Billie,” you whimpered, “Billie please.”
“I like when you beg, sweet girl,” she said, “do it again.”
“Please,” you whined.
“Good girl.”
That only made you tremble, heat coursing through you. From her delighted smile, she seemed to realise the effect her words had on you. Her fingers pushed aside your underwear, fingers swiping through your folds. The sound that came from you was high pitched, hips bucking up against her touch.
The hand around your throat tightened, for just a moment, long enough to make fire burn through you. She tugged you forward, kissing you, teeth sinking into your lower lip. You were aching for her, needing her more than you’d needed anyone before.
Fingers were slow to circle your clit, as if testing how far she could push you before she drove you insane. She drew back, watching you as your chest heaved, skin heating, eyes begging her for more. Lips pulled up into a smirk, the older woman slowing her movements until you felt tears prick in your eyes.
“You’re so pretty for me,” she said, “look how responsive you are. Such a good girl.”
“Billie,” you whined.
“I could watch you like this for hours,” she said.
“Please,” you begged, “please, Billie, I need-“
Her thumb ground against your clit, your words breaking off into a strangled moan. Her delight was enough to let you know you would be given no easy release. You tugged on her hair.
“Do you enjoy that, sweet girl?” she asked, so innocent, as if she wasn’t watching you fall apart in front of her.
Her thumb slipped from your clit, leaving you with the slow circling again, tortuous and maddening. You let out a shaky breath, fingers tightening in her blonde curls.
“I bet you taste sweet,” she murmured, “will you let me taste you, sweet girl?”
“Yes,” you babbled, “please. Oh god, please, Billie. I need you.”
Her hand slipped from your throbbing cunt, making you whine in protest. The hand resting around your throat slid down. Both tugged on the hem of your dress, dragging it up your body. You let her pull it from your body, flinging it aside as her eyes roved over your bare skin and lacy lingerie.
“Who did you wear these pretty things for, sweet girl?” she asked, finger running along the lace of your bra, “was there someone you were hoping would see these?”
“No,” you replied, feeling breathless.
“Don’t lie to me, sweet girl,” she warned.
Her dark eyes met yours and you could see it, swimming in her eyes, no matter how she was trying to hide it. The jealousy. The anger. The thought you’d dressed up for anyone but her. A sense of power flooded your body. To have such an effect on her, to make her feel that way, it was mind blowing for you.
“No one but you,” you said, tugging her closer, “I’ve been thinking of no one else since I met you.”
“You say such lovely things,” she said.
Her hands cupped your breasts, thumbs swiping over your nipples. Your breath stuttered and she lent down, lips ghosting along your skin. Her tongue dipped into the divot between your collarbones, stealing both your breath and your sanity. You moaned her name, arching towards her mouth.
Sliding her hands around your ribs, she unhooked your bra. Her lips continued down before wrapping around one nipple. Your mouth fell open around a silent moan. She wasn’t soft, her sharp suck making you tighten your fingers in her hair. Her tongue flicked over it, making you arch into her, asking for more.
Her nails scraped over your skin, down over your ribs, past the dip of your waist, over the curve of your hips. They hooked into your underwear, pulling them off you. Down your legs and flung aside, you did your best to help her, wanting that tongue where your throbbing heat was.
Lips trailed down your body, leaving your nipples behind despite your whimper. She took her time, lingering on every inch of skin she found. Her tongue would smooth over where her teeth scraped, heat following in her wake. You sighed at the first swipe of it through your folds. Your head fell back, fingers tightening in her hair. She hummed, pressing closer, tongue teasing your entrance.
She wrapped her lips around your clit, tongue flicking over it, then again when you moaned her name. It wasn’t going to take much, not from the way she’d been teasing you all night. And not from the way you’d been fantasising about her all week. The reality was much better than you could have imagined.
And in your imagination she’d been spectacular.
You gasped her name when she began to suck on your bundle of nerves, her hands pushing your legs even further apart. Spread out on her kitchen counter, face buried between your legs, feasting on you, it was as if all your dreams were coming true. She moaned, the vibrations rocketing through your body. Her name was a prayer on your lips and felt yourself coming apart. Her dark eyes looked up your body, catching yours and the way she was watching was like you were fulfilling all of her fantasies too.
The flat of her tongue pressed against your clit. You were writhing under her touch, begging her for release. Her fingers tightened on your thighs until you were sure she’d be leaving bruises for you to find the next day. She moaned again and it was enough.
If you were asked about it, you wouldn’t say you screamed her name, fingers tightening in her hair until you were pulling it. But you did. And she looked like the cat that got the cream because of it.
She cleaned you up with her tongue before she lent back, staring up at you, lips smirking. You pulled her up, kissing her with the kind of abandon you hadn’t let yourself have earlier. She chuckled into your mouth until your legs were tightening around her and your hands were sliding down her body and she began to moan.
“I want to touch you,” you murmured into her mouth, “please let me touch you.”
“I really can’t deny you anything,” she replied, pulling back, “perhaps somewhere comfortable though? I don’t bounce back like I once did.”
Her hand slipped into yours, helping you off the counter. Her eyes trailed over your body for a moment, appreciation filling her face as she took her time studying you. You flushed under her gaze, surprised by how much you liked her looking at you. Where usually you didn’t languish in nudity, the way she was staring made you feel powerful, desirable, stupidly sexy.
She led you further into the house, up the stairs, into a plush bedroom. The carpet underfoot was soft and the bed was huge. She sat on the edge of it, pulling you forward until you were stood between her legs. Leaning down, you threaded your fingers through her hair again, tilting her head up and kissing her until you felt her begin to relax.
You climbed onto her lap, knees either side of her hips. She hummed into your mouth, fingers trailing over your skin until the fire within you reignited. You pushed her back, feeling more than hearing the way she laughed against your lips.
“You’re so beautiful,” you whispered, drawing back to look down at her.
Her eyes brightened and there was a faint flush on her cheeks. Your fingers were careful as you began to unbutton her blouse, exposing tantalising inches of skin to your hungry gaze. Your tongue dragged along your bottom lip as you watched the silk slip from her shoulders. She pulled you down into another kiss, hot and insistent.
Your hands were gentle, fingertips trailing along her skin. It was so soft, and it only made you want more of her. With your tongue in her mouth, you reached behind her, unclasping the bra, pulling it from her body. You trailed your lips down, taking your time to worship every inch you came into contact with. Her fingers found their way into your hair, pressing you closer. You slid down her body, needing a better angle if you were to make her moan your name.
Your tongue tasted her skin, swirling over a nipple, smiling when you felt her arch up towards you. She murmured praise, practically a sigh. Your hands reached for her skirt, slow to unzip it and push it over her hips. She kicked it away before your hand ran up the outside of her thigh. You could feel her warmth practically radiating towards you.
“I can’t get enough of you,” you murmured into her skin.
“You feel so good, sweet girl,” she gasped when your lips made contact with her again.
You pushed her panties aside, slow to touch her, wanting to draw it out as long as possible. If you gave in too quickly you’d take too much. You wanted her falling apart, the way you had, until your name was burned on her tongue.
You collected her wetness, running a finger through her folds. Her breathing stuttered, chest heaving against your mouth. You circled her clit, slow as you lent back, watching her face contort in pleasure. Her lips were smiling, eyes fluttering shut. Your hand slipped down again, finger hovering at her entrance. She looked up at you again.
“Can I?” you asked.
“If you don’t, I’ll be sorely disappointed,” she replied, voice husky.
You smiled down at her, spread out beneath you. With strong hand you tore her underwear off, biting down on her pulse point. Your fingers found her entrance again, lingering just a moment before you pushed in, her arousal making it easier than you would have thought. A soft sigh fell through parted lips and her eyelids fluttered shut again.
Slowly pumping in and out of her you waited until her annoyed gaze found you again. You grinned, pressing a second finger in. You curled them and your name was nothing but a filthy moan on her lips.
You stroked her, thumb finding her clit again. She was writing under your touch, hips rocking against your hand, small noises coming from her. Her hands were fisting her comforter and there was a flush over her chest.
You watched her fall apart beneath you. Her internal walls clamped down on your fingers, your name a breathless sigh, fingers tightening, body going still. You eased her through it, drawing it out as long as you could. Her muscles relaxed, looking up at you with a sleepy smile. You removed your hands from between her legs, tongue lapping at your fingers, tasting her on your skin.
Her eyes began to smoulder, looking up at you. With grasping hands she pulled you down, unbalancing you until both your hands landed either side of her head, catching your weight before you crushed her. She drew you down into a kiss, stealing your breath, sending your head reeling all over again.
“You’re a dream, sweet girl,” she murmured against your lips, “I’m never letting you go.”
You kissed her again before rolling off her, sitting on her plush comforter. Her fingers trailed up your bare thigh, making you shiver under her touch.
“Are you tired?” she asked, voice low, like a whisper caressing over your skin.
“No,” you replied.
“Then let me wear you out, sweet girl.”
When you woke in the morning, the bed was empty, still warm under your touch and more comfortable than the twin bed you’d been sleeping in for the last few months. You sat up, stretching your aching body before brushing the sleep from your eyes. The slant of light said it was late morning. Unsurprising, given Billie had kept you up until the early hours of the morning. The scent of coffee was on the air and you smiled, hearing someone moving downside.
You hunted through the room, finding a soft cashmere sweater. Pulling it on, it hit mid thigh, just enough to cover you but not enough to not be tempting to the insatiable woman. On bare feet you padded down the stairs. Rounding the banister, following your nose, you practically skipped into the kitchen.
You stumbled to a halt, finding a familiar face staring back at you, eyes widening in surprise. Billie turned in her seat, lips quirking up into a smile as her eyes swept over your body.
“Mom?”
You felt your face heat up, taking a step back. She was sitting at the kitchen island, the exact island you’d been sitting on, naked, just a few hours before.
“Darling, what are you doing here?” she asked, “did you spend the night here?”
“Uh…” You looked to Billie, not sure how to answer, “yeah I did.”
“I hope you didn’t bother Billie. She was meant to meet me this morning but when she didn’t show up I had to come hunt her down,” she said.
“She was no bother,” Billie replied, smiling at you over the rim of her coffee cup.
“I thought I was interrupting you after a wild night of passion,” your mother laughed, “with all those clothes scattered around your kitchen.”
“I should… go,” you said, not wanting to think about Billie telling your mother about your night with her.
Only your clothes were bundled up on the counter and you had no way of getting them without making it clear Billie’s night of passion had included you.
“You didn’t interrupt them, did you darling?” she asked, a tinkling laugh tacked on to the end.
“Hardly,” Billie replied.
Your mother was smiling at you and you were frozen and Billie was being no help. You stared helplessly back before your mother’s eyes darted to Billie then the pile of clothes then back to you. You held your breath.
“Darling, you didn’t,” she sighed.
“I… It wasn’t…” You didn’t know how to even begin to end those sentences.
“It appears as if we’ve been busted,” Billie said.
She stood from her barstool, sauntering towards you. Looping an arm around your waist, she pulled you into her body, brushing some of your hair behind your ear. It was so tender, nothing like the seduction you’d experienced the night before. Still, you shivered, her touch enough to set you off.
“If you were jealous of me having a friend there were more productive ways of going about getting my attention,” your mother said, interrupting your moment.
“What?” You looked over to her.
“We could have just had a conversation, darling,” she said.
“You think I…” It was hard to wrap your head around, “do you seriously think I slept with Billie to get your attention?”
“What other possible reason could you have?” she asked.
You felt Billie stiffen against you. You curled your arm around her, wanting to shield her from your mother’s accusations. Glaring at her, you hardened.
“Maybe because I wanted to. God, Mom, not everything is about you,” you said.
“Alright, I’ll play along with your little fantasy,” she said, giving you one of those indulgent smiles you remembered from childhood, “but darling, until you choose to grow up and act like an adult, not everyone is going to be so forgiving.”
“I think you should go,” you said, voice hardening.
“Why on earth would I do that, darling?” she asked.
“Because I’m hoping Billie will fuck me over the top of that counter your sitting at and it’ll be a little awkward if you’re still here when she does,” you replied.
Your mother’s face blanched of colour and she was quick to climb to her feet, muttering something about another meeting she had to get to as she hustled out of there. Billie didn’t bother saying anything, only watching her leave as you kept her close to you. The door slammed behind her retreating back.
“You didn’t have to do that for me,” she murmured.
“Do what?” you asked, looking down at her, “I’m free all day and would quite like it if you fucked me on every available surface in this house.”
She kissed you, long and deep, laughing into your mouth. You pulled her closer, your hands finding her hips as you guided her into the kitchen, pressing her against the kitchen island.
“If you do, I’ll return the favour,” you said.
“You don’t have to convince me,” she murmured, “I’d do anything you asked of me, sweet girl.”
And so she did.
287 notes · View notes
the-grimm-writer · 2 years
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Arranged marriage au with Shoto. He’s quiet, barely even having a conversation with you since you first met a few months ago. And he always has a cold, stoic look on his face that makes you believe that he hates you. You would understand if he did, you weren’t exactly thrilled about the arrangement yourself. 
tw: noncon, forced marriage, breeding kink, shoto really needs to learn how to communicate lmao. fem reader. everyone is 18+!
The marriage itself was beautiful, everything that money could buy. He didn’t touch you like a part of you was expecting him to, or even make you sleep in bed with him. He let you go wherever you want, sleep wherever, and he never asked for anything in return. He offered you everything, luxurious clothes, only the top of the line, sports cars, jewelry. 
But none of that made you happy. 
It felt like you were more roommates and for months you had no idea that he was only trying to make you comfortable. After all, he never wanted to be like his father. But the longer he waited, the more he watched you begin to drift away instead of moving closer to him the way he wants you to, he feels himself starting to crack. 
He didn’t want to be in a loveless marriage, he wasn’t an abusive husband. So why were you seeking comfort in another man’s arms. You were laughing and hugging him, a bright smile that he’d never seen from you before. 
It made jealousy bubble up inside him, made him want to act like the way most of his family would and burn him alive, and fuck you in front of him.
But Shoto was a good man, and he could think of thousands of ways to punish you without being like his father.
You're surprised to see him sitting on the comforter. “Who was that?” 
“Who is who?” You asked confused, about to walk past when he sets down his drink and grabs your wrist. 
“The man that was talking to my wife.” 
Your eyes go wide. “Oh. He’s a childhood friend of mine. He’s nothing to be worried about.” 
“I’m worried about any man that thinks he can talk to my wife.” He stood up. “I tried doing this the best way I thought. But I understand now that I didn’t think it through very well.” 
Sniffling, you looked up at him. “No, you’re not a good husband, Shoto. I didn’t even know you liked me until now.” 
“You’re right.” He stands up, looking down at you. “A good husband provides for his wife. Loves her, spoils her.” He looked down at you and you shivered. “Makes her scream with pleasure, gives her a family.” 
You’re backed up into a wall, and he corners you. His hand reaches out, his thumb running down your lips. “I don’t deserve you,” he murmurs softly. “But I’ve been avoiding my husbandly duties for far too long.” 
“Shoto no -” You try to speak up but he cuts you off the moment he takes off his belt. 
“(Y/n),” he said your name so lovingly, in a way that you always wanted to hear. “I think we’re overdo for our honeymoon.”
-
He holds onto you gently, licking your tears away and gently thrusting into you, nearly collapsing from how good it feels to finally be inside you. 
His moans are soft, but he’s still significantly more vocal than he usually is. He rubs your clit gently, making you wine with pleasure. Every time it sends him closer to the edge. 
Shoto thinks about how good of a mother you’ll be. How gorgeous you’ll look with your tummy round and breasts full. It’s in his nature to be rough, but the first night of lovemaking he focuses all on you. Making sure every thrust gives you a burst of pleasure, hearing you mewl and not know if you’re begging him for one more time to cum.
It’s a miracle that he held himself back for so long, that he never saw the way your eyes almost roll to the back of your head and your body trembles every time he makes you orgasm. The look of shock as he fills you up, your tummy warm with his seed. 
Poor you. You thought that having a loveless marriage was bad. 
Now he wants this. Every single day. 
4K notes · View notes
minniesmutt · 1 month
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⚠︎ ━━━ IN...
⚠︎ ━━━  SS + WC: 8 + 2K
⚠︎ ━━━  CONTENT: ANXIETY, TOXIC EX,
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     “I’m here,” Y/n breathed as she approached the building
      “Okay. There’s a parking garage next to the building. Park in there. i gave the building management your car description so they shouldn’t say anything about you parking here.”
     “Alright.”
     Y/n followed his instructions and found a spot to park. 
     “I’m gonna meet you in the lobby. can you get over there for me?”
     “Yeah. can you stay on the phone?”
     “of course.”
     Y/n switched her phone off the car stereo and turned off her car. She grabbed her stuff and got out of her car. making her way towards the door where it said “LOBBY”
     She could hear Jeongin on the over end with Deiji; could even hear the little coos and babbles.
     “Astrid and ji are almost here by the way. should be another ten minutes till they get Deiji. Have you eaten dinner yet?”
     “No. I was trying to figure out what to eat when Jihyun texted me…”
     “Okay. We’ll order dinner. You can stay over in my guest room so you don’t have to go home.”
     “You don’t have to do that for me,” y/n said, opening the door and entering the lobby
     “Y/n, you’re creating a whole human inside of you. The least I can do is buy you food and give you a sense of safety.”
     She heard an elevator ding before she saw the doors opening and Jeongin walking out with a baby girl in his arms. he ended the call and quickly made his way over to her. y/n met him halfway and wrapped her arms around him. 
     “You’re okay,” Jeongin said as he held her against him. 
     “Thank you,” Y/n muttered
     “Come on,” Jeongin ushered her towards the elevators and took her up to his unit. getting her settled on the couch as soon as they got in.
     Jeongin put Deiji down in one of the stand-up toys and sat with Y/n
     “Still shaken up?” he asked 
     “Yeah,” y/n sighed 
     “Does he have your location?” 
     “No. I turned it off when we broke up.”
     “Still texting you?” 
     “Don’t know. ended up muting the conversation.”
     “Can I see?”
     Y/n nodded and handed him her unlocked phone. Jeongin took it from her hand.
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 “Sorry. That was the only thing I could think of,” Jeongin sighed 
     “It’s fine,” Y/n sniffled
     “Come here,” Jeongin pulled her into his arms.
     Y/n wrapped her arms around him and hid herself in his chest. “I’m sorry…”
     “You don’t need to be sorry,” Jeongin told her.
     Y/n buried her face in Jeongin’s chest as Deiji hit one of her toys. The baby toys filled the silence as Jeongin did his best to comfort the mother of his child. A knock at the door interrupted it. 
    Y/n jumped a bit and Jeongin checked his phone. Seeing the texts from his two friends that they were there. “Just Ji and (Astrid).”
     Jeongin unraveled himself from her and got the door. Letting his two friends inside. Y/n said hi to the couple and (Astrid) checked on her. Jisung grabbed his daughter and the diaper bag. 
     The two didn’t stay long, letting the new soon-to-be-parents be. Jeongin locked the door and walked back over to the couch. Settling back down next to her and grabbed his phone, “Dinner?” 
     “‘M not hungry…”
     “You don’t have to eat it right away, but you need to eat,” Jeongin said
     Y/n nodded in response. Jeongin quickly ordered something he knew she’d eat before pulling her back into his arms.
     “You’re good at taking care of people,” Y/n said
     “Can thank (Astird) for that,” Jeongin said
     “So she told me. Putting you through hell,” Y/n said
     “Yeah. But I wouldn't change anything in my life.”
     “Even us sleeping together and getting pregnant?”
     “No. I wouldn’t change it.”
     The two sat on the couch— only getting up to eat which Jeongin was proud he got her to do when the food got there. Ending up with her laying back against him, his hands rubbing her belly. A random Netflix show playing on the TV. Y/n looked down at his fingers gently drumming on her belly. For a moment, living in a little fantasy that they were a little family. 
     “You okay?” Jeongin asked
     “Yeah,” Y/n nodded, not realizing she started crying 
     “Why are you crying?” Jeongin sat up more 
     “Don’t know,” Y/n said, wiping away the tears.
     Jeongin grabbed the box of tissues from the coffee table and handed it to her. Y/n thanked him and wiped away the tears more as he rubbed her back. “You want to talk about it?”
     “No.” Y/n shook her head
     “What do you need?”
     “Think I just need to sleep.”
     Jeongin nodded and helped her up from the couch. Leading her down the hallway of the penthouse to the guest room. “Text me if you need anything. Okay? And I’m just over there if I don't reply.”
     “Thanks,” Y/n smiled and walked into the room. She closed the door behind her and sat on the bed. 
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     Y/n sighed and set her phone on the nightstand and crawled under the covers of the bed. Trying to get some sleep but she was too worried to sleep. Eventually giving up and walking down the hallway to Jeongin’s room. The door was opened and he wasn’t inside so she wandered out to the living room.
     The TV was still playing while he was sitting on the couch with his phone. He looked over as he heard her walking in. “Thought you were sleeping.”
     “Tried, can’t.”
     “You wanna talk?”
     Y/n nodded and sat next to him, “Do you think I can stay for the week? just the whole thing with—“
     “Yeah. That’s fine. I can take you to get some stuff from your place tomorrow,” Jeongin answered 
     “Thank you,” Y/n smiled 
     “Something else bugging you?” 
     “Yeah, but nothing for you to worry about.”
     “I’m going to worry either way.”
     “Just, earlier when i was crying, i got in my head for second about us being a real family. And then i remembered we weren’t together and I always thought when I got pregnant I'd be in a relationship and getting to have a family.”
     “And it’s hurting you’re not?”
     “Just a little. That’s not on you though. we agreed to co-parent and that’s that. I think it just hurts more because I’m actually starting to like you in a romantic sense but—“
     Jeongin nodded, “What if we tried?”
     “In, you don’t —“
     “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t feel the same, Y/n.”
     “Huh?”
     “Okay,” Jeonging turned to face her, “I’d be an idiot not to admit I thought you were pretty when we were at S-class, even though we were drunk and didn’t remember anything. I’d also be dumb not to say I’ve thought about us as a family, dating and raising a kid. My family already likes you, which is a bonus. I’m not saying I'm in love because this is all fresh and it doesn’t feel like we’re there, but I do like you as more than a friend or someone I'm raising a kid with.”
     Y/n looked at him, tears welling in her eyes before she leaned for and wrapped her arms around him. Jeongin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. “I know you're dealing with your ex but my offer is going to stay as long as we have the baby.”
     “I wanna try,” Y/n said as she pulled away from the hug, “I’m tired of Jihyun holding onto my life when he fucks it up. I wanna move on from that.”
     “We’ll go slow then, not rush anything.” 
     “Okay,” Y/n nodded as Jeongin wiped her tears 
     “Okay,” Jeongin answered, “How about we get some sleep and go out for breakfast in the morning after getting some stuff from your place.”
     “I’d like that.”
     “Come on,” Jeongin helped her up again
     “Can you… stay with me? maybe?” Y/n asked
     “Yeah.”
     Jeongin led her to his room and let her get the bed before him. Jeongin climbed into the bed behind her and wrapped an arm around her, laying his hand on her growing stomach. Y/n smiled to herself as she laid her hand over his and closed her eyes.
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ladykailitha · 2 months
Text
Not All That Glitters is Gold Part 11
The second one for today. Steve and Eddie have an actual conversation about their wants and needs from the relationship.
Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4 Pt 5 Pt 6 Pt 7 Pt 8 Pt 9 Pt 10
@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @redfreckledwolf @emly03 @itsall-taken
****
Eddie laughed when Steve explained the reason for the flowers that night over drinks. “Do you really think your parents will leave you alone now?”
Steve shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But they’ll fuck off for awhile at least. And honestly you can’t buy that kind of peace.”
He smiled. “Damn straight. My own dear ole dad came out of the woodwork when Corroded Coffin hit it big. Tried to take credit for teaching me to play guitar.”
Steve leaned forward, chin on his fist. “I’m guessing that’s nowhere near what actually happened?”
“Oh hell no,” Eddie scoffed. “He taught me how to hotwire cars, blend into crowds to get away from cops, and how to lie through your teeth so convincingly that no one could tell. But you want to know who did teach me how to play? My Uncle Wayne. The man who took me in when the cops finally caught up with the rat bastard.”
Steve sighed wistfully. “God, what I would have given to have an Uncle Wayne. But sadly, when the test came back as infertile all they could think about was how to ‘recoup the loss of having an omega for a son’.”
Eddie’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. “Are you fucking with me?”
“I wish I was,” Steve said mournfully, shaking his head. “Most of the men on my dad’s side of the family were alphas and if they weren’t then they were omegas pumping out babies like a machine.”
Eddie winced and took Steve’s free hand in his. “I’m sorry, baby. That’s got have been so hard.”
Steve squeezed Eddie’s hand with a sigh. “The disappointment was so palpable in that doctor’s office you could cut it with a knife.” He shook his head. “They even refused further testing, even though my great-great grandmother on my mother’s side was a golden omega.”
“Really?” Eddie said, his eyebrows shooting up. “Damn. Those are super rare.”
Steve nodded. “I have two friends with red hair and that’s more common than a golden omega.”
“But if they were so desperate for money why didn’t they test for it?” he asked gently.
Steve shrugged. “My dad is a skinflint. The cost of the test outweighed the gamble on my chance of being ultra-fertile instead.”
“Damn just think you could have had your choice of any alpha in the country,” Eddie teased, “if they had and you turned out to be one.”
Steve shook his head, wrapping Eddie’s hand in both of his. “Nah, I prefer it this way, I have a job I love, a best friend I couldn’t live without and you. If I had been a golden omega, my parents would have made me chose from the crustiest, conservative assholes they could find.”
Eddied ducked his head and blushed to the roots of his hair. “So I’m assuming the label sent you a copy of the interview today?” he asked shyly.
Steve nodded. “Of course. You were so cute.”
“So call me stupid,” he said clearing his throat, “but I didn’t know escorts were allowed partners. I looked it up, a couple even have bonds. Like how the fuck does that work?”
Steve laughed bright and clear and Eddie went to remove his hand from his, but Steve held on tight.
“I wasn’t laughing at you, babe,” Steve soothed. “I was laughing because Robin thought that you weren’t aware and told me to clear it up with you. That was the main reason for drinks tonight.”
Eddie blinked at him owlishly. “Wait, really?”
“Of course,” Steve said. “But to answer your question about how omegas with bondmates can still be escorts, you forget that a lot of what we do isn’t about sex. Everyone associates escorts with sex, but that’s just a common misconception. Sometimes people just want the attention of a kind omega with no strings attached.” He kissed Eddie’s knuckles gently. “And then there are the ones that want a ‘cheating’ scenario without the drama of actually cheating.”
Eddie frowned. “So how does that work?”
“They want to have sex with a bonded omega,” Steve explained. “But without having to worry that there would an actual alpha gunning for them.”
“And their alpha doesn’t care they’re having sex with other alphas?” Eddie asked, tilting his head to the side, his eyes gentle and curious, not judging.
Steve shook his head. “Nope. Things can change, of course. A famous Starcourt escort Mia Sanchez retired last year because her alpha asked her to. But they had been bonded for fifteen years before retirement.”
“Huh.”
That filled Eddie with a warmth he didn’t know he was missing until that moment. He licked his bottom lip slowly.
“And if I wanted to properly court you,” he asked easily, “what would you say to that?”
Steve grinned back at him. “I’d say yes.”
Eddie leapt from his seat and came around the table to kiss him firmly on the lips.
Steve laughed, breaking the kiss, but Eddie didn’t mind. He couldn’t be happier.
“So you don’t want me to chose between you and my job, then?” Steve asked, referring to their contract.
Eddie shook his head. “If there was a way that you could be happy with both, darlin’, that was choice I was always going to make.”
“What about the Grammy’s and your rut?” Steve asked, concerned. He felt bad, but he still wanted to get paid for those things. He didn’t want to suddenly have Eddie expect them for free now that they were courting.
“Don’t worry, Stevie,” Eddie murmured into his omega’s ear. “The contract will still be for those things, we just won’t have a fake break up of our fake relationship after my rut.”
Steve’s lip wobbled. “Would it be a real break up of a real relationship?” he asked softly.
Eddie pulled him in for a big hug. “Not for all the gold in all the world. Okay?”
He let out a shuddering breath. “I’m okay with that.”
Eddie kissed him again before going back to sit down in his chair. “So for the Grammy’s I looked over those two outfits you sent me for suggestion on what you should wear.”
Steve smiled, grateful for the change of topic to something safer and more comfortable for him. “Yeah, which one did you prefer? I mean, I have closet full of amazing clothes and if nothing suits your fancy...” he half shrugged, “it gives me chance to go shopping.”
Eddie laughed. “No, no. I loved them both. Though taking you shopping has it’s appeal...” He shook his head. “I’m getting off the track here. I want you to wear the mini to the awards and the pant suit to the Vanity Fair after party.”
Steve’s mouth formed an ‘O’ and he grinned. “That is a fantastic idea. I love it.”
“I thought you’d like that,” Eddie said with a grin. “Do you get to wear much stuff that’s just for you or do you have to be ‘Starcourt Escort’ twenty four seven?”
Steve shrugged. “It’s a bit half and half if I’m honest. I don’t have to be dressed to the nines all the time...”
“But if you don’t,” Eddie said with a growl, “all the tabloids say that you’re ‘letting yourself go’?”
Steve blushed and nodded.
“What would you want to wear if you weren’t ‘escort Steve’?” Eddie asked, motioning to the waiter that they needed another round.
“It’s stupid,” he said, tucking his chin tightly to his chest. “I’m a fashion plate. That’s what I’m supposed to be.”
Eddie clicked his tongue and wagged his finger. “None of that. I won’t let anyone talk shit about my boyfriend, not even himself.”
That surprised a laugh out of him. “I like the polos, Henley’s, and chinos look. Lame I know.”
Eddie’s eyebrows shot up. That was not the answer he had expected at all. He thought it would have been sweat pants and baggy sweaters.
“It’s not lame if it makes you feel good about yourself,” he insisted.
Another couple of bottles of beer arrived and Steve grabbed one. He just held it in his hands. He let out a long sigh.
“You know how we can roleplay situations for clients?”
Eddie nodded. They had done the meet-cute in a bar roleplay just last night.
“There’s one you won’t find on my list,” he continued. “At least not anymore.”
Eddie could feel the tension build between them. Whatever this was about was fucking hard for Steve to talk about.
“Sometimes busy executives and business owners like to have a scenario where they come home to a cute little omega housewife. If it’s a female omega, think the 1950s type. Dresses and high heels.”
And suddenly what Steve was talking about hit Eddie like a fist to the solar plexus. Male omegas would be in the polos and chinos. But the roleplay had tainted Steve’s love for those kinds of clothes and it made Eddie furious.
“And if you’re seen out and about wearing them,” he guessed, “people think you’re doing the roleplay, don’t they?”
Steve flushed in shame. He nodded once.
“Shit, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Are you sure you like this job?”
Steve’s head snapped up. “Yes! The good far out weighs the bad. Like ruts without an omega can actually fuck up an alpha body. Like completely wreck it to hell. So I get to go in and help these alphas that don’t have an omega they can trust and help them through one of the worst weeks of their year and that it happens multiple times, anywhere from three to five depending on their age. Yes, I’m trained to be charming and great in bed, but that? That’s what makes everything worth while.”
He was panting at the end of his rant, eyes wild, hands clutching Eddie’s fiercely.
Eddie chuckled. “All right, darlin’. I didn’t mean to offend.”
Steve ducked his head and Eddie gently lifted it back up with two fingers. “I like that you’re passionate about what you love, honey. It makes you sparkle.”
Steve looked down at his watch and cursed. “I’ve got to go.” He looked back up at him. “But I’ll see you on Friday?”
Eddie grinned. “It’s a date, sweetheart.”
Steve hopped off his seat and walked away.
Eddie shook his head and murmured, “Hate to see you leave, but damn do I love to watch you go.”
Steve ass looked amazing in whatever the guy wore. But now Eddie understood his need for hyper-masculinity. Even when he was wearing that golden dress, it highlighted his flat chest and broad thighs.
People made assumptions about who Steve was based on what he was wearing at all times and if he was even the slightest bit not what people expected he got hell for it.
In a lot of ways, Steve’s every move was even more scrutinized than Eddie’s and he was the frontman of a very famous metal band. He couldn’t imagine living the way Steve did. But despite all the hang ups and downsides, Steve was happy and you really couldn’t buy that.
He paid the tab and walked out onto the pavement. He lit up a cigarette and took a long drag. He let out the smoke slowly and flicked away the ash.
Eddie was content with his lot in life for the first time since he moved in with his uncle, Wayne. Wayne was always supportive of whatever Eddie wanted to do in life and was happy to hear about Steve.
And even happier when Eddie had called him this afternoon to tell him Stevie might agree to date without all the hoopla of the agency. Everything Eddie did, Wayne was sure to hear about it first.
Wayne was home. No matter the distance. Something Eddie never thought he’d find out here in California.
Stevie was quickly becoming home for him. He never thought he would want to mate, not after seeing how horrible his parents acted. But now?
Now he couldn’t wait to start courting the most beautiful omega in the world.
Eddie took another drag of his cigarette and then flicked it away. He hailed a cab and gave directions for home.
He couldn’t wait to show Steve off on live television. And maybe just maybe win a Grammy or two.
****
Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17
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