#hopefully I’ll have better references for it too

[saterise]

Do you have references for chibis?

I don’t have any specific ones but here’s a chibi of dream I did a lil while ago :]

[chibishortdeath]

Hmmm I kinda want to make a side blog for RPG Maker game development related things to be able to talk to more experienced people in that community, but at the same time I both don’t really think I’d get much attention and don’t want to accidentally spoil my own game (^^ ; ).

I have a rough story, concept doodles, a tileset, some character sprites, an enemy that walks around but can’t initiate battle yet (if I even decide to have a battle system), a couple rooms with some events, and a functioning run button, but I’m still lost on how to do much else at the moment. Especially since this program has the ability for scripting, meaning I’ll probably have to learn and actually retain another coding language.

So, I’m not very far at all lol. Idk how well that’d go over on the established fandom website, but eh.

[mysicklove]

CW: Aged up character, sub! Yuuji Itadori, dom! gn! reader, mentions of cock rings/cock cages, heavy orgasm control, reader likes to mess with poor yuuji, dacryphilia, fingers in mouth

WC: 1.2k

A/N: i made this to (hopefully) get out of my writers slump. idk. it was fun to write tho LOL. i neeeeed to work on my WIPs tho.

"Oh Yuuji, I'm disappointed."

His eyes widen at the tone of your voice, soft and defeated, like you truly were upset with him. The idea makes his mouth go dry, and he bites his lip to hold back his tears.

"I-It was an accident, I swear!" he stammers, clinging onto your arm to hopefully convey how panicked he seemed to be. Even an ounce of disapproval from you made him want to sing apologies, and the way you were frowning at him made him sick to his stomach.

You brush his cheek, and he tries to nuzzle into it, but you pull it away before he can, earning a pitiful whimper from the pink-haired boy. He tries to chase your hand, but you give him a warning glare, and he backs down immediately. “You weren’t supposed to cum. I told you no.”

“Imsorryimsorryimsorry!” Yuuji yelps, gripping at his boxers as tears begin to threaten to fall. “I got too excited. It felt too good. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to disappoint you!”

You shake your head at him, pulling away from him. “I don’t like playing with boys who don’t listen.”

The noise that falls from his mouth is pitiful, and even you flinch at the sound. His only goal was to please you, and hearing your words made his heart throb. “No, no, no,” he pleads, “I-I’ll be good again! I’ll listen this time!”

You were sadistic, and he knew you were, so when he saw you smile, more tears cascaded down his face. Alas, you wipe them away and say, "I don't believe you. Do I need to put your ring on again?"

Yuuji hates his cock ring. It was his second least favorite toy you have bought for him. Not being able to cum was one of the most frustrating feelings, especially when he always had so much of it to give.

"No. No I-I dont need my ring," he begs, pawing at your arm. His body was caving over himself, and at this point he was borderline clinging to you, shoving his face into your neck. It was an act to look smaller, more pathetic, and if hopes that he looks meek enough you may take pity on him. "I'll do good this time."

It works, surprisingly enough - you rub the back of his hair and trace his back muscles. He slumps in your hold, knowing well what the affectionate touches meant. Slowly, you move away the arm on his back to his groin, where his cock is already half-hard again.

"You won't cum until I allow you to, yes?"

"Yes," he breathes, relief washing over him at the fact that he isn't going to be punished. "I won't. I promise I won't this time."

Your tongue drags over his neck, and he shivers, eyes shutting and letting out a small gasp. Then, you begin your movements on his cock, sliding your nearly closed palm up and down. His previous cum acts as makeshift lube, and almost instantaneously he grows hard again. It makes you grin at him. "You are quite eager, aren't you, Yuuji?"

"S-Sorry. I just...like it. A lot..." he breathes, squeezing his eyes shut as his mouth drops open.

You lean forward to kiss the scar beneath his right eye, and he lets out a small breathless moan at the soft touch of your lips. "What do you like a lot?"

Yuuji, in return, gulps, flushing a shade of red. He looks at the hand pumping his cock, watching the way your thumb rubs at his plush tip as if daring him to cum again. But still, he manages to respond. "Um-When you touch my...c-cock."

The word was always so embarrassing to him, so lewd sounding. But it was the way you wanted him to refer to it, so he abided by the term that made him feel like he was straight out of a porno.

"That's it," you praise, tilting his head to plant another soft kiss on his mouth. "Will you cum then?"

Yuuji knows better by now, and so he rapidly shakes his head. "No. Not until you allow me to."

He was speaking in between kisses, eyes closed and leaning as close to you as possible.

"And what if you are to wait a week to cum? Make you get out your cage as punishment."

The man's entire body goes rigid, and he quickly pulls away from your mouth, eyes owlish. The hand moves away from the spot between his legs, and he clenches his fists to restrain the urge to force it back.

He seems to be at a loss for words, biting the inside of his cheek and furrowing his eyebrows. A fresh new set of tears slides down his face, but he is quick to wipe them off with the back of his hand.

Although the cockring was torture in the moment, chastity was by far the hardest thing for Yuuji to do. He had a high sex drive, and even going a week without cumming sounded torturous. The longest he has gone is four days without an orgasm, and he was practically pawing at your feet like some sort of attention-starved puppy to get you to touch him.

To trick him into thinking he was going to get another orgasm was cruel, and he was incredibly frustrated. His cock was so hard it was borderline painful, and knowing that he was not going to be granted a release made him unreasonably upset.

But he did disobey you, and you were known to be cruel to him. He looks at your knees and bites his lip. The words come out in a low whisper as if he were almost afraid of them. "I'll go grab m-my cage."

Yuuji begins to pull away from you, heading to the closet to where the devilish toy is located, when suddenly a hand grips the back of his hair and pulls him back to you. His lips forcefully lock onto yours, and immediately your tongue slides into his mouth. He gets so distracted by the suddenness of it all that when he feels the hand back on his cock he lets out a guttural moan that is swallowed by your mouth.

And then you pull away from him, leaving him hazy-eyed and breathless as you lick at the saliva coating your lips. Your other hand thumbs at his lips, and you grin at him, leaning forward. "You're such a good boy, Yuuji. Makes me want to tease you till you run out of tears."

Your thumb has made its way into his mouth, and it presses onto his tongue. The only noise he can make is a low whine, not liking that idea at all but not daring to try to speak with your finger pressed inside his mouth.

But then, much to the boys suprise, you lean forward till you are inches away from his ear and mutter, "You have my permission to cum whenever you like."

And just like a kid in a candy store, Yuuji's eyes lighten.

[babydollmarauders]

OHMAMI — QUINN HUGHES

quinn hughes x fem!reader

summary: in which Quinn fucks his girlfriend in the backseat of his new car

warnings: NSFW!!, p in v (unprotected), semi-public sex, daddy kink, oral (f receiving), light choking, praise, dirty talk, dom!quinn, lots of use of the pet name “baby”, slight religious reference (?), pls let me know if i’m missing any.

notes: inspired by OHMAMI by Chase Atlantic (feat. Maggie Lindemann). 4.6k words.

IMPORTANT: please look up Ferrari GTC4Lusso T interior if you need a better understanding of the car layout

“you’re sure about this?” i mindlessly wander the office of the luxury dealership, my fingertips running over any surface they can touch.

“why wouldn’t i be?” Quinn peers up at me from his spot in a chair, his iphone in his hands, mid-texting his younger brother.

“i don’t know, Q. it’s just a lot of money is all.” shrugging, i shuffle my feet back over to my boyfriend, where i let my hands rest on his shoulders as i stand behind him.

Quinn lets out a chuckle, pulling one of my hands in his and raising it to his lips to press a gentle kiss against my knuckles.

“i appreciate the financial concern, baby, but i think i’ll be okay.”

i sigh, moving around to sit on his lap. “okay.”

his arm spindles around my waist as he draws me back, my back flat against his chest. my fingers unconsciously draw shapes on his forearm, near the crook of his elbow, as he continues texting Jack about the big purchase he’s about to make.

i eye his phone, watching the blue and gray bubbles pop up back and forth and hoping we’ll be done here soon.

two hours of looking at cars, Quinn asking a multitude of questions to the salesman; half an hour of paperwork, and another half hour of waiting for said salesman to run Quinn’s name through the system, checking his credit score and whatever various other things needed to buy such a high-end car. i’ve been stuck at this dealership for three hours now, unplanned, as Quinn had pulled into the establishment after our spur-of-the-moment 3pm lunch date, claiming he just wanted to take a quick look at a couple of cars.

“Quinny,” i breathe out, letting my head fall backwards on his shoulder while his hand starts mindlessly rubbing up and down my thigh. “how much longer will we have to be here?”

“i don’t know, baby. hopefully not too much longer.” he locks his phone, setting it on his thigh and using his now free hand to caress my cheek, simultaneously turning my head to look into my eyes.

“is my girl tired?” he coos at the sight of my fluttering eyelids, leaning in to brush his lips lightly over mine.

“mhm” i hum, burrowing my face in his neck. his hand moves as i do, now resting on the back of my head, holding it in its position.

it’s at this moment that the salesman decides to make his re-entrance. “alright! everything checks out, looks good!”

i immediately attempt to pry myself from my boyfriend, but he holds me in place, clearly not bothered by the new company.

“i knew it would!” Quinn smiles back at the man, putting on his usual charm.

“now all we need is that down payment and you’ll be driving out of here in your very own Ferrari!” the salesman, i haven’t bothered to learn his name, chimes. “do you have a credit card you can give me?”

“yep,” Quinn taps my butt, signaling for me to lift it so he can grab his wallet from his pocket. i do so and he unpockets his wallet before pulling me back down on his lap. “here you go.”

the man takes Quinn’s card, taking a seat at his desk and punching the information from the card before handing it back.

“alright,” he grabs a few papers from the printer behind him, stapling them together and scribbling in a few places before sliding them towards my boyfriend. “just sign here, and here.”

Quinn leans forward and his left arm tightens around my waist to keep me situated on his lap, taking the pen in his right hand and autographing his signature twice.

“congratulations!” the salesman grins, handing the new keys to Quinn and shaking his hand.

“thanks, man.” Quinn smiles crookedly, rising from the chair and bringing me up with him.

we follow behind the salesman, back out to the Ferrari that Quinn just bought; which is now parked next to Jack’s Range Rover, in which we drove here.

i take Jack’s keys from Quinn with a sigh. knowing i’m now responsible for getting such an expensive car back to the lake house is a frightening task that i didn’t expect to be doing today, but one i’m now stuck with nonetheless.

“i’ll see you back at the house, yeah?” Quinn smiles. his hand grips my waist, pulling my lower half into his as he lowers his lips onto mine in a breathless kiss.

“yeah, wish me luck. if i get even a scratch on this car, Jack will have my head on a stick.” i gnaw at my lower lip in anxiety, but his free hand comes up to my chin, his thumb pulling my lip free from my teeth.

“nah, he loves you too much. he’d have my head on a stick.” he laughs, before lightly nudging me back towards the car.

“that’s even worse!” i tease. “how am i supposed to explain to the Canucks that their star defenseman is dead because i scratched his brothers car?”

“eh, you’re smart,” he winks, rounding the Ferrari. “you’ll think of something.”

we climb into the respective cars, and Quinn is gracious enough to wait while i adjust the seat to my height before he begins leading the way to the lake house.

the drive is smooth, and when we arrive at the house, Quinn opens my door as i return the seat adjustments back to the way Jack had them.

“see?” he grins, leaning over my body to unbuckle my seatbelt for me. “the car is all good.”

“it better be. that car is my baby.” Jack pipes up from behind him, making Quinn roll his eyes. “if anything were to happen-”

“yeah, yeah.” he cuts him off. “if anything were to happen to it, you would’ve killed her.”

i feign a gasp, jokingly smacking his arm.

“you said he would kill you.” i say in mock shock.

Quinn shrugs. “i was trying to calm your nerves.”

i playfully push him away, hopping out of the car to face Jack, who’s now too busy ogling the Ferrari to pay any attention to his own vehicle.

“i’m gonna go see if your mom needs any help with dinner.” i announce, already stepping towards the house. “have fun showing off your new toy, babe!”

i pass by a horde of guys on my way into the house, bumping hips with Cole, who ends up giggling.

“going to see the new thing?” i ask, and Trevor stops dead in his tracks.

“that thing is a 2022 Ferrari GTC4Lusso.” Trevor explains, as if i understand a single thing he’s just said.

“sure. whatever it is, it cost a lot.” i shrug, carrying on into the house. “enjoy.”

i join Ellen in the kitchen, making myself busy by tossing together the salad ingredients she has on the counter.

we make small talk as we cook, letting the men have their fun gawking at the new car, and enjoying the silence that comes with it.

“do you wanna go tell them dinner is ready?” she more so tells me to do, and i fake a pout.

“do i have to? it’s so peaceful. we could easily just slip out back and eat dinner by the lake without them ever even noticing.” i wiggle my eyebrows enticingly and she laughs, shooing me off towards the front door.

“i had to try.” i giggle out, opening the front door to the gaggle of men. “boys! dinner’s ready!”

they all make their way up the porch and i stand idly by, waiting for my own man to enter the house. finally, he appears at the very back of the group, smirking as he wraps an arm around my waist, walking me to the dining room.

“i was thinking after dinner, you and i could go for a drive. just us.” he pecks a kiss to my cheek as we sit at the table, and i nod.

“sure, sounds nice.” his hand rests on my thigh now, partly covered by my sundress, and i squirm a little at his touch on my bare skin.

it’s been at least three weeks since Quinn and i have been able to do anything past PG-13, him not wanting to risk it while his parents are here, and i’m starting to feel restless.

the smallest touches from him have been causing me to get slick with need, and i squeeze my thighs together to provide myself some friction, but it never helps. like now.

i know Quinn has caught on because his grip tightens just the slightest bit, his thumb beginning to stroke my skin.

“you okay, baby?” he’s teasing me, asking his question in such a sweet tone that anyone else at the dinner table would think he’s just checking in on his girlfriend, but he and i know that isn’t the case.

“mhm” i hum, attempting to ignore his touch as i fill my plate and his.

“now y/n, Quinn is a grown man with two hands; he can make his own plate, honey.” Ellen jests, poking a dig at her eldest son.

“acts of service is her love language, ma.” Quinn pokes back before pressing another chaste kiss to my cheek, muttering his thank you as we begin to eat.

the table is filled with a generous amount of chatting as we eat; Jack telling a story about something that happened in Jersey, Luke telling everyone about how Luca Fantilli got his head stuck in stair banisters… twice, Trevor going on a long-winded rant about a missed goal; but Quinn and i are mostly silent. Quinn because he’s just almost been more of the listen rather than talk type, and me because i don’t trust my voice while my boyfriend is currently inching his hand up the bottom of my dress.

someone seems to catch onto my lack of interest though, because Alex eyes me curiously from his spot in front of me, and then chooses to speak up.

“you’re quiet tonight, y/n.” his statement draws the attention of the rest of the group, their eyes gravitating towards me.

“just tired.” i fib, my voice tight as Quinn’s hand slowly slides towards my inner thigh, now just far enough away that if he spreads his fingers, his pinky will graze against my wet panties. “who knew three hours at a car dealership could be so draining.”

Cole laughs, obviously buying my lie, which causes the rest of the table to chuckle.

“oh yeah, honey. buying a car will do that.” Ellen sympathizes. “the long process sucks the life right out of you.”

the chatter carries on around me and i return to my silence. dinner has long since been finished, and Luke proposes making s’mores for dessert, so Quinn takes that as our chance to escape.

“you guys go ahead,” he starts. his warm touch disappears from my skin as he rises from his chair. “y/n and i are gonna go for a drive. i wanna show her why this purchase was worth it.”

he holds his hand out for mine and i falter, looking between Ellen and him.

“i usually help your mom with the dishes.” i remind him, gesturing towards the table full of plates.

“oh don’t worry about it,” Ellen chimes. “Jack can help me.”

“i- what?” Jack sputters, finally looking away from the phone screen he’s been engrossed in for the past few minutes. “what about me? i was checking the Yankees score.”

Quinn rolls his eyes at his younger brother, shaking his head as he grasps my hand, pulling me up from my seat and leading me through the house.

“we’ll be back in a little bit!” he calls out as we exit through the front door.

climbing into the car, i can feel the excitement radiating off of him.

“okay, i know i’m not a car person, but what is a drive in it supposed to show me?” i ask as he starts the engine. his hand gravitates to the back of my headrest as he reverses out of the driveway, his eyes flicking between the backup camera and the back window of the car.

it should be illegal to be this hot while reversing a car.

fuck, y/n. focus.

“you’ll understand once you ride it.”

i scan his body, my eyes lingering in one specific place.

i can think of something i’d like to ride.

shit, y/n. think with your brain, not your hormones.

“okay.” i drag out, leaning back in the seat and relaxing as he drives down the street.

the car is quiet besides the soft hum of the radio, tuned into a random pop hits station that i know Quinn turned on just for me.

his left hand sits on the steering wheel, while his right reaches over to lay upon my thigh, causing my thoughts to run wild. fantasies and memories of us tangled in the sheets, his hand on my throat as he hovers above me, or better yet; his hand in between my legs, his fingers working me toward my orgasm.

i can feel my skin get red and hot, as i imagine all the ways i would be with him if we weren’t stuck in a house full of people.

… but we’re not there now.

Quinn exits onto the highway, the car speeding up as he does so, and i glance toward the back seat.

it’s small, but we could make it work.

my hand snakes up to sit on top of his and his eyes flicker towards me, a soft smile resting on his lips at the sweet gesture. and i let him believe that for a few minutes before i’m pulling his hand up my thigh, closer towards my soaking core.

“baby-” he breathes out, his words failing him when he finally feels how wet i am.

“we’re all alone.” i state, my head lolling back against the seat as his fingers start stroking me through my panties like they have a mind of their own.

“baby, i’m driving.” his voice is strained, a vein popping out on his neck as he clenches his jaw.

my hand leaves his, instead reaching over to palm him through his jeans, in which his left hand leaves the wheel to lightly swat mine away.

“i can’t drive if you do that.”

i huff but it blends into a moan as his thumb begins to circle my clit.

“so, pull over.” i suggest, ready for something more.

he’s hesitant, i can tell, so i pull out the secret weapon.

“please, daddy.” i whimper, reaching over to palm his now hard cock once more.

“fuck.” he curses, switching lanes to get off on the next exit.

he quickly finds a mostly abandoned lookout, only one other car parked on the other side of the lot, and switches into park.

his eyes are cloudy with need as he turns to look at me, his fingers still working themselves on my bundle of nerves. my breaths come out in heavy pants that mingle with moans.

“faster.” i plead, but rather than obeying my lust-hazed command, he pulls his hand away completely. i mewl at the loss of touch, but his hand winds up to the base of my neck, his grasp just light enough to remind me who’s in charge, but not tight enough to do any harm to my air supply.

“you don’t call the shots here, darling.” he whispers before pulling me by his grip into a bruising kiss.

his tongue brushes against mine and his teeth bite down on my lower lip, making me whimper. when he pulls away, i can just barely make out his features within the darkness of the Ferrari.

“get in the back.” he orders and i scramble to unbuckle my seatbelt, climbing over the center console and into the divided backseat.

rather than joining me by climbing back, Quinn exits the car, rounding the front and opening the passenger side door. he pulls the passenger seat forward, climbing in on his knees and shutting the door, the seat still pulled as far forward as it’ll go.

his arms hook around my legs, pulling me forward so that i’m slumped in the seat, my ass sitting on the edge. he looks up at me with dark eyes, placing my legs over his shoulders as he leans forward.

his hands glide up my legs, bunching my sundress up to my waist. his tongue licks a stripe over my clothed cunt and i shudder, my left hand attempting to grip at the leather of the backseat center console, as my right finds itself tangled in his hair.

he pulls away, despite my attempts to hold him in place, and his fingertips play with the waistband of my lacy yellow panties.

“beg me.” he insists, teasing me by hooking his fingers in the sides of my underwear, but not making any further moves.

“please, Quinn.” i plead, and he pulls one side away from my skin then lets it snap back into place, causing me to jolt.

“uh-uh.” he shakes his head, backing away just slightly.

“please, daddy, please.” i cry out, attempting to pull him in again. “i’ll be good, i promise.”

“yeah?” Quinn taunts, slowly pulling my panties down my legs as i lift myself just barely from the seat. he knocks my legs from his shoulders, pulling the under garment off and throwing it in the front seat.

“mhm.” i nod my head wildly, my brows raising as i do so. “i’ll be so good. just please, please, do something.”

Quinn wastes no more time, pushing one of my legs up to hook over the backseat center console as the other hooks over his shoulder. he dives down, licking up my heat like a man starved.

his tongue circles my clit and my head drops back, but he provides a swift smack to my thigh to remind me to look at him. one of his rules.

i bite my lip to try and muffle my cries of pleasure, his hand rising to pull the top of my dress down just enough for my breasts to pop out. he grips one, harshly squeezing before he pinches at my nipple.

my jaw drops open, a breathy moan escaping my lips as my back attempts to arch in the small space.

“fuck!” i cry out, tugging at his hair. “yes, daddy!”

he shifts between sucking on clit to licking in my cunt, fucking me with his tongue. my hips stutter and he holds my leg open as it tries to unhook itself from the console in order to close on his head.

i tug again at his hair, pushing his head further into me, and he moans, the vibrations flowing straight into my core. i cry out again, the familiar knot in my stomach slowly building the longer he continues.

“please!” i whine. “please, make me come!”

Quinn’s dips down to show more love to my pussy, and his nose brushes against my clit, my hips immediately beginning to grind against him. my legs begin to shake and i can feel myself getting closer and closer to release.

“right there! don’t stop!”

i’m sure anyone outside the car can probably hear my screams, but it doesn’t deter me. too busy chasing my high to care what anyone else may think.

of course, Quinn doesn’t listen, knowing my body well enough to know exactly what will set me off. his lips close around my clit, sucking and flicking his tongue, and it only takes a few moments for me to reach the edge.

“i’m gonna come! fuck, i’m gonna come!” i warn him but he only pushes deeper, flicking his tongue faster against the button of nerves, and i let out a guttural moan as i finally let go, coming on his face. he laps at my release, riding me through my orgasm, only stopping once i begin to twitch at the feeling.

“now you see why i won’t do anything at the house?” he teases, smirking as he wipes at the juices on his chin with the back of his hoodie sleeve. “you’re so vocal. i love it, but i don’t want anyone else hearing your sounds. they’re just for me.”

my hand hook around the nape of his neck and i pull him up to my face, pressing my lips against his. he moans into the kiss and i can taste myself on his lips; slightly sweet, slightly salty, and it turns me on; pushing me towards another round.

i release him from my grasp, lightly shooing him backwards and fiddling with the button on his pants.

“i want you to fuck me.” i breathe out, pulling his zipper down.

“oh yeah?” his smirk grows, clearly not expecting any more than we just did.

“yes, please.” i nod, pulling his pants down, his erection popping free and slapping against his clothed torso. “please fuck me, daddy.”

i maneuver myself onto my knees, slowly bending myself over the center console, allowing my right leg to straighten some, my foot dropping down to the floor of the car as the other leg stays bent on the backseat; allowing him a full view of my glistening pussy.

“since you asked so nicely, baby.” Quinn joins me on the seat, knelt behind me at a slightly awkward angle as he pulls his pants down some more.

i bite back a giddy smile, waiting impatiently for him to fill me up, and i’m not disappointed when i look back to find him grasping his cock. he runs it through my folds a few times, lubing himself up with my release, and i arch my back to better accommodate him.

my eyes roll back, a moan bubbling up my throat as he pushes his tip into my entrance, thrusting in just slightly before pulling back and repeating.

“daddy, please.” i whine, still frustratingly horny and awaiting his full size.

it doesn’t take any more begging than that, Quinn suddenly bottoming out inside me.

“fuck, baby, you feel so good.” he groans, but i’m too busy choking out my own cries to reply.

he begins thrusting slowly, and i nearly let out a sob of relief at the feeling.

“whadd’ya think?” he asks, his voice strained as he thrusts into me, fucking my hips into the leather of the center console. “how does my cock feel, fucking your greedy little pussy?”

“so good!” i exclaim, pushing back against him. my eyes squeeze shut as his hand wraps around my throat, the other gripping my hip. “feels so good!”

“love watching your ass bounce off me as i fuck you like this.” he groans and his dirty talk succeeds in making me clench around him, causing him to moan.

i peek back to find his head thrown back, his jaw slack and his eyes firmly shut for a moment before he looks back down, making eye contact with me.

he leans forward, his front pressing against my back as he kisses my lips, nipping at my lips before he pulls back and continues fucking into me at a faster rhythm.

my head drops forward, my hair curtaining my face, and i let out a cry of pleasure as he begins rubbing my clit.

my back arches again, and i whimper when his hand leaves my throat in order to smooth down my spine, pushing my back down further.

“taking me so well.” he praises, thrusting harder than before, and i can feel the knot that had just come undone, tangling back together. “such a good girl for me.”

”only for you, daddy.” he continues his assault on my clit and the sensation mixed with the fullness of him pushing into me makes my legs begin to shake once more.

i can feel his dick pulsating, and his strokes become sloppier, assuring me that he’s close. i clench around him, my eyes rolling back and stars dancing in my vision.

“oh god, i’m coming!” i announce.

Quinn grips my hip tight, “god isn’t in this car, baby.”

my hips begin to falter in their movements, my body locking up and my breath catching in my throat as i come for the second time tonight.

my orgasm spurs on his; his hips stuttering and his breathing falling heavy, a grunt escaping his lips as he finishes inside of me.

his thrusts stop, the car falling silent except our heavy pants as we catch our breath. the windows are fogged, the scent of sex lingering around us.

Quinn pulls out of me and i slump against the center console, listening to him pull his pants back up. he pulls my sundress back down to cover my ass before he sits, gripping my hips and pulling me back and onto his lap, my back now pressed against the side of the car.

my head lolls sideways onto his shoulder, my eyes closed, and he chuckles, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. caressing my cheek, he pecks a soft kiss onto my nose and the corners of my lips twitch up in a smile.

“worth the wait?” he questions and my eyelids flutter open. i nod, craning my neck to kiss his cheek, and he smiles.

“my girl needs some sleep, huh?” he asks, and i nod again, but make no moves to get up. “let’s get you home.”

my limbs feel like jello as i climb out of the car, letting him out before i push the passenger seat back and sit back down, buckling up. Quinn rounds the car, climbing into the drivers side and starting the engine once more.

but before beginning to drive, he reaches down and pulls my panties out from under his thigh. laughing, he hands them back to me, and i giggle as i pull them back on.

the ride home is mostly quiet, my head resting against the cool glass window and our hands laced together, with his right one back in its place on the steering wheel.

“well,” i start as we pull into the driveway, my voice hoarse from my earlier cries. “we christened the car.”

Quinn lets out a hearty laugh, letting go of my hand to put the car in park and turn off the engine.

he jumps out of the car as i unbuckle, making his way around to my door and letting me out.

“what do you think the odds are that they’ll be asleep?” he grins as i pretend to ponder his question.

“your parents? one hundred percent. everyone else? maybe twenty percent.” i joke and he shrugs.

“i’ll take those odds.” we make our way up the porch and he unlocks the door, attempting to stay quiet in order to sneak past any stray boys still in the open space of the house.

but luck is officially not on our side as we open the front door to the living room full of his brothers and their friends on the couch playing video games.

Quinn quietly curses as heads turn to look at us, and Trevor is the first to put together our long drive and our disheveled appearances. he busts out in laughter, pointing between my boyfriend and i.

“oh you guys fucked.” he cackles, wheezing in amusement.

Jack and Luke’s noses scrunch for a moment before they too join in on the laughter, but luckily Alex and Cole just shake their heads at their friends.

“you guys are so immature.” Quinn scoffs, lacing his hand in mine as we head toward the stairs, up to our bedroom.

“in the new car, guys? seriously?” Jack calls out, and his older brother rolls his eyes, continuing up the stairs.

“goodnight!”

[7ndipity]

“Are You Confident?”

fwb!Jungkook x Plus Size Reader

Summary: The one where you get fed up with Jungkook’s teasing and decide to take him up on his offer.

Word Count: just under 1.7k

Warnings: +18 mdni, smut. oral(m. receiving), swearing, Jk starts out fuckboy-ish but turns subby, slight dom reader, reader’s referred to as Noona, not proofread

A/N: This idea has been sitting in my drafts since early December, but I finally managed to finish part one! This is sort of a prequel to this drabble, so if you can read it too if you liked this one. I’ll also be posting part two and a masterlist(hopefully)later this week, so lmk what you think!

Masterlist

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

If you had to choose a favorite place in the whole world, you would choose Jungkook’s apartment without a thought. Not your own apartment, not you favorite shop, not even the dream vacation you’d been planning and saving up for forever, just being tucked into the corner of Jungkook’s couch, Bam curled up next to you, his massive head resting in your lap, subtly begging for pets as you vented to his owner about your most recent dating fiasco.

The guy one of your friends had set you up with had seemed nice enough at first, but as dinner progressed, things had progressively gone downhill.

“Did he least pay for dinner?” Jungkook asked, sprawled on the opposite end of the couch.

“I’d assume so, I walked out before the bill even came.” You replied, taking a long drink from your glass.

“Why do you even bother with dating anyway? You said before you hated it.” He asked.

“I’ve told you, I’m… lonely.” You said pointedly, avoiding his eyes.

He squinted at you, understanding suddenly flashing across his face.

“Ah, so you just need to get laid?” He asked, sitting back with a smirk as your face flushed with color. “Why didn’t you just say so? I could help you with that.”

“Ugh, shut up.” You groaned, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

“I’m serious.” He said, following you. “It’s better than fucking some random asshole.”

This type of conversation was a recurring thing in your friendship. Jungkook loved to tease you, and with a relationship that had grown as close as yours had, he had plenty of opportunities.

Your friends often joked that the two of you should just date already with the way you acted with each other, often toeing the line between what was typically considered okay for ‘just friends’. You’d slept in the same bed more times than you could count(a fact that had made Taehyung nearly choke on his drink when he’d found out), you’d even kissed at his friend's New Years Eve party after a few too many drinks and a similar conversation to the one you were currently having, lamenting about not having someone to kiss at midnight.

You didn’t know what had possessed you to do it, all you could remember was hearing the countdown and leaning in, connecting your lips with his for the briefest moment, only for him to quickly chase after yours when you had started to pull away.

Neither of you had brought it up afterwards, but the memory of it was permanently seared into your mind; the feel of his lips moving against yours, the way his hands had gently gripped your waist-

You shook your head, redirecting your attention back to the current moment, trying to ignore Jungkook as he leaned against the counter next to you.

“Look, if you don’t want to, that’s totally fine, I’m just offering a possible solution to your problem,” He said, shrugging as he grinned at you. “You know, if you’re really desperate.”

You scoffed. “You’re one to talk. When's the last time you even went on a date again?”

Your words had the desired effect on him, turning his expression sour.

“That’s different, I’ve been… busy.” He said grudgingly.

“Uh-huh, sure.” You grinned triumphantly.

“I mean it though,” He said. “If that’s really all you’re after, I’d be glad to help.”

You blinked at him in disbelief. “Seriously?”

“Yeah,” He shrugged. “I mean, like you said, it’s not like I've got anything going either. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, just two friends helping each other out.”

“That is, if you think you can handle me.” He added with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes, letting out an irritated laugh. “Please, I could handle you.”

“Are you confident?” He asked, quirking a brow at you.

“Yes.” You answered immediately, catching both him and yourself off guard as you stared him down.

Your words weren’t entirely true, you weren’t all that confident when it came to things like this, but Jungkook had a way of triggering your stubborn streak, whether it was with that cocky smile he always threw your way or the domineering tone he like to tease you with, something about him made you suddenly brave and willing to challenge anything he said.

Normally, that was part of what made your friendship fun, the two of you constantly bickering and at odds with each other, but this was much different than arguing over where to get dinner or what to watch on tv.

You were chest to chest now, able to feel his heart pounding surprisingly fast as he stared down at you.

“Prove it.” He said, his tone having lost its teasing edge as his gaze flickered between your eyes and your mouth.

That was all it took to make you break.

You closed the gap between the two of you, pushing him back against the wall as your lips clashed.

This wasn’t at all like the first time you’d kissed, there was no hesitancy or tender playfulness, it was hot and rushed and needy, full of tongue and teeth.

You were aware of a voice in the back of your head frantically screaming at you, something about how this was terrible idea and could ruin things between you and Jungkook completely, but you really couldn’t bring yourself to care as his warm hands found your waist, pulling you flush against him as his tongue fought with yours for dominance. He tasted sharp and sweet like the wine you had brought, his skin hot under your fingertips as your hands slipped from his shoulders to tangle in his hair, tugging lightly at the strands and earning a low grunt from him.

His grip on your hips tightened before sliding down to grope your ass, grinding you against the growing bulge in his pants.

A surprised squeak left you, making him chuckle against your lips as you mentally cursed yourself. You were not about to let him have the upper hand, not this quickly.

You slipped a hand down between you to palm him over his pants, squeezing just enough to cause what sounded very much like a moan to you to release from his throat, though you knew he’d tried to deny it.

Just as suddenly as you’d begun, you pulled away, making his eyes snap open in confusion.

“What are you-?” He panted, stopping in shock as you dropped to your knees in front of him.

“I’m helping you out.” You said simply, undoing his belt as you looked up at him with doe eyes. “Is that okay?”

He nodded, breathing unsteadily.

“I need words, Sweetie.” You said, making him flush at the petname as you fiddled with his zipper. “I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me.”

“I want it,” He quickly blurted, giving up control with surprising ease as he stared down at you, eyes black with need. “I-I want your mouth, please.”

“Good boy.” You tugged his jeans down, revealing the prominent tent in his boxers, a small wet patch on the material showing just how eager he was.

“These are cute.” You commented, toying with the waistband before letting it snap back against his skin, making him jump slightly. “Purple looks good on you.”

“Noona, please.” He whined in frustration, his head falling back against the wall as his hips twitched forward involuntarily.

“Fine, since you’re asking so politely.” You pulled his boxers down, letting his cock spring free, hanging heavy in front of your face.

He was slightly bigger than you expected, the tip flushed deep red and leaking precum as you took him in your hand, making him shudder.

“Mm, should’ve known, even your cock’s pretty.” You mused, leaning in to give it a cursory lick, sucking the tip into your mouth for a moment before pulling back, leaving a few kisses along the underside of his length as you glanced up at him to gauge his reaction.

He was staring down at you slack-jawed, his breaths coming out in uneven pants as you pumped him with your hand.

He already looked slightly fucked out and you’d barely done anything to him yet, giving you a massive surge of confidence as you held eye contact with him, gathering as much spit as you could in your mouth before letting it dribble down over his twitching length.

“Fuck.” He muttered under his breath, squiming slightly.

Still holding his gaze, you took him fully into your mouth, sinking down as far as you could go.

“Fuck!” He gasped, his head falling back against the wall with a thump as you pulled back, swirling your tongue around him teasingly before sinking down again, letting him hit the back of your throat and holding him there for a moment before pulling off.

You quickly found your rhythm, bobbing your head up and down on him and using your hands on what wouldn’t fit in your mouth.

He let out a low whine, fists clenched so tight against his thighs his knuckles had gone white.

Noticing this, you used your free hand to guide his to your head, letting him tangle his fingers in your hair and giving him something to ground himself with.

All too soon, you felt him beginning to tense, his grip on your head tightening as his thighs started to shake.

“Fuck, ‘m gonna cum.” He whimpered. “Where do you want me to-?”

You only answer to him taking him and deeper and swallowing around him, making him cry out as his hip bucked forward, fucking your face as he chased his release.

“Shit, Y/n, I-” His words were choked off with a groan as he came, cumming down your throat in hot spurts.

He slumped back against the wall, breathing hard as you slowly pulled off of him, making a point to meet his eyes again as you swallowed.

“Shit, Y/n,” He said weakly as you stood back up. “That was-”

You cut him off with another kiss, feeling him twitch against your leg as he tasted himself on your tongue.

“I’m not done with you yet.”

Taglist: @sopebubbles-replies @btsw1fe @this-must-be-my-tardis @whitefoxgirl @bethanysnow @coffeedepressionsoup @main-bangtansmauyeondan @feminympho @a-gayish-unicorn @dfqcsqueen @ldysmfrst

[formulawolff]

viii. shining bright in suzuka - t.w.

pairing: female driver! x toto wolff

word count: 3.0k

warnings: this chapter is a lot milder, so my apologies. cursing, banter, teasing, references to sex, toto being flustered as fuck, discussion of hickeys, references to oral (f! receiving), yadayadayada

prev. | next.

“jet lagged, are we?” 

an elbow nudges shoulder, prodding you awake, “wakey, wakeyyyyy.”

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

peering from under your hood, you make out alex standing over you, a smirk painting his lips, “what time is it?”

“around 9 i think,” pulling his phone out of his pocket, he checks the time, “well, more like 9:30. what time did you fly in last night?”

“too late,” you grumble, rubbing your heavy lids, “way too late.”

“how long was your flight? because you look absolutely miserable,” although alex’s question is innocent, you hold your tongue. 

while you didn’t necessarily want to lie, you almost had to.

“about twenty hours.”

“yikes,” alex shakes his head, his focus directed on his phone, “sucks to suck.”

“where did you fly out from? monaco? did lily come with you?”

“maybeeee,” his voice crescendos, his smiling growing, “but yeah, she came with. she’s sleeping right now though. or getting ready. i’m not sure. but she’ll be here shortly.”

“yayyyy!” kicking your feet, you fish your phone out of your hoodie pocket, “she’s my favorite golfer, you know that?”

“she can’t be your favorite,” he shakes his head, thumbs fiddling with the screen, “she’s my favorite golfer so that means you have to pick someone else. i’m her number one fan, actually.” 

“okay fine,” you huff, “i’ll be her second number one fan.”

alex’s girlfriend, better known as muni “lily” he, was a professional golfer. she was undeniably gorgeous, with luscious, thick hair, a slim build, and beautiful, bright eyes. they reminded you of a sunlight shining through a forest, a rich,earthy hue. in addition to her stunning features, she was a kind, bubbly individual, quickly bonding with you over your shared status as professional athletes. she was hilarious as well, often getting you to crack a smile in the paddock after a rough lap or after being grilled in a press conference. 

her relationship with alex began after she watched a season of drive to survive on netflix. from there, the two connected over instagram, sharing conversations over their shared interests. that aspect always made you giggle, as she was the ultimate fangirl. her support for alex was adorable, and he was so in love with her. 

that was something you admired about alex. his fierce love for lily and his ability to be able to share it with the world, the two posting one another often across their social medias. 

if only you could tell the world about toto. 

fuck, if only you could tell your parents you had met someone. 

however, your relationship status with the team principal was complicated. 

extremely complicated. 

the time you spent with him in brackley was pure and utter bliss. since you had time to waste, you mostly spent it in his bed, cuddling one another, relishing one another’s presence. he was able to explain some more about his divorce with susie some, relieving your lingering anxiety over the matter.

when the two of you weren’t talking, cuddling, or sleeping, you found your bodies intertwined, his name flowing from your lips. notes of purple, blue, and pink painted your shoulders, breasts, collarbone, and thighs. fuck, there was probably even on one of your ass cheeks. you were so sore, your walls stretched, inner thighs aching. 

hopefully it wouldn’t affect your ability to race. 

you prayed to god it wouldn’t. 

there was one thing you couldn’t get over, even if it was a little ridiculous. 

how was he able to maintain that pace in bed? it was honestly impressive how high his libido was. and his stamina? oh fuck. you were the one who had to tap out nearly every time. yet, he was so gentle with you afterwards, placing soft kisses on every inch of your skin, assuring you that he would massage any sore muscles, offering to make you food if you were hungry.  

one night, he even sang you to sleep. it was a german tune, so you didn’t quite understand the words. but the gesture was enough to have you melting in his arms, falling asleep only minutes after he started. every morning, you’d wake up to his head between your thighs, toto utterly devouring you until he was satisfied. 

you couldn’t express how grateful you were to finally have some time alone with him, where you didn’t have to worry about missing flights or meetings. where you could kiss him as many times as you wanted. where you could just lay with him, your head on his chest as he replied to emails. he didn’t answer a single work-related call in that time, all of his attention focused on you.

as you sat with alex, you couldn’t help but wonder.

what was the label you could place on your relationship with the team principal?

meanwhile, toto wolff stood in the mercedes paddock, mingling with george and lewis. a team member approaches toto, tablet in hand. 

“mr. wolff, we’ve comprised a report of the necessary adjustments needed for this weekend’s race.”

“beautiful,” lewis hamilton finds himself arching a brow as he notices the grin plastered across his team principal’s face, “here, let’s go over here, and you can discuss it with me further. excuse me, you two. we’ll talk more later.”

as the team principal strolls away, lewis turns to his fellow driver. the other brit appears just as shocked, eyes wide, lips parted. 

“what the fuck happened over our break?”

“he’s been so smiley today,” lewis folds his arms across his chest, “do you think he got laid?”

“toto?” george tuts, “surely not. he doesn’t have the time to get laid. he’s always complaining about this meeting, some press conference, a mercedes showcasing. his schedule is packed so tightly, you have to make an appointment to speak with him for more than five minutes.”

“come on, mate,” lewis nods over the team principal, noticing the prominent mark on his neck, just barely peeking out over his collar, “george. he has a hickey. he has a fucking hickey.”

“surely no– oh my god,” george’s arms drop to his sides as he glances over, also taking note of the mark, “holy shit. he did get laid.”

“but who?” lewis presses, “who in their right mind would fuck that man? a recent divorcee? i pray for whoever the poor girl was.”

“the man’s a billionaire,” george waves a hand, “i’m sure there are models practically throwing themselves at him in monaco. perhaps he met a girl at a club or something. i wouldn’t think too much of it. although, it would probably be best if you mentioned the hickey. the press would be all over that.”

“what the fuck am i supposed to say?” lewis hisses, “should it be something like, ‘oh mate, i think you need to take a look at your neck. you have something there.’ or what?”

“wait,” george’s brows furrow, “he was in brackley. he responded to one of my texts saying he was working from the headquarters over break–”

“he fucked someone from mercedes?” lewis’ eyes widen, a hand flying to his mouth, “oh fuck. who could it possibly be?”

“well first things first,” george clears his throat, “you need to mention the hickey. then we need to focus on the practice laps. if we do well and he’s in a good mood, we’ll casually bring it up. we’ll say something like, ‘oh we’ve noticed you’ve been wearing that cheeky grin lately. is there something behind that? are you seeing someone, perhaps?’ we’ll be real smooth with it, so that he doesn’t suspect anything. if we perform poorly, i don’t think he would want to discuss it.”

“well no shit.”

“oh god,” george straightens his posture, “he’s coming back over here. you better say something!”

as the team principal grows near, the british drivers engage in conversation, discussing their performance from the last race. toto clears his throat, running a hand through his hair. 

“i hope i’m not interrupting anything between you two.”

“oh no,” lewis bears a quaint smile, “we were just talking about the fia’s decision regarding that williams driver.”

“the american girl?” toto inquires, maintaining his composure, “she really did a number on you, george.”

“just like someone did a number on your neck,” lewis chips in, teasing lightly, “what were you up to these past couple of days? up to no good?”

“what are you–” toto’s eyes narrow, yet the realization washes over him as he takes in the smug expressions across his drivers’ faces. 

the hickey was visible. the one on the left side of his neck.

“i-i don’t know what you’re rambling about.”

“mhmmm,” lewis puckers his lips, “tell me toto, did you get laid recently?”

inhaling a sharp breath, the team principal puts up his hands, in a vain attempt to cease their speculations. 

yet, he was well aware there was no stopping those two. 

the teasing was going to ensue the entire weekend. and they were going to be relentless, pressing each and every little button until he gave in. 

“what happens in my personal life is none of you–”

before he can finish, lewis puts up a hand, “toto we’ve gone on holiday with you. we’ve had weekends in monaco together. we spend nearly every waking minute together. whether it’s at brackley, in the paddock, or addressing the press, we’ve spent a lot of time together. now, we’re being merciful here. who is the lovely lady?”

“that is none of your–”

“fine,” george interjects, “we’ll drop it for now. but when this weekend is over, you better believe we’ll be on your ass about it. we’re going to find out who this woman is. one way or another.”

although, the british drivers did not have to look very far. 

you were simply a few paddocks down, filming a tik tok with lily. 

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“fuck yes!” 

“great job! great fucking job! we’ll see you in the paddock!”

adrenaline courses through your veins as you lay off the gas, practically gliding towards the paddock. stopping the car, you climb out, pumping your fists as the pit crew swarms forward, patting your back, cheers ringing all around.

amidst the crowd, james makes his way through, opening his arms for an embrace. 

you collapse into it, his hands rattling along your helmet, “way to redeem yourself, american girl!” 

“pole position for tomorrow isn’t too bad, huh?” 

“not at all!” james’ eyes are alight with joy, “that will shut everyone up, yeah?” 

“i think so,” the words are breathless, “fuck, that was intense.”

“you can sleep a little easier tonight,” james remarks, patting your helmet once more, “although, i would be on guard. those redbull boys are going to be on your ass.”

sliding your helmet off, your lungs take in the fresh air. your knees buckle momentarily, the limbs feeling a little like jell-o. graciously, you accept a water bottle from james, taking a swig. hairs cling to your forehead, the other ends sticking up in every direction. 

“fuck, i’m tired.”

“well, i don’t have anything for you,” james’ tone is laced with sympathy, “you’ve had a long few days. when you leave, just keep your head down, hood up. this is one of the only times i’ll let you avoid the press. if they antagonize you, just make some bullshit up. i can handle the rest.”

“are you sure you want me to do that? that may just create more headlines,” unzipping your suit halfway, you slip your arms out, grateful for the coolness of the spring suzuka climate. 

“i’m sure,” james rests a hand on your shoulder, “you deserve some rest. alex informed me you had a long flight. the jet lag can persist if you’re not used to it. you look exhausted.”

“i still haven’t adjusted to all of the traveling that comes with this sport,” you exhale, bringing your helmet under your arm, “thank you, james. you’re the best.”

“of course. it’s my job to be the best, you know,” he shoots you a wink, “now go! our little star needs her beauty rest!”

“little star. that’s a new one,” you roll your eyes playfully, “okay, okay. i’ll go.”

spinning on your heel, you turn to leave, strolling out of the paddock. making your way through the team headquarters, you wave to all of the members, grinning as they congratulate you, shouting a variety of inaudible or incoherent words of praise. within minutes, you’re able to locate your belongings, closing the door to the room. 

wincing, you tug the legs of the suit off. fuck, were more sore than usual. underneath the fabric, your muscles tingled, buzzing from the adrenaline. if you were hurting this bad now, god only knew how much more intense it was going to be in a few hours. 

slipping into a hoodie and some leggings, you pull the hood up, throwing your book bad on your shoulder. 

now, it would only be a short walk to your motorhome, where you could shower and sleep. 

thank fucking god. 

glancing at your phone, you briefly picked through your notifications. there was really nothing too serious. a few texts from your parents, congratulating you on the pole position. 

however, there was one message awaiting your response.

congratulations, my golden girl. can i swing by your place in a few? i just have to wrap up with my team and then i’ll be on my way. you should have time to shower, so do not rush. 

also, lewis and george will not stop pestering me about the hickey on my neck. they’ve been up my ass all fucking day. i’m only seconds away from reporting them to the fia and have them disqualified. LOL or however the fuck you say it. 

p.s. you’re going to get the biggest smooch. ever.

at his poor use of lol, you let out a laugh, your thumbs gliding across the screen, typing a response.

when you’re on your way, let me know so i can leave the door unlocked for you. maybe i can give you some concealer so you can cover it up tomorrow lmfaooo. my bad, my bad. see you soon, hottie. <3 

p.s. i can’t wait to get the biggest smooch ever. 

before you know it, you’re at the front door of your motorhome, sliding the key into the lock. turning it, you swing the door open, trudging inside. 

throwing your belongings on the counter, you groan as the pain seeps into every crevice of your body, desperate for some relief. hopefully a hot shower and toto’s hands would ease some of the ache. 

on the other side of the track, a team principal paces, oh so impatient. 

“are we all done here?”

“yes sir,” a team member responds coolly, “we’re finished.”

“okay good,” he nods. waving his hands, he dismisses his team and crew, “all right! see you all tomorrow. bright and early!”

as the members disperse, toto bites his lip, tapping his foot lightly against the carpet. 

why was everything taking so fucking long?

“why are you in such a rush?” lewis’ voice pulls him from his thoughts. thoughts about you, nonetheless, “have somewhere to be?”

“lewis,” toto’s voice is dangerously low, “quit it. stop that shit right now.”

“i’m just saying,” lewis shrugs, “it’s sort of odd you’re usually the last to leave, but now you’re chomping at the bit, ready to get out of here. is there someone waiting on you?”

actually, there was. 

the girl he was beginning to fall head over heels for was waiting for him. perched in her bed, more than likely. more than ready to be swathed in his loving arms. 

she had him wrapped around her little finger, there was no denying that.

especially when she had him pulling shit like this. 

peering around, the team principal ensures that there were no cameras or mics lingering about. netflix was in their early stages of shooting the 2024 season of drive to survive, so there were cameramen and production crew milling about the paddocks throughout the day.

thank god they didn’t catch the entire hickey debacle on camera.

that alone would have ended his career.

“perhaps i am seeing someone,” toto hisses pointing a finger at the british driver, “but that is none of your concern. i will see you tomorrow, lewis.”

“can you at least tell me who she is?” his bottom lip juts out, forming a pout, “come on, toto. you’ve been so open with me all of these years and this is where you draw the line?” 

“all you need to know is that she’s a professional athlete,” that was half the truth, at least. hopefully enough to keep lewis at bay for the time being. 

“an athlete?” lewis’ brows raise, “what sport?

“horseback riding.”

close enough. 

“hmmph,” lewis purses his lips, “well, if you want to tell me more, i’ll be all ears. i’ll see you tomorrow, toto. hopefully we have a hell of a race.”

“hopefully,” the only thing on toto’s mind was getting to you, before the cleanup crew started their rounds, “i will see you in the morning, lewis.”

the driver bids another farewell before catching up with george, exiting the paddock. however, he glances over his shoulder one more time, mouthing something to george before the two continue, disappearing from his line of sight.

fuck, that was unbearable. 

borderline miserable.

lights glitter all around as the team principal makes his way to your motorhome, concealed by the hood of his jacket, thankful for the brisk evening air. if he didn’t have a jacket, he would have been fucked. 

however, it was sort of difficult for the team principal to blend in. especially with his stature and size. 

as he strolls up to the door of your motorhome, he takes once last cautious look, ensuring that there was no one watching. 

yet, what the team principal forgot to account for was the production crew of drive to survive. 

and they managed to record the entire encounter as you opened the door, greeting the team principal with open arms. 

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

taglist: @toldyouitwasamelodrama @kravitzwhore @persona1lies @pucksandpower @k3ira13 @prettiest-at-the-party @martwll @annewithaneofthegreengable @zoeyjadetice2010 @sinners-98-world @danielricciardotr @laura-naruto-fan1998 @whoisss @nebarious @joalslibrary

if you would like to be added to my taglist, please let me know! thank you for all of the support thus far! <3

[leclercsainzz]

hello darling,

idk if i asked already but i was listening to “moth to a flame” and i was wondering if you could do a smau with the ferrari boys to this song, please:) maybe she’s dating one of them but sneaking behind his back with the other (i swear i’m not into cheating i just wanted to request something with drama lol)

MOTH TO A FLAME

PAIRINGS: charles leclerc x girlfriend!reader / carlos sainz x fem!reader

TYPE: social media au

WARNING: || cheating

part 1 - part 2

yourusername

liked by danielricciardo, carlossainz55 and 581,729 others

yourusername: my heart <33 (no, charles didn’t cook)

tagged: @charles_leclerc

view 6,820 comments

charles_leclerc: you underestimate me, mon amour:( i’ll cook you something that’ll have you asking for more

charles_leclerc: i still love you though 😘

user: thanks for the clarification, babe!

↳ user: wait what happened?

↳ user: he uploaded a pic of yn holding the bowl captioning it, “cooked dinner for my love” on his story lmaoo 😂

user: “no, charles didn’t cook” not her exposing his ass

pierregasly: his story scared me a bit, ngl 🤣 i thought the food was gonna go to waste

↳ user: PIERRE 😭😭

user: they’re literally the cutest, i swear

user: my yncharles heart 😩

user: the way he’s looking at her in the last pic

↳ user: he’s soo in love with her, it’s too cute 😩

user: i just know carlos was laughing thinking charles actually attempted to “cook” after seeing his story

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, lilymhe and 602,739 others

yourusername: small vacay dump(:

view 7,936 comments

user: my favorites!!!

user: parents frr

user: i love the fact that he’s always smiling whenever he’s around yn 😭 they’re meant to be

charles_leclerc: you take my breath away ❤️ i love you

↳ yourusername: ❤️

↳ user: they are the reason i believe in love

danielricciardo: where was my invite?

user: my parents, eveyone!!! 😩

user: obsessed with you both

pierregasly: cute! (the last slide , that is) 🤪

↳ yourusername: hating ass

user: the cutest 🥺

user: charles, can i please have yn 🙏🏼 @charles_leclerc

user: yn, babe, come home the kids miss you

carlossainz55

liked by charles_leclerc, lewishamilton and 704,728 others

carlossainz55: él sabe donde está realmente tu corazón?

see translation: does he know where your heart truly lies?

view 8,947 comments

user: sir, was the first pic necessary? 😩

user: weird way to propose but YES

user: oou what’s up with the caption? 👀

user: don’t let the thirst trap distract you from the caption

↳ user: I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO HE’S TALKING ABOUT

charles_leclerc: oh wow 😍

maxverstappen1: george russell who?

↳ georgerussell63: he learned from the best (me, obviously)

↳ carlossainz55: nO

user: the caption might not even mean anything but like?? 👀 who could he be referring to??!???

user: ima choose to ignore the caption and focus on YOU because my oh myyy 😮‍💨

user: was he seeing anyone that i didn’t know about??!?

yourusername

liked by kendalljenner, landonorris and 604,017 others

yourusername: race week with MY fav driver AND lover 😌

view 5,957 comments

user: MY FAV WAG!!!

user: mother asf 😍

charles_leclerc: you’re too beautiful, stop distracting me 😩

carlossainz55: of course

↳ user: it’s okay carlos, you’re my favorite driver 😌

user: mother and father looking good as always!!

user: yn, babe, we get it he’s yours 😭 no need to emphasize on the “my” or “and”

↳ user: not me being jealous of him

danielricciardo: i thought i was your favorite driver?

↳ yourusername: 😲

user: yn really knows how to make him smile huh 😒

↳ user: wishing i was her rn

↳ user: nah, i’m wishing i was him

charles_leclerc

like by alex_albon, pierregasly and 705,938 others

charles_leclerc: not the results we wanted today, but hopefully tomorrow will be a better day with no distractions!

view 6,838 comments

user: you got this!!

user: head up, charles! ❤️

user: it’s soo hard being a ferrari fan, i can’t 😭

user: what happened today?!???!? that turned looked like it was done intentional

↳ user: i don’t think charles would do that to carlos or himself

user: nah cause there was a lot of tension between carlos and charles … something happened between the two

↳ user: we need our girl yn to spill the tea cause 👀

user: i’m disappointed 😩 we could’ve had a great quali

user: i’m choosing to blame the cars

user: does anybody know where yn was? i missed seeing my girl on screen even if it’s like a second

↳ user: pretty sure she didn’t go today

[sinofwriting]

To Be With You - Lando Norris (& Callum Ilott)

Words: 9,722 Summary: Lando’s halfway to being in love with her, following her around like a puppy, while she thinks it’s all friendly affection. Too bad his feelings don’t even flatter after learning about her husband. (Reader is referred to as Pips) Note(s)/Warning(s): There is no cheating in this fic. Reader is married to Callum Ilott (Indycar Driver). Lando comes off a bit much in this because he doesn’t know how to handle his feelings and reader is oblivious to said feelings.

Taglist | Masterlist | Patreon

Jeddah 2023

Lando couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he saw who was interviewing him next. “Well, hello.” “Lando, good to see you. How are you feeling about this weekend?” “I’m feeling good. The car is good and last year I had a fairly good race, but we’ll see what happens after free practice.” He tells her, somewhat lying about the car, but that didn’t matter. With her here, he’d be driving it like it was the rocketship that Red Bull had for a car. He needed to impress her. “And how are you settling into the mentor role with Oscar as your teammate?” “Uh, it’s a bit weird y’know?” He tells her, licking his lips and stepping a little closer. Giving the camera more of a close up as he inches closer to her. “I’ve been used to being the mentee and the youngest on the grid, so it’s a bit weird to have the youngest guy as my teammate now.” “Well, I’m sure you’re doing great.” She tells him, eyes flickering down to her notebook with questions, feeling slightly awkward that she doesn’t have anything more for him, but he was never supposed to be part of her interviews this weekend. Thankfully for her and not so much for Lando, his press officer pulls him away to another spot.

The large smile he had been wearing drops into a frown as soon as he’s forced to turn away from her, but before any of the cameras can catch the change he forces a smile on his face before stepping in front of another camera.

It was only Friday after all, he had the whole weekend to see her and hopefully get her number or better yet a date.

Lando doesn’t see her until after quali having forgotten that when it was a weekend when F2 and F3 were racing she spent most of her time with them, either hanging out or to work. She barely did any interviews with F1 drivers during these weekends, it made his heart swell realizing that he had made it on her list this weekend.

She’s with Novalak, Crawford, and Bearman, standing just out of Prema’s HQ and despite the weird glances he gets from the guys, he slots himselfs into their group and next to her.

“I swear, Ollie.” She curses, setting her hands on her hips. “You give yourself more bruises than a phlebotomist. And you,” she turns her attention to Jak, taking his chin in her hands gently and looking at the nasty scrap he’s got there. “Do you go to medical for this?” He starts to nod, but Ollie quickly rats him out, making Clem laugh while Lando watches the whole thing with wide eyes, having never seen her like this. It was somewhat endearing how much she cared for the young drivers. “Jak Crawford!” “It’s fine, honestly. It doesn’t even hurt.” She gives him an unimpressed look. “Medical. This is the first weekend of this calendar when one of your parents isn't here, I’d think we’d want that to happen again, right?” He quickly nods, eyes darting towards Ollie and she releases him. “Medical and Ollie, please go with him.” “On it, Pips.” Ollie grins, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek before dragging Jak with him even as the junior driver whines about not getting to hug her.

“You sure you want kids?” Clem asks with a laugh as the three watch the two walk around the corner. Lando can’t help but turn his attention to her, wanting to know her answer even if he was maybe joking. “My kids will be angels, I’ll have raised them. Jak and Ollie,” she shakes her head, though there’s a fond smile on her lips clearly not minding the boys. “They're thrilled about becoming older brothers. We had to bleep it on the pod when we had Jak on.” The British driver’s eyes widen as his eyes flicker down to her abdomen, the other two thankfully not noticing his reaction. “Not yet. Still got a good few years until that happens.” She laughs. Lando breathes a sigh of relief, not noticing how it catches Clem’s attention.

His brows quickly furrow for a second as he realizes what she said, a few years. That was soon, like really soon. He wanted to be a hands-on dad, be there for everything, and he still wanted to race in the next few years. Compromise was a thing in a relationship though, he was sure that they could work out some sort of timeline for kids that would fit better than a few years.

“So, Crawford and Bearman, that happens a lot?” He asks her. “Them getting hurt.” She frowns a bit at the use of the last names, but he doesn’t notice. Too caught up in her attention being on him, all of it being on him. “Yeah, a bit. But teenage boy antics are the reason or at least that’s what I've been told.” “Weirdly it only seems to happen when you’re around.” Clem says, watching Lando closely as he leans a bit into her space. It makes his nose wrinkle. “Oh, it happens when I’m not around as well. I end up getting calls or texts about it.” Clem shakes his head, “such momma’s boys.” “I can see why. You’d make a good mum.” Lando says, enjoying the way her eyes widen a bit and she gets a little flustered. “Oh, thank you.” “Of course.”

Miami 2023

After that he doesn’t see her until Miami and despite it not being an F2 weekend she’s got Novalak, Armstrong, and the other guy from Screaming Meals acting as her crew for the weekend as she runs around doing interviews with drivers, engineers, and the like. His jaw twitches as he watches her interview Logan Sargeant of all people for nearly an hour. His mood worsens when he asks his press officer for his schedule and she’s not on it.

Somehow though on Saturday before he leaves for his hotel, he manages to catch her alone. Her shadows for the weekend are all gone.

“How are you this weekend?” “I’m good. Busy, but thankfully James, Clem, and Marcus have been helping me out.” She tells him, pocketing her phone. “I saw your quali result.” He grimaces at the knowledge she saw that. “I’m sure you’ll do better tomorrow, make up some places.” “I’ll do my best.” He tells her, feeling a little warm at her assurance. “Will you be coming to Monaco? I mean, it’s nearly the race of the year.” “You mean afterparties of the year?” Lando chuckles, but nods. “True. But will you?” She shakes her head, “Nope, I’ll be at the Indy 500 just like last year.” “They happen the same weekend?” He asks, brows furrowed. “Yeah, nearly always do.” “And you want to miss Monaco?” “I mean you only really need to do Monaco once and I did it four years in a row. The 500’s nice and I’ve already got my press passes and everything sorted for it.” “Right,” he murmurs. “Well, if you change your mind, I’m sure I could get you a press pass.” “Thanks, Lando. I’ll see you in Spain.” “See ya then.” He tells her but she’s already walked off and he can’t help but want to bang his head against the wall, wondering how he failed again in getting her number or a date with her.

Spain 2023

He’s on her schedule for the weekend but the whole interview feels off, stilted. It makes him worried as he watches her interview Nico after and how off she is. Makes him wonder if perhaps she’s coming down with something, a virus or mayhaps food poisoning.

“Are you alright?” He murmurs, when she’s done, stepping close to her as she shuts off her camera. She startles at the sound of his voice and he’s quick to wrap an arm around her waist before she falls into the tripod. He lets go as soon as she’s stable, though it hurts a bit. He wants to linger, to hold her. “Are you alright?” He repeats, looking at her closely. “I’m okay, Lando.” He gives her an unimpressed look and she shakes her head. “Really, I’m okay. Just a little distracted.” “Oh,” and he relaxes, relieved she’s not feeling unwell. “Anything I could help with?” “No.” She laughs. “That’s sweet of you though.” “Really, I could help. I don’t mind.” She looks at him consideringly, before looking around making sure no one else is near and no microphones can pick up anything. Looking back at him, she sighs. “My husband, he’s got an important weekend ahead of him and I’m just a little distracted because I’m not there.” He blinks at her, the word husband swimming in his head. “I didn’t know you were married.” “Not many people do.” She laughs before looking at him seriously. “Lando, please don’t tell anyone. There’s a reason it’s been kept quiet.” “Of course.” He reassures, still feeling off kilter, that the girl he liked was married. “No one will hear it from me.”

Austria 2023

He doesn’t see her for nearly a month after the revelation of her being married and he both loves and hates it. It’s time and space away from her that he needs so he can truly grapple with his feelings but it’s also time and space away from her when he already doesn’t get to interact much with her. He’s also a little ashamed that his feelings didn’t change for her at all, if anything he feels something stronger for her. Especially after watching all of her videos and the podcasts she’s been on. Noting that she never once mentions being with anyone but also never says that she’s single.

It’s odd. She’s barely a year older than him, yet married and keeping it a secret from seemingly everyone. He’s torn between happiness that she trusts him with something like that and jealousy because she’s with someone else, someone who’s not him. All of his feelings for her are like a dichotomy.

The secretive nature of her relationship and the way she doesn’t mention it all gives him hope that it's not a happy marriage. Maybe it’s on the outs, married too young and all. Maybe it’s actually good and she’s happy, but that thought doesn’t last long. If it was good, why wouldn’t she be public about it or at least about being with someone? Besides who on earth would be with her and not want it to be public knowledge?

He ends up getting fourth, not on the podium like he wants, like he craves but it’s close. As close as he’s gotten this season. The disappointment of not being on her interview list after the race is finished is barely there, too overrun with adrenaline and confidence.

Confidence that quickly takes a hit when he manages to catch her before she leaves to go back to her hotel.

“Pips!” The nickname feels weird in his mouth, having only ever called her by her actual name, despite her using the nickname Pips on her channel, in podcasts, with friends and such. “Lando.” She greets, confusion clear on her face. He can see Novalak a few steps away but he ignores the French driver. “Hey.” He greets, grinning at her and running a hand through his curls. “I was hoping to catch you before you left.” “Oh,” she looks shocked rather than flattered but he ignores that as well. “I was wondering if maybe we could talk sometime. Maybe about doing something special for next weekend since it’s Silverstone.” “Uh,” she glances down at her phone. “Yeah, sure. I have to get going, but I’ll email my contact with McLaren about getting something set up. And congrats on P4, Lando.” She adds on, as she’s already turning away. “Thanks.” He says, but it’s quiet and she clearly doesn’t hear already several feet away from him. Just like she clearly didn’t hear that he wanted her number.

—

Clem has never felt more glad when he gets back to his hotel and phones James that Marcus and Callum are both there. “Norris is trying to make the moves on your wife.” He says immediately seeing Callum’s face. The older blinks at him, “what?” “Yeah, what?” Clem ignores Marcus, “Lando Norris, has got a thing for Pips and he’s getting ballsy.”

The French driver had realized pretty quickly after Lando had weirdly joined her, Jak, Ollie, and himself that he had a crush, he hadn’t expected for it not to be a crush but rather something more. Lando had taken to following her around on race weekends when she was there and it was only today after hearing him try (and fail) to get her number, that it wasn’t a crush but something a bit more for the McLaren driver.

“He tried asking her for her number today. She didn’t give it, but still.” He tells him before swiping to his notes and copying the link he had found during lunch and sending it to Callum. “Saw that during lunch, he’s got heart eyes for her.” The three watch as Callum watches the video, his eyebrows going up as he sees the way Lando looks at his wife.

Marcus whistles peering over Callum’s shoulder. “That’s some serious heart eyes, mate.” “Yeah, I can see that.” He murmurs, looking at the video once more before looking back at Clem. “Was he asking for work or like a date?” “I mean, he tried to say it was for Silverstone, but it was pretty obvious that he really just wanted her number.” “Huh.” His tongue swipes over the inside of his cheek, lips pressing together. “He knows that she’s married. So, yeah ballsy indeed.” “He knows?” “Yeah, she told him at the Spanish GP. Not that it was to me, of course, but he knows.” “Damn, Norris really has a set of balls on him.” James says.

Silverstone 2023

As Lando begins to go back to his family after the sprint race and press, he’s pulled aside and behind Red Bull’s garage by Max and Oscar. The sight of them together is more confusing than being pulled away despite them just being on a podium together.

“Mate,” Max starts and Lando immediately goes on the defensive. “I didn’t do it! Whatever it is, I had no part in it.” Max looks at him unimpressed while Oscar looks vaguely uncomfortable, a face he’s only used to seeing Oscar make when they’re forced to film things together for YouTube too early in the morning. “You need to chill out.” “With what?” He looks at Oscar, but Oscar isn’t looking at him, so he’s forced to look at Max who’s giving him that stupid unimpressed and disappointed look. It’s seriously unfair how good he is at it. “Your heart eyes when Pips interviews you.” Oscar says for Max. “Or when she’s in the general vicinity. Fans are going to start picking up on it and the last thing she needs or McLaren, I’m sure, is that she’s sleeping with a driver to get more opportunities.” “I don’t have heart eyes.” He tries to protest, but it’s half-hearted. “And no one will think that.” “Are you dumb?” The Aussie snaps and he’s finally looking at Lando, but it’s not a look, it’s a glare. The sight makes him swallow and he takes a step back. “You’ve been doing this longer than I have, you damn well know how any woman in motorsports gets treated. Fans start picking up on you looking at her like that and they are going to tear her apart. Say even more that the only reason she gets to interview drivers is because she spreads her legs.” His eyes are wide and they dart over to Max hoping that the older driver will be a little sympathetic maybe get Oscar to stop fucking glaring because where the fuck did he get that from, but the Dutch shakes his head at him.

“She’s worked hard to get here. Don’t ruin her career for something you don’t even have a chance at getting close to.” Lando straightens at the words, jaw twitching and his own eyes narrow at him. “What’s that supposed to mean? I could have a chance.” He raises an eyebrow, sparing a glance at Oscar who nods in return at him. “Really, because Oscar told me she’s married. You want to ruin a marriage?” “You told Max?” He looks at the younger in disbelief, “you knew?” “She’s always been closer with us F2 and F3 drivers, a good few of us know.” “Unbelievable.” He huffs before shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t be ruining a marriage anyways. Not when it’s clearly an unhappy one.” The relief that had started to show on their faces drops immediately and now they’re both glaring at him.

“What? She’s like a year older than me, married, and practically no one knows about it. That’s weird. Not really a sign things are going well.” He’s putting all the confidence he can into the words, believing them, unwilling to think that perhaps he’s wrong. “Lando.” Max sighs, shaking his head. “I don’t even know where to start with how dumb and wrong you are.” “You barely know her.” Oscar chimes in. “You’ve had maybe two or three conversations with her outside of interviews. You have no idea whether she’s happy or not.” He presses his lips together, doubt starting to fester in his brain, but he pushes it away. He couldn’t be wrong about this. “Whatever.” He murmurs before shoving past them and walking as fast he can to where his family is waiting for him.

Belgium 2023

Pips can’t help but feel relieved when she doesn’t really see Lando at all on Friday. It was a bit unnerving the way he’d follow her around on the weekends she was there. Always paying attention closely to what she’s doing and saying. It felt unsettling having someone she wasn’t that close to paying so much attention to her.

Her luck however runs out on Sunday when after she finishes talking to Gabriel, wishing him luck in Monza, that he finds her.

“Hey.” He greets. “Hi Lando. Good job today.” “Thanks!” he beams. “I was just curious, are you doing anything for dinner tonight? A few of us are going out in about an hour, you could come.” She smiles apologetically. “I’m getting dinner with Jak, Ollie and their dads.” “Oh,” he looks disappointed for a second before flashing her a smile. “Maybe next time?” “Maybe.” She agrees with a nod, watching him walk away before hightailing it to where the boys and their dads are.

“Sorry David, Tim.” She apologies but they both wave it away with a smile. “What about us?” Ollie cries. “You left us waiting too.” She rolls her eyes at both of them, Jak nodding along with Ollie, before ruffling both of their hair. “Sorry to you two as well. Now, what could I do to convince one or both of you to come to some of the next few races with me?” “You mean after Monza?” Jak asks, as they all get into the car. The only girl not even grimacing as she gets in the middle, between both junior drivers. “Yeah, Singapore, Japan, Qatar. I know you’re both going to be at Austin.” David looks at her in the rearview mirror concerned. “Is everything alright, Pips?” “One of the drivers has got me a bit anxious.” Tim turns in his seat, “he hasn’t tried to,” She stops him before he can continue. “No, and I don’t think he’d do anything. He’s harmless really. I just would like the comfort of having someone familiar with me at the track all the time. I’d pay for your guys' tickets and hotel of course.”

Ollie looks briefly at his dad even though he was an adult and the older man gives him a nod. “I’ll join you. I don’t have anything with the FDA or Prema anyways unless it’s a week with no races.” “Me too. I’ll go.” “And you don’t need to worry about paying for the boys. Red Bull will be thrilled at one of their juniors coming to races that aren’t required or anything, they’ll happily pay for his tickets and hotel.” “And I’ll pay for Ollie’s tickets.” David takes his eyes off the road briefly to share a grin with Tim. “No need for a second room when we know that Ollie will just end up in Jak’s.” Tim and her both laugh while both of the boys make protesting noises. “Or in my room.” She adds. She would sometimes do movie nights with some of the F2 and F3 drivers and inevitably she’d end up with three or four people staying the night.

Later after dinner as Jak and Ollie try to find somewhere to get some ice cream she’s not surprised when David and Tim turn the conversation back to what she told them in the car.

“Are you sure he’s harmless?” She nods at Tim’s concern, “I’m sure. He’s just paying a lot of attention to me and it’s a bit off putting y’know since I don’t really know him.” “If he does anything,” David starts but she stops him. “If he does anything, it wouldn’t matter. Especially if it’s,” she pauses, unsure of how to say it, “unsavory.” she ends up settling on. “I couldn’t say anything, not if I’d still want a career in motorsports. But I don’t think it's like that at all. He seems to be more trying to figure me out than trying to ask me out or something.” She laughs.

The idea really was laughable, Lando having feelings for her and asking her out. She wasn’t exactly sure why he was paying so much attention to her but it couldn’t be because he had feelings for her. Especially since he knew she was married.

“Tell Callum, yeah?” David says. “He’ll want to know why you’ve got the boys with you.” “We’ve got a planned call before I go to bed. I’ll tell him then.” “Good.”

—

“Hello, darling.” She smiles, scooting back a little in the bathtub. “Hey, Cal.” “What are you doing?” “Taking a bath.” He groans and she can’t help but laugh. “Fuck, I’m jealous.” “You could take a bath too.” She laughs, pulling her phone away to put it on speaker and setting it on the bath sill. “But it wouldn’t be the same without you here. I miss you washing my hair.” She can hear him pouting and a fond smile pulls at her lips. “I miss it too. I miss you.” She sighs. “Next year will be better.” He reminds her. “Only F2 weekends when I don’t have a race and then the US races and Yas Marina.” “Yeah, next year will be a lot nicer.” She draws one of her legs up, swirling her fingers in the bubbles that are lingering on her skin.

“What’d you do today?” “An Oval test, other sim work. Nothing too exciting. How was dinner?” She frowns, reminded of the conversation she had with David and Tim. “It was good. It’s always nice to see David and Tim. Ollie and Jak were buzzing about.” She bites at her lip. “Actually speaking of the boys, they’ll be coming with me to the next three races I go too.” “Singapore, Japan, and Qatar? Did something happen?” She swallows harshly, knowing that Callum wouldn’t like what she had to say. “I’ve been feeling a little uncomfortable the past few race weekends. My anxiety’s been a bit high.” “Darling.” He breathes and the emotion in his voice makes her blink away tears. “One of the drivers has been watching me a lot. Like nonstop. If he’s around he’s got his eyes on me and it’s just unsettling. I barely know him and he just keeps looking at me.” “Are you alright?” “Yeah,” she nods even though he can’t see her. “I kind of feel like I’m overreacting, but I just, I don’t know, Cal. The whole thing feels weird.” She wraps her arms around herself, wishing that she wasn’t alone but with Callum so he could hold her. She could really do with one of his hugs. “I don’t think he’ll do anything, it doesn’t seem like he’s looking at me because he’s interested but more because he’s trying to figure me out?” Her voice gets a little high at the end, not sure if she’s making any sense.

“Who is it?” “Lando.” She doesn’t know what to expect from Callum but she wasn’t expecting what she got. “Shit.” He curses. “Callum?” “He has a thing for you.” “What? No.” “Pips, I promise, one hundred percent he’s got a thing for you. Clem noticed it a while ago but only told me during Austria.” “Austria?” “Fuck,” he curses again. “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you, but I mean I didn't really think he was going to do anything. I mean Clem said he was getting a little ballsy, trying to get your number.” “He never tried getting my,” she stops remembering the awkward conversation at Miami and then the one at Austria. “Oh my god.”

It’s silent between them for a few moments, Callum letting her wrap her head around it.

“Do you want me to go with as well? Join Ollie and Jak.” “No.” She murmurs before saying it again a bit louder. “I’ll be okay with Jak and Ollie. They know that I’m uncomfortable and it's because of a driver, they won’t leave me alone.” “If you change your mind, tell me and I’ll fly straight there. I don’t care if you’ve only got a day left of the weekend.” “Of course.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” “Yeah, it’s just weird now knowing that he likes me. I mean you can’t really help who you get a crush on, but he knows I’m married. He knows I’m not available but he’s still paying so much attention to me. It’s just odd.” She ends up settling on. “Do you want me to change your flight?” “Please.” “I’ll do it right now.”

Singapore 2023

“Max!” She greets, smiling at the driver. “How are you doing today?” “I’m doing well. I see you have some assistants today.” He gestures to Jak and Ollie and she nods. “Yes, I’m afraid that I stole one of your junior drivers and an FDA driver as well.” “And is Jak being helpful? If he isn’t you tell me and I’ll make sure he’s stuck doing sim work for a week.” He jokes, making Jak gasp while both her and Ollie laugh. “He’s been a wonder. But let’s talk about Monza, a tough race for you.” “Little bit, it was a change of pace for sure. But you know, I enjoyed it.” He smiles. “Good and I’ve heard you didn’t celebrate breaking a monumentous record. Not even an ice cream? Chocolate? Perhaps buying yourself a new part for your sim setup?” “Ah! You remembered. No, still haven’t bought the part, I need to though soon, so that way I’m not bored when the season ends.” “Heaven forbid we have a bored Max Verstappen.” “Exactly, but I did actually have some chocolate to celebrate. It was good.” He tells her.

“Do you mind if I ask you a question, Max?” Ollie speaks up and she shifts a little to the side so the microphone can pick up his voice better. “Of course.” “Could you teach me how to make a stroopwafel?” “That’s your question? You can ask me anything Ollie, really, I don’t mind.” “No, could you teach me?” Max looks at her and laughs at the exasperated look on her face but can’t help nod. “You know what, yeah. Next time you're in England, I’ll teach both you and Jak how to make a stroopwafel.” “Could I join to film it? Because you don’t know how to make stroopwafels.” She laughs. “I’m Dutch, I definitely know how to make a stroopwafel.” “Sure, Max. Sure.”

“Could I ask a question?” Jak asks and Max nods again, ignoring his press officer that had approached him. “You’ve proven that you’re really good at geography. Do you think if you got dropped randomly somewhere in Milton Keynes, blindfolded, you could find your way to the factory in less than an hour?” “Jak,” she tries to scold, but she’s laughing too hard and the American smiles at her. “What Pips? He said he’s good at geography, I just want to know how good.” “They should become staples.” Max gestures at them, an amused smile on his face before he turns his attention to Jak. “I’d like to say yes, but I have no idea. I only really know my apartment and the factory around Milton Keynes, that's it.” He tells him, before looking at her. “So you're not good at geography.” Jak says, but she speaks over him, both Max and her ignoring him. “Thank you so much, Max and you’ll have this to look forward to for the next two races as well.” “Really?” “Yeah.” He turns to his press officer, voice just barely loud enough for the microphone to pick up. “I’m on her schedule for the next two races right?” The press officer nods and he grins. “Amazing. See you guys next week.”

As Max walks away, Ollie shuts the camera off and she shakes her head. “Please don’t do that with all the drivers.” She warns. “We won’t. Max is always down to joke around with us.” She nods, before grinning at the two. “You got something good for Charles?” “Oh yeah.” Jak nods, grinning. “Awesome.” She tells them, holding both of her hands up for high fives.

—

“I can’t believe the Red Bull streak is over.” Ollie murmurs, leaning against her as she puts her camera in its bag before putting it in her tote. “They’ll be back next week. This was just a one off.” Jak says confidently. “I don’t know,” the younger draws out, straightening. “I mean Ferrari could perform well in Japan.” “Yeah, if they don’t make a bad call.” Ollie fake scowls before launching himself at Jak who’s sitting on the couch opposite of hers.

She shakes her head as the two start wrestling, quickly falling off of the couch and onto the floor and she’s never been happier that there wasn’t a coffee table between two couches.

“Wish I had their energy.” A voice speaks from behind her before the couch is dipping beside her as someone sits. “Don’t we all?” She jokes, turning her head to give Lando an awkward smile before looking back at the boys. “Congratulations on P2. It was a good race. You did an amazing job.” “Thanks. Did they have team duties?” “No.” She shakes her head, crossing her ankles as his eyes focus on the side of her face. “They didn’t have anything to do for their teams or academies so I asked them to come with me, keep me company.” “I would’ve kept you company.” Her eyes widen for a moment and smile flickering, but she quickly pastes it back on, smiling at him for a second. “Wouldn’t be much company with free practices, press, and such.” “Well if you ever want some adult company, I’m available.” Her breathing stutters at the words adult company, at the emphasis on adult, a weird sick sense of dread filling her stomach. She had to be imagining that right? The way his voice lowered, the slight drawn out syllable. And for the first time she regrets not wearing her wedding ring for a totally different reason than normal.

Before she has to force herself to respond and god what would she even say to that, her name is being called by two voices and her attention snaps back to them.

“He bruised me!” They both whine at her, standing now with near identical pouts on their faces. She sighs and hopes that Lando can’t hear the relief in it as she stands. “Alright, you two. Let’s get some food and get to bed. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” “Oh, please.” Jak groans, pout disappearing at the mention of food. Ollie is the same, eyes alight with excitement. “Do you think we could get pizza?” “We’re not getting pizza in Singapore, Ollie!” Jak protests.

As the three begin to walk out of the room, she barely remembers to throw a half hearted wave goodbye over her shoulder at Lando. Leaving him looking after her with disappointment.

Japan 2023

Lando watches her the whole weekend, waiting for her to be alone, but if one of the F2 drivers isn't with her, they both are. She’s never left alone and he wonders if perhaps he came on a little too strong in Singapore, the high of the podium giving him a confidence like no other. Regret bubbles in him. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or upset. It was the last thing that he wanted.

But he never gets the chance to apologize and he can only hope that in Qatar that he’ll get the opportunity.

Qatar 2023

She nearly doesn’t go to Qatar. Not when she had over a week that was just Callum, her, and their families. It makes her crave what next year and season will bring. She does end up going, meeting Jak and Ollie at the airport and despite not wanting to leave Callum, she doesn’t regret it one bit.

Qatar has always been one of her favorite places to go for races. It may have only been introduced to Formula 1 in 2021, but she had been going there since 2017 for different races like Motocross and Superbike.

It’s the only race that she only attends the Saturday and Sunday of, despite it being a sprint weekend. And despite only attending the last two days, she doesn’t manage to avoid Lando.

The boys are just a bit ahead of her, listening to Max as he talks to them about sim racing, when Lando approaches her.

“I wanted to apologize.” She jumps at the sound of his voice out of nowhere, nearly tripping over her own feet. “What?” “I want to apologize for Singapore. I came on really strong and it wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable but I did. I’m sorry, I’ll do my best to keep some distance.” She barely knows what to say to that. “Thank you.” She settles on. “I appreciate it and I’d appreciate some distance.” “Oh,” he looks surprised by her ask and she returns her attention to the boys in front of her. Charles now having joined Max and them, and she can faintly hear Max and Charles squabbling like children over a strategy for an F2 race. “Lando, I’m married.” She hates that she needs to remind him of that fact, that it’s a fact so easily forgettable to him. “I’m not available. And I apologize if I’ve ever acted or given you a signal that I was.” “I know you’re married.” “If you know, then maybe you shouldn’t be hitting on a married woman.” And before he can reply she’s jogging to catch up to the four in front, telling Max and Charles that they’re strategies are both shit. The statement earns her squawks in protest while Ollie and Jak laugh.

Austin 2023

“My OG boys!” She crows as James focuses her camera on her as she rests her arm over Marcus’ shoulder and the other over Callum’s. “Reunited at last.” She sighs. Marcus sighs back, face scrunching up a bit. “Sadly.” Callum grins down at her as she fake glares at Marcus who immediately laughs. “But I thought we were your boys?” Jak says, gesturing between himself and Ollie, James swinging the camera to look at them. “No, no.” She says, removing her arms from the Indycar drivers and gathering the two F2 drivers in a hug. “They are my boys, you two are my little babies.” She coos and is surprised when they don’t protest or jokingly squirm away since a camera is on them. Completely missing that overhead Jak is giving the Indycar drivers a smug look while Ollie sticks his tongue at them.

James films them for another moment, before switching the camera off and handing it off to Callum.

“I forgot how much you baby them.” Callum teases her, when she finally returns to his side. “Good practice.” She teases in return, watching as he practically blue screens. “Gross.” Marcus remarks, nose wrinkling as he realizes why Callum has frozen up. “You can’t talk about it, don’t do it.” She tells the barely younger man. “Oh, I can talk about it, I just don’t want to think about you two doing it.” “He says as he just says the word it.” Callum chuckles, brushing a hand over the small of her back. “Well, I can talk more about it than either of them can.” He gestures to the two teenagers. She raises a brow, hearing a low chuckle from her husband as he realizes that she’s about to do something.

“Hey, Ollie.” She calls and he looks over at her, an eyebrow raised. “You have some condoms with you right?” Marcus chokes on his own spit and James turns a little red. “Yes.” He snorts. “I doubt I’ll be having sex this weekend though.” She gives a pointed look at Marcus when he says the word sex. “Never know, Ollie. Never know.” “I hate you so much.” Marcus mumbles and she just grins.

—

“Marcus, Callum. Good to see you both.” Charles greets, shaking both of their hands as the small group watches Pips interview Daniel, the Ferrari driver next in line. “Good to see ya, mate.” Marcus smiles. Callum and him may have both had a rough time at the FDA, but Charles had always been kind and nice to them, even after. “How are you liking Indycar, Marcus? I’ve seen a couple of races.” “It’s good. You probably don’t remember what an F2 car feels like, but it’s a hell of alot smoother than that thing.” He laughs, giving him one of those shit winks he has. “I can vaguely remember.” He turns his attention to Callum, not minding that the driver has his eyes firmly on the girl in front of them. “And how are you? I saw the uh, whole twitter thing.” Callum flashes him a quick smile, trying not to show how bothered he still somewhat is by the whole thing. “I’m alright. Been better with my twitter being private and all.” “Good, good.” He nods, then seeing Daniel step away, he excuses himself for his own interview.

“She’s got Gasly tomorrow right?” The British driver makes a humming noise. “Logan and Norris as well.” “Ooh, last name basis now?” Callum throws him a look. “If he’s going to refer to the boys that way, yes.” He looks at him in disbelief. “Still?” When he nods, Marcus runs a hand over his face. “Jesus christ. He’s a bit of a disaster isn’t he?” “More so just caught up in this and Quadrant. Imagine if Max ever goes back, he’ll interact again, but we’ll see.” “So, don’t hold my breath.” He snorts, watching as Charles attempts to explain the tyre strategy. “Yeah, don’t hold your breath.”

—

Lando can’t help but frown when as soon as he’s answered her last question and she’s thanked him, she’s turning her camera off, already stepping further back from him. “I’m not going to do anything.” Her head snaps up to look at him, disbelief on her features and he nearly smacks himself as he realizes what he said. “Fuck, I, mean, I didn’t,” he stutters about feeling warm and he can feel the two Indy drivers she’s close with watching him closely, which makes it worse. Blood rushed to his face and he’s thankful he’s still got a bit of tan, harder to tell when he’s flustered. “I’m sorry, I didn't think.” “Seems to be a common occurrence.” The jab should make him wince, but he can’t help but laugh. It was true, had gotten him into a fair amount of trouble with PR. “Not really like you need brains to drive, right?” He expects her to laugh, like everyone else does when he makes the joke, though there is a bit of truth to the statement depending on the driver. But the disbelief is back on her face and she just shakes her head. “Good luck in Mexico, Lando. I’ll see you for an interview in Brazil.” “You’re not going to Mexico?” She shakes her head and unscrews the camera from its tripod, placing it carefully in her tote. “No, but I wish you luck.” “Did you mean that?” “What?”

He bites at the inside of his bottom lip, nerves making him feel a bit jittery, but he wants to know, has to know, that despite him constantly putting his foot in his mouth, saying the wrong thing and making her uncomfortable, if she means it. “When you wish me good luck, do you mean it? Are you actually hoping I’ll do well?” Her lips thin as she folds down the tripod and he’s holding his breath waiting for an answer. “Anytime I tell a driver good luck, I mean it.” It’s general, detached, but something surges in him, because every interview at the end she’s wished him luck. And he knows that she doesn’t do that with every driver, in fact some drivers, he doesn’t think he’s ever heard her wish good luck. “Great.” The word comes out a little breathless and he can feel himself flush more. “I mean, amazing, that's good, I, thank you.” He ends up settling on, feeling like he’s on fire. “You’re welcome.”

Brazil 2023

She giggles as he pulls her back onto the bed, this time however his arms are still tight around her, keeping her close. “Callum, I have to go.” “No.” He whines, rolling over and taking her with him, so that she’s in between him and the bed. Unable to stop a small smirk from forming at the way her legs immediately separate to make space for him. “You should stay here with me today. Just us.” He murmurs, bending down to hover his lips over her neck. “All alone together in this bed. Room service when we need some energy.” She hums, the idea more than appealing. “It does sound good.” She presses a kiss to his lips. “Yeah?” “Yeah.” She smiles, before nudging two of her fingers into his ribs. The sensation makes him yell as he rolls off her, arms coming up to protect his ribs and she takes the opportunity to get off and away from the bed.

“Pips,” he groans, rubbing at the spot she hurt him. “What was that for?” “I have to go to the track. I have work.” She tells him. “But it’s a Thursday. Nothing good happens on a Thursday.” “Well, this one is different.” He eyes her, really taking note of what she’s wearing. He had thought it odd how dressed up she was getting for a simple media day, but some days she liked doing that. Dressing to the near nines for the hell of it. “You got an important interview.” She smiles and he’s standing up, crossing the room to kiss her.

“You never said.” “I was expecting them to cancel.” She admits, still not sure why they reached out to see if she’d want to do an interview. She knew part of it was PR, but still didn’t make sense that they choose her, when there were other content creators involved with motorsports, ones at that, that spent far more time on F1, but they had chosen her. She also couldn’t help but be glad that her interview with him would take place after her interviews with everyone else. When the track was starting to wind down from the press. “Who is it with?” He asks. “I mean, am I allowed to know who it is?” “Of course you’re allowed to know.” She laughs, brushing her fingers through his hair. It was getting to be a bit long. She’d have to find someplace for him to get his haircut before Yas Marina. “It’s Christian.” His eyes widened. “Horner?” “Yeah.” “Fuck.” He swears, blinking. “I mean, shit.” He laughs. “Are you ready for this? Get enough breakfast? Got your notebook?” He starts patting at his thighs where his wallet would be if he was wearing jeans. “Do you need me to get you some coffee? Drive you to the track?” He glances down when he realizes he’s not wearing anything but boxers, cursing, before looking around the room for some jeans. He doesn’t notice the way she’s looking at him at first. Eyes soft and filled with light and love. Smile fond and infatuated. But then her hand is grasping at his arm, tugging lightly until he turns around at the sound of his name.

She presses forward, kissing him and his hands drop the jeans he had just found, grabbing at her waist.

“I’m so in love with you, Callum Ilott.” She breathes when they separate, unable to not smile, heart beating a little fast at how much she loves this man, her husband. “I’m in love with you too, Pips Ilott.” She laughs, remembering how she nearly signed their marriage certificate with Pips instead of her actual name. “Dinner when I get back?” He nods, stealing another kiss from her. “I’ll have something ordered from somewhere for us.” “Thank you.” “Of course.” He tells her, before tapping her ass with a wink and letting his hands fall away. “Now go and knock his socks off.” She shakes her head, laughing a little, but moves to pick up her tote. “I’ll put in a word about Indycar for you.” “If you don’t leave,” he starts. “I’m going, I’m going.” She laughs, grabbing her key card before opening the hotel room door. “I will put in a word for you though, love you!” She tells him, closing the door behind her. ‘Love you too!” He responds, despite the door being closed as he shakes his head.

“I’m so fucking lucky you married me.” He murmurs, knowing that she wasn’t joking about bringing up Indycar to the team principal.

—

She can’t help but beam as she leaves and starts to walk towards the track’s exit. Her interview with Christian, went well, really well. She had even managed to get him to talk about his less than savory comment about women in motorsports without getting shut down. And she nearly does a little dance as she nears the gates, she hadn’t even had to bring up Indycar, Christian doing it for her.

It had been off camera as he asked her about how she liked Indycar and there had been a keen interest in his eyes as they talked about the sport for a good ten or so minutes. She did her best not to think about how he told her to give her husband his best. She wasn’t surprised that his team and or Red Bull’s had done their due diligence on her.

“You’re certainly happy.” She smiles at Lando, the sight of him not even dampening her mood. “I had a very good interview.” “Oh, something good to watch out for?” “Only if you like Red Bull.” His nose wrinkles at that. “Red Bull? Really?” “You don’t just turn down an opportunity to interview Christian Horner, Lando.” “Holy shit. Really?” She nods, still beaming and he can’t help but smile back at her. “That’s fucking nuts. Congrats.” “Thanks.” She laughs, adjusting her tote. “Could I buy you a drink? Help you celebrate a little?” He offers, wanting to continue seeing her like this. Happy and like she was floating with it. She shakes her head, “I’ve got dinner to get to. But thank you Lando.” “Of course.” He murmurs. “And congratulations again.” She flashes him another smile, before walking through the gates, eager to get back to Callum and tell him all about it.

Yas Marina 2023

Lando pats Oscar on the back, happy for his teammate who had managed to get on the podium again. A nice P3, compared to his P5. And he had managed to finish within the top ten of the driver standings for his rookie season, finishing at ninth, while Lando himself finished eighth.

“You happy that the season is over?” He asks, as Oscar starts to change out of his fireproofs and race suit. The Aussie shrugs. “I mean, I guess. Will be nice to not be a rookie next year. I’m just happy to go back home for a bit. Spend some time with Lily.” “I’m surprised she’s not here.” Oscar pauses as he pulls on some pants, “she’s with Fred and them.” “Fred?” Oscar rolls his eyes. “Vesti, the guy that managed to win the F2 championship despite it nearly being impossible.” “Ah.” Lando nods, the name ringing a bell now.

He had seen a little bit of the races, knew that Pourchaire retiring nearly halfway through the sprint race had been a bit of a whatever, but then on the third lap of the feature race he had to retire after a crash between him and some other driver, he thinks Stanek.

He eyes Oscar who’s on his phone, texting he thinks by the way his thumb is moving across the lower part of the screen. “Have you seen Pips? I wanted to say hi to her.” “Lando,” “Honestly.” He holds his hands open. “I just want to say hi and tell her how much I liked the Horner interview.” Oscar narrows his eyes, looking at him. “She’s with some current and former F2 drivers right now, friends, and girlfriends. We’re all going out to dinner.” He glances down at his phone, before looking back at Lando. “If you want you can come with.” “Really?” “As long as you promise to be on your best behavior.” Lando grins at him. “Can do.” He rolls his eyes, slipping his phone into his back pocket while grabbing for his wallet. “Also, on the ride there, maybe look at the F2 line up for this year and 2021’s. It’s rude to call people by their last names, when you should know their first.” He flushes at the words, but nods. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

—

Pips has never been so thankful for James' management skills as the large group of fifteen settles around a table in a private room of a restaurant. There’s a few empty places still around it, but there’s only two more people they’re waiting for, Oscar and Logan.

A bunch of different conversations are in the room but everyone stops to cheer when Oscar and Logan enter the room. “We’re not worthy!” Clem shouts, with a laugh taking another drink of wine. Logan rolls his eyes, but grins, sitting on the other side of Jak. Oscar quickly moves to Lily’s side, pressing a kiss to her cheek before sitting next to her. “Brought along a guest.” He tells everyone. She looks over at the entrance for the private dining room but before she can react, Callum is taking her hand in his under the table, squeezing it. “Well, you know us. The more the merrier.” James jokes, waving the British formula one driver over, motioning for him to take a seat.

Lando claps Fred on the shoulder as he passes by him, the Dane sitting at the head of the table. “Congrats on the championship, mate. Was nuts to watch.” “Thank you, Lando. Congratulations to you as well for the season.”

“Please tell me I’m not going to have to watch him hit on you.” Marcus murmurs to her, leaning over Callum to do so as they watch Lando sit on the other side of the table just two seats down. She sends him a look, shaking her head. “No. Crowds seem to deter him.” Marcus laughs at that, so does Lissie having heard it as well, while Callum shakes his head with a smile.

“You going to be okay?” Callum’s voice is just a murmur, Lissie having thankfully distracted Marcus. “Yeah.” She squeezes his hand. “Besides, I’ve got you haven’t I?” He smiles, running a finger over her wedding band and ring, an odd but pleasant sensation to the both of them. “Always.”

“Your interview with Horner was really good.” “Thank you.” She was a little surprised that Lando had seen it already. It hadn’t even been out for a week. “Was there anything cut that you wish could have made it in?” She shakes her head. “No. There were some cuts made for pacing, but during the interview we didn’t talk about anything that needed to be cut.” “And after?” Lando asks, fishing a little. She shrugs, “NDA.” “You had to sign an NDA?” “Yeah, and it was a good one, wasn’t it Pips?” “It was a bit more serious than I’m used to.” She allows before smiling at James. “And thank you for letting me borrow Evan again.” “He was more than happy too.”

“You’ve signed NDA’s before?” She nods, looking at Lando a little confused. “Yeah. I had to sign one when we did that interview in Silverstone for McLaren. It’s really basic just making sure that if I overhear anything I don’t talk about it with anyone, especially competitors. Williams had me sign an identical one before I interviewed Logan in Miami.” “Ron says hi, by the way.” Logan pipes in, grinning at her. “Tell Ron to focus on his actual granddaughter.” The American laughs but nods, turning his attention back to the conversation he was in.

“I didn’t realize.” “It’s part of the job. I don’t mind it. Have you had an NDA given to you yet, Lissie?” The younger girl nods. “Yeah, a few. Chip gave me one after Marcus and I disclosed.” “Those are fun aren’t they?” She groans, leaning a bit over Marcus. “It was absurdly long and convoluted. I’ve never seen anything like it.” “I had the same thing.”

“I don’t remember any large NDA’s.” Callum says, brows drawn together. “Remember that binder I got, it was green.” “Oh.” His eyes widen and then his nose scrunches up. “God, that was long. What on earth did they think you were going to talk about with other people?” She shrugs, “They weren’t exactly wrong considering my conversation at Red Bull.” “Well, what did you talk about at Red Bull?” Marcus asks, eyeing the couple. Her hands go a bit in the air, before one goes up to her face, zipping her mouth shut. Marcus narrows his eyes at her, before turning his attention to Callum. “Do you know?” He shrugs. “I don’t know. Do I know?” “I hate you two.” Marcus says after a moment, the few other people listening in laughing. “I mean, really. You two are perfect for each other. Couldn’t think of a better match or married couple.” She laughs before smiling at her husband. “Ah, you hear that honey? We’re perfect for each other.” “Only took him five years to admit it.”

“You two are married?” She freezes at the weird tone in Lando’s voice, the whole room quieting and she can see James looking at Marcus, before she turns her head to look at Lando. “Yeah, we have been for two years, closer to three.” “He’s your husband?” Eyes widen all around the table and she rests a hand on Callum’s thigh. “Yes, he is. And he’s the best husband anyone could ask for.” Her tone is warning, hoping he won’t say anything worse. She wouldn't stand for anyone trying to say that Callum didn’t deserve her. “Wow.” Lando murmurs, before smiling the best he can at the both of them. “Congratulations to you two. Can I ask why all the secrecy?” “We just weren’t ready to share.” She tells him.

“Did you just say weren’t?” Clem interrupts Lando, before the Brit can say anything. “Holy fuck.” James says, catching the way Callum and Pips smile at each other. “You two are coming out.” He makes a face at the words. “I’d reword that one.” She presses her face into his shoulder at the look Marcus gives him, stifling a laugh. The Kiwi was most definitely going to continue calling it their coming out now. “You two are actually going public. I can’t believe it.” She shakes her head at the disbelief in Marcus’ voice, “you knew this was coming. We want kids, other than Jak and Ollie,” she quickly adds on before either of the boys can protest. “And we don’t want to worry about hiding our relationship and the pregnancy or them.” “I better be godfather.” He tells her. “Me as well.” “Same here.” “I definitely should get godfather.” “We’ll share a kid.”

“How many kids do you think we’re having exactly?” Callum asks, looking at everyone who had spoken in disbelief. “Nine.” “Ten.” “Seven, definitely seven.” “Five?”

“Logan!” Her eyes are wide as she stares at the American. “I’m guessing that you don’t want ten.” “No.” She shakes her head. “Can you imagine? We have to think of the possibility of them all wanting to do karting and paying for that. Ten karting careers is way too many.” “It’s also three by the way.” Oscar says, taking a drink after. “Though if the last ends up being multiples and they end up with four or five, that’s fine.” “How do you know that?” James asks. “Lily.” “Nah, see, that's girlfriend privilege. Unfair advantage. I want him out of the running for godfather.” James points at Oscar as he looks at the two of them. They share a look, before looking at James. “Yeah, we haven’t decided anything. And there’s still about a year and a half until anything gets decided, so we can’t put him out of the running yet. Unless of course, he doesn’t want to be godfather.” Callum says. “Oh, I absolutely want to be in the running.” James points at him again. “Unfair advantage.”

@cixrosie @badbatch-simp24 @darleneslane @fanboyluvr @teti-menchon0604 @eugene-emt-roe @gemofthenight @peachiicherries @lpab @copper-boom @topguncultleader @iloveyou3000morgan @boiohboii @benstormy

[bella-rose29]

The Greatest Thing - Lockwood x fem!reader

requested by anon: Hi, I love the way you write! I was wondering (if requests are still open) if you could write a Lockwood x reader where reader's mother died when she was little for some reason, and by taking on a case reader and Lockwood find themselves having to fight the ghost of reader's mother ? And maybe even Lockwood calming Reader down after the mission? Feel free to change parts. (btw: sorry if English is terrible, I'm Italian, English is not my native language)

my lovely you don't need to apologise for your English, it's better than a lot of actual English people I know (myself included) <333

sorry this took me so long, but hopefully you enjoy!!

for reference, the song that's mentioned is specifically Nat King Cole's version of Nature Boy from 1948 <3

Word count: 4.2k

Warnings: swearing (only a lil), brief mentions of cancer (not explicit though), idk if there's anything else

I did just copy and paste the tag list from DTH part 9 so feel free to not read this if you don't want to! <3

It was nearly one in the morning when the telephone rang. 

This was odd, because the phone had been broken for a little over twenty years. 

It was more sentimental than anything else, and it was kept as a reminder of someone long gone, as was the typewriter that sat on the shelves next to the telephone, on top of the case it came in so that it could be admired. There was a record player too, although that was in perfect working condition, unlike the other two objects. 

The ringing of the telephone woke up the inhabitant of the bedroom, and he groggily rubbed at his eyes as he sat up and turned the light on. The glare made him wince, but when he realised the broken telephone on his shelf was ringing, his eyes shot wide open. He scrambled for the working phone on his bedside table, trying not to panic too much and failing as he punched in the numbers. The line rang three times before someone picked up, and his breathing was shaky. 

“Hello? I think there’s a ghost in my bedroom.”

~~~

“Lockwood? You awake?” Y/n pushed open the door to the library, making note of the dim light that shone under the door. Her voice was quiet, just in case he’d actually managed to fall asleep, but as soon as she stepped inside she saw him sat in his usual armchair with a book.

“Everything alright?” he asked. 

“Not really. Dad’s just phoned me.” She took the chair next to him, watching as he put a bookmark in place and held the book closed on his lap. 

“Ah, that’s who was calling.” He frowned. “You don’t sound too happy about it.”

“He thinks there’s a ghost in his room. Said the old telephone that Mum bought ages ago started ringing just now. He wants us to come and check it out as soon as we can.”

“How do we know it’s not just… someone calling?”

“It’s broken, Lockwood. Has been for ages. Pretty sure it was broken when Mum got it, but she thought it looked nice.”

“Right. Well… you know the house layout, and where things are. And if you’re not too tired… I suppose we could head over now? Only if you wanted. Your father is welcome to stay here if he wants, too.”

“Thank you, Lockwood. I don’t know that I’ll be able to sleep, not knowing Dad’s in danger. And he won’t want to go outside at this time of night anyway, not without a safe route to somewhere else. You sure you’re alright with going on a case now?”

“Of course I am, Y/n. Especially for you.” She tried not to flush too much at how sincerely he had said it and pushed out of the chair. 

“Okay then. I’ll just… go and get changed.” She was still in her pyjamas from earlier. Lockwood was, predictably, in a suit, just without the jacket and tie. She was certain they were a second skin on him now. 

“Meet me by the front door in ten? I’ll get the kit ready.”

“Sure. Don’t forget the biscuits like you did last time.”

~~~

It took five minutes of quietly moving around the attic so as not to wake Lucy for Y/n to get changed. She wasn’t entirely successful in being silent, since the floorboards creaked every two seconds and she fell over trying to get her jumper on because she got stuck inside it and didn’t see the corner of her bed, but somehow Lucy slept through it all. Y/n headed downstairs, wincing when the steps groaned under her weight, and went to find Lockwood in the basement. He was nearly done packing up the bags, and when he caught sight of her his smile was blinding. 

“You all ready to go?”

“Yeah, think so. I’ve been thinking, about what the Source could be?” she said, although her voice lifted at the end to make it sound more like she was asking him a question. Lockwood nodded, zipping up the second kit bag and handing it to her when she reached for it. “I feel like the phone is too obvious, but if it’s some sort of Poltergeist it might be a good idea to check anyway. There’s quite a lot of things that could be a Source, actually. Mum loved collecting old stuff, said it reminded her of her childhood.”

“She wasn’t an agent, was she?”

“No. No Talent. Not with a capital ‘t’ anyway. She was amazing at loads of other things though.” They were in the hallway now, grabbing their rapiers out of the stand. Lockwood shrugged on his coat. 

“What do you know about the history of the house? Any murders or deaths that could result in a Visitor?”

“No. There was Mum’s, but Dad got the place sorted out as soon as he could. DEPRAC came in and cleared the room.”

“Well, we’ll see what we can find, yeah?”

“Yeah. Thanks,” she said when he opened the front door and gestured for her to go first. Lockwood must have called a cab, because now there sat one just in front of the gate. “I told Dad to get into the kitchen and turn the table lamp on, ‘cause a couple years ago he got iron strips put in the floor, so he should be alright in there. We can get this taxi to wait for him and bring him here, right?”

“Of course. That was a smart move, both the iron strips and your suggestion. We’ll make the kitchen our main retreat, then.”

Ten minutes later they were pulling up outside her childhood home, and as soon as the taxi stopped Y/n was opening the door and rushing to greet her dad. Lockwood was talking to the driver, paying him for the journey they’d just taken and asking if he might stay a little longer to take a passenger back to 35 Portland Row. 

“Hi, Dad, you alright?” Y/n breathed, wrapping her arms around her father. 

“Been better, love. I’m glad you and your boyfriend are here though.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Dad,” she said, feeling heat creep up her neck. “Lockwood’s my boss.”

“I just thought that since you talk about him all the time, y’know? Lockwood this and Lockwood that.”

“I’m gonna walk away now, I think. Have fun with the ghost!” she joked, knowing that she would never leave her father in a house where there was a possible haunting. “We, uh… we thought it might be best if you went to Portland Row for tonight while we work here. It’s a standard procedure to not have the clients in the house, but normally they’ve got somewhere to go and a bit more notice, and Lockwood said you can take his bed if you wanted. We have also got a sofa, but it’s not nearly as comfortable as a bed.”

“Alright, love. You’ll be alright, just the two of you?”

“Yeah.”

“I take it he’s keeping that cab for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay then. I’ll see you in the morning, love.” He must have known that she would ask him to leave the house because he reached behind him and picked up a bag, hoisting it over his shoulder and planting a quick kiss on her cheek. 

“Bye, Dad!”

She watched as he sent a small wave over his shoulder, shaking Lockwood by the hand and thanking him for the offer of a place to stay, and then he was getting in the taxi and going back the way that she and Lockwood had come from. 

Lockwood had the keys to the house in his hand, and before he unlocked the front door (her father had locked it when he’d seen the taxi approach) he turned back. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I can do this, Lockwood. For my Dad. Besides, if something’s only just surfacing now from one of the antiques, it can’t be too bad can it? I mean, it didn’t hurt my dad.”

~~~

As it turned out, it was quite bad. 

Not in a holy-shit-this-ghost-will-kill-us way, but more in a holy-shit-why-does-this-house-feel-worse-than-a-graveyard-at-night? way. 

Y/n had grown up in this house, had only really moved out two years ago, and she had never once felt unsafe or uneasy. Walking around it now, though, doing initial readings of sensations and temperature, she wondered how her father had managed to stay positive. Most things she just got echoes of her own childhood, her laughter as she ran through the halls while her parents chased her when she was three, baking in the kitchen and licking the bowl when she was five, crying when she tripped and slid down the last couple of steps on the stairs and grazed her knee at the bottom, and her mother pressing kisses to her hair and a plaster to her tiny injury when she was six. But underneath it all there was a malaise, something unsettling that seeped into Y/n and Lockwood’s bones and made them cautious. 

“Does it normally feel like this?” he asked when they made it to the top of the stairs and around most of the rooms, one hand on his rapier hilt. They hadn’t drawn their weapons yet, but they knew it was only a matter of time. 

“No. Dad would have said something.” The thermometer beeped, alerting them of a drop in temperature. Lockwood checked it where it sat attached to his belt. 

“Minus two. It was three degrees just now.” They stood in silence on the landing, both looking at the thermometer. “Well, only one door left, I suppose. Do you want to do it or should I?”

“I’ll do it.” She made her way to the door of her parents’ bedroom and took a shaky breath before placing her hand on the doorknob. Immediately a rush of memories hit her, from when her parents first moved in after their marriage, to the day she was born in that room, to the countless times Y/n had crept in in the night because she’d had a bad dream, up to the point when her mother had last touched the handle. It went further, but the force of the memory of her mother made her push the door open and step over the threshold. 

Lockwood was right behind her, and she heard him draw in a breath and reach into his coat for his sunglasses. Y/n whipped around to look at him just as he pushed them over his eyes, catching the last of his squint while he warily studied the bed. “Why are you putting those on?”  she asked, not liking the wobble that accompanied it. 

“Death glow on the bed. Are…” he hesitated for a moment, and she imagined his eyes darting between her and the bed behind her. “Are you absolutely sure that your father got the house cleaned out?” His voice was soft, like he was trying to not agitate her too much, but she got defensive anyway. 

“Yes. He wouldn’t lie about something like that, not when he had a six year old living in a possibly haunted house!”

“But… and I’m not doubting you, or your father, I just need to know, were you here when the house got cleaned out after your mother passed?”

“No, Dad sent me to my friend’s house. He said it wouldn’t be good for us to be in the house while they were working.”

“So you never actually saw people cleaning out this place?” She froze, catching on to what Lockwood was getting at. 

“No,” she whispered, turning to look back at the bed. Her mother had died in it over ten years ago from untreated cancer, completely unexpectedly. She’d gone peacefully at least, in her sleep, but it had broken the two members of the family that had been left behind. Her father had told her that he’d call DEPRAC and get the house cleaned out, to keep the two of them safe, but now as she grabbed a hold of the doorknob again she realised there was no memory of people coming in to do that job. “Shit. Shit shit shit shit.”

“Hey,” Lockwood said, sunglasses still perched on his nose. “It’s alright. We’re agents, and we’re Lockwood and Co. I know… I know this won’t be easy, Y/n/n, but we can do this. You can do this. Just breathe in, and back out. Good. Right. Have a think: what in here could be the Source? Hey, focus, Y/n.” His tone grew a little harsher as he grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away from the door. 

“Why wouldn’t he clean the house?” Her breath was coming too quickly now, and her eyes couldn’t settle on any one thing. “Why, Lockwood? Why wouldn’t he do it?”

“Because sometimes we love someone too much to have them gone forever.” Her eyes finally stopped moving around, instead meeting his and making her draw in a breath at the vulnerability in his eyes. His voice had been rough with emotion, and immediately she thought of the door on the landing back at 35 Portland Row. As quickly as he had opened up, his walls had snapped back into place, and he was leaning back and smiling softly at her. “Let’s try not to focus on that too much, yeah? Maybe the phone?” As though he had summoned it, the old telephone on the shelf started ringing as soon as he finished talking. “Okay… that was weird.”

“It’s not even got wires attached to it,” Y/n breathed. 

“Visitor is definitely a Poltergeist then. There’s no apparition which is good, because no ghost-touch. That’s also bad though. No way of really knowing what the Source could be.” She tuned Lockwood out, knowing that he would just be talking himself through the situation they were in, and kept on staring at the telephone. It hadn’t stopped ringing. 

Music suddenly started blaring out of the record player, despite there not being any record to play. It was a song that Y/n recognised, although she couldn’t remember where from. 

“Is that… is that ‘Nature Boy’?” Lockwood asked, glancing incredulously at the record player. 

“Oh my god. Yeah. It was Mum’s favourite song, specifically this version.” Her mother would often be found with it playing on the record player in the study downstairs, and she’d told Y/n the story behind it a million times. She’d been adamant that Y/n never forget the words, and now as it played she knew it was her mother haunting this room. 

“I think it’s broken,” Lockwood said when the song skipped back to repeat the last section of the song. 

“The greatest thing…”

“No, it’s not. Maybe it’s the record player? Maybe that’s the Source?” The music stopped, and she knew she was wrong. “Okay… so the telephone is the Source?” At once the music started again, but from a different point. 

“But very wise…”

“Is… is your mother helping us?” 

“I think so.” 

“… Why?”

“Maybe she just wants to move on?”

“But very wise…”

“Okay this is freaking me out a little bit now,” she said, moving over to the telephone. It stopped ringing when she got close enough to reach out and touch it, and she glanced at Lockwood. “Silver net?” He wordlessly passed her one, his sunglasses still obscuring his eyes. His face was impassive and she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, but he was focused on the record player. It had continued playing from where her mother’s ghost had skipped back to help them, and was finishing up the last lines of the song. 

“The greatest thing… you’ll ever learn… is just to love… and be loved… in return…”

The room became silent after that, and both Lockwood and Y/n stood staring at the record player. Nothing moved until Y/n finally broke out of whatever world she had disappeared into, slowly placing the silver net over the telephone and wrapping it carefully. At once the temperature lifted, and just before she had finished containing the Source of her mother’s ghost she heard a sigh in the air, as though someone was finally being allowed some peace. 

“We should head over to the furnaces,” Lockwood finally said. “Unless you wanted to put it in a silver glass case?”

“I’ll talk to Dad about it in the morning.”

“Alright. Here, let me…” he stepped over and gently removed the telephone from her hands. “Why don’t you go and sort out the kitchen, get all our things together? I’ll get a taxi for us.” Y/n nodded, not taking her eyes off of the bundle in his arms. “Y/n?”

“Hmm?” She was unfocused, untethered to this world, and his voice was muffled. She vaguely noted Lockwood putting the Source down and coming closer to her, and then he was hugging her tightly, pressing her into his chest and his lips to her head when she drew in a shaky breath and sobbed. 

“It’s alright. It’s alright.”

She wasn’t sure how long they were there for, her crying into his dress shirt and him rubbing her back and whispering softly to her, but by the time she pulled back, her sobs reduced to slight hitches in her breath, her throat was sore and her eyes puffy. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Y/n.”

~~~

It was nearly three in the morning when the telephone rang. 

This wasn’t odd, because this time it was Lockwood phoning Portland Row to let them know that the ghost had been dealt with, and he and Y/n were coming back. 

Y/n had remained silent for the duration of the taxi ride back to 35 Portland Row, staring out the window with her eyes looking at something that Lockwood couldn’t see. He knew what it was like, to be in her position, but he had no idea how to comfort her other than just being here. She’d gripped him earlier, when they were hugging, like she thought he might be the next one to leave. It had broken his heart and made it swell at the same time that she had held him so tightly, but now he was left to wonder how else he might help. 

She was still silent when they walked through the front door. 

Her father came out of the living room to greet them, and Y/n had frozen, rapier mid-air while she went to put it away in the umbrella stand. Lockwood had put his own rapier away, and the sound made her snap out of whatever trance she had been in and finish her previous action before taking one last look at her father and running upstairs. Lockwood shrugged off his long coat, hanging it on the stand. 

“It was her mother,” he said, looking at the stairs instead of at the man he was talking to. “I think she’s upset that you lied to her, about clearing out the house.”

“I couldn’t-” he broke off, coughing slightly to clear his throat when emotion clogged it up. “I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“I know.” He could barely look at that door on the landing most of the time. He turned to face Y/n’s father. “But you made that house unsafe. You got lucky. She was a Poltergeist, but completely unaggressive like they normally are. Very lucky, in fact, because there was no chance of you being ghost-touched. But still, you should have told her.” The man nodded, tears starting to fall on his cheeks. 

“I suppose you put the Source in the furnaces then?”

“No, actually. I asked Y/n what she wanted to do, and she said she’d talk to you. You could keep it, so long as it was in a sealed silver glass box. You wouldn’t have to lose her again.”

“That would be great, thank you. Is it safe here overnight?”

“I’ll put it in the storeroom downstairs,” Lockwood smiled, one of his classic customer service smiles, and moved towards the kitchen. “Whereabouts did you decide to sleep in the end? The living room?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. Well, goodnight, sir.”

“You’re a good lad, Mr. Lockwood. I can see why my Y/n likes you so much. Goodnight,” he waved, disappearing into the living room and closing the door behind him. Lockwood stood in the hallway, Source still wrapped in the silver net, and tried not to blush too much at the way those words had been said. 

~~~

“What are you doing in here?”

Y/n jumped at the sound of Lockwood’s voice, and immediately felt a little guilty for intruding on his personal space. “Sorry,” she muttered. “I didn’t want to wake Lucy up, ‘cause she hasn’t been sleeping well recently, so I came in here. Sorry.”

“That’s alright.” He went to grab his pyjamas, then did a double-take. “Is that my shirt?”

“Oh.” She looked down and flushed. “I didn’t… I forgot that by not going up to the attic I wouldn’t have anything to sleep in, so… yeah.”

“Oh.” 

She wished he would say more, because his gaze was as heavy as the silence that settled over them after that single syllable. 

“Lockwood?”

A pause. “Yeah?”

“I can leave-”

“No!” He swallowed thickly, then repeated himself. “No. I mean, no point waking Lucy up, is there? I’ll be back in a bit, just… going to go get changed.” She watched him leave, and then five minutes later she watched him come back. 

“You alright?”

“Yeah,” he answered, sounding anything but. He looked… nervous? Why the hell was he nervous? “You?”

“I’m alright.” She tried not to laugh, settling for an amused smile instead, and waited for him to get into bed next to her and turn off the light. Once it was dark (or as dark as it could be with the ghost lamp outside the window), she heard him shuffle around in his bed so that he was facing her. The outline of his face was barely visible, but it was enough that she could make out where his eyes were, and where his faint smile was. “Lockwood?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. For earlier.”

“I already told you, anytime.” They went quiet, just enjoying the comfort of Lockwood’s bedroom. “I talked to your dad, by the way. He said he didn’t want to lose her again, so I’ve offered to sort out a case for the phone in the morning. I also told him off for lying to you, which terrified me, because your dad is not a small man.” Y/n let out a snort at the last part, and she saw the faint light from outside light up Lockwood’s teeth as he grinned. 

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I did. Back at the house, you were… well, I’m not really sure what you were. But you weren’t you, and it scared me. It’s like you went somewhere else, Y/n. I just can’t lose you, is all.”

“Oh.” Now it was her turn to not say much, and she could feel him fidgeting. 

“Your dad said something. About you.”

“What? What did he say?” Her heart was beating faster, not knowing if he’d said something good or bad. 

“He said that you like me a lot.” Now her heart was thumping for a different reason. 

“Well, yeah. It’s difficult not to like you, Lockwood, you’re a very likeable person, you know? Very-”

“Why are you nervous?”

“What?”

“You’re talking really fast. You do that when you’re nervous. Why are you nervous?” Damn him for knowing her so well. 

“Uh… I just… I don’t know.” She did know, but how could she admit to her boss that she had the biggest crush on him while they were lying in his bed together?

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have- it just sounded like he meant it in a… in a like like way.” She took a deep breath, and decided to bite the bullet. At least if it was dark she couldn’t see his face when he rejected her. 

“He did. I… I’ve liked you for a while, actually.” There was no response, and suddenly it all seemed like a terrible idea. “Lockwood?”

“How long?” There was no discernible emotion in his voice. 

“About two years?”

“So… since you got here?”

“Yeah, basically.”

“You’re telling me,” he started, frustration seeping through, and she shrunk in on herself a little. “You’re telling me that we could have been together this entire time?!”

“Yeah, I guess so. Wait,” she frowned, “wait what did you just say?”

“It took us removing your mother’s Source from your childhood home and your father telling me that you really like me for this to happen?!”

“… Yeah?” She heard him bring his hands up to his face and groan, and then heard him shuffle around again. A moment later his hand was touching hers, tentatively at first, then lacing his fingers through hers and tugging her closer to him when he realised he’d found her. She ended up curled into his side, her head in the crook of his neck, and his arms wrapped around her torso under the duvet. 

“Well I know you’re free after we wake up, so right after we get the glass case sorted out I’m taking you out for food.”

“Like a date?”

“Exactly like that.”

It wasn’t long after that that the pair of them fell asleep, and before she drifted off in Lockwood’s arms, she couldn’t help but think how her mother had been right about loving and being loved, and how it was the greatest thing in the world. 

tag list: @ahead-fullofdreams, @aislinrayne, @anathemaloren, @anthgoldenhrry, @augustisintheair, @avdiobliss, @aysha4life, @bobbys-not-that-small, @briar-rose23, @curseofhecate, @dangelnleif, @edible-rat-vomit, @el-de-phi, @ell0ra-br3kk3r, @ettadear, @fearlessmoony, @fudosl, @idkbubs, @imaginebeingmentallystable, @informedimagining, @karensirkobabes, @lady-ashfade, @light-23, @locklyebrainrot, @locklyle1kanij, @locknco, @magicandrosewaters, @mentallyillsodapop, @mischivana, @mitskiswift99, @mrsklockwood, @mrsyixingunicorn10, @newbooksmell777, @no-morning-glories, @novelizt, @phlooper, @ran23sblog, @reggiepeterss, @simrah1012, @somethingrandomwatzit, @star-of-velaris, @superpositvecloudshipper, @t2sh0, @taygrls, @tournesol77, @whistle1whistle, @whenselenefallsinlove, @wordsarelife, @y0urm0m12, @zoom1374, @asyouwish-fromcabin3, @magicandrosewaters

[littlethingsinlife]

i'm sorry (happier part 2)

A/N: I was not expecting the amount of positive feedback for the first part and I was even more surprised to see people asking for a part 2! It was originally created to be a one-shot but a part 2 really fit well with how the first one ended. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you again for all of the love and support! I hope you all enjoy. I also want to thank my friend, @tummymoth, they really helped me flush out and refine my rusty ass writing (also let me word vomit at them till midnight sometimes).

Pairing(s): Past Lo’ak x Omatikayan!Reader, Ao’nung x Omatikayan!Reader, Slight mentions of Lo’ak x Tsireya

Warnings: Lo'ak's POV, Swearing, Ao'nung saying something sus ONE time

More Info: My vision for this part 2 was to create a reply in Lo'ak's pov. So we'll have a look at what he experienced and thought process (not too sure if any of that made sense) but I was inspired by Joshua Bassett's song "i'm sorry" and it played constantly as I wrote this. Hopefully I was able to do right by my idea haha.

Summary: 7,547

Part 1: Happier

Key:

(Y/N) = Your Name 

Lyrics = Bolded Italics 

Flashbacks = Italics

Na'vi Words:

Yuey - beautiful (refers to a person) 

Skxawng - idiot/moron

Marui - Pods where the Na’vi live

Ilu - sea creature similar to dolphins

Ikran - dragon-like creature 

Tulkun - sentient creatures similar to whales

Olo’eyktan - clan leader/ chief

I thought about what I would say

But I’m two years too late

I can’t imagine how you’re doing these days, hmm

Sure, it wasn’t perfect back then

I’ll be first to admit

But it was better than being strangers again, oh

It had been a couple of months since my interactions with (Y/N) dwindled to terse smiles and barely audible greetings. If you asked me to point out the moment our friendship started to change, I couldn’t tell you. When did our bond start to break? When did it even start to crack? We used to talk every day about all the things we did and planned what pranks to pull on everyone, but now? Now, she barely looked in my direction. Now, she wouldn’t even give me the time of day. 

I couldn’t remember when it started, but I knew that it was somehow my fault I grew distant once we arrived in Awa'atlu. I guess I was just so fascinated by the new environment and people, I didn’t even realize a rift started to form between us in the first place, much less that it started to grow. 

The night before we left to find a new home, I held (Y/N) as she let out sobs filled with fear and anxiety. It broke my heart, but all I could do was hold her and let her cry until she was calm enough to tell me what was on her mind. 

“I-I am afraid, what if the sky people come to find us again? I cannot lose any of you; it would break me into a million pieces,” she sobbed. 

“If they find us then we will fight and we will win,” I reassured her, gently rocking her back and forth. 

“You are an idiot, I was so close to losing you, to losing Kiri, Tuk, how do you think it would make me feel to lose the most important people in my life?” she sniffled. My chest ached at how broken she sounded, but the only thing I could do was assure her and offer her more words of comfort as I held her in my arms. 

“I promise that I will be with you throughout the journey as will my family. We love you, and even if you do not believe it, you are a Sully. And you know what my dad always says.” 

“Sullys stick together,” we chorused.

That night, I cradled her in my arms until she fell asleep. 

Fuck, I completely broke my promise to her, how could I forget? Shaking my head, I tried to reason to myself, “Maybe she just needs time alone. I’m sure she’ll come running back soon once she realizes that it's no fun without me, her best friend.” I felt a small, unfamiliar feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Right?” 

I’m drunk too late talking to the moon

Writing songs I can’t sing to you, ‘cause

“Bah! Stop lying, I know you (Y/N). You would have fought alongside me and defended Kiri. You are not the same girl I knew in the forest back home,” I muttered, rolling my eyes and getting up to leave. Honestly, who did she think she was fooling? The skxawng had the balls to insult Kiri, and all she did was sit back and watch. She didn’t even make a move to help until it was to help him by pulling me off. “Talk to me when you’ve come back to your senses,” I called over my shoulder, refusing to look back. 

“Lo’ak! Bro—” a hand roughly grabbed my shoulder, jolting me out of my daze, “why’re you just staring off like that?” I whipped my head to see who the hell it was that was bothering me, only to be met with Neteyam.

“Did you have to grab me that hard?” I hissed before my initial anger gave way to a heavy feeling. “It's nothing, just—just lost in thought” I sighed, shrugging his hand off my shoulder. 

“Right, sure, nothing.” he crouched down beside me. “Don’t think you can lie to me lil bro, you’ve been spacing out more than you usually do. I didn’t even think it was possible to be more empty-headed than you already are,” he stated. 

“Wha—no I haven’t,” I tried to argue, but of course, he wasn’t convinced. 

“Can you stop arguing with me for once and just tell me what’s going on with you, you skxawng?” 

I scrunched my nose in distaste and inhaled sharply, “(Y/N) and I have been…  distant,” I admitted, turning to look at him. “She won’t even look at me. She either only answers me with one word or doesn’t answer at all.” 

He nodded, motioning for me to continue. 

“I—the last time we talked, I said things I didn’t mean. Things that just came out because I was so frustrated and… and angry. It was the heat of the moment and I—” 

“What did you say skxawng, did you hurt her?” Neteyam interrupted, face twisting to show the beginnings of distaste.

“No, no—” I sputtered and raised my hands to calm him before he could go on an hour-long lecture that I absolutely was not in the mood to hear. “At least I don’t think I did… I just wanted to ask her why the hell she was helping fish lips, that’s all—” 

“You didn’t answer me Lo’ak, what did you say to (Y/N)? I don’t care why you did it, I want to know what you said to elicit such a reaction from her.” By Eywa, if he would just give me a chance to get to the point—

“I—I told her that she was not the same girl that I knew back in the forest..." my ears lowered as the weight of what I said slowly sunk in. “And that she could talk to me once she came back to her senses,” I whispered, internally cringing at my harsh words.. 

“You fucking skxawng—” 

“Can you stop calling me that? I already know, you don’t need to keep repeating it…” I scoffed, looking out into the ocean. I’m good enough at beating myself up over the hundreds of times I’ve messed up in this lifetime, I didn’t need another disappointed set of eyes on me.

My ears twitched at the deep sigh he let out. “Look, I’m sorry that I keep calling you skxawng but that is exactly what you are for saying something so hurtful to your best friend of all people. The two of you were inseparable the moment you were born. Even if you don’t want to, suck up your dumbass pride,” my ears flattened again. It wasn’t pride, I’m not prideful. It—it was me needing (Y/N) on my side. We used to always be on the same page, and when she said I was wrong for wanting to defend Kiri against those assholes, it felt like she was siding with them instead of me, and—

Okay, so maybe it was pride.

  “Admit that you were wrong, and go talk to (Y/N),” Neteyam insisted as he put a reassuring arm around my shoulders, jostling me around to prove a point. “Your friendship is so much stronger and Eywa knows that a heat-of-the-moment argument isn’t going to break that. You should have more faith in her.” His gaze sharpened before he schooled his expression into something calmer. “Just talk to her, yeah?” 

“...Yeah,” I mumbled, swallowing down whatever argument was trying to bubble up from my throat and prying his arm off me. “You’re right. I’ll just clear things up with her and apologize. Everything will go back to normal after that, thanks bro—for listening,” I agreed. 

Ever since that day

The things I didn’t say They haunt me, oh

And I know that I’m to blame 

So, go ahead and 

Blame it on me, oh

Our lessons on the ways of the Metkayina were finished, so it was rare for the entire group to be in the same place. But every once in a while, we all finished our chores at the same time and found ourselves near the shore where we first learned to ride the ilu, and sat around a fire hours before eclipse, laughing and exchanging stories. 

The rarity of these moments made me cherish them that much more, but two people continued to miss our not-so-scheduled gatherings the past two moon cycles. How was it possible that they were the only two to keep missing our hangouts? Were they together? Fish lips had better not be doing anything to (Y/N) or so hel—

“(Y/N)! Ao’nung! You guys made it!” Rotxo laughed. 

“Yeah, yeah, quit shouting will you?” Ao’nung shot back as he sat down next to Rotxo, (Y/N) smiling softly as she followed. 

“So, what’ve you guys been up to? We haven’t seen you in what feels like ten moon cycles.” Neteyam questioned.

“Teyam, you saw me earlier today, you literally helped me feed our ikran,” (Y/N) joked. ‘Teyam? When did she start calling him by anything other than his given name?

Ao’nung swatted her side with his stupidly wide tail and swung an arm around her shoulder with a remarkably punchable smile on his face “More like he was trying to make sure you didn’t accidentally give them your fingers for breakfast. They would’ve gotten indigestion.”

“Haha very funny Ao’nung,” she drawled, “I would’ve fed you to Tekay instead, but she would’ve gagged the moment she caught a whiff of you,” she scoffed as she quickly pushed him away by the chest.

“Wait… Do they even have a gag reflex?” Fish lips didn’t budge, he just had a dumb look of confusion on his face.

“No, but they would defy the laws of biology to gag just for you,” she quipped, sticking out her tongue and moving to push him away again, but the skxawng had the nerve to pull her into a headlock. 

“Oh, yuey, the ikran won’t be the only ones gagging on me tonight,” he argued with a smirk. 

Did I want to punch that smirk off his face? Did I want to gag? Both? Before I could make a decision, (Y/N) grimaced, pushing him away again and smacking him upside the head. 

“That’s actually repulsive. You’re disgusting.”

“Dude, keep it in your pants, her family is right there,” Rotxo laughed, doubled over as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Yeah, we’re right here,” I interjected with a smile—wanting to join in on the jokes that were being thrown around—but it was hard to keep my face from falling when I saw (Y/N)’s bright expression falter. 

“Anyway, what were you guys talking about before Ao’nung and I arrived?” she asked in a too-bright tone of voice she only used when she desperately wanted to change the subject. As if everyone came to an unspoken agreement to forget about the conversation before, one by one they all started talking about who they thought would win in a fight—Toruk Makto, or our Olo’eyktan, Tonowari. 

The sound of laughter and excited chatter faded as I replayed the previous conversation in my head. When did they start joking around like that? Why the hell did fish lips call her yuey like it was the most natural thing in the world? How come she smiled so easily with him but faltered when she sees me? She was probably smiling with him right now—

I looked over at her, a pit in my stomach already forming at the idea of her smiling at him, but she looked so distant, so withdrawn from everything around her. Before I could even blink, she put a delicate hand on Ao’nung’s arm to grab his attention and mumbled something in a hushed tone. After a few beats of silent conversation, Ao’nung nodded and gave her a look of understanding. 

Why did he look at her like that? How much time did they spend together to be able to understand each other with just a look? How much time have I wasted breaking my promise to her while she grew closer to someone else? 

 Standing up, I made up my mind that I would talk to her and clear up any miscommunication. There was no way in hell I was about to let fish lips ruin our childhood friendship. Before I could even get close, Neteyam pulled me aside. 

“Bro, why’re you glaring at everyone?” he asked with concern written all over his face.

“Glaring?” I tilted my head in confusion. “I’m not glaring, this is just my face.” 

“No, no.” He shook his head. “I’m your brother, I know your face. Whatever look you’ve been throwing at Ao’nung and (Y/N)? You may as well have been throwing knives at them.”

Behind Neteyam, I could see (Y/N) get up to bid everyone good night and slowly walk in our direction. This was my chance, I just needed this overbearing idiot to leave me alone. 

“Whatever look you think I’m giving to them, you’re wrong,” I denied. “Can you not act like this right now?” My tail flicked side to side impatiently, an obvious twinge of annoyance clear in my tone. I licked my lips nervously as I could hear footsteps coming closer. Leaning slightly to the side, I looked behind Neteyam to see (Y/N) and—

Ao’nung? What? Why is he there? 

“Good night,” (Y/N) muttered, not sparing us a glance as she walked past. I followed her every move and—as if everything slowed down—my eyes narrowed as they found Ao’nung’s hand placed on her lower back, leading her gently in the direction of the marui. 

I know that I’m too late

But I’ll say it anyway

I’m sorry 

I’m sorry 

I’m sorry 

Though it's far too late

“I did it! Did you see that Reya?” I shouted—out of breath—as I showed off the shell Tsireya threw. 

“Yes, yes you did it!” She exclaimed, excitedly wrapping her hand around mine. For someone who spent so much time underwater, her hand radiated so much warmth. So easy to hold. My heart swelled with pride as she continued to compliment me. “You’ve improved so much!”

“Yeah? Well, I had a great teacher,” I joked, nudging her softly with my shoulder. It wasn’t just her hands that were warm either, she just seemed to radiate it.

“Oh stop, you flatter me too much,” she denied, fidgeting with her hair. Was that a blush on her face? “C’mon, why don’t we catch up with the others? Private lessons are officially done for the day,” she announced as she led me to shore. Oh Eywa, she looked so pretty like this, with her hair flowing down her back and the way her eyes cast down when she became flustered. And her smile, it was a smile that could knock the air out of my lungs.

While we walked onto shore, we joked around and laughed with each other, talking about anything and everything. The ease of each reply and joke came as smoothly as gliding through the water on an ilu—as easy as breathing. Laughing at another one of Tsireya’s jokes, my eyes scanned the village as we approached it. Families were winding down for the day as they cooked dinner, although I didn’t see mine anywhere nearby aside from Kiri. 

My smile slowly dropped when I was able to make out Kiri looking frantically around as if she was searching for someone. Tsireya and I made our way to her, worry filling the pit in my stomach. As we got closer, I could see Ao’nung climb down one of the roots of the Mangrove trees and make a beeline toward her. My eyes stayed on both of them, making sure that fish lips didn’t do anything to Kiri. 

Ears twitching I was able to make out the words, “(Y/N)? Did you find her? ” from Kiri as they were carried on the wind toward us.

“Yeah I did, I was able to get her to eat, but she’s not looking too good,” Ao’nung replied with concern lacing his voice.

Brows furrowing, I pulled Ao’nung by the shoulder. “What do you mean she’s not looking good? Where is she? What did you do?” 

“What the hell do you mean? I didn’t do shit, freak.” I rolled my eyes at the insult. He couldn’t use that thick head of his to think of anything else to call me? From the pained look on his face, I could tell that my grip on his shoulder had too much pressure. Good. Served him right.

Before Ao’nung and I could continue our argument Kiri groaned, “Will the both of you skxawng shut up! I’ll go talk to her.” My eyes followed her retreating form as she went to talk to (Y/N)—tail lashing back and forth in agitation all the while—before turning back to Ao’nung.

Who the hell did he think he was? I’d beat his skxawng ass if he hurt (Y/N) in any way. He had no right to look so damn worried. They weren’t even close. What even happened? How long had she been missing for Kiri to go to fish lips of all people for help? Should I follow Kiri? Why didn’t (Y/N) come to me? She always came to me, and if she came to me now, I absolutely would have listened. Why—

“Lo’ak? Hey, are you okay? Lo’ak?” a hand softly placed itself on my arm. Closing my eyes in frustration, I sighed. 

“Yeah, perfectly fine.” 

Damn it, was that when it started? How idiotic and blind have I been that I didn’t even notice that her trust in me started to slip and die when it was right in front of me? Why didn’t I go to her and make sure she was okay? I should’ve punched that idiot’s lights out—

“Ao’nung! Stop pulling me you skxawng, you’re walking too fast, slow down!” a hushed voice chastised. 

“C’mon yuey, we only have about an hour before eclipse, we have to hurry!” His voice grated against my ears as he responded. 

“That’s plenty of time!” (Y/N) insisted. I could hear the laughter bubbling up in her voice as she chased after him. “Please Ao’nung slow down, I can’t keep up.” 

“It can’t be helped, you’re so short—” a whack could be heard. “Ow!”

“I’m as tall as Tsireya, you giant!” 

“Both you and my sister are short—Ow! Alright, just because you did that, you leave me no choice,” Ao’nung said, throwing (Y/N) over his shoulder with a laugh. 

The bickering voices got closer, and my eyes narrowed at the way he held her. My breath hitched as he whispered something in her ear that made her ears perk up and her eyes widen. What the hell was he saying to her? Before I could spring up from my spot, Ao’nung tossed (Y/N) in the water, her yelp quickly interrupted by the sound of her body hitting the water. 

I stayed in my spot as shock zipped through my body. Letting out a breath I didn’t know I held, her head popped out of the water, a playful glare on her face. 

“I told you, you left me no choice,” he stated, guffawing at her expression.

“Oh yeah?” she groused, spitting out seawater as she wrung out her hair. “Well fuck you too. Help me out of here?” 

“Only if you say the magic word,” he taunted, crossing his arms with a smirk. “Otherwise, I’m afraid my hands are tied.”

“Please, oh great son of our Olo’eyktan, help me out of the ocean,” she beckoned dramatically, sarcasm dripping from every word while she rolled her eyes. “It’s about time you recognized my proud lineage, forest dweller,”  he said as his chest puffed out with a hand reaching towards (Y/N). And there was that stupid smile on his face.

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, a mischievous smile spreading across her face as she reached for his hand, making sure to tug with enough force to unceremoniously yank him into the water. 

“So much for the son of a great warrior! Your instincts are shit!”

“My instincts are dull you say?” he questioned as his head popped up next to her. “We’ll see about that!” 

“Wha—AHHH—'' she wheezed. “No, please Ao’nung stop! That tickles!” Her arms flailed wildly in an attempt to free herself from his grasp. 

What the fuck.

  My ears flattened at an angle as I tried to process the scene unfolding before me. When did she start laughing with him? That should’ve been me she was laughing with. Not him, not the skxawng who had been nothing but rude to us since we arrived. What… what was I even saying—Fuck I didn’t know anymore. Why did I feel like this every time I saw them together… laughing and making jokes like we used to?

And it was me, it wasn’t you

It’s cliche, but it’s true 

I wasn’t thinking how I usually do, oh

And is your momma doing well? 

Or does she still hate me? 

But it was hard to watch me put you through hell 

I’m drunk, too late, talking to the moon, ooh

Writing songs I can’t sing to you, ‘cause 

Two weeks had passed since I started noticing the changes in (Y/N)’s relationship—friendship?—with Ao’nung. It was like every time I blinked, I could see her laughing loudly as Ao’nung tickled her with a triumphant smile on his stupid face. Since that day, I had been trying to find a way to talk to (Y/N), but she was never alone. She was always with him and when she wasn’t, she disappeared and I couldn’t find her no matter how hard I looked. 

Now here I was, wandering around trying to look for her as I rehearsed what I wanted to tell her. 

Where could she be? Dinner was in an hour and she wasn’t anywhere near our marui. I had to find her soon so there would be enough time for us to talk. I had to tell her that I miss her, that I was sorry for being so dumb, that I shouldn’t have let my pride blind me, and that I didn’t mean any of the things I said. 

There was only one place I hadn’t looked yet… hopefully she was there. 

As I was getting closer to the root Kiri stalked to, I could see two silhouettes beside each other. An all-too-familiar feeling bloomed in my chest once I registered that she was there with him. 

Her melodic laughter made my steps falter. I clenched my fists tightly, contemplating if I should go over there and pull her away, force her to talk to me, to listen. But I couldn’t, I couldn’t do that to her, not when she looked so content, so happy. 

Ever since that day 

The things I didn’t say 

They haunt me, oh

I know that I’m to blame 

So, go ahead and 

Blame it on me, oh

“Lo’ak? You said you were going to look for (Y/N) and never came back. She’s already in the marui helping mom cook,” Kiri stated, a twinge of annoyance lacing her voice. “Hey, are you listening?” She shook my arm slightly, making me jump out of my stupor. 

“Yeah, sorry, you said dinner was ready?” I asked as I stared off. 

The sand beside me crunched softly as Kiri made a move to sit beside me. “No, I said that (Y/N) is with mom helping her cook. Where is your head at?” she asked as she tilted her head to try and meet my gaze. “Are you alright?” The annoyance in her voice shifted to concern. 

“I’m fine, yep—just… fine,” I brushed her off, hoisting myself up to head towards Mom and Dad for dinner before Kiri yanked me back down. 

“Lo’ak, don’t pretend you’re okay when you’re not. Tell me what’s going on,” she urged. “Maybe I can help you with whatever it is that’s occupied your mind lately.”

I inhaled sharply, debating if I should tell her what had been muddying my mind, the reason why I had been so spaced out, why I had been glaring daggers at fish lips each time I saw his stupid face next to (Y/N)—how confused I was. 

“Stop with the thinking skxawng, you might hurt yourself,” she admonished. “Just tell me. It’s not like I can’t handle it.” 

Huffing, I rolled my eyes and turned away from her to look at the sea. I hadn't even said anything yet and Kiri was already making me feel idiotic. How was I supposed to tell her what's been going on like this? Maybe if I kept quiet for long enough, she would get tired of waiting for me to start talking and go on to eat dinner without me. 

A couple of minutes of silence passed. 

I could still feel her staring at me.

“I’ve—I’ve been conflicted,” I started, tongue feeling heavy in my mouth as I continued to stare at the shoreline. “I don’t know what I’m feeling.”

“What do you mean?” Kiri nudged my shoulder with hers. “Elaborate a little more, I can’t help if you don’t tell me the reason why you’re feeling confused.” 

“...Whenever I see (Y/N) with Ao’nung, it’s as if I can feel my heart aching,” I said, motioning toward my chest to prove my point. “There’s always a… a surge of anger that rushes through me. All I want to do is pull her away from him so then everything can go back to the way things used to be—for us to be okay.”

“Lo’ak…” If I was looking at her, I’d probably see Kiri tilt her head with sympathy. But sympathy isn’t what I needed right now.

“I want her to look at me and smile, to laugh with me, hug me—but now, whenever I get close to her, she’s next to him, laughing with him, cracking the jokes we would make to each other… I just—” I rubbed at my face in frustration. It wasn’t as if the words were hard to come by—I had spent so much time bottling them up that it was hard to stop talking. No, I just hated the fact that I felt this way in the first place. “I don’t understand why seeing them makes me feel like my heart is about to explode—why it makes me want to scream. It hurts.” 

“Lo’ak” she put a hand on my shoulder. “Are you—are you in love with (Y/N)?”

Love?

I sputtered in surprise and whipped my head toward Kiri to see if she was joking or not. What kind of a sick question was that? I wasn’t in the mood for any games. 

“What? No, she’s like my… sister?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “If you’re not, then why does seeing her with Ao’nung hurt you so much? Why do you care as much as you do?” 

“I shouldn’t!” I wrenched my shoulder away from her hand and stood up. The need to move around and do something—anything—was too much. There was too much energy thrumming right beneath my skin to sit still anymore. 

“That’s the problem! After everything I said to her, done to her? I don’t have the right to say I’m in love with her. She’s my childhood friend, Kiri. That’s all our relationship has ever been… I just—” I paused in thought and tried to calm down. “I didn’t realize seeing her have so much fun with someone else would make me feel so, so hollow—” 

“Let me ask you something, you have to promise to be completely honest with me, okay?”

I nodded, not even looking in her direction. 

“When (Y/N) tried to pull you off from Ao’nung that one fight months ago, what did you feel? Angry? Betrayed? Jealous?”

Jealous? Did she really think I was sulking for months because of such a petty feeling? I’m not a jealous person. I never have been. 

“Seeing her jump in to get me off him made me feel like she was siding with him and telling me that I was wrong. Her actions were clear as day to me, Kiri.” I started to pace around. “She was protecting him—caring for him when she should’ve been next to me, helping and supporting me. When she did that—I felt like the only person that’s ever been on my side—” I croaked and turned my head to look at Kiri as tears stung my eyes “The only person who didn’t see everything I did as some sort of disappointment or failure, abandoned me and chose someone else.”

“...”

“I know that I could’ve approached her a different way but how could I when I felt so broken?” I inhaled sharply, eyebrows furrowed. “ It’s all fish lips’ fault. If he wasn’t such an asshole, none of this would have happened, and (Y/N) and I would still be the same, she would still be by my side—supporting me, loving me.” 

“Why do you keep blaming it on Ao’nung?”

“Because it is his fault that things have turned out the way it has.” I threw my hands up, exasperated. What wasn’t Kiri getting? “He’s getting in between my relationship—er—friendship with (Y/N)! If he wasn’t there I would be able to talk to her and tell her I’m sorry, but she’s always with him—”

“Stop! Are you hearing yourself?” She nudged at my foot to interrupt and scoffed. “You’re unbelievable, you know that? (Y/N) told me what you said to her, how ‘she wasn’t the same girl’ you knew back in the forest. Do you know what happened when you told her that? Do you know how much pain she was in?”

Pain? I snorted, turning towards Kiri. “Now I know what you’re saying is bullshit. You know how (Y/N) is—if she really was pissed at me she would’ve come to me instead of running to someone else.”

“She wasn’t pissed. She cried because of you, Lo’ak. Because of what you said.” I stopped dead in my tracks to look at her. Kiri's eyes didn’t waver. Another heavy feeling settled on my chest and clawed its way up my throat. If you had asked me what it was, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. Was I sad? Guilty? Angry? Was I jealous like she said?

I settled on anger.

“If you’re saying what I think you’re saying—”

“The person that found her that night, the one who comforted her? That was Ao’nung. He held her in his arms as she sobbed when I found them.” She stood up too, forcing me to stop pacing. 

“The last thing I want to hear about right now is him, Kiri. What the fuck—”

“Did you ever think about why she’s so comfortable with him now? Why they’re so close? While you ignored her for weeks, he made sure she was okay—made sure she ate every day. He didn’t leave her side until she finished,” Kiri pointed out, and before I could even think to open my mouth to remind her how shitty he was to her especially, she cut me off. “Yes, he was an asshole at the beginning, and yes he has a screwed-up way to show he cares, but he stepped up when you fucked up.” She poked my chest with a glare before she continued. 

“Oh, so I’m a fuck-up now?” I asked wryly. 

“You can’t put all the blame on someone that took care of your best friend. Stop being so blinded by your pride and hatred and see that you’re the real reason why your relationship with (Y/N) isn’t the same as it used to be.” 

My heart sank a little more as I scrambled for something to say. “How could you say that—”

“No, you do not get to interrupt me right now, Lo’ak.” Her eyes flashed with something closer to anger than annoyance. When was the last time I saw her angry? “Listen and listen well. When we couldn’t find (Y/N) and we were looking for her everywhere—he was the one that found her spot, the one she isolated herself to so she could cry alone, and no one would see how much pain she was in. And what were you doing in the meantime?” 

My ears flattened at her rising tone, and I was finally beginning to understand the weight stuck in my throat and chest. Not anger, not even jealousy.

“You were out there with Tsireya, stuck in your own little world.”

It was my fault.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy that you found her but you can’t have both of them. You can’t be that selfish. From (Y/N)’s perspective, you’ve already chosen the one you want.”

“It’s not like I’ve actually chosen anyone yet,” I tried to interject, but all the fight had left my voice as Kiri’s words dug into my skin and sunk in.

“Don’t you dare play with either of their feelings. (Y/N) held so much love for you in her heart, she allowed herself to break to the point of no repair because she didn’t want to show you how much it hurt her to see you at your happiest with Tsireya.” She paused before continuing, her voice losing its edge. “Let her move on, brother. And if it’s Ao’nung that makes her light up the way she used to, then you suck it up and let him. He was there when your pride wouldn’t even let you apologize or even look in her direction. Actually think about how she feels for once.” 

I hated the fact that there wasn’t anything I could say to prove her wrong. 

“It’s all I’ve been thinking about nowadays,” I muttered.

I know that I’m too late

But I’ll say it anyway 

I’m sorry 

I’m sorry, hmm

I’m sorry 

Though it’s far too late 

“I thought I was already doing that,” a faint voice huffed in annoyance. Turning the corner, I saw Ao’nung and (Y/N) standing on the beach together— far too close for my liking. 

“You were, but you got sloppy. Here, you have to move your hips like this,” he said as he corrected her posture. My ears flattened against my head as he put a hand on her hip and gently directed her movement.

Why did he look so gentle with her?

“Ao’nung,” (Y/N)’s voice rang out, clear as crystal despite her uncertain tone. “Are you sure you should be teaching me this? This is a traditional Metkayina dance, right? I’m…” she hesitated, her voice becoming smaller. “I’m not Metkayina—” 

“Yet.” He interrupted, holding her face in his hands. “You are not Metkayina yet. Once you become one of us, you will have to learn the dance to celebrate the return of our spirit brothers and sisters, so why not learn that now?” I hated how reassuring his voice was. The thought of how either of their eyes looked as they held contact made my stomach turn.

“Yeah… you’re right,” she mumbled with an unsure look on her face.

“Woah, hey pretty girl, look at me,” he insisted, laying his hands on her shoulders and bending his neck so they were at eye level. “I’m serious when I say you will become Metkayina one day, so don’t worry yourself over it right now. Okay?” Ao’nung tilted his head to the side, an unbelievably soft expression on his face. “You have me here to help you.”

“Alright…” (Y/N) mumbled, not convinced. 

“If you don’t get rid of that look on your face I’ll throw you into the water,” he said as his face shifted from sincerity to something mischievous. “Or worse… I’ll tickle you,” he threatened.

“You better not Ao’nung, or I swear to the Great Mother herself I will hu—AHH—get away, you skxawng!'' She laughed as she tried to run away, but Ao’nung grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her into his arms. And despite her words of protest, it was clear as day that she was leaning into him while they scuffled on the sand. 

“No!” she shrieked with glee. “You can’t make me go in there again!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, forest dweller!”

A thought occurred. Should I go up to them? We never got the chance to talk, after all. I took a few steps in their direction before freezing. When was the last time I heard her laugh like that? She had the biggest smile on her face, and the one who made that happen wasn’t me—it was him. 

And if you ever hear this 

I hope you know that 

I’m not proud of who I’ve been, ooh

And if I see you again

I hope you know that 

I wish you nothing but the best

And my biggest regret

The afternoon was quiet, relative silence only interrupted by the crashing of waves. Without much to do, I just sat in our marui and lazed around with Tuk until a horn blew. 

“The tulkun have returned! Everybody—our brothers and sisters have returned!” Tsireya’s voice rang out, and when I poked my head out to see what the fuss was about, I saw the megawatt smile on her face, as she swam by on her ilu. 

The village came to life as everyone mounted either ilu or canoe to make their way to the tulkun. From here, I could see little more than a large group of dark shapes making their way through the water. Payakan himself was dauntingly huge, but to see a whole pod of them show up like this? It was spectacular. I watched the commotion unfold from one of the walkways, lost in thought before I felt water splashing at my feet. 

“Come on Lo’ak! Don’t just stand there, let’s go see the tulkun together!” Tsireya urged, still smiling. Shaken out of my stupor, I grinned widely—diving into the water and clambering onto her ilu. lu may be lithe animals, but I could still feel sinuous muscle under velvety skin as it made adjustments in the water to keep balance. 

“I’ll come, but only if you’re offering a ride,” I joked, gently holding her waist and playfully leaning onto her. The cool water around us made her skin feel that much warmer. It was nice. 

Before I could see her reaction—I would’ve bet anything at that moment that her cheeks had become flushed—we began to quickly make our way toward the rest of the clan and the giant tulkun. 

The air around me vibrated with the excitement and happiness of loved ones returning, and Tsireya was no exception—the speed of the ilu gave away her eagerness to be with her spirit sister. As we leaped into and out of the water, Tsireya’s laughter was carried by the wind and reached my ears. That, and the answering whoops and bellows of Metkayina and tulkun alike, was almost contagious enough to get carried away by the energy surrounding us. 

“My spirit sister is down there,” she said as she dismounted, sliding off her ilu and into the water. “Wait here, yeah?” she smiled at me before diving down.  

I was more than happy to watch the Na’vi around me. Looking around, I was in awe of the sheer amount of tulkun gathered in one area, and how each Metkayina was able to identify their spirit sisters or brothers so easily. Looking down into the shifting waters, I saw Tsireya catching up with her spirit sister, waving her hands around and swimming through the water alongside her.

All around, I could hear people telling stories and the deep, booming calls of the tulkun as they responded with tales of their own. New parents were showing their babies and calves, and as my eyes scanned the horizon, I could see small children holding onto the tulkun’s fins as they were lifted to the glittering ocean surface.  

Not too far away, I heard the sound of a body hitting the water and the sound of grating, but familiar laughter along with an indignant (Y/N) sputtering. 

“Ao’nung, what the fu—” 

“Hey, hey, relax! It’s just some water. There are children here, yuey,” Ao’nung chided with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

“The parents of those children are going to have to explain what it means to return to Eywa once I’m through with you,” she retorted, treading water and becoming even more unamused when he raised his hands in mock surrender. 

“Woah there pretty girl, you’re talking to the son of the mightiest warrior in all of Pandora—”

“That’s funny, I don’t see Neteyam here,” she interjected, pretending to search the waters around them before turning back to Ao’nung and tilting her head, “do you?”

“Just because you said that you can have fun finding your own way back to shore,” he said as he turned his ilu around.

“Oh, c’mon Ao’nung, don’t be like that,” she rolled her eyes and reached a hand towards him. “You’d really leave me here to fend for myself?”

He turned and wagged a disapproving finger at her, “I’ll consider forgiving you if you say word-for-word that I’m the son of the mightiest warrior in all of Pandora. I can’t have you slandering my father’s name, yuey.” She groaned and leaned back into the water. 

“You couldn’t pay me enough to say that load of bull—”

“Nope!” he didn’t give her a chance to defile the ears of any nearby children and crossed his arms. “I wanna hear you say it.”

“...”

“I’m still waiting.”

With a sardonic smile, she finally caved. “Why don’t I do you one better? You’re the mightiest warrior to exist since the time of the First Songs,” she declared, sarcasm dripping from every word as she slapped at the water for emphasis. 

“That’s what I thought, was that so hard?” Even if I wasn’t able to see them, I still would have been able to hear the stupidly wide smile that made its way across his face.

“Don’t be such a big baby and let me meet your spirit brother!” 

“Just because he’s here to visit today, I’ll let that one slide for now.” Ao’nung rolled his eyes, dismounting his ilu to join (Y/N). “Now hold on tight and hold your breath like how we practiced.”

We? Who the fuck was we? Why was he allowing her to meet his spirit brother? Why were they looking at each other like that?

I watched both of their silhouettes submerge and breathed deeply, forcing my thundering heart to calm as I slowly sank my head into the water. At first, all I could see were blobs floating around in the water, but once my eyes adjusted, I could see the fluid movement of Ao’nung talking to his spirit brother. Eyebrows furrowing, I swam a little closer and hoped that I would be able to see what was being signed. With each movement made, it was clear that Ao’nung was translating the clicks and bellows of the tulkun to (Y/N), and whatever was being said made her smile widen by the second. 

I couldn’t watch anymore as my chest burned from the lack of air and I resurfaced to catch my breath. For once, I was thankful for the lack of lung capacity I had. I climbed back onto Tsireya’s ilu. Seeing as she wasn’t back yet, I sat back and leaned on its neck to face the sky.

Did she always glow like that when she smiled? Whenever she was with him—she always looked so happy, so vibrant. Would she have looked like that with me by her side if I didn’t push her away? If I was there for her like I had promised? I wanted to tell her sorry—that I was sorry for taking our friendship for granted, for making her go through it alone. I wish that it didn’t take seeing her smile and laugh with someone else to make me realize how I felt.

I willed my tears to go away. 

Is this how she felt? Seeing me with Tsireya? Great Mother… I was truly horrible, wasn’t I? I wished things turned out differently. Maybe in another universe, I did talk to her—realized sooner, made her happier—but now? Right now, my heart was torn in two, watching as someone else picked up the pieces of the heart I crushed. No amount of words could fix what we used to have, and even though I wanted to whisk her away, tell her I love her—that I see her—that seeing her with him made my skin crawl, I knew I couldn’t. I was no longer worthy to be part of her life, because of me and my actions alone. 

I had become nothing but a stranger. 

Ever since that day 

The things I didn’t say 

They haunt me

I know that I’m to blame

So go ahead and 

Blame it on me, ooh

I know that I’m too late 

But I’ll say it anyway

I’m sorry

I’m sorry 

Hmm, I’m sorry 

Oh-oh-oh-oh, I’m sorry

Taglist: @midnightliacr @immortalbloodhuntress @arminsfloll @whenercolorfulrainbowlol @dakotali @lexilander27 @zatarias-pandora @vanillawhale @kazupop @owaowaowawa @sopiasleeps @siabhshjsjsjsjshznzn @jimfiqs @ihave500hubbiez

[lampmanliveblogs]

Oh look, it’s the echo mouse Musse.

…you know, I don’t think I ever explained why I call him that. It’s because the swedish name for Mickey Mouse is Musse Pigg. That’s it. But hey, he gets to have one last appearance, pulling a Cinderella alongside Bat-Queen’s kids. I mean, that has got to be a deliberate reference to the Disney animated Cinderella, right?

Steve’s here too, of course, and he’s cutting into a cake. As someone who likes to bake but isn’t that good at it, I like to say that I’m not very good at making things that look good, but I can make things that taste good.

This is the exact opposite of that.

And with King growing older and stronger, he’s beginning to generate his own magic and his own glyphs! Hmm… it looks like his glyphs have a different design, but i assume they’d be the same four elements.

(also, while rewinding the scene, I noticed Eda’s wearing Raine’s earring. cute)

The crew, who know and love me, gives me just a few more pretty lights to look at with big wide eyes, drawn to them like a moth. The Collector’s in the neighborhood and decided to put on a big ol lightshow.

On this last good bye, they threw in a few more characters, just for funsies. We’ve got Salty the boat captain, Willow’s parents, a couple of faeries, Gus’ dad, Tibbles, and that little kid from Separate Tides.

So… this is the end, huh?

What do I even say? What do I even say? What can i say about this show?

This liveblog exists because of The Owl House. At the time, I was in a creative rut and trying to find some way out of it. I figured maybe getting into a new series might help. I was also a fan of several liveblogs, and so I thought, why not try it? I figured it might get me back to writing.

My journey, as my loyal readers know, has not been always been a smooth sailing. It’s taken me a long time to get here; I finished this episode over a year after it came out for crying out loud. There have been times when I’ve been beat down and unable to create. But never did I lose my love for this show, to contrary, it only ever grew greater.

So yeah, good show, 6/10.

…

I’M JOKING! I’M JOKING, THAT WAS A JOKE! P-please put that down, it was only a joke!

Jeez luise, you people… ahem.

No, I love this show. That much should be clear, no matter how much snark I inject or how many sarcastic quips I sprinkle into my text, the time spent with this show has been genuinely good. And I joke about things, how we never got Bat-Queen’s backstory for example. But, well… there’s a good reason for that. This show deserved so much better, and the amazing crew deserved so much better. Still, they delivered a fantastic story, and I will undoubtedly return to this again and again.

So what comes next?

As I’ve already mentioned, I am going to watch and liveblog, or at least make some post about The Owl House pilot episode which was leaked a while back. i don’t know what the timeframe is on that, but hopefully not too long.

I’m also gonna keep working on that Vee fic. Speaking of which, I linked it earlier, but just in case you missed it, the first chapter (and a prelude) is up on AO3 right now. I’ll continue to post updates on here, so stay tuned for that as well. I don’t know how long it will take for that to get done, but I’m really excited to work on it, more excited than I’ve been for any creative work in a long time. I’m beginning to feel like maybe I’m not a complete and utter failure and a talentless hack.

Will I continue posting incorrect quotes? Maybe. I’ll continue as long as I get new ideas and I’ll stop when I run out.

But the real question is, what is the next liveblog? Well, I’ve said that already as well, but for those who weren’t paying attention…

The next liveblog will be Amphibia! I’ve bene looking forward to that one for some time now.

My aim right now is to get started with Amphibia in July. Why July? Because that’s when I go on my vacation.

I should probably also do some tidying up on this blog, do some upgrades. I also wanna clean out my askbox, cause, uh… I’ve got a couple of unanswered asks… some of which have been sitting there for a long time now… I should really get around to that.

For now… this has been The Owl House, I’m The Lampman, and I would like to thank you for reading. Take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!

Our lives became a fairy tale Without rules or laws But is there anyone who knows? If the journey has an end?

The End… for now

[babydollmarauders]

MEDIA MANAGEMENT — JACK HUGHES (23-24 SZN PART 19)

au masterlist

notes: this is late and short and i apologize for that! i’ve had such a busy few days

y/ndevils00

liked by nicohischier, dawson1417, and 462,921 others

y/ndevils00 WE WON!! WE ACTUALLY WON!!

i mean… yeah, it’s cool, we won.

with the return of my absolute favorite captain (sorry Quinnifer), the devilish whores won 7-2 against the swords!

we kicked off the scoring just a minute and a half into the first with a goal from Holtzy, and almost 10 minutes later, got a goal from uncle Toffee to give us a 2-0 lead!

but that’s not all! just 4 minutes later, captain slut got his first goal back!! GO NICOLAS!!! and in true boyfriends fashion, he acquired his first goal back the same way that Jacky did; on his first game back, in the first period of the game, with a goal that had to be confirmed by officials that it was a good goal! how utterly boyfriends of them! they definitely planned that!

and to end first period, we got yet another EVEN strength goal (no power play goals yet here!) from Pally Pocket!! giving us a FOUR goal lead on those bitches from buffalo!

in second period we got yet another goal from Tyler the creator, just 2 minutes in! bringing the score to 5-1! thank you, queen! and then the rest of that period was boring af

BUT THIRD PERIOD! OH I LOVED THIRD PERIOD! we opened that period and made it our bitch with a goal from MY best friend in the whole big wide world, Dawg-son Mercer!! EVERYBODY CHEER! WOOOOO!!! (with an assist from my lovely pain in the ass, babygirl!)

AND LASTLY, WITH OUR ONE AND ONLY POWER PLAY GOAL, WE HAVE MY (hopefully) FUTURE LITTLE BROTHER, LUKEY ‘SMUSH’ HUGHES!!! LET’S GO, BABY HUGHES!! SHOW ‘EM WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF!!

i’ll see you guys on tuesday after we play the long island iced teas!

tagged holtz_10, tofff73, nicohischier, pally_18, jackhughes, dawson1417, and lhughes_06

Load more comments

john.marino97 i don’t even get my own pic tonight?

y/ndevils00 i only have so many spots Jonathan! what am i supposed to do, you didn’t score a goal! do you want me to just take someone’s pic away to fit you in?!

john.marino97 1. not my name. 2. yes

y/ndevils00 NO! stop being greedy— jesus you’re like a stray cat, i feed you love once and you never leave me alone again

john.marino97 one could argue that you’re actually the stray cat

y/ndevils00 am i the one begging for your love right now? no!

john.marino97 i could post a photo of what you’re doing right now and it would suggest otherwise…

user29 what’s she doing right now?!

lhughes_06 @/user29 john is giving her a piggyback ride throughout the empty arena because she wouldn’t leave him alone

jackhughes how tf did you get the last picture from the press box?

y/ndevils00 ✨zoom✨

jackhughes well i need you to ✨zoom✨ out and stop camera stalking me while i’m on the bench. WATCH THE GAME.

y/ndevils00 don’t tell me what to do?

jackhughes you’re right, i’m sorry for telling you to do your job

y/ndevils00 you should be. thank you!

nicohischier you called me anything but my name

y/ndevils00 obviously? do you not see my gag here Nicole?

nicohischier i see it, i hate it, i ask you to do better

y/ndevils00 HEY DON’T TAKE MY LINE!

nicohischier too late. took it. made it my own.

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes PUT YOUR BITCH ON A LEASH

jackhughes but you’re my bitch?

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes take that back right now

jackhughes or what?

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes or i’ll tell Sid?

jackhughes consider it unsaid 🫡

user01 NICO AND LUKE GOALS AND WE WON

user63 “bitches from buffalo” is how i’ll be referring to them now tysm

holtz_10 please leave me out of this

y/ndevils00 you’re part of the team, are you not? you’re briefly photographed and mentioned just shut up and say thank you

holtz_10 for what? you didn’t even congratulate me

john.marino97 bro, it’s not worth the fight, just say it

holtz_10 thank you?

y/ndevils00 you’re welcome, swedish meatball!

tofff73 thank you and you’re welcome, queen!

y/ndevils00 TAKE NOTES PEOPLE! THIS IS WHAT YOU DO!

dawson1417 you’ve been here for like 2 months and you already make the rest of us look bad, Toff

y/ndevils00 @/dawson1417 you could NEVER look bad to me, honey bun! the others, however, could use some work

lhughes_06 i’ll be your future brother if i have any say in it

jackhughes but you DON’T have any say in it?

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes that’s what YOU think

jackhughes i- what does that even mean?

lhughes_06 @/jackhughes wouldn’t you like to know

jackhughes i’m pretty sure YOU don’t even know

lhughes_06 @/jackhughes you can’t prove that (i don’t)

dawson1417 CHEERING!! WOOOO!!! YAY ME!!

y/ndevils00 alright london tipton, let’s tone it down a little before somebody thinks you’re conceited

dawson1417 you’re right, sorry, GO TEAM!

y/ndevils00 there we go!! (we can cheer for just you off insta! nobody else matters!)

dawson1417 can we go out for drinks to celebrate me?

y/ndevils00 are you buying?

dawson1417 sure?

y/ndevils00 then ABSOLUTELY!!

user87 so are we just gonna breeze past “Pally pocket” … like polly pocket?

y/ndevils00 i liked to chew on the clothes <3

jackhughes i’m concerned for your well being

y/ndevils00 @/jackhughes you keep me sane 🥰

jackhughes well it’s a lot of work and i don’t think i’m doing a very good job

[shadowtriovibes]

where there's smoke, there's firewhiskey

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x f!MC x Garreth Weasley

Word Count: 2.1k

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: aged-up characters, established relationship seb x mc, underage drinking (by today's standards), recreational drug use, shotgunning, references to threesomes

Summary: request: "imagine a modern au, where parties are more like our idea of them and not, y'know, victorian england. And getting high, drunk, or both, at a party and running into literally any one of the boys and just acting like horny college kids. Seb fits this idea best in my head but kinda sorta lowkey I could see Garreth being a stoner LMAO." (predictably, i decided that three heads are better than two)

"What are we doing?" you whisper. "Having fun," Sebastian answers cheekily. "It's a party, we're allowed to have a little fun." "Doesn't have to be serious," Garreth chimes in, still pressing wet kisses to your neck. "In fact, it's usually better if it's not."

On nights like tonight, you’re quite proud to be a Hufflepuff.

You may have only been at Hogwarts for less than two years, but it didn’t take long to learn that all too often, your house is the least loved. Ravenclaws have their intelligence, Gryffindors their bravery, and even Slytherins their cunning, but what have you Hufflepuffs got?

Well, tonight what you’ve got is the honor of hosting the best party you’ve ever been to.

As soon as dinner had ended, your cozy, comforting common room had been completely transformed into a raucous den of teenage misbehavior from one last blowout party before your N.E.W.T.s exams start next week. For hours your classmates have taken turns sneaking sixth- and seventh-years from other houses in small groups down past the kitchens and through Hufflepuff’s massive barrel entrance until it felt like just about all your classmates were here.

There’s Muggle music blaring on someone’s contraband stereo across the room and some N.E.W.T.s-level Potions students are delightedly combining wizarding spirits with Muggle mixers and passing them out to members of a very thirsty crowd — in the pursuit of knowledge, of course.

Predictably, you’re already in Sebastian’s lap. All night he’s been unabashedly charming you into taking sips of Firewhiskey from his own bottle, wary of whatever has been bubbling away in Sacharissa’s cauldron.

Your boyfriend has turned you into a big fan of Firewhiskey. Every time you take a sip of the cinnamon-spiced spirit, you feel its warmth spread from the very top of your head down to the tips of your toes and everywhere in between. It’s sweet, slightly spicy and way too easy to drink whenever Sebastian offers you the bottle by its neck.

Now you’re tipsy and warm and perfectly content to sit with him in an armchair by a tucked-away fireplace on the far end of the room.

Plus, he looks so bloody fit in the varsity Quidditch jacket that Imelda had gifted members of the team at the end of the season that you can barely stand to take your hands off his broad chest.

Between your murmured conversations and occasional aimless kisses, Sebastian teasingly announces, “Looks like your friend’s just arrived.”

“Who, Natty?” you ask hopefully.

“Garreth,” he says instead, and you’re immediately suspicious of the way he’s smirking at you.

“What’s that look for?” you ask him.

He pointedly ignores your question and instead waves Garreth over. Across the room, he’s just climbed into the common room with a group of other Gryffindors, looking artfully disheveled as always.

He perks up when he notices you and quickly weaves his way over to the sitting area you and Sebastian had claimed. Your boyfriend disappointedly lets you climb off his lap so you can greet Garreth and give him a hug.

“Want to sit with us?” you offer. “Sebastian’s got some whiskey if you’d like some.”

“I’m alright, thanks,” he says kindly, taking a seat on the couch across from Sebastian. “But I’ll join you anyway.”

You wouldn’t dream of telling Sebastian, but over the years you’ve always maintained a slight crush on Garreth. You love Seb, you’re mad about him and you hope you’ll be together well after your tenure at Hogwarts ends, but still… That harmless crush persists, and it makes your heart race a little whenever Garreth smiles at you across his potions station or compliments your spellwork in Charms.

It doesn’t help that he’s generally a massive flirt.

“Are you sure you don’t want a drink?” you offer after chatting with him for a while. “Everyone’s been getting boozed-up for hours.”

“I’m not much of a drinker,” Garreth admits. “But I’ve got my own stuff.”

Reaching into the pockets of his trousers, Garreth pulls out a small wooden box and flips open the lid. From inside he pulls out a small, thin strip of parchment and a small bag of what looks to be ground-up leaves.

“What have you got?” you ask curiously.

“Mallowsweet,” he replies, and sure enough, when he opens up the bag and tips some of its contents into his hand, you catch the magical herb’s familiar honey-like scent.

“Why?” you ask, and Garreth raises an eyebrow at you.

“You can smoke it,” Garreth explains as if it’s obvious. “It’ll loosen up your inhibitions just like alcohol. Have you never had Mallowsweet like this before?”

“No,” you admit. “I’ve really only used it for completing Merlin Trials, and Professor Garlick is surprisingly strict about how much she lets me grow.”

“It’s not her fault, the Ministry’s been trying to make it a controlled substance for years now,” Garreth explains. “She can’t let students have too much, but if you buy some off Timothy down at the Magic Neep, he’ll give you as much as you want.”

“And then you just dry it out to smoke it?” you ask, peering at the small, dried-out pieces of leaves in the palm of his hand.

“Yeah, that’s easy enough to do myself,” Garreth laughs. “All you need is a quick-drying charm and then it’s ready to smoke.”

You watch as he takes the small piece of parchment and tips the dried Mallowsweet onto it, and then he places the paper on the low table in front of you and carefully rolls it into a thin, cigarette-shaped joint. Finally, he seals it by licking along the exposed edge and pressing it closed.

“Got a light for me?” he jokes, placing one end in his mouth.

You roll your eyes fondly and gently tap the tip of your wand against the end of the joint. With a quick spark, a small flame jumps to life and the joint lets out a thin tendril of smoke.

Garreth takes a long drag and as he exhales, he murmurs, “Thanks, love.”

The pet name makes you blush, and you hope it’s not visible in the low lighting of the party.

“You want to try some?” he offers. “I think you’d like it.”

“What’s it feel like?” you ask curiously.

Garreth pauses for a beat to consider before he tells you, “For me, it’s really calming. It kind of… turns my senses down, if that makes sense. Everything gets quieter, and less hurried.”

“That sounds really nice,” you say softly. “But I haven’t ever smoked anything before.”

You watch Garreth’s gaze drift down to your mouth, lingering a little longer than he’d usually be able to get away with. “Maybe I can help you.”

“You should shotgun her,” Sebastian suggests, and you startle, guiltily remembering that he’s still seated a few feet away in that armchair, watching the two of you with a keen look on his face.

“Yeah?” Garreth asks. “That’s alright?”

“It’s a party,” Sebastian says with a shrug. “I’m alright with it if she is.”

“What’s that mean, ‘shotgun?’” you ask skeptically. “Like how Everett chugs Butterbeers from the side of the can?”

“Not that kind,” Garreth laughs. “It’s more like… I’ll take a hit, and then when I breathe out, you’ll breathe in.”

You frown, confused. Garreth just smirks and offers, “It’s really easier to just do it than explain.”

“Sure, yeah,” you agree. “Go on then.”

Garreth lifts the joint to his lips again and takes another slow drag, holding his breath at the top while he sets the lit joint down in an ashtray on the table. Then he gently grips your chin with one hand and pulls you in like he’s going to kiss you, but before he does, he taps on your bottom lip with one long finger so you’ll open your mouth.

His lips just barely brush against yours while he carefully exhales smoke into your mouth, and thankfully your soft gasp breaks your trance and forces you to inhale that same smoke. It tastes slightly sweet on your tongue, as the name suggests, but pleasantly herbal as well.

“Hold onto it for a moment,” Garreth murmurs, his lips still touching yours. “Then breathe out.”

You count to five in your head and exhale. The smoke dissipates in front of you, and as soon as it clears, you’re staring right into Garreth’s warm brown eyes.

“Sebastian,” he says, his gaze still fixed on you. “You’re not going to curse me for this, are you?”

“Go on, Weasley,” Sebastian drawls. “She wants you to.”

You want to offer an excuse, an apology, anything in response to Sebastian’s obviously correct assumption. Instead, you just lean into Garreth a bit closer and suddenly he’s kissing you, one hand still cradling your jaw.

He’s an excellent kisser, you think. You’ve only got Sebastian to compare him to, and he’s brilliant at it by your standards, but kissing someone new is so thrilling. Especially when it’s Garreth, who’s not only charismatic and glaringly fit but always so sweet and gentle with you.

Your eyes drift shut as Garreth kisses you deeper. He presses his tongue alongside yours and you taste more Mallowsweet, with a little bit of pumpkin juice.

While you can’t see him, you hear Sebastian stand up from the armchair and take a seat next to you on the couch, his larger form blocking you in and shielding you and Garreth from anyone who might glance your way from the common room.

He rests a hand dangerously high up on your thigh and leans in close to your ear to murmur, “You’re an awful liar when you have a crush, d’you know that?”

You whimper softly and Garreth swallows the sound.

“Don’t worry yourself, love,” Sebastian laughs quietly. “I’m better at sharing than you give me credit for.”

Garreth starts to kiss his way down your chin to your jaw and you tip your head back a little. Sebastian’s right there to drag his hand through your hair to coax you into leaning back even more. You moan softly when you feel the redhead suck a small bruise into your skin.

“What are we doing?” you whisper.

“Having fun,” Sebastian answers cheekily. “It’s a party, we’re allowed to have a little fun.”

“Doesn’t have to be serious,” Garreth chimes in, still pressing wet kisses to your neck. “In fact, it’s usually better if it’s not.”

You scoff and tell him, “That is officially the most Garreth thing I’ve heard you say all evening.”

While you and Sebastian are hopeless fools for each other and have been for ages, Garreth’s reputation is that of a perennial bachelor. He goes on lovely dates, and if the rumor mill is to be believed, he’s an excellent shag. But he genuinely appreciates being single for now, especially so close to graduation.

“W-well, um…” you stutter. “How much fun are we talking about?”

“How much do you want?” Sebastian asks, his hand on your thigh sliding higher underneath the hem of your skirt.

“We haven’t ever – y’know,” you hiss. “With someone.”

Garreth sits back and grins cheekily at you. “I have.”

“That’s not surprising, Weasley, you’re kind of a slag,” Sebastian smirks. “Who was it then?”

“Bit personal, don’t you think, Sallow?” he responds.

“You’ve just had your tongue in my girlfriend’s mouth, I think we’re well past any sort of modesty,” Sebastian counters, and you could not possibly be any redder, you think.

Garreth leans over to the table and lifts his joint to his slightly-swollen lips to take one last long pull before answering.

“Fine, it was Adelaide and Nerida,” he admits ruefully. “Bit of a package deal, those two.”

“You’re foul,” you laugh, but then Garreth slides his hand up your other thigh and suddenly you’ve got two of the most handsome boys in school boxing you in, each with a hand up your skirt. Any thoughts you’d spared for Hogwarts gossip go straight out the window.

“We should, um… Maybe we should go somewhere more private,” you suggest, still keenly aware of the party going on just feet away.

“Everyone’s down here for the party,” Sebastian suggests. “The dorms upstairs have got to be pretty empty right now, wouldn’t you think?”

“Can confirm,” Garreth agrees.

Reluctantly, both boys let you go and you smooth your skirt back down, standing up with wobbly legs. You hadn’t realized before, but the Mallowsweet has firmly taken effect on your system.

“Feeling alright?” Sebastian asks.

“Yes, I… I feel quite good, actually,” you murmur. “Really good.”

“She’s crossed,” Garreth laughs, affection clear in his voice. “Mallowsweet and Firewhiskey, now there’s a dangerous combination.”

“I feel warm,” you tell them. “All over, just warm and relaxed and…”

When you trail off, Sebastian asks knowingly, “Has it got you feeling a bit hot under the collar, love?”

“Yes,” you whine. “Really hot.”

“Sounds like you could use our help to cool you off,” Sebastian suggests. “Shall we?”

“After you, mate,” Garreth laughs.

As Garreth trails the two of you up the stairs to your dorm, you hear Sebastian mumble, “You’re bloody well right, after me.”

[adrienneleclerc]

Say It Back

Masterlist

Pairing: Xavier Thorpe x Hispanic!Reader

Summary: After completing the “there’s a frog in my hand” couple trend, Y/N wanted to see how would Xavier react if he says “I love you” but Y/N doesn’t say it back

Warnings: Boyfriend!Xavier, I guess sad!Xavier, fluffy

A/N: you don’t have to read There’s A Frog In My Hand before reading it but if you want to, cool. I’m also trying very hard for the Hispanic reader not to be from a specific Latin American country. There’s also spelling errors probably

Y/N was scrolling on TikTok when she saw a video where when the boy was leaving a room, he said “I love you” to his girlfriend but she didn’t say it back. Y/N sent the video to Enid. A few minutes later, Enid texted her back.

Enid: Do you want to do that with Xavier?

Y/N: Seems harmless enough, kinda wanna see how he gets.

Enid: Okay, good luck!

Y/N turned her phone off, she started to think about how we was going to do this. She won’t record it in case it takes a bad turn, this will just be a little…experiment. She’ll do it tomorrow, right now she’s going to visit Xavier in his art shed and bring some food. When she went into Jericho, she bought ingredients to make empanadas de queso and also alfajores for dessert. She put some of each on different containers to bring to Xavier just in case.

Y/N on a sweater and her sneakers to walk to the art shed. She knocked three times. “Xavi, amor, I brought food.” Y/N said. She waited a few seconds and Xavier opened the sore to his shed. “Hi love, you made these for me?” Xavier asked, kissing her forehead. “Yeah of course, I get worried that you don’t eat when you’re here. I would have made something more filling but I figured empanadas are easy to eat.” Y/N said.

Xavier opened the empanada container and took a bite. “These are really good. Did you put any of your healing stuff in it? I’ve been sneezing a lot lately.” Xavier asked, taking another bite of the empanada. “That’s because you’re always out here, it’s so cold! But yes, I used my magic to bless the food so hopefully your sneezing will stop and you won’t get sick.” Y/N said, kissing his cheek.

Y/N is a healer, she can heal people using magic. She either uses her magic directly on the person to heal them or “blesses” the food with her magic and heals them through food. When she was around normies, she discovered she could use her magic through food when she did a said a small incantation, the same one used to heal people, when stirring the soup she made for her friend. Her friend’s fever was gone and she looked so much better minutes after finishing the soup. With normies, she uses food, with outcasts, it’s directly unless they want the food option.

“Thanks love.” Xavier said hugging her. He finished 7 empanadas and ate 3 alfajores. Y/N ate the rest of the alfajores. “I feel so much better now, thank you. I’ll just finish up this painting and then we can go to my room. Maybe you can spend the night.” Xavier said, looking at Y/N with puppy dog eyes.

“Yeah of course, querido, I would love to spend the night, I love you.” Y/N said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. Xavier smiled into the kiss, “I love you too.” Xavier said, he pulled away from the kiss to continue painting. Y/N sat on one of the stools. “Just for future reference, would you like to taste more Hispanic food? I could make some ropa vieja, that’s filling, or arepas, pupusas, maybe ceviche, carne asada, I gotta practice my cooking too.” Y/N said, playing with the bracelet Xavier gave her.

“Anything you make will be delicious, I’m happy to try any dish you make. We’ll talk more, I just need to finish this and then we can talk as much as you want.” Xavier said, looking at Y/N. Xavier turned back to focus on his painting. 20 minutes later, Xavier was finished and the both of them made it to his dorm room. “You can use one of my shirts as pajamas if you want.”

“Okay, sounds good. Did you by the skincare products I recommend? I really don’t want to walk back to Ophelia Hall and get mine.” Y/N said. Xavier went to the bathroom and showed Y/N his skincare shelf full of products she recommended. “Aw, you do listen to me.” Y/N said, kissing Xavier’s cheek. Xavier gave Y/N one of his shirts and when Y/N went to change on the bathroom, the hem of the shirt reached about mid thigh. Y/N tied her hair with one of Xavier’s hair ties and washed her face and did her routine with Xavier’s products. Y/N got out of the bathroom and saw Xavier on phone.

“I’m all done.” Y/N said. “Perfect, let’s get to bed, I am exhausted.” Xavier said, he went to the bathroom to change, brush his teeth, and washed his face. When he got out, Y/N was already under the covers. Xavier laughed and walked to his bed and lift the covers. “Move over, honey.” Xavier said and Y/N scooted over to Xavier can fit. Xavier positioned himself in a way that Y/N could lay her head on his chest and his arm was wrapped around her waist. “Goodnight, angel, i love you.” Xavier said kissing her forehead. “I love you too, flaquito, goodnight.” Y/N said and they drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Y/N woke up and checked her phone. It was 7:15 am, she was with Xavier, it is the perfect time to try that TikTok video she saw. She waited until Xavier woke up on his own. “Good morning, love.” Xavier said, kissing Y/N. Y/N laughed, “good morning Xavi. I gotta go back to my dorm to get dressed, okay?” Y/N said getting off the bed.

“It’s Saturday, we don’t have class today, can’t you just stay here and ask if Yoko can bring you a change of clothes?” Xavier asked holding Y/N’s hand. “No I can’t, she’s probably still asleep.” Y/N said. “Okay fine, go change and then come back, okay? I love you.” Xavier said. “Me too, bye.” Y/N said. She was about to leave when Xavier stopped her.

“Baby, i said I love you.” Xavier said with a little pout. It almost made Y/N say that she loved him too but she had to stay strong. “I know, Xavi, me too, but I gotta go.” Y/N said trying to get her hand out of his grip but Xavier stood up to look her in the eyes.

“Honey, i love you.” Xavier repeated. “I know you do, but I really need to go.” Y/N said but Xavier is not budging. “Why won’t you say it back?” Xavier asked sadly. “It’s nothing Xavi.” Y/N said, looking at him, touching the side of hi face. “If it’s nothing, then why are you not saying you love me too?” Xavier asked.

Y/N stayed quiet. “Are you mad at me or something? Was it something I said last night?” Xavier asked, playing with your fingers. “Of course it’s not, flaquito, I’m not mad at you.” Y/N said. Seeing Xavier look sad made Y/N’s heart hurt, she hated seeing him like this. “Well it must’ve been something I did because you won’t say you love me. Was it because I paid more attention to my painting instead of you? I’m sorry about that, okay? But if I don’t paint, I can’t sleep. I should have paid more attention to you and what you were saying, I’m sorry.” Xavier said, kissing Y/N’s forehead.

“It’s not that, cariño, it’s..” Y/N was interrupted by Xavier. “Then tell me what is it that I did! If it’s that bad that you won’t say that you love me, I promise I will never do it again. Just please say it back.” Xavier said, leaning his forehead against Y/N’s. She couldn’t take it anymore and said it.

“I love you, mi Vida, I love you so much, okay.” Y/N finally said, kissing him. “Thank you, I love you too, angel. Why weren’t you saying it back before?” Xavier asked, hugging her, resting his chin on the top of her head. “I saw a TikTok of this girl not saying I love you back to her boyfriend. I kinda wanted to test it out. I didn’t record it though, it was just for me. I’m sorry though.” Y/N apologized.

“It’s fine, angel. I will get you back though when you least expect it, so be careful. Now can we spend the morning in bed? I think you owe me that for what you out me through.” Xavier said getting back to bed. “Of course, flaquito, we will stay in bed all morning.” Y/N also got into bed, leaning against his chest. “I love you” Xavier said, “i love you too” Y/N said kissing him.

I was thinking since Y/N calls Xavier nicknames like flaquito, Xavi, amor, and all, imagine if she calls him by Xavier instead of his nicknames. I feel like Xavier would be so confused, wondering what did he do, should I write that?

[thecousinsdangereux]

Dear Beatrice,

Have you ever been to IKEA?

I saw a movie once where this couple was pretending to live out their lives in a bunch of fake IKEA sets and in retrospect it was a little weird, probably, and super inconvenient for everyone around them, but that’s the point, right? That they were so in love with each other that they were selfish in a way that was okay.

I want to go to IKEA and not care about anyone else or anything else. I want to be dumb and cheesy. I want to inconvenience people in ways that doesn't lead to the world ending. I want to get a free pass for being young and stupid and in love. I want to be selfish like that with you.

Do you know where I’m going with this?

I don’t. Not really. Not right now. But you will, by the time you’re reading this. Because I’ll have told you that I want you to go to IKEA and dance in the rain or share a plate of spaghetti with someone under the moonlight or spin around on hilltops while singing about the sound of music or spread your arms out wide and shout something from the front of a ship. Or… honestly, hopefully I’ll have told you something way better than all that because I’m still working on how I’m going to tell you and I don’t think movie references are the way to go. But you know what I mean. Hopefully, I’ll have told you that I want you to do the things I couldn’t, that you couldn’t, that we couldn’t do together. Hopefully, I’ll have found a way to tell you that doesn’t sound stupid or make you cry or make it seem like I'm taking the easy way out. Hopefully, by now, you’ll know that I love you and in a movie, that would be enough to change the universe and give us a happy ending. But here, we are what we are, and it isn’t.

That’s okay. Or… okay, fine. It’s not. It’s bullshit! It sucks! I want to be selfish and I want to be with you and I want to do all this stuff together! But it is worth it. I’m not going to make it through this, but if you’re reading this letter, that means you do and that’s worth it. Though... not fair. I know it’s not fair. But I’m doing this so you can live your life.

Maybe that’s what I’ll say to you. Because that’s actually pretty good, isn’t it? And it’s the truth too. I’m doing this so you can live your life. It doesn’t have to be the movie stuff that I always put on my dumb to-do lists. But it has to be something. The only way I’ll be able to do this is if I know that you’ll go on and do something that will make you happy. That’s a pretty shitty burden to place on someone, I know. But you can handle it. You can handle anything. (I'm sorry, but that's the truth too.) And I think it’ll be less of a burden in the end, because I think you’ll find something beautiful out there.

So… go to IKEA. Get a tattoo. Help a baby turtle make its way back to the sea. Spend an entire day reading in bed and eating ice cream. Swim with whale sharks. See the northern lights. Go to a drive-in theater and see the end of that stupid movie that I don’t remember the name of.

Live your life, Beatrice, and I promise you’ll find something every day to keep living for. Because the universe owes you that much. And by now, it owes me that much too.

I love you. If you’re right about everything that happens afterwards, then I’ll still be loving you when you read this. I think maybe I’ll love you forever, even if you’re wrong.

[zooophagous]

Grey filtered light crept into the room softly, by degrees. Artemis crinkled her nose and shut her eyes tight as it gradually replaced the comfortable darkness. She opened her eyes and let out a startled gasp- only to shut her eyes and inhale in annoyance at her own reflex. Strauss lay facing her in bed, still sleeping deeply. In his “dream state,” as he referred to it. It wasn’t quite the same as being asleep, though he did report dreams. 

His eyes were slitted open slightly, though glassy and sightless. His thin lips were retracted to show the tips of his fangs. The muzzle had come off at some point in the evening. He looked older like this, and as much as she hated to admit it- quite ugly, when he wasn’t able to disguise his appearance with polite mannerisms. 

She slid out of the bed and into her pajama pants. Strauss was still nude, and she would leave him to sleep. He’d need it. She took the comforter and draped it over his prone form, protecting him from whatever sunlight might come in through the window. 

Sufficiently robed, she quietly exited and softly shut the door behind her. Hopefully auntie wouldn’t go poking around and ask any awkward questions about why Mr. Strauss was in the wrong bed. Auntie, for her part, was blessedly silent. Her pain medications had locked her in a deeper dream state than Strauss’ own, and Artemis found herself in possession of a rare gem: A moment to be alone in peace.

This called for a celebration. Coffee would have to do for it. In their anxious hunt for supplies, they had forgotten sugar and cream, so it would have to be choked down without niceties. She brewed her cup and sipped it piping hot. The heat wrecked her taste buds and burned all the way down. At least she couldn’t taste how bitter it was like that. And honestly, something about the pain was therapeutic. Better to externalize that sort of thing. Better on the tongue than on the brain. 

“Don’t drink it all, dear. I’ll need it if I’m going to shoot straight.”

Ursula yawned and toddled into the room to claim her own cup. 

“Mornin’.” Artemis nodded at her aunt. “How do you feel? How’s the leg?”

“Bad. As always. But I did at least get some sleep. Are you about ready to go?”

“I can be very shortly. Not like there’s a lot to pack. Where exactly are we headed?”

“I found an affordable hotel a little closer to the city. Would be a decent place to park a car and start looking for Mr. Cunningham. I’ve managed to speak to a few of our operatives. Most of the clerical staff have been released, but none of the slayer team or security wing has been heard from. Officially they’re still missing persons, the fire department is looking for bodies.”

She sighed heavily. “With any luck, they won’t actually find any bodies and the team members are still alive somewhere. But you know, it was a very nasty fire.”

“I’ll say. Their families must be losing their shit. Have the released operatives started talking to anyone? Police?”

“The ones I’ve spoken to are quite insistent they haven’t blabbed to anyone about anything. Personally I think it’s because I’m still scarier than the Witchfinders.” Ursula smirked. 

“What about us? I suppose we’re missing persons too at this point.”

“Yes, and presumed dead. The building itself is currently sectioned off and not safe to enter. Luckily it seems most of the library survived, but the rest of it is a near total loss. That medical wing is going to be very difficult to replace.”

“Assuming we’ll even replace it. Assuming the Institute even has a future.”

“It does have a future.” Ursula set her mug down with an authoritative clunking sound. “So long as I’m around, and the director is around-” She poked her finger at Artemis’ chest, “-There is an Institute, and it has a future. It’s just not clear what kind of future yet.”

“I wish I could be so sure.”

“Break it down into manageable steps. One task at a time. First things first we get to town, find a few emergency bolt holes, collect who we can and try to keep our people from getting hurt any more than they already have been.”

“If I turn myself over they might barter for the release of the slayer team-”

“Absolutely not. I’ll give them Strauss before I give them you.”

“Strauss isn’t yours to give. But something tells me he’d also give himself up before letting me take responsibility for my own mess.” She groaned and rubbed her face.

“Our mess, dear. Don’t take credit for all my hard work.”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

The two women froze. Artemis felt her heart plunge into her stomach and radiate a sour coldness through her body.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Ursula set her jaw and let out a stiff sigh through her nose. 

“I suppose that’s the door.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s too bad.” She shook her head. “I really hoped we’d have a little more time.”

“What do we do?”

“We cooperate. We’re not in any shape to fight at this point and even if we tried, we’d only make it worse.”

Ursula made her way to the front door. A male figure darkened the window. “Stay behind me dear. If they come in shooting I’d rather it be me.”

She opened the door carefully and blinked in confusion at the not so strange face that appeared on the doorstep. A ruddy face, haloed in white hair. Neatly dressed and smiling.

“... Vicar Martin?” She stuttered. “You’re here? Have the Witchfinders exhausted their supply of fighting personnel already?”

“Miss Harker. I wish I could say it was good to see you, but the circumstances really could be better.”

“How did you find us? Did someone rat us out? Where are the guns? The police? The navy?” Ursula craned her head to see past his shoulder. Vicar Martin only laughed in reply. 

“No, just me. You were expecting maybe Mel Brooks? Can I come in?”

“I feel like I ought to pat you down for weapons first.” Ursula quipped, but stood aside to let him in. “What do you want?”

“Believe it or not Miss Harker, I’m not here to hurt you. I’m sure you’re having a hard time believing that, but I’m here to warn you. All three of you are in very real and pertinent danger.”

“Not as much danger as you.”

A deep voice snarled from the stairwell. Strauss descended with a jump and landed heavily in the foyer, making the floor shake. He stuck his landing and stood on his feet, bristling in front of the vicar, teeth bared, and still completely stark nude.

“Oh DEAR GOD!” Martin put up a hand in surrender and covered his eyes with his other hand. “Why… why are you naked?”

“Why are you here?” Strauss tilted his head. “You have a moment to answer before I literally disarm you.”

Artemis stood in open mouth shock. Ursula turned bright red and began to sputter. 

“MISTER STRAUSS! I can’t… why… just…”

“It’s ok Luther.”  Artemis found her voice in the chaos, and used his first name to distract him from his own rage. “Vicar Martin isn’t with them.”

“For his sake, that had better be true.” Strauss hissed. “You haven’t said why you’re here. Very foolish to follow a scared vampire, Martin. Animals are more dangerous when cornered.”

“Just… give me a moment. I’ll explain, I just need a minute to collect my thoughts.” Martin let out an exasperated sigh and pointedly avoided eye contact. “I wasn’t expecting to see a vampire’s penis today.”

“You are one of the privileged few. Enjoy it.” Strauss sneered.

“You should get some pants on Strauss. We’ll all talk about this together when you’re dressed. Now, please?” Artemis asked shakily.

“The Van Helsing Institute has poked and prodded at my nude form at its leisure for this long. When I appear nude of my own free will it is a problem. I see how it is.” He snorted, but still made his way up the stairs to find a pair of pants. Artemis’ gaze lingered a moment on his backside but she quickly corrected herself to talk to the vicar.

“Sorry. He ah… he sleeps nude and he must have heard you come in. Let’s talk over coffee? Please.”

“Right.” Martin followed her into the kitchen. “Your pet vampire is very protective of you. That’s a good thing.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that. You’ll hurt his feelings.” Ursula snorted. “If you are not here to throw us in the clink, what is it you do want?”

“I am here to warn you.” He looked at her very seriously. “Miss Harker. The violence perpetrated upon the institute was not something I recommended, or approved of. The Witchfinders have already overstepped their boundaries and then some, but I doubt they plan on stopping just because they get a disciplinary notice in the mail. And real help may come too late.”

“Tell us something we don’t know.” Ursula rolled her eyes and set to work dusting off a mug to pour the poor frazzled vicar a coffee. “I suppose if you can find us it’s only a matter of time before the Witchfinders do.”

“Yes. It was a bit foolhardy to move into a property that still has your name on it and expect to stay hidden.”

“What choice did we have?” Artemis asked. “It’s not like there are a lot of dedicated shelters for homeless vampires.”

“That is true. And your list of supporters has recently shrunk.” Martin sipped his bitter coffee and settled at the table. 

“A creature of the night is used to operating with very few friends.” Strauss’ voice crept up the vicar’s spine and made him shudder. The vampire reappeared, mercifully dressed. He was now a little overly covered, draped in a blanket over his head and shoulders to hide from the light pouring in from the kitchen windows.

“You aren’t entirely without friends. Without staff, maybe, but what happened back at the institute… the raid, the arson…” He shook his head. “It isn’t what this is supposed to be about. Even if you were a dangerous creature- not saying I think that’s true- abducting all of those people and nearly killing several more with fire and flashbangs is hardly the way to neutralize a single threat.”

“So you claim to be on our side?” Strauss asked coolly.

“I didn’t say that. I need to finish my own personal investigation first. I told you before I am not your enemy, I’m not here to try to trap you or trick you. But I do need to be an impartial judge. And I simply must ask, therefore, Mr. Strauss.” Martin turned and made very tense eye contact with the vampire.

“Did you kill Gregor White?”

It was Strauss’ turn to feel uncomfortable. He broke eye contact. 

“No. Gregor White saved my life. I owed him a debt. I would not have harmed him.”

“Why is he dead? Why does it look like a vampire did it?”

“A vampire very likely did. He was on Sylvain Pietra’s hit list.”

“And you know this how?”

“She told me. She tried to feed him to me. I refused.”

“So you have been associating with her? A known murderess, and shortly thereafter White is dead, and you claim you have nothing to do with it?”

“If you must know.” Strauss bristled. “I was assisting with YOUR investigation when it happened. I took the initiative to find Sylvain when your ilk could not, and question her about the male victim found in the park. It was both easier and safer for me to attempt to interrogate her than any human vampire hunter. I stuck my own neck out for your sake.”

“And Gregor White wound up dead?”

“Yes. I regret it. I tried very hard to prevent it. At the cost of my own skin. I am sure if you searched his apartment you found a good deal of my DNA on the floor. I was sloughing it off quite liberally when he let me use his bathroom.”

“Was it a fruitful venture then, Strauss? Did Gregor’s death at least give you any information about the case?”

“Ehh. Yes and no. Sylvain told me she was not responsible for the death of the young man found in the park.”

“And you believed her?”

“She had no reason to lie to me.”

“So she’s innocent of that murder, but guilty of killing Gregor?” 

“It would appear so.”

“Your story seems very flimsy and unlikely.”

“Your neck seems very flimsy you accusing underhanded little-”

“Strauss.” Artemis interrupted. “He’s right. This entire thing looks very bad for us. It will look even worse if you tell the only impartial observer in all of this that you have a violent temper.”

“Apologies.” Strauss pinched the bridge of his nose and folded himself into a chair, looking defeated. “I am very tired and under a good deal of stress and I am very upset at having to continuously defend myself. Asking to exist peacefully should not be treated like an unreasonable request.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, Mr. Strauss.” Martin folded his hands. “I don’t actually think you are the killer of either party.”

“No?”

“If you truly were a violent monster, and these two women under your unholy sway, you would have fallen on me and torn me to pieces as soon as you saw I was alone instead of inviting me in for coffee.” Martin sipped his now room temperature drink. 

“I told you before and I repeat it now. I am not your enemy. I’m on the side of the truth. Whether it comes from a smiling priest or a snarling vampire is not my concern.”

“So what do we do now?” Ursula interjected.

“Our church runs a halfway house in the city. It’s been closed for renovations for some time, but it is most of the way habitable. You’ll need to pardon our dust a bit, but your name isn’t on it and nobody will be expecting us to shelter you. Officially, I’m supposed to be helping with the effort to track and capture you.”

“It will do. We can leave immediately and we should.” Ursula pushed herself up from the table to gather her things. “I do have a question for you Emille. Have you… heard anything about anything else being captured from the institute?”

“If you’re referring to the lycan, no. He’s still at large. Still considered a dangerous, kill-on-sight target. He’s not the big ticket item. It’s Strauss they really want, but if they see your friend they will kill him for revenge.”

“He is alive. That is all I care about.” Strauss turned and faced the vicar. “I have misjudged you, Vicar Martin. Vielen dank für die hilfe.” He extended a claw to the vicar to shake. 

“No dead mice this time?”

“Not unless you want one.”

The two locked hands in a firm shake. Ursula set her mug in the sink. 

“It’s settled then. Grab your things. I’ll start the car.”