#my attention wanders during some scenes

[daylighteclipsed]

sad news about the pjo tv show not being good. I was thinking about watching it. but I’m also loathe to ruin the closure the musical gave me re: pjo adaptations, so perhaps this is for the best lol

It’s not that it’s bad. It’s just… well… I guess it is kind of bad.

I’m trying to reserve full judgement until the end of the season. But it‘s clear at this point they switched the genre from a fun action-adventure story to a drama. And that would be… tolerable, I guess… but it’s not written or directed that well either. There’s far too much telling instead of showing. Character development is rushed. And most of the scenes are so lackluster. Any time things start to get a little exciting, it ends. There’s no sense of urgency. This is a quest to stop the gods from ending the world, and there are monsters at every turn — there’s a lot of pressure here! — but the kids never seem that panicked or stressed or scared.

Percy, Grover, and Annabeth don’t really feel like Percy, Grover, and Annabeth. Sometimes they do, a little bit. But most times, they talk and behave too mature. There are moments where they’re so different from their book counterparts. It’s just bizarre. A lot of writing and production decisions are utterly bizarre, and it makes me so sad because the book is so good and I love those characters so much. I don’t know.

The show does delve more into how bad the gods are, which you might find interesting. There’s very little reason to root for them or care about them at this point. But it’s very… heavy-handed in the delivery of this message. Even a little repetitive. And you know me, I love parallels! But a lot of them are completed so quickly. Instead of there being multiple episodes or even a season between, a parallel is introduced 15 minutes later or in the very next episode and is stated aloud or really obvious. Which takes the punch out of these parallels and the fun out of noticing them.

Overall, the show is turning out to be “meh.” The only episode I’d want to rewatch at this point is the Medusa one. I haven’t seen the musical (I know, I know). But put it this way: If I had to choose, I’d rather watch the movie than the tv show. But maybe you should give the show a shot and see for yourself.

[andromerot]

movie likers and knowers might rightfully have me killed for this but i think the thing about "id like to watch more movies but i have poor concentration" is its literally okay to get distracted during movies. its literally fine. now i do understand why this might not be enjoyable for some people but it can be if you want it to be. missing scenes, or not understanding certain plot points, or "misinterpreting" some things about the visual language, or other things that might derive from not being laser focused on the film – these are all things that are part of your experience with the text, which is i think highly individual and contextual, and people who can pay more attention than you or are more engaged simply have a different experience. and while im someone who really intellectualizes and rationalizes what im watching i also think the way i most enjoy a movie and the way its information most easily enters me is sensorial, almost as a texture of something i can touch. i love beautiful images and words and light and movement and i love them when theyre ugly, too. hearing a voice that pierces the heart or an image that will stay forever in the back of my head, thats what makes movies special and different from other ways of thought transmission.

and really while this applies to people who dont want to watch 2 hour movies because of attention issues i really think its important to remember this when watching slow cinema. because no one can pay full attention to anything for four hours (or eleven) (even if you take breaks) and when you see eight minutes of a man walking through a field in silence your mind Will wander. and the places it goes to (other movies you remember have similar scenes, poems, where you think the movies going, but also: what youll make for lunch, a woman you love, your tasks for the week you least want to do, the phone you might pull out and look at while keeping a side-eye on the man on the field), they're a part of the way you experience that guy walking around, and the way you'll fill it with meaning and remember it later. and its literally fine. do whatever you want forever. i need to try out1 again

[heegyukeluv]

your eyes only (lhs) - req

pairing: heeseung x afab & musical actress!reader

synopsis: You were used to having all eyes on you; after all, as a renowned musical actress, capturing everyone's attention was part of your job. But the moment you noticed a pair of eyes in the audience gazing at you with such passion, you knew things would change.

my's note: first and foremost A✨!!!!! YOUR VISION!!!!!! please i’m so happy you gifted me with the pleasure of developing this super cute and loving story. i really had so much fun writing it, and i hope you like it too!! also during the smut scene i got a bit carried away by these pics and maybe i’ve dedicated too much time talking about heeseung’s arms 😀 not sorry btw

warnings: fluff, small angsty (but with a happy ending!!!), explicit language, SMUT - so minors DO NOT interact!, protected sex 💪🏻, fingering, kinda rough sex? (this is the roughest i think i can do, unironically lol). lmk if I missed something!

request: reader is a musical actor/actress who takes many roles in musicals, plays, some movies and so and so forth. heeseung goes to one of the reader's musicals and is enamored by their voice and talent, and of course, their looks. (read the full request here!)

wc: 19k

NOT PROOFREAD.

taglist 💖: @yvnempire

Heeseung rushed his way out of his car, jogging through the people in the middle of his route to get to the theater as soon as he could, already knowing Sunoo was so pissed off with his lateness.

He spotted the blonde haired furiously typing on his phone with a scowl expression, alone, waiting for him.

“Don’t even start with your lame excuses,” Sunoo stopped Heeseung before he said anything when he finally got to the younger’s side, glaring up from his phone and already hurrying his steps towards the theater entrance. 

“I’m sorry,” Heeseung tried his best to sound apologetic, softening his gaze, opting for not making up any justification.

It wasn’t like he purposely got stuck in the traffic at all, however, he definitely was guilty about leaving the house twenty minutes later than he promised, just because he decided to finish up his League game. 

It was Saturday, of course he would choose to spend some screen time doing his favorite hobby. 

“I know you don’t like musicals, or almost anything related, but you kinda gave me your word, so…” 

They both walked side by side, stopping quickly to show their tickets to the worker who let them in after verifying it in the system. 

“I know, I know. And I’m really sorry.”

The lights were already off as the show was about to start, making them struggle a bit to find their seats; close to the edge and not too far from the stage.

“You won’t regret coming, Hee.” Sunoo smiled sweetly, already at ease with his behavior, picking up his phone to take a picture of the glowing set, just waiting for the right moment to start. He wasn’t really pissed with Heeseung, he knew the older one was actually doing him a favor. “I saw some pictures on instagram and it’s so pretty.”

Although Sunoo wasn’t lying about him, he was actually excited with the idea of watching something so different from his natural liking, and the bright, enthusiastic face Sunoo showed made his expectations grow even higher. 

Heeseung diverted his eyes to the theater main floor when the instrumental started sounding through the speakers, indicating the play was about to start, a shiver of excitement running all the way through his spine while he straightened his back on the chair.

The story was being told from the main character’s perspective, as expected. But what really got Heeseung tilting his head to the side and his eyes glistening in interest was the incredible beauty of the actress.

She had expressions on point, as if she was born to be there, happily wandering through the whole stage with bright smiles, looking at the crowd once and a while and acting with pure talent. She shone in between the other actors, drawing attention easily towards her. Of course she had the main character aura that helped it a lot, however, at some point Heeseung was sure that he, himself, had an extra spotlight on her, eyes never leaving her meticulously calculated movements and attractive face.

The way she showed raw emotions from the beginning got Heeseung laughing, worried and relieved – a rollercoaster of emotions he never thought he would go through just by watching a Tangled musical.

He also caught himself wishing for the actress to drift her eyes through the crowd just once more, so she would feel his intense gaze and look at his way, in a very utopic, hopeless, line of thought.

When the said Aurora got the chance to finally sing, Heeseung just let himself completely fall in love, unconsciously sighing as his heart faltered a beat every once. He didn’t expect her to have such a loving, enchanting, singing voice, making his body ache in despair to have more of it.

The final act got him all smiling, clapping his hands with genuine enthusiasm as the actors bowed to the crowd thanking them for watching. When the curtains dramatically closed, Heeseung inclined his head a bit to the center so he could watch you going away, leaving him with a taste for more.

He thought about trying to go to the backstage, especially when he saw a few people lining up apparently to get a photo with the cast, but Sunoo was already walking his way out of the theater and he deduced it had some kind of special ticket to get that.

“Who is Aurora?” Heeseung eagerly asked Sunoo when they stepped out of the theater, walking through the parking lot. He had literal crossed fingers hidden inside his jacket pockets, in hopes of Sunoo knowing about the actress.

Sunoo playfully raised an eyebrow. “I know you don’t like musicals, but not to know who Aurora is, is kinda–”

“No, I meant the actress,” Heeseung hurried to correct himself, blaming the fact he was still in awe. “Do you know her name?”

“Oh,” Sunoo replied by taking his phone out of his pocket and opening his instagram, showing the screen to Heeseung. “It’s Y/N. She’s one of the most famous actresses for musicals like that. I love her acts, like all of them,” he replied with a big smile, gesturing with his hands. 

Heeseung quickly got his phone to follow you after getting your username, not even caring about thanking Sunoo as he slid through your cute feed, shamelessly liking some of them. It wasn’t like you would notice him, as you had thousands of followers and a very busy routine, as it looked like.

And oh, you were so, so beautiful.

“So, how do you like it?” Sunoo asked with a small smirk when they stopped by Heeseung’s car, not failing to notice how the older one got really invested, although he wasn’t much sure if the fixation was about the musical itself or you.

“Honestly?” Heeseung locked his phone and opened his car. “I loved it more than I expected,” he answered with a genuine smile, a smile that did nothing to hide his real interest.

“It’s a pity this is the last one,” Sunoo said with a small pout when he entered the car, sitting on the passenger seat.

“W–What do you mean the last one?” Heeseung halted all his movements to fully face Sunoo with a slightly bewildered expression, who offered him confused eyes and a small frown.

“It’s the last Tangled musical they're gonna do,” he explained. “Y’know, they don’t do the same musicals over and over again. Especially with Y/N. She’s constantly casted for new ones,” Sunoo added, watching Heeseung’s face softening in relief before he started to drive. 

“You seem to know a lot about her,” Heeseung said with curiosity, eyeing Sunoo quickly before paying attention back to the road, the street lights passing by working as a beautiful background.

“Yeah, I really love her work.” He said with a dreamy tone, and Heeseung nodded, since now he was kind of loving your work too. “It’s a shame we don’t get to have more from her here in the town.”

“Hm?” Heeseung's head snapped to face Sunoo, and gladly he had stopped at the red light in time. 

“Musicals work almost like a band tour. They go through the whole country, stopping by cities for one or two weeks, it depends on the demand. This one had a three week engagement here!” He said excitedly, Heeseung paying attention to every detail. His heart sank inside his chest with the now acknowledgement of how your job worked, and the fact that he definitely wasn’t going to see you soon. “But college got me stuck, so I didn’t have the time to come and watch it. That’s why today was so special, as I texted you. It was the last one.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Heeseung said with a tender, genuine smile.

Heeseung’s car stopped by Sunoo’s place, and with a quick goodbye he left, leaving behind a completely silent Heeseung, lost in his own thoughts. How would he feed his newest obsession?

When Heeseung finally got back into his apartment, he cared little about changing his clothes into something more comfortable, sprawling on the couch while stalking your social media for a bit.

He watched your newly posted instagram stories, most of them being reposts of videos and photos from the audience that tagged you into it, saying how proud of you they were, how much they liked and how pretty you looked. 

Heeseung remembered Sunoo taking a picture of the set before the play started, and quickly asked him for it so he could post it on his story as well, using the lame excuse that he wanted to show his followers his most new-found interest.

Of course Sunoo didn’t really bought it, but sent it anyway. 

Heeseung had never felt nervous about posting something on his instagram, especially on his story, a place where pictures and videos only lasted 24 hours. Nevertheless, in the past you weren’t in the equation, you weren’t the main target, you didn’t even existed to him. So he double-checked the small text and if the picture looked good enough to stand out in between the probably hundred others you got tagged into, pressing the “send” button.

“First time watching it. I loved it so much. You really know how to catch people's attention @y/n ;)”.

As the picture loaded, Heeseung instantly wondered if it was too much, with widened eyes and heart pacing fast, panicking a bit as he paid close attention to how some of his friends liked and replied to it almost immediately, but nothing came from you.

He waited for a few minutes for your possible repost, since you were online just seconds ago, scrolling through his timeline, a chill feeling overgrowing in his chest every time the small red ball of notification painted the top of his phone. Then he let out a defeated sigh as the reality settled in – meeting you was unlikely, and the chances of someone as famous as you noticing an ordinary guy like him seemed impossible.

That night he hopelessly hoped to dream about you and your voice, so he could experience more of your distant, idol-like presence. He was so intrigued about you. Your beautiful features, your perfect acting, your incredible voice, everything extremely fascinating for his poor, weak heart.

Unfortunately Heeseung did not dreamt about you, but he woke up with his phone buzzing under his pillow. 

With eyes squinting, Heeseung tried to understand why he got followed by a bunch of random people on instagram from last night. There were also a lot of texts from Sunoo in caps lock that his mind skipped reading and his everyday notifications that he always ignored. And then his attention was caught with your name.

He expected you to repost as you were doing for the majority of your fans, but you didn’t only reposted. You replied to him, directly.

“Thank you, sweetheart! Hope to see you more, then <3”

“It’s just a message. She probably sends it to everyone. She seems reachable through her social media.”

Heeseung was trying to convince Sunoo – and himself – that your reply meant nothing but a simple, standard gesture from an artist thanking their fans. After all, he was a grown man who understood how the industry worked, how they encouraged fanservices as a way of attracting more people from the outside and maintaining the ones who already considered themselves as fans. 

Albeit his heart danced a different melody than his mind, doing flips just by remembering your sweet words.

“I don’t think so,” Sunoo retorted with a small grimace as he finished cleaning the corner of the cafeteria’s main counter. “The usual?” He asked Heeseung before getting ready to make his drink.

“Yeah, I’m running late for work,” Heeseung replied, glancing at his phone just to confirm that he probably would be ten minutes late to that morning’s meeting. 

“But I think you should shoot your shot, y’know,” Sunoo said with a grin while mixing all the ingredients. “Slide into her DM’s or something.”

Heeseung couldn’t hold back a small chuckle, leaning his upper body on the counter. “Is that how young people flirt nowadays?” 

Sunoo threw an offended glare at him. “Don’t act like you’re an oldie. You’re literally only 2 years older than me,” Heeseung laughed loudly at his reaction, shaking his head.

“I won’t do any of that, Sunoo,” he said softly and straightened his posture. “I’d rather just follow her work from afar. Me being in the audience and her, on the stage. That’s the closest I can get from her,” he now spoke more firmly, as if he tried to ground Sunoo’s expectative – and his own – down to reality. 

He spent his whole Sunday watching filmed performances from some of your old plays, unable to get enough of your angelic voice, your palpable talent, and of course, your gorgeous, captivating outstanding looks. The knowledge that your job made you be constant for a year or less, and then you were away for months, preparing for the next musical, shattered his hope and made him accept that he would have to wait for you to return.

“Well, you do you. But in my personal opinion, you’re missing a big opportunity,” Sunoo handed Heeseung’s coffee, waiting for the charge and the usual tip.

Once again, Heeseung shook his head, smiling and paying for his drink. “Thank you, have a great day Sunoo.”

“You too, Hee.”

Heeseung wouldn’t admit that easily, but he gathered some of his favorite performances from you in a youtube playlist, so he could listen to it while driving through the city, the way to his work sounding prettier with your beautiful voice echoing in his ears. 

As he parked his car, rushing to his meeting, he didn’t felt the large amount of stress he normally dealt with during Mondays, your melodic singing still fresh on his mind, easing the way he handled things through the day. 

The following weeks passed fast with his daily routine; you, still filling up his head in an addicting mix of your sweet vocals and his eagerness of witnessing you owning the stage again.

Heeseung craved the electrifying rush of his heart racing with wonder after you captivated his soul he once felt when first watched you perform, as if he was in abstinence. 

He monitored your social media for almost two months, hoping to see an announcement of your next musical or anything similar enough to give him a chance to listen and see you live, feeling extra hyped whenever he saw a picture of your practice, or other things related to your upcoming project.

He never got so invested in something or someone the way he was in you, especially after just so little time tasting from the source.

During a random Tuesday, fauxing listening to Jake’s rant about his new love interest and how confused he was feeling, he caught himself traveling through his own head, wondering what triggered this obsessive behavior.

Was it how dreamy you looked and sounded?

Was it the fact that he had to wait to get more from you?

Or maybe was the fact you were unreachable, acting like a bait to his delusional romantic heart?

Did he really fell in love with a famous person?

How bad was that? 

“And you're ignoring me again.”

Heeseung blinked a few times to regain his consciousness back to reality, the one where Jake was shooting him an annoyed look and his food was getting cold; the thoughts about you and his respective questions evaporating from his mind quickly. 

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit distracted today,” Heeseung slurped his, now, cold ramen, avoiding Jake’s judgmental eyes and grabbing his phone to see the notification that got it buzzing on the table.

“Oh, you tell me.” He rolled his eyes, before giving a quick head nod at Heeseung’s direction. “What’s going on?”

“Uh, nothing. You can continue your–” Heeseung was about to change the subject back to whatever Jake was talking, not wanting to admit that the reason he got so zoned out was you, although Jake was pretty much aware of this part of his friend’s life; Heeseung being a mess and failing completely in the art of downplaying. But then he saw Sunoo’s message. “Oh shit.” 

“What?” Jake asked with concern, observing Heeseung’s expression morphing from a shocking one with widened eyes and mouth slightly agape, to an extremely joyful one, with a big smile creeping out of his lips, growing gradually.

“Oh shit, oh shit.” 

“What!?” Jake exasperated, almost jumping over the table to try and see what got Heeseung so excited on his phone, curiosity overtaking him. “Huh?” He tilted his head with confusion, sitting back on his chair, trying to understand Heeseung’s overly stoked reaction over a simple poster from a musical.

On the other hand Heeseung’s heart was racing too quickly for his own liking, his hands faltering the grip on his phone as he read the dates for the performances, which were starting that weekend in some random place he didn’t paid attention since what caught his eyes was the theater name from the next week. 

He couldn’t believe it.

You were coming back.

After all the waiting, here was the chance he'd been craving – the chance to see you live again. His fingers twitched with excitement as he clicked on the link to the ticket sales, not even caring about Jake’s bewildered face and questions, too focused on rushing to the ‘buy menu’.

“Oh shit, this is happening,” Heeseung muttered to himself, more to confirm it than to explain anything to Jake.

“Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on or just forget I’m right here?” Jake demanded, clearly frustrated but also amused by Heeseung's sudden outburst.

Heeseung finally looked up, beaming, eyes gleaming with something Jake never really saw before; it was like a child who got their first videogame after years of asking for it.

"It’s her, Jake! That singer I told you about. She’s performing here in like… A few days?" The cool facade he tried to maintain had a fall long ago, his ‘fanboy side’ being more revealed than he wanted.

Jake’s confusion lingered for a second before he remembered Heeseung relentlessly talking about this mysterious woman, the musical actress who had somehow captivated his friend so intensely. He let out a knowing groan. “So, you’re still obsessing over her, huh?”

“Not obsessing,” Heeseung corrected with a grin that betrayed him, his whole expression showing that he was, in fact, obsessing. “Just… Eager.”

Jake shook his head, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Eager, huh?” He leaned closer, raising an eyebrow up. “Yeah, that’s what everyone says, and then they spend a fortune on front-row tickets."

“Oh, right. Front-row…” Heeseung mumbled to himself as he got back to his phone, browsing through the available seats, hands slightly trembling as his finger pressed down to choose one of the best seats in the theater – front and center – with Jake’s words echoing in his mind. Thanks to Sunoo, he saw the announcement just in enough time to pick that one, and he completely ignored the price for the said ticket. 

“You’re really doing this?” Jake asked, incredulous watching Heeseung smile growing just before he bit his lower lip trying to contain it, as he leaned back on his chair. 

“I have to,” Heeseung said, finding it hard to not smile. His whole body was partying with his heartbeat serving as the background music. "This is my chance to see her again."

Jake rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his amusement. “You’re so random.”

“Yeah,” Heeseung admitted with a shrug, his thoughts already drifting to the date he would see you, imagining your captivating presence on stage, singing with your ethereal voice, finally feeling every note in the same room as you with the attention you deserved.

He couldn’t wait.

Every time you opened a new show in a different city, your body reacted as if it was your first time on stage, the blended nervousness and excitement working perfectly together and resulting in an adrenaline boost for you to be on cloud nine. 

You loved your job with all your soul. The family-like friendship you developed with your beloved crewmates and actors, the backstage of the plays where you sometimes helped with the props letting your creativity flow freely, the difficult work of memorizing the scenes keeping it to the original at the same time you add a few self-written lines here and there, even the chaos of the quick costume changes and fast makeup touch-up in between scenes.

But what got into your heart the most was the ability to sing your voice out, being the one under the spotlight, expressing yourself through your acting, surprising people with your so known talent the same amount you made them clap for your breathtaking performances – the cheers after every play you finished making you fulfilled, a constant feeling of accomplishment. 

You worked hard to get into that position though. Years of intense studying in college, years of hard vocal lessons you still took to this day, years of working much to be paid less, until fame hit you and things have worked amazingly well since then. 

Now, facing the closed curtains already in your performer mode, you waited your cue to enter the stage and own it as if it was yours – and almost every time, it actually was. 

“Thirty seconds, Y/N,” your stage manager said to you and you nodded.

The new play was about an old film called Anastasia, in which you played the role of the said character. It also featured one of your favorite songs to sing, "Once Upon a December”. The haunting melody and lyrics evoked feelings of nostalgia, hitting deep on you as you drove yourself through it, just like the main character, searching for your identity and place in the world.

The atmosphere your fellow actors and crewmates created while you sang was the epitome of your presentation in your opinion; the created ballroom simulating phantoms dancing around you, so endearingly majestic and graceful, while they, themselves, sang the background, mimicking the lost memories of royalty Anastasia. 

It would be an euphemism if you expressed yourself as just excited, especially due to your practice time on your expressions and voice changes to sound as heartbreak as the musical actually was, expecting the general opinion to enjoy it as much as you did.

You could hear the buzz from the public, showing the same enthusiasm. And with that in mind, you got your cue to enter the stage, fast and confident steps guiding you to your place.

As you directed yourself through the stage gracefully, easily taking the breath of anyone watching you, once more the sentiment of belonging eveloped you with a mix of love and deep sense of purpose.

The cheering, the emotional tears, the claps. You felt the audience's admiration through their eyes as the final note echoed in the theater while you held your last pose, breathing heavily as the weight of your performance resonated in your heart.

The curtains closed after you and the other actors bowed to the crowd, who gave a standing ovation to all of you. Your smile was bright and big as you walked your way to the backstage, high-fiving your co-workers – your friends –, sharing the sentiment of accomplishment as you searched for some water, throat extremely dry after so much effort. 

Before you could even think about anything else, someone suddenly bear-hugged you.

“I don’t know how you manage to awe me everytime.”

You laughed, letting your friend lift and swirl you. “Oh come on, Jay. You literally saw every single practice,” you said with a light-hearted teasing tone and Jay gently put you back on the floor, letting you go from his strong embrace. 

He rolled his eyes before replying. “You did amazing, as always.”

“We did amazing. It's teamwork, don’t forget it,” you winked at him and you both walked to one of the couches, so you could sit and rest for a bit. Your knees burned like hell after spending so much time wandering across the stage. “I wouldn’t be able to do any of that alone, especially without my favorite producer,” you nudged his shoulder playfully, drinking more of your water, making Jay chuckle.

The whole cast and some other crewmates came to compliment your amazing performance, you praising them back and always highlighting how grateful you were to have them not only as co-workers, but as a family, acknowledging the strong importance of their roles during your performances and in your life.

You went through the things that needed to be fixed for the next shows with your stage manager, the small changes in positions for the next theaters the tour would go based on their size and structure, while listening to the equipment and props crew discussing similar stuff.

“So… Where are we going to celebrate our “Anastasia debut”?” Yunjin asked, already frustrated with the fact that all her fellow members were talking about work just after working, you included.

“Don’t you have work to do?” You shoot her a small, playful grimace and she mimicked it, mocking you. 

“I just did it, idiot.”

You smiled big as you hugged her from the waist, pulling her closer while resting your cheek on her belly, before questioning. “Where do you wanna go?”

Although partying wasn’t a part of your overall interest, having some drinks with the ones you cherished to be around always sounded fun, so with Yunjin leading – as usual –, many of you followed her into a small pub, having the fun you deserved after months of work that leaded to that night’s rewarding performance. 

You couldn’t wait for the upcoming ones, your schedule packed with the amount of dates programmed for a long, exciting, run.

“Ugh, I love Seoul,” Yunjin murmured with a concentrated frown as she took some pictures from the bus window. 

You chuckled, quickly glancing at your friend before grabbing your phone so you could reread some of the lines from the musical. Not that you struggled with memorizing the great amount of words you normally got, but you never let the chance to do a double check-up pass; always offering your bestest to your beloved audience was your prime motto. 

So you didn’t even realize when the bus started slowing its speed, snapping out of your focused bubble only when you started to hear a small chant of your name. You looked up from your phone screen, watching a little crowd pass by the glass window waving at it showing big smiles, without even knowing if someone was noticing or not. 

You always did.

Part of your job was to handle an audience, to make them fall in love with your acting and singing, so you could maintain them as close as possible and keep being able to live from what you loved the most. You enjoyed the interactions, treating them with the same amount of kindness and fondness they showed you through cute texts and letters, not to mention their words whenever they got to meet you in person. You tried to make yourself as available as you could, organizing your day to always have some free time to talk with your fans through your social media. 

Although exhausting sometimes, it was a worthwhile endeavor at the end of the day – to sleep with the fresh conscience and heart fulfilled, feeling their genuine love and support, no money could pay that.

When you finally settled at your hotel room, you gave yourself a small self-love treatment by taking a long shower and doing your skin care before heading to the theater with part of the cast to do all the warm-ups routine you needed.

The day carried a revitalizing sensation, your heart thumping with enthusiasm as the third performance of Anastasia approached. This time, however, it was more than special. It was in Seoul, your hometown – a simple fact that worked perfectly as an emotional aura for your background story.

Seoul always held a special place in your heart. No matter how the tour went, you made sure your managers knew that taking Seoul off the list was unforgivable; no matter the demand, no matter how much you could lose financially, you had to perform there. And you thanked your cast and respective crewmates for understanding your request.

While you wrapped up all the final touches from your makeup, hair and costume, drinking your last sip of water, you waited for your cue, as usual, unaware of the surprises the night held for you.

Because on the other side of the story...

Heeseung sat on his front seat with hands trembling and a fluttering heart. Every movement from the crew organizing the set to be perfect made him sweat in eagerness. He was so close to see you again, to witness your charming presence, your divine vocals. He didn’t knew much about the story from Anastasia, expecting for you to sweetly tell him through your performance. 

He was actually absorbed in the story being told, albeit his leg shaking showed his anticipation for your appearance. 

Thenyou finally stepped up onto the stage. Heeseung’s breath got caught on his throat, widened eyes glued on your every move, on your every expression, never daring to let you escape out of its sight; the front-row seat offering him the perfect view of your amazing looks and talented acting, the sound echoing through the theater tingling his ears in the best way possible.

Then your voice filled up the theater. Heeseung let out a quiet sigh, mouth slightly opened, feeling light headed by how gorgeous you sounded – there was it again, the rush of his heart fluttering in the addicting way it did before, entranced by you, this time intensified, stronger, far more passionate. 

As the melody of “Once Upon a December” flew through the air, your beautiful, shooting tone made it even harder not to shed some tears, alongside the couples dancing around you in an atmosphere almost painfully beautiful.

Heeseung was so enamored by every detail of you. How you expressed emotions with your body, with your singing, with your facials. His gaze never left you, following through your out’s and in’s from the stage to change outfits or scenes, missing you every moment you weren’t on the stage.

During your performance, each glimpse you shot at the crowd sent a shiver down his spine, as he silently begged for you to give him one, quick, minimal look, the smallest attention you could offer to him. 

For a brief second, you did. Not intentional, but your eyes meet for milliseconds. Heeseung’s heart skipped a beat; the way you smiled as if it was to him fed his delusional self too hard for his own liking. He had to ground himself back to reality in order to continue to savor your captivating performance. 

From your point of view, something was different that night. Among the sea of concentrated, curious expressions you normally faced while on stage, one particular person kept drawing your attention in a way it never happened before. 

You came across many people watching you, most of them with widened eyes, or mouth open, or a small smile, regular reactions you got from the audience once you showed up.

However, the young man sitting in the front-row flooded you with such endearing reactions; his eyes gleaming with admiration, intensely following your every move almost making you blush. He looked at you as if you were the only person in the room. Soft, tender expression sending a weird mix of reactions through your body.

As you kept doing your act, you couldn't help but glance back at him again whenever you got the chance, trying your best not to be obvious with your sudden curiosity about this stranger who seemed so completely captivated by you.

His reaction was almost adorable – the way his face lit up, as though your small acknowledgment had made his entire night. You felt a warmth in your chest, knowing that someone out there was this touched by your performance.

Through the rest of the play, you forced yourself to focus only on finishing it perfectly. “Anastasia” asked for less of a passion, happy ambiance and more of a sentimental one, and because the spotlight was constantly on you, it was very unprofessional to forget your main reason to be there and falter on your acting.

Nevertheless, each time you quickly landed your gaze on the strange, young – and attractive – man, you couldn’t help. He wasn’t just a regular fan. There was something more in his orbs, something deeper, something magnetic, and you caught yourself having an internal conflict. 

As you held your pose for the last piece of the play, showering emotion through your eyes for the happy ending, you nodded proudly to yourself when the cast prepared to wrap things up with the final performance.

Whoever the strange was, you apparently made quite an impression. And maybe, just maybe, he had made one on you too.

“Anastasia” was scheduled to be performed for three consecutives days, an entire weekend. Heeseung bought tickets for all of them, craving to experience you in all the ways he was able to – with the big stage separating you both, leaving him to just observe you from afar while you did your job.

Your job.

After the first night finished, Heeseung questioned himself whether he was perceiving things beyond reality, maybe distorted, influenced by his strange, yet pleasant and intense feelings for you. If not, he was pretty sure that you watched him as much as he watched you.

He recognized the flips his heart did every time your eyes landed on him, just to avoid quickly and slip back into your character – the need of seeing you again being reinforced by those exact little glimpses towards his direction, a river rushing through his head, full of confused thoughts.

Still, he reminded himself not to get too carried away. After all, you were working, captivating the audience was your job, which you did gracefully, gorgeously, charmingly. And charmed he was, in every possible sense of the word. 

By the second night, Heeseung arrived earlier than he planned, the excitement to see you again swelling in his chest. Though this time he wasn’t on the front-row either alone, he still got a great seat to see you.

“I can’t believe you liked the musical that much to see it again,” Sunoo teased with a small smile.

Heeseung’s cheeks warmed instantly, a faint blush decorating it as he avoided Sunoo’s glance, before saying. “Y–yeah, I liked the musical a lot. I had to see it again,” he offered an award laugh, looking down his lap.

“Right. The musical.” 

Heeseung was about to respond when the lights began to dim, the known introductory instrumental and the storyteller started to play their roles. His heart skipped a beat as his head lifted, eyes following the actors entering the stage as they started to tell the plot. 

Just like before, as soon as you stepped onto the stage, his eyes glued on your beautiful figure. You looked even prettier that day, although you didn’t change anything since last night.

For a millisecond your emotional eyes drifted quickly to the crowd and Heeseung’s breath hitched, eager for you to notice him in order to confirm his delusional state, or worse, do the reverse, making him understand he was looking at the situation using too much of his romantic side.

His seat was not an easy spot to see him, and somehow that comforted his inner self. If he was right about last night, you would catch his presence, his intense, focused, admiring orbs following your every move. Otherwise, he would give up on whatever he was feeling about you.

On the other hand, Heeseung barely knew you were having a strong internal debate every time you went backstage to get out of your scene after finishing it. Heeseung had no idea you were looking for him like crazy, the best way you could. Heeseung couldn’t even imagine you, out of all the actors, would be using your highlight time, singing, to search for his mysterious presence, pretending to look at the audience as you normally did. 

And you found him during “Once Upon a December” as you expected to do, since it was your moment to sing facing the crowd.

Ironically enough, the exact time you sang the line “Someone holds me safe and warm”, you locked eyes with him – caught totally out of guard, your heart started thumping in your chest too fast for your liking as you widened your eyes, then quickly recomposed yourself and fluttered your eyelids shut, concentrating on singing your emotional song. 

Somehow you got captivated by his mysterious, yet gentle aura, standing out so easily among the sea of people, offering you cute and genuine reactions, showering you with admiration. Like a magnet, you kept glimpsing at him, finding it, again, adorable, how he always held eye contact, seeming a bit surprised, and then shyly drifted away. Even after finishing your solo, you couldn’t divert your gaze.

Heeseung, however, was a total mess. He noticed everything, and as an automatic response his heart was pacing fast, his throat getting dry and his mind spinning. It couldn't be a coincidence that you glanced at him that often mid-performance.

“I might be crazy,” Sunoo whispered out of the blue, using the loud sound of the singers doing their performance to stifle his voice. “But is Y/N looking at us? Or better, at you?”

Heeseung drifted his bambi eyes to Sunoo and back to the stage, frowning. “You–”

“See! She did it again!” Due to his exasperated way of saying, his whisper sounded a bit high. Some people gave him a mad grimace, he huffed an embarrassed laugh.

"She's an actress. She probably looks at a hundred people like that every night," Heeseung explained with a low voice, trying to convince himself more than Sunoo.

“Whatever you say,” Sunoo grinned at his friend before returning to watch the play.

As expected, the musical ended gracefully after a few moments of tension and the story finished to be told. Your acting skills shone through you every move, captivating the audience until the last second. 

The lights dimmed once more, and the applause echoed through the theater vigorously in appreciation for that amazing show. Heeseung standed up to clap along, not even hiding he was searching for you amidst the chaos. When the cast bowed to the crowd, looking at them after straightening up to face the audience, a last and steady eye contact was held before the curtains closed, leaving Heeseung speechless, mouth slightly agape.

“Even if she looks at everyone, she had some special eyes for you tonight.” Sunoo said low near to Heeseung’s ear, feeding all his thoughts.

Heeseung left the theater more confused than he expected, trying to figure out if the connection was true, or if all the world decided to trick his mind. In any case, he had one more day to untangle the blended strings of his sentiments, and maybe, if he was lucky enough, the last show would work differently from the other two.

You were removing your makeup on your hotel room desk, Yunjin sitting on your bed finishing her own skin care routine. 

“I know this sound crazy and unprofessional, but last night there was a guy on the front-row–”

“The burgundy-haired guy! He couldn’t stop looking at you!” Yunjin cut you off, saying loudly and too excitedly.

Your head snapped towards her. “Burgundy– Wait, you’ve noticed him too!?” You asked flabbergasted, before going back to cleaning your skin, removing your makeup.

“Of course I did, he was almost eating you alive,” she said, rolling her eyes as she applied her skin toner. You looked at her again, but now with a shocked face, trying to figure out the meaning behind her phrase. “But with love. In a cute way!” She clarified after noticing your exaggerated reaction.

“I was afraid I was seeing things,” you frowned, looking at her through the mirror in front of you.

“Girl, definitely not,” she smirked. “If he shows up tomorrow again, please, for the sake of everything, get his number,” she demanded seriously and pointed to you with the bottle of the cream she held. 

“Oh, of course I will,” you said with a layer of sarcasm, not holding back your grin. “I’ll jump off of the stage mid-performance, hand him a paper and ask for his number.”

Yunjin giggled, nudging you with wiggly eyebrows. “Maybe that’s the grand finale we all need.”

You chuckled at her response, however, your thoughts drifted back to the said burgundy-haired guy, the memory of his intense, pierce, yet lovingly eyes glued on you sending a small heat to your cheeks as you finished your skin care.

When you woke up the next morning, your stage manager demanded the presence of everyone in the theater way earlier than you expected for some practice time. 

As the night approached, you found yourself now behind the big, red curtains with the buzz from the audience serving as a background. You stood in a corner of the backstage area, counting down from ten to one as a mental exercise to calm yourself. 

The anxiety you felt wasn’t the usual thrilling excitement before entering the stage, the longing to shine as the main act from the night. No, this time it was mixed with something else. 

There was a big chance the nameless guy would be in the audience once more, eyes glued on you like a magnet, attracting yours instinctively, in a way you didn’t found too pleasant still; a tall, strong barrier inside your chest making it difficult to ease things while working.

The familiar voice from Jay broke you out of your thoughts, interrupting your now inhale-exhale exercise.

“So, I’ve heard you’re changing your performance for today.” He said, voice laced with playfulness and curiosity.

You turned to face him, blinking in surprise. “What?”

“Get the number of the ‘burgundy-haired guy’?” His eyes sparkled with a mix of tease and amusement. “Or whatever Yunjin named him. Who uses burgundy as an everyday word?”

You shut your eyes close, finally understanding his words. “Ah.” You chuckled softly. “Yeah, the burgundy-haired guy.”

Jay laughed, warm and reassuring, placing both his hands on your shoulders so you wouldn’t avoid his gaze as you opened your eyes. “Invite him backstage today.”

Once again, you offered him a confused look, but now with a strong lack of confidence among it. His quick senses noticed your doubtful expression and added with a soft voice. “Y/N, you’re a human. You’re allowed to feel your feelings. Even if it’s about someone from the audience.”

You kept looking at Jay’s gentle eyes, not even a hint of judgment behind them. “Ok,” you said in response, nodding slowly before a smile tempted to curve into your lips. “Better option than jumping on him mid-performance to ask for his number.”

Heeseung had finished watching you for the third time, doing the exact same things, singing the exact same songs, saying the exact same lines, with the exact same props and cast.

Still he experienced shivers down his spine once you sang “Once Upon a December”, a song that quickly crawled his ranking of your performances, topping all of the others. Not only that, you also seemed way confident today. 

Heeseung, on the other hand, was getting flustered.

You didn’t care much about being obvious with your glances at him that night, sustaining eye contact longer than he expected. Heeseung felt that you were performing for him only, just like he watched you as if you were the only person on the stage. 

You both shared an unspeakable connection in between the play – you, keeping as professional as possible; while Heeseung tried not to run away from your sharp, intriguing gaze.

Despite your initial nervousness, especially without knowing if the mysterious guy would appear again, feeding your anticipation inside your chest as you entered the stage, it took less than minutes for your eyes to find him, sitting on the side, giving you a small, shy smile. 

You made no effort to contain your heartbeats increasing each time your eyes met, allowing your body to feel the wave of euphoria running through it, regardless of your hesitant thoughts about being unprofessional.

Whenever your character demonstrated happy emotions, with your lips curving into a smile, you searched for him as though you were smiling at him. Same thing when you sang some specific lines, searching from his sweet orbs following your figure already. Although the concept of the musical wasn’t necessarily romantic nor suggestive, there were some gaps you could use to your advantage, and you did. 

By the end of your last performance in Seoul, you smiled brightly and big at the crowd, thanking them alongside your crewmates, bowing and waving goodbye; the known sense of accomplishment flowing into your veins, now blended with the excitement for your next move.

As you walked your way out of the stage, before the big curtains fully closed, lights already dim in the stage but bright on the seats side, you searched once more for the man who had charmed you. He was also making his way out of the theater, your heart pounding in despair as if you were about to lose him.

But like you attracted him through your intense staring, he looked back directly at you. Boldly, you offered a shy smile, biting your lips hesitantly before grabbing your manager's arm and sneakily pointing out to who you wanted to meet backstage.

Heeseung’s heart raced as he watched the ongoing scene, mind unable to wrap a full comprehension about why you and some stranger were staring at him, even scanning his surroundings to make sure he wasn’t seeing things – like maybe you were looking out for some other person. Then he noticed you pointing and the other strange nodding, as if they finally understood your intentions, almost mouthering an “oh”.

Heeseung tilted his head, swallowing hard as a slight frown formed when he saw you vanishing behind the closed curtains, leaving him to deal with his puzzled brain alone. He blinked a few times, then shrugged to himself, putting his hands in his jacket’s pocket, even shaking his head trying to recompose.

As he took the exit direction with the rest of the people, a security guard suddenly stopped him by grabbing his shoulder, saying in a low tone. "Sir, you’ve been requested backstage."

Heeseung was unsure if he heard correctly.

"Backstage? Me?" He stammered, mouth slightly open and bambi eyes full of confusion. Did he do something wrong?

The guard nodded and motioned to him. “Follow me, please.” 

Heeseung legs felt like jelly following the random guard into the said backstage, a blurred motion of his surroundings as the crew passed by, some removing the props off the stage, many others wandering around, and then he recognized the actors from the musical talking in between themselves, loud laughters echoing through the small area, some with their stage clothes on.

Then he saw you.

Still wearing parts of your outfit, smiling radiantly while chatting with someone he made no effort to identify – his body perked up with the sight of you, his whole being drawn like a magnet. 

He barely noticed the guard was long gone by now, leaving him standing awkwardly with mingled feelings he couldn't figure out yet. Bewilderment was a euphemism to describe it. 

You seemed even prettier now than under the spotlight, shining on the stage. You seemed natural, although you still had makeup and pieces of your exaggerated royal costume on. 

As you sensed the intensity of his stare, you turned, eyes locking immediately with Heeseung’s. The spark he would often feel when watching you perform ignited again, hands trembling, heart painfully resonating loud on his ears as the whole world seemed to fade out when you started to walk into his direction. 

He was so in awe he didn’t notice you were hesitant, your movements appearing to be slowed down in his vision.

“Hi.” You said softly as you reached closer, biting your lower lip to suppress your excited smile, afraid of scaring the guy off.

Your gaze wandered his face, taking in his gorgeous features; adorable bambi eyes showing you an entire night sky full of stars, cheeks with a faint blush, cherry lips slightly parted. Unnecessarily attractive. 

If you paid close attention, you would perceive how his ears also were painted in a light shade of red.

“Hi.” He breathed out in an astonished way, a sweet voice that made your stomach do a flip.

“I’m sorry for bringing you here so suddenly.” You started, and although you felt a small heat in your cheeks, you didn’t broke eye contact. “I– Honestly, I was afraid of losing sight of you,” you grinned shyly. “I’ve noticed you in the audience for the past two days and today as well.” You explained, after receiving nothing in response. “I wondered what got you so invested,” and then you chuckled, forcely agreeing that your choice of words was enough to clarify – for sure it wasn’t, but you decided to deal with whatever consequences later. 

Heeseung blinked with the new piece of information that entered his brain, perplexed by how sincere you worded it. 

“You noticed me?” He could feel his heart faltering some beats and then fastening again, totally desynchronized. Gladly he could figure out something to say, since his throat felt like closing. 

“Yeah, quite hard not to when you look at me so intensely with your beauti– with your eyes,” you tried to sound chill and playful to ease things, making it less awkward. However, the way you spoke seemed a bit too flirty, not to mention you almost let a compliment slip out of your mouth, and he blushed harder, chuckling. 

“I didn’t mean to stare. I mean, you’re an actress of course you’re used to that, but I recognize I might have crossed the line,” he was strong in maintaining his eyes on you, but the way you were looking through your eyelashes, blinking slowly, so prettily right in front of him, broke down his confidence – in a good, amazing way. Everything feeling like a fever dream.

You giggled, loving how you were affecting him, just as much as he was messing you. Before you could say anything, he added with a small shrug.

“I just got captivated by you.” And he went back into locking his eyes with yours.

Now it was your time to get a bit flustered, still, you held it together just before reuniting all the forces you found internally to say your next words.

“You’ve crossed no lines,” you smiled. “And I’ve got captivated by you.”

You watched how his Addam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, the tension on his body loosening slightly, his timid smile spreading gradually wider as though your words unlocked something different deep within him. Somehow, you got even curious about what he could show you.

“May I ask your name?”

“Heeseung. Lee Heeseung,” he responded, offering you his hand. Your eyes followed the movement as you gave him a sheepish grin, grabbing his warm palm, the touch lingering enough to make your breath hitch.

“I’m Y/N,” you replied playfully, making him laugh, holding hands still.

His eyes turned into small crescents as he did so, his soft chuckle resonating beautifully in your ears. For some random reason, your heart started to beat faster, an interesting feeling spreading all over your chest, making you sigh.

“You were incredible up there,” Heeseung said after you both let each other’s hands go, blocking the awkwardness from establishing in between you two. 

“Yeah?” You raised an eyebrow and your lips curved into a smirk, knowing very much you did amazing, but a compliment from a gorgeous man like that easily ruined your confidence and contradictory, at the same time, it flattered your ego. “Thank you.” You said, right before analyzing you and Heeseung were standing in the middle of nowhere inside the backstage of the theater, so you gently grabbed his arm and dragged him with you to a corner.

Heeseung just followed you, in trance with your beauty, with your presence, with you. He also observed that your normal voice sounded quite different from when you were on stage. Endearing, if he dared to say.

As you reached a quieter corner, you let go from his arm and leaned into the wall, curiosity filling your eyes as you bit your lower lip.

“Sorry about that,” you said with a small, awkward chuckle. “Didn’t want us to block the path,” you nodded to where you were before.

“No problem,” Heeseung replied, still processing the sudden pull, the phantom of your warm touch still tingling on his skin. 

“So, besides me,” you said, crossing your arms in front of you, a hint of playfulness glinting in your eyes. “What did you think of ‘Anastasia’?”

Heeseung let out a chuckle, his tongue briefly sweeping over his lips as he took a moment to answer. 

“I loved every bit of it,” his voice dropped slightly and his gaze deepened. Although the known tenderness seemed to be mingled with it, there were more layers on it. “But I have to admit. You were my main focus.”

You giggled again. Second time in just a few minutes together. Heeseung actually felt like going to heaven and back to earth with the sound of your giggles, having to physically stop himself from his hands touching you, caressing your adorable blushed cheeks or landing on your hips.

“You flatter me,” you said sheepishly, uncrossing your arms. “But I’m sure I wasn’t that distracting, Heeseung.”

His name sounded so much more beautiful in your voice – the way you said it was magnetic, with a hint of sensuality and teasing, making his heart skip several beats.

“You definitely were, Y/N.” He opted to play in your game, taking a step closer, recognizing the change of the atmosphere between you two. 

You also were aware of the shift in the air, allowing your flirty, shameless part to shine brighter during the conversation. “I think I owe you a proper thank you for being such an attentive audience member.” 

Heeseung’s smile slowly faded out, his eyes softening and growing more intense, half-lidded with anticipation as you reached to hold his hand. 

“How do you plan on doing that?” He asked, husky voice tickling your stomach, his fingers sweetly playing with yours.

You gave his hand a gentle squeeze, your nervousness evident as you replied, “Would you mind waiting for me to change? It’ll take about an hour...” 

“Absolutely not,” he eagerly replied, eyes lightening up with expectation. Then he lifted your hand until his lips touched it and placed a tender kiss, as an unspoken promise he would wait for you. “I’ll be right here. Take your time.”

The soft press of his lips on your skin sent a shiver down your spine, the warmth spreading directly into your heart making your pulse race. 

Unwillingly, you released his brief, yet electrifying touch, offering a flustered grin and a reassuring nod while the anticipation grew within you. As you turned towards the changing room, you could feel the weight of his gaze lingering on your back, never once losing sight of you.

Yunjin met you there, more excited than you by your supposed date, to which you shut down right away saying it wasn’t a date. Despite your complaints, she kept her usual cheerful energy, helping you to undo your hairstyle as you removed your makeup, just to apply something more natural and less theatrical. You took a quick shower, as the heavy stage clothes and intense movements during the performance had left you feeling sweaty and disheveled.

Despite rushing your time, the fear that Heeseung might already be long gone was rapidly sinking in, so you hurried your steps out of the changing room when you finished your things, walking back to where you left him.

You let out a relieved sigh as you saw his figure happily talking with one of your friends, now with his back facing you.

“Oh, so you already met Jay.” You greeted them with a smile.

Heeseung averted his attention to your approach, your fresh sprayed perfume infiltrating his airways. He took his time to check you out shamelessly with his pretty bambi eyes filled with a perfect mixture of adoration and something darker.

“Yeah, he did.” Jay nodded with a smile, before leaning closer to whisper in your ear. “He seems pretty great, Y/N. Amazing choice,” and he wiggled his eyebrows playfully, walking away after saying a quick goodbye.

You felt your cheeks heating up with your friend's words, a faint blush decorating the area, to which Heeseung noticed right away. 

“You look beautiful.” He said softly, loving how casual you wore yourself; loose black shirt, baggy jeans and black converse.

Your natural look would always be his favorite – he wouldn’t admit that easy, but he stalked your instagram like crazy during the first days, so he was aware of a few things about your visual. However, no one prepared his heart to face it so closely, your beauty glowing even stronger now. 

“Thank you.”

He got startled when you kindly took his hand with yours, pulse racing with the sudden intimate touch. Nonetheless, he was loving every second of it, fearlessly lacing your fingers, paying close attention to your reaction. As he expected, you smiled sheepishly. 

“Would it be disappointing that my suggestion is a private bar near here, so we can drink and talk?” You hesitantly asked as you started to head towards the exit.

“Of course not.” Heeseung shot you with one of his sweet, reassuring glances. “I would go anywhere with you.”

You chuckled, unconsciously squeezing his hand as you tried to run from his flirty eyes. “You shouldn’t say things you can’t carry out.” You said, teasingly.

You both reached out of the theater using the back exit, avoiding the public so you could have some privacy. Being famous had its perks, but also a lot of downs, the lack of privacy being one of them. Nonetheless, you loved each individual part of it; since the beginning of your career you built a good community. In your relationship with your fans, you constantly reinforced yours and theirs boundaries. 

“You think I can’t?” He quirked an eyebrow, a sly smirk taking place on his cherry lips. You couldn’t help but focus on how Heeseung appeared even more handsome under the city’s nightlights, sharp lines being evidenced while the fresh breeze messed up his burgundy hair. “Should I prove you wrong, then?”

You got a bit taken aback with his sudden confidence, yet, you loved to see this new side of him blooming with you, allowing yourself to indulge in the game as much as you were enjoying the player.

“Well,” you began to talk. “You have three days before I head to the next city.” 

Although Heeseung’s chest tightened with your unexpected reality shock, reminding him that you were a busy woman, and traveling a lot was a enormous part of your work, he decided to enjoy your presence as much as you let him to, instead of overthinking about your soon departure.

Heeseung waited for you for months, he would wait for more if he needed to. 

His smile softened, still, his eyes sparkled by your subtle challenge. “Three days, huh? I’ll have to make them unforgettable then.”

You laughed, his words sending a pleasantly thrill in your core, excited with his promise. 

“Isn’t that too much pressure?” You raised an eyebrow.

“I like a challenge,” Heeseung shot back, playful voice laced with something deeper, almost daring. 

You giggled at his response, only now noticing he hadn’t let go of your hand since the beginning. Initially, you were apprehensive about the intimate touch, but Heeseung’s presence stirred a surprising sense of ease within you. His effortless way of breaking through your barriers made you feel comfortable enough to be yourself, dissolving your reservations with a natural grace.

You wondered if it was because he seemed genuine with his actions, since the very first night offering you such sweet glances and admiration eyes.

During your walk, you could see through his kind actions how respectful and caring he was, switching places with you so he was the one on the road side of the sidewalk, letting you walk in front of him whenever the space was narrowed by the flush of people, and mostly just by letting you to talk without interruptions.

Despite Heeseung’s ability of lowering your defenses, you still had some difficult thoughts about allowing it too much. A strong part of you were afraid of giving other people’s free access to your private life. You wished Heeseung could prove to you he was worth it. 

You reached the bar quicker than you expected, your relaxed chat filling up the walk as you discovered some of Heeseung’s personal traits and that he worked in the entertainment industry, being the one behind the scenes in the marketing area for some brands. Also you find out that his favorite hobby was to play on his computer during his free time and watch random youtube videos.

Since you knew the place, you chose a recluse seat near the corners, where no one could see you both having your intimate time together.

“I have to be honest,” Heeseung said after he sat down, facing you. “I’ve been in Seoul for God’s know how long, and I have never seen this bar.”

You laughed, grabbing the menu, your hungriness screaming in your stomach. 

“I love it here.” You smiled. “It’s very private and not many people are allowed to enter. Actually, if I’m not mistaken, it’s kind of an artist type of place? Like famous people and, I don’t know, CEOs come here.” You explained, Heeseung nodding to your words.

Heeseung was so thrilled with the whole experience of getting to know you better. He had always envisioned you as an idol-like figure. Your unreachable, distant persona, unallowing his mind to go further than watching you on stage. 

Ironically enough, the natural side you showed so far warmed his heart even more. Your bold humor, your confident actions, how your eyes lit up when you talked about your job and interests – everything working perfectly to make it harder not to fall for you.

Seeing you out of the actress aura, in a more relaxed and genuine setting, only deepened his fascination. The charm you once threw at him increased gradually as he felt his heart fluttering with your laughter and easy talk. 

You both got along like it was meant to be.

“I actually became interested in musicals because of you,” he admitted after some chatting, sipping the non-alcoholic drink he ordered.

“How come?” You asked, interested in the story, biting your pajeon.

One thing you loved about your job was to hear people’s stories of how they got interested in musicals. You’ve heard many, some because of their parents, some due to curiosity, others because of seeing it online. 

However, Heeseung’s one was a bit… Different from what you expected. 

“Oh,” Heeseung expressed with a shy smile, lowering his eyes to his glass, playing with the border of it. You cocked your head to the side, wondering why he went silent after your question. “I kinda…” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, the movement neatly noticed by you. “Fell for your aura, y’know?” He tried his best not to say he fell for you. “Your voice is amazing. And you looked so confident.”

You blinked slowly with a bright smile, loving to see his flustered self gathering all the resources in his body trying not to be so obvious, although his eyes never lied to you. Heeseung’s words and the way his body was reacting unlocked something bold inside your chest. 

You were about to speak, thanking him for his appreciation or whatever your mind could come up with, but he continued. 

“The first time I watched a musical was when you did Tangled,” Heeseung was doing his best not to look at your eyes, afraid of losing his inner battle and saying what he wasn’t planning to. “I was accompanying a friend that loves you.”

“Oh,” You said excitedly, a smirk on your lips. You raised your glass and clinked it with his. “Cheers to your friend then.” You laughed at his confused reaction, now finally looking at you with his blushed cheeks, unnecessarily adorable. “Thanks to him, we met. Isn’t that right?” 

A darker shade of red painted his cheeks as he smiled bashfully.

“I think we can say that, yeah.” He nodded, taking a good sip of his drink, bambi eyes following your movements. 

You leaned in slightly, eyes twinkling with what Heeseung read as mischief, making his heart falter some beats.

“So you’re saying you’re a fan of mine now?” You teased, biting your lip shamelessly as your eyes drifted to Heeseung’s cherry ones. The alcohol in your veins facilitating not only your words to come out, but your actions to be bolder. 

Heeseung got initially stunned by your not so subtle flirting, pulse increasing fast. Then he decided to get on your game, purposely wetting his lips just to watch your gaze tracking motion of it. 

“Definitely a fan of yours, Y/N.” He smirked, also leaning in, your faces close enough for your breaths to slightly mingle. 

“And you’re devoted too. Attentively paying attention to me…” You purred, tilting your head to the side as your eyes softened, totally switching the atmosphere between you too once more. 

Something about the way Heeseung was attractive, had a good talk and seemed to be loving spending that small time with you, was stirring with you, to the point of you moving uncomfortable on your chair because the way he seemed to be so kissable right now was driving you insane.

Heeseung had his lips slightly agape and glistening due to his recent sip, hooded eyes analyzing your expression with adoration and wanting, as if he wasn’t afraid of showing off his feelings anymore. You appeared to be more interested in what he could offer than he was captivated by you, allowing Heeseung to gradually become confident.

His gaze lingered on your lips, the corners of his mouth twitching into a sly smirk. 

“My car is parked in the theater parking lot.” He murmured, looking around before standing up just to sit on your side – you didn’t knew if it was purposeful, but the way he positioned himself  covered your figure, so no one would recognize you. “Can I take you somewhere more private?” He took the chance to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear.

You were flabbergasted by his sudden caring gesture, albeit intrigued by the boldness in his eyes. A small breath escaped your lips as your heart started to beat fast. 

“Somewhere more private?” You echoed, voice barely above a whisper. 

Heeseung nodded, now gently brushing his thumb on your cheek, heating the area.

“Only if you want to.” He added, his voice dropping down a tone, eyes locked into yours.

Your whole body got electrified by the amazing sensations Heeseung was making you go through. 

“Take the lead, pretty boy.” You voiced out as you moved your head just enough to plant a small, tender kiss on his palm. 

Your words were all it took for Heeseung to ask for the check, and didn't let you pay for your food and drink when he did so, despite your objections. You rolled your eyes, though your heart fluttered at the way he took charge so effortlessly, as if the thought of you paying for that night never crossed his mind. 

“I don’t think it’s safe for you to be around the theater still. Is it ok for me to go get my car and then I pick you up here?” As if he hadn’t been a gentleman enough throughout the night, he questioned before you could stand up, taking your privacy into consideration for his decisions. 

“Sounds great.” You answered, forcing your body not to overreact and your voice to sound as normal as you could. “But how do I know you won’t leave me hanging?” You questioned cheekily, though there was a hint of insecurity in your voice. After all, Heeseung could be the most captivating man in the world, but you had only known him for a few hours.

“You have to trust me,” he said, throwing you a quick cocky wink paired with a smirk as he made his way out of the bar, longing his gaze on you before disappearing from the main door.

Heeseung had no idea how those simple words and gestures affected you. Crossing your legs did little to calm the rush of feelings surging through your core. 

You sighed, grabbing your phone to message Yunjin about the change of plans. She was way more excited than you, making you laugh as you typed you probably wouldn’t sleep at the hotel with her that night. 

Anyway, you were also making sure someone in your circle of friends knew your whereabouts. Again, being famous had its downs, and dealing with creepy people was on the list as well. 

You waited sitting for a few minutes before going outside, since you didn’t wanted Heeseung to make the effort of turning off his car to announce he was waiting for you. Gladly, there were a small number of people outside, and you stood near to the security guard just in case. 

You spotted a black car pulling up in front of where you were standing after a while, the window rolling down revealing Heeseung on the driver’s seat with a small smile. 

“Hey,” your lips curved into a relieved smile and you opened the door to enter the car. 

Heeseung felt bad for being unable to do that for you since he had stopped in a traffic place where he couldn’t stop for too long. Instantly you sent your live location to Yunjin, just to be safe.

“I know I was the one who brought up finding a more private place,” he started, a bit uncertain. “But do you have any place in mind?” 

His question made you think for a while. Your hotel was out of question, since Yunjin was sleeping there too. 

“I don’t wanna take you to my place right away.” He added quickly. “Don’t get me wrong. I just don’t feel you would be as comfortable there…” He trailed off, glancing at you for a millisecond. 

“Because you know your place better than me.” You completed, quirking an eyebrow at him with a smirk tugging the corner of your lips. 

“Exactly.”

“Are you a stalker or just a perfect gentleman?” You asked with curiosity and playfulness. 

Heeseung let out a hearty, loud laugh, filling up the inside of his car as he ignored how his stomach did a flip about being a perfect gentleman in your eyes. 

“Neither, I hope.” He chuckled, looking at you warmly when he stopped in one red light. 

You smiled, enjoying how at ease you became around him, the blended seductive and playful atmosphere around you two building up the ideal scenery for you to fall for Heeseung. 

On the other hand, Heeseung wasn’t different. Slightly afraid of scaring you or making you uncomfortable, but still, loving the way you expressed yourself so vividly, making him laugh every second. 

“So… We’re going…?” He sweetly asked after your silence, waiting for your suggestion.

What Heeseung didn’t expect was to see your whole face lit up with seductive playfulness, the anticipation building up before you spoke, your velvety, low voice sending signals straight to his core, as your eyes drenched him in lust.

“Anywhere we can have a bed, Heeseung.”

Heeseung didn’t let you pay for the chosen hotel room as well, to which your body reacted instantly as the heat increased, your desire dripping out your eyes as you devoured him shamelessly. 

His impeccable manners were almost too good to be true, being such a gentleman during the night, leading the way, but only after your consent, after asking you, after you taking the decisions. He listened to your wants and found a solution easily, a characteristic you found extremely attractive. 

It was incredibly refreshing to find a man like him, so devoted to making you feel like a queen, allowing you to simply relax and enjoy yourself without you having to ask for it.

Now, however, you needed him to solve another problem, the one in which your arousal had left your panties dampened and you restless.

Seeing his charismatic interaction with the worker as nonchalantly doing the check-in, the smile after thanking them, the skilful hands grabbing his wallet, his eyes switching from tenderness to raw desire when landing them on you. Heeseung was clearly struggling to contain his eagerness to take you to an intimate setting as soon as possible. His restraintment was driving you wild, intensifying your anticipation.

How were you being so affected by that? Also, you weren’t one to hook up on your first meeting – not even calling it a date, since it was a rushed last minute type of situation. 

Then you remembered. Heeseung had built up the perfect atmosphere for you both since the very first day you saw him.

His beaming expression, eyes glued on you, showing genuine enchantment by your performance and now, you understood, by your beauty as well. You felt more than flattered to charm someone so hot and attentive as him. 

His easy going personality and the way he acted like a true man, demonstrating to genuinely care about you, made a perfect blend of your ideal type – you didn’t even knew you had one until now.

As soon as you entered the elevator, it took one simple glance from Heeseung for you to attach your lips on his, shivering at the sweet taste of his mouth as your hands searched for support on his shoulders. 

He got taken aback by your sudden decision, but didn’t hesitate to reciprocate your touch, eager for more since day one. Oh, he was in heaven by the way you were falling apart right in front of his eyes, because he, himself, was drowning in your presence since the beginning. 

His mannerism around you was flawless, how he positioned his hands respectfully on your waist instead of lower, making you smirk in between the rushed kiss, totally contradictory to how his tongue passionately searched for yours to deepen the touch.

There were no words being spoken at that moment, but so much was being vocalized through his hitched breath and your soft moans, the ones that made Heeseung’s dick twitch in his pants. 

“Fuck,” he groaned and threw his head back when you deattached your mouth just to kiss other parts of his exposed skin.

In no moment you wondered if it was a set up, because if so, Heeseung was a better actor than you. There was no way he was faking his reactions while your lips sucked the flesh of his neck vigorously, as if your life depended on it, not even caring about marking the area as you did so. 

Both of you shared the same thinking: the door needs to open soon, otherwise the elevator cameras would be filming something very intimate. 

Heeseung went back to kissing you, already addicted to your taste, sucking your tongue and lip fervently just to hear your sounds once again. You scratched his nape with your fingernails when you finally heard the sound of the door opening, both of you giggling in between the kiss since none of you decided to move away, stumbling your steps until you reached the room door. 

Heeseung positioned your back against the wall just to skilfully unlock the entrance, pushing you against the door to open and closing it back with his feet.

You took no time to appreciate the beauty of the room, eagerly waiting for the moment the back of your knee would hit the bed and you would finally have Heeseung hovering you the way you wished the most.

You removed Heeseung’s jacket and tossed it at some random place on the floor before he maneuvered your body when you reached the soft mattress, so you could lay comfortably – his strong grip on your thigh and hip sending jolts of excitement to your core as you gasped for air, but never once completely breaking the contact of his sultry, hot mouth against yours.

He wasted no second to position himself over you, the weight of his body pressing yours in an electrifying way, his lips only backing away to place rough kisses on your neck, nibbling your ear lobe as his fingers infiltrated your shirt to touch the bare skin of your stomach.

Your body reacted instantly with the amount of stimulus, arching into him, yearning more and more of his heated hands and mouth working wonders on you. Instinctively, your fingers tugged his beautiful strands of hair while pulling him down, closer, inciting Heeseung to continue his assault on your sensitive flesh. 

However, as your impatience grew, so did your desire.

“Heeseung…” You breathed out, panties already ruined by how wet you were.

“Hm?” He murmured, trailing kisses until he reached your mouth again, his hands still heating the area of your waist as he caressed it painfully slowly, giving you a rush of chills.

You kissed him back, then pushed him away by pulling his hair, searching for his now darkened eyes, filled with lust and a small hint of the usual tenderness towards you. You watched how his gaze switched between your lips, your eyes and other areas of your face, as if he was memorizing every feature of yours to keep them as a personal picture. 

“Don’t keep me waiting,” you whispered with your voice rich with desire, your heavy breaths mingling with Heeseung’s in an intimate way you didn’t expect to feel with him so easily.

He chuckled at himself, blinking slowly as he bit his lower lip, hooded eyelids demonstrating how far gone for you he already was, lost in his pleasure. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered back, planting a sweet kiss on each of your cheeks. “You just feel too good.”

And he wasn’t lying. 

The way your body reacted to all of his touches so far was driving him instantly to hell and back to earth, his own skin tingling with a hunger he never felt before just by hearing your small, beautiful sounds. Heeseung wished to stop time and have you like that for the rest of his life, even if it sounded exaggerated and premature. He developed feelings for you long enough to have his mind working in that way, yearning for every bit of you, with his sharp gaze catching all of your reactions as he always did.

“I want to enjoy every second I have with you.” Heeseung admitted genuinely. You noticed the top of his ears turning into a cute shade of red. 

“You can do that,” you reassured, downing your hands from his hair to his shoulders and then to his strong arms, almost moaning after feeling them tensing under your touch. “But please,” you pleaded firmly with a low voice, squeezing his biceps. “Don’t make me wait anymore.”

With a small nod, a sly grin and a brief peck on your lips, Heeseung sat on his knees, the hands once under your shirt just brushing slightly the area, glided slowly over your skin as he moved to undress the fabric off of your body. 

He searched for your gaze before moving forward. “Are you sure about that?” He had stopped himself mid-action for your consentment, and you couldn’t help but smile, finding adorable his respectfulness with you, despite the obvious shared intense, almost tangible, desire.

“Totally.” 

After your word he finally removed your shirt, leaving your upper body covered only with your bra.

You shivered under his lascivious gaze, devouring you shamelessly with a satisfied smirk. He looked drunk as he approached again, brushing his lips on your collarbone and then near your breasts, playing with it over the clothing piece teasingly, looking up at you with his big bambi eyes showing a faux innocence. 

The fresh contact of his mouth and tongue against new parts of your body made you arch your back again, closing your eyes to enjoy the sensation. You felt his hands working its way to free your boobs and when he finally did, you moaned in relief.

“Fuck,” he groaned with a small, attractive frown, as if he was mad with your beauty. “You look perfect.”

You fluttered your eyes open, catching a sight of how dedicated Heeseung was sucking your hardened nipple while his hand massaged the other, eventually switching sides to give both equal treatment, and you also caught him already looking at you, savoring each of your reactions.

Little did you know that while tasting you, he was also engraving into his memory those raw, genuine expressions, so different from the ones he had seen when you were on stage, acting. 

You managed to reach for the hem of his beige shirt, teasing to slide them off. He noticed right away your attempt and quickly helped you by sitting on his knees and undressing himself, revealing to your hungry eyes his slightly tanned torso, his muscles tensing as he moved to toss the clothing piece to the ground. 

Heeseung got shy under your thirsty gaze, but how could you look at him any other way? His body seemed flawless under the room’s dim light, broad shoulders, biceps and chest with just the right amount of muscles. Not to mention the silver chain necklace adorning his neck, which you found particularly attractive, and his gorgeously messy hair.

“You’re so fucking hot, Heeseung.” You murmured with sincerity, your fingers trailing over his arms, feeling the firm texture beneath your touch. 

The room appeared to shrink, the air getting thicker as your respiration accelerated with the view. The anticipation to feel all those parts pressing flush against yours grew, a thrill of excitement running throughout your body straight to your cunt. 

Heeseung acted out of instinct after your praise, as if upon realizing your desire mirrored his own, the carefulness, the gentleness he was cherishing to give you during the night instantly vanished just to be replaced by the raw yearning of being inside you. 

Of course he would still listen to your demands, there was a vivid part of him willing to give you the affection you deserved. However, by the way you cheekily smiled and how your gaze sharpened after him yanking his own jeans and then yours, he knew how you wanted it to happen.

Heeseung brushed his painfully hardened dick on your thigh as he reached for your mouth, kissing you fervently while one of his hands explored your clothed pussy. He moaned against your lips when you purposely slightly moved your leg to grace his cock with a bit more of friction, as a way of thanking him for rubbing your pulsing clit over your panties.

It was a shared intimate touch covering the visceral need of fucking you for good, his inner battle going on about how to treat you, since your non-verbal answer – lustful eyes and smile – didn’t meant much to him to be certain within his decision.

“Heeseung,” you moaned, grinding against the skilful fingers making circles on your clit, the fabric preventing you from feeling them directly on your pussy, making you annoyed. “I want you, stop teasing me.” You demanded, and instantly Heeseung moved his head to the curve of your neck, gently kissing it while pushing your panties to the side to start fingering you.

He collected a bit of your arousal on your slick folds, literally moaning just by the feeling of his digits sliding with ease on your pussy, pressing your entrance with one and then two, loving to hear your beautiful whimpers.

Heeseung supported himself with one arm just to watch your pleasant frown, your mouth slightly agape, your breath hitching, eyes fluttered shut.

“You look so fucking beautiful right now,” he admitted in a low, husky tone, sending shivers to your spine. 

You opened your eyes, a sly smile adorning your lips as you said. “Imagine how beautiful I’ll be with your cock instead of your finger, then.”

Heeseung’s dick twitched against your thigh with your words. You observed his eyes darkening even more, taking in the challenge as his life depended on it, barely giving you time to process him removing all the clothing pieces from both of you, offering the gorgeous view of his reddened and extremely hard shaft, tip dripping precum. 

Your mouth watered, but you ignored your sudden urge of sucking him, since your biggest want was to have that dick inside of you as soon as possible. 

You tracked his movements with your eyes, a low groan escaping from your throat as you watched Heeseung put on the condom and pump his length a few times. The vein of his arm popped due to the motion, making you wonder how hot he would look desperately touching himself, a thought you opted to keep to yourself for now.

“I hope you don’t hold back.” You provoked, quivering beneath his heated body as he positioned himself to enter you, supporting himself with one arm as your hands found its comfort on his shoulders. 

Heeseung looked at you with a raised eyebrow and a cocky smirk.

“I wasn’t planning to.”

His words only fueled the fire between you, and with a slow, deliberate motion, he aligned himself perfectly, his gaze never leaving yours. 

“You’ve set the pace,” he murmured, low voice dripping with desire. “Let’s see if you can keep up.”

You rolled your eyes and smiled as a response to his dirty and teasing words, a soft moan escaping your lips as he started to fill you up so perfectly. But Heeseung gave you no time to savor it properly, beginning to thrust deep and hard, yet agonizingly slow, as if he was messing with you right after your explicit request. The playful glint in his eyes made it clear how delighted he was by setting the rhythm, toying your pussy just how he wanted, enjoying a bit too much the show of the changes in your facial expressions.

“You feel so fucking good,” Heeseung sighed with a pleasant frown. 

Your walls clenching around his sensitive dick was driving him insane, the euphoria to fuck you harder and faster rising in his chest, albeit he did his best to control it because he had two goals that night. First, to experience you in every possible way, and second, to make sure you never forgot just how incredible he could be at it.

You wanted to curse Heeseung’s pace, but it would be a lie to say you weren’t enjoying every second of his slowness, how it allowed you to feel each inch of his cock deliciously sliding inside you, delaying your run towards your relief.

Heeseung attached his lips on yours while keeping the deliberated grind, a passionate kiss mingled with your soft moans and hitched breaths.

There was something about the way he was treating your body with such devotion, taking his sweet time to taste your mouth while feeling your pussy sliding on his length, gradually learning exactly how to satisfy you.

His hands caressed your skin with affection, sensing it shivering under his contact, then he shot you a playful look, repositioning himself on his knees as he grabbed a pillow to place it under your waist, opening and slightly lifting your legs, in a way to give him easy and full access to hit you deeper.

You whimpered by the instant amazing feeling of Heeseung finding your g-spot right away, his face lighting up with the new information you just gave him without uttering a single word besides his name within moans.

“F–fuck, Heeseung–” Your broken voice and the desperation in your eyes served as the final push for Heeseung to lose control and speed his thrusts, your knuckles turning white with your strong grip on the sheets. 

You let out a sequence of whimpers, groans, moans, whatever sounds you were able to make, entirely lost in your lustful pleasure, your whole body shaking on the bed as Heeseung frantically and intensely moved his hips.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I’d make your days unforgettable,” Heeseung’s husky, confident voice triggered a new wave of ecstasy throughout you.

You winced underneath him, fully unable to say cohesive words. Your mouth fell open, eyes rolled back right before fluttering shut within a frown. The lewd slaps sounds of him pounding roughly on your pussy making you completely dizzy, his urgent rhythm driving you close to the edge.

Heeseung’s breathing was heavy and erratic, filling the room together with your loud moans as he pushed you near to the brink of release, his hands squeezing whatever part of your legs he touched, your own hips unconsciously grinding to meet his rhythm. 

The knot on your stomach tightened gradually, and Heeseung’s pace became unsteady. The small piece of your mind that still worked correctly deduced Heeseung was just as close as you to his own climax, so you tightened your walls purposely and opened your eyes just in the right time to catch a glimpse of Heeseung throwing back his head, consumed by his pleasure; his flushed neck glistening in sweat, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he moaned, the fucking chain necklace dangling.

“Hee– close–” You tried to warn, you really did. But the whole moment got you overwhelmed in the bestest way possible. You barely had strength to think, let alone talk.

Heeseung snapped out of his blurry bliss with your voice echoing in his ears. His eyes searched for you right away, instantly moaning at the view of you, perfectly messy, falling apart, just for him to see.

He leaned forward, decreasing the distance between your torsos. Without a second thought, your hands roamed over his firm, strong arms until you reached his nape, pulling him into a sloppy kiss, as though your body naturally gravitated towards him, like a magnet.

Neither of you could keep on the kiss, Heeseung’s head falling besides yours as your fingernails scratched his back, the urge of your so close orgasm making you desperate. 

“Please–” You pleaded without much thinking, legs evolving Heeseung’s waist trying to help his erratic movements. 

“Come for me, yeah?” He murmured against your ear, holding back his own release just to feel your walls clenching him while achieving your orgasm. “Come for me like a good girl.”

And you did. Screaming his name, digging your nails on his skin, waving your body as the surge of your breathtaking climax rushed over it.

You felt Heeseung’s dick throbbing right before he filled up the condom with his release together with the beautifulest moan of the night, the one where he said your name lasciviously, hoarse and intimate in your ear.

Heeseung’s exhausted body collapsed on yours, his sweaty skin clinging to you and yet you gave no care. Your focus was on catching your breath, trying to ground yourself with your sight still hazy from the intensity of your climax. 

“Holy shit,” you managed to whisper as you kept panting.

“I’m sorry,” Heeseung immediately replied, a small hint of guilt hidden in his husky voice.

“For giving me the best orgasm of my life?” You breathed out, chuckling. The post-orgasm high made you feel like jelly.

He laughed. The sound warming your chest and also helping you to calm down quickly.

“Did I hurt you?” Heeseung questioned with concern, looking at you.

You shook your head in response and he smiled. Your hooded eyes followed Heeseung’s gorgeous figure, going quickly to the bathroom to discard the condom and back to the bed, laying down next to you.

“I wasn’t planning on going that hard with you at first, but–”

“Yes, you were.” You interrupted with a playful smile. “And I’m glad you did. It was amazing, Heeseung,” the compliment slipped out of your mouth with ease as you caressed his hair and then his face.

Heeseung let out what sounded like a relieved sigh, as he pressed a peck on your cheek, then the corner of your lips before sucking your lower lip and kissing you properly. 

“It was my pleasure, Y/N.” He whispered against your mouth, kissing you again with a sweetness that seemed impossible after what just happened, but you knew it was real, because he offered you the same tenderness since day one through his eyes.

You found yourself snuggling on his chest and he hugged you warmly. There was something in Heeseung's acts that exhaled intimacy in a way it scared you, knowing deep down if he kept treating you like that, you would inevitably grow attached to his presence. 

You got lost in your thoughts for a while, torn in between the warmth of his body touching you with care and the sinking feeling of his inevitable departure. Although Heeseung seemed to be an amazing man, nothing would stop him from simply leaving, especially when there was no mention of commitment from any of you or whatsoever.

Nonetheless, Heeseung's connection with you appeared to grow stronger each second you spent together, because his first words after the long silence were “Can I get your number?”

You lifted your head from his torso, a bit flabbergasted by his sudden, unexpected question. You had to blink a few times and watch his bambi eyes show you curiosity with your reaction to know he wasn’t messing around. 

“Sure. If you promise not to leak it out.” The only answer he offered you was his pinky for a pinky promise, to which you took in with a serious face. “You can’t break it, yeah?” And he laughed.

“Cross my heart, I won’t.”

The following three days felt like something in between a k-drama and a fever dream – too perfect to feel real. 

Heeseung had work during the mornings and the afternoons, meaning he couldn’t be with you the whole day – unwillingly, of course. To which you thought it was great, since it allowed you to hang out with Yunjin and Jay, and also to concentrate on your job, rehearsing for the next performances alongside your castmates, warming up your vocals with your teacher, re-reading the lines just in case. 

However, the anticipation tightened in your stomach with every buzz of your phone with a notification, heart racing reading Heeseung’s name on the screen. 

“I wanna see you soon.” “Can’t wait for tonight.” “Missing your pretty face, ngl.”

His simple texts did no good to help your inner battle, nor his perfect mannerism for caring about your health, your voice, your sleeping, the small things that sometimes neither you cared that much.

The fear of getting attached extremely fast to someone and having your heart broken was almost suffocating, and somehow Heeseung managed to wipe your thoughts away within every encounter.

There weren’t too many after the night you spent together, but each had a distinctive situation that deepened your connection.

Monday, he picked you up at your hotel after work for a small dinner at his favorite restaurant. You found yourself thirsting over his extremely good looking figure when he showed up in a simple, yet mesmerizing black button-down shirt with the first three buttons undone revealing a hint of his tanned skin beneath, and his usual heart-melting smile.

“Ready for tonight?” He asked you with a beaming face that filled your heart with warmth and a cocky grin that later on, led you to ride his dick until your legs burned after you both reached the chosen hotel for the night. 

You were nothing but astonished with how deeply invested you got in Heeseung, longing for his presence every minute. The chemistry between you both was electric, the sexual tension almost palpable pairing in the air, blended perfectly with the easygoing atmosphere you always shared. Heeseung fulfilled your desires easily, as though he was reading his favorite book – you – knowing every line by heart. 

The second time you met was in the middle the following day, when he decided to spend his lunch hour with you, sharing a meal as you casually chatted about everything. Heeseung had a comforting way of listening to you with softened and attentive eyes, nodding along, occasionally adding his own point of view with a relaxed charm. Not to mention how smart he sounded as he talked with his soft tone and how beautiful his laughter sounded when he genuinely enjoyed a joke. 

“I didn’t know you enjoyed cooking that much,” he remarked at some point, his eyes lightening up after you shared your hobby of experimenting out new foods just to get their recipes and try doing it by yourself in your kitchen every once and a while during your free time.

You had no idea connections could be developed so quickly with someone as you did with Heeseung, how your energies and personalities complemented in a way that made every interaction feel effortless, as if words didn’t needed to be fully spoken in order to understand each other.

Later the same day, Heeseung met you at night again. He timidly admitted he hadn’t prepared much for the evening, but ended up making you the happiest woman on the earth by driving you both to a dinosaur museum exhibition after learning your fascination with them.

As you explored the exhibit, your eyes sparkled with excitement, and Heeseung couldn’t help but smile at your enthusiasm. You animatedly explained the different species ignoring completely the small text next to every skeleton – Heeseung doing the same, since listening to your voice sounded way more interesting than reading.

Your tone raised with joy as you pointed out the massive skeleton of the stegosaurus, eyes gleaming with love, your big smile making Heeseung’s heart falter some beats. 

“You look so cute,” Heeseung said, chuckling softly, his hands hidden in his jacket’s pocket while tenderly watching you bouncing on your feet.

You beamed back at him. “It’s so interesting and cool to imagine those big boys walking on earth before us. Like, we are not literally, but somehow stepping on places they once stepped too.”

Heeseung’s gaze lingered on your glowing figure and at that moment, he recognized. He fell in love with you.

Not only for the talented actress on the stage, the amazing singer with an angelic voice, the famous performer who loved her fans with her whole heart.

Heeseung fell mainly for the genuine, happy, confident and warm woman in front of him. The one who easily sent chills through his spine just for laughing at his stupid jokes. The one who made the air thicker with her strong presence, just to stumble on her own legs and chuckle at it. The one who knew what she wanted and how she wanted. The one who secretly shared she was good at painting and handicrafts. 

He could spend nights in hotel rooms hearing your moans and pants, feeling your intimate touches, kissing you mouth and any other place on your body he wanted to, but nothing compared to the fulfillment feeling spreading inside his chest when seeing you so pure, with raw emotions like that. 

That night ended up like a date. He left you at your hotel and went home after kissing you slowly and tenderly at the entrance of the building, wishing you a good night's sleep and for you to take care.

It was your last day in Seoul before heading to the next city with the musical, and the bittersweet feeling weighed heavily on your heart. You were struggling with the drowning sentiment of leaving Heeseung behind, the idea of not knowing when, or even if he wanted to keep on seeing you made the lump in your throat hard to swallow.

Your insecurities grew heavier each second before the encounter. You hoped for Heeseung to come up with the sweet sorrow and necessary conversation first, since your messy, anxious thoughts did nothing to help you go through it without assuming the worst.

“Hi, pretty.” His sudden appearance startled you, drawing your gaze from the distant random point on the street you were staring at. “Sorry,” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to your cheek, his hands finding their comfort place on your waist, grounding you.

A smile spreads across your face, eyes brightening up with relief.

“Hi.” You greeted back, leaning to kiss him on the lips, pouring all the affection you felt into that simple gesture. 

You wished Heeseung could sense how deep you were falling for him, quickly becoming a vital part of your daily life in such a small amount of time.

“Are you okay?” He asked with concern, placing a sweet kiss on your forehead. “You seemed a bit oblivious.”

You shook your head, not only as a response to his question but to wipe away your confused thoughts. 

“I’m better now.” You said, which wasn’t a lie.

“Great,” Heeseung whispered with a smile against your head before kissing the top of it and then held your hand to walk you to his car. “I’ve prepared something different for today.” He said with a cheekily grin, the playful glint on his gaze making you squint your eyes, suspicious. He laughed at your reaction, then you quirked an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah?” You smirked, curiosity instantly replacing your melancholic inner thoughts.

“I hope you like it.” He kissed the back of your hand before opening the car door for you to enter.

The drive was calm, Heeseung eased your mind without even noticing he did. Just the smell of his cologne and his warm touches on your thigh whenever he stopped at a red light, and the habitual chatting that got you invested with ease worked perfectly to sooth you. 

At some point Heeseung nonchalantly revealed he was applying to switch to work remotely, and you genuinely cheered since for the last few days he complained about the amount of hours he had to drive, and the home-office modality helped him to have more free time. 

His own information faded out by himself in the following conversation as he changed topics, you barely noticed his sly expression whenever he glimpsed at your yapping figure, gesturing about how annoyed you felt when you had to do group work during your college. 

“What’s that?” Your eyes sparkled with the colorful atmosphere you were approaching, your whole body perking up as you watched some stalls passing by the window as Heeseung searched for a place to park.

Heeseung chuckled, drifting his eyes between the road and you, but not answering your question.

Then the realization hits. You shot Heeseung with one of your bright smiles, that got him almost giggling just by seeing it.

“You’re insane.”

“I thought it could be a good place for you to learn some recipes.”

And just like that, you fell even harder for him.

Heeseung took you to a cozy outdoor market filled with food stalls, a few street foods trucks and local artisans. The atmosphere was lively, with music playing in the background and laughter echoing around you.

As you stepped out of the car with his help, the scents of diverse foods flooded your airways and you almost groaned with pleasure, your stomach growling with hunger as your mouth watered. 

Heeseung held your hand the whole time you wandered from stall to stall, not even knowing where to start, but sampling everything from savory snacks to sweet treats, your senses dancing with the flavors and scents, doing some random love shots with Heeseung. 

He didn’t complained a second about the constant walking. To watch you lose yourself while tasting things, making pleasant frowns and doing little dances whenever you liked something, paid back any sore he would have to deal with on the next day.

Some people recognized you, asking for a picture to which you politely declined, and Heeseung instantly gave you a confused look, since you usually made time to give them a little attention.

You searched for a free table for you both to sit, and as you stared at the three delicious small dishes in front of you not knowing which one to prove first, Heeseung spoke up.

“Isn’t that your favorite?” And then he pointed to the tteokbokki, after reading your indecisive frown, biting his own food. “Start with this one.”

You looked up at him with shock, then your gaze softened. It was Heeseung after all, the man who paid attention to every detail of you. However, your still pulse increased, your cheeks heating. 

“Can I ask you something?” His voice broke the silence after a while again, and you nodded. “Is there a reason for you to refuse to take pictures with your fans today?” 

The question sounded curious, genuine at it most, free from the weight of any judgments. Heeseung was trying to understand your decision rather than impose his opinion on it.

“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable,” you explained softly, wiping your mouth with a napkin. 

He tilted his head to the side, brows furrowing. “How does that make me uncomfortable?” 

You shrugged, taking a bite of your corn dog before answering. “I don’t know. People who hang out with me that aren’t from my area often don't feel comfortable whenever I stop to talk to my fans.”

Heeseung raised his eyebrows, a bit taken aback by the revelation. Of course people had their rights of being uncomfortable with certain situations, however, being friends with you meant knowing your personality and how much you enjoyed those small interactions. So it sounded a bit odd to hear you say that.

“Well, I don’t mind at all.” He said with a gentle smile. “Actually, it’s sweet to see you interacting with them.” 

Your lips curved into a genuine smile at Heeseung’s reassuring words, especially because at some point he was a fan of yours, so to hear his mind on that conversation hit slightly deeper.

“Thanks, it means a lot.” You mumbled. “But if you ever feel awkwardly left out–

“No.” He shushed you with a portion of his food, shoving into your mouth with a playful laugh, making you roll your eyes and giggle.

The rest of the night went as comfortably as possible, filled with laughter and playful teasing moments. The thought of your departure on the next day haunted both of you, but you managed to brush away whenever your eyes met, the atmosphere softening again. 

After you finished eating and drinking, Heeseung guided you to a quiet, secluded spot near the market. It was a small lake in the middle of a park, where a few other couples shared intimate affection as well.

Heeseung wrapped his arms around you from behind as you held on the railing overlooking the water. He rested his chin on your shoulder, his warm and soothing embrace caused a heavy sigh to escape your lips, and tears began to sting the corner of your eyes.

“You know, it's always good to come back home.” You murmured, voice tinged with nostalgia while you admired the peaceful view. Gently resting your back on Heeseung’s chest, you added. “And it's always bittersweet when I have to leave.” Your voice got stuck in your throat, heart pounding in uncertainty for your following days. “It became so much harder to leave now, Heeseung.” You admitted with a trembling voice, the tears quietly slipping down your cheeks

You felt Heeseung’s sweet lips touching your neck to place a gentle kiss before he turned you to face him. Kind hands caressing your face, cozy eyes eveloping your words with warmth and understanding. You felt loved. And it was hurting so much.

Heeseung cleaned your tears with his thumb, pressing soft kisses to your eyelids afterward.

“We can find a way,” he whispered, his own voice failing to stay steady. “I’m too attached to you at this point.” He admitted with a shy smile. “I know I said I’d make your days unforgettable, but now I’m the one who is unable to forget you. And I don’t want to even try forgetting you.”

A wave of relief rushed your body, happy for being on the same page, glad that Heeseung listened to you, overjoyed he shared similar feelings. You sobbed, snuggling closer to his body in order to feel him more, burying your face on his neck, the scent making you cry even harder. 

Heeseung hugged you tightly, yet, gently, his arms involving you in a fond, safe bubble.

“I can visit you during my free time,” he said to reassure you.

“I’ll come to visit you too.” Your voice came out muffled due to your position, so you reluctantly pulled away from his embrace to search for his eyes. They were red, as if he was holding back his own tears. “I mean, I don’t live too far from here, the problem is my work–”

Heeseung silenced you by attaching his lips on yours, not wanting to hear your “but’s” and worries at the moment. He wanted to envision a good future for both of you, and also he was taking advantage to kiss you once more.

The shared touch was laced with an anticipated longing, slow and bittersweet, still full of affection. Your breath hitched while mingling with the soft sounds of contentment, hands exploring each other’s bodies, cherishing every inch before the inevitable departure of yours.

“I’m afraid you won’t get used to my work,” you whispered, relieving one of your biggest insecurities when Heeseung broke the contact to catch his breath.

“What do you mean?” He asked, slightly breathless, mind hazy from your kiss. God, he really wished you both managed a way to get back together, if not he would go insane without your sweet lips.

“It’s a demanding job, as you know.” You explained, playing with his ear lobe. Heeseung closed his eyes, leaning into the touch. “I’m always traveling, I’m always going to places, constantly on the move… Even visiting can be difficult.”

“I know,” he replied softly, still not exactly understanding your full point. Yes, he would miss you, but he was sure it could be managed.

Despite, from the start he knew you were a busy woman, barely having time to yourself as you told him a few times. And he was willing to adjust some things in his life if that meant having you by his side. 

Heeseung didn’t said anything more, making you wonder. Would he back off after all of that? Or that meant he was fully devoted?

“And it doesn’t bother you?” You asked. 

“No,” he replied sincerely, opening his eyes just to lock them onto yours, as he brushed a little strand of hair from your face before he cupped one of your cheeks. “It’ll not. If you promise you’ll always come back to me.”

And you would. After all, by the end of the day, all you could see was his eyes only.

Heeseung grew attached to watch you. Not only when owning the stage and captivating the audience with your talented acting skills, but in any other moment as well.

His eyes followed your every move, from the moment you frowned while waking up to the moment you fell on his arms, panting after him fucking you hard.

Yeah, you both managed ways of getting back together, with his now remote work, traveling around with you became easy. He missed his friends every once, and that led you both to constantly go back to Seoul and spend some days visiting, especially to see Jake and Sunoo, who freaked out when he discovered – through instagram! – his friends were dating one of his biggest inspirations. 

Now, in your brand new purchased shared apartment, Heeseung eyes tracked you wetting your lips while humming the melody of your upcoming musical, while doing some work on your computer. It was a routine he definitely could get used to.

And as always, you felt the sweet weight of his gaze, smiling even before searching for him.

“What?” you asked, laughing at how Heeseung positioned himself beside you on the couch; his cheek resting on his hand, elbow propped on the armrest, as he shot you a lovestruck expression – soft smile and tender eyes. 

“I love you.” 

Months ago, those words would have taken you by surprise.

You remember vividly how flustered you became, heart racing, stuttering on your own words, unable to cohesively say anything back. Heeseung joked about how an amazing actress managed to lose composure and not talk like that, and after you slapped his shoulder playfully, you kissed him passionately, mumbling what could have been a ‘I love you too’.

This time it didn’t surprise you, still, left you momentarily speechless. You would never get used to the electrifying wave washing over your body whenever you heard Heeseung declaring his love for you.

Just like you always did, you felt the heat rising to your cheeks under his intense gaze. Closing your computer, you leaned closer, settling yourself comfortably on his lap.

“I love you too, Hee,” you replied softly and sincerely.

You smiled, before kissing him.

Heeseung’s embrace was your heaven. Heeseung’s lips were your hell. And in between that, he kept his eyes on you. Always.

[dduane]

Hi Diane!!

You answered an ask just recently wherein you talked about how the Writer Brain often is continually working "behind the scenes" in ways that don't necessarily manifest as words on a page. As someone in the midst of two year (and counting) writing hiatus, this was such a helpful reminder. I'm becoming a mature enough writer to recognize when I'm simply too exhausted to enjoy the the fun parts of writing, and to trust that the magic will come back when I'm ready for it.

The very next day, because OF COURSE it was the very next day, you won't be surprised to hear I had a revelation. I was playing a video game that has nothing to do with anything in my writing world, when a full and complete fix to a plot problem I *hadn't even realized I'd been having* hit me like a truck.

It was a beautiful moment. The whole third act outline changed into something emotionally coherent. And my guess, based on paying attention to your writing advice for some time now, is that my brain was secretly working on this plan the whole time. Even without going near a keyboard for ages. Maybe even while I was at work, or parenting, or sleeping.

That it happened during a moment of relaxation can't be a coincidence. I'm still not ready to return to writing, but when I am I'll have a reliable outline to work with, as well as a good deal of renewed excitement.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us so freely! We are so lucky to count you as a member of our community on this hellsite (affectionate). Thanks for being here :)

For whatever help I may have been—because you and your brain are plainly managing this perfectly well—you're absolutely more than welcome. :)

A continuing difficulty for a lot of writers these days, old or new, is that many of us are embedded in cultural matrices that insist that if something's not working, you should immediately do something about it to fix it. The pressure to Do Something about whatever's not functioning is incessant. (Just look around, for examples close to home, at all the advice on dealing with writer's block. Do this! Do that! Don't do this, do something else!... ad infinitum.) There's not a lot of acceptance of or even interest in advice that centers the idea of not doing anything: of, in fact, consciously and deliberately, doing nothing.

It's a problem, because such cultural mindsets too routinely come to equate any form of "doing nothing"—even simply resting, ffs—as a form of failure. You gave up, you stopped fighting back, you surrendered, you're a loser! ...And people stuck in this way of thinking, even if they briefly try relaxing and letting go, tend to abandon it too quickly, well before it has a chance to work. Then they wander off muttering about how relaxation is a waste of time, they just need to work harder, fight more, keep banging their head into that wall until the wall gives...!

(sigh) It's frustrating to watch... and to be caught in. Don't think I don't occasionally stumble over/into this old calcified mindset myself, and have to remind myself to step back, sit still, be quiet and wait. Or to just go do something else, something as non-writing-adjacent as possible, for short periods. (It would profoundly embarrass me to have to admit how many useful realizations I've had while standing over the sink and doing the dishes. It's a lot more congenial when these insights arrive while cooking: but you don't get to pick and choose.) :)

Also: the realization that this solution happened for you while doing something recreational is extremely useful. Because the word can sometimes mean re-creation literally, as a refreshment or restoration of a malfunctioning, injured, worn-down or dog-tired mental or creative state. Which is why we need play... and the older and more "adult" we get, the more we need it. We need, literally, to recreate ourselves.

So just keep doing what you're doing. Or not-doing what you're not-doing. (snicker: this is veering toward the somewhat Zen.) Whatever: keep it up. :)

[onsomenewsht]

All these people think love’s for show but I would die for you in secret

About when she’s got a smile and you got impatient

》 Leah Williamson × Reader

》 words count: 1.7 k

》 soft launch [verb, specialized]: to make a product, service, or business available or open for the first time, but only to a limited number of people at first

Being in a private relationship when you’re a public figure is even funnier than it sounds. And it sounds pretty funny as it is.

“You’re overthinking it”, Leah says, even if she knows better than to tease who’s literally feeding her.

You don’t bite back but keeping the plate slightly out of reach is a clear enough answer.

She smiles.

Oh, the way she lights up your day when she smiles at you.

You and Leah aren’t much for sharing your lifes on social media.

She’s been pretty much traumatized by the immense and not-really-that-unexpected attention after leading her national team to an historic tournament win. You’ve been scolded enough times by your agent to take your online enthusiasm down a notch.

So, your relationship flowered from two friendly teammates - who happened to share a room after a worth to be celebrated win - to an overly in love couple - who barely manage to store that many jackets in a four door closet.

You both understand the importance of some privacy to grow a love so beautiful yet so fragile, also not really caring about the outside world’ hot takes.

But one year of unplanned dates, dances around the kitchen waiting for delivery and shared stories in the middle of the night are a lot to keep just between the two of you.

Your teammates are way over your not-so-discreet looks during practice and your constant touch, the skipper never been one to shy away from a teasing kiss or wandering hands and you never back down an opportunity to make your friends regret every single life choose ‘til that very moment.

“We’re having a good time, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are”, Leah raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

Oh, the way she lights up your mood when she challenges you.

“Such a cute moment to share with our loved ones, isnt?”

Leah looks around, the pasta dish shared in your kitchen island definitely counts as a cute moment for her. Sure, the fact you both are just in oversized t-shirts adding points to her case. Or yours, she’s not sure yet what point you’re trying to make.

“You want to share this?”, she gestures at the scene with a smirk, “We eating undercooked pasta in our underwear at unholy hour?”

“Yes, I want to share us having a wonderful time and perfectly cooked pasta”

Her blonde head tilts studying you, thinking it’s more about the fact you’re looking at her like she’s the reason why the sun rises every morning.

You’re feeding her, Leah’s own hands way too busy caressing her girlfriend’s outstretched legs to bother with food. And you can see her nipples through the overworn t-shirt of yours she’s on.

It's definitely about the nipples.

“What if I die tomorrow and no one knows I managed to win you over?”

“That's a way too dramatic turn, even for you”, but then she cracks up and you sure will die happy if this is how you meet your maker.

Oh, the way she lights up your home when she laughs at something you said just for the sake of making her happy.

“What? Life is unpredictable and McCabe is getting more aggressive with the age, I don’t know how much long I still have”

“And your main concern is the world knowing you won me over?”

"Of course not, my sunshine", you reach toward her, brushing your lips so close to hers she can already taste the wine you paired with the pasta. “My main concern is not being able to survive a tackle by Katie, even dead I have a reputation to keep and it’s your duty to defend my honor ‘til your own grave”

It is Leah who is closing the distance now, and even if you wanted to keep the jokes coming - still making sure she does make up a great story about your noble sacrifice if needed - Earth stops running around the sun when she kisses you.

You’re whipped and she’s honored, truly grateful for the opportunity to learn all your ways to show her and the people you care about how much love one can gift the world with.

“I love you”

“Why are you looking at me like that, Williamson?”

“I love you”

“Now you’re scaring me, are you the one dying?”

She knows you, she knows humor is your way to deal with comfortable and uncomfortable situations alike. She knows you’re always up for a good laugh, but she also knows you never say things just for the sake of a joke. Your words are always meaningful, your retorts always smart enough to look effortless.

“You wanna make some big announcement?”, Leah asks with a smile that’s held back by the seriousness behind the question.

“No, but I don’t want to hide us”

“We don’t hide”

“We don’t keep a secret, but sometimes we do hide”

It takes her a moment, but she gets what you’re saying. Your relationship is not hidden per se, not a secret and never denied.

But sometimes the two of you have to delay your greeting and wait for more private settings, or think twice before posting anything on your social media accounts. Sometimes she needs to withhold the instinct to rush to you and be the first to celebrate you for an incredible and game changing goal. Sometimes you need to hold back yourself, walking a step behind with your head down just to refrain from taking her hand in yours.

Usually, you two don’t even realize you're actively hiding the deep love no speculative-but-surprisingly-high-quality video edit can really capture. It happens regardless and it’s starting to make you feel dejected, Leah notices.

“Then we don’t”

You look up, stopping playing around with the now cold pasta. Your girlfriend’s hands are still on your legs, her soft touch never hesitant or refrained despite the tricky topic.

“What are you saying?”

“You know what I’m saying”

Your lover lights up again, the world lights up again.

She’s smiling a lot tonight, she thinks. She’s also perfectly aware of the permanent grin on her face whenever you’re around. She’s whipped too after all.

You wait for her to elaborate, so she does.

“I’m saying we do whatever we want whenever we want, and we share what we feel like sharing about our lives together”

“Whatever we want?”

Leah is pretty sure you have some very specific images in mind, you’re always taking photos of everything and everyone. Needless to say, your girlfriend is by far your favorite subject to capture.

Pictures of her sleeping with face masks on, or her frown while she’s playing board games and not necessarily winning, or when she’s trying outfit after outfit to make sure she’s dressed up for the occasion. Pictures of her taken during intimate moments, not necessarily suggestive but definitely meaningful given the nature of your relationship and the level of trust in each other.

She’s confident you have several photo albums of her in your phone.

You do.

That’s why when you reach for the long forgotten device, putting on a show of taking as many candids as you can, Leah happily plays along. Your shenanigans get a more creative direction, let's say, and some of the photos are taken just for the two of you to admire.

~

“We can soft launch”, she insists hours later, archives improved and clothes forgotten.

You’re lying on your back with her head placed comfortably on your thigh, sheet all over the bed. She can see your pensive gaze, despite you being at ease.

“Who educated you on such slang?”

“Beth but that’s not the point”

“It clearly is, she did the soft launch thing all wrong”

The hand you have between her blonde locks stops its ministration when Leah bursts out laughing like you just said the funniest thing possible.

“Let’s show them how it’s done!”

~

The next couple of days you both shared a bit more on your social media pages, nothing too revealing but enough to give your agent anxiety.

She posted a few photos on her stories, like a restaurant set up that’s most definitely a date and you from behind preparing tea in her kitchen in the middle of the night. Surprisingly you take a more subtle approach, posting teasing pictures but nothing really telling, even if Leah’s in most of them.

It lasts three days, by the end of which you’re even more pissed than before.

“I genuinely can’t believe it! You’re shoving her during practice and you two are basically married, but you post my hand on your thigh and I’m a really supportive friend”

The team’s admin posted some training shots in the morning and the vast majority of the comments are about the cute interaction between your girlfriend and Lia, the two always messing around a bit.

You’re mostly joking but the English capitan is aware that the constant rumors and the oversexualised comments she often receives upset you. Not sparked by jealousy, rather by the lack of respect towards her and her personal life.

“Relax, my love, they comment about us too”

She’s holding you from behind, her hands on your sides and her freshly washed hair leaving wet spots on your shirt. She lays her chin on your shoulder, trying not to giggle too much at some unhinged comments she can read under the posts you are scrolling.

“The way she looks at Leah: same”, you read out loud, faking annoyance. “Oh, that’s enough!”

You must have spotted something that snapped your sudden reaction.

Your lovely girlfriend stays unfazed in her position as you determinately search for a particular photo, type a caption, then stop to silently wait for her approval.

Leah barely nods, but you feel her smile and then her lips on your skin when you post it.

A picture of the two of you looking at each other with heart shaped eyes, dressed up to the nines since it was a snippet of a date on your summer vacation.

Her black attire was to die for and you sure died in some way. The blonde remembers in vivid details your care and attention, slipping it under her with such reverence later that same night.

She shivers, comments already popping in.

“You'd have tagged me”

“They know who you are”, your grin getting bigger by the seconds as you lock your phone and toss it away muted.

You turn around in her arms, and even if you know Leah’s most definitely sporting one of her best smiles, when you look at her it’s life changing.

Oh, the way she lights up your entire existence when her love for you it’s clear on her face.

You pick her up by her thighs, holding her as close as your bodies physically allow.

"Impatient", she teases.

“I’m gonna show you impatience”.

~

fine.

[zer0pm]

Imagine Luis using the communicator to call you. Constantly.

“Luis? What’s your status?”

“No bueno, my friend. I’m in a lot of pain.”

Your head immediately snaps up at attention to these words. Leon, who answered the call as the device was on his person, shares your look of alarm and nods in understanding to prepare to come to the Spaniard’s aid.

“Where are you?” Leon inquires, maneuvering the communicator between you two so that you can listen in as well. “How serious are your injuries?”

The man on the other line groans, “I’d say pretty serious. Severe, even.”

Filled with worry, you were about to join the line of questioning until his voice cuts you off before you could utter a sound.

“After all… how does one recover from a lonely heart?”

Leon squints, “…What?”

“I am separated from my light- mi luz! Forced to wander these terrifying, dark corridors alone without any source of warmth and comfort!” In the tiny screen, you can see the man waving his arms around with an exaggerated pout on his face. He looked like he was rehearsing a scene of a play or something. Luis notices your face on his end and smiles widely before releasing an over-the-top gasp and calling you by name. “¿Dónde estás, mi luz? I am suffering without you.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose, doing your best to choke down the laugh that was threatening to erupt from your chest. Before reuniting with Leon S. Kennedy, your partner in the mission to retrieve Ashley Graham, you were running around the village with Luis Serra, a man you happened to come across while fighting hordes of infected villagers. Initially, you were suspicious of him, but he proved himself to be a man of good character, chivalrously watching your back and using his intimate knowledge of the area and the terrors that creep within to navigate you both through multiple dangerous encounters.

You and he became close quickly, forging a strong bond during your time together, made easy with the man’s charisma and light-hearted nature. Even in the constant face of danger, Luis would twist the dark ambiance to his playful tune, often making you the muse of his antics if not for the sole purpose to tease a smile upon your face. So what he was doing now was not at all surprising, but the confused and incredulous look upon Leon’s face was priceless.

Just as you were going to point out that it hasn’t at all been that long since you two have separated ways so that you can help Leon relocate Ashley, the blond agent beside you drops the call with a push of a button. He then throws an inquisitive glare your way.

“What?” you ask.

“Do I dare even ask what the hell that was?” Leon shoots back.

You ponder his question for a moment before answering, “Honestly, it’d save you the headache if you didn’t.”

With that, Leon drops the conversation with a sigh before taking the lead to move on. Little did you both know, it wouldn’t be the last time Luis would call.

The second time he calls, he asks how you and Leon were progressing. And just like the first time, Leon answers, reporting that you were busy cracking at a difficult door puzzle while he kept watch.

“Whoever designed this castle was a real asshole,” the agent comments.

“Agreed,” you sigh. “And whoever took the time to reset these puzzles is an even bigger asshole.”

Luis’ voice chimes in through the static. “Perhaps I can be of some assistance? I am a brilliant man, afterall. Let me have a look, por favor.”

Thinking nothing of it, Leon walks over and faces the screen of the comm to you and the door so that Luis can see what you are working on from behind before you reset the puzzle. You then explain how you got stuck and your theories on what the possible solutions could be. While doing so, Luis hums after each pause, his face showing that of absolute concentration. After you finished and a moment of considerable silence passes, you engage him.

“Well?” you ask. “Any thoughts?”

Luis lifts his hand from his stubbled chin, “Just one.” He points at you, his voice lowers to a husky growl.

“You look particularly ravishing from this angle.”

You were grateful that Leon hung up before Luis can see the blush burning hot on your cheeks. After some time, you managed to solve the puzzle and proceed with the mission although Leon was none too happy with the Spanish man for wasting both of your times.

The third time the communication device goes off, you offer to take it from Leon.

“It’s probably him again. Why don’t I handle this one?”

“No,” he denies, shaking his head. “I still don’t trust him and you don’t need the distraction.”

Instead of being offended at your partner practically casting your professionalism into doubt, you reason with him. “C’mon, Leon. It could be serious this time.”

“Highly doubt it.”

However, more time passes and the device is still beeping. The sound echoes off the walls in taunting pings to the gnawing point where it was practically imprinted into your brains. When Leon couldn’t handle it anymore, he sighs in defeat and pushes the button. Again, he doesn’t hand it to you and greets the dark-haired man himself with an irritated frown.

“This better be good.”

“Depends on your definition of “good”, mi compadre.” Luis too wore a grimace, his voice void of his usual humor. “I’ve relocated one of my hidden caches and uncovered the suppressants you will both need to slow the growth of the plaga within your bodies.”

“Well, damn. That sounds like great news to me.” A wave of relief washes over Leon’s face, probably because Luis finally shared something worthwhile. “So what’s the catch, then?”

“Catch is- there are two different kinds of doses. One dose is a simple needle injection. That will be for you, Leon. Pero, the other…” he trails off, eyes casted with a faraway look while the adam’s apple in his throat bobs. Whatever was on his mind seems difficult to swallow let alone speak aloud.

Curiosity evident in Leon’s expression, he prods him further. “What is it, Luis? Is the other dose dangerous to administer?”

“It can be. The application process has a high probability of being rather intensive. For both the receiver and the administrator.”

You join in, “What do you mean?”

It was only until the words left your mouth did you realize what you just waltzed into.

Upon hearing your words, Luis’ expression changes like day and night, the somber frown flipping into a mischievous smirk. “It is nothing you can’t handle, mi amor. I’m certain. Only that it requires you and I to exchange bodily fluids in-“

Never before have you seen Leon hang up so fast, his hand covering his beet red face. You couldn’t tell if it was out of embarrassment, disgust, or fury for falling for the Spaniard’s antics once again and concluded that it was all at once.

“Let’s… ugh… Let’s just keep going.”

You didn’t put up a fight at the order, fighting off your own set of emotions that stirred from Luis’ shameless teasing. However, not even five steps were taken and the walkie talkie beeps. Leon was livid.

“For fuck’s sake, what now?!”

“Catch you at a bad time, Leon?” A deadpan feminine voice comes through the comms and you swear Leon turned several shades paler.

Leon’s “informant” tipped you off on Ashley’s last sighting and you two wasted no time moving to catch up to her. After fighting another wave of plaga, tensions were running high. So when you two were rushing to navigate around the courtyard, the communicator goes off once more and that became the last straw for Leon. Already fuming, he waited to see the Spaniard’s face on the device before verbally popping off.

“Luis, I swear to god. If the reason you’re calling is to talk about how miserable and lonely you are or make some dumb comment on a certain someone’s assets, I am going to literally throw this walkie talkie off the ramparts,” Leon snarled, his frustration unrestrained. “So I dare you, Luis, I fucking dare you to speak. And it better be god damn important!”

For a moment there was only white noise, then a familiar thick accent finally comes through.

“… I was going to say that I can see you two across the courtyard,” the man reports candidly, “and there’s a swarm of monsters coming in at your three o’clock.”

Sure enough, a horde of giant mutated insects were zooming towards you and Leon. Amidst the countless gunshots and death cries of your enemies, you can hear your fellow agent beside you cursing colorfully to the high heavens as well as the sound of hysterical laughter further in the distance.

When it was all over, the communicator was beeping again. Leon didn’t even bother answering. Instead, he tosses the device over to you without so much as a word or making eye contact. The brief exchange almost made you laugh as you press the button and are greeted by a familiar handsome face whose grey eyes lit up instantly at the sight of you.

“I think you broke the poor man,” you say with an amused, pointed look.

The expression you see in the tiny screen was that of feigned innocent confusion. “¿Perdon? Whatever do you mean? I thought I did my due diligence in warning you two of imminent danger.”

Your ears pick up an irritated groan followed by harsh stomps moving away from your position. You can practically imagine smoke coming out of the blond’s ears as he created distance, muttering an excuse that he is going to check the perimeter. If not for your respect for the man, you would have rolled over laughing.

Shaking your head, you return your attention back to cause of your partner’s grief. “Alright. Now that’s it just the two of us. What did you really want to say to me, Luis?”

“Nada,” the Spanish man shrugs, throwing you his signature charming grin. “Just wanted to hear your voice.”

[scuderiasundays]

the one where the stars aligned

summary: 3 am flashbacks to packed pizzerias, comfortable silences, and post-race kisses + a little insta au at the end 💌

words: 871

a/n: writing fics is my form of self care. i’m seeing a lot of lando love so i thought i’d whip something up! tagging @vamossainz55, @sainzcaleruega , @monzabee, @ssainzz, @holllandtrash, and @diorleclerc just because. feedback appreciated as always. hugs and kisses 🫶🏼

"Come on, put down the melatonin gummies and lend a hand," Lando's voice beckoned, as he motioned for you to join him. It was Lando's brilliant idea to start building shelves for his prized helmet collection at the ungodly hour of 3 AM. Despite feeling drained from a full day of traveling, jet lag refused to let either of you rest. As you took in the sights of Monaco in the dark, your mind couldn't help but picture everyone sound asleep in their beds—a stark contrast to the state you and Lando were in, blasting Burna Boy and diving headfirst into a DIY date night.

You plopped down beside him, and he handed over some screws and posts. To be honest, you had no clue what you were doing, so you just sat there, watching your boyfriend hum along and niftily arrange the pieces. There was a particular air about Lando when he was focused: his slightly creased forehead, furrowed eyebrow, and bitten lip. He caught you midthought and playfully said, "Less staring, more doing," as he handed you the instruction manual.

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation or the fact that your two-year anniversary was coming up, but you found your mind aimlessly wandering. Lando had entered your life at a time when you least expected it. It all began on an evening out in London, which your friends now playfully referred to as "The One Where the Stars Aligned."

You had found yourselves scrambling for a last-minute table at a quaint pizzeria one of you had discovered on TikTok. The restaurant, a charming hole-in-the-wall, was filled to the brim with lively conversation and the aroma of freshly baked pizza. Your waiter hastily directed you to a 10-person table at the heart of the bustling scene, disappearing before any of you could say a word. The long table was already occupied by a few guys who looked to be your age. Reluctant but ravenous, you found yourself settling beside one of them. Throughout the night, you and your mystery man talked nonstop, effortlessly volleying back and forth. The rest, as they say, was history.

There were countless reasons you loved your boyfriend, but a few things really stood out. Lando's attentiveness was unmatched. If a conversation made you uneasy, he would pick up on it and hurry to your side, ready to rescue you from any situation. If he noticed a Netflix show had you on the verge of tears, he would edge closer to you on the couch and quietly slide over a box of tissues. If you were lost for words to congratulate him on an impressive drive, he would kiss you simply to shut you up.

Even though Lando's job required him to exude confidence and poise in public, behind closed doors, he was just as much of an introvert as you. Whether sitting side by side in his driver's room, with him editing photos and you buried in a book, there was an ease to the silence that never felt uncomfortable. It was your way of recharging your social batteries, soaking up each other's presence without the need for constant conversation.

You had also grown to love the people Lando surrounded himself with. He was big on quality time and always sought to spend as much of it with you as possible. Initially unsure if his friends would appreciate your constantly hanging around, you were pleasantly surprised when they warmly embraced you into their circle. "I'm just glad he's found someone else to bother instead of P and me," Max jokingly said during a double date at the driving range.

Your bond with Flo had also grown stronger, as you joined her for one-on-one horse-riding lessons at the stables. She would share stories about little Lando, granting you intimate glimpses into his past that, without him knowing, made you love him even more.

Lando went above and beyond to introduce you to the other drivers too. You often third-wheeled on Carlando outings, intervening when they bickered like an old couple. On some nights, he’d arrange actual double dates with Carmen and George, the three of you trying but always failing to convince Lando to try some sushi.

You were the first person he FaceTimed when Daniel had confided he’d be back on the grid sooner than expected. “If this leaks, I’ll know who to hunt down,” he giggled while munching a chicken quinoa wrap, his staple pre-race meal.

Lost in reverie, you hadn’t even realized you’d zoned out until Lando waved his hands frantically in front of you, snapping you back to reality. The shelves were now magically built, showcasing the colorful helmets he’d raced in and swapped over the years.

“What were you thinking about, babe?” He asked as he stepped back to double check that the shelves were even.

“Just how much I love you,” you replied as you gave him a peck on the cheek.

If you could be anywhere in the world, you’d still choose to be right there with him, watching the sunrise paint your apartment the warmest shade of orange. You closed your eyes and silently prayed that you and Lando would always be this close, forever and ever.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

liked by ciscanorris1, alex_albon, and 41,113 others

landonorris: a few of my favorite thingssss

yourusername: not even pressed danny ranks higher than me! he’s back like he never left 🙌🏼

danielricciardo: bisous

landonorris: nobody compares to you, baby!!

flonorris1: don’t have too much fun without me, lovebirds 🧡

heidiberger_: what a flight! let @yourusername and i know if anyone wants to join our “my boyfriend has a distinctive laugh” club

yourusername: more like the “i couldn’t get any sleep because my boyfriend kept cackling” club 🫠

fan2: the wags are spilling tea and i ADORE them

barbiethemovie: she’s everything. he’s just ken.

mclaren: in lando we trust 🫡

[vscabarca]

heyy!! how you doing? i hope you're ok!! I saw you had your requests open soo what do you think of gavi x brazilian!reader where she's a friend of natalia (raphinha's wife) and meets him at a team's reunion at raphinha's house where he overheard she talking to the other wags saying she's had a crush on him ever since the world cup but he's so embarrassed and shy about it because gorgeous woman knows he exists and likes him so he panics at that and even his friends try to help (after of course teasing him in all ways imaginable) so they end up locked in a spare room in the house and finally talk and he realizes they actually have a lot in common and asks her out and she kisses him. hope you like it!! goodnight or day love!!

brazilian charm - pablo gavi

summary: Brazilian reader meets Gavi again after a year of not seeing each other at Natalia‘s party. What will happen when they are locked up in a room together?

genre: fluff

a/n: such a cute requesttt!!!! thank you sm!

———

„Natalia!“ You squealed, happy to see your friend after such a long time. It was Natalia‘s, Raphinha‘s wife’s birthday and as you recently moved here, she gladly invited you. Natalia embraced you in a long hug, swaying back and forth with a drink in her hand.

„I‘m so glad you could make it!“ She grinned and finally let you go. „Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for anything!“

„Come on, let’s introduce you to my friends.“ Natalia swiftly grabbed your hand and led you through the crowd of people, saying hello here and there as you walked by. Not far away were Fermin and Pablo, both comfortably sitting on the couch, observing the scene. The two didn’t see you at first, so you made a mental note to go over to them and say hello after you’ve met Natalia‘s girlfriends. Pablo and you already met each other during the World Cup in Qatar. You travelled alongside Raphina‘s wife, watching the games of the Brazilian National Team and came across the Sevillian midfielder. You hit it off quite well after spending some time together.

„I‘ll go and say hello to Pablo, be right back.“ You informed Natalia and her friends, and walked towards the couch. Pablo finally saw you wander towards him and he couldn’t stop but smile.

„You’re staring hermano.“ Fermin said under his breath as he saw how his friend couldn’t take his eyes off you.

„I am not.“ He fired back but they couldn’t continue bickering as you were standing in front of them.

„Hey guys.“ You politely said and gave each of them a hug. You emerged into light conversation, but it was incredibly awkward between you and Pablo. Both didn’t really know what to say so Fermin was the one leading the conversation.

„What are you doing here? Don’t you live in Rio?“

„I did until a few weeks ago, my model agency is now based in Barcelona.“ You explained, getting surprised looks from the guys.

You were about to ask Pablo about his knee, but Natalia came over, claiming she urgently had to speak with you.

As you were gone again, Fermin‘s attention turned back towards his friend.

„Heard that?“ He nudged his shoulder but Pablo was still looking at you from afar.

„What?“

„She lives here in Barcelona now.“ His eyebrows wiggled up and down, trying to gain some reaction from the midfielder.

„Do you think she’s seeing someone? I mean I wouldn’t be surprised if she was, but-„ That wasn’t even what Fermin had asked, but he already could sense Pablo had a thing for the Brazilian girl. He actually found it funny how Pablo was blabbering about her, so he decided to ask someone who surely knew if she was single or not.

Pablo was too slow to stop his friend from grabbing Raphinha‘s arm.

„Do you know if Y/n has a boyfriend?“

Raphina started laughing, shaking his head.

„I don’t think so. Why? does Pablito still have a crush on her since the World Cup?“

Pablo swiftly turned his head, surprised he knew about his attraction towards you.

„It’s a bit obvious.“ Raphina said and patted his head before walking away again.

In the meantime Natalia dragged you back to her friends, giving you a drink and started with the gossip about relationships and what not.

„As someone as gorgeous as you, you must have a lover right?“ Dayana, Vitor Roque‘s wife, asked you.

You shook your head slightly, feeling your cheeks head up. You were about to respond but Natalia was quick in jumping in.

„She still hopes Pablo will magically ask her out, even though Y/n knows he’s even shyer than her!“ Natalia scolded you, earning roars from her friends.

„Pablo? You mean Pablo Gavi?“ Mikkey asked for confirmation, to which you nodded again.

„How cute!“ Dayana chimed in a bit too loud.

What you didn’t realize to that time, Pablo stood not that far away from you, hearing what was said in these last few minutes. He swiftly turned his head towards Fermin and Pedri who joined the two not too long ago. They were both grinning at their younger friend, nudging him several times. But Pablo was terrified. What was he doing now? You were a gorgeous woman having a crush on a guy who was kicking a football around. His friends noticed the panic in his eyes and were quick to help him.

„See? she likes you too, now go and ask her out.“ Pedri spoke and already wanted to push him towards you but he stopped.

„Yeah no.“

„What no? Yes!“ Fermin interrupted and slapped the back of his head.

„Oye! I don’t even know how to ask a girl out, especially not one who’s as pretty as she is.“ Pablo could be so stubborn and shy sometimes, preventing him from doing things he wanted to do, just like now asking the girl out on a date he liked for over a year.

The party went on with you and him exchanging a few more words but neither did something about their little crushes. You then saw Natalia and Fermin whisper something to each other, but you couldn’t tell what they were on about. Natalia then walked over to you, a smug smile plastered across her face.

„Y/n could you grab me some blankets from our guest room? Fermin and his friends wanted to sit outside but it got a bit too cold. I would do it but I need to check on Gael.“ You were already on your feet, giving Pablo a quick smile before disappearing upstairs to grab the things Natalia asked you for.

In the guest bedroom you searched for these bloody blankets but just couldn’t find them anywhere. The door suddenly opened and Pablo stood in the doorway next to you.

„Gosh Pablo you scared me.“ You exclaimed, clutching your chest and let out a huff. He chuckled, wanting to say more but right then the door closed and the lock turned. Both your heads turned towards the door. Confused, Pablo made his way to the door and tried to open it but it wouldn’t budge.

„These idiots.“ You said with an open mouth, knowing exactly Natalia did that on purpose. Pablo only burst out laughing, throwing his head back.

„That’s why Fermin and Natalia were talking so much together.“ He concluded and sat down onto the bed. You took a seat next to him, leaning back onto your hands.

„Someone has to take away the alcohol they drank.“ You grinned and so did Pablo.

„Anyway, I guess we have to spend the time here until they’ve had enough fun with their plan.“

Pablo plopped down onto the bed and you did the same, turning your head so you were looking at him sideways.

„How have you been after the World Cup? We kinda lost touch.“ You said, feeling your heartbeat increase. He looked beautiful.

„We did.“ his mouth formed into a thin line, probably also not liking how you lost contact after the tournament. „But I‘ve been doing good, except for the knee injury but I‘m feeling much better already. What about you?“

„I‘m doing great, a lot of live changes but I couldn’t be happier here in Barcelona.“ Pablo smiled sweetely and you caught his gaze shifting quickly from your eyes to your lips.

„You look very pretty today, even prettier than I had remembered.“ Your heart fluttered at his words and your mind drifted to the nights you spent sneaking outside the hotel room to meet Pablo to head up to the rooftop and look at the stars.

„You’re very handsome yourself. You’ve always been.“ You complimented back and it seemed like you two scooted closer.

„Now that you’re in Barcelona… is there a chance to take you out on a date?“ You immediately grinned and nodded your head, then leaned in closer.

„May I?“ Pablo whispered, his gaze shifting again from your eyes to your lips. You gave him a quick nod again, your hand already drawing him closer by his neck. The fire in your body intensified as he crashed his lips onto yours, making you sigh contentedly. You never wanted to let him go. Pablo pulled you closer by your waist, kissing you until there was no air left.

As you both broke apart, you broke into little fits of giggles, both still a bit shy from the kiss you just shared.

„Natalia! let us out now!“

[bingwriterxo]

the shakespeare exhibit - part 1

pairing: tara carpenter x reader

summary: in which tara finds herself in a weird place in the museum

warnings: none

word count: 1700+

author's note: this was a request (find here)! hope u guys enjoy :D the english major in me really popped the fuck out in this one 🤭

next part

Spending a rainy Sunday in the Museum of Modern Art was far from what Tara wanted to do, but she had been outvoted by the rest of her friends, all of whom thought that it would be fun (well, all but Chad, who wanted to stay in and have a movie marathon).

She found herself wandering aimlessly through the halls, glancing this way and that at different exhibits, though nothing really piqued her interest. Sam and Danny had escaped to the Egyptian gallery, Chad and Ethan were exploring the gift shop, Mindy and Anika had rushed off on their own almost as soon as the group walked through the front doors--if Tara had to put money on it, she would guess that they were making out in the bathroom--and Quinn was flirting with the ticket booth guy.

Tara pulled her phone from her back pocket.

Tara (3:46pm): can we go soon im bored

Sam (3:48pm): Danny and I are only halfway done!

Chad (3:49pm): anyone got some extra cash??? really want this weird t-shirt

Ethan (3:49pm): i got u buddy

Mindy (3:51pm): fh2p9hr2$!8tn

Sam (3:51pm): Mindy, what?

Mindy (3:52pm): sorry butt text

Mindy (3:52pm): me and nika r busy

She huffed when no one in the group chat seemed to be on the same wavelength as her and shoved her phone back in her pocket, continuing her shuffling. She wasn't even sure where in the museum she was, and she didn't really care.

Or, at least, she didn't care until she heard that voice.

"And here we have a painting depicting the celebration that occurs in the beginning of one of Shakespeare's earlier plays, Titus Andronicus."

Tara looked to her right, where the voice was coming from, and was met with a large sign that read Pop-Up Shakespeare Exhibit! She frowned. Shakespeare? she thought. Seriously?

"Now, this celebration is quite important to the rest of the play as..."

The voice was luring her in. Okay, maybe I can dig Shakespeare.

She wandered into the room, eyes flitting around as she searched for the person that the voice belonged to. Instead, she was met with numerous paintings of different scenes from Shakespeares' plays, or people that influenced him or were important during his time period.

And why the fuck is this man so iconic? she thought as she quickly scanned over each painting, finding nothing extraordinarily special about them. This shit is boring.

Still, she ventured farther in, determined to find the reason she had entered the exhibit in the first place. She wasn't, however, paying much attention to her feet or the paces in front of her, and the next thing she knew, she had bumped into someone else.

"Oh, sorry," she said.

"It's okay! That's my bad!" you replied, and Tara's eyes widened as she glanced in your direction. You were the voice that she was trying to find, and now that she had found you...well, she wasn't really sure what to do.

Honestly, she hadn't expected you to be so, in layman's terms, hot, and she could feel herself blushing up to her ears as she stared at you, awestruck and nervous and itching to talk to you all at once.

You offered her a wide grin and gestured toward the painting the two of you had ended up in front of. "Big fan of King Lear?" you asked.

Tara glanced at the painting. Two men stood in a vaguely grassy area, one old and the other younger. The older one had his arms thrown out, and despair was clearly controlling his emotions. The younger one was simply standing back and watching. What the fuck is this shit? she thought before realizing that you were awaiting her response.

"Yeah, definitely!" she lied. "It's probably my favorite Shakespeare play."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "Really? You strike me as more of a..." You trailed off as your eyes flitted down her body, taking her in. Tara gulped. "I would say Twelfth Night kind of girl."

Tara shrugged. "Well, I can be surprising." She pointed lamely at the painting. "Besides, I love history plays."

"Oh!" You raised your eyebrows as your eyes widened, and you chuckled. "King Lear isn't a history; it's a tragedy."

"Right! I--That's what I meant," she rushed out, trying to backtrack. "But, I mean, couldn't all of Shakespeare's plays technically be histories? They're all old."

You giggled, and Tara found that she liked that sound even more than she liked your voice. "That's not really how it works." You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth and glanced at the watch on your wrist. "If you want, I could give you a tour through the exhibit and explain some of the plays to you. My next group isn't coming for another hour."

I would rather Ghostface pop out of one of these paintings and attack me than have these boring-ass plays explained to me. She wanted to say that--god, did she want to--but you were looking at her with a soft smile and even softer eyes, your hands buried in your back pockets as you shifted on the balls of your feet, and her reply was tumbling from her lips before she could stop it.

"That would be great!"

* * *

You were only halfway through the exhibit, talking about some lady named Portia who could only marry the man that chose the correct casket--how fucking stupid, Tara thought--when you turned to her, a pitiful smile pulling at your lips.

"You find this boring, don't you?" you asked, though there was no judgment in your voice. If anything, Tara could detect a hint of teasing.

She shook her head. "No, no. Portia and Bassanio and caskets are all very...interesting." When you tilted your head at her, your eyes sparkling with disbelief, she sighed in defeat, allowing her shoulders to slump slightly. "Yeah," she admitted, "it's kind of boring."

You shrugged half-heartedly, a crooked smile on your lips. "That's okay. Shakespeare's definitely not for everyone." You looked back at the painting you stood in front of. "I mean, even I hated half the plays when I first read them."

"Then why are you a tour guide for this exhibit?"

"Money," you confessed. "I'm a broke college student who has tuition to pay for. Plus, I've read all of these plays ten times over, so I know them pretty well."

Tara wrinkled her nose. "Why would you subject yourself to that?" she asked. "I couldn't even imagine reading these plays once, let alone"--she gestured in the air--"as many times as you've read them."

"I'm an English Lit. major, so it's kind of my thing." You sighed in a dreamy sort of way, and Tara couldn't help as her eyes flitted down to your lips, her tongue dragging across her bottom one. She quickly shifted back to your eyes when you looked at her. "But it's not everyone's thing. I get it."

She frowned. "Sorry if I, like, wasted your time."

You waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I like talking about the plays, and if anything I said in the last fifty minutes got through to you, then I did my job."

Tara nodded. "Oh, it definitely did. Yeah, I learned so much about Shakespeare today," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

You chuckled. "Sure you did."

She took a deep breath in and then rushed out, "If I could prove to you that I learned something, would you let me take you on a date?" She watched as your eyes widened in surprise before being narrowed by the smile that took over your face.

"Okay," you agreed. "I'll ask you a question, and if you can answer it, then I'll give you my number. How's that?"

"Yeah," she said, grinning. "That works."

You glanced around the parts of the exhibit that you had taken Tara through, and she watched as you thought for a moment, your eyebrows furrowing in concentration and your hand scratching at the side of your neck.

"Oh!" you said after a minute. "I've got it." You turned to her, a wicked smile on your face. "In Twelfth Night, what's the name of Viola's brother?"

Oh shit, Tara thought. I should've listened harder when she was talking about that play. But it's not my fault she looked so cute when she was talking about the different theories of human gender.

She blinked at you, trying to come up with the name, or, frankly, any name that you had mentioned during your little tour. You waited patiently, watching her as the gears turned in her head.

Orsino? No, no--that's the Duke. Was it Cesario? Toby? Malvolio? None of those. Oh! It was--

"Sebastian!" she practically yelled.

You giggled at her enthusiasm and pulled the pen from your front pocket. As you clicked it open, you said, "I guess you do listen." You took her arm, pushed up her sleeve so that you had enough skin to write, and jotted down your number on her forearm. She looked at it when you were done, blushing at the sight of a poorly-drawn heart at the end. "Text me, yeah?"

"Totally," she breathed out. "Yeah, I'll do that. For sure."

"Okay." You glanced at your watch. "My next tour's starting in, like, a minute, so I've gotta run." You quickly looked around the exhibit and, upon finding no one near, leaned close and pressed a short kiss to her cheek. "Bye!"

Tara was left in the center of the Shakespeare exhibit, watching as you walked back toward the entrance, with a burning cheek and butterflies stirring in her stomach. She looked at the portrait on her right.

"Shakespeare, you're not good for much, but apparently you're good for getting cute girls' numbers," she muttered.

bonus: "so, what exhibits did you go to, tara?" sam asked as the group sat in a little coffee shop down the street from the MoMA.

"uh, the shakespeare one," tara mumbled.

everyone's eyes widened. "what?" came the resounding reply from all of her friends.

"you hate shakespeare," mindy stated.

"yeah. when they tried to teach us about it in senior year, you literally left the classroom," chad said.

"why the hell would you spend all your time in a shakespeare exhibit?" sam asked, furrowing her eyebrows at tara.

anika reached over and pulled at tara's shirt sleeve, revealing the numbers hidden beneath. "i think that might be why."

tara groaned as everyone started talking over one another, asking questions (sam) and squealing (quinn and mindy) and grumbling (chad and ethan).

"god," mindy started when everyone was finally quiet, "you are so gay, t."

[doreminimi]

an exposed love story | I.Y.

A/N: It's been a while since l've been in the writing scene but l've been wanting to go back into it for a while but didn't really have anyone in mind to write about. But recently, l've been quite hooked onto the olympics scene and a few of the athletes ended up catching my interest and so this short imagine is based off the person who caught my attention.

The story is a mix between my love for the k-pop (as I have done some writings from the past) and the volleyball scene - particularly the Japanese men's volleyball team

Hope you enjoy my first piece of writing in a while!

Genre: Hidden Love, Highschool Friends to Lovers, Fluff

Characters: Ishikawa Yuki x Reader (Reader has a last name)

POV: Third Person to Your POV

- ft. Dokyeom, Mingyu, Seungkwan from SVT, Sana from Twice, and JPN Men's Volleyball Team

Word Count: 2.3k (A short imagine / one-shot)

———————

In the bustling city of Tokyo, where the neon lights danced and the energy never seemed to wane, Jeon Y/N and Ishikawa Yuki first met. Y/N, a bright and ambitious high school student with dreams of becoming a renowned idol, was instantly captivated by Yuki's quiet determination and athletic prowess. Yuki, a promising young volleyball player with a serious yet kind demeanor, found Y/N's charisma and passion irresistible.

Their connection was immediate and profound. As high school friends, they spent time together whenever they could, sharing dreams and supporting each other through their busy schedules. Y/N's path soon took her to Korea, where she pursued a successful career in the music industry. Yuki joined Japan's national volleyball team and played for various Italian clubs during the offseason, leading to a long-distance relationship that was both challenging and rewarding.

Despite the distance, their bond remained unshakeable. Y/N's songs began to feature subtly in Yuki's team practice vlogs and official matches, leading to murmurs among fans. Although neither Y/N nor Yuki publicly confirmed their relationship, their connection was evident in these small but meaningful gestures.

—

One evening, during a casual brunch get-together with, Seungkwan, Dokyeom, and Mingyu at a cozy café, the topic of your "relationship" with Yuki came up.

"Have you noticed that song from the Japan volleyball team's vlogs?" Seungkwan asked, leaning forward with curiosity. "It sounds a lot like something Y/N/N would sing~" ending his sentence in a teasing manner.

Quickly turning towards Seungkwan surprised like a deer in headlights, you curse in your mind forgetting that he always keeps himself updated in the volleyball scene as an avid-fan of the sport. You should have known sooner or later that one of your friends would found out, so you reply with a nervous chuckle, "Really? I hadn't heard that.”

Mingyu, always ready to stir the pot, added with a grin, "There's been chatter about you and someone in Italy. Care to share?"

Your face turned a light shade of pink as you tried to compose yourself. "There might be some truth to it, but let's just keep it between us for now."

Dokyeom placed a supportive hand on your shoulder. "Whatever's happening, we've got your back. You don't have to go through this alone."

—

After years of navigating the complexities of a long-distance relationship, you and Yuki finally found a moment in your busy schedules for a short getaway. Quickly deciding on Florence, a city that seemed to perfectly embody your dreams of romance and history. As you and Yuki walk through its cobblestone streets, exploring its art-filled museums and enjoying its quaint cafes, you find yourselves enveloped in the very essence of a long-awaited reunion. The city’s timeless charm mirrored the depth of your connection, making the time together both magical and unforgettable.

The days were filled with joy as you two explored the city's narrow streets, visited the Uffizi Gallery, and enjoyed meals at quaint trattorias. Wandering hand-in-hand, savoring the rare opportunity to be together without the constant scrutiny of your public lives.

One sunny afternoon, you find a charming café deeply hidden in the alleyways, you look at Yuki with a bright smile. "How about we sit here? I've heard their espresso and tiramisu is fantastic! Plus, since it is a bit secluded we won't have to worry too much about someone spotting us."

Yuki’s eyes twinkled with affection. "That sounds perfect. I trust your taste completely."

As you settled at your table, enjoying your coffee and each other's company, a sudden burst of camera flashes disrupted your peaceful afternoon. Paparazzi, ever on the lookout for a story, had caught you in your private moment. You exchanged startled glances with Yuki, realizing your carefully planned escape had been compromised.

Looking around frantically, you tried to find a waiter who could help you find a more private spot. Yuki, his face hardened with determination, grasped your hands and said, "Hey, look at me. Don’t panic. It’s okay, what happened has already happened. Let’s try to enjoy the rest of our day. We will deal with the consequences later."

You squeezed his hand, offering a reassuring smile as you settled your anxiety and nerves. "Okay. We’ve faced challenges before, so we can handle this together."

Despite your efforts to stay calm, the media frenzy that followed made your vacation far from relaxing.

—

The morning after the photos were leaked, you and Yuki awoke to a media storm. Dispatch had published an exclusive article titled "An Italian Getaway: The Secret Romance Between Korean Idol and Japanese Volleyball Captain!" The article featured several intimate photos of you and Yuki from your Italian vacation, and it didn’t take long for the story to spread across various media platforms.

Your phone buzzed incessantly with notifications. You felt a mix of anxiety and resolve as you read messages from friends. Seungkwan, Dokyeom, and Mingyu all reached out in your group chat.

Seungkwan's message appeared first: "Y/N, are you really dating my volleyball idol? Is it true about you and Ishikawa? You know we’re here for you, no matter what."

You took a deep breath and typed a response. "Yes, it’s true. Yuki and I have been together for a long time. We kept it private because of our careers, but now that it’s out, we’re ready to face it."

Dokyeom's message followed quickly: "I’m glad you’re open about it. We’re all here for you. How are you holding up?"

You sighed, feeling a mix of relief and worry. "It’s overwhelming, but I’m managing. Thanks for your support."

On Yuki’s side, his teammates in Japan were also reacting. His phone buzzed with messages from their group chat, which was now exploding with notifications.

[Group Chat: Japan Volleyball Team]

Ran: "Congratulations on your relationship, Captain! Can I ask for a favor, can you ask Y/N for an autograph? I need it for my collection!"

Otsuka: "Seriously, congrats, Captain! You’ve always been such a mystery with your personal life. It’s great to see you so happy."

Yamauchi: "Yuki, about time you got into a relationship. We were worried you’d stay single forever!"

Nishida: "Wow, I can’t believe it’s Y/N. That’s huge! I’m sure you both make a great couple."

Yuki read the messages with amusement. He scoffed at the playful jabs but appreciated the genuine congratulations from his teammates. Smiling, he typed a response: "Thank you for the messages, guys. I’ll definitely ask Y/N for an autograph for you, Ran."

He hit send, shaking his head with a chuckle. The reactions from his teammates were a comforting reminder of the support he had, even amidst the chaos of the media frenzy. Their messages provided relief and laughter, helping him navigate the challenging situation with camaraderie and humor.

—

As the Paris 2024 Olympics approached, Yuki dedicated himself fully to his training, and you prepared for your own activities. You had planned to make a meaningful public statement after the Olympics, marking both your relationship and Yuki’s achievements.

When Yuki’s team won the gold medal after weeks of challenges and hardships, the moment was both triumphant and emotionally charged. You felt an overwhelming sense of pride and joy. Your shared victory was a testament to your resilience and love.

Later that night, you and Yuki sat in your hotel room, the weight of the day’s events sinking in. You were preparing a special Instagram post. "Are you ready for this?" you asked Yuki, your voice filled with a mix of excitement and nerves.

Yuki, his gaze soft and full of affection, nodded. "Yes. It’s time for the fans to know the truth. I want to celebrate our journey."

You uploaded a series of images to your Instagram story. The first few photos were nostalgic, showing your high school days, candid vacation moments, and various milestones in your relationship. The final image was the most powerful: you and Yuki in the now-empty Olympic volleyball arena, sharing a sweet kiss on his cheek with your arms propped around his neck, with Yuki holding onto the gold medal in one hand and your waist in the other.

The caption read: "Happy 10 years, my captain ♡ to many more years with you"

The post quickly went viral, with fans from both Korea and Japan, as well as across the globe, flooding your feeds with messages of congratulations and support. A hashtag for your relationship trended on Twitter, symbolizing your love story and the strength of your bond.

You were inundated with heartfelt messages from friends and fans. Sana from Twice reached out with a warm message: "I’m so happy for you both! Your love story is truly inspiring. Congratulations!"

You responded with gratitude: "Thank you, Unnie. Your support means so much to us!"

—

The final show of your Japan tour was set to take place at the iconic Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, a grand venue that held a special place in your heart. The stage was set, the lights were dazzling, and the anticipation in the air was palpable. This concert marked the culmination of a successful tour, and you wanted it to be unforgettable.

As you prepared to go on stage, your heart raced with excitement. You had planned something special—not just for your fans, but for Yuki. The Japanese volleyball team had been given special VIP seats for the concert from your management company, and Yuki was among them. You wanted to honor Yuki and your relationship in front of thousands of devoted fans, and you had a surprise planned.

The concert began with an electrifying opening number, your powerful voice filling the stadium as you sang your heart out. The crowd’s energy was contagious, and you fed off their enthusiasm, performing with an intensity that matched your excitement.

Midway through the concert, during a particularly emotional ballad, you signaled to your camera crew. You had a special request that you hoped would add a personal touch to the evening. The crew quickly understood and prepared for the transition.

As the song reached its crescendo, you gestured towards the camera with a bright smile. "We have a very special guest here tonight, and I’d like to share that with you all," you announced through your mic, your voice full of emotion.

The camera panned away from the stage and began to move towards the special VIP balcony, where Yuki and the volleyball team were seated. The crowd’s murmur grew into excited whispers as the camera drew closer. Your fans recognized Yuki and the volleyball team, and the energy in the stadium surged with excitement.

You took a deep breath, your voice steady but filled with warmth. "I want to take a moment to thank someone very special to me. Yuki, you’ve been my rock and my greatest support throughout this journey. This night is dedicated to you and our love."

As you sang the final notes of the ballad, your eyes locked with Yuki’s. The connection between you was palpable, and the sincerity in your gaze spoke volumes. The audience, moved by the gesture, responded with cheers and applause that echoed throughout the stadium.

The camera then returned to you on stage, capturing your radiant smile and the way you seemed to glow with happiness. You continued to perform with renewed energy, your heart lightened by the visible support from Yuki and the volleyball team.

After the concert, you and your bandmates were backstage, basking in the afterglow of a successful show. The atmosphere was jubilant, filled with laughter and congratulations. Yuki and his teammates made their way backstage to meet you, and the reunion was filled with warmth and affection.

Yuki pulled you into a tight embrace, his eyes shining with pride. "Amore mio, you were amazing tonight. I’m so proud of you."

You looked up at him with a beaming smile. "Thank you, Yuki. Having you here means everything to me. I wanted to share this moment with you."

As you stood together, surrounded by friends and colleagues, Sana and Momo from Twice approached with a smile. "The concert was incredible, Y/N. And you two looked so happy together. I’m really glad to see you both celebrating."

You hugged both of them warmly. "Thank you, Sana. Your support has been so meaningful to us."

As the evening wound down, you and Yuki took a quiet moment together, stepping outside to enjoy the cool night air. You stood on a balcony overlooking the city, the lights of Yokohama twinkling below.

"This tour has been incredible," you said, leaning against the railing. "But tonight was really special."

Yuki nodded, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and placing a sweet kiss on your forehead. "It was perfect. Thank you for making me a part of it."

You rested your head on Yuki’s shoulder, feeling a deep sense of contentment. "Here’s to many more moments like this."

As you stood together, the world seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of you and the promise of a bright future. Your love had endured through the highs and lows, and now, with your relationship celebrated publicly, you looked forward to what lay ahead, knowing that you could face any challenge together.

Your journey, marked by love, dedication, and resilience, continued to inspire many. And as you embraced the future, you and Yuki knew that your love was stronger than ever, ready to shine in the spotlight and beyond.

[jeanboyjean]

PUBLIC DECENCY - ft jean kirstein. nsfw.

Jean takes you to watch a new movie that's just come out. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) for you, the movie's boring so you have to find another way to entertain yourself. 

cw: established relationship. actually not public decency. handjob, blowjob. gn! reader.

an: help me i need to suck his dick so bad. that is all. wrote this in one go in what i can only explain as a moment of weakness so if it seems a bit unhinged that's why. another one for my fellow jean fuckers!!

wc: 2.5k words

Lights flashed on the screen in front of you, tense music blaring from the surround sound speakers as you warily watched the movie play out. Your boyfriend, Jean, sat next to you with his head in his hand as he leaned on the armrest, his eyes fixed in front of him. As per his request, the two of you had come to the movie theatre this evening to watch some new action film.

Despite it being past an hour of screen time already, you had no idea what was happening. There were far too many characters and so much going on with not enough context, that you were rapidly starting to lose interest. A fight scene was happening at the moment, for what reason you didn’t know, and you blinked in confusion as a body flew across the screen to hit a car. You jumped in your seat as a loud smash boomed around you. All the commotion was starting to make your head swim, the fast moving frames and sound effects overwhelming your senses. 

The cinema was surprisingly empty for a Friday night and you thought maybe that should have been a warning sign for what awaited you. The two of you were seated in the middle, a few rows from the back, and almost all of the seats around you were empty aside from a few here and there. You looked around yourself, trying to see if you could guage the reactions of the others experiencing the atrocity in front of you but it was impossible to tell from the distance. Jean shifted in his chair next to you, turning to catch your eye with a brow raised in question and you leaned in towards him, looping your arms around his bicep as you tugged him closer. His head dipped down as you spoke softly in his ear.

“What’s going on in the movie right now?”

His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I have no idea.” 

Your eyebrows drew together in a frown as you shifted back to peer at his face in confusion. “What do you mean you have no idea? You’re the one that wanted to watch this.” 

He chuckled softly, an arm coming around to pull you into his side. You happily sank into his embrace. “I’m sorry, I think I made a bad choice. This movie kinda sucks.” A hand rubbed your arm gently up and down. “Should we leave?” 

You shook your head. It was probably at least halfway through anyway, you might as well stay. “It’s fine, let’s just finish it since we’re here.” 

Jean placed a soft kiss on the top of your head before turning back to the screen. You snuggled into him, trying but failing to pay attention to the events in front of you. Your mind quickly started to wander as you sat there, staring blankly at the screen, heaving a deep sigh. Jean's aftershave filled your senses as you breathed in and the familiar scent stirred something in you as a curious thought flitted in your mind.

Almost instinctively, you slid a hand down to Jean’s leg and slowly trailed it up his thigh. His muscles tensed lightly under your touch but he said nothing, continuing to stare straight ahead. Your other hand remained wrapped around his arm as you continued to move upwards, applying a little more pressure before stilling right below his hip. Your fingers grazed his crotch and you swore you could feel just the slightest twitch. You looked up at Jean’s face and smiled in satisfaction when you saw his jaw clench in response. You hummed to yourself in thought. Maybe you would actually have some fun during the rest of this movie. 

With a new sense of purpose, your hand slid in between his legs and you cupped his crotch, giving it a light squeeze. His body jerked in response as he took in a sharp intake of air. His sharp eyes finally met yours and they narrowed at you with a flash of warning. A mischievous smile played on your lips as you winked back in challenge. You swiftly unzipped his pants but before you were able to reach inside, his hand came to grip your wrist, stopping you hastily. 

“We’re in public!” He hissed in warning, eyes darting around at the rows of seats surrounding you. 

You rolled your eyes at him, wriggling your way out of his grasp with a huff. You slipped your hand in his pants and held him over his underwear. His dick was already half hard and you smirked as you reached lower to cup his balls, knowing it would drive him crazy. 

“Shhh… There's barely anyone around us. You can keep watching the movie, I’m bored so I just want to play with something.” 

He made a face at you and put on a show of disapproval while shaking his head, but he was shifting in his seat to get more comfortable and spreading his legs to give you easier access. You let out a low hum as you tilted your head up to place a kiss on the underside of his jaw and his pulse skipped under your lips as his cock twitched in your hand at the same time. You slowly stroked him over his underwear, feeling his dick harden fully in no time.

When your fingers wrapped around him with the cotton material still preventing you from touching his skin, his body tensed and his hips bucked up slightly as if moving on their own accord. A quick glance at his face saw furrowed brows and gritted teeth as he tried to contain himself. You knew how much it was taking a toll on him... Jean claimed to hate it when you teased him, always complaining and urging you to get on with it, fighting with himself whenever he had to let you have control, even though you knew they were also the times he moaned the loudest and came the hardest. 

Deciding you should probably put him out of his misery, your fingers slid under his underwear to finally wrap around his hardened cock and you gave it a tight squeeze. In response, his eyes scrunched shut and a low moan escaped his lips. You smiled in delight and a teasing light glimmered behind your eyes. 

“Quiet, Jean,” you whispered in his ear. “We’re in public.” 

His eyes flicked over to you and he attempted a dark look before his eyelids were fluttering as you removed your hand. He followed the way you brought it to your lips and his eyes widened in surprise when you spat nastily on your palm. You grinned at him before reaching down and gripping his cock again, spreading the slick spit along his length. Immediately, his head fell against the back of his chair and his breath became laboured as his mouth hung open slightly in pleasure. You stroked him like this under his clothing, your hand gliding up and down, his dick twitching whenever your thumb brushed against his sensitive tip. 

Once you could feel his desperation building, you pulled his cock fully out of his underwear and admired the way it glistened in the dark lighting of the cinema, hard and proud. Jean had long since submitted himself to your mercy and just watched you with heavy lidded eyes as you licked your lips in anticipation. You shifted in your seat to face him and bent down over the armrest between you so that your face was level with his member. With one hand gripping him at his base, you licked a wet stripe up his length, feeling the veins and ridges along the hard surface. You ended with your lips wrapped around his tip and you sucked it tight as you swirled around with your tongue. 

He groaned above you, one hand falling to the top of your head and the other gripping the armrest on the other side. He nudged your head down urgently and his hips lifted in an attempt to thrust deeper in your mouth, but you were not about to let him do that just yet. Your mouth left him as you tilted your head up to shoot him a glare. You pushed his hips down firmly and shook your head in warning. Jean’s eyes were clouded with lust as he blinked down at you.

“Please. Your mouth, more, please,” He begged softly. Even in the darkness, you could see the flush on his cheeks, his chest rising and falling heavily as his arousal took over him. 

You relented, only because he had asked so nicely. Your head dipped down again, but this time when your lips enveloped him, they sank down lower until they met where your hand was holding him still at the base of his cock. He filled your mouth, his tip hitting the back of your throat as you swallowed around his length. Jean choked back a moan as you began bobbing your head, hollowing your cheeks to suck tight around him. The movie continued to blare around you, masking most of your movements, but the slick sounds of your mouth sliding over him leaked in the quiet moments. Neither of you cared though - Jean had his eyes screwed shut and jaw hanging open in pleasure, and you were lost in the way he felt so hot and heavy on your tongue. 

The position you were in was limiting the amount of reach you had and you released him from your mouth with a pop, before climbing off your chair to get on your knees in front of him to give yourself better access. He sank down lower in his chair as you wriggled in between his legs and pulled his hips toward you. Eagerly, you began stroking him again with your hand as you leaned in to wrap your lips around his balls and tease him with your tongue. He was getting close, you could tell, precum beading from his swollen head and his cock jerking with your touch. 

When you took him in your mouth again, his hands fell to rest on your head as you bobbed up and down, sucking him in earnest. You moved to grip his thighs and relaxed your throat as much as possible as you let your nose hit the hair nestled at the base of his cock. With all of his length inside you, you could barely breathe but you could feel him throbbing in your throat and it made your eyes roll to the back of your head. 

Now that you were in this position, you reached up to place your hand on top of his and pushed down to send him a message. His eyes met yours in a heated gaze and he began to guide your head the way he liked to, choking you with his cock. His jaw was clenched tight and his eyes fixated on the way you swallowed around him, your eyes filling with tears that threatened to overflow. When he was near his peak, his heels dug into the ground and he held your head in place as he lifted his hips up to thrust into you. You gagged when his cock hit the back of your throat hard, but you continued to suck him tight, breathing through your nose as your eyes watered. He fucked into your mouth desperately and your fingers gripped his thighs tight, your nails digging into his skin through his pants.

“Fuckkkk,” he groaned under his breath. “I love you so much. You’re so good to me.” 

You blinked up at him with heavy lids and he thrust into your mouth one more time before stuttering to a stop. He came hard, his hips twitching while he held you in place and spilled down your throat. You stayed where you were as he pulsed into you, until his hands relaxed on your head and his body slumped back in his seat as all the tension left his body and he let the high wash over him. You swallowed as you released him from your mouth, making sure to suck him clean before wiping your lips and tucking him back into his clothes. 

As you zipped his pants back up, his hands hooked under your arms and you giggled as he lifted you to sit across his lap. His arms wrapped around your body and you cupped his cheeks, meeting his lips in a gentle kiss. He moved his lips slowly against yours and warmth blossomed in your chest at the tender way he held you. When you pulled away to catch your breath, he knocked his forehead against yours softly and looked at you with a small smile. 

“Why haven’t we done this before?” He asked, his eyes twinkling despite the low light.

“Because you’re always too scared we’ll get caught.” 

At your words, his eyes widened and he looked around frantically as if only just remembering that you were still technically in public. He let out a sigh of relief when he realised that no one seemed to be paying any attention. 

“Damn, I almost forgot. I guess you’re just that good.” 

You laughed as you dipped forward and kissed him again. He pulled you into him as he licked into your mouth and ran a hand up your thigh. Heat began building within you and you buried your hands into his hair, moaning softly into his mouth as you throbbed between your legs. You only stopped when you felt a tap on your shoulder, your eyes flying open as you pulled away from Jean and turned to look behind you. A man stood crouched next to you, shaking his head with a disgusted look. Jean’s hands moved to steady you as you scrambled to sit up straight, trying to look like you weren’t two seconds away from letting him fuck you in public. 

“You can’t do that here,” The man hissed in a low voice, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

“Sorry!” You squeaked, your cheeks warming in embarrassment. “We weren’t doing anything.” 

He continued to shake his head, rolling his eyes with a sigh. “Okay sure. That’s why you’re sitting in his lap.” 

Jean’s chest rumbled as he snickered behind you. You smacked his shoulder lightly in an attempt to quiet him but he just laughed as he raised his hands in mock surrender. 

“Sorry, sorry. It’s fine, we’ll go,” He said in between his chortling.

The man nodded as he watched you hurriedly move to leave, trying not to trip over your feet in the darkness as you exited your row. The two of you ducked your heads low as you scurried out of the cinema - you in self consciousness hoping no one was watching you, while Jean continued to choke back laughter. When you emerged into the bright corridor, you heaved a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall. Jean snickered as he slung an arm around your shoulder and you poked him in the side of his waist. 

“Why are you laughing? We got caught!” 

Jean wiped at his eyes as he held his side. “You should have seen your face! Now I know what people mean when they say deer in headlights. I can’t believe he called you out for sitting in my lap.” 

You pouted at him. “Whatever. Don’t pretend you weren’t shitting yourself too.” 

“Nah, I was too busy feeling pleased with myself." He pulled you along with his arm as he began walking to the exit. "Come on, let’s go home. There’s something I need to finish.”

He smirked at you, even giving you a cheeky wink to seal the deal. Despite it all, your thighs clenched as blood rushed between your legs. The memory of what you had just done flashed in your mind and you couldn't help the grin that spread across your face. Honestly, you didn’t know if you would even be able to wait until you got home. 

thx for reading!! as always, comments/reblogs are appreciated if u like this ♡♡♡

[smoshyourheadin]

robin buckley x popular head cheerleader!reader

i’m glad it happened

pairing: robin buckley x cheerleader! f! reader

a/n: I USED Y/N ONCE IN HERE also guys i’m glad we’re finally giving robin some love bc she’s my wifey!! requests open <3

in the bustling halls of hawkins high, where cliques and reputations reigned supreme, robin buckley found herself in a unique position.

as a recent addition to the av club, she had expected to remain on the fringes of the school's social scene.

yet, fate had other plans.

robin's afternoons were typically spent in the av room, tinkering with equipment and occasionally teasing steve when he dropped by. however, during one routine lunch break, she found herself in the midst of an unexpected encounter.

the cafeteria buzzed with energy as students hurriedly grabbed trays and sought out their usual spots. robin, preferring the solace of a quiet corner, settled into her routine. she was halfway through her sandwich when a commotion at the nearby table caught her attention.

there you were, the head cheerleader and a beacon of popularity at hawkins high.

robin couldn't help but notice your effortless grace as you commanded the attention of everyone around you. you were surrounded by the entourage of your friends, laughing and chatting animatedly.

robin observed quietly from afar, admiring your poise, and wondering what it would be like to navigate high school with such confidence. little did she know, fate had a surprise in store.

it started innocently enough.

one day, during a particularly chaotic av club meeting, you wandered into the room. robin's heart skipped a beat as she watched the cheerleader's eyes widen in curiosity at the sight of the tech gadgets and makeshift projects scattered around.

"y/n, what are you doing here?" one of her friends exclaimed in surprise.

"i heard there was something cool happening in here," you replied with a hint of intrigue, gaze lingering on robin.

robin, caught off guard by your presence, managed a casual smile. "just the usual av club stuff. you know, fixing things, breaking things, the usual."

to robin's surprise, you didn't turn away in disinterest. instead, you stepped closer, eyes scanning the cluttered table with genuine curiosity. "that's pretty neat. can i... um, can i watch?"

and so began an unexpected friendship. over the following weeks, you and robin found yourselves spending more time together. you discovered some shared interests beyond their apparent differences - a love for movies, solving puzzles, and david bowie.

your friendship blossomed quietly, away from the prying eyes of your respective social circles. robin learned that you weren’t just a popular cheerleader that you appeared to be; you were also someone who valued depth and authenticity.

as you grew closer, robin found herself falling for you in ways she hadn't anticipated. her heart raced whenever they exchanged knowing glances across the cafeteria or shared stupid inside jokes during av club meetings.

and yet, she hesitated to confess her feelings, fearing rejection or worse - the end of their newfound friendship.

but fate intervened once again during the school's annual halloween party. amidst the pulsating music and dimly lit dance floor, robin mustered up the courage to pull you aside.

"hey, um, can i talk to you for a sec?" robin asked, her voice tinged with nervousness.

you turned to her, a curious expression on your face. "sure, robin. what's on your mind?"

robin took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "i... i really enjoy spending time with you. more than i ever expected. you're... you're amazing. and i... i think i might be falling for you."

for a moment, there was silence as you processed robin's confession. then, to robin's astonishment, you smiled - a genuine, heartfelt smile that lit up your entire face.

"i think i might be falling for you too, robin," you admitted softly. "i never expected this, but... i'm glad it happened."

and in that moment, amidst the swirl of costumes and laughter, you pulled robin into a gentle kiss, her arms wrapped around your waist softly – two souls who had defied the expectations of their high school roles to find something real.

[shadesoflsk]

WILL YOU BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS?

pairing: Leon S. Kennedy x gn!reader

summary: It's going to be Leon's first Christmas without you. He promised you he would get over your death. But how is he planning to do it if the ghost of you keeps haunting him?

warnings: Character’s death, (reader) angst, hurt/no comfort, self-destructing behaviour, alcohol, mentions of religion, Leon speaks with reader.

author's note: I took the liberty to switch the order of my Christmas' special fics, I decided to post this one first since I liked it a lot. I would even say it’s my favorite one so far. Grief is such an interesting topic to write about, so I hope I did a great job! The dialogue part was lowkey (highkey) inspired by one scene from the Crown, season 6. The one where Carlos talked with Diana’s spirit. 

It’s 11:45 pm or so Leon believes. Time seems to slow down when night engulfs his apartment, and he is let alone with his own demons. He would be in pitch darkness if it wasn’t from the fact that his neighbor had decided to turn on the Christmas tree lights that reached through Leon’s windows. Faint carols could be heard, and it was a dreadful reminder of what date it was. 

He is trying, he really is. He drowns in his job that is slowly but surely killing him. Mission after mission, he keeps attempting to mess up — with no avail — since life is cruel enough to keep him alive, to continue watching his sins materialize in sorrow and depressive states. 

During the latter, he would often forget or purposely avoid taking care of himself. When was the last time he ate a full meal? He doesn’t nor wants to remember. His apartment was starting to reek of alcohol and rotten food that Claire has so gratefully left. She would often try striking up some conversation, which was welcomed with an awkward but expected silence. He was never the talkative one. On numerous occasions, he was reprimanded by you for this same topic. So, in the past, he decided to stick with a one-liner — that sometimes brought him unnecessary attention — the dinner one. Your laugh would fill his ears as he told you about the multiple times where people thought he was flirting with them. If you were here, could he make you laugh like that again? Or would you be disgusted by the man he has become these last weeks?

Besides his own memory serving as the place where your face and mannerisms would replay all over again, where are you now? He once heard that a soul is destined to be reborn into a new life. Life is cyclical, the sun rises and sets, the day and night come, but they never meet. He wouldn’t be surprised if you’re a lilly now. The pureness in your heart resembled one of those delicate flowers that your eyes seemed to follow each time you passed through a flower shop. Or maybe you’re someone’s baby being born. Bringing happiness to a family that prayed all night long for a miracle to happen. 

His mind wandered through the blurry moments when he was young. Prayers and cries surrounding a well illuminated place where many statues were presented. He used to fear one specifically, but the gentle touch of his mom would pull him closer to it. In his memory, he looked up to see the person who gave him life, yet he was met with a diffuse image of her. He has long forgotten the looks of his mother. 

In those moments, he often wondered what heaven felt like. He grasps on the last string of memories he had with his parents. How his mother would pull him to her lap and read to him. “Our God loves us so much that he has granted us a place to go when the time is right,” she would say, the term of death was so foreign to his little self but once again he remembers those prayers and promises. Is heaven the clear sky and peaceful home the Bible describes? Or is it a nonexistent place that Christians invented to cope with the fact that a loved one is no longer with them? He hopes it’s the first one since he wants to indulge in that little wish of him — that at least in the afterlife — you found peace. 

How is heaven? He wanted to ask you. Conversations with you used to flow so easily, so right. So, when the time comes he expects to hear every little rambling about your early trip to this called “everlasting paradise”. Is it raining right now? You loved rainy days, since it meant that both of you could cuddle while watching a movie. Or is it snowing since it’s Christmas?  He could almost hear you, your voice echoing in the deepest places of his mind telling him to stop trying to open the gifts. You were supposed to be next to him right now, waiting for Christmas to come.

He is in denial, two weeks ago he had you safely tucked in his arms, already planning what to do on Christmas. He still had your gift somewhere, hidden from your prying eyes even though you kept scolding him for that. Both of you were soulmates, two sides of the same coin. 

Now, he only had the ghost of you haunting him. Mocking him for not being able to protect you. He was hyper aware of every little detail his apartment provided. From the way he hasn’t moved your used mug on the dishwasher, because he feels that it was the last thing your lips touched. A bittersweet memory of your existence in this cruel world, to your book that you didn’t finish. You kept telling him that you were dying to know the ending but you couldn’t finish it before it was too late. If he reads it and prays to God, would he be generous enough to tell you the ending? 

He wouldn’t.

Every night he prayed to God, begged him to switch places with you even though it was an unrealistic thing to ask. But that’s what he wants right now. “It should’ve been me.” But that wish never becomes a reality. He wakes up, night after night, being him and being alone. God doesn’t hear him, he believes that this made up character just blatantly hates him. The forgiving, the loving and almighty God as his followers describe him, just doesn’t match up with his own criteria. A loving God wouldn’t have taken away his only reason to live.

The content in his Jack Daniel’s now does little to numb the pain he was feeling. With a sigh, he drank a bit more, straight from the bottle as the burning sensation traveled from his tongue to his throat. If he drinks enough until he passes out, he could imagine you. Moving across the kitchen with agile steps as you cook his favorite food.

Those moments were the ones he thinks he should've embraced more. Your quirks and habits. How you usually left traces of yourself in his apartment. How you always missed a spot when cleaning the counter and how you always kissed his forehead when placing the plate down on the table. 

Now, it's a bitter reminder of his own loneliness. His eyebrows twitched as the Christmas carols seemed to get louder. The clock reads 11:50 pm, ten minutes to Christmas. Even with the thick snow, the chants of kids being too stubborn to fall asleep were loud enough to fill Leon's ears. He hates living in this neighborhood filled with happy families.

You had a wide and warm smile when you showed Leon this same apartment he's currently rotting in. “It will be perfect once we have a family,” he remembers word by word what you said and he also remembers how you stumbled on your words once you saw the quizzical look he gave you. “I mean we could just have a dog or a cat if you want that. After all, family is where you are.”

Always the damn perfect partner. Always the stupid understanding other half. Why the hell did you even appear in his life if you were gonna die? Everyone else mourned your death but now they are moving on, yet Leon is staying in a never ending loop. Was it your plan? Are you fucking happy in heaven?

For once, he feels all the anger he’s been bottling up. His fists clenched as his breaths grew heavier. He throws the bottle against the wall. The contents spilling all over the floor as the bottle shattered in multiple pieces. He stared at the mess he’s done. His shaking hands grabbed handfuls of his own hair as he tried his best to compose himself. His mind repeating that you would be disappointed over and over again. 

Icy blue eyes started to get clouded by tears he refused to let go. The palm of his hand almost bled by his own nails digging into the thin skin. The regrets and what ifs were the perfect combination for Leon’s wish of dying albeit the fact of his own self deprecating being who believed he deserved to live this hell of a life alone. 

As he managed to keep his tears at bay for now, his eyes lingered on your designated seat at the table. You would always sit at his right, next to him, sometimes holding his hand, forcing him to eat his food with his left one. Now, his hand is cold without your touch. Which reminds him of your body and the last time he held you. Your heart no longer beat and your body was a freezing cruel realization of your death. 

“I was never good with emotions…” Leon’s voice came out as a groan. He had finally spoken after God knows how long. His own throat was constricted by the lump that was forming. He was denying himself the right to be raw, to be human. “You were the one who was better at everything… not me.” Leon swallows his own saliva, an attempt to stop the imminent lump. 

“I guess I was.” A melodic voice which was no more than a whisper filled Leon’s intoxicated ears. He looks at the empty seat next to him and sees nothing. It may be his own mind playing dirty tricks on him. Everything was blurred and dizzy from all the booze he had drunk. But nonetheless, he wouldn’t miss this opportunity, even if you were a creation of his own messed up mind. 

“I’ll take every little moment with me.” The voice was painfully comforting, a soothing lullaby to Leon’s broken beyond repair heart, a gentle breeze that surrounded his body. “The hugs, the kisses, our little trips to the beach and even the fights when none of us could go to bed without saying sorry.” 

A laugh as soft as a draft lingered in the air. The reality behind those words made Leon feel like he was going crazy. He blames the alcohol and the lack of social interactions for this moment. But your bubbly personality was unmistakable. That sweet and tooth- roothing laugh was — at least to Leon — proof that maybe, just maybe, God allowed him to grasp on you one last time.

Or maybe God allowed you to pay him a visit. Neither of you were religious people, but you were closer to heaven that he’ll ever be. So, maybe that pure and wholesome smile blinded God, and you escaped, true to your rebellious nature. Your death turned him into a sappy man. He has always loved you, but the tragic destiny you met made him see you in an even better light. 

“You know I loved you so much…” The voice turned sour and sad, so out of character for you. Well… if it’s you. Even in your last days, you tried to be that thoughtful partner, pushing away every worry out of his mind even though you were slowly withering away. The words slightly trembled, albeit the raw honesty that was being said. Silence set as if the owner of the voice was attempting not to cry. 

“So deeply…” The hushed voice seemed to get even quieter as the course of its words dug deeper in Leon’s heart making it bleed harder than ever. His hand itches to reach where he thinks you are, as if you could materialize from thin air and give him one last hug. One last farewell.

“Please, stop blaming yourself for this. This wasn’t your fault.” Yes, it was. Leon wanted to tell you that. You planted seeds of hope in his heart even when he felt the world was too corrupted to be home for someone as splendid as you. The sense of your living left him chasing footsteps and shadows in order to meet you again.

And as a moth to a flame, he followed you. The chemicals in his brain working overtime to hear the gentle ring of your voice as long as you keep talking. It doesn’t matter if this behavior could put him at a psych after. Talking with ghosts? That can’t happen, yet his love for you seems to break the rules between life and the realms of the afterlife.

“You weren’t supposed to go so soon…” Leon’s voice fills the dim room, engaging in conversation, the tears that he was previously fighting off were at the verge of falling from his eyes. But as a stubborn man, he wouldn’t show weakness and vulnerability, even in a moment like this. “I know nothing good lasts long in my life but —” a choke left his lips as the lump is now growing impossible to hold back. “What kind of twisted sin am I paying off? I can’t live a life without you, I simply can’t.”

“I wasn’t done with you, I wasn’t done with our life. I wanted to adopt that dog we saw at the shelter. Do you remember? I wanted to take you to Italy because you once told me you wanted to try a real pizza.” A shaky breath cuts off Leon’s speech before he continues, his slurred words stumbling one another as if he knew he was running out of time. “I wanted to grow old with you, I wanted to be the first person to notice the gray hair appearing in you. The first wrinkles in your face, which I’m sure would have looked amazing in you darling, you were always perfect. I wanted to help you stand up when your legs couldn’t carry the weight of your body. I wanted —”

“Leon.”

“I wanted to at least spend one last Christmas with you.”

He finishes off with one last wish. One last desire he had hid in his mind for a while now. He knew everything had ended, but right now, he wanted to hear you one last time. He wanted to hear an "I love you" from you.

And there it was… the last thing he wanted to hear. Nothing. 

As soon as the deadly silence filled the room again, uncontrollable tears streamed down his face. Leon bent forward, his forehead hitting against the hard material of the table, letting out all of his repressed emotions. In the midst of his despair and hatred, he cried not only for you and the fact that he failed to protect you. Each drop carried the weight of every life that was lost under his watch, each one of those bright eyed agents who were looking forward to working with him, and only found death in their paths.

What has he done wrong to deserve this terrible but inevitable outcome? He’s beyond tired, beyond hopeless. In his rage, he could only blame the world. 

God, why have you forsaken me? 

He stays there for a while, drowning in his own tears. As reality once again sets in. Deep down, he knew this would be the last time. The universe granted him (or cursed him) by allowing him to hear you one last time. Hear the tender tone of your voice calling his name like you used to do. And maybe he should take that with him just like you did. 

Everyone dies, so will he. There will be a time when God takes pity on him and allows him to meet you once again. Once the time comes and he's sent to the place where you are, he will tell you about the book’s ending. He will tell you about every mission he will get in the still unknown future. He will tell how much he missed you and how much he loved your presence, even if it was just the blink of an eye. He doesn’t know what else he will tell you, but he’s going to make sure to have a list before parting from this world — in a long, far future.

He had enjoyed meeting and being with you. And if somehow God gives him another chance, he would choose you over and over again.

The sweet carols have grown faint and not even the innocent chants of those children filled Leon’s empty and dark living room. It’s already christmas.

[clarisse0o]

Camp Wiegman-Part 52

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe : Military School

Words : 6k

Masterlist

———————————————————————-

Saturday, February 13th; 5:00 PM - Hotel

When I challenged Lucy, I expected many things, but certainly not for her to let loose like she did. She’s usually so calm that she caught me completely off guard. Let’s just say I won’t be making the mistake of challenging her again, especially when it comes to vehicles. I’ve never felt so awful during a ride. The jolts along the way were so intense that I stumbled when I finally - finally - got back on solid ground. Lucy chuckled and grabbed my shoulders.

“Easy, babe. Are you okay?”

“Oh, misery…”

Nausea hit me, but I closed my eyes to push it away. I couldn’t even be mad at her for making fun of me because the scene must have been hilarious. I had been teasing her all afternoon about it, so I guess I deserved it. Lucy didn’t say anything, though. She waited for a moment for me to catch my breath before helping me take off my helmet. That gesture did me a world of good. I could finally take the breath of fresh air I’d been missing. I looked up at Lucy, who had a sly smile behind her helmet. Unlike me, she stayed on the snowmobile, waiting for Beth to return with the receptionist to open the hangar. I would have stayed on it too, but I was just too weak. I playfully hit her arm and replied:

“You’re making fun of me! That’s really mean,” I pouted.

“Sorry, baby, but you gave me free rein, remember?” she defended herself. “I expected you to handle some thrills if you were going to provoke me.”

“I can handle it!” I protested. “You were the one zigzagging the whole way down!”

“You’re exaggerating,” she teased. “Just admit you can’t handle anything.”

“That’s not true.”

Lucy laughed when I turned my head away and crossed my arms. I’m the first to love a good thrill, but this time, it was really too much for me. Between the speed, the turns, and the sheer drops… I thought we’d end up in the ravine more than once. I snapped out of my thoughts when Lucy brushed a few stray strands of hair behind my ear.

“I’m really sorry. I tend to lose myself when I’m driving,” she confessed with a small smile.

How could I be mad at her when she looked at me like that? I understood well that she loves all kinds of vehicles. Just look at her garage with her Audi and her motorcycle. I doubt the snowmobile is the only other thing she knows how to drive.

“No more snowmobiles for the week, huh?” she teased.

“I didn’t say that,” I mumbled, relaxing my arms.

“Then I’m saying it. I don’t want you getting sick because of me.”

“That’s not it. You just surprised me.”

“We’ll see. There are plenty of other activities here anyway. We’ll have other things to do.”

“Hmm… I’ll wait for you inside,” I said as I saw Beth return and the girls waiting for me.

They were clearly mocking me, laughing and pointing fingers. After all, I spent most of the return trip screaming and clinging desperately to Lucy.

“I’ll be quick,” Lucy said, catching my attention. “See you in a bit.”

“See you.”

She winked at me before revving the snowmobile’s engine. I smiled and shook my head as I watched her leave. I really need to remember that she loves anything with a motor. It would make a great gift one day. I didn’t linger and walked toward Alexia and Mapi, who had moved closer to the entrance. They teased me all the way inside, even though I had just managed to calm down. I’d like to see them in my place! They didn’t seem to realize how awful it was. The warmth of the lobby made me sigh with relief. It enveloped me immediately. I took off my gloves and jacket, which had started to feel cumbersome. I’m not used to wearing so many clothes. Since we spent the whole afternoon wandering around the village, I didn’t have much choice. We started with a café, then wandered around some souvenir shops and admired the architecture. It was a good day. We had a lot of fun, but I’m glad to be back. The cold was starting to freeze me, and truth be told, I’m exhausted from all the walking.

“Everything went well?” the young receptionist asked us as we arrived.

“Yeah, we had a blast,” Mapi replied. “Especially the return trip, right, Ona?” she giggled, nudging me.

“Ha, ha, ha!” I rolled my eyes.

This story is going to follow me for a long time, it seems. I had told Lucy she didn’t know how to let loose. She sure proved me wrong. She knows exactly how to do it. She even agreed to race the others on the way back. We won, arriving at least two full minutes ahead. No wonder I ended up in this state. The girls continued chatting with the young receptionist, recounting our day. He glanced at me a few times, while I kept an eye out for my girlfriend. He should have realized I’m taken by the way Lucy asserted herself last night. I had never seen her like that before. Speaking of her, I smiled when I saw her coming in with Jenni, laughing together. She stopped to smile at me when she noticed me.

“Did you finish putting everything away?” I asked when they reached us.

“Yeah. We’ve got some time before dinner, so I thought we could go for a swim.”

My eyes lit up, and I nodded immediately. She smiled, understanding. I had mentioned it this morning, but she wasn’t keen on going tonight. Either I was wrong, or she just wants to make me happy. If it’s the latter, I can only thank her. Given how sore my muscles are and my recent emotional rollercoaster, it’s exactly what I need to relax. I hope the pool is heated, though. I’m not a fan of cold water.

“Oh yes! Great idea,” Mapi chimed in.

“We didn’t say you were invited,” Lucy replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I don’t need an invitation. As far as I know, the pool is open to all hotel guests,” she retorted proudly.

I groaned quietly and rolled my eyes at Lucy, who stood in front of me. What’s her problem today? Is she going to keep this up much longer, keeping me away from Lucy? Everyone understood that we wanted to spend time together during this trip, except her. That was the first thing I told Alexia back at school, and she wasn’t bothered at all. She intended to do the same with Jenni since they didn’t see each other much. I glanced at her, who seemed to be smirking discreetly. As if that wasn’t enough, Mapi started calling out to Ingrid and the others who had just walked in, announcing that we’d all meet at the pool in fifteen minutes. Lucy chuckled and finally put her arm around my shoulders.

“Well, I guess we’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, see you soon,” Jenni smiled.

I let Lucy guide me, completely frustrated with my best friend for ruining such a promising plan. I exploded as soon as the elevator doors closed on us.

“How dare she invite everyone? Didn’t she get that we wanted to be alone? Why aren’t you reacting? Doesn’t this bother you at all?” I ranted.

“Relax,” she said calmly.

“Relax?! How can you be so calm? We were already apart all afternoon because of her! I really wanted that moment alone to end the day…” I complained.

Lucy chuckled and pulled me closer to her. I sighed and snuggled into her. I don’t understand Mapi on this one. It was like she was doing it on purpose. She already dragged Alexia and me around all afternoon at every opportunity. It felt more like an afternoon with friends than with couples. It was great because the girls were finally getting to know each other face-to-face, which made me happy. I’m the first to want them to get along, and it looks like we’re off to a good start with all the laughter we shared this afternoon. However, all I’m dreaming of now is being in my girlfriend’s arms.

“Who said we’d stay with them?”

“Well, you heard her,” I mumbled. “She invited everyone!”

"I reserved a private jacuzzi for us, baby."

"What... a jacuzzi?" I repeated, a mix of confusion and excitement in my voice.

"Mmhmm," she smiled. "Jenni and Alexia teased me because they knew about it. I booked it this morning after you mentioned wanting one. Mapi won't find us if we head down before everyone else."

"Oh my God! You're amazing. What are you waiting for then? Let's not waste any time!"

She laughed as I pulled her towards the door of our room. I've never gotten ready so quickly. I put on my swimsuit and followed Lucy’s lead, slipping on a pair of flip-flops and the robe the hotel provided. We each grabbed a towel before heading back down to the basement. There, I discovered a spa and pool area I hadn’t seen before. We walked through the glass door, and I was thrilled not to see anyone from our group. We weren’t alone, of course, but there was no one we knew.

"It’s beautiful," I whispered.

The hotel had made sure the place felt incredibly relaxing, at least that’s how it felt to me. There were sounds of nature playing softly in the background. The floors and walls were covered in smooth stone, and I could even feel a slight warmth beneath my feet. I had no doubt the floor was heated, contributing to the cozy atmosphere of the hallway. I was almost tempted to touch the ground with my bare foot to check, but Lucy pulled me out of my thoughts before I could.

"Follow me," she murmured.

I took her hand as she led me down the long corridor. We stopped in front of a window overlooking the pool. It was surrounded by large windows that opened onto an outdoor terrace, now slowly being covered by snow. The staff member had warned us this morning that it would start snowing in the evening, and he was right. We had planned to go out into the city tonight, but I suppose those plans might change.

"Are you coming?" she whispered. "The jacuzzi is a little further."

"Do you know this place by heart?" I giggled.

"Let’s just say I’ve had the chance to explore it before."

It’s true, she had been here before. I wondered who she had been with... But before I could think further, she led me to a room a bit farther from the pool. A staff member warmly greeted us in front of this wooden door.

"Hello. One of you must be Lucy Bronze?"

"In the flesh," my girlfriend replied, showing our room key.

The young woman nodded kindly, I guess the key was proof of her identity.

"Great," she smiled. "Here’s your private room. There’s a button inside if you need anything."

"Thank you very much."

"Have a wonderful evening."

The woman discreetly disappeared after opening the door. I was the first to step into the room, which was just as soothing and cozy... We were welcomed by dimmed lights, creating an almost sensual ambiance. Lucy closed the door behind us as I walked toward the jacuzzi, which was partially sunk into the floor, emitting soft, changing colors. I smiled as Lucy gently pulled the robe off my shoulders. I untied the knot at the front to let her slide it off completely. When I turned around, I saw that hers was already hanging on a hook on the wall, and mine quickly joined it on the other. I took off my flip-flops and dipped my foot into the steaming hot water, suppressing a moan that almost escaped. I could already tell I was going to enjoy this moment if we had it all to ourselves.

"Do you think anyone will join us?"

"No. No one will know where we are."

"Yes. But you said Jenni and Ale know."

"True, but even though they know, they won’t know which door we’re behind. There are other rooms like this one," she explained. "I doubt they’ll go around opening all of them, and I don’t think they’ll tell the others."

I smiled and nodded. She really does think of everything. If there’s anyone I trust with keeping things discreet, it’s Alexia and Jenni. They must understand how precious privacy is. Besides, the jacuzzi is way too small. It could only fit one other couple at most.

"Who knows. Mapi might try. We should probably lock the door to be sure."

"Ingrid won’t let her," she reassured me. "So, are you going to get in, or are you just going to keep dipping your toes?" she teased.

I bit my lip as I felt her hands settle on my bare hips. I pulled my foot out to remove my other flip-flop, then decided to slip into the water with her support. The hot water immediately relaxed my muscles. I let myself fall heavily onto one of the seats. Lucy chuckled lightly as she got in beside me. Her goddess-like body disappeared beneath the water as she sat down, sighing in satisfaction as she stretched out her arms and leaned her head back. I smiled as I watched her. Finally, we were alone, in a completely unexpected setting. A moment passed before she broke the silence.

"What are you thinking about?"

Her words were barely a whisper. How could she know I was deep in thought when her eyes were still closed? A smile appeared on her lips as she lowered her head to meet my confused expression.

"You’re too quiet not to be thinking," she explained.

I tried to hide my blush by turning my head away. It’s disconcerting how well she knows me.

"Am I making you blush?" she teased.

"Idiot," I laughed, playfully hitting her arm.

I took a deep breath before straddling her in a sudden burst of confidence. I needed to feel her bare skin against mine. Her body tensed for a moment, clearly not expecting that. I’ve been pushing her away too much lately. She gently placed her hands on my waist, caressing me with her thumbs.

"Hey," she murmured.

"Hey..."

I buried my face in her neck, trying to hide. Bad idea, as the waves from the bubbles splashed onto my face. I groaned, wiping away the water. Lucy chuckled, wrapping her arms around me, pulling me closer. There wasn’t a mirror to see myself, but I could imagine my makeup must have run. I should have taken it off in our room like I had planned. I ran my fingers under my eyes, trying to remove what I could. I placed my hands on her shoulders, unsure where else to put them. We gazed at each other for a moment before she leaned in to kiss me softly. I closed my eyes, savoring this gesture that had been rare today. We had been together without really being together, so I missed her lips. The girls were wrong when they said I was addicted to Lucy a month ago. I was just starting to become so, and it’s been growing day by day since we’ve been together. I can’t deny it anymore. She’s become my new addiction, one I can’t do without. It’s much better than what I used to take. As if reading my mind, she gently teased my lips with her tongue, deepening the kiss. I granted her access, letting her take full control so she could convey all her passion. We regrettably parted when we ran out of breath. She smiled softly, letting one hand trace along the back of my neck. I was glad I had thought to tie my hair back earlier. Her touch sent a shiver through me from head to toe. The quiet made me realize that the music from the hallway had followed us here.

"Did you enjoy the day?"

"Yeah... It was really fun."

"Sorry for shaking you up a bit too much on the way back. I hope you’ve recovered."

"It was just... unexpected. I didn’t know you could be so... I don’t even know how to say it."

"So playful? So fun, or maybe so willing to accept a challenge?"

"Yeah. All of that, I suppose," I giggled. "I mean, you’re usually so serious. It’s almost like you scold me when I have too much fun."

"Hey, I’ve never lectured you about that."

"Yes, you have," I chuckled. "When I used to go to parties."

"That was different," she sighed. "Parties don’t mean ‘fun’ for everyone. They were dangerous, and I was worried about you. If I was harsh about it, it was because we were rarely on the same page."

"I’m sorry for bringing it up again..."

"No, you were right to mention it. We might as well clear the air."

"Well... in that case, I admit you were right. It was dangerous for me... And it’s cute that you cared about me."

Her expression softened as I spoke. She probably thought I was going to argue with her again, but I couldn’t do that. She was absolutely right. I was just a lost kid before I met her. I had nothing left to lose, so I was throwing my life away. That’s not the case anymore. I have her. She means everything to me. She smiled back, tightening her hold around me.

"I’ll always worry about you..."

"You’re really too sweet," I murmured, nuzzling into her neck.

I've never been someone who liked expressing my feelings. Yet, everything is different with Lucy. I intend to show her that she's the one and only, over and over again. I'd be willing to do a lot for those beautiful eyes of hers, especially after everything she's done for me. She makes me strong.

"Hey...?" I murmured.

"Hmm?"

"Can we talk about next week?" I asked nervously, playing with the elastic of her swimsuit.

"What do you want to talk about? What we can do with your brother?"

"No... Actually, I’ve changed my mind. But only if you agree, of course."

She looked at me curiously. I didn’t want to share my thoughts too late, so she’d have time to consider them. I wasn’t sure if she’d like the change, but I hoped deep down that she would accept it.

"What do you mean by 'changed your mind'? You don’t want your brother to come anymore?"

"No, I mean... actually, I’d prefer if we went back to Barcelona, rather than having him come here," I said, biting my lip.

She looked at me for a moment before taking a deep breath, her fingers gently tracing patterns on my back. She seemed to be considering my request, which was already a good sign. Finally, she smiled and tilted her head slightly.

"What’s going through your mind that makes you want that?" she asked with her adorable smile. "I thought you didn’t like going back home anymore."

I shrugged thoughtfully. The only weekend she had accompanied me was amazing. If we went back, it would be slightly different with my mother and Marcus there, but I didn’t doubt that it would still be great. My thoughts were interrupted when she surprised me with a kiss on the nose. I smiled at her shyly.

"Don’t be afraid to talk to me, Ona," she encouraged.

I took a deep breath and nodded. If there’s one thing I don’t feel anymore when confiding in her, it’s embarrassment—depending on the topic, of course. We’ve reached a point where I have nothing left to hide from her anyway. She knows everything about me, and yet she’s still here, as she’s always told me.

"I feel like my mom really likes you," I began. "It’s like, for once, I made the right decision for her... I think that... Actually, I’m sure that you’re the person who could help rebuild the bond between us."

"You’ve always wanted to reconcile with her, haven’t you?"

"I-I don’t really know, to be honest..."

"And if you explain to me what happened between you two? I know it’s been tense, but you never told me why."

"I couldn’t even tell you when it started," I sighed.

"I thought it was since you moved to Barcelona ?"

"No, it was long before that..."

"Really? I thought she was just absent when you were in Portugal ?"

"That was the problem. She wasn’t there, and my dad was. We became very close. Sometimes, I wonder if it was because of me that they separated."

"Why would they? You know, you were young, and kids often don’t understand adults' decisions at the time."

"I overheard them one night. I might have been a kid, but I understood the gist of their conversation. It was just a few weeks before they told me about their separation..."

I hate thinking back to that night. My parents never knew I had woken up and overheard them behind the door. Their conversation upset me for a long time. Lucy tightened her hold on me, reminding me of her presence and unwavering support.

"What were they saying?" she gently encouraged me to continue.

"They were arguing about me. I... I was really the center of their dispute. My mom was never around, and my dad let me do whatever I wanted when he got back from his missions because he was so happy to see me."

"I see... They disagreed on how to raise you, if I understand correctly."

"My dad always defended me. I was his little girl, after all. My mom thought he spoiled me too much..."

"And did he?"

"No. When we were alone and I messed up, he didn’t hesitate to be fair and give me advice afterward. It was a bit like with you when we first met, but my mom didn’t know that. I still don’t understand why my dad didn’t defend himself that night. He could have, but he didn’t even try to stop her when she talked about her job offer in Miami. It was like everything was already over between them."

"Sweetheart, you have no reason to feel guilty about this. Like I said before, your parents probably had their own issues that you weren’t aware of. It’s possible they no longer had feelings for each other, and you were the reason they stayed together as long as they did. That happens a lot in married couples."

"Maybe you’re right," I murmured. "In any case, going home after what happened with Feli was the only time I felt like I had my mom’s attention. I noticed how worried she was about me, but I couldn’t trust her. It was... I don’t know. There was so much history. I couldn’t just let her back into my life with a snap of my fingers, no matter what I had gone through and how much support I needed."

"That’s normal... You were never close, and she hurt you a lot. But she’s still your mom. You have every right to want to reconcile with her. From what I understand, all you ever really wanted was her attention, right?"

I sighed and cuddled up to Lucy, nodding. She was right, as always. There was a long time when I wanted to make her proud of me by becoming the daughter she wanted me to be. She wanted me to succeed like her. But starting our new life together, I quickly realized we didn’t know each other and had no affection for one another. She didn’t even know my food preferences. My motivation crumbled when I discovered Marcus’s identity at twelve years old. I was devastated that she could replace my dad. It felt like betrayal to me. I completely shut down. The only things that saved me were Sophia’s presence, who had just come into my life, and my stays with my dad. He was the first to tell me I should accept this new relationship. I’ve always wondered about his reaction. Did he know? Was that why my mom wanted to leave? After all, my mom was from Barcelona, just like Marcus. They must have known each other before. And he was in the military before joining the Police. For all I know, my dad might have known him too. He was always very friendly with him, the few times they met.

"What are you thinking about now?"

I looked up at Lucy. It seemed like she hadn’t missed a single thought of mine the entire time.

"It doesn’t matter," I murmured. "So, about my idea to go home?"

She looked at me for a moment, as if she was hesitating to say something. After thinking it over, she finally spoke.

"I’d love for us to go back to Barcelona next week, but I’ve already got something planned... An appointment, actually."

"Oh?"

"Do you remember what I told your mom about your future?"

"About the possibility of continuing my studies?"

"Yeah. The gallery director wants to meet you. I didn’t want to tell you so I could surprise you... But anyway... I managed to get you an appointment with him next Tuesday."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, 'oh'," she repeated, giggling.

"Is that why you insisted on hosting Joan only at the end of the week?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "But if you really want to go, we can. It just means canceling an appointment that you might not be able to reschedule. Otherwise, we could go at the end of the week instead of bringing Joan, but there's no guarantee."

"And why not?"

"Well... who’s to say this man wouldn’t want to see you again?"

"You think he’d want to see me again?"

"Who knows," she smiled. "If you make a good impression, he probably would."

"You’re right... And what if it doesn’t go well? There’s a good chance of that, right? Why would he be interested in a kid like me? I mean, I’m in a private school for troubled youth. If he finds out, I’m doomed."

"Hey, relax. Seriously, do you hear yourself?" she chuckled. "Troubled youth, really? »

- "Well, it's true! I had addiction problems. If I hadn't met you, who knows how I might have ended up."

- "See, that's exactly why I wanted to tell you at the last moment. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have said anything until the meeting, just to avoid you panicking."

- "I’m not panicking," I pouted.

- "Yes, you are," she smiled. "You lack confidence, so you doubt everything. He knows where you are. If he didn’t want to meet you, you wouldn’t have gotten an appointment, trust me."

- "Really? I’m surprised. You told him!? You were in contact with him?"

- "I was in contact with him, and yes, I had to tell him. He wouldn’t waste his time if he wasn’t interested in you, baby, I assure you. It’s a big gallery, which is even more interesting for you."

- "Do you really think I have a chance...? I never considered enrolling in a higher school before today. In fact, I wanted to do the complete opposite of what my mother had planned for me."

She sighed heavily, running her hand along my neck. I bit my lip, thinking I probably shouldn’t have brought it up again. A small smile formed on her lips as she tilted her head.

- "Your mother always wanted the best for you. You’ll understand that one day when you have your own children. If she pushed you into medicine like her, it’s because she thought it was a safe career since she succeeded."

I was about to respond, but she stopped me by placing a finger on my lips.

- "I’m not saying she was right. I believe a parent shouldn’t force their child to do something they don’t want to. She should have advised and supported you, but certainly not forced you. It’s your life. Everyone has the right to live their dreams, even if it means they might fall on their face afterward. Remember that when you become a mother."

- "When that happens, you’ll be by my side to remind me."

- "I hope so," she smiled.

- "In any case, my father understood that. He did exactly what you just said. I think his death and my leaving home opened my mother’s eyes. She became different toward me after the incident with Feli. For the first time, she wanted to take care of me... It was so strange."

- "And you let her?"

- "I... Yes and no... I was in a bad state when I returned, Luce," I admitted to her. "I isolated myself most of the time. The only people I allowed into my room were my mother, Mapi, Joan, and Sophia. I didn’t even sleep at night. The only time I could sleep was when Mapi slept with me, and even then. She would come to see me every day and spend hours in my room because, for a long time, neither Marcus, Sam, nor any other person could get within five meters of me..."

Lucy, who usually hides her emotions so well, couldn’t do so at that moment. I wished she didn’t know about this, but if we were going to spend our lives together, she had a right to know what kind of person she was agreeing to live with.

- "I went through real trauma," I continued. "It took me three months to leave my room. Six months to accept the presence of an other person in the same room as me. The first one I was able to talk to was Sam, which is why our friendship became even stronger than before."

Once again, I could see the surprise in her eyes. No one outside the people who were around me at home knew about this. It was a real ordeal I had to overcome when I returned. Seeing where I am now, I wonder how I managed it in just one year. I still struggle to trust people, even though it’s much better now. I can see how pained Lucy is. She tries to speak, but I cut her off, continuing my monologue. If I don’t do it now, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to say it again.

- "My mother wanted me to see someone, but I categorically refused. She granted me that, but in return, she forced me to go to rehab for six months, allowing me to come home every day. She wanted me to be in contact with people who had gone through similar stories, or even worse."

- "That was actually a good idea..." she murmured. "Did it help?"

- "I resisted the idea for a long time, but yes. Deep down, being in contact with others helped me open up again in a way. I managed to find my humanity, even though I remained cautious about everything."

- "You hid it very well. I mean, I pushed you so hard when we met. I saw you as a bold girl, though I quickly understood that you had a painful past... But even now, I didn’t think you were so deeply affected by it."

- "You were a woman, and I knew what I was getting into when I came to Camp Wiegman. I expected to meet someone like you, and I was prepared to resist you at all costs," I admitted to her.

- "Did your mother never force you to press charges against Feli?"

I bit my lip, lowering my head. Of course, she wanted me to press charges. However, I was too mentally and physically affected to do it. I stayed honest and nodded.

- "Yes... She built a case with lots of evidence, but I never had the courage to go through with it."

I dreaded her reaction to this new information. We had argued about it in Spain. I had even told her I would do it in the heat of the moment. She didn’t respond, but everything was clear from her expression.

- "Lucy..." I said apprehensively.

- "No, don’t talk to me like that. What’s holding you back, Ona? Really, I don’t understand you. You have everything you need to get revenge for all the harm she’s done to you, and you do nothing. So what? What are your reasons this time? Don’t tell me you still care for her or anything like that after everything you’ve just told me. You’re terrified of her ! I’ve seen it with my own eyes, countless times."

What was supposed to be a relaxed moment had turned into a nightmare. I wanted to flee, but she held me too firmly around the waist for me to slip off her lap. I hate arguing, but that’s what’s going to happen again if I don’t find a coherent answer. What can I possibly say to her? I’ve been living like this for more than a year and a half. I sighed, playing with a strand of her hair.

- "I... I don’t care about taking her to court, Luce. No matter how much she deserves it, all that matters to me is that this whole story ends."

With the utmost gentleness, she slid her fingers under my chin to lift my head. My tear-filled eyes met her emerald jewels. Surprisingly, there was no trace of anger in them.

- "Taking her to court is how you’ll close this chapter. She won’t stop until you do, believe me. He needs to understand that he means nothing to you anymore and that you’re capable of moving on."

And I know she’s right. Feli has been bolder than I expected since I left her. I didn’t expect her to keep harassing me again and again. Would she be capable of coming back ten years later if I don’t take action? A shiver ran down my spine. Yes, I think she would, unfortunately. As if Lucy knew what I was thinking, she pulled me closer to her.

- "Hey... You’re not alone anymore, remember?"

- "Would you do it with me...?"

My question seemed to surprise her, judging by her expression and the time it took her to respond.

- "Of course, baby. I’ve been by your side from the beginning, and that won’t ever change. You’ll have my support in everything you decide to do... within reason," she added with amusement.

- "Thank you..." I murmured. "We’ll review the case when we get back to Spain then if that’s okay with you."

- "Alright. We’ll go back soon."

- "You really want to?"

- "If the only thing that can make you happy is for me to go home with you, then I’ll do it."

- "I don’t want to impose it on you..."

- "Ona," she chuckled. "You’re not imposing anything on me. I’d love to learn more about your family."

- "Are you sure it doesn’t bother you?"

- "Why would it? We’re building our life together now, and our families are part of that. You’ll meet mine one day too."

I blushed at the thought of her wanting to introduce me to her parents. That would mean going back to Portugal. It would be a good opportunity to return after all this time. Maybe I’ll ask her then if we could take a detour to Lisbon to see my grandfather. I doubt she’d have a problem with that. I smiled just thinking about it. My grandfather is going to love her, just like my father would have.

- "Actually, I was planning to tell them about you after the trip."

- "Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Mm-hmm. I usually visit them in the summer, but it won’t be possible this year because of the gym. I was thinking of going in April and taking you with me... if you’re okay with that.

My heart races. I can't refuse, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't panicking. Having her meet my family is one thing, but meeting hers is entirely different.

"O-OK... We need to get to know each other outside, after all," I replied, making her smile.

"I wasn't asking for an answer right now," she teased. "Just think about it, OK?"

"I won’t have time to think about it with school."

"There you go again," she sighed.

"What? I still have three months left!"

"You're exaggerating," she teased. "You’ve got two and a half left. That’s half of the five months you've already completed."

"Seen that way..."

"They’re going to be tough because you need to prepare for your exam, but I’ll help you study."

"Hum..."

Too much information was shared in just a few seconds. The thought of what lies ahead makes me a bit depressed. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and rest my head there, keeping my face away from the splashes. I sigh with contentment, enjoying the closeness of our bodies. It's been so long since I've had this kind of intimacy with someone. I could stay here, with her, forever. I close my eyes and nestle my head a little deeper into my arms.

"Are you someone who celebrates month anniversaries?" I asked spontaneously, making Lucy laugh.

"Really, babe?"

"It’s an important question, I think," I said, reluctantly pulling back to see her face. "Not everyone celebrates that kind of thing."

"Well, I suppose, yes," she finally replied. "I'm a bit of a romantic at heart. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering. It's been ten days since we got together."

"And you? Do you want to celebrate our first month?"

"Of course! I’d love to plan something if that’s okay with you."

"And why should you do all the planning? I could just as easily do it."

"No," I shook my head. "I want to show you how grateful I am and how much..."

I stopped for a moment. I'm not ready to say it yet, no matter how intense my feelings are. She smiled and kissed my forehead.

"I know. And I'm not going to stop you if you want to plan a special evening for just the two of us. Just know that I’m not someone who likes overly fancy things."

"I’ll find something you'll like, then."

"A simple dinner or a movie is enough for me," she suggested. "All that matters is that we spend the evening together."

"You’ll see what it will be," I teased.

"Hmm... I’m already looking forward to it," she murmured against my lips.

I closed the distance to kiss her. I could do this all day. I'm not a natural romantic, as she might wish I were, but I'm willing to learn if that's what it takes. I want to be romantic for her if she likes that. She deserves all the love in the world, and I intend to give it to her. I pressed closer to her and closed my eyes. I love her, I’m sure of it. She knows it, and I’ll tell her when the time is right. I just hope she feels the same... I suppose she does; otherwise, she wouldn't have changed her mind about our relationship. She knows how broken I am inside, and giving me false hope would hurt more than anything. Lucy isn’t that kind of person, and that's why I love her. She’s fair, gentle, and caring. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better person to share my life with.

[sunny44]

Marriage (Part 7)

Pairing: Max Verstappen x ex!fianceé

Warnings: sickness

Summary: Max leaves his fiancée y/n at the altar on their wedding day but after years of regretting what he did, by a miracle of fate (or Lando) she appears in his life again.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Months passed, and Mason and I were doing well. After our trip to Spain, we faced some challenges, but with time, we managed to sort things out. The fact that Max wasn't a constant presence in our daily lives made things easier.

Today, Mason had a charity event to attend, and I was accompanying him. I usually don't enjoy such events because the focus tends to be on me, and people don't have many positive things to say about my appearance.

During the event, as we sat at the dinner table, laughing and talking, I noticed Christian, Checo, and Max approaching.

"Good evening," Christian greeted as an event staff member indicated that this was their table.

"Good evening," Mason and I responded simultaneously.

"Hey, everyone," Max said, and luckily, Christian took the seat next to me.

"Hello," I replied, quickly shifting my attention back to Mason.

As they served dinner, Mason's chosen dish arrived, and looking at it made my stomach churn.

"Are you okay?" Max asked, and Mason looked at me.

"Love."

"I need to go to the bathroom." I rushed off and went to the restroom.

I barely made it to the bathroom, and I think I vomited everything I had eaten in the past few days. The door opened, and I felt someone holding my hair.

"Are you okay?" Mason asked, and as I tried to answer, I vomited again.

"I'm sorry," I replied, starting to cry.

"No need to apologize," he said, patting my back. "What happened?"

"I just felt sick out of nowhere, don't know why." I took a deep breath. "I think it might have been something I ate."

"Okay, let's go home."

I stood up, and after washing my mouth with water, we returned to the table to grab our things to leave.

"Are you okay?" Christian asked, and I could see the concerned looks from everyone.

"I'm fine, just felt unwell," I said, feeling a bit dizzy. "Can we leave?"

"Of course," Mason said, grabbing our belongings. "It was nice seeing you again; hope you enjoy the event."

"Thank you," Checo replied.

"Mason," Christian called. "The team really enjoyed your presence at the last GP and asked me to invite you both to attend the Monaco GP next weekend."

"Thank you, we'll consider it," he smiled, taking the tickets.

When we got home, I went straight to take a shower and brush my teeth to go to sleep. Besides feeling a bit dizzy, I was nauseous and tired, needing a good night's sleep.

"How are you feeling?"

"A bit better, but still not great."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Can you make some tea for me?" He agreed and kissed my forehead.

My mind was wandering, and as I waited for Mason to return, I was scrolling through Instagram and came across a photo of Lauren, Declan's girlfriend, with baby Jude. Something clicked in my mind – my period was supposed to have come weeks ago, and now I realized it was late.

"Y/n." I snapped out of my thoughts as he snapped his fingers. "Are you okay? Going to vomit again?"

"No, I just got distracted." He nodded and handed me the tea.

It's safe to say I didn't sleep at all that night.

Bonus scene!

Masonmount instagram stories

“With my love” tagged: Yourusername

Taglist: @ironmaiden1313 @dudenhaaa27 @christianpulisic10 @gaslysainz @fanboyluvr @urgirlceci @justdreamersdream @aundercoverosh @newlifeforus @depressedriches @topguncultleader @luvrrish @tyna-19 @esposadomd @formulas-bitch

[breaddwoo]

-Warm Light-

pairing: xavier x reader

word count: 2.73k

warnings: none :)

desc: when xavier sees your ability to glow, he gets a lil crush and y'all have a sleepover :))

a/n: my friends bully me because all i did today was write this 👊

had you been a normal child, life would have gone much differently. your emotions wouldn't get outed by your very skin; every boy you've liked wouldn't instantly understand through your illumination.

no matter how much you tried to control it, your flesh seemed to have its own conscience that made its own decisions.

your skin glowed. bright, radiant lemon or sometimes just a comforting, somewhat dim gold. this curse had embarrassed you more times than one should be mortified in a life time. a malediction passed on to you by a higher being with unknown intent.

so, there came a time when the bullying was too much. it was never violent, there were no harsh words spat in your direction. you tried your best to be nice to every classmate.

it was the isolation. a metaphorical twin of suffocation; you had no friends and never once held a romantic partner. no one wanted to get close to you, either wierded out by the power or didn't want to be associated with it.

in the end, nevermore was inevitable. no one paid any attention to you in the beginning of your enrollment; all eyes were on you, however, once you gleamed like a beacon during a school assembly after someone's hand brushed your ass.

that's how you met enid and ajax, and in turn, wednesday. you could tell she was perplexed by your ability just as the other two were, but she never gave into her curiosity. they made you happy.

you had some control when it came to your ability; you could "turn it on", as enid would say, whenever you wanted. you just couldn't flick the light switch off when you became a human light bulb.

but night time in dark hallways was the perfect place to practice, especially the halls of nevermore where moonlight was scarce and pitch blackness was abundant.

with a snap of your fingers, you'd illuminate the narrow corridor; another snap, and sometimes the light would go away. most of the time it just stayed on until you were randomly plunged into darkness.

as you continued this, you came upon a dead end. there was a large, looming figure in front of you but it was impossible decipher what it was.

with a snap, you tried to get a better look. nothing.

you snapped again and the blackness continued. by now your eyes had adjusted enough to understand that the figure was an antique statue; however, curiosity got the best of you and you needed the statue in full visibility.

to anyone wandering these shadowy halls at night, these random clicks may have made for a good horror story at a slumber party.

in frustration, you snapped your fingers a few times in attempt to get your skin to brighten when you heard a loud click.

then, low rumbling within the walls in front of you.

your body took this as the perfect opportunity to become a floodlight, revealing that the statue was now gone and a large set of stone stairs spiraled into mystery.

even this school is a goddamn oddity.

you sighed, knowing that this meant you'd have to go down the stairs or this scene would haunt you to your grave.

the first step you took was hesitant. no booby traps, no arrows flying into your chest. is this safe??

the decision had been made to enter, so with more confidence, you descended the twisting staircase.

you feared that your light would dissipate, but continued on until you saw a circular library holding old, dusty books.

"... hello?" you whispered. there was no one you expected to answer, but you were weary of the volume of your voice anyway.

"hello?" you asked again, this time with a bit of wavery confidence.

then, someone stepped out of a hallway to your left. someone tall, wearing a costume-like robe.

"jesus, can you please put that flash light away? you're blinding me," the figure complained, covering their eyes with a comically large sleeve.

you tried to dim the lights a bit. surprisingly, your skin successfully emitted a soft golden glow instead of the headlight it was before.

when you did this, you could make out that the figure was, in fact, a boy.

a very cute one.

"was- was that your body that scorched my eyes?" the boy asked with intrigue before backtracking, "wait, sorry, wrong question right now. who are you and how did you get in here?"

you laughed a strained laugh, wringing the hem of your skirt in your hands, "uhm, yeahhh. i was- i was just practicing my, uh, glowing and happened to somehow make a statue move? i don't know, i'm probably as confused as you are."

you were nervous, afraid that you had happened upon a cult that would cut you up for finding their secret lair.

the boy studied you for a second, then stepped forward. you could see the details of his face a little better when he did this. man he's cute.

the room may have been dark, but your light cast shadows on his face in all the right places. he was taller than you, and he may not have had a conventionally attractive face, but you were nevertheless starstruck.

he gave an awkward, but adorable, smile.

"this is the hideout for a secret society called the nightshades. there's really no point in hiding it since you already know about it, though you can't tell anyone you found this place, " he explained, running a hand through his shoulder length hair.

"oh, okay, then i definitely shouldn't be here. i'll get going."

you hurriedly began for the stairs; a small tug on your sleeve stopped you from going further.

"wait, wait," the boy protested, "can i get your name? just, y'know, for future reference."

you snorted, "what would you need my name for in the future?"

"many things," he grinned.

"also, i wanna see your... light?" he said for lack of a better term.

you dropped down from the step you currently stood on so you were once again on ground level with the boy.

"i'll show it to you in exchange for your name."

he crossed his arms, "but i asked you first."

"maybe, but im the bargainer here. deal or no deal, " you stated, stifling a laugh.

the boy placed his fingers on his chin to feign consideration, saying, "you give a tempting offer."

you raised your brows to ask so, deal or no deal?

he let a grin spread on his face, "fine. xavier thorpe, that's my name. can i see the light now?"

xavier. what a cute name for a cute boy.

you gave an obviously exaggerated sigh and tried to make your skin glow a little brighter. holding out your hand, you let him examine your abnormality that brought you to this school.

xavier's hazel eyes glittered with wonder as he ran his hands over your candlelight skin.

beginning to feel embarrassed, you pulled away with a faint blush painting your cheeks.

"anyway, i- i should go," you mumbled, feeling too bashful to stay there any longer; your skin may glow again as it did with every boy that piqued your interest and you'd had quite enough of that and the reaction the boys would give.

you could tell that xavier had more to ask, but he kept his queries to himself and allowed you to ascend the stairs.

"oh," you began, halfway up the stairs, "and my name is (y/n)."

when xavier heard the wall at the entrance of the stairs close above him, he wandered to the step you were standing on when he touched your warm, illuminated hand.

"(y/n).. " he whispered to himself, a small, innocent smile painted on his face that was hidden by the darkness.

> > >

after that day, you noticed xavier in the halls much more often. he was even in your third period class. how have i never noticed?

xavier would catch up to you on your way to different classes, talking about whatever came to mind. the company was new and unusual, but not unwelcome.

after a little while, you were able to call him your friend. your best friend, even.

it was friday, the weather outside was abysmal as rain streaks on the windows beside you cast odd shadows on your desk.

it was a quiet study hour instead of the usually rowdy third period debate class.

there was a small tap on your shoulder, so you turned around to feel the brunt of a small folded paper hit your forehead.

"ow..." you whispered to yourself, frowning at the offender. xavier presses his lips together to keep himself from laughing and pointed at the floor.

looking down, you found the little weapon sitting on your book bag.

you gave him a really? are we in middle school? look, but picked up and unfolded the tiny note anyway.

inside were crudely written words that said:

hangout at the paint shed tonight?

you couldn't help the smile that stole your expression, giving him a small thumbs up. the little invitation left you giddy; you could already feel your skin beginning to warm with a warning flare.

xavier retaliated with a gracious smile. god, he's so adorable.

now the school day was going to take forever.

> > >

"xavier, what is this?"

the art studio now looked like a girl's room after a slumber party. there was a thin foam mattress in the middle of the wooden floors, decorated with many plush pillows and knitted blankets. snacks covered almost every empty surface that wasn't occupied by art supplies. there were even fairy lights hung above the makeshift bed, giving the room a comfortable and inviting appearance.

xavier looked proudly at his work, "i just thought, since we rarely get to spend more than an hour together, that we could have a little- uh, sleepover."

looking at his embarrassed blush, you burst into a fit of giggles.

"i didn't know we were middle school besties. did you ask your mom?" you jested, covering your mouth to attempt to suppress the laughter.

xavier noticed your skin begin to emit it's usual glow that he adored, but he feigned frustration as he crossed his arms. the blush on his cheeks became a fiercer shade of scarlet.

"sorry, sorry. i know you worked hard on this, thank you," you grinned, wiping a tear caused by your outburst.

"so, what did you want to do first?"

the question left xavier quiet. there was a very specific activity he wanted to do, but he was afraid the very question would reveal his true feelings.

"do you- uh, do you remember the first time me met?" he questioned.

you nodded, "of course. how could i forget the night that i burned my image into your poor pupils."

"well..." he began, "ever since then, i've wanted to paint you. with that glow, it'd give me insane practice at lighting with acrylics." and you're insanely pretty and i want to watch you glow any time i wish.

he didn't add that last part, though.

the request forced the dim luminosity of your skin to radiate a brighter light.

just seeing you like this, xavier melted. ever since the first day he felt your light touch his skin, everything about you occupied every corner of his mind.

each time he walked with you in the hallway, each day you sat together drawing, he felt himself falling for you a little more.

tonight those feelings turned him into a tight envelope of emotion ready to burst, his wax seal already cracking.

you looked down, "okay then."

xavier could tell you were embarrassed but quickly grabbed his paints. tonight he would paint a masterpiece.

> > >

the whole process had been difficult, what with you laughing every time he made his concentration face and him playfully scolding you not to move.

"do you ever sit still?" he asked, almost finished.

"do you ever concentrate without biting the inside of your cheek?" you shot back.

he squinted his eyes, "touché."

you were about to giggle again, but restrained yourself to avoid more reprimanding.

finally, with the acrylic still drying, he was done. "do you want to see it?"

you breathed out, "i don't know. i'm scared."

xavier put a hand on his chest to feign offense, "and why would you be scared?"

"uhm, cuz- because i'll see myself through your eyes."

the room went silent; you could even hear one of the shed's lightbulbs go out.

"what does that mean?" he questioned, putting down his brushes. you shook your head to avoid the topic, dismissing him, "nevermind. forget it, i don't even know what i'm saying."

he pushed on, "no, seriously. do you think i see you in a bad way?"

"no- it's more like i'm afraid you won't see me in the way i most want you to."

xavier knew exactly what that meant. considering the way you brightened the room every time he was in it, he guessed that maybe you felt the same; but here was some (hopefully) solid proof. this was it: the opening he needed.

he lifted from his stool, walking over to you and guiding you to the flimsy bed he had put together.

when you both were laying down, he turned on his side to look and you and you reciprocated.

"(y/n), you- god, how do you not see? i feel like im pretty obvious, even if i don't physically glow every time i see you," xavier began, moving to prop his head on his hand with his elbow using a pillow as support.

"well i'm sorry! if i could control this damn ability i probably wouldn't even be here," you said defensively.

he back tracked, remembering he can be a bit rude at times, "no that's not what i meant, sorry. what i mean to say is that i look at you as if you hang the stars in the sky. when we're together i can't rid myself of a stupid grin that plagues me even after we've parted, and though i enjoy it, it sure makes my cheeks hurt. "

you laughed at the last comment and he felt warmth in his stomach. "well, i literally glow when i see you so i think i win."

"i didn't know this was a contest of affection," he teased, moving a bit closer.

"it's not, but i want a prize anyway."

both if you knew what you were suggesting, xavier just needed to take the initiative to do it.

he leaned over you, your back pressed to the soft foam beneath.

the moment his lips touched yours, a bright white light exploded in the room.

he pulled back, an uncomfortable tingling sensation rising to his face.

"did you just...?"

"oh my goodness," you gasped, reaching for his now sun burnt face.

"i-i'm so sorry! i didn't know i could do that!" you were mortified. you've ruined everything. you burned the first boy you've ever kissed.

then came a chuckle, along with full blown laughter. xavier rested his face in your neck as he continued to laugh.

"i can't believe the first time we kiss i get sun burned! that's so adorable!"

the word adorable wasn't how you would describe it, but you smiled and went along with his positive reaction.

"god, I'm so in love with you, " he blurted out of pure affection.

another snap of light almost caused xavier's eyes to dry out of his head, but you luckily covered his face just in time.

"please xavier, " you stated, your whole body a beacon of light that lit up the room, "no more of that. i'm literally going to cook you alive."

xavier laughed. he was fine with that, as long as you and your warm light were his.

> > >

-extra-

the both of you lay on the bed, sprawled across each other.

"i want to give you a pet name," xavier stated matter-of-factly.

"you can do that if you enjoy a 24/7 sun burn, " you laughed.

"hmm... " he stared at the ceiling, deep in thought, "i've got it!"

"and?"

"my little glow stick."

you gave a horrified expression, "xavier no, do not call me that."

"aww cute little glow stick," he teased.

"bro stop."

you spent the rest of the night smothering xavier with a pillow.