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harley-sunday · 1 year

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Feels Like Home [02]

Summary: When an unexpected three-week break between Monza and Singapore finds Daniel back on his farm in Perth he’s desperate to use this time to clear his mind, figure out his future in Formula One, and find his way back. He didn’t expect a new neighbour, a sassy two-year old, and three alpacas would make him realise that sometimes, what you’re looking for is right in front of you.

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x reader (unnamed OFC)

Warnings: Language

Word count: 4.3k

AN: So... The idea was to post a new chapter every week but fuck it. It’s race week, bb’s and all the Daniel content is making me feels all sorts of things so here we are. Hope you like it ♥

Masterlist

It’s after his meeting with Blake and Michael, where they decided to decline the offers Alpine and Haas have made and Blake said he'd try to see if they can schedule another meeting with Red Bull in Singapore, that Daniel finds himself wandering around the house a little restless. He’s supposed to look at race data, promised his engineer he would before their online meeting tonight, the time difference between here and the UK meaning the meetings are always either shit early in the morning or late at night, but he doesn’t think he’ll be able to concentrate enough to take notes. Plus, he’s finished outside of the points the last four races so is there really anything else to say except that they need to improve and up their game?

He decides he’ll look at the data later and instead grabs his car keys from the kitchen island, hoping that maybe a visit to Oscar will help clear his mind. There’s something about the way his elderly neighbour always seems to know exactly what to say, always ready with some solid advice or helping him to put things into perspective, that he’s come to appreciate greatly over the years.

The drive over doesn’t take more than fifteen minutes and when he parks his truck in front of the house he catches himself looking around, looking for her. She doesn’t seem to be outside and so he makes his way to the front porch instead, where Oscar’s dog Homer greets him with an enthusiastic bark. Daniel pets his head carefully, because even though Oscar has told him time and time again Homer is all bark and no bite he’s still cautious around him. When the dog settles down again, Daniel knocks on the door, three short knocks like he always does, before he opens the door and lets himself in, “Oscar?”

“Hi Danny,” Oscar greets him from somewhere inside the house. “I’m in the living room.”

“Of course you are,” Daniel teases, toeing his sneakers off before he walks to where he can hear an old rerun of ‘The Price is Right’ playing in the background. Oscar’s sitting in his favourite chair, his right wrist sporting a cast and a nasty looking cut above his eyebrow and to hide his shock at the sight of the old man Daniel plasters a smile on his face and greets him with an enthusiastic, “Jeepers! What have you gotten yourself into, mate?”

“Took a bit of a tumble,” Oscar shoots back with a grin, holding up his wrist. “Doctor said it was one of the finer looking breaks he’s seen in his career.”

“I bet he did,” Daniel says as he sits down on the couch, leaning back and crossing his legs at the ankles. “How you holding up?”

“Good, yeah. I mean, the doctor said I have to wait until the cast comes off before I can start physical therapy and even then it can take a few months before I have full use of my hand again. And don't get me started on the hip replacement-”

Daniel chuckles, knowing exactly what it is Oscar is getting at, “Going batshit crazy already, huh?”

“Like you have no idea,” his neighbour agrees with a grin. “I mean, it’s great to have the girls here, you know, to help out and keep the farm going but if I have to watch Larry Emdur-” Oscar nods towards the TV, “-stumble over his words every day for the next six weeks, I might throw myself off a cliff.”

“There must be something else you can watch?”

“It’s this or Neighbours, Danny, and you know how I feel about Karl Kennedy.” Oscar lets out a dramatic sigh, “Nah, I’ll just have to take it, mate. It’s what you get when you’re an old cunt like me.”

“Oi,” Daniel sits up and throws Oscar a warning look, “you’re not that old.”

“I’m seventy-eight,” Oscar counters with a grin, “and I ain’t getting any younger. I just hope it won’t be too hard for-”

A cry from upstairs interrupts him and Oscar immediately reaches for his phone, smiling at Daniel apologetically. When the person on the other end picks up his message is short, “I think Ellie’s awake, sweetheart.” He stays silent for a second before he nods, “Yep. Ok. Will do.” When he ends the call he shrugs, “Doctor says I can’t walk up the stairs for a while yet, so-”

“No, yeah, sure,” Daniel says, even though he has no idea what’s going on right now.

***

You’re in the chicken coop when Granddad calls and so it doesn’t take long to get back to the house, where you kick your boots off at the back door and hurry past the kitchen and living room to the stairs, realising too late that he must have a visitor because you can hear him talking to someone. You’ll see who it is later, you figure, your priorities elsewhere for the moment.

When you walk into what is now your bedroom but used to be your grandmother's painting room you are met with two bright eyes looking up at you from over the edge of the cot you’ve set up in the corner and you can’t help but smile at the way your daughter's hair is sticking up in every direction, “Hey bub.”

She drops her stuffed Koala and stretches her arms up at you. When you lift her up from her bed she lets out a content sigh, “Momma.”

Carrying her to the changing table on one arm you pat her hair down with your free hand, “Looks like you had a good nap, huh bub?”

Ellie nods and claps her hands together when you lay her down so you can change her nappy, whispering a quiet, “Pop-Pop.”

“Yeah, we’ll go see Pop-Pop in a second, sweetheart,” you tell her as your fingers make quick work of her diaper. “Let’s get you dressed first though.”

With a clean diaper, her favourite pink sweater and a pair of dungarees that your Granddad gifted Ellie for her second birthday, together with her very own pair of Blundstones, you carry Ellie downstairs and to the living room where- “Daniel. Hi.”

Something passes over his face for just a second or so before he flashes you a big smile, “Hi. It’s good to see you again.”

You want to tell him likewise, really you do, but you think you know the look he so carefully tried to hide because it’s the look every man gives you when they find out you have a daughter, and so you’re cautiously polite, “Nice of you to come visit Granddad.”

"I always keep good on my promises," Daniel says, a sincerity to his voice that makes you relax a little. He nods to Ellie, who's eyeing him suspiciously, no doubt having picked up on your mood, "And who's this lovely lady?"

"This is my great granddaughter, Elisabeth," your granddad offers with a kind smile. "We call her Ellie."

Daniel waits until you've put Ellie in your granddad's lap, whispering a quiet, "Gentle," when you let go of her to remind her Pop-Pop is still injured, before he holds out his hand to your daughter, "Hi Ellie, I'm Daniel."

Ellie studies his face, her little eyebrows knitted together as she tries to decide whether or not she likes him, before she pats his wrist, "Danny."

Daniel lets out a quiet laugh and if you didn't know any better you'd think he sounds relieved to get her approval and maybe, just maybe, you've been too rash in your judgement of him. He scoots forward then and tugs on the pant leg of Ellie's dungarees, "I like your pants, Miss Ellie. Very stylish."

You see Ellie spot the rose tattoo on his hand, her eyes widening in awe as she reaches out and traces her finger over the lines, whispering a quiet, "Flower."

"That's right," Daniel agrees with a nod and a proud grin. "It's a rose."

"Rose," Ellie repeats back to him, looking extremely pleased with herself and you can't help but smile.

"I'm going to make Ellie her bottle," you say then, knowing your girl will get grumpy real quick if you don't get on with it. "Granddad, a cup of tea for you?" Your granddad nods and so you look at Daniel, "Daniel? Tea? Coffee?" Then, with a cheeky smile, "A beer?"

He laughs and shakes his head, "Coffee's fine, thank you."

"Coming right up," you tell them as you turn around and head to the kitchen. You catch a glimpse of yourself in the kitchen window as you're filling up the kettle and curse quietly when you see how bewildered you look and is that a leaf stuck in your hair? Great. It takes a few tries but then you finally get it out, letting your fingers run through your hair then in a futile attempt to make yourself look somewhat presentable.

Once the kettle is on and the coffee maker is running, you warm up some milk for Ellie and rummage around the fridge to see if there's any Lamingtons left over from the batch you made earlier this week. You come up empty on your first try and so you open the door of the fridge even wider and stick your head in, sure that the container must be in there somewhere.

A chuckle and a, "Are you trying to get to Narnia, or-" scare the shit out of you and you hit your head on the top shelf as you try to stand up, cursing quietly as you pull out, "Ow. Fuck."

"Oh shit," Daniel holds out his hands to you, eyes wide, "are you ok?"

You pull a face as you rub the top of your head, a little taken aback by how worried and guilty he looks, "I'm fine. I just didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah, shit, sorry," he says and runs a hand through his hair, letting it rest at the base of his neck. "I just wanted to see if you needed any help?"

"Unlike everything else around here, I think I've got this." You're not sure why you said that, don't even realise you did until you see his eyebrows knit together, but it's too late to take it back and so you give him an apologetic smile, "Sorry. That came out- I didn't-" You wave your hand around, hoping he won't push anything, "It's fine."

He doesn't say anything but instead pulls out a kitchen chair and points at it, waiting until you've sat down before he gives you a kind smile, "You just sit there, I got this."

You watch him as he walks around the kitchen with confidence, pulling three mugs from the cabinet and finding everything else he needs with ease and it's then you realise he must have been coming over more than you thought. The microwave beeps then but he seems unsure what to do with the now warm milk and looks at you with his eyebrows raised, and so you point towards the cabinet over the sink, "The bottles are in there. Once you've filled the bottle,you should test-"

"Test it on the inside of my wrist to see if it's not too warm." Daniel laughs at the surprised look you must give him and explains, "My sister has two kids."

"Gotcha," you reply with a smile. "Must be fun to have an uncle who's a world famous racecar driver."

“I hope so,” Daniel says with a sad smile. “I’m gone most of the year so I’ve missed quite a lot already but they seem to enjoy coming to the races every now and then-”

“We do what we can,” you offer with a shrug. “Right?”

He nods but then throws you a look that you’re not sure how to read, “We sure do.”

***

After about an hour or so Oscar lets out a loud yawn and Daniel takes it as his cue to leave, knowing his neighbour doesn’t let anything or anyone come between him and his afternoon naps. Daniel says goodbye to Ellie by teaching her how to fistbump and then tells Oscar he’ll come around again tomorrow, just for a chat and to save him from having to watch ‘The Price is Right’ all afternoon. When he turns towards her he finds her smiling at him with a kind smile and so he returns it, “See you tomorrow, neighbour.”

She nods in reply and then tells Ellie they’re going outside for a bit so Granddad can take his nap and they can finish feeding the chickens and clean out the shed.

He’s not sure why he hasn’t noticed it before, maybe it’s the way the light falls on her face, but she looks absolutely exhausted. He doesn’t want to hoover, doesn’t want to make her feel bad about noticing it and so he doesn’t say anything but by the time he gets into his car he thinks he knows a way he might be able to help.

The first person he calls is Michael, “Hi mate.”

“Mikey, hey,” Daniel greets his best friend as he drives onto the main road. “Listen, you know my neighbour Oscar, right?” He waits until Michael hums in reply before he continues, “Well, he fell down a couple of days ago, broke his hip and wrist, and so he needs some help. I figured maybe you could hook him up with some prepped meals? Make sure at least he’s eating right, you know?”

“Of course,” Michael agrees easily enough. “Anything he doesn’t like?”

“I don’t think so but- Could you have them make two-person portions?” Daniel isn’t sure why he says what he says next, isn’t sure why he doesn’t just tell Michael about her. Maybe it’s because he wants to keep her to himself a little longer even though she definitely isn't his to keep. Still, he adds, “Oscar’s a big eater.”

Michael chuckles, “Will do, mate. Do you want me to ask if they can deliver it to-”

“Nah, I can pick it up. Just let me know when it’s ready, ok?”

“Yep.”

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Daniel means it when he says, “Thanks, mate.”

“No worries.”

The next call he makes is to Blake, who sounds a little rushed when he answers on the third ring, “Dan, can I call you back in like five minutes? I’m in the checkout at Woolies.”

“Yep, no worries.”

He gets the call right as he turns onto his driveway and as always, Blake cuts right to the chase, “Alright, what’s going on, mate? What do you need?”

Daniel laughs, “Can’t I just call you to hear how my best mate’s doing?”

Blake doesn’t say anything and Daniel’s sure he can feel Blake’s eye roll from all the way on the other end of the line.

“Ok, fine,” Daniel says with a grin. “Is there any way we can clear my schedule from like six to nine until we leave for Singapore?”

“I don’t think-” Blake starts but then seems to change his mind. “Why?”

“I-” Daniel hesitates, not sure why he just doesn’t tell Blake about her. In the end he tells him what he told Michael, “You know Oscar from next door?”

“Yeah-”

“Well, he fell down a few days ago, broke his hip and his wrist, so- He needs some help around the house, so I got Michael organising some prepped meals for him and I figured I might as well be there to help out a bit, you know?”

It stays quiet for a second too long and Daniel knows Blake doesn’t quite believe him and is about ready to tell him the entire story but then he hears Blake sigh and can just imagine the way he pushes his glasses up and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Fine. Just for the record, I know you’re not telling me everything here, Dan but- I trust you. So please, don’t fuck it up. I don’t want to have to explain to Zak why you’ve broken a leg dirt biking or something.”

“I won’t.”

“Ok. Give me an hour and I’ll send you your new schedule, ok?” Blake clears his throat, “We’re still keeping the morning sessions with Michael, right?”

His morning workouts run from nine until twelve so as far as Daniel’s concerned that’s fine as is, “Yep.”

“Alright, I’ll come up with something to tell the team and I’ll let you know, ok?”

“Thanks, mate.” Then, because it’s true, “I owe you one.”

Blake chuckles, “Add it to the list, mate.”

***

Ever since you got here there’s been a certain monotony to your days, where you do chores around the house in the morning, so you can keep an eye on Ellie at the same time, and then move outside after lunch, once you’ve put Ellie down for her nap. Granddad calls you whenever she wakes up, which usually is right in time for afternoon tea, and you’ve come to take her outside with you so she can play for a bit and you can do some smaller chores. After you’ve made dinner Ellie goes to bed, which frees you up to go check on the Alpacas before you’re back in the house for the dishes and whatever else needs to be done.

Saturdays are no exception and so here you are, ready to head outside with Ellie.

“Out,” Ellie says, clapping her hands in excitement. “Out, out, out.”

“Yep, let me just-” you say as you try to wriggle her foot into her rainboot, “-get these on, bub. And then we’re ready to go.” Once both feet are in you hold out your hand for her to take and lead her outside, Homer following you without question. The dog’s been retired from his working duties when your granddad sold the fifty or so cows he still had a few years ago, but he still accompanies whoever’s working on the farm whenever he feels like it.

A quick glance at the sky tells you there’s rain clouds building in the distance but you hope it will stay dry until after dinner, or at least until you’ve finished your work in the vegetable garden.

You give Ellie her own tiny spade and tell her to have at it while you set out to dig some holes for the potato plants you’ve picked up at the agrishop earlier this week.

You’re almost finished when you hear a car pulling up to the house and when you look up from where you were hunched over, trying to keep Ellie from eating yet another handful of dirt, stretching your back as you stand up straight, you’re a little surprised to see it’s Daniel. When he told you yesterday he’d come by again today you didn’t actually expect him to do so but-

“Danny!” Ellie exclaims when she spots him, pushing herself up from the ground and wobbling over to the fence.

You see Daniel’s smile grow wider when he sees her and he quickly makes his way over, holding out his fist to her once he reaches the fence, laughing then when she bumps hers against his. “Hello Miss Ellie. How are you today?”

“Tatoes!” Ellie says, pointing at the ground with a proud smile.

“We’ve planted potatoes,” you explain, using the back of your wrist to wipe the hair from your face, your hands still covered in dirt. “Well, I did,” you add and laugh when you nod at Ellie, “this little troublemaker was more interested in eating dirt.”

Daniel chuckles and winks at Ellie, “Ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

Ellie holds out her arms to him then and Daniel looks at you, only picking her up after you’ve nodded to let him know it’s ok.

“Granddad should be done with his nap,” you tell Daniel as you pick up the spade again. “So if you want to head inside-”

“Oh no, that’s ok,” Daniel says and opens the gate that leads into the garden, Ellie resting on his hip. “We can hang out here for a while, huh? Wait until momma’s finished?”

Ellie pats his cheek with one of her dirty hands, leaving a trace of mud just above his beard, whispering a quiet, “Danny.”

“Aw,” Daniel coos, a warm smile spreading across his face. He looks at you then, “So I uh- I wanted to run something by you.”

“Ok,” you draw out, not sure what he’s getting at.

“I’ve known Oscar for a long time, right? And well, he’s always helped me out whenever I needed help over at the farm so I wanted to return the favour.” He waits until you’ve stand up before he continues, “I talked to Michael, he’s my personal trainer and he does all my meal prep and-” he waves his free hand around, “Anyway, he knows someone in Perth who can help out with that and I went there today and picked up some prepped meals for you guys. They’ll last you until next Sunday and I can still pick up the next batch because I don’t leave for Singapore until next Tuesday a week from now anyway, but this way you won’t have to worry about dinner so much. You just pop them in the microwave and you have a healthy, balanced meal for you and old Oscar.”

Your first instinct is to tell him that it’s fine, that it isn’t really necessary, but honestly, not having to worry about dinner would save you so much time and so you tell him, “Thank you.”

“And-” he puts Ellie down then and runs a hand through his hair, almost as if he’s a bit unsure of himself, “-I’ve cleared my schedule in the evenings so if you want I could help you out for a bit after dinner. I know you have the alpacas to take care of and-”

You’re at a loss for words for a moment, a warm feeling spreading somewhere deep inside of you at the kindness he’s showing. If you’re honest, really honest, it’s all been a bit much and while you didn’t necessarily want to ask anyone for help, not even sure who you could ask, Daniel offering to help out for a few hours every day would make all the difference.

He must take your silence for something else because he quickly adds, “I’ll do whatever you want me to do, if it’s the dishes, or just sitting with Oscar for a bit, or-”

“Daniel,” you say, putting your hand on his arm to let him know it’s ok. “Thank you. That’s really kind of you.”

He shrugs, “It’s the least I can do.”

“It’s more than you have to,” you reply with a smile. “I really appreciate it.”

***

“Ok, so this is Barbra,” she says as she pets one of the lighter-coloured alpacas, “but we call her ‘Babs’.”

They’re out in Eagle’s Nest, the paddock bordering his dirt bike track, and she’s taken it upon herself to introduce him to the three alpacas that are huddled together near the feeder. She nods, encouraging him to pet the animal but he’s- Hesitant. Babs looks very innocent, all long eyelashes and fluffy hair but he’s sure a well-aimed kick could take him out in seconds and so he prefers to keep his distance.

She laughs and grabs his wrist, “Come on, you drive fast cars for a living, Ricciardo. Don’t tell me you’re scared of an Alpaca.”

“I’m not scared but there ain’t nothing wrong with being cautious,” he shoots back but his voice is a little too high-pitched to make it sound convincing. He flinches when she guides his hand closer to Babs but when she makes him touch her fur and he feels how soft the wool is he relaxes a little.

She laughs and lets go of his wrist, “See? That isn’t so bad, is it?”

“Hmm,” he agrees half-heartedly, not wanting to spook the animal. “It’s ok.”

“It’s Betsy you gotta look out for anyway,” she says with a nod towards a dark-brown alpaca, a mischievous smile tugging on her lips. “She tends to bite when you get too close.”

“Good to know,” he says, still keeping his voice low, still stroking Babs’ back. “And who’s that?”

She holds her hand out to a white alpaca, the animal immediately going in for a head scratch, “This is Blanche. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.” She turns to him then and whispers, “She ain’t the brightest of the bunch, most of the time the light’s on but there’s nobody home, if you know what I mean, but we love her just the same.”

He laughs, “Gotcha.”

“Ok, so,” she opens the gate and allows him to step inside before she closes it again, telling Homer, who has come along in the back of her ute, to stay. “We’ve got their feeder here but I keep a bucket of grains in the back of my ute to keep the mice out and once every two days or so I bring them a fresh bail of hay.” She motions towards the shed a little bit further down, “They can seek shelter there at night and tend to huddle up whenever it rains, so I make sure to clean it out every day so it’s a nice place for them to be.”

He nods, trying to pay attention but he’s too distracted by the way she keeps touching his arm whenever she shows him something and finds himself wishing she wouldn’t let go. When she’s done with her tour of the alpaca paddock she looks at him expectantly and he can’t help but smile back at her.

She wiggles her eyebrows at him, “You sure you still want to help out?”

Daniel has never been more certain of anything in his life, “Yes ma’am.”

#Daniel Ricciardo #F1 Fanfic #Daniel Ricciardo x reader #F1 Imagine #DR3 #Harley Sunday x Daniel Ricciardo #Feels Like Home

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kendallroydefender · 1 month

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Somewhere only we know - Chapter 15 (Kendall Roy x Reader)

Masterlist

Series summary: You met Kendall when you were six years old. You have spent every summer together and now years later you and him are still just as close.

This story follows Kendall and his best friend through their lives. Will they realize their feelings for each other before it’s too late?

Chapter summary: Willa and Connor’s wedding is coming up but it will end differently than you had expected.

Authors Notes: Well… we all know how this will turn out

Wordcount: 3K

'You coming to the rehearsal?‘

Kendall texts you

'Yeah ofc‘

'You?'

You double text

'Be there late'

'Do I see you after?'

He sends and you can’t help but smile,

'I hope so'

you type fast

'Let Fikret take your dress to mine. Don’t want you to have to go back.'

You arrive at the event before any of the other Roy kids arrive. "Willa you look amazing.“ you smile at the woman and she gives you a hug ”Thank you, you look good yourself.“

The dinner goes on for a bit before things start to get tense. You sit with Connor as you watch his fiancé getting more and more nervous as she sits with her friends.

After she went to the bathroom with her friends for forty minutes, you watch her head for the exit.

”Could you, maybe..?“ Connor starts and you understand what he’s trying to say ”Yeah Con, don’t worry.“ you give his arm a squeeze and hurry to catch up with them.

When you finally reach Willa and her friends you see that she’s talking to the siblings. Kendall’s eyes find you and you smile at him. ”Hey“ you greet him and his siblings quickly as Willa is heading for the exit now and you tell Kendall ”I’m gonna stay with her, do something with Con. Please. He’s worried.“

”Yeah, uh okay. We will figure something out.“ you press a quick kiss against his lips before you head of hurrying after the girls.

You sit in some bar her friends are laughing loudly behind you on the small dance floor, you sit next to the bride to be at the bar.

”Do you want to get out?“ you ask and the blonde nods

”Okay, let’s go.“ you tell one of her friends where you’re going.

You walk in silence through the night for a few moments.

”Hey, Willa if you want to call the wedding off you can do that.“ she inhales ”I don’t know. It’s just all so… tense? And when I envisioned my wedding it wasn’t… like this..“ she confesses and you nod at her ”Yeah, I get what you mean.“

”How do you do it? Dealing with all of this?“ you hum at her question and think for a moment ”Honestly? It is hard sometimes and you will see the person you care for get hurt and mistreated and try so hard to make it better for him but it will come back and back again. But I guess for me Kendall is worth it.“

You come to sit on some bench

”But you have been in this family for decades and it’s working?“

”Well kind of I guess? I mean I’m keeping away from Logan most of the times - especially now, you know… but the other option meant living without Ken, and I couldn’t do that. He’s my best friend.“

She stares into the nightsky for a bit before she says ”It’s different for you I guess… our relationship is… it’s different.“ she pauses ”But I do care about Connor.“ she says finally ”But things between us are good.“ she adds

”That being said, he would understand if you don’t want to do it. Getting married.“ You tell her sincerely. You sit for a few moments

”Okay, I think I’ll go home now.“ she hugs you and says ”I’ll see you tomorrow.“ with a smile that tells you she will not cancel the wedding.

You come home before Kendall does and slip into one of his shirts. It’s soft and dark grey. Your dress for the wedding is already hanging in his closet.

”Hey, where are you?“ Kendall asks as you pick up ”I’m at your home where are you?“ he smiles even though you can’t see him. ”Okay I’ll be there soon.“ now you’re smiling too ”Can’t wait.“

He’s home fast.

”How’d your night went?“ he asks once he sits down next to you on the bed. He’s still in his suit.”It was good, I think.“

”Is she..?“

”She’s doing it. We talked a bit, it was nice.“

”Good, good.“

”How was your night?“ you ask and he chuckles a bit

”We went to a karaoke bar.“

”Oh I wish I was there.“

He looks at you ”No, no you don’t. Connor murdered famous blue raincoat. And uh Dad came.“

Kendall notices how your jaw clench slightly. ”Oh.“

”You okay?“ you ask

”Mhm, yeah.“ he says ”He tried to, uh, gaslight us into saying yes to the deal and said some other fucking shit.“

Your fingers lightly traces up his forearm.

”So you didn’t sing at all?“ you lighten the mood, knowing his love for a performance.

”Yeah, no uh Dad kinda ruined what was left of the mood.“ you nod knowingly ”He has that quality.“ you tell him with an apologetic smile.

”Come on, get ready so I can have you all to myself.“ You tell him

”You always have me.“ He adds before ”Always had.“ He tells you with a twinkle in his eyes. Yes, it is cheesy but you have waited long enough to not be cheesy. You kiss him quickly before he heads off to get ready.

Kendall gets ready and joins you in bed afterwards. You settle down in bed for the night. You lay your head onto his chest. Kendall plays with your hair and you can tell there’s something he’s thinking about.

”Are you, uh, are you sure this is what you want?“ Kendall asks and you look up at him. His eyes are fixed on his hand wich is holding your hair.

”Yes. Of course, Ken.“ you assure him

”Why? Are you having doubts?“

”No, no! God, I’ve never been so fucking sure in anything. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, honey.“ he says and you melt inside

”You’re all I’ve ever wanted too, Kenny.“ he kisses you then, it’s soft and full of emotion. You’re sure Willa’s doubts made him wonder if you ever felt like that.

When you part you look into his eyes and find nothing but honesty in them.

”I love you.“ you whisper and he gives you another kiss

”I love you too.“

You lay your head back down onto his chest.

It’s silent for some time before either of you speak up again.

”You asleep?“ he asks and you make a humming sound to tell him you’re still awake. ”Uh, I know it’s fast but I thought we could- we could move in together.“ Kendall says. You look up from where you’re laying on his chest ”You want that?“ he nods ”Yeah, I do.“ you grin and press a kiss to his lips ”I’d like that.“

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You step out of the closet and see Kendall standing before you, he’s already in his suit and he looks so good. "Hello handsome.“ you joke with a smile and his eyes snap up from his phone. He gives you a once over, his eyes running up your body and you feel your cheeks getting warm. "Wow you look stunning.“ he says and you walk closer to him. His kiss is long and soft but it doesn’t take long before it turns breathless and hungry. Then again you had starved for kisses of the other for far too long. You pry yourself away from him when his hands start to roam your body, even though you don’t want to. "We have to leave, Ken. But we can pick up right here after we come back, okay?" You ask and he steals another kiss in wich you can feel his smile. "Okay but I hope you know I’d rather keep you here the whole day instead of going to this fucking weird wedding." He tells you while he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. "It’s so weird.“ you tell him and he chuckles before saying "So fucking weird.“ you laugh now too thinking about Connors wedding. "Ours gonna be nothing like that.“ Kendall says and your heart skips a beat. Normally it would be weird if someone told you this only two months into your relationship but you knew Kendall for most of your life so you found it wasn’t weird, you had so much time to catch up with. Still you go kind of shy on him and he absolutely loves it, he loves having an effect on you. "God I love you.“ he says as he presses a few kisses against your lips again. You love to see how much better he’s been doing the past months. And you’re so happy to finally be with him in this way. After all these years it feels like something inside your heart was able to settle. This felt right, this was how it was supposed to be.

When you finally are able to get away from each other for long enough to get downstairs and into the car

You meet Roman and Shiv before you go on the boat.

Once on the ship you see Willa and you hug her as a greeting. Her mother is also there, she seems very excited. Willa tells you about the "looney-cake" and Kendall explains that that was the cake they gave Connor after his mother was admitted to the mental hospital.

You meet your parents, who are also invited to this wedding. They know Connor for a long time too. ”We want to tell you, Kendall, that we’re happy for the two of you.“ your Mother says wich makes a smile creep on both your faces. This was the first time they saw you two since you got together. "Thank you.“ Kendall says and he actually looks so happy in this moment, wich warms your heart.

”Well, you’ve always been part of our family.“ your father says before your mom says ”And we always thought you would be our son in law someday.“ you hide your face with a hand ”God, mom please.“ you feel like you’re sixteen again, even though, yes they weren’t wrong. Kendall kisses your head then and you want to melt. ”I would be really, really glad to be that, officially, one day.“ Kendall says and you think what is happening to yourself. You see your mom smile and your father says ”Well son you have our blessing.“ you know your parents don’t care about blessings, Kendall could marry you without asking them. But it makes you happy to hear that they support your relationship so much. ”And who knows, maybe the next wedding we’ll attend will be yours.“ your mom says with a wink. ”Mom, please we haven’t even been together for a year.“ you say slightly embarrassed but she shrugs ”But you know each other your whole live.“

”So I guess you just promised my parents to tie the nod one day, they’re not going to let you go now.“ you chuckle once you move on with Kendall and he stops you, his hazel eyes looking deep into yours ”I’m planning on it, trust me.“ your mouth is agape. ”But let’s not ruin the surprise now.“ Kendall says giving you a quick kiss. You look at him then absolute mesmerized, eyes slightly widened and a smile on your face and Kendall would like to push Willa and Con away from the altar and marry you right now.

The siblings ask if they could get a more private room to talk about the deal. "Uh I think I have to go with them.“ Kendall tells you and you smile at him "It’s okay, Ken." He kisses you again then; still not believing this isn’t a dream and he can kiss you in public whenever he wants. He feels like he’s a sixteen year old with his first crush again. He loves the way your arms wrap around his neck as he holds your waist. "Okay could you two stop dry humping each other we kind of have a job to do." You hear Roman say behind you and you have to fight the urge to let out a laugh. "I’m gonna kill him.“ Kendall mumbles against your lips and you smile before pecking his lips once more before he goes.

You spent some time chatting with the guests. You’re talking to Willa when you see Ken coming. You notice instantly that something is wrong. He seems distraught. He goes over to Shiv, they talk while they’re going back to where he came from. You tell yourself this must be something about the deal, even though you’re not sure if he would look this disturbs over it. Something must have happened to it, something bad.

Shiv sees Kendall looking out of the window. They’re waiting on anything, Hugo just came. She clears her throat before saying "You can go get her, you know?“ Kendall doesn’t answer. So Shiv turns to Hugo "Hey Hugo can you get Y/n?“ she tells the older man and not even Roman is protesting. You are kind of a part of Kendall, you should be here. You two always had been part of the other but now you were dating and Shiv thought he could need you right now.

You’re talking to a friend of Willa, who has left after Connor asked to talk to her. It seemed urgent, maybe another cake emergency. You see Hugo approach you. He says your name before asking you to follow him. He tells you Kendall wants to speak to you. You go through the floors of the boat behind him. He brings you to a room away from the wedding. The first thing you notice is that Shiv looks like she had been crying. This is definitely not about the deal. You look towards Roman, then Kendall they look exhausted and almost panicked.

"Uhm- so Dad- he- he’s-.“ Kendall stops talking, his voice breaks and tears gather in his eyes. And you just know what had happened. "Oh god.“ You say while you take a few fast steps towards Ken and hug him tightly. He buries his head in your neck and you can feel him shake. Hugo comes back with Gerri and they get Tom back onto the phone. You don’t know if you’re expected to leave but in this moment Kendall takes your hand and holds onto it tightly. You rest your intertwined hands on your leg and lay the other over them, rubbing soothing circles on his skin. While Frank and Tom give constant updates about the situation on the plane you have to wipe tears from your cheeks too. When Kendall notices he squeezes your hand. This day started so beautiful and now it turned for the worst.

Before the boat arrives to take you all away you go over to the bride and groom to say sorry for leaving.

Connor hugs you and stays close afterwards ”It’s okay! It means a lot but you should go be with him now.“ you nod X

”I’m glad he has you. And I’m happy you two are together now.“ you smile ”I’m happy about that too, took us long enough huh?“ you both chuckle before you say ”Thank you Connor.“

You feel bad for them, not being able to have a celebration with their families. But you can’t stay either, you jump into a smaller boat and then into a car once you arrive at the coast. You stay with Hugo while the others prepare themselves to go over the statement.

You walk up to Kendall and keep your distance for a bit, you want to let him have his moment. Afterwards, when they got Logan’s body out of the airplane, Kendall comes and find you. Roman walks down the steps of the private jet and you spot Shiv walking over to Tom. It’s time to go, you feel a little bad leaving Roman by himself, knowing he will go home alone. Still feeling for the little boy outside on the steps of the summer house back when you were sixteen.

”Can we-" Kendall starts before taking a shaking breath ”Can we go home?" He asks and you nod ”Of course, just one second.“ You tell him and jog over to his little brother. ”Hey Rome.“ the younger Roy looks at you. You touch his arm carefully before saying ”If you need someone to play catch with in the garden, call me." You tell him and he nods slowly, a little hesitant but the look in his face tells you he knows what you’re talking about.

You walk to your waiting car and drive to Kendalls place. You hold Kendall the whole night and he feels bad for you - it seems like you always have to take care of him. You don’t mind of course, you would do it everytime and you hope that somewhere inside him he knows. And you know he would do the same for you, he had done the same for you.

In the middle of the night you wake up to an empty bed. "Ken?" You ask into the dark. You see the door slightly open and hear him talking. You can’t understand what he’s saying but you don’t want to disrupt him from whatever he’s doing. You drift off again and wake up as the sun is just rising. You rub your eyes, Kendall is still missing from the bed and there’s no voices to be heard anymore. You get up and walk towards the the living room. Kendall is sitting on the ground a blanket wrapped around his back. He notice you and motions for you to sit. You settle next to him, he looks absolutely exhausted. But of course he does, who wouldn’t after their father died. He wraps an arm around you and you rest your head on his shoulder, his coming to lay on yours a moment later. "I was talking to someone, my therapist recommended.“ he tells you

"I think that was a good idea, Ken.“

You sit for a hour more, without talking much. Before he says that you should probably get ready for the wake.

#kendall roy imagine #kendall roy x reader #kendall roy x you #kendall roy fic #kendall roy fluff

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petit-papillion · 30 days

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I find that analysts from all countries often have too much regency bias or favorites bias and Charles doesn’t really have an analyst in his corner like that (maybe because there isn’t a Monegasque broadcasting service). Like people praise Max all the time now (rightly so ofc) but have forgotten that he made countless of mistakes in his earlier years of F1, even in his first championship year he still made mistakes. Yet somehow analysts never contributed that to “weak mental state”. Charles has made similar/the same mistakes as Max but somehow in his case it’s because he’s “not tough enough” just because Charles is ingrained with the Ferrari mindset of don’t let anything bad show to the outside world. Like that is the other side of the coin of working for Ferrari, you can’t show your frustrations with the team to the outside world like Max and Lewis can, but that doesn’t make him weak. I think people really underestimate Charles. Like 15 (?) yo Charles who after a pr training went up to the journalist and said “that was a stupid question because I would never be 2nd to my teammate”, etc. I can’t wait for Lewis to show up and for Charles to let (once again) show how good he is. He did it once with 4 time world champ Seb, he can do it again to Lewis.

Well, we do have this journalist in our corner:

"But a driver that possesses the special innate talent that Leclerc has will always abandon every element of caution when the upside to getting it right can be so prosperous, and he had every reason to back his chances after the success he had enjoyed only the previous weekend.

Throughout his F1 career, Leclerc has always been characterised as a competitor that is willing to leave no stone unturned in order to chase unlikely feats – no matter how slim the chances may appear from the outset.

Coupled with his aggressive driving style of preferring a pointy front end that he uses to chuck a car into corners alongside a dynamic use of the brake and throttle pedals, his preparedness to take more risks than other drivers runs a higher danger of him overstepping the mark.

However, that approach is not the sign of an aggressive, hot-headed driver that is struggling to define the limit, but rather one that is pursuing perfection and striving to extract the maximum from himself that sometimes certain cars are physically incapable of producing such demands.

Although Leclerc’s declaration he would be unwilling to change his driving style might ring sudden alarm bells of a driver that is too stubborn to change his ways, he has ample reason to back his outlook on matters. There’s previous evidence that with a competitive and compliant car, his mistakes drastically reduce in number. When Ferrari had a package that was both benign in its balance and capable of running at the front on pure pace at the start of 2022 Leclerc was able to rattle off six pole positions in eight qualifying sessions untroubled."

This was post-Miami 2023 when Charles was being crucified left and right for binning his car and being mistake-prone, yet he had done superbly in Baku the race before. Read the whole article here:

I agree with you: too many people underestimate Charles. While I think the world of Lewis, and hope he does really well at Ferrari, I hope Charles does better and he will be able to turn this "he's too nice/weak/whatever" narrative around. Because I don't want him to change his personality one bit as far as how he treats people around him, nor his attitude of giving it everything when he's out on track.

#charles leclerc #anon ask

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redfoxwritesstuff · 2 months

Text

Sunflower, Book 1, Chapter 18

Tom Hiddleston x OFC Series rated: E Chapter warnings: Flashback-It's getting even hotter in here. There's a nipple! The flashback is sexy but hardly crossing to rated M. AN: Kit exists still. Yay? Can you believe Book One is about halfway done?!

Masterlist Kofi

~~~~~<3

It was nice having him back. She had missed him. More than she had thought she did. More than she expected.

That was something she needed to tell him today. It was terrifying to consider admitting it to him though. It felt like if she told him, it would give him some sort of power over her.

Was that safe? Was it so bad if it wasn’t?

“Tom?” Her voice was strangled, weak and oh how she hated it. He didn’t answer, probably didn’t hear her as he organized socks and folded underwear neatly.

Mia was about to call out for him again, stronger she hoped but he called for her first. “How do you feel about travel?”

“What?” The question was random.

“You and Sally- do you two travel often?” Tom leaned back, looking out of the closet at her from where he sat on the floor before unfolding himself and standing to move a few more things around.

“No?” She stretched the word out. “Sally hasn’t even been outside of the city.”

“Why not?” Tom stood back, admiring his little piece of space. He had a space in this home now and turning that idea around in his mind tickled him, bringing a smile to his lips that quickly faded when Mia sighed, drawing his eyes to her.

“I haven’t exactly had the time.” As Tom made his way out of the closet and toward the bed, questions were clear on his face. “I’m lucky if I get two weeks of paid time off a year.”

“But for holidays?” He took his time approaching her.

“I work in a casino.” Mia laughed though bitterness tinged it. “I don’t get any holidays. I get 80 hours of paid time off and have to hope I get a few days left over to use for fun toward the end of the year after all the time off one of us being sick.”

“80 hours?” Tom knew Americans tended to take less time off than was healthy or normal, in his opinion, but that was not much at all. If they typically work 8 hour days and five day work weeks, that meant they only took an average of - “That’s two weeks? And you have to use it for sick leave too?”

“Yep.” Mia didn’t like how this conversation felt. “That’s normal.”

“That is not normal.”

“What’s normal to you?” It was easy to think they were the same, once she ignored the financial differences between them but it hadn’t occurred to her in the slightest that the cultural differences would potentially be fundamental.

“Like six weeks once all’s said and done.”

“That’s so long!” No wonder there were so many international guests at the resorts. They had time to travel around the world. “What do people even do with all that time?”

“We live,” Tom sat on the bed next to her. She was sitting cross legged on the edge of the bed -their bed. He was so close that her knee brushed against his thigh. “I can’t imagine having so much less.”

“We make the best of it.” Mia shrugged. “It’s not like wishing for more will make it change. And most of us can’t afford to take unpaid time off anyway.”

“If that wasn’t a factor, what would you like to do?”

This conversation felt more intimate than those they’d had before. This was personal and while they sometimes had deeper conversations on the phone, it felt different having him there with her.

“I don’t know.” Mia leaned back on her hands, stretching her abdomen and trying to remind herself to stop slouching. “Travel maybe. This is all I’ve ever known, working. I can’t really picture anything different.”

“Would you want to go to London?” The question was out of his mouth before he had a chance to consider if he was pushing too much. It had caught her off guard too.

“Sure.” She said after a moment of thinking. “If I could ever manage the time off. I’d have to get a passport and figure out time off and how to afford it. It would be a whole thing.”

“You don’t have a passport?” Tom had always assumed most people had passports in America. It was certainly true of his home.

“Nope,” Mia chuckled. “I never really thought we would need them. It’s not like I’m leaving the country any time soon.”

Tom rested his hand on her thigh, bringing her eyes to his. “You’re in a international marriage now.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Mia, there’s times where it may be advantageous for you to travel with me in the next year.”

“For your career?” Mia didn’t know what she was expecting but she had hoped it was something different, something more.

He realized he went the wrong route. It would take time to learn how they each communicated and avoid eachother’s landmines.

“No! No. I just-” Tom decided to restart. “I told my mum about you. I- she’d like to meet you.”

“Oh, does she know? Like, the real story?” Mia didn’t push his hand off her.

Tom laughed, “Yes, and she’d like to meet you.”

“Is that a good ‘she wants to meet you’ or a bad ‘she wants to meet you’?”

“The good one.” The idea hadn’t occurred to him but Tom was flying by the seat of his pants. This seemed to be how he made the best choices anyway. “Mia, I’ve got a trip back home- London home, coming up in a few weeks.”

She knew that, they had talked about that before he had left but still, it made her sad. He had just gotten there and he was going to be leaving her again. These were things that were scheduled before he had even known her, let alone married her though. Had she any right to be sad?

He had to go back home, just as he said. Las Vegas wouldn’t ever be home for him, she was sure of that. There wasn’t a lot of acting that happened in Las Vegas and surely he would need to act again. He had to work and live his life still.

“I know,” She said after a long pause. “You can’t stay here forever. You’ve got family, friends and work that you’ve got to take care of.”

“You’re family now.” Tom pressed, fingers flexing against the soft of her thigh in a firm grip that lasted for only a second. “Both you and Sally. I would like for you to come with me.”

“I can’t.” Mia’s heart sank. “Tom, I-”

“I know, I know.” Tom sighed, withdrawing his hand. “But I would like it if you could. If by any chance you could take the time off-”

“I can’t.” Mia interrupted.

“Hypothetically.” Tom continued talking over her, “How long would it take to get passports?”

“A few weeks or so? Maybe a few months. Our government doesn’t move fast.”

Tom’s shoulders slumped. Even if he could convince her to trust him with everything, including her financial ability to survive totally, she wouldn’t be able to go with. Oh well, it had been worth a thought. He hadn’t realized how much he wanted to introduce his little American family to his home until the idea had formulated.

“Would you consider getting them?”

“I guess,” She still wasn’t sold on the fact that they would need them. She couldn’t imagine needing them or having the ability to take the time off to make use of them. “It would be nice to have the option to go if things ever lined up.”

“Thank you.” Tom reached for her hand, weaving his fingers between hers before pulling her hand up to his lips to leave a soft kiss on her knuckles.

“Why do you do that?” She hadn’t meant to ask.

“Because I want to?” Worry flashed across his face. Had he offended her? “Is that alright?”

“People don’t do things like that.” Mia quickly stood up but his hand on hers kept her from escaping into the living room.

“They do if they care.” Tom’s voice was soft and firm, something she would struggle with trying to describe to Ashley later. “And I care.”

Tom left her standing there, stunned by the admission. Here she was, struggling all morning to try and find a way to tell him that she missed him and was glad he had returned. But he just threw out an admission like that as if it was nothing when if he had meant it, it could be everything.

He had managed to say those things quickly and easily. It was effortless for him to simply say he cared. Small affections came easily from him. If he kept that up, she was in danger of really falling beyond the point of return.

Was that his goal? Was he being honest? Acting in good faith? Did he really care or was he pretending, hoping that if he pretended long enough the feelings would become real?

Was she worrying about it too much? What if he felt exactly as he said? What if she really did fall in love with him? What if? What if?

What if?

~~~~~<3

Tom was lounging on the couch, his phone in hand when she joined him fifteen or so minutes later. The couch wasn’t the most comfortable one in the world. Part of her wished she had not been so stubborn and gotten one from a nicer store but oh well, what’s done was done.

Tom didn’t seem to mind. He hadn’t commented on the comfort level of the couch. Mia did feel a little bad about how poorly he fit on the couch though, seeing him overflowing off it. He was simply so tall and lanky that he didn’t fit well.

Glancing up, he smiled at her as she sat down. Sally sat on the floor in front of the couch introducing her newest bear to her other stuffed animals all lined up sitting behind a small army of cardboard desks.

“She’s holding class.” Tom informed her with an amused smile.

“Ah, a regular activity.” Mia grabbed her book and fidgeted with it. When they were comfortable with eachother, it was wonderful but it was finding those moments that Mia still struggled with. Tom seemed to fit right in and that terrified her.

“I’ve got a script to pick up in London.” Tom locked his phone at set it on the arm of the couch.

“What for?”

“Another Marvel project.”

“Do you like it?” She wasn’t sure what exactly she was trying to ask.

“The character?” Tom smiled warmly, turning to face her more. “Very much so, yes. He’s very Shakespearean and there’s much depth and complexity to still explore with him.”

“It sounded like you did in interviews.” She said before thinking.

“You watched my interviews?” Tom’s eyebrow rose and she realized they never were quite level.

“I mean, I- a few clips, here and there. I just-” Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to calm down and breathe. What did she have to be embarrassed by? “I wanted to get to know you more.”

“Ah.” The answer didn’t seem to disappoint him though he didn’t say more. He didn’t need to. The soft smile on his face said plenty for him.

“And I missed you.” Finally, she said it. It felt good to say it. It needed to be said. He deserved to hear it. They deserved for it to be said.

Warm fingers thread through her’s. When her eyes met his, he squeezed her hand with a smile. “I’m glad it wasn’t just me.”

~~~~~<3~~~~~~<3

Tom gripped her ass under the skirt of her dress. The silky panties she wore were smooth under his hands but not nearly as smooth as her skin would be. He wanted to tease her and savor her but with how much he had drank, he feared quicker would be better.

Fingers struggled with buttons. It felt like the back of the dress was fastened with every possible fastening at the same time, designed by the devil to hamper men from sealing the marriage. He would swear he felt cords and buttons and a zipper track. What he wanted was the dress off of her.

“Sorry, Darling.” Tom mumbled the words into the swell of her breast he had been kissing.

With both hands, he ripped the back open. It was harder than he expected, taking a few yanks to rip the fabric to the small of her back. with the tension that had been holding her breasts in place gone, they sank slightly into a more relaxed, natural position.

Mia was self conscious for a moment. Her body had been through stresses and showed the wear from a life lived. Though she had never been uncomfortable with the size of her breasts, she knew they lacked the fullness of many women in their twenties.

Her breasts were natural and that excited him. Pulling the bodice down, he was rewarded for his efforts with a warm palmful of soft flesh. He took a pink nipple in his mouth and ran his tongue over the nub.

He needed her and he needed her now.

~~~~~<3

Tag List: @winterisakiller, @alexakeyloveloki, @jennyggggrrr, @dangertoozmanykids101, @tilltheendwilliwrite @tinchentitri @wizardcherryblossom @buttercupcookies-blog @violethaze @kats72 @soulpiercing @evedia

#Tom hiddleston x original character #Tom hiddleston x ofc #Tom hiddleston x oc #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston x original female character #Tom hiddleston x reader

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noyasaur · 3 months

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hi! Can you talk a bit about you jjba dr? (If youre comfy ofc!) ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶

an introduction to my jjba dr! ✩₊˚.⋆

cw: spoilers for jojo's bizaare adventure!

-> hihi! and yes omg ofcc!! i haven't shifted to my jjba dr yet but i would LOVEE to just ramble all about it if you don't mind 😌 gonna make it all aesthetic and cute too cuz hell yea😍

-> all images used (except the dividers) are from pinterest and full credit goes to the authors of these images :)

★ . about my jjba desired reality!

right now, i only have one jjba desired reality which the whole thing about is me going on all the adventures from part three to five!

i think in the future i want to have a few more desired realities like one experiencing part two and part six and maybe even more of the parts if i end up finishing the other mangas! i also want to have a jjba dr set in modern times and also a jjba-based reality with kpop idols!

the timeline: in my main jjba reality, i've changed the timeline of some things so i can experience all the adventures in the different parts with the jojo boys in succession one after the other.

for example, when i first shift to this reality, i start with going on the adventures of part three with jotaro and the other stardust crusaders. the events of part four happen a year after the events of the stardust crusaders adventures when me, and jotaro are ordered to go to morioh by the speedwagon foundation to investigate well, jotaro's 'cousin'😭

in this reality, there was no affair 😙 joseph has a daughter and a son: holly and hugo. hugo is holly's younger brother and when he graduates high school, he goes off to japan for university. however, he meets tomoko there and they become a couple. long story short, he gets her pregnant and he never told any of his family, in fear of what they might say about him having a child so young. so that's how there is no affair that makes everyone go crazy, how josuke exists and how i can experience adventures when i'm not an old lady and i don't have to wait like twenty years between each adventure! (lmao)

obviously i can't live without kakyoin being dead and everyone else, so they live in this version 🤗 also, i made dio sort of less? evil? he doesn't actually commit any crimes against other humans (except blood-sucking ew but he doesn't kill anyone and just keeps people hostage as slaves and maids while he does his evil bidding eek) but is just hellbent on 'destroying' the joestar bloodline.

thinking about adding some other people into this reality too? for example, i was really contemplating adding sunghoon into this reality and making him one of dio's sons or something but during part three, he turns on his father and helps us defeat him 😜 this is a possible addition but i'm not sure if i'll go through with this or not!

i also have some generational pact with the brandos (i didn't do it, my grandpa did smh), though i fight with the joestars. long story short, my grandpas was in love with dio and made a pact that he would swear to protect the brando bloodline (my grandpa = speedwagon but dio's version) /hj might explain this later but im still in the works with figuring out how it's going to work and the backstory behind it!

★ . about me!

background: i was born in australia on the (??\??\???? - not sure on the dates and whether i want it to be set in the 80's or the 00's). i was born with a faint, butterfly-shaped marking on my back. none of my parents knew what it meant but as i grew older, it continued to grow darker, and darker. self-conscious of the odd mark etched into my back, i bandaged it up to hide it. i lived a pretty peaceful childhood. however, the after i turned thirteen years of age, very strange occurrences kept happening to me.

there were some instances where things would become heavier or lighter, or where my parents felt as if they were moving in slow-motion or faster than usual. i would get weird dreams, some of the past, and some of the very, far future.

little did i know, this was all the work of my stand manifesting.

not knowing what was happening, i was shipped off to japan to live with my uncle, in tokyo in hopes that my uncle would be able to fix whatever was going on with me. you see, my uncle is a very spiritual man. while he works as an astronomer and a psychologist, he is very knowledgeable in the likes of tarot cards, magic, and otherworldly forces (etc). he did everything he could and that was in his power to try and figure out what was happening to me, since that was his forte and all.

and thus, after years of dealing with these strange incidents, at the age of 15, my stand manifested before me. i was crossing the street, on the way back to my uncle's apartment from visiting a convenience store. however, i didn't notice a car zooming towards me until it was too late. i shut my eyes, assuming it was all over. this was my fate: i was going to die a horrible and painful death. and there was nothing i could to about it.

i shut my eyes, bracing myself for the impact and my inevitable doom.

i waited.

and waited.

and yet, i felt nothing.

the impact never came. the excruciating pain and blast i expected to feel, never hit my body.

i was alive. and completely unscathed. but. . . how?

i wearily opened my eyes and to me confusion and horror, i saw her. i saw a strikingly beautiful but eerie human-like creature floating in front of me. it had it's arms extended out toward the car, which was now moving at an impeccably slow snail's pace.

after standing there in shock for a few seconds, i shook my head and scurried away.

around a few times after this incident, the frequency at which i had those 'weird' dreams dramatically increased. they turned from being a fortnightly, even monthly occurrence, to having those dreams many nights in a row, back to back.

oddly enough, with every dream i was having, i couldn't help but feel they were starting to feel a lot less like dreams but a lot more like visions.

after two weeks of more odd visions and happenings, i finally told my uncle. he was deeply puzzled as he tried to make sense of what was happening to me. and after a few minutes of pondering, something washed over his face.

was it relief? or more confusion?

did he finally work out what was happening to me?

but in the end, all he told me what that if i were to ever run into a man with the name 'Joseph Joestar' he made me promise i were to stick with him if i ever met him.

i asked him who he was, and all he replied with was: "Joseph? oh why, he's just a very good old friend of mine."

and so, i continue my life as usual, trying to deal and overpower these strange incidents and even became familiar with my beautiful and endearing new creature. luckily for me, i was enrolled in an online school so any incidents i would have would hardly leave a scratch on my grades and records.

although, this completely changed in the last year of my high school.

you see, my uncle wanted me to have a 'fun' and 'memorable' high school experience, especially considering it was my last year. and so, he enrolled me into an actual high school, which would change the course of my fate forever.

and what a 'fun' and memorable year it was. . .

(i am so sorry if this is so corny omg this feels so corny sdsdjs)

★ . my stand!

my stand name: Ancient Dreams (In a Modern Land)

statistics: power: B Rank speed: A Rank range: B Rank durability: A rank precision: B Rank potential: A Rank

abilities: weight drop! (weight change): the ability to change the weight of anything. can make objects or people light, or make objects or people heavier. the stand user cannot use this ability on themselves. the ability can be activated by shooting small orbs or energy at the opposing object or person, where they will have a butterfly emblem on them, shaded corresponding to a highlighted moon phase on my stand, which corresponds to the 'levels' of weight taken off the person. flash! (speed manipulation): the ability to change the speed of any object or person. however, this can only be done when the stand makes contact with the object of person. dream telepathy/communication/travelling: has the ability to communicate with others during their dreams, or enter one's dream through a meditative trance, with the help of their stand. the stand user can appear in one's dreams and communicate with the person, and also manipulate their dreams. however, the stand user cannot physically harm their target's through their dreams. rather, it is a soothing and positive technique that puts the target in a state of comfort. dream energy: the stand has the ability to shoot out energy orbs as a way of fighting. the orbs are made of 'dream energy' and can easily damage and slice through objects, depending on the manipulation of the orb. the orbs can be thrown in their pure form, or even me manipulated into whatever the stand user desires. for example, i could turn dream orb into a 'dream sword,' made from the cosmic energy of dreams and fantasy.

appearance: has a slim and feminine appearance. it's body is a gradient and mix of light baby blue, lilac purple and cotton candy pink, with the phases of the moon imprinted on it's chest. it wears a majestic headpiece of a butterfly on it's head, which is coloured a shimmering mix of pastel gold, purple and pink. it's eyes are a deep blur colour, and has transparent blue 'butterfly' wings.

🪐 saturn's note:

-> um this was a little more than just 'talking a bit about it' but i hope you found this interesting and enjoyed! kinda scared to post this because i've never really talked about my drs like this so it's new to me but also fun 😍 i might update this here and there and i def swill reblog if i do or just make another post for anything else you're interested in!

-> oh and when i shift there? hell yeah am i going to be writing and sharing my experiences omg 😩

#🪐 ― saturn's drs!#⭐ ― saturn's jjba dr!#shiftblr #shifting #reality shifting #desired reality #shifting realities #reality shifter #shifting blog #desired realities #noyasaur

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princess-of-the-corner · 4 months

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MLP Rewrite AU - How is Starlight Glimmer's redemption arc changed up, as the most divisive one in the show?

OH OKAY SO

I went into rewriting both the premier and finale focusing on her before so I'm just gonna go through plot points

So like. With the town. Change it so that Starlight's belief has her genuinely take her own Cutie Mark. Like in general I'm changing it because like like. Even if your Talent is taken, you still have years of training and knowledge. So everyone in town, instead of sucking ass at what used to be their talent, is now forbidden from doing it(even though they still crave to do so).

Starlight still knows how to do the spell even without her Cutie Mark, so she can still take their Marks. And other than being forbidden from pursuing their old talent, everyone's pretty happy actually! Not- not fully happy. They miss their passion and they're depressed, but they're not full cult-mode.

I think maybe cut down on the actual 'kidnapping and brain wash' thing for the most part. Just Starlight being very preachy and manipulative and figuring out how to poke and prod at insecurities about ones' Talent. Maybe have her words genuinely get through to some of the Mane Six. Like have Twilight think about how much her Talent for Magic has lead to the pressure put on her and forced her into the Princess role. Have Rarity feel like her Talent is wasted in her passion, as gemstone spells are only a tiny fraction of what she does. They don't fully fall for it, but they consider it.

It's only once the Mane Six convince the town that no, you're not happy without your Talent, and the town revolts, then Starlight goes 'no fuck you!!' and we get the fight.

Now for the finale:

I think having her be less 'fuck the Mane Six in particular' but still on her crusade against Cutie Marks. Her jumping through time is more to study them to she can figure out where they came from and get rid of them for good, and ofc she jumps to the Rainboom because it was an Event that connected the Mane Six through their Cutie Marks. Clearly there's more info there, and if she could see it in action....

The changes and alternate Timelines come from either her being there in general and/or her and Twilight fighting and keep ending up changing the race.

After Time Shenanigans and all, when Twilight asks that Starlight shows her where this all started, Starlight has more examples than just 'my friend got his Cutie Mark and he left'.

There's another friend whose talent was in dance, until an accident disabled them. Yet another whose passion died because their family forced them to do nothing but their talent, never engaging in a hobby even.

Even showing her ponies from her town. Sugar Belle who might be a great baker, but feels lost amongst the sea of other ponies who have baking and cooking talents. Party Favor, who is good at providing the best items one would need for decor, games, catering, music, etc., but can't plan a party to save his life and ended up floundering in requests to make a spectacle like some other party ponies.

Twilight would muse on the subject, admitting how back when she first came to Starlight's town, she questioned it as well. If she'd had a 'normal' Cutie Mark, or none at all, she may not be where she is. No complicated mentorship with the Princess, no near-death experiences, no pressure to deal with every disaster that pops up, no being forced into a role she didn't ever want.

But she also muses that, without all of that happening, she wouldn't be herself anymore. She wouldn't have the friends she loves or all the memory of them. (hell bring them back to the castle so Starlight can see the memory chandelier tree!)

Twilight brings up how she knows Sugar Belle and Party Favor and the others were miserable, and that for all the hardships they wanted their Marks back. That, now with a supportive community, they and their talents are thriving.

She doesn't know what happened to the others Starlight mentioned. But she does know that it's not your talent that's the source of such a bad state of mind, it's the environment. You need people around you who care and support you, all of you. They need to let a talent thrive. And while there may be situations, like the dancer who ended up disabled, it doesn't have to stop them. It will hurt, of course. They may never be the same. But they can still find ways to engage in what they love.

Starlight, though still angry and hurt, cannot stay in denial. But she is lost and confused. So when Twilight reaches out, offers to help her learn how to be better and how to get herself out of this mess, she takes the offer

#mlp rewrites

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misrepresentedmorallygrey · 3 months

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PROPAGANDA

Six

Once again (just like with every morally grey character I think) there's a war between "she's a monster" and "she's an angel". Six, as a character, is very cool because there's no dialogue or anything in the Little Nightmares games, and a lot of things that are just not showed. The whole point is everyone can have their own interpretations and theories. But Six is just so disrespected by the fandom ! On one side, it's "she's a monster, we hate her, she's selfish and uses people to get what she wants !" On the other side it's "she's a kid and my favorite character so by default she can't be a bad person, she's actually a sweet and pure angel !" None of them are right. For the first ones... Six isn't that much of a monster. And I'm gonna say it : yes, she is a literal kid. That doesn't mean she can't be bad, but she thinks like a kid. She probably cared for Mono before she betrayed him – we can see her trying to help him when he was in the TVs. She probably has a reason why she betrayed him. There's a lot of different theories on that and none of them is more valid than the others because again you're meant to have your own interpretation, so I won't tell any of the popular theories here. You can think she did it for selfish reasons. That doesn't mean she's a literal monster, and that doesn't mean the people who don't think it was selfish are mischaracterizing her. For the second ones... I don't even know what to tell you. If there's one CLEAR thing in these games, it's that Six is morally grey and could do something scary at any moment. As the player you're literally MEANT to be scared of her and what she could do. In the first game you are meant to slowly realize her hunger isn't human. You can also see how she doesn't try to help any of the kids trapped here, she's just helping herself. In the second one she does scary thing all along the game to keep you scared that she could kill and eat Mono at any time, only for her to betray him in the worst way possible at the end. We don't know her reasons but she still did it. Six is a morally grey character. She's just a kid trying to survive in a world full of monsters. She's also full of darkness, acts like a creep and eats literal people. You can't say she's "just a monster", the same way you can't say she's "a little angel who did nothing wrong".

The whole thing with Little Nightmares is that the world is terrifying and horrible. It is eat or be eaten in the most literal sense. Six does what she has to to survive. Has she done some bad things? Yes. Was it her fault? …Debatable. But the fandom treats this CHILD like she’s the worst person to ever exist. Like, she’s not even ten years old. She’s a survivor. Mono did plenty of questionable things too, but I’ve never seen anyone hate on him.

Daisy Tonner

A lot of people just. Write her character off, especially in the earlier seasons, as acab. She did bad things as a cop while she was being taken over by an evil eldritch entity, but everyone just kinda focuses more on the do part than yk. Evil eldritch entity. Now I ain’t gonna justify her actions, she was indeed kinda a bitch, but she was also under the influence of the Hunt, and been for I think decades at the point where we first meet her. Afterwards she ofc got her redemption arc, but everyone (both in canon, but also fandom) treated her like shit even after that, when she was trying to be better. Idk, maybe I’m a daisy simp, maybe IM the one viewing the character wrong, idk. I’m just mad at everyone writing everything off as her being a cop when it was also A PRIMORDIAL GOD OF FEAR THAT WAS PRACTICALLY POSSESSING HER

Girl is a brutal cop who murders people. She is also someone who resisted the absolute pull of the Fears in TMA and didn’t hunt anyone for multiple weeks, something the main character couldn’t even do. She’s incredible bc she is literally like. Grey grey. She’s a fascinating character and cannot be good nor bad depending on how you interpret end actions vs intent.

She did try to slit the main character's throat, and she did do a ton of police brutality- BUT she got a redemtion arc. She tried to better herself. She gave herself over to a evil fear god in order to protect her friends. Her arc is about how it's never too late to try to be better, and about how you can accidently drag others down with you and about how sometimes we become monsters when we want to be better. And I swear- everyone either thinks she's evil or she's good. No inbetween.

#misrepresented morally grey #round 1 #bracket d #little nightmares #six little nightmares #the magnus archives #alice tonner #daisy tonner

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cookiesupplier · 6 months

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Every Rose Has It's Thorns - Part Six

pairing: Ricky Olson x ofc (Talia)

warnings/tropes: slow burn, soulmates, strangers to enemies to lovers, betrayal, angst, fluff, smut, language.

summary: In a world where soulmates inexplicably receive a tattoo that will match that of their soulmate the moment they turn eighteen years old, being famous and covered in very visible tattoos can make finding your true soulmate a questionable fate. Not that it is any easier for the soulmate in question. Thus is the fate for Ricky and Talia. Sooner or later, however, life is bound to collide, but what will happen when it does?

author’s note: Unbeta’d, so please readers beware. Sorry for the mis-post before!

tags: @tearfallpixie @cncohshit @jordynyingling0219 @faceless-mirror @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @wild-child-7747 @witchyweeb34

If you would like to be added feel free, please let me to know, whether to this list specifically or in general.

So, there were two weeks left of the tour. Two weeks, and it was obvious that neither Vinny or Ava just wanted to walk away immediately now that they found each other. As awkward as meeting your soulmate could be, especially under trying circumstances, they obviously had a connection already and wanted to spend time together, and Talia envied them that. She however, didn’t want to think about the way Ricky looked at her, she’d obviously set this whole thing up just to spite him.

She couldn’t blame him though, in less than a day his whole life had turned upside down. One the other hand she’d had years to adjust to her predicament. Not even the fact that she’d lost him, but the whole issue of being his soulmate in the first place, and how people treated her for it. Really, being treated what felt like a little bit like a pariah sometimes in her own family, like she was mental for believing what she did, and unlike Rick she’d had plenty of time to adjust. He’d had the rug pulled from under his feet. Sure maybe it was new for him, maybe he’d dealt with soulmate issues before in the band in a way she hadn’t, but this had to be horrible, had to be worse. Or at least, new, fresh.

Maybe he could not blame her though?

Still, when Vinny suggested that maybe Ava could join them for the last couple weeks for the tour, Talia jumped at the chance to point out she’d make a fantastic PA, even if just helping out with general housekeeping on the bus and making sure they don’t go stir crazy for the last leg of shows. After all, helping her was pretty much what she did.

“How will you ever cope without me?”

Talia laughed at her best friends dramatics as Ava went and pressed her hand to her chest with a gasp as she just shook her head,

“I think I’ll survive just fine.”

Oh, she knew she’d miss her best friend something awful, all three of them would, but there was no way that Ava wouldn’t keep them updated. Talia knew how Ava was, she’d keep them updated to how she was going on this every step of the way, she could only hope she wouldn’t drag her into it as well, there was only so much that she could deal with right now.

“You should come too, right, Vin?”

“No!”

Before she could even argue, the other person she knew would spoke first, she glanced across the once more empty table after the waitress had come and collected their plates after they’d finished eating their breakfast, Ricky looked livid, and she knew instantly she was going to have words with him about how he was going to be treating Ava.

“I can’t go, I have clients, set appointments, you know that. Either way, you don’t me dragging you down, use this time to get to know Vin, okay, you’ll get to spend so much time together, getting to know each other.” “Only getting to know each other. No sex on the bus.”

Ricky was quick to point that out kicking Vin under the table, smirking a little, only for Vin to snort in response as he grinned back,

“Yea like any of us keeps to that rule anyway.”

Of course, the moment the words slipped from the younger man, he seemed to remember the fact the issues at hand, which was stupid because they were here, and why they were talking and it had just come out, fuck, he back peddled,

“Whatever, Ava is probably going to want to kill me after me making her living in a bus full of dudes for two weeks anyway, Talia you’ll say something nice at my funeral right? I’m not sure I can trust Rick, he’d be snarky.”

“Oh Vin, I’ll always be on Ava’s side.”

“Dammit.”

Chuckling… his grin, she loved this, he would be great with Ava. She wondered if she’d ever be on Ricky’s side, like she was sure Vinny would be on Ava’s but she doubted he’d ever want her there.

At least they weren’t trying to convince her to come on tour anymore, she couldn’t keep saying no to Ava, and the thought of actually having to handle the painful glares from Richard Olson. She could work around her clients, take vacation time, she hadn’t had vacation time in so long, two weeks would be nothing, but the thought of being in a cramped bus, with those glares, bearing down on her. Stripping away at her soul, ripping her open and bleeding her heart dry? She couldn’t do it, she couldn’t put herself through that. While she could handle all of this, she needed to handle him and his, and she figured, justified anger, at what he was going through, from far away.

“Okay, so, we should get going,”

“But-”

“You have to pack, you’re going on tour for two weeks.. You have to go home, pack, and call Bee and let him know you’ll need vacation time for soulmate reasons.. and get back to the the bus all before they leave.. We should get going.”

Ava sighed, nodding quickly,

“Okay, okay.”

Getting up from the table, it was when Ava was hugging Vin tightly talking quickly, probably whispering some shit, who knows, that Talia didn’t want to think about that she grabbed the sleeve of Rick’s jacket and pulled him over to the side.

“Hey, lay off.”

Oh, he was in a real mood still, annoyed at the very least, didn’t want to calm down at all.

“Not going to check the attitude at all are you? Well you can with Ava. I don’t give a shit how you treat me, it’s obvious you hate me, I get it. I know why, I don’t blame you. I didn’t want to fuck up your relationship anymore than you wanted it to be, but now here we the fuck we are.”

Ricky just glared at her and she swallowed, even though he was short, he was taller than her, she’d always been tiny, and right now, she hated it. It was only a few inches, half a foot at best.

“But so help me, if you treat Ava like shit, I will stick my foot so far up your ass Richard Olson.”

Standing so close to him, her head tilted up, his eyes boring into hers, the fierce stare piercing, and the blue was like ice in her veins. This was why she couldn’t go on tour, and this was why she was worried about Ava. All she could hope, was that if he couldn’t play nice, was that Ava was far too wrapped up in her cocoon of Vinny to notice the hostility coming from Ricky in waves.

“Oh don’t worry, Talia, I’m sure I’ll get along with her famously. You are the only problem here, I’m not putting up with anymore of this soulmate shit.”

Talia sighed,

“That, right there. Don’t call it shit in front of Ava, she believes in this stuff, and loves it. She just found Vinny, her soulmate. Support them. I can’t be with them okay, I won’t inflict myself on you like that, and if you can’t support them, keep your mouth shut, got it?”

She just stared him down for a long moment, so much so she didn’t even notice the far that Ava and Vinny weren’t talking anymore between themselves and were just watching them, watching them standing very close, and bickering as they were. There was something dangerous in his eyes, and she didn’t want to think about how it felt to be this close to him. She didn’t want to think about the fact that despite the pain of how much he hated her right now, just being near him now, actually filled her with a sense of warmth that her breath caught slightly. Swallowing, she didn’t want to think about it, she didn’t, she couldn’t, not like this.

“You got it, Sweetie.”

With a parting glare, his shoulder shoved hers as he moved past her and walked out of the diner. She sighed and turned to see Ava and Vinny staring at her now, only her with Rick already gone.

“Don’t.”

Most of the drive home was completely silent. Absolutely completely silent. Talia really didn’t want to talk about any of it anyway, but she was waiting. There was no way that Ava didn’t want to say something with the way that she’d been looking at her along with Vin before they’d left the diner, it had been on the tip of their tongues she could just bet it before she’d grabbed her best friend's arm and rushed her out. She had her bags to pack because he had a tour to finish.

“So, that was something.”

“Please, please don’t Ava.”

She didn’t want to talk about it, she really didn’t, she could feel herself cracking even as she said it.

“That was intense, I mean, if I didn’t know better, with how close he was standing to you, I’d think he wanted to..”

She giggled.

“Vinny hasn’t even gotten that close to me yet, and Ricky was right there babe… and Sweetie?”

Talia shuddered hearing it again,

“He wasn’t saying it as a compliment Ava, he was saying it to insult me, I heard that loud and clear.”

Even if Ava was right, even if what she was saying had crossed her mind as the silence of the drive back to their apartment went on. It was hate though, that was the intensity, so her giggle was misplaced and Talia couldn’t let herself think about it.

Talia had to remind Ava multiple times she was only going to be gone for two weeks, and staying one a tour bus with so many people that there wasn’t going to be room for a heap of luggage. Pack as if she was going to be living out of a carry on bag. She was no happy, but, for Vin, she did it. They called Bee, and the owner of the parlour was ecstatic for her, and Ava, without asking Talia, even flouted the idea of Talia taking some time off in two weeks, while they were on the phone. If she hadn’t been about to leave, she would have killed her for that. Fuck. But at the same time, it wasn’t in stone, all she said while they were talking to Bee was she’d think about it and that there was no appointments set on the books anyway.

By the time Ava got back to the bus they had smoothed everything over, sorted the schedule so they were heading out to the next town as soon as she was settled.. And Rick was staring at the empty bunk she would be sleeping in when she got there.

Grace’s bunk.

He couldn’t, he didn’t even want to think about this, not about the fact that Ava was going to be taking up Grace’s space, that Grace wasn’t going to be here, that every time he even looked toward the bunk all he could think about was her lies. There were so many memories, moments, good moments, that were each turning sour and toxic one by one in his head with this poisonous little darkness in his head reminding him about how she lied. Reminding him about how it was all a trick and that she had been manipulating him from the very moment they met.

Distraction, he needed to think about something else. Update, a tour update, he could do a tour update before Ava got here, he’d already talked to Vin earlier about whether he wanted to let anyone know about her, and the consensus was that he wanted to talk to her first, so this update would be better to happen before she got here anyway. Rick also wasn’t sure how to update his socials about Grace after how open he’d been about his relationship, so here he went. Everything was going fine, until it wasn’t.

He ran into Justin.

It was nothing. He knew it was nothing, it was nothing. But it felt like everything. He just exploded and just started yelling at him to get the fuck out of his way and why the hell couldn’t he do anything right. Why the hell was he always in his fucking way. What was wrong with him?! Ricky Shoved the at the bassist and it took Chris coming to grab him, the singer literally grabbing him and heaving him up and carrying him, yelling out of the bus, before he started to calm down.

What the fuck, was he even doing.

That was exactly what Chris didn’t need to ask him because if anyone knew what he was going through it was Chris. The women that had tried to manipulate him into believing they were his soulmates, and ruined his real relationships in doing so. This time, this time, the fake soulmate exposed his real relationship as a fraud soulmate herself.

He left him outside to calm down while they had time, before he had to be closed up in the bus again for the night while they travelled to the next town. Standing there, Rick slipped something out of his pocket, and looked down to the box in his hand, he’d not known what he was going to do with it..

Taking in a breath, he reaching back, and threw the ring box holding the engagement ring he’d bought for Grace as far as he fucking could from the tour bus. Hopefully whoever found it got better use out of it. Sell it, use it, he didn’t give a shit, he just didn’t want to see it ever again.

Talia dropped Ava off at the bus and watched it drive away before heading back to the apartment once more. Two weeks, the start of two weeks alone. Alone with nothing but time to think about Ricky and the way he’d stared at her with such hate… and the way it made her feel.

When his arm had been around her during the VIP, her tattoo had been warm, it had tingled. She wondered on some level if that had been her imagination, or something real. Just the way he has been looking at her made her feel something as well, even if he was looking at her with such hate, it was with such intensity that it warmed her. Like a spark had been ignited inside of her.

The kind of spark that she’d imagined she’d feel when her soulmate looked at her with a very different kind of intensity. Like he wanted her, instead, instead he hated.

Dropping her keys in the bowl by the door, Talia walked into the empty apartment, moving through the big, empty apartment with no one waiting for her, no one. Letting the crushing weight of the day, of how Ricky looked at her made her feel press down on her now, and she crumbled. Collapsing to her bed she cried until she could do nothing but fall asleep.

#motionless in white #miw #ricky olson #ricky horror #ricky olson fanfiction #ricky olson x ofc #original female character #soulmates #vinny mauro #fanfiction #miw band #rick olson #ricky horror olson #soulmate au #soulmate #tattoos #ricky olson fanfic #vinny mauro fanfic #fic: every rose has its thorns

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agendabymooner · 6 months

Text

TO LOATHE AND TO LOVE || MV33 SERIES: a masterlist

f1 masterlist: a - n o - z

max verstappen x hearth sister!ofc (sylvie ford) - wip

summary: there is a massive difference between the two words, but sylvie was more than willing to blur out the line if it means for her to spend some time with what others called her soulmate, max verstappen.

content warning: 16+ content, use of explicit language, social media file + written fic format, mentions of paternal relationship issues, jos verstappen, mentions of mental health and problems with it, best friends to enemies to best friends to lovers (lol), gossips + rumours

one, it’s time to go: sylvie attended a christmas party and couldn’t seem to do what she normally did on the paddock: avoid max

two, closure: her memories haunted her so much that the red bull team principal thought of her to be incompetent, so it was only ideal of max to face the music too.

three, goodnight n go: she wasn't sure what was more surprising: toto's presence on her graduation celebration or max's expensive graduation gifts.

four, gorgeous: there's nothing more satisfying than seeing christian horner own up to his own mistake. that, and max's office-warming gift that he dropped off in sylvie's new on-site office.

five, cinema: sylvie was left feeling unsure when she and max did things that friends normally wouldn't do after she was broken up with by another man. (16+)

six, satellite: max verstappen might've avoided talking about what they had done before all of this, but he was certain he wouldn't get out of his way just to ignore her as he swore not to her one way or another ever again.

seven, mean: sylvie found herself with a million and a half pounds and winning against the boys who brought her racing career to an early end.

eight, long story short: they're friends, they said. they bought a house and adopted a dog together, they definitely did.

nine, mastermind: max wasn't going to admit that he was jealous. he wasn't going to tell her that he sabotaged her blind date, either. not that she didn't know.

ten, comfort crowd: ah yes, the first monday of may. when everyone speculated that sylvie was merely using him and when she finally admitted to missing him for the past four years.

eleven, matilda: they don't know much, maybe, but they know how they'll raise their children away from the toxicity that they grew up in, all thanks to their fathers who did nothing but set expectations. (hc)

extra: matilda volume two, smau: set years after the tltl series in which sylvie and max have the most adorable set of kids called emilia, lila and maximilian. (f)

twelve, wild: sylvie is smart and she was always quick to realize things. what she did not expect, however, was realize that she was in love with her best friend.

#max verstappen fic #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen #max verstappen x oc #formula one imagine #formula one x oc #formula one masterlist #red bull racing imagine #mv33 #mv33 imagine

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allelitesmut · 1 year

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Palate Cleanser part 2

After their reunion goes south, Max makes one last desperate attempt at changing their fate. But with a lifetime of history and baggage, have they missed their chance at getting the timing right?

Find Part One here

Ship: MJF x Actress!Childhood Friend!OFC

Rating: Explicit - 18+

Warnings: Smut (minors dni), Angst is their second language, Maybe even a little fluff this time, Cheating, Rough Sex, Choking, Hair Pulling, Oral Sex(f receiving), minor degradation, daddy kink, and breeding kink, biting

-One Missed Call-

-Two Missed Calls-

-Three Missed Calls-

*Riley, please pick up the phone. Please, I’m begging you.*

-Four Missed Calls-

*Please, we can’t leave things like this...*

*I went to your hotel but they said you already checked out. How did you get here so much faster than me? I’m going to be so late for this convention*

-Five Missed Calls-

*I’m going to the airport. They can fucking fire me if they want, I’m not sitting around in some loser convention while you walk out of my life*

-Six Missed Calls-

*Riley, pick up. I’m going crazy here. Please, pick up the phone.*

*I’m trying really hard not to be a psycho right now but i’m running out of options.*

-Seven Missed Calls-

*Please, Riley. I can’t say this stuff to you through text. Please pick up.*

YOUR CALL COULD NOT BE COMPLETED AS DIALED. PLEASE HANG UP AND DIAL AGAIN.

“Why aren’t my calls going through?”

MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED.

YOUR CALL COULD NOT BE COMPLETED AS DIALED. PLEASE HANG UP AND DIAL AGAIN.

“Riley?”

MESSAGE NOT DELIVERED

YOUR CALL COULD NOT BE COMPLETED AS DIALED. PLEASE HANG UP AND DIAL AGAIN.

—————

-One Month Later-

Max hesitated in the cool night air before stepping up onto the sidewalk. He took in a long breath through his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. The ‘for sale’ sign out front was a daunting reminder that this was his last shot.

He had heard through the grapevine that she put her townhouse on the market, but seeing it for himself was a different story. The place looked just like it always did, a gem tucked away on a quiet street near Washington Square Park. The wave of nostalgia that hit him nearly bowled him over; he missed this place and the fact that he didn’t do this years ago was making him itchy.

Her porch light was on and he could see the light on in the living room. She was home and she was still awake. It wasn’t until he was halfway here that he realized that it would be nearly one in the morning by the time he got here and some people actually slept.

His expensive shoes scuffed along with pavement, turning onto the walkway up to her porch. He wondered if she heard his car pull up and his stomach was suddenly turning. Climbing the few stairs up to the door, his heartbeat pounded in his ears. Fuck, he had been so confident the entire ride here but now that he needed to raise a hand to ring the doorbell, his arms were suddenly made of concrete.

It had been a long time since he had been here. Probably five years by now. It seemed like a lifetime but he couldn’t help but feel like it was still a second home. How many times had he parked in that same spot, walked up those same stairs, knocked on this same door? How many times had he not bothered to knock because he had a key and she had an open door policy for him, and him alone? How did he manage to screw things up this colossally? Fuck, he was in his own head.

Acting before he could double guess it, he reached up and jammed on the doorbell that he suddenly wasn’t sure he had ever used before, wincing as it let out a stuttered double chime throughout her house. Swallowing hard, he shifted his weight and tried to train his face into something she might not want to spit at. His fingers fidgeted as he waited for a response, one hand fiddling with the bag that was strangled tight in his fist. Then, he could hear the soft pad of her footsteps approaching the door, and his mouth went dry.

Without stopping to think, Riley swung the door open, spoon still dangling from between her lips from the ice cream she had just sat down to eat. She caught sight of him and screeched to a halt, pulling the spoon from her mouth. Time stood still as she took in the sight of him, hair slightly disheveled, beard more grown out than she had ever seen. He was dressed in a t-shirt and sweats, his eyes clearly bloodshot even in the flickering porch light. A well in her chest grew astronomically fast and she slammed the door shut before he could even get out a ‘hello’.

Max deflated on the other side of the door, cursing himself for being so dumb-struck that he couldn’t manage to conjure up a single word in the time she was looking at him. He drove over an hour, practicing what he was going to say when he finally got here and now he was totally blank. The sight of her, hair tied up, wearing those tiny silk pj’s that he knew he bought her for some birthday a million years ago, it knocked the wind out of him for a second. He knocked pointedly at her door.

“Riley, come on, I obviously know you’re in there.” He tried to speak loud enough for her to hear through the door. It was quiet, only the sound of some drunk kids down the street. But importantly, not the sound of her walking away. “Please, just talk to me, Ry.”

“Go away, Max.” Her voice was faint on the other side of the door but if she was responding, he could at least get somewhere.

“No, I’m not going anywhere until you hear me out. I will camp out on your porch if I have to.” He insisted, fully prepared to settle in. It wouldn’t be the first time he fell asleep on this porch.

“You can’t just show up here unannounced.” She slid down the door, sitting on the floor, back flat against it. Her stomach was in knots and she was doing her best to suppress the thrill that was so desperately trying to peak through.

“Well I would’ve called but you blocked me.” He settled into the brick porch, leaning his shoulder into the door, as if it made him any closer to her.

“Maybe you should have taken that hint.” She laid her head back, eyes closed, willing herself to get up and go back to the couch; to eat her ice cream and finish her movie and go to bed and pretend this was just another futile dream.

Max fell quiet at that. He had been trying; he really had. He crawled back to the life he had blown up with his tail between his legs and tried to accept that it was over. And his efforts at seeming unaffected to everyone around him were valiant - they worked for a while, and they probably would have continued to work if he had been sleeping at night. But a month of sleepless nights took its toll, and his perpetual bad mood was making him hugely unpleasant to be around. The news that she was moving just pushed him over an edge. An hour of staring at the ceiling in bed and he finally cracked, jolting upright and barely stopping to throw on a shirt before he got in his car.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Go home, Max.” She pushed off the floor to get to her feet and he could hear the movement on the other side of the door, scrambling to get to his feet himself.

“I got your shoes fixed.” He offered, holding up the bag in his hand like she could see it through the door. She stilled, brows furrowing. “You left them in my room after...” Trailing off, he ground his heel into the porch. It was a blatant tactic; they both knew it...but that was her favorite pair of shoes...

“You fixed the heel?” She breathed cautiously, almost not wanting to hear the answer, and Max closed his eyes in a relieved breath.

“I’ve got a guy.” That guy was his mom but none-the-less, it was fixed.

Ever so slowly, she creaked the door back open, bracing herself. She could accept the shoes and tell him to leave. That was well within her power. Presumably. She held out an expectant hand, trying not to let her eyes wander anywhere beyond the bag in his hand. His hands that were absolutely not distracting to her at all.

“Not even a ‘thank you’?” He gave her a lopsided grin that she ignored, just jutting her hand out more insistently.

“Do you think that this fixes anything?” She sat back on her heel, her other hand clung to the doorknob, ready to slam it shut at a moments notice.

“Well maybe not fixes…per say, but bit of an olive branch?” He suggested but the silence that hung in the air afterwards told him it wasn’t cutting it. Extending his hands, he offered the bag up to her.

“Thank you for bringing me my shoes. Drive safe.” She responded finally, taking the bag and swinging the door closed, but Max caught it this time, stopping it from closing. Riley panicked, trying hard to slam it shut, his fingers be damned.

“Riley, come on. I came all the way out here, please can we just talk? Five minutes, that’s all I’m asking.” He held her gaze through the small opening left in the doorway and she froze to the spot. It was a bad idea. Giving him any opening was giving him too much leeway.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Five minutes and then I swear to god I will leave you alone for the rest of my life.” He insisted and Riley hesitated. She had locked herself away with all these thoughts after making her escape from his hotel room and it had made for a jumbled mess of unchecked emotions.

“Five minutes.” She finally conceded and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I’m setting a timer.”

Reluctantly letting the door ease open, she dropped the shoes on the entry table and retreated, hoping to keep a buffer between them. She started down the hall without waiting for him - he knew his way around. Stopping short before heading to the kitchen island, visions of their last night together slammed back into her brain. She decided the living room was safer than the kitchen.

“Think I could get a glass of water?” He lingered just outside the entrance to her kitchen. He was pushing his limits but sometimes that was what he did best. Riley rolled her eyes, sitting back on her hip.

“I already agreed to five minutes. Now you need a drink too? What is this, ‘If You Give A Mouse A Cookie’?” But she was already breezing past him into the kitchen, despite her objections. Max grinned, leaning against the arched doorway.

“Yeah, you know what they say.” He watched her as she struggled to reach a cup in her cabinets - same as always. “If you give a Max five minutes, he’ll ask for a glass of water…” Riley suppressed a smile. She wasn’t charmed by him. She wasn’t. She could will that into reality. “And if you give a Max a glass of water, he’ll probably need to use the bathroom, and if you let him use the bathroom, you’ll make him feel welcome in your home, and you’ll have to let him stay forever.” She got her pitcher of water from the fridge and poured it halfway up his cup.

“Only half a glass, then. No bathroom use allowed.” She seemed like she was teasing but her face was stoic and Max was having a hard time placing where her head was at. Hell, she was having a hard time placing where her head was at.

“You’re missing out.” He cocked his head but Riley just passed the glass to him and breezed past him into the living room.

“I’ll survive.” She sat down in the single chair, crossing her legs. The couch was much too dangerous. As Max came around to sit on the loveseat nearest to her, she fiddled with her phone, pulling up an alarm.

“Are you seriously setting a timer?” He leaned over to see as she placed it on the coffee table in front of him. Glancing over, he noted the bowl of ice cream that was melting, then up at the Sex in the City reruns that were up on her tv.

“Deadly, and it starts now. So I recommend you skip past the cute comments and make whatever point you wanted to make, so I can get on with my evening.” She said, leaning forward into his space to press start on the timer, and Max caught the scent of her shampoo, sending something shuttering inside him that withered the cute comment he was going to make about how exciting her evening looked. The timer ticked down. His brow furrowed and the corner of his lip twitched.

“You’re selling the house?” It tumbled out before he could stop it and her face scrunched for a moment. She had imagined him showing up on her front porch a hundred times in the last month; she had made herself thinking he was going to come chasing after her. But in all the times she had pictured it, this was never his leading point.

“You drove over an hour, after midnight, to demand five minutes…all to ask about my real estate dealings?” Her brow raised. It may not have been what she expected but it was easier than his apologies and guilt. Max shrugged and she shook her head. “Yeah, I’m selling the house.”

“Why?” His voice was soft and genuine and it unsettled something deep in her chest. Her head tipped from side to side; there were a lot of reasons she was selling this place, she just needed to figure out the safest reason to admit to him.

“Because my show is over and my chances of finding something new are drastically higher in Los Angeles than New York.” It was simple; clean. It made sense; in fact it was hard to argue with. So why did it feel like such an excuse?

“You’re moving to LA?” Max felt like he’d had the wind knocked out of him. If he picked up on how phony her reasoning felt coming out of her mouth. he didn’t show it. His finger tips felt numb. “There’s plenty of acting jobs in New York.”

“Not nearly as many and usually not as good.” She held her tongue about the ghosts of her bad decisions that haunted every inch of this house. She knew that if she even hinted that this move was more about her need for a fresh start, he was going to be able to needle his way in until she couldn’t think straight. And this felt like the first time she had been thinking straight in years.

“But you love this place.” He finally took a moment to look around. It was staged for viewings but, underneath it all, it was still the same. From the vinyl records in the corner to the vintage chair she was sitting in, but also in the bones of the old townhouse, those great wide beams that stretched across the ceiling and the hundred year old floor boards. He was with her when she first toured this place when she was finally ready to move out to Manhattan; he watched the way the pieces clicked into place when she stepped inside. It was instant for her.

“Well sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.” She meant for it to sound like she was being mature, but it felt oddly petulant coming out of her mouth.

“Do you, though?” He took a sip of his water, trying to occupy his hands anyway he could. Riley tilted her head, brow inching up. “Do you have to?” Her face fell, jaw shifting. “I mean, have you even tried finding something here?”

“I don’t need to try. I got lucky the first time and that’s not going to happen again. There’s nothing left for me in New York.” She focused her gaze down on the ice cream that was melting on the table. Max wet his lips, brow furrowed, before he shook his head.

“Riley...” He pleaded, trying to voice a dozen things with just her name, but her eyes snapped to him, narrowed. She understood perfectly what he was trying to say.

“Don’t. Don’t even try to pretend you’re a reason to stick around.” She snapped with the smallest shake of her head. Her chest ached and she glanced down at the timer. Three and a half minutes. She could handle another three and a half minutes. Then she could put this behind her.

“I could be.” He was more serious than she had ever seen him and something rolled in her stomach. Maybe three and a half minutes was too long. “But you shouldn’t stay for me.” Their gazes lingered on each other, the stillness in the air rippling through them. “Stay for you because you love this city and you love this house and because California is a wasteland.”

“California is beautiful.”

“It’s not New York.” He pinned her down with his eyes and she squirmed, struggling to meet his gaze.

“Well I think...New York and I have outgrown each other.” She said, finally looking up at him, and Max couldn’t help but feel like she was talking about more than just New York.

“Not possible.” He said definitively. “Soulmates don’t outgrow each other.” He watched her swallow, fingers toying with the seam on the couch cushion. That was a lofty word and it was difficult to pretend he was talking about the city. He thought he had laid all his cards on the table back in his hotel room but dozens of nights laying awake gave him plenty of time to think about all the things he didn’t say. In the moment he felt like he had bared his soul out to her but, thinking back, he wasn’t sure he said anything substantial. God, she jumbled his brain.

“Then maybe we aren’t soulmates.” She couldn’t stop the hurt from seeping into her voice. It didn’t matter what she wanted, some things just weren’t meant to be.

“Bullshit.” He stated like it was indisputable. Because to him, it was. Whether he was talking about himself or New York, it was bullshit. This is where she was meant to be. “You were made for this city. You’ll miss snow too much if you go to California.”

“I’ll live without it.” She looked away from him, eyes fixed on a small plant on the bookshelf on the other side of the room.

“Yeah? How many of the things you love are you going to leave behind when you run this time?” He abandoned all sense of pretense and her eyes snapped back to him. He was running out of time. In under three minutes, he needed to either convince her to stay or weasel his way into more time. The pressure was building in his chest. Riley scoffed, uncrossing then recrossing her legs, sitting back in her seat.

“You won’t get me with that twice.” She insisted with a small shake of her head, ignoring the tug at her gut that it caused. “Sometimes running is the smartest thing you can do.” No matter how many times she repeated it to herself, she couldn’t manage to get it to sink all the way in, though. “I’ve seen enough of your wrestling career to know that.” She deflected. Ever the masochist, she had found herself tuning in lately. Max’s brow furrowed, face scrunching up.

“That is not the same and you know it.”

“How is it not? I’m running from a fight, just like you do.”

“Okay, first of all,” He held up a finger. “I don’t run from fights, I make strategic decisions to conserve my energy.” He defended with exaggerated hand gestures, and she rolled her eyes. Her mouth opened to protest that she was doing the same thing, but he continued before she could. “Second of all, I’m not trying to fight you.” His voice was softer this time, more genuine, and it knocked her off balance.

“Yeah, then what are you trying to do, exactly?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? It always was. What did Max want? He may not have had an answer if he was asked a few years ago but he didn’t have to think anymore. He had done enough of that for a lifetime and it always led him to the same place.

“I’m trying to spend my life with the only person that has ever mattered to me at all.” He came all this way; none of it meant anything if he didn’t lay it all on the line. And the look on her face, even if for just a few stunned seconds, was enough to make it worth it, because he could see, at her core, that she wanted it as badly as he did. But then, oh boy, did her expression shift quickly, into something much colder than he had hoped for.

“Really? So Kelsey didn’t matter to you?” Her voice wasn’t angry but it was certainly frosty, and Max shrank back. “You were living together but she didn’t matter at all?” For the past month, her emotions had been all over the map but she kept coming back to that sickly guilt. That look on Kelsey’s face when she looked back at Riley - she knew that pain, she had worn that face, and she was angry that Max made her inflict that face on another person. He sighed, scrubbing his hands over his eyes, then back through his hair.

“Not compared to you.” He knew that wasn’t fair to Kelsey but it didn’t change the facts. The moment he saw Riley walk into that bar, Kelsey may as well have stopped existing.

“That’s not how it works, Max! You lived together, she trusted you! Why would you move in with a person that you don’t care about?”

“Because you were gone!” He shouted back, barely containing the urge to jump to his feet. “The same reason I’ve ever been with anyone - because I couldn’t be with you!”

“To what end?” She was frustrated and her chest was aching and she was stumbling down that same impassioned path that always brought her to ruin but she didn’t know how to stop. “If we hadn’t run into each other at that convention, how long would you have stayed with her? Would you have married her? Even though you don’t care about her?”

“Would you have married Lucas if he’d ever manned up and bought a ring?” He demanded and Riley’s eyes narrowed. “I was following your lead, Riley. Always. For the last twenty fucking years I’ve just been following your lead and you know what, maybe I would have married Kelsey.” He tried not to falter when he saw the way her face shifted. “Or maybe it wouldn’t have been her. Maybe it would have been some other girl I don’t care about. But it was always going to be some girl I don’t care about unless you came back into my life. And it would have been the same for you - just rotting away in some pointless fucking marriage, sitting awake at night, knowing that it was never going to touch what we have here.“

Riley sat back in the chair, swallowing hard and trying to keep her breath from noticeably trembling. This was too much. She knew letting him inside was asking for trouble. Any time around him was too much time around him. She was immensely grateful for the distance her chair was providing, unsure she would have been able to keep her head on if he was any closer.

“So what do you suggest, then?” Her voice was barely a squeak, legs knocked out from under her. Max swallowed hard and she watched his adams apple bob before he captured her gaze.

“Marry me.” Said without a hint of irony. Riley felt her spine turn to jelly, skin buzzing.

“What?”

“Marry me, Riley.” He rooted around in his pocket for a moment before brandishing a loose ring and sinking off the chair, to the floor between them. Fire raged through her bloodstream, catching on every raised hair of her arms. “No more fucking around. No more wasting time. This is where we’re supposed to be and we both know it. So marry me.” There was no time to think through the words flying out of his mouth. They weren’t the ones he had so perfectly practiced in the car but they were out now and there was no taking them back.

And the blood was pumping so strong in her head that she couldn’t hear herself thinking. A life with Max. How long had she been dreaming about that? Surely since before the make-believe weddings they held in her backyard when they were seven and life was easier. Her eyes drifted to the ring, clutched between his fingers, nearly trembling as he held it out to her, and she recognized it in an instant. Almost twenty years later but it was hard to forget the ring that got Max grounded for the first time after he stole it out of his mom’s jewelry box. He wasn’t allowed to watch wrestling for a month after that but the picture of her with that ring, in her prettiest dress out in the backyard, with him in his dad’s suit jacket, was one that was pinned to her dresser for most of her life. The fond warmth that crept through her dulled the feelings that had been threatening to suffocate her. A life with Max...

But then the alarm on her phone echoed through the electrified silence of her house and she snapped back into her body. He reached for her hand but she snatched it back, pulling her legs up off the floor and retreating as far back into the chair as she could get.

“No.” She said with a finality but none-the-less followed up with, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no.“ Ice water flooded through Max’s veins as he sat back on his heels. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Why is that so crazy?” He looked up at her from his defeated position on the floor, eyes so genuine it made her chest ache.

“You want a list?” She practically laughed and he shored himself up quickly.

“Yeah, I think I do, actually. Tell me why we shouldn’t get married.” He replied, as if this wasn’t a completely outlandish thing to do. And maybe he was sleep deprived and floundering a little bit but he knew this was right.

“Well for starters, we’ve barely spoken in the last four years.”

“So what?” He crept forward on his knees until he was against her chair. “I have thought about you every single day for the last twenty years.” She stayed, recoiled as far back in the chair as she could get, as if his touch would singe her skin. “And I’m gonna think about you every day until the day I die.” He pressed his luck, finger trailing, light as air, up her bare calf, sending electricity skittering out through her veins. “And I’m pretty sure you’re thinking about me too. So why are we wasting all this time fighting where we’re supposed to be?”

“Thinking about each other isn’t enough.” She shook her head like she was convincing herself too.

“You’re right, it’s not. We should be doing way more than thinking about each other.”

“That’s not what I-”

“We should be living with each other, cooking with each other, waking up next to each other, spending our lives together.” He laid his palm, warm and strong across her knee, and she struggled to swallow. “Aren’t you tired of the constant effort it takes to stay away from each other? I feel like I’ve been swimming upstream for years now and I’m just…really exhausted.” His hand pulled away from her and she sucked in a breath at the loss, watching as he lifted himself up to sit on the edge of the coffee table, directly in front of her. Her brain was sending out alarm flares but the way he was looking at her was much louder.

“Max, please...” She wasn’t entirely sure what she was asking, all she knew was this moment was excruciating, and it was all too much. And now he was so close and, god, that look...

“Tell me you don’t want a life with me.” He didn’t give her the time to decide what she was asking. “Tell me you don’t want Sunday Morning Pancakes and shower duets and nights curled up watching your trashy reality tv together until I end up annoyingly invested.” She couldn’t pretend she didn’t. She might have been an actress but Max knew how to see through her.

“It’s not that simple.”

“We can make it that simple!” He exclaimed, trying to reach for her knees again but she flinched this time, worried she would burst into flames if he touched her again, and he sat back. “The only thing standing in our way is us. If we want this, all we need to do is take it.” Holding her gaze was an Olympic sport sometimes but he was performing exceptionally well. “I know you want this too, Riley. You told me as much last month.” Finally, she stopped avoiding his gaze, eyes glued right to him. He didn’t have a right to use the things she had said that night against her.

“Yeah, then I woke up and met your girlfriend. Suffice to say, my plans changed.” She didn’t sound angry and he almost wished she would be. She was almost easier to handle when she was yelling at him, but she only sounded hurt and that was something that made his stomach ache.

“Look, I fucked up, I know. Okay? This obviously isn’t how I wanted this to play out.” He leaned in as close as he could get but she only scowled at him. “I need you to understand, I was fully planning to head home and pack my shit up at Kelsey’s. I hate that it went down like this but my protocol is, and always has been, to drop everything the second you become an option. I knew going in that things with her could end like this.”

“Oh, well isn’t that nice? Did you ever think that maybe you should let me know about your relationship?” She scowled and he just wet his lips, stammering for a response.

“I know…I know I should have but I knew that was my only shot at this and that you would have run the second you heard about Kelsey.” He heard it coming out of his mouth and wondering how he thought that would make for a good defense.

“Oh really, you thought that maybe I might not behave the same way if I knew you were in a serious relationship? So weird.”

“Okay but that what I’m saying! It wasn’t a serious relationship - it was always going to be second to anything you and I have.” He tried to sway her, his hands warm on her knees but the withering look she gave him had him retreating.

“How sweet. Did you let Kelsey know that or was that just supposed to be a fun surprise for her one day?” She demanded and he was suddenly regretting his words and location as she unfurled her legs down to the floor.

“I mean...I feel like she must have known from the way I talked about you.”

“Right, the unspoken exception to the rule.” She scoffed, parroting back his own words from that night, and Max winced. This was not going to plan. “Was it as implied to her as it was to me?” He heaved a breath, eyes begging for an understanding he wasn’t due. His fingers tapped repetitively along the edge of the table and he fumbled for a response.

“I’m not gonna deny that I fucked this up on a major scale. But I can’t change that anymore and I’m not about to fuck it up more by letting you walk out of my life again.”

“People get hurt when we’re around each other, Max! I can’t hurt anyone else.”

“People only get hurt when we’re trying to fight what we have!” He shot back and Riley stilled for a moment. “We just need to close off the circle and other people don’t have to get caught in our crosshairs.” She was quiet at that, her mouth opening and closing a few times.

“Well maybe I don’t want to be caught in the crosshairs either.” Her quiet admission was stinging but Max cocked his head, brow heavy.

“I’m not firing at you, babe. Never have, never will.” He held her gaze with a pleading look.

“And yet, we’ve both managed to hurt each other plenty.” She shook her head decidedly. “If I stick around here, we’re only going to end up hurting each other again.”

“We’re hurting each other by staying apart. How is that any better?” He demanded, leaning toward her. “At least this way we’ve got a shot at being happy.”

“Well maybe we don’t deserve to be happy.” Her face was weary and Max could instantly see every ounce of guilt that she had been marinating in for weeks.

“That’s crap.” He didn’t hesitate. “Making ourselves miserable doesn’t undo what I did to Kelsey or what we did to Jonah. And it’s definitely not going to undo what we’ll do to the next unsuspecting sucker that has the misfortune of being around us the next time we snap and wind up together.”

Riley was quiet, eyes locked with his, her heart hammering in her chest and echoing in her ears. Her breathing was erratic, his scent filling her nose. How did he do this to her every time.

“What else am I supposed to do, Max? I can’t trust you.” She wet her lips, teeth just barely grazing over her bottom lip. It stung more than he expected to hear that.

“Yes you can. I swear to fucking god, I am all in on us, Ry.” He gestured to the ring, still clenched tight between his fingers. “Just give me one chance to show you that I’m right when I say we’re meant to be together.”

“Max...” She warned but he was already out of time. He wasn’t leaving anything left unsaid.

“I swear, the first, smallest indiscretion and you can kick me to the curb. If I don’t unload the dishwasher when I’m supposed to or I forget to take something out for dinner, you can ship me out with no fight. But please, just give me that chance.”

“I already gave you a chance.”

“Come on, that doesn’t count!” He pleaded, his hands warm as they covered her knees, the ring pressed into her skin. She wanted to shove them off but couldn’t bring herself to move that warmth. “We never even got started. I promise you, you spend even a couple days being with me, the way we were always supposed to be, you’ll never look back.”

That was almost what scared her most, though. She knew that this dive was one she would never recover from. If she let her guard down and gave him that chance, there wouldn’t be anything she wouldn’t overlook. Because she knew that it would feel right. She knew it would feel like finally coming home and that feeling was going to be too good to deny, no matter what he did. It would be cutting the last remaining thread of her self control and that was a dangerous line to cross.

“I can’t marry you, Max. That’s insane.”

“Then take an insane fucking leap of faith with me.” His thumb rubbed half circles over the edges of her knee and it obliterated a few braincells. “Tell me this doesn’t feel right.”

“That’s not the point…” She was exasperated and everything about him was starting to invade her senses. The feeling of the ring pressed into her was dizzying and distracting.

“No, it is the point. The point is that this feels right because it is right.” He dared to let his hands glide past her knees, smoothly journeying up her thighs, dragging the edge of the stones into her soft flesh. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes fluttering shut for just a fraction of a second, and she tried to ignore the fire that burned low in her belly. “We shouldn’t have to work this hard to stop thinking about each other.” His voice was raspy and hypnotic, her brain tearing itself to pieces to try to hold onto that last thread. “You told me you loved me, Riley. Did you mean it?” It was hard to breathe, his face inching closer and closer to hers.

“I wasn’t in my right mind.” She shook her head, latching desperately onto the unyielding anger she was feeling when she said that. The way she had been left feeling gutted like a fish. How that confession was a dying gasp from an overtired, overstimulated, over emotional girl.

“I think you were in your right mind. I think you said what you’ve been dying to say for the last ten years.” He wet his lips and her eyes snagged on it, digging her teeth deeper into hers. But that anger she’d felt back on that morning in the hotel was still lit in her stomach.

“I said what you didn’t have the balls to say.” She narrowed her eyes and Max stilled. “What you still haven’t had the balls to say.” Scoffing, she shook her head and it devolved into a full laugh. “You’re here with a fucking ring but you’ve still never said you love me.” And Max sat back, finally clearing her personal space, and she could breathe again. “This is a joke. We’re not meant to be together, Max, we’ve just got no self control. Go home.”

She stood up forcefully and eeked past him out of the living room, buying herself as much space as possible. Max’ chest was seized as he looked at the empty chair where she once was. He wanted to say the words. He had tried practicing saying it as part of his speech, on the car ride here but tried not to overthink it when he couldn’t get them out. But now he was wishing he had pushed himself because now he couldn’t make his mouth work. He couldn’t even make his feet work. He heard her hand rattling the front door and he jumped into action, shoving the ring back into his pocket.

“Riley, please...” Was all he managed as he headed around the corner, into the hall to the front door, where he saw her waiting expectantly with the front door held open.

“No, I said five minutes and you got way more than that, like always. Now its time to go.” She tried to sound unwavering but her voice wasn’t cooperating. Max slowed, halfway down the hallway, brow furrowed heavily as his tongue traced over his lip.

“Ya know, when I was growing up, my dad took me out to get my first shave.” He leaned back on his heels and Riley rolled her eyes with a huff, not budging from her spot by the door. “And he sat me down and told me ‘Kid, there are two things you gotta know about love: the first is how to know you’re in it.” Max scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “He said, ‘That’s important, but thankfully it’s easy.” He took a breath, eyes intent on her, “It’s hard to miss because its in everything - the way your skin...buzzes when they’re around; the constant magnetic pull to be near them,’” He drifted toward her but she kept a trembling hand on the open door, “’The ache in your chest that tells you to follow them anywhere. Its unmistakable and it can’t be ignored.”

He was inching toward her so slowly she might not have noticed if she wasn’t so laser focused on him. Her mouth was dry and struggling to form the words to tell him to stop. She felt frozen to the spot, anchored to the door as a final lifeline.

“The second thing, he told me, which was arguably more important, was to know when the timing was right.” He swallowed hard before licking his lips.

“Max...” She warned but he disregarded it.

“Do you remember when we used to have those neighborhood-wide night time manhunt games?” He diverted her and her eyes fluttered shut for a moment with a sigh before she finally nodded. “There was a game one night, not long after that talk with my dad. Derek Flynn teamed up with the Anderson twins and was decimating all the usual hiding spots.” Riley’s body deflated a little with a whisper of a smile flitting across her lips.

“The night they broke Mr. Garvey’s antique lawn statue and he chased them down the road with a wiffle ball bat?” She bit the corner of her lip to hold back the grin that was dying to peak out.

“The very same. But before that happened, I had been chased from the reliable spot behind Ms. Allander’s pool shed and forced to flee into the woods.” He watched the understanding dawn behind her eyes before being fogged over by confusion. Her arm lowered slightly on the door without her noticing. “I found my way to the fort we had made not long after you moved in. It couldn’t have been more than two minutes later before you came barreling down into the cramped space with me. You knocked me over, not realizing I was in there, and then swung both hands around like you were gonna hit me.” Her lips twitched as she remembered the night, the memory so vividly fresh she could practically hear the buzz of the cicadas. She had just narrowly avoided being caught down by the docks and run straight there - the safest place she could think of, somewhere that was just for them. “But then you recognized it was me and you got this dreamy little smile that I could barely see in the dark, and you laughed before pulling me into this tight hug like you had never been so glad to see me in your life. Then you handed me a nerf gun.” He said with deathly serious, and she blew out a breath that wasn’t enough to conceal the smile she had. “And I knew in that second what I have never questioned since - that my dad was right.”

Riley’s hand dropped to the doorknob and she wet her lips, staring, wide-eyed back at him. Her heart was in her throat as he crept closer to her, hair raised all across her arms. His pulse was hammering away, and he swallowed as he got just outside of arms reach of her.

“I have known that I’m in love with you for half my life already, Riley.” He confessed and it felt like time screeched to a halt. The clock ticked on the wall and the kitchen sink dripped and her chest swelled out of control. A tingling started in her chest but quickly spread down her arms until her grip slipped off the doorknob. She drew in a ragged breath, her pulse racing out of control. “And I’m tired of waiting for the timing to be right.”

He took another step closer and gave the front door a nudge to push it the rest of the way closed. Riley watched him, chewing a hole through her lip, frozen, desperately fighting against the way his words were lighting her up like a Christmas tree.

“Now, i’m gonna ask you again.” He kept his palm flat against the front door and angled his body toward her, a few mere inches between them now, and that was close enough for fire to catch. “Did you mean it when you said you loved me?”

His eyes were glued to her, intense and desperate and uncharacteristically vulnerable. The dark bags under his eyes were particularly visible this close and she wondered if hers were as bad. It had been a sleepless few weeks for her as well. Weeks of staring at the ceiling, spinning in circles in her mind, thinking about what could have been and how they ended up here. She knew, even as angry as she had been in that moment, that she meant it. Even if she hadn’t, she would be lying if she said she didn’t love him, then and still. Those feelings were burrowed so deep in her, she wasn’t sure she would ever be free of them.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not enough, Max.” Her voice was as devastated as she felt. She had been wanting to hear this for so long but it was too late now.

“It’s plenty.” He insisted but she was already retreating toward the wall.

“I’m moving to California.”

“Then I’ll come with you.” He didn’t miss a beat and she shuttered a sigh. Her stomach was turning, this all suddenly feeling too real. “Or better yet, just stay.” His voice turned pleading, starting to match a tenth of what he was feeling.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t.” She said as if that was ever going to be an acceptable answer to him.

“But you can. You can do anything you want.” He took a tiny step toward her. “I love you, Riley.” His eyes were glued to her, bared and genuine and maybe even a little scared. “Do you love me?” And maybe it was the look on his face, or maybe it was the lack of sleep this last month, or maybe it was the fact that his scent was clouding her head as he got close enough to touch, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie.

“Yes.” She breathed the word into the space between them, a lifetime of baggage hanging from it.

“And do you want a life with me?” He dared to move in dangerously close, mere centimeters separating them now, and the smell of her shampoo made his eyes flutter shut for just a moment. His stomach was running itself through a spin cycle as she hesitated, looking up at him with those wide, panicked doe eyes.

“I don’t even know what that looks like, Max.” She said finally, shaking her head. Their relationship was always just transient - she couldn’t picture what security with him looked like. As alluring as the life of cooking dinner together and shower concerts was, she knew that morning always came when it came to Max and that was a pain she couldn’t subject herself to anymore.

“It looks like finally coming home.” He said and her eyes were locked on him, warmth curling around in her belly, making itself comfortable. “It looks like laughing so hard we can’t breathe and dancing to show tunes on a rainy afternoon and waking up to my face between your legs. It looks like you being the center of my goddamn universe because you are.” Heat raced up her cheeks and he stepped into her, a hand brushing over the strand of hair that was dangling by her face, sending electricity pulsing through her skin, and her eyes fluttered shut. “It’s what we were so fucking close to before Lucas and Kelsey and all this stupid bullshit. And I don’t know about you, but that ‘what-if’ is the one that keeps me up at night. You’re the one that keeps me up at night.” His rough fingers gripped her chin, tipping it up, urging her to meet his eyes. “Tell me you don’t want the chance to see how it feels to give this an honest-to-God shot. To really do it right this time.” The heat of his body this close to her was intoxicating and her legs were starting to feel a little insufficient. She struggled to feel like there was breath in her lungs and the sheer number of thoughts ping-ponging across her brain was debilitating. Skin prickling head to toe, she wet her lips, blinking back at him, willing an answer to come out - any answer but the one that was begging, shaking at the gates, to come out.

Because, God, she did want that chance. She spent more nights than she would have liked, staring at the ceiling, thinking about what could have been if it weren’t for a million different things. But that was always the problem; there were a million different things that stood in the way, some his fault and some hers, but in the end, they were still in the way. Now, though, there was no one standing in their way anymore and she was running out of excuses. Her mile high wall of reasons had been whittled down to a measly few bricks and Max was kicking them over faster than she could layer them back up. And beyond that wall, there was nothing left but the fact that she was scared. Just positively terrified of ending up like her mother, bitter and heartbroken and lonely for the rest of her life. She knew plainly that Max had the potential to absolutely ruin her in a way she would never recover from, but when he looked at her the way he was looking at her right then, she kind of wanted him to.

He let his palm slide up her face, cradling her cheek, and she melted into him on instinct. Fuck, that felt good.

“Tell me you don’t want this.” He whispered, breath fanning across her face, and she shivered. “Tell me you don’t know in your bones that this is right.”

“I...” She murmured, his lips just a whisper from hers and she could practically feel the fire licking at her from here. Her breathing faltered, the hazy fog that he brought with him washing over her brain. “I...don’t want to...” But she didn’t move an inch.

“Don’t want to what?” He prodded, lingering close enough to breathe the same air; close enough that she would barely have to move to feel that familiar bliss of his lips on hers. He was taunting her.

“To want this...” She could feel the space heater that was his body thawing her from the toes up as if she’d been left outside in the dead of winter. It was impossible to resist but the longer she let herself bask in that warmth, the more likely it was she would end up burned.

“But?” He lent her the word she was clearly missing and she sighed. Shifting ever so slightly, he let his lips just ghost across hers. Her hands drifted up to his shirt, curling around the soft material, though he wasn’t sure if she was trying to stop him or pull him in closer.

“But I need it.”

She couldn’t physically stop the way she launched at him, arms looping around his shoulders as she met him in a demanding, desperate kiss. His hands latched around her hips without thought, pressing her back against the wall. Her tongue invaded his mouth, needy for the taste of him, and she nearly groaned when she got it. Max’ pants tightened at the muffled noise and he let one hand drift up, under her shirt. The motion sent lightning coursing through her veins, straight through to her core. Her fingers curled up in his hair and he groaned when she tugged at it, biting down on her lip. He thumbed over her pebbled nipple and she hissed out a breath.

“Fuck, Max...” She whined his name and he snapped to attention, hands instantly reverting back to her hips and forcing a few inches between them, despite her whimper of a protest.

“No, no, wait a minute.” He insisted in spite of the way his skin was throbbing from the loss. She had caught him off guard before and his body took over before his brain had a chance to catch up. “What are we doing here, Ry?” But she was already gone, pupils blown with a need he had stoked too much. Her lips curled into a dangerous smile.

“I’m pretty sure you know what we’re doing.” She let one hand trail from his hair, down his neck, and over his chest. Her teeth raked over her already semi-swollen lips. “It’s a game you’re really good at.” She practically purred as her knuckles grazed their way over his stomach until her thumb caught on the edge of his sweatpants. Max swore under his breath, swallowing hard, his fingers digging hard into her hips. He gave a snake-like, swaying shake of his head before snatching her hand that was trying to creep beneath his sweats, holding it firmly in place.

“No more games, beautiful. No more running, no more pretending, no more waiting for the timing to be right. Be with me. For real this time.” He held her gaze insistently. She wanted to argue, she wanted to remember any of the reasons they were bad for each other. But god, if she didn’t just want him more than any reason she could possibly conjure.

“Maaaax.” She whined, fingers wiggling beneath his grip, unable to voice much more. “We don’t need to...” It was much easier to admit she needed him to drive her through this wall than it was to open herself up to dating him. But Max took her hand, pulling it up to his face, gingerly turning it and leaving a lingering kiss on the tender skin of the inside of her wrist that she could feel long after he let her hand fall.

“No, we do, Because I’m not doing this anymore unless we’re doing it right.” He almost sounded like he might actually mean it, even though they both knew he would fold like a house of cards if she so much as batted her lashes. “I need a life with you, Riley. I need to take you out to dinner, and go see a movie so we can fool around in the back row. I need to go to watch you on set while you blow away everybody around you. I need you backstage at my shows, making every last person in the building jealous that they can’t have a love like this. I need to fall asleep next to you every night because now that I’ve remembered how it feels, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to sleep again.”

Riley’s breath caught in her throat, thighs pressed together to try to quell her desperate need for friction. Her head was clouded by his warmth and his smell and the familiarity that made her feel safe even when they both knew he was her Achilles Heel. He let his body slowly settle back against her, arms supporting his weight against the wall on either side of her until he was the only thing that existed to her. Every inch of her was screaming for something different but every single thing revolved around him.

“Be my girl, Ry. Cuz I’m already all fucking yours.”

Blowing out a shaky breath, Riley stabilized herself, her own recent lack of sleep weighing on the situation. The dull throb between her legs was secondary to the way her heartbeat was pulsing in her ears. There was no slowly wading into the pool with Max; he was asking for a dive right into the deep end. Now it was sink or swim but she was still stuck shivering at the top of the diving board.

“This imaginary life of Pancake Sundays and movie dates sounds like a dream, Max. And I’m sure it would be for a month or two - hell maybe even a year or two.” She swallowed hard, struggling to keep her head above the water. “But what happens when all those promises run out and real life kicks in, and we both end up getting hurt?”

“Then we get hurt.” Max didn’t flinch but she did. “I really don’t think that’s how this goes down, but it doesn’t matter because I’d rather burn to the ground with you after one month, than live the rest of my life without breathing the same oxygen.”

He ghosted the back of his hand across the curve of her jaw, brow furrowed as he looked right through her. Wetting his lips, he leaned ever so slowly towards her and she froze, blinking back at him, breath stalling in her lungs. He stopped just before their lips could brush and began to sink down to his knees in front of her, holding her gaze on the way down. His hands followed his path, featherlight down the curves of her waist and resting at the swell of her hips, fingers bunching in her silk pajama shorts.

“Please, Riley...” He trailed one finger down the back of her bare thigh and she shivered, resisting the way she wanted to buckle when he traced along the inside of her knee. Thick fingers unfurled down her calf until they were wrapped around her ankle. She leaned back against the wall for support as Max lifted her foot off the ground. Moving in closer to it, he spared a glance back at her before laying a slow kiss just beside her ankle bone. His eyes drifted back up to her, trying not to visibly react to the way her face had become markedly more fucked out. “Give this a shot with me.” He laid another kiss just a little higher up her calf and Riley gripped at the wall as if it offered any support. As his eyes met hers again, he watched as she bit down at her lip, his hand meandering up her calf sending electricity shooting up to her core. He set a lazy pace of kisses up her calf until he reached her knee, holding her gaze pointedly. “Tell me you don’t want to be with me.” She met his eyes, head tilting to the side as her tongue dabbed at her lips. Her mouth was dry as she practically panted, watching him as he pulled her legs apart and nestled between them. His hand shifted so he could lift her thigh to his lips, and his fingers brushed the edge of her shorts. He pressed his lips just above her knee and Riley’s hand grasped in his hair for support, her panties getting wetter by the second. “Tell me you’d rather have anyone else in the world between your legs right now.” He didn’t bother to reconnect with her gaze and she was glad because the way her eyes rolled back in her head when he nipped at the inside of her thigh would have given him a firm answer. “Tell me you don’t want me to make you come on my face right now.” His eyes reconnected with hers with a twinkle of mischief, lips not leaving her thigh. Her fingers tightened in his hair, breathing ragged and her core pulsing. She tried to rut her hips towards him but he used his other arm to pin her hips to the wall, and a whine slipped out her lips.

“Max, pleeeease.” Riley practically begged, in spite of herself, and Max smirked against her thigh. She urged his head toward her center by the hair but he resisted with a groan that vibrated against her skin. He glanced up at her.

“Tell me you��re in this with me.” He kissed higher up her thigh, hand shifting to cradle just below her ass, angling her into him. “Tell me you want to try at a life together.” He nipped at her skin just at the edge of her shorts before firmly commanding her gaze, and she squirmed against him. Her chest heaved with her breathing and she swallowed hard. She wanted the imaginary life he was offering but it didn’t feel real. But if that life felt this good, maybe it was worth taking a risk on. His tongue swiped across the skin just beneath her shorts and her knees buckled for just a second before she stabilized, yanking hard at his hair.

“Okay.” She choked out the word and his eyes flashed up to her, fingers digging harder into her skin. “Okay, fuck, I want to try.” Her fingers dug into his hair and she nodded subtly.

“Yeah?” His eyes widened, fingers creeping up to the waistband of her shorts, digging down into them. She nodded more firmly with a cautious smile before she narrowed her eyes.

“I swear to god if you hurt me…”

“You can gave me drawn and quartered in Central Park.” He cut her off, quick to let his fingers curl around her shorts, inching them off her.

“Deal.”

She rushed the word out, hands flying down to where his were trying to pry her shorts off much too slowly. Max didn’t miss her signals, yanking her shorts and panties to the floor at once, guiding one foot out and promptly around his shoulder. He laid messy, open-mouthed kisses up her thigh until he reached her mound, dripping wet from anticipation.

As much as he wanted to wait and tease her until she was shaking and begging, but the smell of her arousal was so familiar and tempting that he wasn’t sure he could refrain a second longer. With a final enamored look up at her, he wrapped both arms tight around the bottom of her thighs, yanking her core straight to his mouth. No easing in, his mouth latched around her lips, licking and sucking at her soaked folds. His head bobbed between her thighs with a symphony of vulgar noises and her head fell back against the wall with a stream of curses and whines. Her hand wound through his hair, pushing him into her harder, her hips jerking against his face as she struggled to stay upright. Max hummed against her clit and her knees buckled.

“Fuck, Max, fuck pleeeeeease!” She couldn’t control the words flying out of her mouth. He reached down, forcing her to try to stabilize herself, brushing the pad of his thumb over her clit. Strumming over her, he let his tongue move in broad strokes across her pussy, his erection quickly beginning to press into his sweats.

“God you taste so fuckin’ good.” He growled the praises into her skin and her legs shook. His fingers slipped down, easing inside her, one then another, and her walls clamped around them. She whimpered when he sucked her clit between his lips. Not relenting in his pressure, he worked his fingers in and out until her body was twitching.

His fingers hooked right up into that spot that he knew made her brain melt. Stroking over the spongy spot, he sucked at her clit, and she shrieked, legs giving out before she could catch herself. But Max didn’t miss a beat, fingers pulling out of her just in time to catch her leg, shifting her weigh until both her legs were up on his shoulders, fully off the ground.

Tongue flitting over her sensitive bundle of nerves as he slowly rose back to his feet, driving her higher up the wall. Her body doubled forward, curling around his head, hands clenched tight in his hair for all she was worth. He lapped at her folds, alternating his speeds as she writhed against him, her cries getting louder and higher pitched.

“That’s it’s pretty girl, gonna come for me?” His words vibrated against her clit and her thighs trembled. “Gonna soak my face? Be a good girl and let me taste how good I make you feel.”

His teeth scraped over her bundle of nerves and she squealed, arching her back until her shoulders collided with the wall. One hand reached aimlessly beside her, desperately looking for purchase when she found the edge of some picture frame. Her hips chased the high she was so close to as her entire body shook.

Max’s strong arms kept a tight grip, curled around her thighs, and he dipped his tongue inside her. Her body grew taut as he fucked his tongue in and out of her. The tip of his nose circled around her clit as he worked her to the edge.

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck, Max! Please! Don’t….I need…I…ahh! Oh my god!” Her cries devolved to a babble, her legs scrambling behind his shoulders. Her grip of the picture frame slipped and she vaguely heard the crash of the the glass shattering on the floor nearby. It hardly registered, though, as he sucked hard on her clit and sent her toppling over a cliff. Her body peaked and her eyes rolled back, Max not letting up, his hands keeping her fully supported.

As her soul drifted back into her body, he helped her maneuver her legs down off his shoulders. Supporting her entire weight, he eased her back down the wall, his lips following a slow and lazy path up her stomach as she came down, his fingers snagging in the fabric of her shirt. As her feet finally touched the ground, his lips ghosted across her nipple as it was temporarily exposed on his way up. He didn’t linger, letting her shirt flutter back down as he took her face between both hands, pulling her into an insistent kiss that knocked the breath from her lungs.

The overgrown hair on his face was slick with her orgasm and she could taste it on his tongue when it slipped into her mouth. Her arms snaked around his neck, half to support her still jellied legs, and half because he could never be close enough anymore.

“God, I missed you so much.” he murmured against her lips, face held tight between his hands, and her eyes flashed to his, heated with desire. Her fingers strummed down the back of his neck and his eyes rolled shut for a moment. The wave of relief that was finally hitting him was intoxicating and his chest was heaving with it. Carding his fingers up through her hair, his palm settled at the back of her head. He notched his nose against hers, pressing past the warmth that grew in his stomach from the smile stretched across her face.

“I’ve missed you too.” She said in an overdue confession before pulling him back to her lips, unsure she would ever feel like she could have enough to make up for all the time they missed. His fingers curled in her hair, the other hand dropping to her hip, pulling her flush against him so she could feel his erection pressing into her stomach.

With one arm still slung around his neck, her other hand skated down his chest, then stomach, not stopping before it reached the top of his sweatpants. She reached between their bodies, palming over his dick through the thick cotton and he groaned into her mouth. Her tongue swept into his mouth, silencing him as her fingers wrapped more firmly around his length, rubbing him through his sweats. His grip on her hair tightened, trying to keep pace with her lips as she reached down and caressed his balls.

He gasped at the loss when her hand drifted back up to his stomach, warm as it crept beneath his shirt. Her thumb hooked in the bottom of the fabric, dragging it up until she finally let them break a part so she could pull it off him. Her arms were quick to return to him, one tangling in the hair at the base of his head, the other clung tight to his back. He paused, eyes raking over her hot enough to burn the city down, and her teeth grazed across her lip before they curled into a smirk.

“Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to take my shirt off and fuck me through this wall?” She challenged with a raised brow and she watched the devilish grin rise to his face. Without another second, he yanked hard on her hair, pulling her attention to him, and her belly clenched.

“Ohhh my pretty girl,” he cooed before he bucked his hips hard against hers, driving them against the wall with a delicious thud. “You want me to fuck your sweet little pussy like I own it?” Her mouth fell open, panting as he drove his hips up into her again, urging her legs apart. She nodded eagerly. “You need my cock stretching your cunt until you cry,” He drove into her harder this time, hiking her up the wall, and her legs wrapped around his waist, “fucked so stupid the only thing you can remember is my name?” His hips ground into her bare core, erection throbbing as he rocked it against her. Her head fell back with a throaty moan.

“Fuck, Max, please.” She cried as he bucked into her center.

His lips settled into the crook of her neck, laying messy open mouthed kisses across her skin. Trailing down to the neckline of her shirt, he gripped it with his teeth, using his other hand to tear straight through the front of it, and she gasped. She went to voice an objection but it died in her throat when his lips closed around her nipple. His teeth latched around the bud, pulling it back, and she yelped, arching against him, providing exactly the friction he needed so badly.

Arms wrapped tight around her, he lifted her off the wall, bouncing her against the hard as steel erection that was begging to be buried in her. He fumbled backwards towards the entry table on the opposite wall. Tongue flittering over her nipple, he spun them and managed to get her seated on the edge of the table. Rocking into her center, he moved to the other nipple, licking and sucking and pulling a string of breathy moans from her lips.

Knocking her hips further and further back onto the table, objects around her clattered into each other. Her feet urgently pushed at the top of his sweats but his hips shifted, notching at just the right spot as he ground into her. Strangling cries, she reached for any purchase she could get on the table around her. Her fingers curled around an object but her eyes fluttered shut when his teeth raked across her nipple. The table knocked against the wall in time with his hips, objects clattering to the floor after she arched unexpectedly. She let out a wracked whine, delirious with need, and he grinned into her chest.

Letting his lips trail back up her neck, he stopped to nip at her earlobe before return to her lips. He laid gentle, pain-stakingly slow kisses against her lips and she practically squirmed in his grips. Tongue trailing across her lips and exploring every inch of her mouth, he let his hips drop to a drag up and down her core. Her hips stuttered against his, desperate to up the pace but his hand shot down to pin her in place and she let out a defeated whimper.

“Aww, what’s wrong?” He pouted, his other hand tugging her hair to make her meet his gaze. “Does my impatient little slut need something?” The humiliation burned low in her gut but she was too far beyond it to even register.

“Pleeeeeease, I need your cock, Max, please.” She begged without hesitation and Max pulled her straight to him by the hair, meeting her in a hasty, gnashing kiss.

“That’s my good girl.” He growled into her mouth, releasing her hip to push his sweats down with one hand. “Gonna fucking wreck this perfect pussy, baby.” Getting his cock free, he dragged it through her folds and she whined. “Gonna claim this body so well that people that pass you in the street will know who you belong to.” His cock throbbed against her as he coated himself in her slick. She moaned when he rubbed over her clit, and he pulled her in close until their foreheads rested against each others. “Tell me you love me.”

“Hmm?” Riley’s eyes fluttered, trying to stay open through the haze. Max lined his crown up to her entrance and she blinked back at him with heavy lids.

“Tell me you love me.” He repeated, loosening his grip on her hair, hips rocking shallowly against her entrance.

“I love you, Max.” Her voice was raked over but he heard just fine. Pulling her into a crushing kiss, he jerked his hips, driving them up into her until he was fully seated. Her lips hung open, a silent cry vibrating through her body.

“I love you too, Ry.”

Pulling back, he started a relentless pace from the start. Hammering into her, he yanked her hair back, giving him access to the thin skin of her throat. His thick cock stretched her to her limit at a brutal pace, quickly winding the thread tight in her belly. When his thumb connected with her clit in rough circles, her hands grappled for nothing on the table, sending a lamp to the floor with a crash. She brought a hand up, clinging to his back as he drove into her harder and harder. The thread inside her stretched thinner and her nails dragged down his back, driving him rougher.

The table shook with their motions, colliding with the wall over and over, and he could feel her fluttering around him.

“That’s it, beautiful, taking this cock so nice for daddy. Gonna let me watch you come undone?” His lips were hovering just above her gaping mouth, moans flowing out in time with his thrusts as she hurtled toward her high. “Squeeze this cock, princess. Let me feel you.” He shifted his angle and drove hard into her, brushing her special spot as he heard the ominous crack.

“There! Right there! Don’t stop!” Her head tipped back, legs trembling, and Max obliged, firing his hips into the same spot at a brutal pace.

She felt the vibration from the snap of the table leg before she heard it, one last thrust from Max destabilizing the balance and sending them to the floor. They both groaned amongst the carnage but she couldn’t stop writhing against him, her orgasm so close before it was snatched away.

Cursing, Max shuffled them a few feet away, just to the base of her stairs. After a sloppy, needy kiss, his fingers clutching her jaw, he flipped her so she was leaned over the bottom stair. Gripping tight at her hips, he drove into her from behind and she lurched forward. His arm snaked beneath her, holding her tight to him as he rocked in and out of her, getting even deeper than before. Working up a rhythm, his other hand gripped her hair, tugging it so her back arched.

His hips snapped against her and she pushed back, off pace and needy. Her moans filled the space and Max leaned over her back, breath tickling her ear.

“That feel good, baby?” He groaned, her walls squeezing around him at the words. Nipping at her earlobe, he set to work on leaving another mark on her neck. She moaned her agreement, nails digging into the stairs. “Who owns this pussy?” She squealed when he reached down from her stomach to pinch her clit.

“You do! Fuck! You own this pussy!” She cried out and Max throbbed inside her. His hand drifted from her hair, settling around her throat, giving a trial squeeze. She moaned and snapped her hips back into him in approval, and he squeezed a little harder.

“That’s fuckin’ right I do.” He growled next to her ear. Bottoming out over and over, he strummed across her clit, feeling himself creep closer. “Should fill you up with my cum. Fuck a baby into this perfect body so everybody fuckin’ knows I own it.” Her moans pitched, legs shaking beneath them, but he didn’t relent. “Bet you’d fuckin’ like that, huh? Daddy’s little slut just dripping with my cum.”

“Fuck, yes, Max please I’m so close, pleeeease.” Her body twitched beneath his and he moved his fingers impossibly faster.

“You gonna milk this cock, baby? Come on, come with me, beautiful.”

His pace was punishing as her screams echoed around the hall. Her head was swimming, the pressure on her throat limiting her oxygen until color started to dot her vision. Max pulsed inside her, rubbing just against that spongy spot deep inside and the thread in her belly snapped, sending her brain hurtling over the edge. Then Max released his grip on her throat with a final hard thrust, spilling inside her, and oxygen rushed to her brain in a wave that would have bowled her over if he wasn’t clung so tight.

They stayed there together, shaking over the bottom stair, gasping for breath for what felt like hours. Limbs hit their breaking point and Max reluctantly pulled out of her, thumbing over cum dripping from her entrance as he sat back on his heels. She slumped down flat onto the stairs and he pulled her up into his lap, smoothing her hair down before laying a kiss.

“God, I love you so fucking much.” He whispered into her hair. This felt like the first time in his life he actually felt satisfied. Riley nuzzled into his neck, letting her body weight rest on him. Scattering kisses anywhere he could reach, he squeezed her tight to him.

“I love you too. A lot more than I probably should.” She spoke loftily, her brain still floating somewhere above the Great Barrier Reef. He chuckled into her hair, fingers tickling at her sides and she squirmed with a laugh.

“So is that a yes on the wedding, then?” He prompted, trying not to laugh too hard at her undignified snort.

“Not a chance, baby. Try taking me to dinner first.” She scoffed but he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Okay, so dinner, then marriage, yeah?” He tickled again and she backed further into him as if it would stop his attacks. Shaking her head, she squirmed in his lap. “No? I’m getting some very mixed messages here. I’m going to just have to assume its a yes.” She attempted to argue the point but was cut off when he scooped her up and laid her over his shoulder. Squealing, she thrashed in his arms but he ignored it. “Sorry, can’t hear you. Gotta get to bed, so late. so tired. We can pick this up tomorrow, but for now i’ll jot down that its a ‘yes definitely’ on the proposal.”

He trudged up her stairs with her slung over his shoulder, smacking her butt as he rounded the corner onto the second floor. She squirmed and shouted her objections but she knew as well as he did that she was perfectly content just where she was. And bed with him suddenly sounded like the greatest idea in the history of this planet.

So when he kicked the door to her bedroom open and tossed her down onto the bed, she didn’t fight it. And when he started the long crawl across her king sized mattress, she reached forward to drag him in. Because this was everything either of them ever needed and they weren’t waiting another second for it.

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Beta Read by @daddyhausen

Tags: @fvckingromantic @omg-im-such-a-masochist

#MJF Smut #MJF fanfiction #MJF fic #aew fic #aew fanfiction #wrestling fanfiction #aew smut #wrestling smut #MJF #MJF x OFC

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