#pov: he’s a player and you’re his favorite game

[hon3y-y]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ pov: hockeyplayer!suguru is your loving boyfriend<3

Inclusive to all fem readers<3 (no deep description of body type or skin color)

Enjoy<3

Hockeyplayer!bf! Suguru who’s hair flows behind him while he skates on the ice, flashing you a bright smile as he skates past you to score. He immediately blows a kiss to you and goes to celebrate with his team. He’ll go skating to the benches and practically throws himself over, “you see me babe?” He calls up to you. You nod, blushing as his coach tells him to sit down and grumbles “keep your head in the game, suguru. We haven’t won yet…” he’ll blow a kiss to you before sitting down, pushing away his teasing teammates.

Hockeyplayer!bf! Suguru who tells the opposing player standing next to him during the face-off, “by the way, I’m scoring off of this..” the guy looks confused and scoffs at your boyfriends cockiness, but ends up shocked when he does. Before he can fully process how fast suguru scored, he sees getou rush to where you are in the stands, calling out to his lucky charm.

I mean, he’s in front of his favorite person in the world? When is a better time to show off…

He’ll beg you to come to practices, showing you his smooth tricks and waiting for your approval every time. He absolutely loves praise and hearing you cheer for him, even during an empty practice? It scratches his brain in a way that pushes him to try harder, move faster, and win. He just loves to make you proud.

Hockeyplayer!bf! Suguru who’s own team is freaking out when you said you might not be able to make the game. He’s sulking, and his teammates are all trying to make him feel better.

‘She’ll come, don’t worry!’

‘She’s probably on her way right now.’

‘Just breathe, bro…’ which only makes him grumpier

After confirming you won't be able to make it, he’s out of it the first two periods, allowing the team they’re against to get ahead three points. During intermission you call him, saying you heard they were behind and you’d be able to be there the last period. Somehow he miraculously is back on his game and they end up only losing by one point. You apologized for missing the first half to which he shushes you, “my lucky charm made us lose with dignity, baby. I’m just happy you’re here.” He says while wrapping you in his arms, smiling like he won the Stanley cup.

When he goes home with you for the holiday, he plays hockey with your cousins and lets them win(cause he’s so sweet T-T. Probably dramatically throws himself onto the floor when they score making them giggle every time. Anyway..) That is until your nosey and annoying next door neighbor starts making comments on his plays. He rolls his eyes, leaning on his stick while focusing on the way the neighbor leans into you or comments on how pretty you look and suddenly there’s a puck flying, nearly hitting the annoying man. He goes to where you two are wrapping a protective arm around you, he’s acting shocked too. The neighbors eyes wide in shock sputtering nonsense as you try not to laugh, “shit man, usually I don’t miss.”

Hockeyplayer!bf! Suguru who runs out of the changing rooms as soon as he’s done and goes to meet you. His eyes sparkling, grin wide on his face as he moves his hockey gear to give you a bear hug. “How’d i do?” His voice is mumbled into your neck, tightening his arms and breathing in your comforting scent. You laugh at the ticklish feeling before facing him, “so good my love, couldn’t take my eyes off you~” making him blush.

Suguru is always worked up after a game, pulling you out to his car with a smirk on his lips. He’s staring down your shirt and smacks your ass when you pass him holding the door for you, “suguru! We’re in public—“ to which he just laughs and begins to tease you, “i thought you liked being watched? Didn’t have a problem when i made you cum on my fingers in front of satoru last week?” To which you gasp and immediately reach up to cover his filthy mouth. “I didn’t know he came in!” Your cheeks are flushed pink and you mumble a tiny ‘hmph’ before going to the passenger seat of the car.

You're confused when he doesn’t open it, turning to look at him and noticing his crossed arms. “That’s my job, princess.” And just like that, your putty for him again. You giggle and turn away as he strolls over only for you to stop him. “Open the back, gonna need it more…” you lean up to his ear and whisper making him bite his lip. “Anything for you, baby.”

NSFW below;

Hockeyplayer!bf! Suguru who currently has you in his lap in the backseat of his car, his hands grabbing and caressing anything he can. He plays with your tits through your shirt, nipping at your lip and rolling his hips up to grind his aching cock into your covered pussy. “Mmh—take this off, please..” he’s pawing at your shirt, helping you remove the item before immediately pulling your bra down to stare at your pretty tits. He tugs and plays with your nipples, chuckling when you push his hands lower “guru, play with this instead~”

Clothes are thrown around the car, both of you guys impatiently wanting to feel each other. You climb on top of him again, feeling your mouth salivate at the sight of how large he is (never failing to impress you)

The feeling of his tip pushing into you makes you let out a sharp cry, the stretch painful without the prep but your dripping pussy helps glide him inside. Suguru reaches up to caress your soft cheek, kissing your watering eyes while whispering words of encouragement. “I know baby,” he leans his head against the headrest, trying not to cum just by the feeling of his head popping through your tiny, wet hole. “Slow baby, you can take it~” his hands rest on your hips, moving to play with your clit and try to help you adjust.

When you finally sink down onto him fully, he holds you still, closing his eyes and trying to not succumb to cumming right there. Your face is twisted up as his cock nestles against every nerve you have, panting at just how full he makes you. “Su-guru, ‘ure so big—nghh!” You moan when he rolls his hips up.

With your hands using his shoulders as leverage, you begin to ride him. Suguru is noisy, he doesn’t mind showing his lover how good he feels. And as he leans into your ear, telling you how good you’re doing, you can’t be more grateful it’s you he’s talking to

“Good job baby—oh fuck!—riding me so g-good.” He moves his hands to your ass, spanking it and watching the jiggle it makes before grabbing it for leverage. He’s also a little impatient so it’s not long until he fucks up into your pussy, making eye contact with you so he can watch the way you lose yourself in the pleasure. His cock hit your g-spot harshly, you clench tightly around him with your eyes rolling back. You moaned uncontrollably, any attempt to shush yourself stopped by suguru. “Move ur’ fucking—hands.”

Your tears egged him on, enjoying your choked sobs that echoed in the confined space. The car had fog on the windows, shaking lightly and if anyone of his teammates saw, it would be nearly impossible to argue what the two of you are doing.

He slows down, changing his rough pace to slow loving thrusts. He pulls you to him, kissing you passionately and enjoying the intimate moment while reaching down to thumb your clit. You gasp into the kiss, brows furrowing at the double stimulation. “Don’t s-stop!” You beg, messily kissing him letting out shakey breaths. Suguru playfully smiles while nodding, “i won’t baby, promise…”

He adjusts the two of you, laying you down and lifting your legs to your chest before pushing back into you. He groans, and grabs your jaw. “Open.” You do as you’re told and feel suguru spit into your mouth, picking up his pace after watching you swallow it without instruction. “Good—fuckin—girl.” He emphasized with every thrust, nearly hypnotized by how pretty you look.

You tighten around him when he leans down to suck on your harden nipple, bucking your hips to meet him halfway. You’re being fucked dumb, eyes rolling whenever he fucks you full, feeling yourself getting closer to the edge with every drag of his cock. Your voice pitches, “Gon-na cum!”

Suguru wraps his hand around your throat, “yeah? Not even asking? What a brat.” He scoffs. You try and speak, wanting to beg and be his good girl but you can’t. You can feel it building, unable to have any control. His eyes darken, “really? Still not gonna ask?” And you start crying. Your brain is fried, the need to please losing to your own selfish desire to cum.

“S-sor-ry!” You yelp as it snaps. you cum hard, your eyes squeezed tight as your back arches up and your whole body tightening. You're shaking, throwing your arms over your eyes as you curl into yourself as intense wave after wave courses through you. With ringing ears, you don’t know when you finally regain senses but the first thing you feel is Suguru's rough hands caressing your cheek.

Suguru has pulled out of you, “holy shit, looked so hot babe.” You laugh at the surprised look on his face. You look down and notice the wet spot on his seat and try to sit up, embarrassed. “Woah, take a second to breathe, mama.” He jokes while pushing you back down.

“Guru, I’m sorry. Ill clean—“ he cuts you off with an annoyed groan, playfully smacking your pussy making you gasp. “You should only apologize because I didn't get it on camera.” You look up at him and smirk, “you didn’t cum yet, think you can make me do it again?”

Hockeyplayer!bf! Suguru who does make you cream on his cock again but this time on video. The same video that, with your permission of course, he shows to his teammate satoru with an open invitation to join in on that nights after party

Hockeyplayer!bf! Suguru is just the best<3333

A/n: it’s finally done🙏 i have finals coming up so idk when imma write again💔

[lamentationsofalonelypotato]

Before You Go

Pairing: Dean Winchester x f!reader, Reader POV

Summary: Reader is a grad student in college trying to work hard for her degree, but a certain green eyed stranger keeps showing up and turns her life upside down. Will she push him away? Or will she finally realize that he’s not going anywhere? (I’m so bad at summaries please forgive me!)

Tropes: Angst, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Age Difference (Reader is early to mid-20's and Dean is probably early 30's)

Word Count: 5.5K (I have an addiction don't judge me)

Warnings: Some swearing (once or twice), mentions of sex (not explicit at all), implied sex, self-deprecating thoughts (Dean),  Dean might be a little bit OOC.

Note: This is told from Reader's perspective. Any references to the reader is made using you or your. There is minimal use of y/n. I tried my best to proofread, but nobody's perfect. I’m not going to lie, this one is a little self-indulgent. This is only my second supernatural fic, so please be gentle. If you don’t like, don’t read, but if you do like, you’re my favorite!

Internal monologue is in italics and is in first person.

Masterlist

Part 2

********************************************

"Did you understand anything from that lecture?" Tim asks nudging your shoulder.

 The sour smell of beer and sweat fades in and out of your nose as you make your way to the Science building through the mass of students on the way to the football game. It was a Thursday night, Thursday night for everyone else meant tailgating, cheap beer, and face paint, but Thursday night for you meant four hours in the anatomy lab surrounded by the oppressive smell of formaldehyde and bent over a table examining the internal intricacies of the human body.

It wasn’t unwelcome, you knew what you signed up for when you decided to go to medical school, but you still wished that the lab was earlier in the day instead of at 6 pm.

The air is filled with the dull throb of energy, pulsing with the music from speakers all over campus, and through the throngs of people that pass you on the way to the stadium. The buzz of excitement in the air vibrated through your nerve endings. If you paid attention to how well the football team was doing, you would have known that tonight was the championship, but the closest you got to pigskin was the bag of pork rinds in your backpack and the occasional football player that asked you for help finding research materials during your shifts at the library.

"Nope." You reply jostling past a group of guys toting a giant stuffed pig wearing jersey of the school’s rival while they catcall some girls up ahead dressed from head to toe in bright red.

"Then why did you keep nodding?"

"Because Professor Drake was staring right at me!"

"You didn't have to make eye contact."

"It's a little late for that don't you think?" You smile up at him. He's taller than you, with dark hair falling forward into his glasses and a lean build. "But it's alright, I'll just binge watch YouTube videos."

Tim laughs adjusting his backpack over his shoulder. You had been lab partners since your first year, randomly assigned and forced to collaborate, but after many late night study sessions and mental breakdowns, Tim was one of your only friends.

“You seem to spend a lot of time on YouTube." He smiles.

"It's free education."

"Seems ridiculous to pay all this money just to learn it on YouTube."

"If YouTube handed out degrees for watching videos I’d be a doctor by now. I’d probably also have a degree in culinary arts.” You look down to check the watch on your wrist. You were both running late for lab. Dr. Welsh hated it when students were late, in fact, he was notorious for locking the door. Each week there was always some poor soul that banged on the door for entry, but Dr. Welsh knew no mercy. One time, you witnessed another student attempt to sneak in through the window an hour late. Dr. Welsh made them go back out the way they came, despite the lab being on the third floor.

At least the student brought a ladder with him.

“Culinary arts?”

“I like pie. Plus baking helps me cope with my stress.” You knock into his shoulder to shut him up. “What? You don’t watch anything weird on YouTube?”

“I usually start watching videos to understand the lectures and suddenly it’s been 7 hours, it’s 3 am and I’m watching a timelapse of metal rusting.”

“We’ve all been there buddy.”

"Hey doll-face!" You hear from somewhere behind you, but you ignore it, believing it to be another group of guys who splash beer over the sidewalk.

You glance down at your watch again.

"We're not going to be late." Jake says sensing your anxiety. "We've got 5 minutes."

"Early is on time, on time is late, late is inexcusable." You sing-song.

"Dr. Welsh embroider that on a pillow for you?"

"No it’s just-"

Someone grabs your backpack and pulls you back a step. What the- You whirl around prepared to cuss out a drunken frat boy, but you weren't expecting Dean Winchester.

"Dean." You say in surprise.

He looks better than you remember. Dean's wearing a red flannel covered by a black jacket, his hair tousled just the right amount to look effortless, his green eyes crinkled around the edges as his mouth pulls into a smile that makes your knees weak.

Your relationship, if you could even call it that, began your first week of classes, two years ago. You had just moved into your apartment and met your new roommate, but instead of going out to the new student mixer with her, you decided to stay in and unpack. It was past midnight when you heard a commotion in the apartment next door and when you opened your front door to investigate, you found Dean in the hallway leaning against the wall. His clothes were torn, he had a knife in his hand, blood was soaked through the front of his shirt, but when his eyes met yours, you weren't afraid. He looked so broken, so small that you had to help him. So you pulled him into your apartment and stitched him up the best you could, while he tried to lie about how it happened and explain why he looked like he'd been through a blender. Dean had never been good at lying to you, not even then. He was also the biggest baby you had ever met when it came to wound care.

In the months that followed Dean continued to show up, each time with injuries less and less life threatening asking you to help him, until one day he showed up perfectly fine and continued to show up. You would spend every minute together for a few days and then he would leave like nothing happened, only to show up again in a few weeks and it would start all over again.  Sometimes you thought that he wanted more than just a few days together, but then he would just leave, not giving you any other explanation. You hadn't expected to fall for him as hard as you did, but each time he left it broke you. You found yourself hoping each day that he would show up, only to be disappointed when he didn't. Days would drag by fading into shades of gray until finally Dean would show up and everything went back to color, only to sink back into monochrome when he left. The last time you had seen him was a month ago, when you told him that you couldn't do this anymore and told him not to come back.

But now he was here, again.

"Hey Doll-face." Dean smiles wider.

You try to ignore how your heart stutters in your chest when he smiles at you.

"Do you know this guy?" Tim asks you taking a step forward to put himself between Dean and you.

Dean's eyes trace Tim, smile slipping into confident smirk as he sizes him up. He opens his mouth, but you interrupt whatever thought was about to come out.

"Unfortunately I do." You sigh. "Tim can you give us a minute."

"Sure. But-"

"I know." You say, understanding that he was going to remind you what time it was. "We won't be late."

"I'll be over there." Tim puts a healthy distance between the two of you, far enough to give you space, but close enough that he can see you.

Dean is still smirking at him. "Boyfriend?" His eyes flit to yours, amused.

"Lab partner." You adjust your grip on your backpack unsure what to do.

I said everything I needed to say the last time. I thought that was it. Did he think I didn't mean it?

You think about the last time he was here, when you told him that you couldn't do this anymore and when he finally left, how you skipped all your classes and stayed in bed for two days clutching a pillow to your chest and wishing that it was him. It had felt like the end. The end of whatever the hell this had been. Sometimes you wished that you had defined it the first time you slept together, wished that you had told him you didn't do that ever, that you didn't just sleep with people without feelings because you knew sooner or later it would end up like this.

Then again you knew that you always had feelings for him, since the moment you locked eyes with his the night you met.

"He’s cute. If you’re into that geeky kind of thing. Though you could always date Sam-"

"What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood. Plus I didn’t want to miss the big game.”  Dean's eyes flit to the mass of people swarming around you, shouting and singing as they stumble down the cracked pavement. The dark shadows of the buildings stretch long over campus, illuminated by the lamplights that line the sidewalks.

"You should have called"

"I did. You never pick up" He arches a perfect eyebrow.

"Most would take that as a hint"

"Well Sweetheart given my profession you not picking up made me worry."

By now you knew exactly what he did. Despite Dean not acting like he wanted a relationship, when all was quiet and it was just the two of you laying in bed he confided in you, told you things about his life that made you hold him close and wish that you could make him forget all about it. You loved those soft moments with Dean, when it felt like more and you could imagine that Dean wanted to be as wrapped up in you as you were in him.

Your heart clenches in your chest as you try to forget it all, forget the day he walked into your life, and forget how much you like him.

"I can’t do this with you right now, I’ve got a lab in 3 minutes." You turn towards where Tim is standing, prepared to leave.

"Come on you can blow off one lab.”  Dean grabs your backpack turning you back to face him. “We can go to the big game. You know I can’t say no to free beer-“ The look in his eyes is joking.

He doesn't understand.

You shake him off. "No I can't Dean. This is important to me. This is my life. I can't drop everything just because you show up out of the blue."

"It wouldn't be out of the blue if you picked up your phone." His smile dips into an attractive pout that makes it very difficult to think.

"Dean why are you here?"

"I told you, I was in the neighborhood-"

"We talked about this. I can't do this anymore."

"I remember you talking about it."

"Yes and I remember you leaving." You snap as the memory of the last time you saw him rises in the back of your throat. You think about the days that followed, when you couldn't focus and flunked a test. 

"Y/n-“ Dean sighs.

"Look, I like spending time with you, but I can't keep doing this to myself. You show up, we spend every second together for days, and then you leave. It would be one thing if we were trying to do long distance, but we’re not.  All I get is radio silence for weeks and then you show  up all over again like nothing happened, expecting to pick up right where we left off, and the cycle begins all over again."

"I don't go radio silent for weeks. It’s you that doesn’t pick up your phone or text me back.”

"Yes you do and I can't do it. I won't do it. Because every time you leave I wonder if it's the last time I'll ever see you and-" You take in a breath to stop the ball of emotion that lodges itself in your throat. "It does something to me. And I'm not saying that what you do is any less important than what I'm trying to accomplish here. I’m not telling you to stop hunting. But this is my life Dean, my future. And I don’t want to put that in jeopardy because you show up every few weeks when you’re feeling restless. I want more than a few days every few weeks. I want more and I'm worth more. And if you can't give that to me that's fine, but please stop coming around and so I can find someone else who can."

The expression on Dean's face shifts, it's no longer the playful smirk or attractive pout, it almost looks heartbroken.

But that can't be right. Dean doesn't see me that way.

You look at where Tim is waiting for you to avoid Dean's gaze. He’s looking down at the watch on his wrist and you can feel his apprehension.

"I've got to get to my lab." You turn away from Dean, but stop halfway to Tim. "It was good to see you Dean. I wish you the best."

As Tim and you begin to walk away, you can feel Dean's eyes on you the whole way up the stairs into the science building, but you refuse to turn back.

"Are you okay?" Tim whispers.

"I will be. Let's just go before Dr. Welsh locks the door." You mutter while pushing down the guilt that rose when you thought of how Dean looked when you walked away.

********************************************

Despite Dr. Welsh’s attempts to lock the door, you were far too angry with Dean to let another man stand in your way, so when you and Tim arrived to lab 10 seconds before the clock struck 6, you shoved your boot in the door before Dr. Welsh could shut it. And by some miracle he let you in. Maybe it was the murder in your eyes.

Tim had been stunned, you were usually more reserved, not quick tempered. But everything that happened with Dean rubbed you the wrong way.

You couldn’t decide if you liked him or hated him. Right now the hate was winning.

How dare he? You thought to yourself, hand clenching on the scalpel so tightly that Tim backed up. How dare he just show up again after I told him not to?

“Y/n, are you okay?” Tim had asked.

“I’m fine. Don’t I look fine?” You’d snapped at him.

Even Dr. Welsh had given you a wide berth through lab.

 After you cleaned up everything it was 10:26 pm, which meant you had a little time before your late shift in the library.

“Did you want to go see if that shawarma food truck is still parked around the corner?” Tim asks hesitantly.

“No. I’m just gonna go to the library and study before my shift.” You mumble, shouldering your backpack and ignoring the urge to think about Dean.

Hopefully he took the hint and he’s gone. The thought brought a prick of guilt. Would that be the last time I ever saw him? Would those be the last words I ever said to him? You fight the urge to call him, to apologize, because the one thing you had wanted to say was that you liked him and you didn’t want him to go, you wanted him to stay in your life permanently. Sure long distance was hard, but for him it would be worth it.

“Oh.” Tim pauses for a minute. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Huh?”

“Well that Dean guy. You seemed kinda upset.”

“I was- am. But it’s okay, give me a few hours I’ll be over it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sure.”

“Make sure to send the link to that Timelapse of metal rusting.” You try to smile, but the joke falls flat.

“Okay.” Tim watches you go.

The library was only a 9 minute walk from the science building, but it still felt too long. You longed to be lost in your notes, to think of anything else other than Dean, but you couldn’t.

Why did he have to come back? Why couldn’t he have just let it lie? I was doing better- You think about the weeks that followed his last visit, a haze of homework, tests, and work. Well, I was doing okay.

The thrum of music is still in the air, but now less people pass you as you walk down the sidewalk, and the ones that do are holding hands and laughing. Your thoughts shift to Dean again.

I like him, but I have to get over him because it’s not going anywhere. You think about the first time you slept together. Maybe this is my fault, maybe I should have defined this from the beginning. I mean, I know the kind of person he is… That thought makes you pause. Sure the first few times you’d patched his wounds Dean was sexy and flirty, but all the times that followed he seemed, sweet, charming. It wasn’t that you spent every moment in bed, he had taken you out to dinner at the diner down the street, fought with you over the last slice of pie, took you to a bar for drinks  where he shamelessly beat you at pool, other times he waited for you to be done with your classes to make sure that you didn't have to walk home alone at night. You remember how mad he had been when you told him you did that, but gas was so expensive and it was easier to walk the four blocks.

Someone grabs your arm from behind, pulling you out of your memories, and you finally snap. Using the only self defense move you knew, besides S-I-N-G from Miss Congeniality, you knock off the hand and flip the offender over your shoulder prepared to spray them in the face with the mace in your pocket.

But then you realize who it is.

Dean frowns up at you from the ground. “When I taught you that, I didn’t expect you to use it on me.”

“Just be happy that I didn’t pepper spray you.” Your eyes narrow.

 Maybe I should. It would make me feel better.

“Would have been the highlight of my night.” He stands up from the ground brushing off the front of his clothes with a pointed look.

“Dean what are you still doing here?”

“I want to talk.”

“I’ve said all I need to.”

“But I haven’t.”

“I don’t care. You’ve heard what I need to say and I’m sick of you not listening.”

“Y/n-“

“Fine, I’ll say it one more time, but listen this time.  I've never, never depended on anyone else in my life. It's been me, me for a long time.” You poke your finger into his chest to emphasize your point. “Then you just sauntered in and changed everything. You made me care about you, worry about you, and you made me depend on you showing up in my life. Every time you leave it breaks me. Every time I’m in a funk for days. The last time you left, I cried for two days and I didn’t go to any of my classes! I'm trying to be serious about my life. And I can't do that if you show up every few weeks and make me expect something and then leave a few days later and I'm devastated.”

Dean’s eyes widen in surprise. “I didn’t know that.”

“I have to get over you Dean, and I can't do that if you keep showing up. So please just go.” You turn away from him.

His hand comes down on your arm again to turn you back to him. “I don’t want you to get over me.”

“What?”

“Do you think I like leaving you? Do you really think it’s that easy for me?” He looks hurt.

“It certainly seems to be when you walk out after a few days with a smile like it means nothing! Like I mean nothing-“ You fight the tears that burn against your eyes. You wanted to be something for him just as much as he was something for you, but you were afraid. You hadn’t depended on anyone since you graduated and moved away from home. You weren’t used to needing someone in your life this much.

"You mean everything!” Dean shouts grabbing your shoulders. “It’s me that means nothing."

You blink your eyes for a second, not comprehending what he’s trying to say. "Dean what are you talking about?"

"I didn't think you wanted that-" He looks down.

Your eyes trace the slump in his shoulders, the frown on his handsome face, and the way he won’t meet your gaze.

What is he talking about?

You try to think of a time that you’d seen him look so vulnerable, but the only time you imagine was the night you met.

"Wanted what?"

"Me.” Dean’s voice is a whisper.

"I'm confused."

His eyebrows are furrowed, lips pressed into a tight line. “I’m nothing like you.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re a little younger than me and you’re smart and you’ve got this bright future ahead of you. You don’t need someone like me dragging you down-“

“Someone like you? Dragging me down? Dean what are you talking about?" You can't comprehend what he's saying. You reach up to cup his cheeks, but Dean pulls back from you, glancing away.

“I didn’t go to a fancy college, I barely finished high school. I’ve spent most of my life in motel rooms  committing credit card fraud and trying not to die.  And then I met you. You’re funny and caring and so smart, and  I just thought that you would like it more if I came by every once in a while to relieve some tension. I didn’t think that you would want me to stay.”

He didn’t think that I would want him? That can't be right. Dean is so confident usually. You search his face and see the genuine vulnerability behind his green eyes.

“Are you serious?” You ask him.

He doesn’t say anything.

“Dean, you are smart-“

“Not the same way you are”

“Dean.” You can’t help but take his hand. Dean’s green eyes focus on yours for a second, wide and open. “You don’t have to go to college to be smart. You’re resourceful and you know more about supernatural creatures than anyone else. Even the top scientists and doctors in the world don’t believe in them and they went to stuffy old colleges and fight with one another over who’s smarter. I don’t care that you didn’t go to a fancy college. What you do is important, probably more important than what I’m going to do. You protect people, you’ve saved the world more than once, and sure maybe it’s not glamorous to some people but it is to me.”

His eyes widen in surprise.

“Have you thought that maybe I like spending time with you because you’re so different than the people I see everyday?” You ask him softly, squeezing his hand.

“No.” Dean mutters.

“I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I don’t have lavish wealthy parents bankrolling me. My dad is a mechanic. I work two jobs and send him money so I don’t have to worry about him. Sometimes I feel like a fraud. But when you show up I don’t feel like a freak. With you I feel like I don’t have to pretend, I can just be me. And I like you, a lot. This has never just been about relieving tension or sex for me. Ever. I mean it’s nice-“

“Just nice?” Dean raises an eyebrow.

You flush bright red. “I like spending time with you without that too. All the times we spent laying in bed or went to a bar or went to get food, and we talked were equally as wonderful for me. I like talking with you. I like hearing about your life. I just assumed that you had someone in every state that you visit when you’re feeling restless and that you didn’t want a relationship.”

“There’s no one else. Hasn’t been since I met you.”

Deans eyes lock with yours as you comprehend what he just confessed.

“Really?” Your voice is only a whisper.

“Fuck I’m not good at this romantic comedy shit-“ He mutters to himself shaking his head. “I like you too. I wish that I could be here all the time. I hate leaving you. It’s too quiet. When I’m not here all I do is think about you, what you’re doing, how your day was.”

Your entire body explodes with his words, heart beating so fast you think it’ll grow wings and take flight.

“When I was younger I used to laugh at Sam because he wanted a normal life, but with you I understand.  You’re so different than anyone I’ve ever met and it hurts me when I’m away from you.” Dean continues with a soft smile that makes you lose all feeling in your legs.

He takes your other hand. “I understand that what you’re doing is important and I’m not asking you to quit school. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance. I want to make this work. I know that long distance isn’t easy, but I want to try.” His eyes search yours, begging for a answer, but you can barely breathe let alone speak. You watch his face fall as he takes your silence as your answer. “But I understand if you don’t want to, because you are worth more. You’re worth more than a few days, than a phone call or a text. You deserve someone who can be here with you all the time. You’re worth more than what I can give you. And you shouldn’t have to settle-“

You grab the front of his flannel because you can’t think of anything to say and pull him down to you for a kiss. Pins and needles trace down your spine as his soft lips move against yours. He smiles against your mouth, folding you into him, his large hand on the small of your back just under your backpack causing warmth to shoot down your spine. You lose yourself in the way his body fits around yours

“I’m not settling.” Your hands cup his cheeks as you look deep into his eyes. “I never want you to feel that way, because you are worth a hundred of any man I have ever met in my life. And if it’s my cross to bear to make you understand that every day of my life, then so be it. Because I would be lucky to spend any amount of time with you. I don’t want anyone else. I just want you, Dean. I’ve wanted you since the day we met and every day after. And I’m yours as long as you want me.”

Dean’s smile breaks open something in the pit of your stomach and goosebumps scorch across your skin. “I can’t imagine not wanting you.” He presses his forehead against yours.

You stand there with his warm hand pressed into your back trying to think of another time that you felt even a fraction of what you feel for him. You think about your high school boyfriend, about a few of the guys you dated in during your undergrad years, but you come up with nothing. Because you can’t compare him to anyone else you’ve ever met. And it hurt you to think that Dean thought so little of himself in the grand scheme of things.

He leans down to kiss you again, pulling you against his chest so tight that everything blissfully falls away.

“Are you hungry?” He whispers against your lips after a minute.

“Yes, but my shift at the library starts soon. I’m there til 2.” You tighten your hands at the back of his neck, not wanting to let him go.

“Okay. I’ll go with you.”

“Dean it’s okay if you just want to go back to my apartment and sleep. I can give you the key-“ You notice the dark circles under his eyes, but you know that Dean wasn’t one to complain about being tired.

“It’s worth being tired if I get to see you.” Dean smiles. “But I’ll go get us some food, because I’m hungry too.”

“Don’t forget the pie.”

“Have I ever?” He brushes his lips to yours one more time, but you don’t remove your arms from around his neck. “You’re going to have to let me go doll.”

“Just 5 more minutes.”

********************************************

You spend the weekend together in your apartment. All those blissful moments together solidify the thought that this is real, that this time it’s going to be different. Every night going to bed with Dean tucking you against him and waking up every morning with your head on his chest feels like a dream, and you never want to wake. Every kiss and intimate moment between you feels like more, and you have to keep reminding yourself that it isn’t just sex, hasn’t ever been just sex. Dean wants to be there with you all the time, hold you close to him and share things with you. And this time you finally understand that you do help him forget and know that you do bring him as much comfort as he brings you.

When Monday comes and Dean has to go, you try not to think of it as the end.

Dean leans back against the door of the Impala, his hands on your hips, green eyes blazing in the sun, but it’s his eyes that warm you more than the sun’s rays.

"Sweetheart-" Dean begins, sensing what you’re thinking. His thumbs rub smooth circles against waist where your t-shirt rests.

"I know." You press your face into his flannel, inhaling the scent you ascribe to Dean. He smells like oil, leather, and the spicy scent of the soap he uses that tickles your nose.

"Hey." His free hand comes under your chin to raise your gaze back to his. "I promise I'm gonna come back. I promise that we're going to make this work. It’s going to be different.” He cups your cheek, eyes soft and understanding.

“I know, but you’re still leaving.” Your tighten your arms around his chest.

“I wish I didn’t have to. But Sam called, he needs me-“

“I know.” You breathe.

You don’t want Dean to feel any worse than he does about leaving, especially when you remember what he said to you a few days ago, about you deserving more and about how he wished he could be more for you. Deep down you know that both of you are determined to make this work, so you put on a smile.

 “It’s okay.” You gently rub his back.   “You’ll be back in 2 weeks and I’ll be on spring break in a month.”

“Does that mean I’ll get to see you in a bikini?” Dean grins.

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Hmm. Well until I see you-“ He raises his right hand from where it rests on your hip to remove the large silver ring from his finger. "Don't panic, it's not an engagement ring." Dean's smile breaks you a little.  "Just me promising that I'll come back, that I'll call and text you so much that you'll be sick of me." He slides the ring onto your thumb, the weight comforting.

"I could never be sick of you."

“Just you wait.” He winks, holding your hand to his chest. “I bet I can prove you wrong.”

“I welcome the challenge.”

The kiss goodbye is bittersweet, but you hold yourself together, refusing to cry as Dean gets into his car and leaves. You watch the Impala disappear around the corner, taking your heart with it, but just as it does your phone rings.

“Hello?”

“I miss you.” Dean’s voice fills the line and this time you can’t stop the tears.

“I miss you too.”

“I promise I’ll be back in two weeks.”

“Okay. Please be careful.” You remember all the stories he's told you over the time you’ve known him, all the horrible things that happened to him and Sam. Sometimes you wish he hadn’t, because you can’t help but worry.

“I’m always careful.” You can hear him rolling his eyes.

“As the person who has spent the past 2 years patching you up, I can say with certainty that you are not always careful.”

“Then I promise to be more careful than usual.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” The wind picks up, pulling your hair from the ponytail at the back of your head.

“I’ll call you when I make it back to the bunker.”

“Good.”

“Bye y/n.”

“Bye Dean.”

Your gaze drops to the heavy ring on your thumb and you hold tight to the hope and belief that this time is different, allowing the memories of the past few days to brush away any doubts that threaten the thought of what the future will bring.

********************************************

Thank you so much for reading!  I am considering doing a series with this reader and Dean, but let me know what y’all think!

[ironwoman359]

A Thief's Gamble - Ch.1:

No Risk, No Reward

Next: Ch.2 - All Eyes on Us Fic Masterpost

Summary: Brynjolf is certain that the only way the Thieves Guild will return to its glory days is by bringing in new, talented members. Unfortunately, Mercer doesn't agree, and it's not like Brynjolf's latest attempts at recruiting have gone well. But when he meets a stranger in the marketplace one morning, he's willing to take the risk and bring her on board....only time will tell if his gamble pays off.

Content: Brynjolf POV, Thieves Guild quest spoilers, game typical violence

Ships: Brynjolf x Dragonborn OC (slowburn)

Word Count: 2,781

Check the reblogs for a link to read on AO3!

AN: I have nothing to say for myself other than that Brynjolf is one of my favorite Skyrim characters, and this is an excuse for me to flesh him out both as an individual and in relation to the player. Has this probably been done a thousand times? Yes. Do I care? Absolutely not. Thanks for reading! (and let me know if you want to be tagged in updates, I'll do so if you like!)

--- --- ---

Brynjolf had a headache.

He’d had a faint one building behind his eyes for most of the day, but after listening to Keerava complain- loudly- that the Guild was asking more than she could afford for protection and that if he knew what was good for him he’d jump of the pier…his head was well and truly pounding. 

“Want me to top that off for you, Bryn?” 

Brynjolf blinked, and looked up to see Vekel looking at him expectantly, a flagon in his hand. 

“Sorry lad, what was that?” 

Vekel chuckled, and filled Brynjolf’s tankard with ale. 

“You’ve been distracted lately, my friend. Better not let Mercer catch you staring off into space like that.” 

“Now there’s an earful I don’t need,” Brynjolf agreed, lifting his tankard in acknowledgement before taking a swig. 

“Well, go on then,” Vekel prodded. “Tell us what’s going on in that big brain of yours.” 

“It’s nothing lad, just a headache,” Brynjolf said, but Vekel shook his head.

“I’m not just talking about today, Bryn, you’ve been off ever since you pulled that job on Brand-Shei.” 

“Have I?” Brynolf asked, and Vekel nodded.

“You have. Which doesn’t track,” Dirge piped up, walking over to the bar. “Because you said that the job went off without a hitch.” 

“So if you’re not thinking about the job, what are you thinking about?” Vekel asked. 

A face came to Brynjolf’s mind unbidden, bright eyes and sharp features framed by dark hair, but he pushed the image away. 

“You know as well as I do that the Guild’s seen better days, lads,” he said, taking another sip. “Just trying to work out how to bring her back to her former glory.” 

“Aaaah, so that’s why you’ve been distracted these past few days,” Vekel said knowingly. “You think you’ve found another recruit, don’t you?” 

“So what if I have?” Brynjolf demanded, arching an eyebrow at the barkeep. “If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: what this outfit needs is some fresh blood.”

“Except the last three recruits you tried to bring on board washed out before they could make any serious coin,” Dirge pointed out, and Brynjolf frowned.

“At least I’m actually trying to solve the problem,” he said. “If we ever want to get back on our feet, the Thieves Guild needs to actually employ some master thieves.” 

“Aaaand, the last few kids you pulled into this mess were ‘master thief’ material?” Dirge asked, and Vekel snickered. 

“Give it up, Brynjolf,” he said. “Those days are over.” 

Brynjolf sighed.

“I’m telling you, this one is different…” he began, but Dirge scoffed.

“We’ve all heard that one before, Bryn! Quit kidding yourself.” 

Brynjolf opened his mouth to reply, but paused. Beneath his friends’ ribbing and the quiet clinking of cups on tables and forks on plates from the Flagon’s few other patrons, there was another sound. The sound of boots on stone, the steps slow and cautious as they approached. 

“It’s time to face the truth, old friend,” Vekel said. “You, Vex, Mercer…you’re all part of a dying breed. Things are changing!” 

Brynjolf turned, saw exactly who he’d hoped he would, and a smile spread across his face. 

“Dying breed, eh?” he repeated. “Well what do you call that then!” 

The woman was slight, an Imperial by the looks of her, and she had a bow drawn, one arrow knocked loosely on the string.

“Well well, color me impressed, lass,” Brynjolf said, nodding to her. “I wasn’t certain I’d ever see you again.”

The woman’s eyes flitted around, lingering on Dirge for a moment before eventually slinging her bow over her shoulder.

“Getting here was easy,” she said, stowing her arrow in its quiver. 

Brynjolf chuckled.

“Reliable and headstrong? You’re proving to be quite the prize. The name’s Brynjolf, lass.” 

“Ariene,” said the Imperial.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Brynjolf said. “So... now that I've whetted your appetite with our little scheme at the market, how about handling a few deadbeats for me?"

Ariene frowned, shifting her weight.

“Deadbeats?” she asked. “What’d they do?” 

“They owe our organization some serious coin, and they’ve decided not to pay,” Brynjolf explained. “I want you to explain to them the error of their ways.” 

Ariene nodded thoughtfully.

“Sounds good…who are they?”

“Keerava,” Brynjolf said, ticking the marks off on his fingers, “Bersi Honey-Hand, and Haelga. Do this right, and I can promise you a permanent place in our organization.”

“And…how do you want me to handle it?” Ariene asked carefully.

Brynjolf sighed, his mind drifting back to the insults that Keerava had thrown at him that morning.

“Honestly? The debt is secondary here. What’s more important is that you get the message across that we are to be ignored.” He frowned, and looked pointedly at the bow strapped to Ariene’s back. “A word of warning though…I don’t want any of them killed. Bad for business.”

To his surprise, Ariene’s shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, and she nodded.

“Will I get a cut?” she asked, and Brynjolf laughed.

“Of course you’ll get a cut. We take care of our own.”

“Then consider it done.”

“Alright then lass, get going. I’ll be here when you’re done.”

The woman nodded and turned without another word, heading back into the ratways the way she came.

Brynjolf grinned, and turned back to Dirge and Vekel.

“Anything to say now, lads?”

“Sure, she made it down here,” Vekel said dismissively. “But that doesn’t make her a master thief. A hundred septims says she’ll turn out just like all the others.”

“I told you Vekel, this one is different,” Brynjolf insisted.

Still, as he sat back down at the bar, it was hard to ignore the facts. He’d been trying to breathe new life into the Guild, but Vekel and Dirge had a point. Previous recruits hadn’t stuck around long. Some didn’t keep up a high standard of work, others realized how poor the Guild’s standing really was and abandoned it. A few had even been caught and either killed or imprisoned. 

Brynjolf knew Mercer was running out of patience with his attempts, but he didn’t see any other options. They couldn’t rely solely on Maven forever, and the way Brynjolf saw it, their dwindling reputation and cash flow needed to be addressed, or the Guild, and everyone in it, would be history.

You’d better come through for me, lass, he thought, bringing his tankard to his lips. Because I’m putting my last bet on you.

--- --- ---

Despite his high hopes, part of Brynjolf was worried that the woman would simply take the money for herself and disappear after shaking down her three marks. After all, it’d taken her several days to reappear in the ratways after the job on Brand-Shei, and Brynjolf had been doing this for a long time. 

His gut told him that she would pull through, but having a contingency was just as important as having good instincts. He’d put the word out to his contacts within the city guard to alert him if an imperial woman fitting Ariene's description tried to skip town, and he had a few others keeping eyes on the docks and weak points in the city walls in case she tried to slip out that way. 

Mercer had given him the usual grief about wasting manpower, but Brynjolf knew that if the coin came through, he’d let the matter go. And as the day drew to a close and no runners came bursting into the Flagon to tell him that his recruit had killed one of the marks or vanished with his gold, the more sure he became that this had been a good call. 

“I still don’t know about this, Bryn,” Delvin grumbled. “Even if this new recruit of yours is as good as you say, that don’t mean that the curse ain’t gonna affect them, same as the rest of us.”  

Brynjolf rolled his eyes. 

“Mentioning the curse in every other conversation isn’t going to make more people believe you, old man. It’s just going to make them think you’re crazy.”

“You can call me what you like,” Delvin said, shrugging. “Don’t change the facts.” 

“Brynjolf,” Dirge called, and Brynjolf looked up to see Ariene walking towards them, a sack of gold in her hand. 

“Well well, look who’s back,” he said, shooting a smug look over his shoulder at Delvin, who just shook his head and took a sip of his ale. 

“So lass,” he said, getting to his feet. “Job’s done, and you even brought the gold.” He spotted movement behind her, and saw one of his runners slip into the Flagon. They flashed him a quick hand signal, and he smiled. “Best of all, you did it clean. I like that. Dumping bodies and keeping the guards quiet can be expensive.” 

Ariene nodded, and held out the coin purse. 

“Here’s what they owed us,” she said, and Brynjolf took it. 

“Well done, lass. And it would seem I owe you something in return.”

He turned and picked up a few potion bottles from the table behind him. 

“Here you go, I think you’ll find these quite useful.” 

Ariene took them, examined them for a moment, then nodded, slipping them into a satchel at her side. 

“What’s next, then?” she asked.

“Well,” Brynjolf said, hefting the bag of coin in his hand. “Judging from how well you handled those shopkeepers, I’d say you’ve done more than simply prove yourself.” 

He looked back at Delvin and raised an eyebrow. The man nodded, and Brynjolf smiled at Ariene. 

“We need people like you in our outfit.” 

Ariene looked around, and Brynjolf saw her eyes linger on the rickety tables, on the grime covering the tankards, and the empty seats covered in dust. She looked up at him, and after a moment of meeting his gaze, she nodded.

“If there’s more gold where that came from, then I’m in.” 

“That’s the spirit!” Brynjolf said, grinning. “Larceny’s in your blood…the telltale sign of a practiced thief. I think you’ll do more than just fit in around here.” 

Brynjolf turned to lead her to the cistern but she hesitated.

“Before we go, I have to ask…” she trailed off, and looked around the room again.

“What’s on your mind?” Brynjolf asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Word is your outfit isn’t doing…well.” One side of her mouth ticked up in a half smile, and she gestured vaguely around them. “True?”

Brynjolf chuckled. 

“You’re a sharp one, lass. Aye, we’ve run into a bit of a rough patch lately…but it’s nothing to be concerned about.” He let out a sigh, then flashed her a small smile. “Tell you what. You keep making us coin, and I’ll worry about everything else. Fair enough?” 

Ariene nodded slowly. 

“Fair enough.” 

“Now, if there are no more questions? How about you follow me, and I’ll show you what we’re all about.” 

Brynjolf led Ariene through the back room, sliding away the false panel in the storage cupboard and stepping through to the passageway beyond.

“So everyone in the tavern back there, they’re all members?” Ariene asked.

“Not everyone is,” Brynjolf explained. “Vekel owns the Ragged Flagon, and Dirge works for him. Tonilia, well, she’s got her own business. But they all work closely with us. We keep coin in each other's pockets and watch each other's backs.” 

“And you lead the Guild?” asked Ariene, and Brynjolf scoffed.

“Me? No, lass. I’m just a lieutenant. I keep things running as smooth as I can, but I’m no Guildmaster. Mercer is the one who makes the decisions around here. And speaking of…”

He led her into the cistern, where Mercer was waiting for them on the dais in the center of the room.

"Mercer?” he called. “This is the one I was talking about...our new recruit."

Mercer sighed and folded his arms.

"This better not be another waste of the Guild's resources, Brynjolf," he said. 

He turned to Ariene, and looked her up and down slowly. A frown spread across his face, and he folded his arms.

"Before we continue, I want to make one thing perfectly clear,” he said, addressing her. “If you play by the rules, you walk away rich. You break the rules and you lose your share. No debates, no discussions... you do what we say, when we say.”

Ariene raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, mirroring Mercer’s pose.

“Do I make myself clear?" Mercer demanded, and Ariene glanced over at Brynjolf. 

“Rules?” she asked, looking back to Mercer. “We’re thieves. What’s the point of rules?

Mercer took a slow step forward, stopping only when he was mere inches away from her face, and Brynjolf grimaced. 

“I'll let that comment go because you're new here,” Mercer growled. “Ask things out of turn again, and we have a problem. Now, are. We. Clear?" 

Ariene, to her credit, didn’t react beyond a slight tensing of her shoulders, and she nodded once. 

“Crystal,” she said evenly.

“Good,” Mercer said, stepping back. “Then I think it's time we put your expertise to the test."  

“Wait a moment,” Brynjolf said, frowning. There was only one job going on at the moment that Mercer was concerning himself with…a job that Brynjolf had not intended for a fresh recruit to try and take on all alone. “You’re not talking about Goldenglow, are you?” he asked, and Mercer nodded. “Even our little Vex couldn’t get in!”

Mercer just raised an eyebrow. 

“You claim this recruit possesses an aptitude for our line of work. If so, let her prove it.” 

“Goldenglow?” Ariene repeated, and Mercer turned back to her. 

“Goldenglow Estate is critically important to one of our largest clients,” he explained. “However, the owner has suddenly decided to take matters into his own hands and shut us out. He needs to be taught a lesson. Brynjolf will provide you with the details." 

He turned, clearly signaling that the conversation was over, and Brynjolf folded his arms. 

“Mercer. Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Hmm?” he looked back at them, and Brynjolf looked pointedly at Ariene. “Oh, yes. Since Brynjolf assures me you'll be nothing but a benefit to us, then you're in. Welcome to the Thieves Guild.”

He turned and strode away, and Brynjolf blew out a breath before smiling at Ariene with what he hoped was a reassuring expression. 

“Well he’s cheerful,” Ariene said quietly, a grin playing at the edge of her mouth, and Brynjolf tilted his head.

“How much of that ignorance was on purpose?” he asked, and she shrugged. 

“I wanted to see how he’d respond to confrontation. Evidently, not well.” 

“Well, I could have told you that,” Brynjolf said with a quiet laugh. “But never mind that now. You’re in. Welcome to the family, lass. I'm expecting you to make us a lot of coin, so don't disappoint me."

Ariene nodded. 

“So how do I get my cut of the spoils?” she asked. 

“Simple,” Brynjolf replied. “Do as you're told and keep your blade clean. We can't turn a profit by killing.”

“Fine by me.” 

“You should talk with Delvin Mallory and Vex. They know their way around this place and they'll be able to kick some extra jobs your way. Oh, and talk to Tonilia in the Flagon... she'll set you up with your new armor.” 

“Speaking of the Flagon, I could use a drink,” Ariene said. “Let me buy you one too…as an apology for upsetting Mercer.”

Brynjolf shook his head. 

“I told you lass, you just worry about making us coin. I’ll worry about everything else, and that includes Mercer, alright?”

“Well then...consider it a thank you,” she suggested. 

“A thank you?” he repeated, and she actually looked a tad sheepish.

“I can tell you were taking a chance, bringing me in to all of this,” she said, her voice quiet. “It was a risk; a risk that you didn’t have to take. And I…appreciate that.” 

Brynjolf smiled.

“Well, I suppose I have time for a quick drink. A drink, and a toast to the newest member of the Guild.”  

Ariene brightened, and turned to head out of the cistern and back into the Flagon. Brynjolf went to follow, but glanced back over his shoulder. Mercer stood at his desk, leaning over a set of plans with a frown on his face. 

“Tell you what lass,” Brynjolf said slowly. “You go on ahead, introduce yourself to the others. I’ll join you in a moment, and we can discuss business.” 

Ariene nodded, and Brynjolf watched her go, waiting until the door to the Flagon closed behind her before turning and striding across the room.

“Mercer!” he said, and Mercer glared up at him. “We need to talk.”

--- --- ---

Next: Ch.2

[tmntxthings]

Rise!Leo falling in love Pt. 7

author’s note: did I say plot last time? I meant next next time… more brother moments, more character development, <3 hope you all enjoy

warnings: fluff, lil jealousy, angst? cursing

previous - next?

—————————————————————————

previously. . .

“I can’t believe it!!” You laughed happily, “I told you, you’re a natural! All you needed was a little practice,” Raph set Mikey down and Mikey then let you go, both beaming prideful smiles down at you.

Leo hadn’t heard from you in hours and he wondered if maybe you were just busy.. or perhaps texting wasn’t your thing? He didn’t know! But he was feeling pretty restless. The comics weren’t as interesting anymore and he kept looking over at where his phone lay on the bed hoping for it to flash with a notification.

He sighed looking back at the Jupiter Jim comic in his hands, eyes glazing over not really reading as he started to overthink. Maybe he should call you? Would that be too needy? Surely you had to be thinking of him even if you were occupied? Leo dropped the comic on his bed, grabbed his phone, and headed to his twin’s lab. Donnie was always there and if anyone could help with this dilemma it would be his smarter than average (but not a genius bc let’s be honest his ego’s already too big) brother!

“Donniee open up, it’s your favorite brother!” An intercom sounded from the door, “you don’t sound like Mikey..” and Leo put a hand to his plastron, “you wound me brother, now open up!” He started banging louder and an irritated groan was heard before the door unlocked and slid open. “Thank youuu” Leo said as he entered, the lab door closing behind him immediately. Donnie turned in his swivel chair, “What is it now Nardo?” his arms already crossing. “Can’t I just come hang out with my own twin without being questioned about my motives?!”

Donatello’s eyes narrowed, “Alright alright, can you tell me if Y/n’s at their house? They haven’t responded to me all day and I just wanna make sure they are okay,” Donnie shook his head, “or maybe they are busy?” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Look can you do it or not?” Leo grumped not wanting to argue or be forced to think that yes you probably were just doing something super cool without him and not thinking about him at all! “fine but the next last slice of pizza-“

“Is yours, yes yes yes yes yes” Leonardo agreed and Donnie turned to the big screen. Leo didn’t know what his brother did but after some keyboard typing and a few passwords a map appeared, then color coordinated circles. The purple and blue were together, yellow and orange were together- oh April is here! That must’ve been the commotion Leo thought to himself. “Looks like they’re with Raph in the arcade,” Donnie zoomed in on the red dot that was next to a dark blue one.

Leo blinked and then blinked again, okay one more blink he needed to process this fully. You were here in the lair, hanging out with his older brother Raph. Without. Him. “Uh Leo you just gonna stand there dumbfounded or?” Donnie asked as he swiveled in circles. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous again are you?” Donnie smirked totally knowing his words hit a mark. Because as soon as they were out Leo grabbed his swords and portaled, straight to the arcade.

。・゜・( pov change: y/n )・゜・。

“Seriously this place just keeps getting better and better!” You gushed as you took a seat at the ‘Ultimate Racing Machine.’ Mikey and April went off to the kitchen earlier on and that left Raph to continue showing you around. He thought the next best place besides the ramp room would be the arcade. You had lit up like a light at the idea, you loved video games even if you weren’t a master at them. Raph got in the player 2 chair and that was all you needed to start steering the wheel getting a game setup. “So who’s got the highscore?” You asked curiously, it was pretty high up there, “that’d be Donnie” Raph said but added on, “I’m really close to beating him one of these days!”

“Well I’m sure you’ll kick my ass!” You laughed as the count down began. The two of you tensed and readied as the screens went green ‘GO!’ and the match was on. Three laps winner takes all! “AHA! Found you!” You lurched back in surprise as a blue bandanna came into view blocking the video game. “Leo!! I was in the lead!!” You said as you moved your head around trying to see the screen. Raph laughed in victory as he passed you up reaching the finish line for the first lap. “Haven’t you checked your phone?? I’ve been wondering what you were doing, where you’ve been, and here you are!” Leo said moving his face in front of you whenever you tried to look past him.

“I thought you knew I was here! Mikey invited me and I just guessed you were busy, plus I haven’t exactly gotten to know your brothers that well, and today has been going great so far,” you were talking but still not looking at him, you had hopes you could maybe pull out a win somehow but Raph was still in the lead by the second lap. “Leo! I’m gonna lose!!” You said in despair, as Raph said “Maybe next time Y/n,” you thought to yourself if only you didn’t have such a big blue distraction maybe you’d have a fighting chance! Leo crossed his arms, thinking over what you said and immediately zoning in on solely the fact that you’ve been having such a great time without him practically all day. He needed a plan, so you would see how much fun you were missing out on by not hanging out with him.

The third lap came into view and ‘LOSER’ came across your screen and you slumped back into the chair while Raph next to you hopped up and stood with both hands in the air full of victory. “Yes!! Leo thanks for your somewhat assistance but that was still all me babyyy!” Raph struck a pose, flexing and you finally tore your gaze away from the red screen to see Leo looking at you deep in thought. “Alright you two, I’m getting hungry, lemme go see if April and Mikey figured something out yet,” you listened to Raph’s footsteps fade as you acknowledged what he said. It got quiet, electronic video game music in the background. “Leo I think you’re overthinking,” you said to him as he seemed to be snapped out of his thoughts when he felt your eyes on him, finally.

“Pshhhh me? Overthinking? Hardly!” He retorted as he leaned back glancing at the red screen. It made him think of Raph’s red dot with yours. He rolled his eyes, going over to sit in the player 2 seat. “Wanna go against the master?” Leo questioned raising a cocky nonexistent eyebrow. “I thought Donnie had the high score?” You asked curiously. “What?! Hell no I’m the record holder here, who’s filling your head with lies?” You laughed, “okay okay almighty master, let’s see it then!” Ready to play, and this time hopefully with no more distractions. “Oh you don’t know what you’ve just summoned!” Leo remarked as the two of you chose your separate cars. “Let’s goooo” Leo said getting hyped as the count down began.

‘GO!’ The green screen flashed and you were sucked in, music getting louder as you leaned in unconsciously closer to the screen. “Yes, take a good close look at how I’ma leave you in my dust!” Leo trash-talked teasingly and your mouth twisted wracking your brain for a reply, “We’ll see about that..” your tongue sticking out slightly in concentration. Leo was so cocky of his assured victory that he stole glances towards you just to see your reactions to his supreme skills. So cute! He thought seeing your pink tongue, and that was all it took for you to suddenly take the lead on the second lap! “YES!” You exclaimed as Leo turned back to the screen focusing up. It had been a close race, Leo coming back at the last second and you threw yourself out of the seat as the red screen appeared yet again. “NO!!!” You cried, feeling pretty bitter at how you lost, “Who’s the racing master? I’m the racing master! Oh yeah!!” Leo gloated with the glow of the green celebratory screen shining on his face. “Ugh,” you groaned pitifully as Leo snickered. You were such a sore loser.

“Alright gaming aside, what else have I missed today?” Leo hummed, wanting to know everything. You clambered back into the chair, turning to face him as he looked over at you waiting, “Well, Mikey invited me over with April to watch a skateboarding competition in the ramp room!” And you were off going into detail and then gushing at how they had took the time to teach you how to board and even manage to survive the ramp. Leo listened intently, a small smile on his face, you talked so animatedly, and even though he wished he had been with you he was happy to hear how well you got along with his brothers, and vice versa.

“Not to brag but I’m also like the greatest at skateboarding too if you want a real pro to give you lessons,” he offered with a big smirking smile and you rolled your eyes smiling too, he always seemed to be an expert at everything. It didn’t seem possible but you didn’t feel like knocking down his incredibly large ego at the moment. “I’ll have to fit that into my schedule,” you teased. Leo stood, “how about an addition to the lair tour? You up for it?” You nodded and followed after him as he led the way.

“Woah,” you said as you approached the subway, walking with Leo to an open doorway, “Ta-da!” He said giving you jazz hands, “welcome to my room” he showed you his comic book collection and the posters on his wall then all the other knickknacks. You smiled listening to everything, “and yeah that’s about it! I’m kinda proud of the collection heh,” he became a little sheepish towards the end because he really meant it. “It’s amazing Leo! It must’ve taken a long time to collect,” you noted as you sat on the edge of his bed. He sat beside you smiling and nodding. You pulled out your phone and saw a couple of text messages and one missed call. Two messages and the call from Leo, you smiled softly to yourself, “I’m sorry I didn’t check my phone sooner Leo,” you admitted you felt guilty because it had been a couple of hours. He waved his hand dismissively, “it’s cool I was overreacting” he shrugged.

He wanted to be a cool boyfriend. A laid back boyfriend. You reached over grabbing his hand, “are you sure?” You wanted him to be honest, with you and himself. He nodded slowly, then tilted his head as he thought over his feelings. “Maybe a teensy bit worried” Leo admitted nonchalantly. “But Donnie’s got a tracker on your phone so I probably won’t be feeling that way again,” you raised an eyebrow, “really?” You deadpanned. “Uh what I mean to say is he used his genius brain powers to shoot a text to Mikey who ended up telling us that you were here!” A bright fake smile dashed onto Leo’s features. You crossed your arms, scooting over on the bed away from him.

“Aw c’mon what was a turtle supposed to do?” He whined, “when you’ve got a whiz kid of a twin brother you use him when you’re worried about-” you sighed, effectively shutting him up without having to say anything. Now he was the one reaching for your hand, “how about..” you started but remembered how you had basically ignored your phone for a couple of hours… “I don’t know, a full day going by before the tracking comes into play?” Leo stared at you seriously, “and if I’m really really worried?” You looked into his eyes, he looked to be thinking back to the noodle shop situation. With the crazy psycho with the gun. “Okay,” you agreed only because you didn’t want him to stress needlessly. “But I don’t think you’ll need to, I’ll pay more attention to my phone” you said confidently.

“Pizza’s here!” Three voices rang out throughout the lair. “Hungry?” Leo asked squeezing the hand that was resting in his palm. You squeezed back, “starving!” you said dramatically and he couldn’t help himself any longer. He scooped you up into his arms and nuzzled your neck before planting a kiss on your surprised lips. “Leo!” You squeaked, “whattttt? I’ve been waiting all day to do that!”

[alittlextrathatway]

In a world of boys, he's a gentleman

Let’s do a continuation of another AU.

We only have a lyric here which is absolutely fine because it means I get to pick the location.

And the location I choose is…

A diner.

Here’s some Sylvie’s POV for the football AU I started here.

***

She isn’t sure what to make of Matt Casey.

Having only been out of her borderline emotionally abusive relationship for six months, suspicion of all men is top of mind. She didn’t take the job in Chicago with the hopes of a new dating pool. She simply wanted to be free.

In Indianapolis, Harrison made sure everyone knew her as his ex and saw her as some creature he molded into being. To hear him tell it, her knowledge of sports medicine and her skill in accurately treating her patients the first time was all due to him generously sharing his knowledge with her over the course of six years of pillow talk.

They moved through their education together. Same schools, same programs. She’s just as accredited as Harrison. Everyone who directly works with her believes she knows her shit. Her patients rave about her in a way Harrison’s never speak of him. Yet outside their direct circle she became the personification of political correctness. Her successes and accomplishments were chalked up to a ‘women-in-sports-medicine’ diversity agenda.

As if some powers-that-be committee held a meeting once a week and decided these things.

Leaving her home state was the right decision professionally. She’s confident she made the correct choice.

But confidence in her personal life is a little harder to come by. So, yeah, she’s not sure what to make of the veteran star quarterback and team captain.

Especially when he turns out to be the nicest man on the whole damn planet.

Today is the start of that tour around Chicago he offered to her. He insists on shuttling them around and picking her up, refusing to let her meet him anywhere. And then he starts the day with his favorite little neighborhood diner, owned by one of the other players on the team’s family. She hasn’t met every player yet, but this woman knows Matt and hugs him fiercely the minute he walks in the door.

She shows them to a booth in the back and then pats Matt’s shoulder. “You keep throwing passes to my boy, you hear?”

“I’ll try my best, Mrs. Mills.”

She thought Matt was adorable at The Bodens’ backyard party last week, but turns out that was only the tip of the iceberg.

He blushes lightly at the attention and clears his throat. “That’s Pete Mills’s mom. One of our wide receivers.”

“Ah, okay,” Sylvie says, unable to resist pointing a warm smile at him. “Everyone at this franchise adores you. You know that, right?”

He shrugs, trying to brush it off. “When you’re winning it’s always like that. Wait till we lose a couple of games back to back, then we’ll see how much they love me.”

She shakes her head at him with a chuckle. “I’m not talking about you as a player, Matt. I’m talking about you as a person. Donna gave me the rundown of all the players so I’d know what sort of personalities to prepare for and she would not stop raving about you. Not your record or your stats as a quarterback, but you. The guy under the uniform.” There’s a beat before she realizes how that last line may have sounded and she winces. “Not literally under the uniform—I don’t mean they were talking about you being nak—you know what, I should look at the menu and shut up.”

He laughs softly. She feels his eyes following her movements as she looks away from him and down at the laminated menu in her hands. “No, I get what you mean. And I’m very fortunate. I’ve spent my entire career with one team full of good people who try to make the best decisions that benefit the group as a whole. It’s an actual family around here. We don’t just say that, we live it. So, if you get the sense that these people genuinely care about me then you’re right and the sentiment is completely mutual.”

He’s managed to stir up a lot of yearning emotions in her chest and soothe her humiliation all at the same time. It’s fascinating. “Sounds like a good organization to join.” What will it be like to work with people who don’t make you feel as if you need to be looking over your shoulder all the time? “I’m glad I took the leap then.”

“Me too,” Matt agrees, grinning crookedly at her. “So, I have a few neighborhood places I wanted to show you, but first things first today, is there anything you’ve wanted to see in Chicago that you haven’t gotten around to yet?”

She drops the menu and meets his gaze again. “Really?” Her tone is skeptical, she can’t help it. “You’re sure you wanna ask me that? I might give you a laundry list of cheesy tourist traps.”

“Bring it on.”

“Okay, you say that, but how do I know you’re not gonna keep a log of them to judge me by later?” She asks. She’s teasing him. Matt doesn’t seem like the type, but the joke rings a little too true in regards to her past experiences. Matt’s stare rips through her defenses, straight into her heart, and the joking good humor in her expression deflates. She clears her throat and uses her menu as a buffer again. “Sorry. That wasn’t very funny.”

“I’m gonna guess this ex who tried to torpedo your career didn’t let you enjoy a whole lot of things, huh?” Matt asks in a quiet, calming voice.

She sighs, suddenly tired of Harrison’s influence on her thoughts and actions despite leaving him behind in another state. “Let’s just say he wasn’t a lot of fun at parties.”

Matt snorts. “I can tell. I don’t know anything about him, but I can tell. To answer your question, no I’m not gonna keep a log of touristy things you enjoy so I can give you shit about them later. Only assholes do that. If you want to be a tourist today then I’m right there with you. Have you seen the bean yet?”

“You mean Cloud Gate?” She asks with a sharp smirk.

He rolls his eyes, grinning all the while. “Fuck that Cloud Gate bullshit. It’s the bean.”

Just like that her angst floats away and is replaced by laughter, authentically joyful laughter. “No, I haven’t seen it yet.”

“Alright,” he says, declaratively. “We’ll have breakfast and then we’ll go there first.”

“Great,” she says, rolling her lips to keep her besotted smile at bay. “Sounds like fun.”

They’re only a half hour into the day and already he’s gotten more out of her than anyone had since she made the move. That moment at the party where she got caught up in his attentive stare and spilled her guts about Harrison wasn’t a fluke, it seems. Her mind may have been unsure of him up until now, but her heart trusted him from the jump.

She knows she made the right move professionally, and she’s beginning to believe she’s making the right move personally too. In a world of insecure boys, she found a tried and true gentleman. She doesn’t know what the future holds for them or whether or not what they’re starting to build today will lead to anything, but she’s excited to find out.

[hopetorun]

Anon here, I was just telling you which scene instantly comes to mind, and it's that scene! Although, I would not be against you doing either a DVD commentary or POV switch, because again, love that scene haha!

oh my god i totally forgot i did that other meme! how embarrassing 😩

here's a dvd commentary, though, for being lovely ❤️

Cammie offered them a box, but Matthew argued for seats in the stands. [prior to this season especially i had noticed how seldom the tkachuks got luxury boxes at games -- obvs the playoffs stuff last year, but also keith and chantal's trip to nashville where matthew got his 99th point in 2022, and my long-ago memories of watching keith watch matthew at world juniors] He’s taking Draisaitl at his word on that whatever, and distantly hoping that Cammie doesn’t narc on him. It’s more fun to be in the stands. Boxes are nice and everything but you’re not really part of the crowd unless there’s enough people to fill up the seats. Besides, this way they might even be able to talk to other people.

Also, being in the stands makes it harder for them to be filmed the whole time. Instead, Cammie makes them swear to take pictures that they can turn over to her afterward. They’ll probably have their faces on the jumbotron too, Blues forwards Leon Draisaitl and Matthew Tkachuk. Whatever, Matthew’s used to that. He’s not here to hide. [this might be lie. matthew wants it to be true, though. it ought to be true]

Before the game, they meet a few of the players, and get shown around the stadium with Cammie and someone else from the front office—Yusuf, maybe, he didn’t introduce himself—following them with a camera.

For once, they mostly talk to Draisaitl. He’s surprisingly chatty, especially once they get him talking about soccer instead of how he’s settling in here in St. Louis. Cammie’s good at this; she gets him talking about his favorite memories of going to games in Germany. He’s never been to a soccer game in North America, apparently, though Edmonton has a second division team. He doesn’t get to go to as many games in Germany as he used to, because soccer’s a winter sport there and he’s usually in North America. He tells a couple of cute stories about going to games as a kid that Matthew gets the feeling he’s shared before. [a couple things here -- establishing that leon's behavior toward matthew is a deviation from the norm and that he's being a good sport with the team, and also matthew paying enough attention to him to clock that he's telling some of his go-to childhood stories]

He can feel himself incorporating this story about Draisaitl being punished for fighting with his sister by not being allowed to watch soccer on TV for a whole month—and the evident tantrum that he threw about it—into his idea of Draisaitl’s personality. And not only the story, the way he tells it too: the smile when he talks about his sister, the way he laughs when he talks about how upset he was, the grin when Cammie asks whether it worked and he says “absolutely not.” [Maybe They're Not So Different After All. on a more practical note i did just want to make leon seem appealing and pleasant enough that it wasn't like, why does matthew even like this dick]

She asks Matthew a couple of questions about the team (he has to politely elide that he doesn’t really pay attention to them), whether he’s been to any games before (a couple), what he thinks someone needs to do to really get to know the city (the Cards game, a trip to Forest Park, maybe he’ll do the Anheuser-Busch tour soon). “So Leon’s making good progress,” she says, and Matthew’s smile only feels a little forced.

And then it’s time for them to find their seats.

On the ice, Matthew finds it easy to ignore that Draisaitl is the kind of hot that makes people around him a little stupid sometimes. Tall and nicely proportioned, a jawline that hasn’t suffered at all as he’s aged. On the ice, he’s always been a competitor, and that supersedes anything else.

Right now, though, Draisaitl’s just the guy sitting next to him at a soccer game, wearing a plain black t-shirt and what Matthew’s pretty sure is the same Blues cap he was wearing at the Cards game. The jawline that he can ignore on the ice is highlighted nicely by a short beard that he didn’t have last week. Matthew thinks, for half a moment before shoving it aside, about beard burn. [i always feel like i don't spend enough time in my writing letting people be physically attracted to each other, which mostly is what it is but with this particular ship (and in this particular story), where so much of the foundation rests on for some reason they started fucking a lot, it feels important to reiterate that matthew thinks leon is hot]

“Where are you staying?” Matthew asks, because they have to talk about something or he’s going to keep staring.

Draisaitl frowns. “The team got me an apartment for now. It’s near the baseball stadium. I guess I’ll find somewhere of my own soon.” [my st louis accuracy reader going through this stuff like, okay so here's what's plausible for the story in terms of location]

“Not a hotel?” Matthew asks, and Draisaitl shrugs.

“I need more space for my dog.”

Matthew raises both eyebrows. “I’m not leaving my dog at a kennel for that long,” Draisaitl says. [speaking of plausible for the story ... this isn't at all, except i wanted him there for the specific summer vibes and it's a fanfiction yolo whatever]

“Makes sense.” Matthew doesn’t make the words hit quite as smoothly as he hoped. The problem with Draisaitl is that he’s as good at needling Matthew as Matthew is at needling him. [the main reason i'm here at all]

There’s an uptick in the action—Matthew can feel the crowd really tuning in to the game again, the kind of thing you miss if you’re sectioned off privately—and Draisaitl leans forward in his seat. He hisses when one of the St. Louis players tees up for a great opportunity and totally whiffs it, the ball rolling between his legs. Once the ball’s been cleared, Draisaitl sits back, and Matthew clocks the exact moment he realizes Matthew was watching him. [there's SO much watching each other through the beginning of this story, because they're both trying to figure out what the other one's game is]

Draisaitl shrugs, arranging his body into a pose that’s clearly meant to convey disinterest. [through a lot of the beginning of this story, and especially this scene, leon is kind of simultaneously looking for proof that matthew is a dick so he can be a dick in return AND proof that matthew agreeing to be on the same team means that actually maybe there's still something there between them. so far his data is mixed]

“It’s a fun game,” Matthew says. He can be polite.

“I didn’t think you were a fan.” Draisaitl’s words are clipped. [he was listening, earlier]

Matthew tips his head, conceding the point. “I’ve watched some games. My sister played soccer for a while.”

He’s got a scarf wadded in his lap that he stole from Taryn, actually. That’s the thing for soccer games, apparently, but it’s hot as balls and his neck got itchy under it after about 10 minutes out of the air conditioning. Draisaitl glances at it, a look on his face like he might say something, and then he turns back toward the field, clearly watching intently. [leon, considering making more polite conversation and then deciding he's not going to try that hard]

They’re quiet for a while after that. It’s a lot less awkward than it would have been to be silent walking around the Arch. Matthew cheers when the home team scores, a beautiful goal arcing into the net from outside the box. Draisaitl claps politely. It makes Matthew want to laugh, for no reason that he can articulate.

“Not a fan yet?” he asks. Draisaitl shakes his head, even the movement conveying a flat expression.

“I already have a team,” he says. Which—fine. Matthew didn’t give up the Cards when he was spending most of his time in Calgary, though it wasn’t like Calgary had a baseball team competing for his affections. “Besides,” Draisaitl adds, “I clapped.”

This is the first sporting event Matthew’s ever been to with Leon Draisaitl that they weren’t both participating in, and he does have to admit that it’s hard for him to picture Draisaitl cheering at anything but his own team’s successes.

Silence falls between them again.

After a few minutes, Matthew notices that something on the field is making Draisaitl clench his jaw as he watches, a tendon in his neck straining. Matthew knows the basics and has a solid grasp of games of passing and possession and goal-scoring, but the details of soccer have always passed him by. But Draisaitl’s clearly a big fan, that much was obvious from his conversation with Cammie earlier, and it’s hardly a surprise. [someone made a stupid play and leon is judging them for it]

If he didn’t look quite so focused, and grumpy, Matthew would ask him what’s pissed him off. Whatever it is, it passes because Draisaitl relaxes before the whistle blows to end the half.

They go get beers at half time. Draisaitl frowns at the selection available on tap, and Matthew tries to find a way to joke about it, but the truth of the matter is that it gets his hackles up. Anything he said wouldn’t come out teasing. Draisaitl chose to come here, or at least didn’t choose not to come here.

Draisaitl keeps on making a show of rolling his eyes and agonizing over the selection. He’s probably pissed off about American beer; it’s not like Matthew’s never heard it before. [here leon is being a little antagonizing on purpose. he's all over the place lmao, he wants matthew to like him again and he wants matthew to be a dick so that he has a reason to be a dick back, and he wants to go back in time and tell himself not to gamble on this particular series of events]

“There’s another place a little ways down,” Matthew says, too sharp. “If you want to see what they have in bottles.” He pauses, considers not being snide, but the look on Draisaitl’s face is too much for him. “They might even have some imports.”

“It’s fine,” Draisaitl says, and then he orders a St. Louis Lager. As they walk back to their seats, Matthew hears him mutter “Is everything in this city owned by Anheuser-Busch?” [i have actually never been to st louis but i grew up in a city/metro area of a similar size and when you have one enormous company that just names everything ... it's very striking]

Just because he’s right doesn’t mean he’s not also being a shithead. Also, he’s extremely good at being a shithead. [it's so important to me what a shithead leon can be] Matthew would know.

For a few moments earlier today, it was hard to remember why he used to swing his stick at Draisaitl’s ankles every opportunity he could get. But any time he’s tried to have a conversation today, Matthew’s found himself considering violence. [i didn't notice it through MULTIPLE editing passes but oh the use of today in consecutive sentences here grates now] He could stick his leg out right now and trip him. It would be easy; he’d probably eat it right in the middle of the concourse and spill his beer everywhere. And there’s no penalties for tripping someone who’s being a pain in the ass at a soccer game, except for getting yelled at by Cammie, and probably a half-dozen other people too. Well, and the whole locker room cancer reputation he’d probably get. [matthew as a person very clearly wants people to like him off the ice and wants to be A Good Team Guy but he's also such an effective pest on the ice, and i'm curious about how those urges play out off the ice]

So they both make it back to their seats untripped.

Right before the second half kicks off, their faces flash on the giant screen at the end of the field. Matthew watches himself wave, tries to keep himself from watching Draisaitl instead. They both look normal, at least, if bored. Matthew doesn’t even think it’s obvious that he’s considering if it would be worth spilling beer on Draisaitl.

As soon as the camera leaves them, he takes a long drink instead.

The second half gets off to a slow start, the players kicking the ball back and forth in the middle of the field, and Matthew finds his mind wandering. The seats are close enough together that his leg is nearly touching Draisaitl’s, skin dangerously close to skin since they’re both in shorts. Matthew forces himself to not think about being on his knees between Draisaitl’s thighs. [just constantly reminding myself to include physical attraction through this scene]

The Oilers got booted in the play-in, back when he and Draisaitl were briefly on whatever the hell the terms they were on then could be called, and Matthew was happier to see them go than he was sad to lose a sure thing—and after a frankly impressive three hook-ups in a week and a half, despite the restrictions, he was pretty sure Draisaitl counted as a sure thing. [just laying the groundwork for the future reveal of what their relationship could have been ...]

The final time he managed to sneak into the other hotel—when he was confident the Oilers were done but not quite ready gloat about it out loud—he fucked Draisaitl’s face while Draisaitl scrabbled at his thighs and hips. It was sloppy and bordering on too rough and all Matthew could bring himself to do was hope that the marks from Draisaitl’s fingernails would fade quickly, because like hell was he going to stop for that.

In a feat of inhuman strength, he pulled back a few seconds before he came. Pushing himself up onto his knees, he urged Draisaitl to roll over. He remembers that part clearly, scooting down the bed to be balanced over his thighs, the way Draisaitl’s cock was flushed dark and wet at the tip. “Come on,” Matthew said. “Come on, Leon, flip over.”

He also remembers the way Draisaitl’s first name felt in his mouth, his lips curling around the vowels. It wasn’t the first time he said it, but he didn’t say it much. [this isn't particularly insightful commentary but i love this bit. i held out on the actual nameswitch in the present for SO long but it was really fun to scatter through the flashbacks. a sprinkling of intimacy. seasoning the stew of matthew's emotions with it]

Draisaitl responded to it, let himself be coaxed onto his stomach. He hissed, probably his painful-looking erection getting pressed down into the bed. Matthew was presented with the smooth expanse of his back, a pleasant golden tan after the summer. Running a hand up Draisaitl’s back, Matthew said, “Can I jerk off on you?”

The noise Draisaitl made, low and rough, wasn’t very clearly a yes, but considering that he could have flipped back over and shoved Matthew off the bed, Matthew was willing to roll with it. Besides, Draisaitl was rocking his hips down against the mattress, tiny little gasps escaping him. Matthew dropped his full weight onto the back of Draisaitl’s thighs, effectively pinning him.

It made Draisaitl moan, loud and raw and incredibly hot. He managed to suppress the end of it, the sound abruptly cut off, but all of it was like fire in Matthew’s veins; the aborted noise, the aborted movements, the half-hearted resistance.

Matthew only managed a few strokes on his dick before he came all over Draisaitl’s back, making a mess of him. His teeth were digging into his lower lip to muffle the noises that wanted to escape him, and even so a punched-out gasp made its way out of his mouth as he came.

Draisaitl groaned, and Matthew thought he might have wanted to sound grossed out but he didn’t at all. Besides, he came like that, his hips working against the bed and Matthew’s come pooling in the dip of his spine. The bed was disgusting, after, and it remains to this day one of the hottest things Matthew has ever done. [honestly still extremely pleased with myself about this bit, i think it's really enjoyable messy hot horny stuff that both conveys the it really was just sex aspect but also the trust and intimacy especially of sex that isn't just super standard stuff]

When he got up to clean himself off, Matthew gave in to the urge to snap a picture of Draisaitl. He did ask Drasaitl if he could keep it—he’s not an asshole—and Draisaitl agreed only after Matthew showed him the folder that held the handful of pictures Draisaitl had sent over the last few months, password protected and inconspicuous. And he insisted on having a picture of his own, too.

Matthew obliged, arranging himself on the bed to Draisaitl’s specifications—back against the headboard, one knee up, a hand curled loose around the base of his dick. He was barely starting to get hard when Draisaitl snapped the picture. He remembers the way Draisaitl had looked at him, sharp and discerning. He remembers, way too clearly, the way Draisaitl said that if it weren’t for the rules, he would leave bruises all over Matthew’s pale skin.

He remembers the punched-out way he’d said Draisaitl’s name at that, “Leon,” again.

They fucked again that night, and Draisaitl sucked a mark into the inside of Matthew’s thigh, high enough that it actually did go unnoticed by his teammates. He also left one low on Matthew’s ribs, large and smudged enough that Matthew was able to pass it off as a hockey bruise. They didn’t usually kiss much, but they did that night, Draisaitl’s mouth almost painful against Matthew’s.

The locked folder of pictures on his phone did help a lot in getting him through the first round, and more than he’s ever going to admit for getting him through the concussion. The one, long since deleted, of Draisaitl lying facedown on the hotel bed, legs splayed, jizz streaked across his lower back, was a particular staple of late, miserable nights.

They never fucked again. Not after the way things ended. [not subtle but i think it works, lol]

Next to him, in the present, Draisaitl is fiddling with his empty beer cup, oblivious to Matthew’s thoughts. He’s already unrolled the rim, and now he’s starting to tear the cup into strips. The cup crumples loudly in his hands as he holds it steady, but the strips themselves tear quietly enough. It doesn’t look like the first time he’s done this. [he fidgets SO much. i also fidget a lot, so i assigned leon a thing i have done many times when i'm feeling fidgety]

Also, his hands are distractingly large. Matthew doesn’t want to be thinking about that, it’ll lead to thinking about what Draisaitl’s hands felt like wrapped around his hips or what Draisaitl’s fingers felt like inside of him.

After he’s torn the cup into strips, he starts tearing the strips themselves into narrower ones. They’re all still connected to the bottom of the cup, fanning out into a circle. It’s strangely fascinating. Eventually, he can’t tear the strips any smaller. Draisaitl drops his shredded cup onto the ground, and folds his hands in his lap. It lasts about 25 seconds, and then he starts jiggling his leg, jostling Matthew’s seat with the movement.

“Do you ever sit still?” Matthew hisses. Draisaitl makes a very annoyed noise. It emphatically doesn’t remind Matthew of any of the noises he used to make in bed. [he's lying, obviously]

Matthew focuses his attention back on the game. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Draisaitl pull his phone out of his pocket and start tapping away at it. Probably complaining about him, he thinks with a laugh he manages to stifle. The typing is a lot less annoying than the other stuff was, so at least there’s that. After a few seconds, he shoves his phone back into his pocket and then he manages to sit mostly still for the better part of five minutes, his eyes fixed on the game. Then, abruptly, he reaches for the scarf that’s once again balled up in Matthew’s lap. [anon, you mentioned this moment specifically in your original message and tbh i love it! the thing about all of this is that leon feels just as unsettled as matthew -- he doesn't understand why matthew signed with st louis if he hates leon so much, and he doesn't know why matthew stopped talking to him, and he kind of wants to needle matthew into doing something and showing his hand. but he also doesn't want to be a bad team guy and intentionally antagonize a teammate. so: weird stuff it is]

“Can I look at this?” he asks, but he’s already got it in his hands so it doesn’t really matter what Matthew says unless he’s willing to rip it out of Draisaitl’s grip.

“Sure,” he says, instead of you already are. Matthew deserves a fucking prize for being polite and congenial. Draisaitl’s definitely not trying this fucking hard. For one thing, he just snatched Taryn’s scarf out of Matthew’s lap and has started fiddling with it, looking at the logo, examining the pattern on both sides, and then picking at the fringe to untangle it. [also a thing i'll do when i'm feeling fidgety]

“That’s my sister’s,” Matthew says mildly. Draisaitl doesn’t stop pulling at the knots in the scarf fringe.

“You said she used to play?” he asks, his voice as carefully mild as Matthew’s was. Maybe he’s playing nice now; Matthew’s not used to that. [matthew ... try using your whole brain for a change]

Taryn at least is easy to talk about, at least, and pulls Matthew’s wandering mind away from memories of Draisaitl on his hotel bed. He nods. “Yeah, when she was a little kid. She comes to games here pretty often, I think.”

Draisaitl nods. “Have you been to any with her?”

“Just one. I’m mostly a baseball guy in the summers.” He pauses, tracks a play for a moment. The guy who was making the play loses possession, and he turns back to Draisaitl. “Guess I might go to a few more now.” [almost entirely unrelated to the whole leon situation, matthew is also still trying to wrap his head around how his life is going to change. he hasn't lived in st louis full time for a long time!]

“Does your sister live here?” Maybe Matthew needs to retract his mental accusation that Draisaitl isn’t trying.

“She does,” Matthew says, and he can’t help smiling. “It’ll be nice to see her more.”

“I bet,” Draisaitl says. He sounds different when he says it, his voice tighter, and Matthew thinks about everything he’s learned about Leon Draisaitl over the past decade, either on purpose or by accident.

“Is your sister in Germany?” Matthew asks. Draisaitl nods, but doesn’t say anything. Matthew doesn’t know what else to ask; do you miss her? is too personal. Do you miss your family? is even worse. He can’t imagine being across an ocean from his family for a whole season, much less for more than ten years. He can’t imagine Draisaitl wants to talk about that with him, either. [this is obviously a bit more of the maybe not so different after all, but it's also very much matthew trying to navigate finding the right level of intimacy and familiarity with leon, and how much he's allowed to ask and allowed to know]

They sit in silence again for a while, as the number on the game clock ticks steadily up. After a few minutes, Draisaitl drops the scarf back into Matthew’s lap. “Thanks,” he says. His voice is oddly rough.

“Are you planning to skate again soon?” Draisaitl asks, breaking the silence. It’s not a peace offering—Matthew doesn’t want a peace offering—but it is a suggestion that Draisaitl understands their relationship on the same terms as Matthew. They can tolerate each other well enough, under certain circumstances. [this is excruciating for both of them, but the skating was okay. they can relate to each other better on the ice]

“This week, probably,” Matthew says. Draisaitl nods, sharp, but there’s something promising in the curve of his mouth. Not quite a smile, but the corners of his mouth are tight like he’s fighting against one.

There’s not much else to say after that, really. A few terse comments on the game, a sharp nod from Draisaitl shortly before the final whistle. Matthew hadn’t taken him for the kind of guy to leave a game early, but Charlotte’s [why charlotte? because i'm from charlotte and we love an easter egg] up 3-1 and he’s hardly the first person to head for the exit.

Matthew stays until the bitter end, watches one more fruitless corner kick and doesn’t stand up until the final whistle sounds. On the drive home, he remembers that they were supposed to take pictures together. [i think the focus on handling the immediate awkwardness and navigating the relationship to the exclusion of doing team stuff works but this is mostly because i forgot to include it and realized during revisions]

[all-chickens-are-trans]

if you’re still doing that ask game: ✨👻📗📚🦈

✨️ Out of the comments you’ve received on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites?

Recently someone read and commented on all posted chapters of Hühnerküsse and it really warmed my heart 🥰🥺 I love when people comment on every chapter, I love when they highlight their favorite bits, I love keysmashes and all that, and that person gave me that and made me sooo happy 🥰🥰 almost enough to got me working on it again, but I don't think I'm currently in the right headspace for it.

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

Not sure what counts as wild? Maybe that Jess Mariano is secretly into opera. That's not actually my headcanon, a friend of mine came up with it, but ever since they told me, it's stuck in my head. Just in general, the version of Jess Mariano I've constructed in my head is sooo removed from actual canon Jess sometimes - my Jess is an adhd transmasc disaster boy whose favorite opera is Le nozze di Figaro and who worked at Walmart to pay for his out-of-pocket top surgery. He's so real to me <3

📗 Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

I do, and I have. Years ago, I wrote loads of original stuff, but I have lost the focus and motivation for it somewhere down the line. I do have a huge writing project called Rennen und Stolpern, I think I started it for NaNoWriMo once and I've worked on it many times over the past several years - it exists in various versions, with different timelines and spin-offs by now. It's about this young professional football player who's in love with his best friend and struggles to come out as queer. It sounds a bit bland and cliché like that, but it's a project very close to my heart, and I love my boy Karim a lot. Maybe one day, I'll pick it up again. Or maybe I'll work on something else - I've had this idea for a long time now about a scientist and a siren in a labotory, a bit of a sapphic Shape of Water kind of thing, and I have notes and stuff for it, I just never actually took the time to work on it properly.

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

Everything @mondfahrt has ever written. We have been reading and writing alongside each other for more than 12 years now and I'm still in awe over the things she does with words. Just reading her stuff has made me a better writer, too, and besides that, her stories are a delight. Highly recommend!! 💕💕

🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?

Hmm. Currently I'm working on a Jamie/Roy fic and let me tell you, trying to write Jamie Tartt is a pain in my ass. <3 I initially planned changing POVs but decided to just stick to Roy because I couldn't quite get Jamie's voice down. It's not only his accent and his specific way he talks, it's also that he feels like such a complex character to me. I want to do him justice, because he's not just a dumb himbo, and he's not just a little brat, but I also don't want to portray him as just a tortured boy with daddy issues and deep complex emotions, because sometimes, he just does stupid shit (affectionate). It's hard to find the balance there I think.

[fromtheboundlesssea]

Have you noticed you're a lot more critical of female than male characters? What we've seen of W&B so far shows how things will go for Rhaenyra, while you make Tywin relatable and lovable in some of your fics and you're giving Joffrey a redemption arc.

FDH:

Petyr Baelish is going to die screaming. Jon Connigton is not a good person. Tyrion Lannister is not a good guy. Jorah Mormont is not a good person. I killed Sandor. Euron is absolute trash and you need to keep an eye out for him.

D is going to have a very nuanced POV but it naturally goes up against the other main characters of the fic because Jaime murdered her father.

Cersei is going through a character arc as well. You’re starting to see it even if it isn’t obvious.

NKAA:

Tywin is not the best character and his fate is for him to basically be forgotten by history because his oldest children hate him for the pain he put their mother through. No one will remember him to be anything other than the footnote for the history of his children.

Aerys is going to not come out looking great and Rhaegar sure as heck won’t either. He’s going to look like absolute sexist trash. Jaehaerys is also trash for forcing a betrothal that his daughter is practically begging him to end.

There are plenty of male characters who are not treated well and are treated with a very critical gaze. And I have plenty of female characters that get nuance. In ITS Rhaegar abducts a 13 year old girl and forces her to marry him with threat of marital rape in the near future after traumatizing her to the point that she can’t write anymore and won’t even speak.

W&B:

Rhaenyra is a child right now who hasn’t figured out she needs to play the game. The snippets I have shown so far are from the perspective of a character who is predisposed to dislike her because her brother was mutilated and partially disabled and her father very obviously favors above his wife/the character’s mother.

Rhaenyra is going to be a major player. She is going to go through arcs upon arcs of character growth. Laena is not going to come out of W&B smelling like roses.

Corlys definitely won’t. Otto Hightower is the actual worst and Viserys is a weak man who murdered his wife. Daemon is getting nowhere near the amount of character growth that Tywin will get. These four men are basically the main villains of the fic. They are not good people.

A fifteen year old reacting badly to her best friend marrying her uncle/crush while still feeling with the devastating loss of her mother is not her entire personality. She’s going to grow.

I write plenty of men who are absolute trash who don’t even get within a league of finding any redemption. Just because I am critical of a fan favorite in a fic doesn’t mean she won’t have nuance.

[sinterblackwell]

most surprising reads of 2022

(aka part II (part I) in my short series of highlighting books that didn't quite make the cut in my top 10 reads of the year (because again...we're now at 136) but still rewired my brain so completely in different ways that i had to talk about them somehow)

warning: this is also a long one. but i had a lot of fun with it :') it's actually convinced me to think about making my own book blog on some other site to have some kind of audience, because it's clear there's potential.

anyways, these were the books that shocked the hell out of me in ways i didn't expect and left a positive marker on my brain.

let the long-winded rants and shows of praise commence 🥂

(in order of read date)

- game changer (game changers, #1) by rachel reid (january 31)

"If you think the world finding out how much I love you is scary to me, you’re dead wrong.”

i have a very soft spot for this first book, and it was for reasons completely subjective that has me on the offense if anyone was to read this because of me and then just absolutely despised it :’)

those reasons stemmed from how i discovered this story in the first place, which was through a blogger’s story on instagram where i just so happened to stumble across a slide where they declared little mix’s “secret love song, pt. II” to be kip & scott’s song. this pair wasn’t even the blogger’s favorite couple, they will always scream about shane & ilya in heated rivalry, but for some reason, they felt the need to share how this song was kip to scott throughout the course of the book. the voices in the song were so angelic and so captivating, that it was what convinced me to read this queer hockey romance that had never been on my radar before this moment.

and maybe it’s because of this song that i ended up finding myself obsessed with this book because no, the writing isn’t the best—it’s pretty average, and the dialogue at times made it a little hard to fully be in the moment. and yeah, kip & scott aren’t one of my most favorite fictional couples ever, but there was just something about the way the lyrics of “secret love song, pt. II” were completely spot-on for these two’s story, how i understood exactly why the blogger felt the urge to connect this song and this story together and post it on instagram……

just because i didn’t think the writing wasn’t the best doesn’t mean that it was very poor; it had its highlights and being in scott and especially kip’s povs made their romance very endearing. i loved all the small & little details about how kip was trying to move forward in his life beyond working in this smoothie shop after having trouble finding anything else with his bachelor’s degree in history. i loved how even though this was my first hockey book in a long while, i was already so absorbed in this sport through scott’s pov, and i was absorbed with what it meant to him as someone who’s now an NHL superstar but was once a low-income kid who was barely hanging on as his mom fought to keep them going. i loved the exploration of scott’s coming out, and how he did have a circle to turn to once he stepped out of his fears that kept him in the closet; and i loved how the author went about making clear that he wasn’t the only closeted NHL player, and how significant it would be if he did make the choice to come out with kip by his side.

what i love love loved about this book though?? a detail i’m absolutely obsessed with?? there’s no drama. it’s the fact that there were literally so many parts of the story that could’ve been the trigger for even more drama and to push the characters further away from each other, but the author purposefully steered clear of it. it’s so completely laughable, and maybe just to me, because there would be instances where things could’ve gone so wrong if the characters hadn’t made certain decisions, or if the author simply wrote it just to write it. it felt almost cheeky these small nods to potential drama that would never actually happen because there really was no need, at least not for this book here. kip & scott’s story was really soft, and yeah there was still some trouble (“secret love song, pt. II” is their song for a reason), but i was in it for the long haul, i was invested.

that’s the surprise there. i came into this story with pretty wary expectations and to see them actually be met, and to have then found myself constantly coming back to it and rereading it while i was picking up other stories. well…….this isn’t one of my top favorite reads of 2022, but it has a special place in my heart for the reading experience—one that lasted weeks so….i wanted to give it a shoutout somehow :’)

(also literally had “secret love song, pt. II” on repeat while writing this to encourage me to let out all my feelings on this book here, so emotions are kinda raw right now lol)

- electric idol (dark olympus, #2) by katee robert (march 25)

“Tell me you’re spinning out just as much as I am. Tell me I’m not in the depths alone.”

this was surprising in the sense that the writing in the first book of this series, neon gods, felt so bizarrely average that reading this sequel here completely caught me off guard. for a good minute or two, i questioned how this could be the same author, which is probably just me reading too much into things, but it was a genuine reaction i will always remember i had.

i said this in the tags of a post once, but for an author who’s had a couple books already under her belt, neon gods reading like a meh debut was strange, and it wasn’t until reading this book here that i really got a sense of where their writing was at. i’m no professional critic, and so this is completely something i grasped from my reading experience.

i think it was the appeal of eros & psyche that helped make the story more engaging and gave a lot more for the author to work with because the way they explored eros’ toxic relationship with his mother and then psyche’s character herself was very interesting to me. i loved the chemistry between the two, especially since at first, things were completely on edge with the hit that aphrodite places on psyche, with eros being the one assigned to deal the killing blow. the way this pair interacted from the beginning was immediately charged because of this hit, and it made everything after feel so high stakes and their growing romance really captivating.

i’m glad that with this book, it encouraged me to continue on with this series as the overarching plot that’s become incredibly significant in all three books so far has grown stronger & stronger over time, so i’m really eager for what’s to come now that i know what this author’s capable of.

- icebreaker by a.l. graziadei (april 8)

this is one of those cases where it wasn’t the story itself, but rather the surprise lying at how attached i got to the main character, mickey james III.

the most that i knew about this book going into it was that it was a ya contemporary romance with hockey playing right at the center, and there was also a significant portrayal of mental illness, with the mc experiencing clinical depression. i also was aware of some mixed things readers felt regarding the romance in particular, which goodreads tags it as first & foremost (a common thing with other books that irks the hell out of me). with this criticism and knowledge in mind, i was on a very cautious edge.

so you can imagine how stumped i felt when i saw myself reflected in the main character.

i wish i can be able to flesh out all my feelings and lay it all out on the table here, blood & guts and all, how much mickey’s character spoke to me and how we’re two completely different people who still felt very similar because of small reactions he had throughout the story or just how tired he got.

Whenever I think of Alyssa and Hugh, or Dorian’s relatable music or Cauler’s face when he said “what would you do if I said yes”, I just get so tired, I want to crawl in bed and not come out for five years. It’s not even sadness. It’s nothingness.

.

It’s so obvious. I’m so obvious. Why can’t anyone see what’s really going on? I love hockey. I do. I swear. My brain just doesn’t let me show it or feel it or . . . or . . .

he would say certain things, most of it all inside his head, and i’ll be reading it and i’ll actually be tearing up because i’ll never get used to the feeling of seeing another writer just get it, and the fact that they don’t even know me makes it feel worse. it feels worse to see what mickey goes through and how he internalizes most of it, which just makes certain things go downhill. he’s like this other character, mina, from tashie bhuiyan’s a show for two, who i feel the need to defend with all my heart— the difference is that in this case, i know mickey, almost like how he knows himself, and anyone who brushes over what he goes through or paints him simply as an asshole will only gut me because it’s close to my own experiences in my own life.

the truth is much more complicated, and the things mickey says or does or even believes at times do put him at fault, but it doesn’t make him a bad person. and it doesn’t make him someone who never even tries. the hockey element to this story is very strong, and it was interesting getting to see a different angle of this sport through these characters who were playing as a team at a university. it was interesting seeing how far these expectations go for these young kids who might have the opportunity to get drafted into the NHL, but they have to make successful plays at first, both on and off the ice. seeing the commentators at their team games who would make these critiques about mickey when his mind was at its worst, it felt so personal…..i knew how biased it might’ve been but it really was just so personal. i was rooting for him a lot and i was rooting for other characters, too, and i loved how even when mickey felt alone most of the time, he still had moments with his big family and moments with his team that alleviated the story quite a bit.

i didn’t love nor hate the romance, it was pretty okay in my opinion—i liked the way the author didn’t just explore the kind of difficulties mickey was going through but that other characters as well, aka cauler, were—it just so happened to be for different reasons. it painted a picture of how rough playing hockey can be for different people, who all have their own strengths but that also means they have their weaknesses, too, and they’ll always be judged on that, whether it’s with their hockey sticks or through harsh words.

above all of that, what generally just really surprised me about this story is how much i connected to mickey’s character without expecting it, and it definitely put some things to light for my own life that even all these months later after first reading this book back in april, i still don’t quite know what to do with. i want to try, just as mickey tries. i don’t know if that’s enough but yeah, reading this story was enough for me at the time.

- café con lychee by emery lee (may 17)

Theo gives me this look that's equal parts reassuring and heart-stopping, and maybe that's just his way of saying that my secret is safe with him, but the voice in the back of my head is finally shutting up, and I feel like everything might just be okay.

the more time that passes between now & my time reading this book back in may, the more i feel sorta mystified that i gave it five stars. it’s nothing against the story or the author, and i’ll never change that rating (unless i did a reread and wanted to update it) because what i do have a clear memory of is how happy this book made me towards the end. in fact, i remember feeling so happy, that it literally brought tears to my eyes.

but the reason why i feel strange now is because of what i’ve heard from others regarding their concerns about the romance here, which could pretty much read as like a bully romance. the way theo regards gabi for a good first quarter of the book and the way he makes gabi feel raises a lot of concerns because it’s not like he necessarily goes out of his way to directly attack gabi, physically or verbally. more so, it’s just his general attitude towards him, and when they do interact, he’s very openly mean. it’s something theo accepts as a general part of his personality, but he does reconcile with that and how a lot of his attitude stemmed from some other factors in his life—particularly his family struggles—that made his time at school feel like a big weight on his shoulders. that doesn’t excuse him from how badly he treats gabi at times, and for that, some readers might feel put off by it, and rightfully so.

it’s something i have to reckon with because i do have a clear memory of theo being generally mean towards gabi, and it made for some really awkward/tense scenes because gabi experiences a lot of anxiety so every situation to him is dialed up at a panic level of over 50, so whenever he fumbled around theo and theo snapped, it was a lot to wade through. with that all in mind, i still gave this book the five stars and so i have to wonder the significance behind that. did i find the way that theo treated gabi in the beginning cute? did i think that theo was being mean towards gabi as like one of those classic situations where the guy teases/bullies the main character as a way to get their attention? no, not at all. regarding the latter, it’s very clear that theo had no attraction to gabi in the beginning.

so what did attract him to gabi, and vice versa? that was what the rest of the book was for, seeing this pair get to know each other beyond surface impressions and sort of bond over their shared passion of keeping their families’ businesses afloat in the midst of this new fusion restaurant that was blatantly stealing cuisines from other cultures to make their own profit (and it wasn’t even good!! but more customers kept flocking their way to there anyways). both theo & gabi have different strengths that build towards making this new business plan to save their families, and it was cool especially for gabi, to see him become more comfortable as the story went on and have the opportunity to be more creative.

i think what made me the most emotional at the end of the day, and is partly what lends to the surprise that was this story, is that i had read this after finishing a show for two by tashie bhyuian, which put me through the wringer in its depiction of a very poor familial relationship that the mc had with her parents. to read this book right after, café con lychee, and see the way that theo & gabi’s families were depicted and how they fought and forgave each other, i was so happy to see how not all teenagers have it so rough, but i also felt bad for mina in a show for two because she really deserved better than all her parents put her through.

in the case for this book though, yeah, there were two surprises: the way theo & gabi’s relationship developed over the course of the book as i genuinely started to like them together, in a first love kinda way + then seeing how impactful the hopeful depiction of their families were to me and my soft heart. both elements tied together really well for me that it ultimately lended itself the five star rating, and that’s something really cool.

(even cooler is how the next read after this one was the monstrous series by lily mayne, which is definitely something to be discussed in another post :’) )

- unwritten rules (unwritten rules, #1) by k.d. casey (july 14)

Sixty feet away on the mound, the pitcher throws. The ball releases from his hand, and Zach watches the arc and pattern of its movements as it nears its "commit point", when he has to decide whether to swing or stay put. It's a choice he's made thousands of times, with incomplete information, before a curveball bends or a changeup tumbles. One guided by his experience and instincts but also the confidence that his decision will be the right one. So Zach watches and considers and swings.

this was the first baseball romance i’ve ever read, and as someone who had been leaning more towards hockey romances, jumping into a different sport that’s much less about the action and more about having patience while out on the mound, it was so incredibly interesting. i never knew much about baseball before this—all i really knew was about this famous baseball figure, roberto clemente, a puerto rican professional player who had died in a plane crash. as a kid, i had went to two schools named after him, and that was as far as my knowledge went.

what eventually motivated me to read this slow character-driven story was a classic mood reader move where it was all pure impulse after seeing the second book, fire season, on libby. since that story hadn’t been released yet at the time, i felt motivated enough to read this first book in the meantime to see where it could go, and i’m really glad i did. while i really wasn’t prepared for how detailed and slow-moving the baseball content was, i didn’t mind it at all. i feel that even as someone who has no interest in this sport, for me to still be so invested in the story because of the character who was entrenched and was trying to figure out how to reckon with mistakes from his past while trying to move forward in the present—it was very powerful. the dual timelines of the story did such a good job of reflecting on that, and was one of my most favorite things about it.

while i connected much more to reid in fire season—which despite being the second book in the series, is set before the events of unwritten rules—i genuinely liked zach’s pov and i liked how the author explored his own coming out journey and how it looked like while playing professionally in the major baseball league. seeing the way he slowly bonded with eugenio and how they connected while in the midst of other players was so worth it in all the details the author included in the general atmosphere of the sport, whether it was in practices or the actual games. i feel that for any genuine baseball fan who loves a story that really dives into the second-by-second aspects of what it’s like playing the sport, you’ll find a lot of potential in this. because even for me, i really respected the author for how much knowledge she had and how clearly passionate she was about these characters and the game they were playing.

zach makes some mistakes and other characters edge around him because of it, and i can see some readers who might think he was a little boring, but as i mentioned in my goodreads review, i liked how disconnected from the story he felt because that was the point; zach had a lot of shit to grow from and be at his own pace.

what surprised me so much about this book was again, it was baseball, i’ve never read about it before, and the fact that i was actually engaged the whole time?? shocking, but also very cherished to me :’)

- all of our demise (all of us villains, #2) by amanda foody & christina lynn herman (august 30)

"We're the only ones still playing. So let's play."

**slight spoilers for this one**

i had read all of us villains late last year, one of the very few titles i was able to read in the midst of a reading slump, and so i'll always have a very soft spot for this ya fantasy duology. one thing i loved about that first book, and which made me love this sequel/finale even more is how dark it had gotten. it was such a cool story idea to have these stories of villains and actually portray them as such, not trying to muddle them down to seem more pleasing for a teen audience. it was phenomenal and absolutely heartstopping how far these characters would go to prove themselves to their families and to the world, and i liked how you could still connect to them with the issues that they had.

with this sequel here, i was just swept away at how good the characterization was, and how certain relationships were developed in a way i could only ever have dreamed of. to see certain characters come to life and others fall under death's spell, it was amazing the route these authors went because it really felt like they went all in. with gavin & alistair's relationship growth + briony & isobel's character arcs, all their endings were absolutely fit for the epic journey they went on from the moment they stepped foot into the Tournament.

there's so much action & betrayal but it was all about the final moments of one character who wouldn't walk out the Tournament alive because they were playing as the hero; the sad moments shared between two brothers who grew up in a family seen as most wicked of all of Ivernath; one character who looked at themselves in the mirror and felt fit for a corpse's grave with how rotten they felt inside in their desperate urge to win after others already decided for them they were fit for victory; another character who already had a gravestone waiting for them despite how larger than life they were and determined to not lie six feet under.

it was just an absolutely amazing finale, i enjoyed every minute of it and that was the surprise of it all, because these characters really made you work for it in trying to reach the final page.

- the president’s vampire (nathaniel cade, #2) by christopher farnsworth (october 31)

"There's more to this world than the things you can see," Lord said, "There are hidden chapters to history, and not all of them were written by men."

this one might be a bit brief because well, i have had such a chaotic reading journey throughout this entire series (exhibit a), i need a break just thinking about it. this was the book that made me discover the series in the first place, and it was the most mind-boggling of it all, which was everything. it's CIA conspiracy theories taken to the next level, and there were a lot of deaths in this one. it didn't feel like too much, surprisingly so, in fact it felt necessary for the story, and it was clear to the author that if he was going to be given free reign to write a series about a vampire who is sworn to protect the president of the united states, he was not going to be wasting the opportunity to raid every dark crevice of secrets the american government is likely to be holding in their arsenal.

i also really got attached to the characters, especially with cade & zach's strange partnership, which stood out more clearly in deep state, but in here, there were shadow organizations and lizard mutations to fight against and seeing them working together and get separated at various times made for very fucked up scenes of life & death.

it was because of this whole series that i really got into annotating as i was reading, writing a bunch of notes in my highlights that were not enlightening at all, they were just my dumbfounded reactions to some of the shit that happens in here. it was all very entertaining--dark as hell, but entertaining nonetheless......and also plain sad at some parts but well. the first book wasn't so much lighthearted but it was ridiculous a majority of the time, and it wasn't until i read this second book that things seemed to get even darker and feel much more serious--it was the surprise of a lifetime. i was all for it but i mean, you have quotes like this:

The real world was right in his face, and it was a small square of tile on the cold floor. It finally occurred to him that he was not the secret-agent hero of this movie. He wasn't the plucky sidekick. He wasn't even the damsel in distress, because no one was coming to save him.

and all you can do is sit there stumped as hell because well...damn.

- whisper by tal bauer (december 11)

And of everything, We created pairs. Heaven and Earth. Night and day. Sun and moon. Sea and Shore. Light and darkness.

David gazed at Kris. You, for me.

i think every book for every reader will always be completely subjective because there's just so many factors to it that can affect a reader's experience with said book. this was what happened with game changer as i briefly talked about way above, and it was the same thing that happened with this story here. there was certain knowledge i wasn't privy of for a good while and so whenever i thought of this story before actually having the courage to read it, i just felt this sinking dread because i had been under the assumption that a major character would be dead. and they would, but just as it's quoted in the actual goodreads summary for this book, the truth is much more complicated.

i've had such a memorable time reading all of tal bauer's books up to this point, and all of them had their happy endings--for some, it took quite a long and rocky journey to get there, but it was a happy ending all the same. with this story, i was genuinely sitting with the premature grief that this pairing, kris and david as i had known them, would not be so lucky. it took rifling through some non-spoilery goodreads reviews to figure out that it was really worth it to give their book a chance because wow, was it going to be heartbreaking but incredibly healing as well, and it was.

reading this 700-page long military fiction that is based on some real-life events/figures, with a lot of creative liberty used, it was such a long & heavy journey. there were scenes of extreme terror & torture that just made me feel empty for quite a bit, and to have to keep reading because there was still so much ahead for these characters, it was a time. it was a time to witness how the timelines of hush and whisper merged and completely rewired everything i thought i had known to make me that much more devastated.

i would never have imagined reading a story like this if it wasn't for the fact that it had been tal bauer who wrote this, and he wrote it so well. the romance was phenomenal, there's no questioning that, and the characters--kris & david's character arcs--they're put through so much and have so much trauma and guilt to work through. in moments where they try to take one step forward, they're immediately pulled back in the next minute, and it was terrifying as hell what they had to go through. reading to the end felt like a challenge of its own and once i reached the last page, i almost couldn't believe it but i was just so glad that i did.

.

.

and we're done!!

[nancywheeeler]

for the ask game you reblogged - 10 for four weddings and no funeral? 3 and 4 for and it all comes down to you? 1 and 2 for tomorrow never knows? :)

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

okay so, the plot inspiration for four weddings and no funeral came from a reddit thread about how colin's waistcoat in the episode "no weddings and a funeral" might have been inspired by simon callow's character, who wears many glorious waistcoats over the course of four weddings and a funeral (last version of this title i'll type, i swear). my brain upon learning that immediately went "wedding fic! a relationship progression across other peoples' special days!" but i wasn't sure what colin pairing i wanted for it. around that same time, i was following the fic "things you can't unsay" by manuronaldo, which began as a gen colin & jamie fic but had started heading towards romance. i then had that very dangerous writerly thought: "let me put a scene down and see if it goes anywhere......" and here we are! i think the plot just really works with jamie in a way it wouldn't have worked with another afc richmond player and colin, especially given where jamie is at by the end of S2 and seems ready for a healthier romantic relationship post-telling keeley he loves her while accepting she's moved on. jamie is also just a veeeery fun pov to write from. i love that bastard (affectionate)

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

"Or maybe, just maybe, they’re two teenagers holding hands on a bed, in a suburban house, on a quiet street, within a small town, and the universe is bored of them." just about sums up everything i want for steve and eddie. let them rest!

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

i have decided to cheat and give two... fun line: "You’re the most badass woman I’ve ever beheld and when this is over, I think we should platonically have 2.5 babies who will one day take over the world." not fun line: "Steve can’t tell me what to do. He’s dead."

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

ranting in your dms definitely inspired a huge chunk of tomorrow never knows! i just couldn't stop thinking about how fucked up it would be on the other side of a time loop, having to watch someone you care about die (and sometimes at their own hand) and having to trust their word for it that it's okay, everything will reset with their death. and it would be particularly brutal for steve harrington, mr. protector of the universe. i was definitely worried the fic would get very repetitive very fast, so when structuring it, i tried to make sure a good portion of the scenes weren't also in "and it all comes down to you" and that we still get to see steve growing into his feelings for eddie and reckoning with his concept of heroism (it isn't just someone who dies! or comes precariously close to it!)

2: What scene did you first put down?

the back half of loop 81! specifically this: “What if—” “…this is the last time,” Eddie says with a weary sigh. How many times has Steve delivered the same line, how many times has Eddie stolen it from him to reach the inevitable end faster. “You say that every time.” Trapped in his throat is something tough and thorny. His voice comes out scratched when he asks, “Am I always so predictable?” “Yeah.” Eddie smiles, a touch rueful. “It’s the best.” my little hat nod to palm springs, a superior time loop film. i wrote this at the breakfast table while on vacation with my family lol

put one of a fic title in my ask + questions about it

[doublearmbars]

fic: contact sport

Summary: a patchwork of media documenting the first couple months of MJF's tenure after being traded to the Red Wings in the middle of the night for nothing.

Notes: I’m a certified hockey enjoyer and this is drawn from a lot of stuff I enjoy but in particular: the You Can’t Do That podcast, the work of Jon Bois and Alex Rubenstein on the Youtube channel Secret Base, and the stupid postgame rituals that NHL teams have established to give a fun item to a new special man every game. I might write more in this AU if i ever get a handle on writing the POV of either of these snippy bitches but I do have a Blackpool Combat Club hockey thing i'm plugging away at.

On ao3 here

From a Youtube video by Secret Base- "Best in the world and you know it" A Dorktown Short Film

[narration]

So he got traded to the Red Wings in the middle of the night, knowing he’ll never be back to the hometown golden boy, that he’ll die up there on that godforsaken lake, his words not mine.

You might expect his story to end there, in despair. After all these Red Wings are not a Stanley Cup team, hell they’re not even a playoff team.

Except, it doesn’t end there. Not by a long shot. But to tell you that story, I have to take a sidebar to talk about a different hometown golden boy.

The screen zooms out from the announcement of the trade to show a large chart with multiple boxes, and next to the labeled vertical headshot of Maxwell Jacob Friedman another is revealed, this one of a tired eyed young man with mid-length bleached hair, his dark roots showing. He’s sneering at the camera, and wearing a jersey for the Chicago hockey team.

[narration]

You might know him.

____________________

From the Be Gay Take Penalites Podcast Ep 145 Little Caesar’s Gay Fight Club

Can you have shit in Detroit? Can love bloom on the battlefield? Your intrepid hosts Kelsey and PJ journey to find these answers and more as we recap the week in hockey. Also: we take a hard stance on goalie crime (it’s good) and return for another round of 80’s news chyrons.

PJ: Okay on to elsewhere in the NHL, I wanna talk about Detroit and MJF and my favorite old bitch. They’re so- they’re like unlikely animal friends

[Kelsey laughs]

PJ: it’s like an old dog and a shithead cat became friends. Am I wrong? Am I wrong.

Kelsey: No- no you’re- [wheezing laughter] they’re besties but they also hate each other is the vibe.

PJ: Truly like when Max got traded I was like-

Kelsey (crosstalk): You went on Twitter immediately like-

PJ: Yeah I tweeted-let me find it- I tweeted “Brooks looking at MJF like he’s himself from 12 years ago and hating it” and then that one picture from a postgame interview where he looks just completely hollowed out inside like he can’t even summon his Scorpio urge to complain.

[both laugh]

Kelsey: Like not even the intense energies of notorious old married couple Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin can fix this situation.

PJ: And! And they were a defense pair in the win last night.

Kelsey: Max plays defense?

PJ: Did you not- I forget you hate the Isles. Yeah coaching moved him to defense to- I think to punish him it’s unclear and stupid but he appears to be thriving? Which I love for him. He did play defense in juniors to be fair.

Kelsey: No, being fueled by spite we love that. Keep me posted on those two. I wanna bring up the goalie crimes from this week...

PJ: Oh god we have to talk about Bryan.

___________________________________

Video posted by the Red Wings official twitter.

The locker room of the Red Wings after a home win, with most players having taken off their jerseys and sitting around either shirtless or in compression shirts. There is background chatter that quiets when Maxwell Jacob Friedman stands up, hair a mess with sweat from the game. He's holding a fireman's helmet, this season's relic to pass between the player whose performance was best. He gestures across the room,

"Punk"

and the camera swings to show the man he's called out, still in his skates, who rises, crosses the room and takes the helmet from him a little snappily, then raises his other hand to acknowledge the rest of the locker room

The rest of the locker room claps heartily and lets out a rising communal "ooh" like children when someone in their class is called to the principal's office.

They shake hands. We see him say something in MJF's ear, but the audio doesn't pick it up. Lip readers on Twitter claim he says "nobody calls me that anymore"

The response comes through clearly though: "Well I am."

[saintobio]

HI AUTHOR I KNOW YOU SAID YOU DIDN’T WANNA MAKE A PART 3 OF THE FUCK BOY IWA FIC BUT I JUST WANNA SEE HOW HE’D REACT SEEING Y/N SLOWLY BEING HAPPY WITH KEIJI AND SHIT FHSHXJDHDBC

pov: he’s a player and you’re his favorite game — iwaizumi h.

Remembering that morning when you walked out of his dorm claiming that you were done with him ‘for real’, Iwaizumi believed that you would simply eat your words and still end up coming back.

You always did. No matter how much of a jerk he was to deal with, it had always been difficult for you to ever detach yourself from him.

However, after noticing your absence from the recent frat parties and your complete disregard towards his messages, Iwaizumi realized that maybe you finally grew tired of him.

On top of that, Alisa eventually found out that he cheated on her which resulted into her dumping him, and Hajime was once again a single guy who had commitment issues. Only this time, he could no longer call you when he needed some company.

He really was an asshole.

Because he got over Alisa, his actual ex-girlfriend, in just a span of 2 weeks. But you? It was hitting him harder than he initially thought.

You weren’t supposed to linger in his mind at all, especially not after two months of not seeing you around campus. Iwaizumi reminded himself that you were just a casual encounter and not someone he wanted to commit himself to. Ever.

And yet...

And yet, when he saw you one day around the campus holding another guy’s hand, smiling and looking extremely in love, Iwaizumi was feeling an ache in his chest that he couldn’t describe.

Your smiles were genuine and your eyes were so full of love at the mere sight of the guy next to you. He remembered those exact look of adoration on your face because it was once directed to him before. He may have never fully paid attention to you, but he could feel a tinge of regret at the fact that he took you for granted.

Now, you had all of his attention and he wasn’t pleased at it.

Iwaizumi didn’t care about whoever your new guy was, all he wanted was to talk to you. He had to remind you that you weren’t really over him and that you were just trying to play hard to get. This was it, right? You were just doing this to make him jealous.

The smile on your face quickly faded into a frown as soon as your eyes met his, and with a blank and empty expression, you looked away and turned back to the guy.

“Hey,” Iwaizumi called, standing in front of you.

The guy with the glasses looked up and greeted him on behalf of you. “Hey.”

Iwaizumi kept his stare at you but you didn’t even spare him a glance in return. “I need to talk to her.”

“If you wanna talk to my girlfriend, say it in front of me,” the guy strictly insisted while tightening his hold on your hand.

His girlfriend.

Iwaizumi didn’t know whether he should laugh or be frustrated—all he could feel was a pang of unexplainable jealousy building inside his chest.

“Keiji, let’s just leave,” you said to the guy in a soft, affectionate voice.

But before you could take another step away, Iwaizumi had already grabbed your wrist. “We need to talk. You can’t do this.”

“Hajime, the hell’s your problem?” You snatched your wrist off of him which was followed by the angriest glare he had ever received from you. “Go fuck some other bitch. I’m over you!”

For the first time in his life, Iwaizumi felt pathetic.

He also felt sorry for himself because the tables have turned and now he was the one being rejected.

He didn’t even want to think of how the other bystanders looked at the three of them in intrigue. It was pretty obvious for any person to know that Iwaizumi was the asshole in this situation.

“Get over yourself,” you spat, adding venom to your words. “It’s pitiful.”

With a completely sober heart and a very clear mind, he watched you walk away from his life for the second time. However, this time, you were walking away with a guy that obviously loved and cared for you like you deserved.

Even if he was good at playing this game, Iwaizumi realized that sometimes, others learn how to catch up so they wouldn’t lose the second time around.

Today, he was the loser. Tomorrow, fuck knows what he’d become.

What he knew for certain was the fact that you would never come back to him and he just lost the greatest opportunity of ever being with you.

[hawks-supremacy]

Golden Swirls

summary: when Sakusa's sister told him how people found their soulmates, he was disgusted. or at least until he found his.

pairing: sakusa x reader

genre: fluff and angst

word count: 3.2k

a/n: i finished this a week ago but didn't like it so i completely redid it. i also tried to write in 3rd pov which i don't think i'll do again, i'll probably just stick to 2nd pov but i wanted to try something new! anyway i hope you enjoy!

Sakusa Kiyoomi didn’t consider himself a germaphobe. Even though his cousin, Komori Motoya, liked to say he was, he still wouldn’t consider himself one. Although he said it in a joking manner it still made him think, do other people see him like that? He didn’t mind sitting or laying on the floor to do his stretches before practice, and dirt outside didn’t bother him much either. It was just other people and their germs that he didn’t care for. He doesn’t know where people have been or who could potentially be in the beginning stages of a cold and not know it. He was cautious around people, and bigger crowds made him nervous.

So when Sakusa learned about soulmates and how people found theirs at the age of 8 he was a little grossed out. What he remembers from the story his older sister told him was that everyone in the world has a soulmate, and the way you find yours was that when you made contact with your soulmate, the area you touched each other would light up in a sort of golden color. She told stories about how people would go around and try to touch everyone they thought could be their soulmate.

That’s what Sakusa thought was gross, trying to touch every single person on the off chance that they're your soulmate. Maybe it’s because he was always sick as a kid and that’s why he didn’t like the idea of other people’s germs. So as he grew up and saw people leaving gentle touches on the arms of everyone they met he couldn’t help but curl his lip in disgust. It wasn’t like Sakusa never wanted to find his soulmate, but he didn’t like the idea of people invading his personal space to find out.

High School for Sakusa was difficult, even though Motoya constantly told him he was a bit brash and abrasive that didn’t stop people from wanting to see if they were his soulmate. He managed to dodge nearly everyone who tried but occasionally there’d be a few who snuck in there with disappointed stares as their touch didn’t cause the warm golden glow signalling that they were soulmates.

Now Sakusa was a professional volleyball player for the MSBY Black Jackals and dodging the fleeting touches of fans only seemed to get harder the longer he was in the spotlight. He watched from a distance as his teammates shook hands and hugged every fan that approached them, watched as the shoulders of fans slumped at the lack of gold in their touch. Watched as fans jealously stared when his captain Meian Shugo found his soulmate in the crowded court after a game.

He had just left the locker rooms and glanced in the gym to see another crowd of fans desperately trying to see if they were one of the team member’s soulmates, another crowd of fans disappointed when the outcome they were hoping for didn’t happen. “You’re not soulmate searching in the crowd of fans?” He glanced over, startled at the sudden voice next to him. He wasn’t used to the new presence quite yet.

L/n Y/n was the new manager of the Black Jackals, having started less than a month ago. They had already begun to learn everyone’s mannerisms and habits, knowing that Sakusa was one to avoid the crowds and interviews after games, opting to keep to himself. They knew that everyone else on the team had no issues meeting the fans and finding out if their soulmates were in the crowd much like Meian’s was.

Sakusa didn’t know a lot about Y/n, but they knew quite a bit about him just from observing their practices and games. Sakusa wasn’t sure if their views on soulmates matched his, if they also thought that the act of having to touch every person in hopes of finding “the one” was odd and not appealing. He wasn’t sure if they had simply just found their soulmate already and didn’t need to bother with everyone else. What he did know was that they kept their distance at practices.

Y/n always greeted everyone from a distance when they entered the gym for practices or before their games had started. When they brought their water bottles they set them on the bench rather than handing them to everyone on the team. When the team was gathering to talk about play strategies they would be sat at the bench, close enough to listen, always jotting things down on their clipboard. To Sakusa Kiyoomi, L/n Y/n was an enigma.

They were someone who kept to themselves, never getting too close to anyone else. On the occasion that they went out for dinner after games that the team had won and felt proud of, they always sat at the end of the table, never saying many words. They were quiet and soft spoken when they did speak. Giving gentle reminders or suggestions to the team. Even though they were quiet and kept to themself they still managed to become friends with almost everyone on the team.

They exchanged excited words with Bokuto as they exchanged stories from when they were in their high school years. They gave friendly but stern scoldings to Atsumu as he did something he knew he shouldn’t have, like swinging from the bars in the gym just because Hinata made a bet that he couldn’t. They gave silent smiles as they listened to Hinata enthusiastically shout sound effects as he described his favorite volleyball plays. They gave Sakusa words of encouragement while still keeping their distance because they knew that people he didn’t really know made him uncomfortable. But Sakusa didn’t know much about Y/n.

So as he looked down at them sitting on the floor across from the back entrance to the gym, waiting for him to answer their question, he wasn’t sure how to approach the conversation. “Or have you already found your soulmate?” They asked after Sakusa still hadn’t responded to their first question. “Uh no I haven’t found mine, have you?” He finally responded as he lowered himself to the ground, still a good distance away from them. They shook their head as they kept their eyes closed and their head leaning against the cold tile wall of the hallway. “Why are you sitting on the floor?” Sakusa asked after a few seconds of silence from both parties.

“I have a headache but Bokuto is my ride home, so I have to wait for him to finish greeting every fan and then he showers. So I’d say I still have a good hour to wait.” They replied, opening their eyes and tilting their head to look at Sakusa, “Why are you sitting on the floor?” He wasn’t sure how to respond, he didn’t have a reason for why he sat on the floor, he just sat there because they were also sitting on the floor.

“I can give you a ride home if you want Y/n.” He offered, changing the topic at hand. He wasn’t quite sure what compelled him to offer them a ride home, he just felt like it was right. “You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly content sitting here and waiting for Bokuto.” They said, closing their eyes again and turning their head towards the ceiling. “You have a headache Y/n, let me give you a ride home so you aren’t sitting here for an hour.” Sakusa said as he got up and looked at them expectantly. As they opened their eyes they sighed and got up, “Let me text Bokuto to let him know that I don’t need a ride and then we can leave.” They reluctantly agreed as they pulled out their phone to send Bokuto a text. He wouldn’t get it until he got to the locker room but at least then he would know. “Okay let’s go.” Y/n said as they started walking towards the exit with Sakusa still standing in the hallway, only beginning to follow them after they were halfway towards the exit.

As they drove home Sakusa learned a little bit more about Y/n. He learned that they had met Bokuto through Akaashi who was a distant cousin of theirs, so they were closer to Bokuto out of everyone on the team. He also learned that they lived in the same apartment building as Bokuto so they carpooled every morning, which is why they always showed up at the same time. He didn’t learn much about before they joined the team as the manager any time he asked they waved it off or changed the subject.

As Sakusa entered his home, a familiar ringtone started to chime from his coat pocket. Taking his phone out of his pocket he pressed the answer button seeing it was Motoya calling. “Hey Motoya, what’s up?” He held the phone between his shoulder and ear as he slipped off his shoes before correcting his grip on the small device. “Was just calling to let you know we have a game against each other coming up next month. Did you just get home from your game? I thought I heard the door close.”

“Yeah I got home late because I drove the new manager home. They were waiting for Bokuto, but they had a headache and he was going to be a while.” Sakusa explained as he walked over to his kitchen to find something to eat. “Oh you guys got a new manager? Who is it?” Motoya asked curiously. “Their name is L/n Y/n. They just started a few weeks ago, so I don’t really know much about them.” He said as he got out ingredients from the fridge and went to wash his hands.

“You mean L/n Y/n from Itachiyama?” As Motoya asked what he thought was an innocent question, Sakusa felt himself freeze, “Who was that again?” He asked hesitantly. “You don’t remember Y/n? You hated them, or at least it sure seemed like you did.I mean you were cold and distant to everyone but it seemed like it was worse with them.” As Motoya continued to explain to Sakusa who Y/n was he suddenly felt very terrible. From what he remembers Y/n wasn’t always shy and soft spoken. They used to be bubbly and friendly, always trying to include everyone, including him.

It wasn’t that he was mean to them by any means. He didn’t go out of his way to bully them, but one day he had enough of their bubbly and outgoing personality and just snapped. He wasn’t having the best day and hearing them just kind of set him off, and now he felt terrible, because Sakusa knew that sometimes all it took was one person to yell at someone who was outgoing and suddenly they weren’t as outgoing anymore as before. He doesn’t quite remember what he said but he remembers that after he yelled at Y/n, they were more quiet.

“Motoya, I didn’t even recognize them. They’re so different from when we were in high school, they’re so quiet now.” Sakusa said as he leaned on the counter with his head resting in the hand that wasn’t holding the phone. “Yeah they started being quiet after you yelled at them. Didn’t talk as much.” Motoya’s voice got softer the more he talked about it. “I don’t even remember what I said, Motoya.” Sakusa sighed. “Well first of all you told them that no one cared what they had to say, and then you said something along the lines of how you feel bad for whoever their soulmate is if they're going to be that loud all the time. It was pretty bad, Kiyoomi.” Motoya changed the subject and they talked about something else for a bit before Sakusa had to eat something and then shower if he wanted to go to bed at a decent time.

It was the next morning and Sakusa was heading over to Y/n’s house to try and apologize. He wouldn’t see them today since they usually have the day after a game off so that the team can rest. He was suddenly very nervous as he knocked on the door to their apartment. “Bokuto, you have to learn how to cook something at some point, I can’t feed you all the time!” He heard their voice get closer to the door as they walked towards it, and soon the door was pulled open, “Oh you’re not Bokuto. Sorry, he usually comes over around this time every day on our days off. Uh come in?”

As they moved out of the way and opened the door more Sakusa noticed that they wore an Itachiyama sweater and suddenly felt stupid that he didn’t realize sooner. As he stepped in and slipped off his shoes he took note that the apartment was pretty clean other than a few things here and there. “Sorry it’s a mess, I was going to clean today and then well you showed up.” Y/n said as they went through and picked up a few things, “Are you hungry? It’s about noon, have you eaten? I was in the middle of making lunch, but I made enough for like four people because I don’t understand that I can cut the recipe down.” He watched as they rambled and walked around the kitchen to finish cooking the lunch they had started before he arrived.

“Yeah I’ll eat if you don’t mind. I didn’t eat anything before I came over.” He said sitting down on one of the stools by the counter. Even as he was around them for just a few minutes he couldn’t comprehend why he would yell at them like he did. Their presence was so warm and inviting, they were so caring and observant of everyone around them. Now he felt like even more of an ass before he came over to their apartment.

“Not that I don’t want to hang out with you or anything, but why exactly did you come over to my apartment today?” They asked setting down two plates of food on the counter and taking a seat across from Sakusa. Sakusa moved the food around his plate for a bit while he nervously thought about how to start the conversation. “I’m sorry.” He said and looked up, “About what happened when we were at Itachiyama.” Y/n paused, their food halfway to their mouth, and set down their utensils. “Oh, so you do remember that.” They said fidgeting with their hands, “I had honestly thought you forgot. It’s okay though Sakusa, it’s been what? Five years since that’s happened? I’ve moved past it, we’re different people than we were back then. I kinda get it though, I was a little much huh?” They asked, beginning to eat again.

“It wasn’t okay though, I shouldn’t have talked to you like that just because I was having a bad day Y/n. People care about you and what you have to say, and I guarantee your soulmate will love how bubbly and excited you always are.” Sakusa apologized again, he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to apologize enough to them. “Honestly Sakusa it’s fine, I’ve gotten over it, besides I might never find my soulmate anyway.” Y/n said as they finished their food and put their plate in the sink. “I know you got more quiet because of what I said. You’re not as outgoing or bubbly anymore, you’re more shy and reserved than before and I feel awful for that. I didn’t realize that what I said could have that big of an impact on you-”

“Well it did.” Y/n interrupted him, “It impacted me so much Sakusa. I was just trying to include you so you didn’t feel left out during group projects or activities. I was just trying to be nice to you Sakusa, you know it’s really stupid I even had a little crush on you. I know that’s dumb because the chances of us being soulmates is basically zero, but you were nice to me. You talked to me, helped me on the homework, and somewhere along the way I developed a crush. Then you yelled at me.” Y/n took a deep breath and laughed pathetically, “You yelled at me, which is really stupid, because people told me all the time that I was “too much” and needed to calm down. But it was different coming from you, coming from someone who I had thought had become a friend of mine.”

“Y/n I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” Sakusa said as he made his way toward them. “I know you didn’t, Sakusa. I told you I’m over it. I guess I just wanted to yell back at you for it, even if it is five years later. Honestly I forgave you two years after it happened. I’m still bubbly and outgoing, it’s just that I wasn’t sure if you would’ve hated that at practice so I toned it down. Ask Bokuto, he’ll tell you.” Sakusa had felt a little better after hearing that from Y/n. He wasn’t sure he’d ever forgive himself if they had never gone back to their excitable personality.

“Here let me help with the dishes.” Sakusa said as he reached for the plate in their hand. They were about to protest when they felt a warm go on the tip of their index finger where his hand brushed theirs. Sakusa watched in awe as golden swirls danced around both of your finger tips, somehow in sync like a dance that wasn’t quite complete without its partner to help hold the rhythm of the number. The warmth of his hand was nothing like his sister had described to him. It felt like the first rays of sun in the morning on a warm autumn day with more of a comforting warmth than a hot one.

Neither of the two said anything as they watched the golden swirls fade away, but still felt the warmth of them underneath the skin still. “I know I said I had a crush on you earlier and I should be ecstatic that this is happening but a part of me can’t help but find this really ironic.” Y/n said laughing, still staring at their hands. “What do you mean?” Sakusa asked with a confused stare as he looked at Y/n. “You don’t think this is ironic? You literally told me my soulmate would find me annoying and now you’re my soulmate. It’s kind of funny.” Y/n explained, finally looking up at Sakusa.

Sakusa thought for a minute with furrowed eyebrows before realizing what they meant. “Would you be quiet about that?” He asked now laughing at the situation as well, “We just found out we’re soulmates and you’re making jokes? I’m glad you’re back to your old self but come on Y/n.” He gave a gentle shove to their shoulder as they laughed more at the situation and Y/n continued to make jokes and lightly shoved him back.

Outside the apartment Bokuto lowered his ready to knock fist with a smile, deciding to come back at a later time as he heard laughing coming from the inside of the usually quiet apartment.

[beidoubaby]

my opinion of you based on your favorite genshin character but i’m extremely nice

albedo: oh my god you have amazing taste in characters you’re probably really good at drawing or writing and you’re quiet but really funny

amber: i’m so sorry sweetie people think you’re dumb for liking her but you’re actually super fun and awesome to hang out with

ayaka: TASTEEE you probably join low ar players and wreck their enemies for fun and you’re v helpful

baizhu: i see you are a person of culture as well, and you also have really nice hair that everyone is jealous of

barbara: i bet you love to sing out loud and you’re super cute and always make sure your teammates are fully healed

beidou: HOTTIE ALERT even if you’re small you’re still super strong (mentally or physically) and people are jealous of how hot you are

bennett: you’re so pure!! you love to help out whenever you can, and everyone loves to be around you!

chongyun: you’re super patient (probably because if you main him people tell you he’s bad and you just nod and smile while you hit 60k+ with his burst) also you have excellent taste

diluc: YOU’RE COOL AND HOT DONT LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE

diona: you’re cute and everyone loves when you’re around, you’re dependable and have a great fashion sense

eula: you’re really cool and intimidating but also really soft on the inside

fischl: pov you’re hot and dramatic as fuck

ganyu: ilysm you’re so sweet and kind and patient you deserve the world!!

gorou: i feel like you’re the type of friend that can sit around and do nothing or hang out like once a year and it still feels like youre great friends ily

hu tao: you’re really funny and everyone loves your vibe pls be my friend

jean: you’re so underrated!! you always have so much to contribute to whatever you do, so do it!

kaeya: you have IMPECCABLE taste my liege and needless to say you’re a hottie

kazuha: be be be my bff, nah fr i love your vibes and you’re probably a god at video games <3

keqing: I LOVE YOUUU you’re probably a HUGE fan of whatever you’re into and i fw that you’re also super chill and flexible the perfect friend

klee: i fear your power but you’re also cute af

kokomi: CUTIEEEE also definitely a nerd but in a cute way and you wish kokomi had a mona sprint type of ability

lisa: omg a cryptid, there aren’t many people like you in most friend groups but everyone needs one, you’re so chill and smart

mona: you’re just livin your life bestie and you’re doing a great job!! keep enjoying the ride, you’ll find your passion along the way!

ningguang: OMG ANOTHER HOTTIE you’re probably super responsible and intelligent too i respect you so much

noelle: you’re so so sweet and helpful ilysm 🥺

qiqi: YOURE SO CUTEEE ILY you’re probably the foundation of your friend group and people need to appreciate you more it’s what you deserve

raiden: intimidating as fuck but really hot. also probably likes villains from other media because you look past their actions and see them for who they are as a person which is respectable

razor: you’re really funny and down to earth and you see past people’s façades and flaws and that’s an amazing gift

rosaria: omg hi you make me nervous because you’re hot and know how to play the game well 😳👉👈

sara: HOTTIE ALERT HOTTIE ALERT you look so good in turtlenecks just like your fav and you’re also intimidating when you want to be

sayu: you’ve been waiting for another 4* baby and here she is!!! also you love her hoodie and want one for yourself (and you would look super cute in it)

scaramouche: you’re hot but probably awkward and shy and also super patient especially if you’re saving up for him

signora: oh you horny horny motherfucker. hmm idk what nice thing i can say about you. if she’s your fav i applaud you since she has like 3 cutscenes

sucrose: you intimidate me because you’re nice af but you will DESTROY your enemies in video games and then giggle all cute

tartaglia: YOUR HAND IN MARRIAGE? you might be a little crazy but i love that about you and there’s never a dull moment when you’re around

thoma: you would’ve liked childe but he was a villain so you didn’t. but that means you have good morals and won’t simp for villains just bc they’re hot

lumine: don’t feel bad for picking the non canon mc because you’re literally drop dead gorgeous and super smart

aether: ily!!! you give off himbo/bimbo/thembo evergy and i feel like you have amazing taste in shows/anime

venti: you’re super cute and a great listener i bet your singing voice is top tier you hit those high notes bestie!!

xiangling: you’re literally an amazing friend i feel like at least part of the reason you love xiangling is because you also love to cook and trust me your cooking is TO DIE FOR

xiao: hey twinsie!! you’re hot as fuck duh and your music taste is fucking godly

xingqiu: babe don’t doubt yourself you’re so smart and your friends absolutely adore you!!

xinyan: YOUR TASTE IS AMAZING i bet you’re lowkey good as fuck at video games and also give off hot but intimidating energy

yae: you have excellent taste she might have only been in one cutscene but she always has room in your heart

yanfei: bubbly cute and charismatic asf!! you bring all the energy wherever you go but don’t forget to take some time for yourself babe <3

yaoyao: patience of a god also i’m side eyeing you because there’s like one (1) official art and one (1) voice line about her

yoimiya: ily! i bet you love summer and bright warm colors and i also feel like you’re good at doing makeup (or you would be if you don’t do it)

zhongli: the problem is that there are a LOT of zhongli mains/stans so you guys can be very different in many ways but you all have in common the fact that you’re all intellectuals for investing in the most broken character in the game

[reimagine7]

Hot Lifeguard (Emily Sonnett x reader)

My first story. Sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language. Opened for  suggestions.

It was just another day at work. Days like this were one of my favorites. Just a few people at the beach and less people in the water, that is almost the perfect scenario for a lifeguard. Because normally that means no incidents. My shift was almost over, just one more hour and I could go home to prepare for dinner tonight with my girlfriend.

Right now I am sitting at the cabbing along with Josh, my partner for the day.

“No fucking way” I heard Josh yell while loking at something through the glass.

“What? What did you see?” I asked “You’re not going to believe who just arrived at the beach” “Well, if you give me the binoculars I could see by myself.” “There is no need to. Look at the group over there.” He said pointing to a place in the sand “Okay, I’m looking but I’m not getting it.”

Just as I said that I saw a blond girl running a few meters at the sand and trying to do a cartwheel on the sand and failing miserably, ending with her butt at the sand. Yep, now I know of who Josh is talking about.

“Girl, that is the US women’s soccer team, seems like the whole team is in here.” He was really excited “Josh, clean it right here…” (I rubbed my hand on my chin and he copied me) “Why?” He asked, after seeing nothing on her hand “You’re drooling.” “Oh, fuck up.” She pushes me and keeps looking at the team, it wasn’t the whole team but is probably half of the girls.

“Okay, I’m gonna say hi. Do you wanna come?” Josh asked me “You can go, someone has to stay here and actually do the work.” Josh rolled his eyes but got the walktalk. “Fine, I would tell them you say hi, I’m bringing the walktalk” “Go there looser.”

I was just watching a few surfers at the beach, when I looked to my left and saw Josh coming back with the group of girls following him. He gave me a sign for me to come down.

“So Y/n these are the players from USWNT and girls this is Y/n.” “Hi girls, I actually know you all, I’m a big fan, you’re all badasses.” “Thank you. We heard that so was you.” Ashlyn said and Alex followed. “Josh here went to say hi and told us that his coworker was a woman and a badass so we needed to come check out.” “Well, it’s my pleasure to meet you.”

“For how long have you been working here?” Ali asked. “In this part of the beach not much, but as a lifeguard, 10 years.” The girls were shocked “Oh, 10 years? Sorry to ask but how old are you?” “25” “You can be a lifeguard while you’re 15?” “Yes. I was a good swimmer and at a young age I started to learn surfing, I always loved the water. So one day I got the opportunity to be a lifeguard at a waterpark near home, since then I never stopped. And soon as I had enough experience to be a lifeguard at the beach I moved and here I am.” Tobin spoke this time. “So do you also surf?” Before I could answer, Josh interrupted us “Oh yeah, this is almost like an unofficial rule to be a lifeguard, and Y/n is like the best here. Sorry girls, but I’ll go upstairs and check the beach” “Bye Josh, it was a pleasure to meet you.” The girls said and then looked back at me.

“I’m probably not that good, but yes I can surf.” “We would love to see that, it’s a shame you’re at work.” Tobin answered. “Isn’t your shift ending?” Emily spoke this time, I looked at her and the sun was hitting her face, making her blue eyes shine, she is so beautiful. “Yeah, actually. I have probably just one more hour left.” 

“So what about you meeting us after it and we can see how good you actually are?” Ashlyn asked me with a smirk. “That is a challenge Ashlyn?” “You can bet on it.” Ali smacks Ashlyn in the back of her head. “Ashlyn, you can’t go out challenging people.” “Just a moment girls.”

I interrupted whoever was saying, as soon as I spotted something on the ocean. I climbed the ladder from the cabin and called for Josh. “Josh!” “Yeah boss!” “Look at the water, 10 o’clock. What do you see?” “There is noth… shit looks like two people. Maybe kids. Go!” I jump in the sand and get the surfboard. “Sorry girls, and it’s a bet Ash.” I ran as fast as I could toward the people, wishing this day could end as good as it started.

As I was getting closer to them I noticed that one of them was a little girl, around 5 years old and the other was a boy around 12 years old. I was going as fast as I could but it looked like it wasn't enough. As I was about to get to them, the boy pushed the girl up, and sank. Fuck! 

“Help! Lucas!” I got the girl, put her over the board and tried to find the boy but he didn’t get back up. What should I do? I looked up and saw the girl was using diving glasses. “Can you lend me this? Okay, look, you see these ropes? Hold them as strong as you can and don’t let them go. I’ll get Lucas.”

I know it look like a stupid ideia, let the girl up there by herself, but if I wait for Josh to get here the boy could be dead. So I got in the water and dived trying to find the boy. I surf back up, check with the little girl, get some breath and dive back. I was almost giving up when I felt something on my left leg and when I looked at it was him. So I get his hand and rise back. “Lucas!!” I got back on the board, laid him down and asked for the girl to sit in front of me holding the ropes. He’s unconscious, I need to get to the beach as fast as possible.

I got to the beach and Josh was already there with the equipment and said he had already called an ambulance. I barely got that, the boy was my first priority, I looked up and saw the national team girls were close. “Hey little girl, you see these women over there?” She nodded. “Stay with them, for me to take care of Lucas okay?” She didn’t want to let go of him, must be her brother. Probably noticing my expression, Emily came over and got the girl, she started to scream. But my focus was somewhere else now. The boy wasn’t breathing, so I started the compression. “Come on, come on. Spit the water. Come on Lucas, you can do it.” I must be doing it for like 1 minute, but it felt like an hour, when the boy spit the water. “Good boy. Calm down, you’re safe now.” I put him on oxigen, and the ambulance arrived just in time as he regained consciousness. “Hey boy, what’s your name?” The paramedic asked. “Lucas.” “Hi, Lucas. My name is Daniel and I’m a paramedic and I’m going to help you okay? How old are you?” “12. Where is my sister?” “Hey Lucas, it’s okay, she is over there, stay calm okay.”

I looked back at the girl and went to calm her down. “Hey little girl, how are you?” She came running for my arms. “Lucas?” She asked while crying in my arms. “He is better now, you see? He is talking with the doctors now. Where are your parents sweety?” “Don’t know.” And as it was agreed the mother shows up. “Lucas? Lucy?” “Mom!” The little girl ran to the women's arms. “Where is Lucas?” “Hi Mrs, my name is Y/N. Lucas is over there being taken care of. Do you know what happened?” “No, I told them that I was going to get some water and when I came back they weren’t there so I started to freak out and I saw the comotion here.” They start to take the boy to the ambulance. “Okay, Mrs…” “Grey” “Mrs. Grey, they are taking Lucas to the ambulance right now, they will check on him, he drowned trying to save his sister, I’m going to explain everything to you until we get to the ambulance, can you just pack your stuff? Are you alone here?” “Yes, my husband is at work. And I already packed everything, it is in here.” “Good, come on. And I would like Lucy to have a check up as well, she hasn’t drowned but she could have drunk some water. We don’t want to take risks right?” With that I went up to the ambulance with the mom and then let the paramedics do their job. I hope the kid stays good.

I went back to the post and Josh was there. “What a way to end the shift right?” “Thank god, I found the boy under water. Otherwise it would ruin the day.” “Yeah, and the super boss shows up again to save the day.” “Stop.” “Fine, now get out of here. There are some people waiting for you. Go have some fun.” I had completely forgotten about them, time to go say hi, again. 

Emily pov

We were still excited about what just happened at the beach.

“She is totally a badass, she was just talking with us and still caught the kids drowning in the water.” Tobin said. “When she left the girl alone at the board I was like ‘what is she doing?’ and then she just got the boy under water, that was amazing.” Christen said “That’s why she is the boss.” Ali complement.

“Okay, but let’s not forget how hot she is. When she ran toward the water, it was just like we were in Baywatch, and her body. God!” “Kelley!!” “What Linds, is not like you don’t agree with me you were drooling watching her doing her job.” Kelley fought back. “I was not…” Lindsey said pouting, Megan put a hand on her shoulder and said. “Sorry Linds but you totally were. But that’s fine, she is hot as fuck and I think that half of the girls here were drooling, even the “straight” ones”.  She intensifies the quotation marks.

Then Christen intervened. “She also looks like a good person, she looks smart, determined and kind. You saw her with the little girl?” “Hey, I don’t have a competition do I?” Tobin protested. “Of course not babe, but she may be good for some other girls here. And watch out cause she is coming here.”

I looked behind me and Y/N was coming over, she had changed off her uniform and was now just in her swimming suit, a backpack and a surfboard. She was more beautiful, if that was even possible and hotter.

“Hey girls, my shift is just over. So I remembered that one of you challenged me on surfing. So I want to know if she is still up to it?” Ash stood up “Oh yeah, game on bitch. Tobs, Kell are you coming?” “Of course, let’s go.” Both of them replied.

Some girls went along with them for the water, others decided to take a walk on the sand and others were just going to lay and get a tan. Before Y/N followed the girls to the water she came near me. “So, beautiful, can I put my stuff here near you?” “I think so.” “Good, you’re not coming?” “Not today.” “Okay, be right back.” She winked at me and left toward the ocean.

I sat back in the sand and just watched her get some waves with the girls, she was stunning. Of course she was winning the challenge, but who cares, everyone was just amazed by her. 

I was contemplating her beauty when Moe sat beside me and asked. “So, are you gonna spill the beans?” “There is nothing to spill. Don’t know what you are talking about?” “You sure do. If you do nothing the others will keep flirting with her and who knows what could happen.” I look at her shocked. “It’s in your eyes Sonny.” 

An hour later everyone came back from the water and we went to play some footvolley. We paired everyone up and Y/N ended up being my partner. She was amazing at that and we had a lot of fun. She was flirting with me the whole time and I was hoping the girls weren't noticing it.

We stopped playing and were getting ready to leave, when Kelley whispered in my ear. “You better do something girl, she is flirting with you the whole day, everyone noticed. If you don’t do something we will.” “I don’t know what you are talking about.” She just shaked her head and went toward Ash and Tobin, whispered something to them and they went to Y/N.

“So Y/n, we had a lot of fun today and we really wanted to get to know you better. Tell us a little bit more about you.” Tobin asked. “Well, you already know I’m 25 and am a lifeguard. I graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in exercise and sports science. I give surf classes for kids and I’m also a coach for some amatour surfer athletes. And I’m a sports lover.”

“Wait, too much information. You’re a surf coach?” Ashlyn asked incredibly. “Yeah? Sorry but you were the one who made the bet.” “That explains a lot.”

Becky was the one to speak now. “You went to Virginia? That’s awesome me too, so does Moe and Sonnett, but it doesn’t have a beach there.” “Yeah, I know. I took a pause from the beach while I was studying and worked at a waterpark over there.”

“I got a question…” Oh no, Kelley shut up. “Are you single?” With that Y/N wined her eyes and blush a little, she looked at me and then back to Kelley.

“No?” “You don’t seem too sure about that.” Tobin interjected. “I mean, no, I’m not single. But we haven’t told anyone besides family yet, so…” “Wait a second, so you’re not single? Are you sure? I’m way confused right now.” “Yeah, I’m sure. She actually loves soccer, she loves you guys.”

While the rest of the girls started asking other questions for Y/n. Kelley looked at me with a ‘sorry dude’ look. I understand why she was like that, I mean Y/n was indeed flirting with me, everyone was probably confused as to why she was flirting with me if she has a girlfriend. But they were clueless and I was having a lot of fun with it, so I decided to enjoy it a little bit more and so I spoke up.

“Hey Y/N we actually have the whole day off, so we were thinking of hanging out together and going out for dinner. What do you say? Wanna come?” Y/N looked at me with a intrigued look, but agreed either way. “Yeah, I would love to.” 

“Your girlfriend would be okay with that?” Ashlyn asked. “Yeah she wouldn’t mind.”

“Maybe you can call her right now and talk to her just to make sure?” I said, Y/n was really confused right now, she was trying to understand what I mean with that. I just nodded and saw a smirk appear on her face. “Yeah, that will be great.” Some girls looked at me, don’t getting what I was doing. Christen added. “And if you want to invite her, you said she was a fan, we can surprise her if you want to” “Of course, it will be fun”.

Y/n got her phone and made the call. “So who is gonna talk?” Y/N look at me and I nod toward Kelley. “O’hara you think you can do it? She would love that?” Y/n asked “Of course. What's her name again?” “Oh, you don’t need that” She looked at her phone and back at me, I gave her a reassuring look as she started to talk.

“Hi babe. So I’m at the beach now, and there are some girls here that want to say hi to you.” She put on speaker for everyone to hear. “Hi. It’s Kelley O’hara here, and you are talking with half of the national team.” Silent went over the line, the girls started looking at each other and Y/n spoke.

“She is probably in shock, can you tell her about the dinner?” “Yeah, so we just asked Y/n if she wants to come to dinner with us and we also would like to invite you, so what do you say?” I waited a moment and answered on my phone. “I would love to, but I thought that as I was the one who made the invitation I was already invited.”

Everyone looked at me and then back to Y/n, they were in shock. Y/n has that stupid smile on her face that I love so much and answered. “That’s good babe, can’t wait.” We just kept looking at each other's eyes. Oh god, I love this girl so much. When Kelley yelled. 

“Wait a minute. Why did you call Sonnett?” “Well you asked for me to call my girlfriend. So I did.” Y/n spoke with a smirk on her face “The Emily Sonnett, this girl here is your girlfriend?” “Hey, what do you mean by that? I can’t date a hot girl?” 

With that I went to Y/n side, hugged her and she gave me a peck “And you let me, no, you let us, drool over you girlfriend and didn’t say a thing?” I couldn’t get the smile out of my face. “It was funny and I didn’t know yet if she was going to be okay with that.” “That is no excuse, you should have told me, it is not like I was going to tell the world.” Kelley complained and crossed her arms on her chest. “Okay Kelley, less drama. We are happy for you Sonny.” “Thanks Chris, someone here is mature.”

“Wait, does it mean that now we have to give Y/n the shovel talk?” Tobin asked with a serious face. “No!” I protest. “Sorry Sonnett, we have to, it's the team's rules.” Ash responded. “That’s okay babe, I can take it.”

“Fine, but only if Moe gets to be there.” “What? Why? Moe can’t hurt a fly” Becky said. “Because she will make sure you don’t scare Y/n away, she will be on her side.” “Why would she do that?” “Babe you can’t ask Moe that, just because she is my friend.” “Wait, Moe knew?” Kelley said, trying to look hurt. “Way to throw me under the bus Sonny.” Moe complained.

“Of course, she helped me with the plan of asking Y/n out. We studied together, you forgot?” “Of course you were all Cavaliers. That’s it Y/n you are coming with us for dinner, there is no space for debate. We need to see if you are good for Sonnett. Let’s go everyone” With Megan orders everyone start to go back to where the vans were. I got my stuff and I was about to follow the girls, when Y/n pulled my arm.

“Hey hot stuff, I missed you.” She passed her arms over my shoulders and I hugged her waist. “Hi babe, I missed you too. Sorry about doing it without asking you first. But when the girls pulled over and I saw which beach we were at and that you were here, I started thinking about it, and then you were so hot saving the boy, and the girls liked you so much, and they saw you flirting with me, so…” I was interrupted by a kiss. Y/n ’s lips were so soft and rough at the same time. The way she pulls me closer to her and deepens the kiss, I miss her so much.

“That’s okay honey. I loved meeting your teammates.” “What do you say about us skipping dinner? I really missed your lips...” I kissed her lips. “Your neck...” I kissed her neck, and started to touch her body. “I missed all of this, your body is perfect.” She gave a large sigh and pushed me away “Even though I would love to go to our house and make out with you for the rest of the night. I'm sure the girls wouldn’t approve of it. Let’s go, as soon as we get to dinner, sooner you can get this body.” “Nooo, I’m really regretting telling the girls today.” “The good point is that now you don’t have to sneak out anymore, you can always say you are going out with your girlfriend.” “Okay, but one last thing.” I gave her a passionate kiss, until we heard the girls yelling at us from afar. “I love you Y/n.” “I love you too Em. Now let’s go.” We intercalated our hands and walked to where the girls were waiting for us. This night was amazing and now I can say to the world that the Hot Lifeguard is mine.

[allwaswell16]

This is a fic rec of some of my favorite One Direction pining fics as requested in this ask. You can find all my other fic recs here. If you enjoy the fics please leave kudos and comments for the writers! Happy reading!

-Larry-

💗 Hold You Now by @solvetheminourdreams

(M, 131k, ex-fwb au, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, homophobia, Louis/OC, pining, world travel, wedding, family issues, hurt/comfort, mild smut)

When he accompanies his best friend to a family wedding across the Atlantic, he'll be forced to reopen old wounds and face his past—one that no one wants to hash out, but may just have to.

💗 Little by Little by @absoloutenonsense​ / nonsensedarling

(E, 65k, Louis/Harry, a/b/o au, omega/omega, omega Louis, omega Harry, non traditional a/b/o, mpreg, mpreg Louis, strangers to friends to lovers, neighbors, gender identity, sexuality crisis kind of, mutual pining, nesting, metaphors, slow burn, smut)

Harry Styles is an omega who works at the London Planetarium, has lived in the same flat for ages, and is happy enough on his own.

💗 you came into my life by @disgruntledkittenface

(M, 57k, Queer Eye au, firefighters, closeted character, coming out, pining, fluff, angst, slow dancing, dirty talk, smut)

When the Queer Eye cast and crew sweep into Louis’ small town and fire station to make over his best friend and coworker Liam, Louis’ carefully constructed walls start to fall down and he has to face his fears – and the only guy he’s ever been able to see a future with.

💗 It Feels Different When You’re With Me by @all-these-larrythings / Rearviewdreamer

(M, 45k, deaf Louis, teacher Harry, sign language, character injury, sign language instructor Harry, friendships, family, pining)

Harry fell in love with sign language as a kid. He never imagined the first love of his life would lead him straight to his second.

💗 Just Tell Me the Song and I’ll Sing It by @myownsparknow​ / myownspark 

(NR, 39k, college au, karaoke, music, baseball, pining, song fic, angst with a happy ending, romantic gestures, architecture major Louis, college baseball player Harry)

Louis is an architecture student who can only think about the future. Harry is a baseball player who can only think about right now.

💗 Something About Liminal Spaces by @kingsofeverything

(E, 34k, soulmates au, New Zealand, age difference, writer Louis, baker/photographer Harry, silver fox Louis, soul marks, post divorced Louis, smut)

Searching for inspiration for his latest book, and hoping distance will help heal his broken heart, Louis Tomlinson heads to the village of Piha on the west coast of New Zealand’s north island.

💗 Give A Little Sing To The Singles by @londonfoginacup​ / LadyLondonderry

(T, 31k, Advent fic, co-workers au, Christmas, office, party, pining, fluff, humor)

That being said, no one told Harry that being an adult came with a confusingly chaotic boss, a copier machine that would be hell-bent on ruining his life, and a coworker so good looking that Harry might just have to quit.

💗 Everywhere and Nowhere by @2tiedships2​

(M, 16k, a/b/o, alpha Harry, omega Louis, secret admirer au, omega Louis, courting/mating rituals, scenting, pining, heat)

"He's courting me. Like some sort of romantic shit they'd do in the 1800s or something?"

💗 Sound Like a Song by @allwaswell16

(E, 14k, farmer's market au, teacher Harry, coach Louis, pining, summer, farm, puns, Harry pov, smut)

the one where Harry helps out at a farmer’s market and gives Louis free vegetables.

💗 Come In and Change My Life by @lightwoodsmagic

(E, 12k, a/b/o, alpha Louis, omega Harry, mpreg, accidental pregnancy, professional football player Louis, neighbors, cat, pining, fluff, smut)

Harry and Louis become friends when Harry looks after Louis' cat during away games, until one night at a party changes everything between them.

💗 I'm Tripping Over Your Every Single Move by lookingfortherainbow / @andtheywerebandmates

(T, 6k, uni au, swimmer Harry, lifeguard Louis, meet cute, pining, first date, disaster gay Harry, kissing, no smut)

Harry is the local swimming star athlete and Louis is the lifeguard that turns Harry into a fish out of water.

💗 Tennis Whites by @louandhazaf / YesIsAWorld

(E, 4k, tennis fic, nanny Harry, tennis instructor Louis, pining, smut)

Harry settles himself on the bench, puts his sunglasses on, and focuses his attention on the court. There, in all his glory, is Louis Tomlinson.

💗 No One But You Got Me Feeling This Way by @runaway-train-works​ / runaway_ train

(E 3k, uni au, camboy Louis, student Harry, angst and smut, porn with plot, pining)

The one where Harry has a particular desire that only Louis can fulfil.

-Rare Pairs-

💗 Untamed Hearts by @laynefaire​

(E, 68k, Liam/Zayn, surfing au, enemies to friends to lovers, summer, surfer Liam, artist Zayn, Lilo friendship, surfer Louis, side Larry, tension, pining, kissing, smut, angst with a happy ending)

If he dug deep enough, Liam could find every reason ever needed to explain away what happened

💗 Honey Series by @lululawrence

(NR, 16k, multiple pairings, pining, awkwardness, embarrassment, humor, fluff, flirting, no smut)

Series based on: "when i feel bad about my social skills i remind myself how one time rachmaninoff decided he was gonna be pals with stravinsky (who'd casually mentioned he liked honey) so he showed up at his house in the middle of the night with an enormous jar of honey and no explanation."

💗 Favourite Boy by wordsnnotes / @quelsentiment

(T, 8k, Zayn/Louis, fwb au, artist Zayn, singer Louis, London, music, banter, pining, fluff, no smut)

Zayn and Louis have been hook-ups for the past three years and Zayn is getting frustrated with it, but doesn't know what to do about it.

💗 Getting a Head for Heights by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13

(T, 3k, Louis/Greg James, uni au, size difference, pining, flirting, sharing clothes, kissing)

The problem is, Louis thinks Greg would be quite good to date, so it would really help if everyone would stop reminding him of that fact so he could unthink it.