#the mlb owns me i fear

[sidsinning]

Still forever a statue scene hater gn

[wisteriasymphony]

“I- I don’t understand! Adrien, there’s a wedding dress in there! A wedding dress, and it’s not mine!”

“Darling, please—“

“Please just tell me you bought it for me! I- I’ll overlook the cigarette burns on it and the way it got stained, just please tell me it wasn’t meant for someone else! Tell me the truth!”

Adrien thought for a second, chewing his lower lip.

“I’ve always been meant to love you, Marinette,” he said, his guilt only compounding with how much he had to force that name out of his mouth. “…But I didn’t choose to.”

Marinette was dizzy from weeping, and she was not the person who knew how to sift through his riddles and ways of obfuscating truth. “…What do you mean..?”

He couldn’t look at her as he said it. He wouldn’t want to look at Marinette ever again. Had he ever wanted to?

“Please don’t say you’re cheating on me,” she whispered.

“…No. If anything,” he paused, feeling compelled to look her in the eyes but refusing to, “I’ve always felt like I’ve been cheating on her, with you. And I never even wanted it.”

Forgetting who the dress belonged to, Marinette clutched it to her chest like a child. “Never wanted what? Me? We’ve been married, we’ve been in love for all this time and you never even meant it?”

“No, I have, you just weren’t my first choice—“

She was going through the rest of the box now, scattering the contents across his closet. “What else am I going to find in here, Adrien? Love letters? Lockets? Wedding rings? Did I ever mean anything to you?”

“We didn’t even have the chance to do such a thing, Marinette!”

“The chance?! —Adrien, we have children together now! You expected to hide this from all of us for the rest of our miserable lives?!” Her tears only grew louder and more fervent upon finding the jackets—each neatly folded, with the smell of his lost love still lingering. “You’re not the man I feel in love with! Or— Or maybe you are! And I just fell in love with a sick, miserable man! How dare you, Adrien Agresté.”

Related to this fake AITA post

[erodasfishtacos]

Safe Space

prompt: follow up to demi piece for mlb!harry

warnings: insecurity, smut, minors dni 18+

Please please like, follow, comment, and reblog ❣️

If you want my work two weeks earlier, plus polls to vote for content, plus exclusive blurbs and tropes - please consider joining my patreon for $3 ❤️

-

Harry isn’t trying to be dramatic when he says that he is officially and utterly obsessed with everything about YN.

He felt like he was addicted to her, from just being in the same space as her, and then from craving her body so much it hurt.

For a long period of his life, he didn’t understand the hype about sex - sure it sounded fine and orgasms definitely felt good but why did people care so much?

After his first time with YN, he very quickly realized what it was about because fuck, it was beyond the physical feeling of pleasure - it was how connected emotionally he felt to her and the display of love that sex was.

The issue was, they’d been intimate twice now with yesterday being their first time having sex, and both times he came prematurely.

No matter how kind and understanding YN was, it didn’t take away the deep insecurity of not being masculine enough or being a flop in the sheets.

YN had to use her own hand to help her along because he was coming so fast when they had sex, he was so far gone he hadn’t even thought about dipping his own hand down to assist.

Harry had to leave YN in his bed in the morning because he had to go to weight training and then right after a grueling practice.

He had left a little handwritten note on top of her cellphone to find when she woke up.

Good morning, baby. I’m off to practice. I love you x

It was simple but sweet.

When Harry’s in the locker room with his teammates as they all hits the showers and start to change after practice, well it’s no surprise sex is brought up - literally nothing has changed since high school.

He still didn’t feel the need to join in on the disgusting conversation, the way they talked about women was truly abysmal and some of them were referring to their own girlfriends in such crude ways.

Harry had so much respect for YN, so much undying appreciation for her body even though he just is beginning to learn it.

He would never talk about the intricacies of her form with other people, why would he want them to know what is only for him?

He didn’t want others to know how puffy her nipples get after he’s given them attention, how she gets so wet that it makes her folds glisten - that’s purely for his eyes and imagination only.

“Yeah, Becca told me that Cameron only lasted for three minutes,” Joseph cackles as the other boys join in on the laughter, “Said he jizzed nearly as soon as he stuck it in.”

“No wonder she turned him down when he asked her to the Sigma Phi party,” Payton crows with a boisterous laugh, “He’s never gonna get another date while he’s in school.”

Harry hates the anxiety that strikes in his chest because it hits him that they’re making fun of what he’s most self-conscious about right now.

He was new to everything, having YN’s hands, mouth, cunt was so mind blowingly euphoric and like nothing he’d ever experienced before that he couldn’t control how fast his orgasms snuck up on him.

The first time her lips wrapped around him, he couldn’t even think a conducive thought, let alone stave off his release.

The first time they had sex, she had to finish herself off because he came so fast that he didn’t even have time to focus on her.

His throat is tight as he rushes to get his clothes on, he didn’t want to lose YN - she was his person.

They only downfall of finally finding the love of his life was the immense fear of losing it because he knew this was once in a lifetime.

He was this allstar, cocky athlete who everyone drooled and daydreamed over - only YN knew he didn’t truly live up to his potential in the bedroom.

It’s not that he thinks she’s shallow enough to drop him over that but his anxiety and lack of self confidence had negative talk swirling through his head.

Harry wanted to be the best for her and he’s worried that he’s just not enough - it was the worst feeling on this earth and he hated that he didn’t feel confident in his own skin.

He’s out of the locker room without another glance at his teammates, putting his airpods in so he can act like he doesn’t hear all his classmates who try to say hi to him as he walks across campus.

His night class drags on, his fingers are fidgeting against the desk, knee bouncing because anxiety is one of the nastiest emotions to have.

Miss you already ☹️

The text pops across his screen towards the end of class, he has to tamper down the dopey grin that appears on his face - she must have just gotten out of her weekly newspaper meeting.

I miss you more. 😖

You’re the sweetest. Do you love me?

Harry has to bite the corner of his lip to tamper down his smile because he’s in a relationship, he loves her so much.

So much, baby.

I think you should totally invite me over tonight and show me how much. Just so I know you’re not all talk. 😛

Harry’s heart plummets back into his stomach, for what seems like the hundredth time lately because now he’s nervous about having to have sex despite how much he wants to.

Of course, he wants her to come over and he would have invited her in a minute anyways but now that the promise is lingering in her words, he’s struck with nerves.

He doesn’t respond fast enough because another text is coming through as his thumbs hesitate over the screen.

If you’re not up to it, that’s fine too.

And Harry never wants her to feel like he doesn’t want her there. It’s the exact opposite. He wants her there all the fucking time.

Don’t be silly. Of course, you’re welcome over anytime, my love. Meet me at Holden Hall in fifteen, we can walk back to mine together.

Okay ❤️

He’s not twelve, he shouldn’t get butterflies in his stomach but the thought of seeing her makes him squirm with excitement.

Because he is in love.

The class can’t end quick enough because even though there are always a few classmates who want to bullshit with him after class - Harry is bypassing them with a small smile and wave instead to get out the door.

YN is waiting on a bench, eyes on her phone until she must notice class letting up because her gaze rises and she has a breathtaking smile when she notices him.

It quickly turns downward when Harry is stopped by a group of girls, they’re giggly and overly nice as they compliment him on his recent game and how good he looked in ESPN College Edition this week.

Harry would usually give them all a cocky smile, dimples on display, and his shoulders broad as he let them coo over him.

Now he’s a taken man, he doesn’t have to act like he’s into all these girls he’s not anymore, and it’s so refreshing when he gives them a short ‘thank you’ and squeezes out of their circle.

Their eyes follow with annoyance and envy as they’re dismissed so quickly for Harry to make his way over to YN, where she’s sat on the bench in one of his baseball hoodies and a pair of leggings.

The girls begin to whisper furiously amongst themselves when Harry bends down, gripping YN’s chin, and kissing her softly for a moment before helping her up and taking her backpack to swing over his other shoulder before intertwining their hands.

YN seems surprised as they walk away, her hand squeezing his tightly as she ignores the daggers being glared into her back.

“What’s the look for?” Harry asks when they’re finally away from everyone spilling out of the lecture hall, and on the walk back to his frat house.

“I was just surprised you kissed me in front of all them,” YN shrugs, trying to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal to her, “Most guys wouldn’t have done that in front of another group of pretty girls.”

It’s Harry’s turn to frown at that, stopping in his tracks to give her a look, “Why wouldn’t I kiss you in front of all them? You’re my person. I only want to kiss you. I don’t care what any of them think. I only care what you think.”

YN’s let’s a smile creep on her face, leaning up to kiss him for a long moment before she’s giving him a big hug and nuzzling her face into his chest.

“I love you. You’re just…” YN trails off, like she can’t find the right words, “You’re so good to me. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Harry can’t believe that. It feels opposite, he doesn’t know what he did to deserve her.

“You deserve the best and I’m going to always give it to you. I’m going to show you off to everybody all the time,” Harry promises as they begin to walk again, this time his arm around her shoulders pulling him into his chest.

The sex dilemma floats out of the forefront of his mind only for a little, only until they’re in his room, and Harry announces he needs to shower.

He was still sweaty, dirty from practice because on these days he doesn’t have time to shower before class.

When he drops their belongs near the door, he’s kicking of his shoes and telling YN, “Alright, gotta get cleaned up before we cuddle. M’gross.”

He fully expects YN to make herself comfortable on his bed while he cleans up and what he doesn’t expect is to YN to follow him to the bathroom - luckily, he had his own and didn’t have to share with his disgusting frat mates.

“Wh-What’s up?” Harry stutters as his cheeks flush, he hadn’t had anytime to figure out how he was going to solve his stamina problem and showering with his drop dead gorgeous girlfriend wasn’t going to help.

YN’s face twists in confusion as he stands frozen near the sink, “Uh, I was going to join you? If you don’t want me to, I don’t have to. I just thought that-“

He could tell he had embarrassed her by the way she’s trying to overexplain her reasoning to following him in there but Harry also knows that normal couples shower together all the time and if he was fucking normal - he wouldn’t be so surprised.

He wants to shower with her, fuck, of course he does.

Harry wants to scream and pull his hair because in his lack of self-confidence and anxiety - he’s making her feel bad about herself.

“No, no,” Harry interrupts her, bringing her into his chest, and kissing the top of her head, “Forgive me, darling. This, just all this is new to me. I’ve never showered with anyone before. I’m still getting used to actually being in a relationship.”

YN seems a bit relieved at his explanation, kissing his collarbone and rubbing at his back, “Still, if you don’t feel comfortable with me joining you that’s okay. Not all couples shower together. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

Harry’s chest pangs because he just keeping mucking everything up, “No, I always want you with me. Please don’t second guess yourself, baby. Want you to shower with me. Want you with me every second of the day.”

YN nods against his chest but doesn’t make any move, like she’s nervous to be the first one, and so Harry does so first - stepping back to strip his shirt over his head before he’s slipping YN’s hoodie up and over her head.

He leans over to turn on the faucet to get the water warmed up, she’s standing there in just her bralette and leggings - god damn, she’s pretty.

Harry’s heart rate is going a million miles a minute as he shrugs the bralette over her head, her gorgeous tits bouncing out to where they naturally lay - perky but real and soft.

“Baby,” Harry huffs out in awe as he thumbs over her nipples - hard and puffy, they are making his mouth water, can’t help but duck down and wrap his lips around one as she whines happily.

She’s reaching for the waistband of his athletic shorts and briefs, pulling them both down in one go, and it’s not shocking he’s already plumped up and hard for her.

It was still a new experience, being bare and vulnerable in front of someone else - showing the innermost personal parts but he wanted her to see him, it made him feel good when she whispered how nice his cock was.

After he’s got her leggings and panties off, he’s bringing them under the stream of the shower, and watching in rapt amazement as the droplets slide down her neck, over the peaks of her breasts, and bead off her now soft nipples.

“Turn around,” She orders quietly, turning his shoulders until he’s facing towards the back of the tub, her hands come up with lathered shampoo and begin to scrub through his matted locks - her nails scratching against his scalp feel so good that he moans weakly.

She takes such care of him, his heart is melting for her as she washes out the suds before snagging his loofa off the shelves and beginning to wash down his body to wipe away all the dirt and sweat of the day.

It feels so amazing to be taken care of like this, he’s never had this before, and now that he does - he wants to cry because he’s just emotional.

When she’s finished with him, he takes it upon himself to return the favor, not because he feels obligated but because he wants to take care of her just as much and prove his worth as a partner.

“Ouch,” YN hisses when Harry’s fingers get tangled in a knot in her hair and pull it quite harshly, YN’s face contorting in a brief moment of pain.

“Fuck, m’sorry,” Harry apologizes instantly, he was on edge and he just kept making everything worse - he just pulled his girlfriend’s hair, “M’sorry, baby. Are you alright?”

YN rolls her eyes at him, stepping closer and flopping against his wet chest, kissing his skin, and nodding, “I’m fine. You don’t have to apologize. Just be careful.”

Harry’s hands are shaking with nerves as he carefully weaves through her locks, taking his time with the knots before he’s moving onto soaping her body up - he would have to buy scents she liked as everything in his shower was more masculine scented like sandalwood and sage.

After gently running the loofa over her tits and belly, Harry dips downwards but she’s moving his hand away from her center and down her thighs.

“No scented products near the goods,” YN tells him as she wipes a stray hair off his forehead, “It will throw off my PH. I just use unscented soap for that.”

And once again, he feels like a fucking idiot and like he should have known that about female anatomy but he didn’t.

He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, inhaling through his mouth because he feels like such a twat today.

YN doesn’t notice, her eyes shut as she lets the water pound down on her skin, and humming happily as he washes down her legs, hand playing with his sodden curls.

They dry off and Harry grabs YN a tee shirt of his from a baseball camp because he loves seeing her in his stuff - it settled his possessive side.

YN uses his hairdryer to dry her hair until it’s nearly dry, just damp on the ends, and she crawls onto his bed, forgoing dressing in her shirt and underwear.

And Harry doesn’t know what to do because he wants to crawl over top of her, kiss her, and push inside where he knows she’s hot and ready for him but he also knows he was just in the shower for half and hour naked with her and he’ll come too soon.

“Er, what do you want to watch?” Harry asks instead, standing in his tight briefs near his desk with the remote - clicking through Netflix.

YN who’s got a confused look on her face doesn’t say anything at first, she’s literally splayed out on her boyfriends bed bare as the day she was born, and he hadn’t even acknowledged it.

“I was thinking about Bake-Off? We haven’t finished the season yet,” Harry swallowed nervously, eyes glued to the screen and not at her.

YN visibly deflates out of the corner of her eye, her shoulders slumping and she reaches for her top to shove quickly over her head before tugging on her underwear.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” YN responds without the enthusiasm she had a few minutes ago, Harry realizes for the second time that night he’s embarrassed her - he just turned down her blatant invitation.

Harry hates this.

YN is perfect, doing everything perfect, and he can’t get a fucking grip on himself.

He needs a second.

“I’m going to go make us some popcorn,” Harry excuses himself, tugging on a pair of shorts as he exits the room.

A few minutes later, with a bowl of popcorn and some water bottles, he enters his room again, frowning when he notices that YN had also tugged on a pair of his joggers.

“You cold? I can close the window,” Harry offers as he sets the food down and YN looks down at her hands, avoiding eye contact.

“No, m’fine,” She responds, her tone is unsure like he’s never really heard it, “I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I figured I’d cover myself up.”

Harry shakes his head, angry at himself as he mutters, “Fuck.”

YN glances up at him with wide eyes as she watches him pace for a moment before he’s stepping over to her, kneeling down in front of the bed, and putting his hands on her thighs.

“It’s not you. You never make me uncomfortable, baby,” Harry reassures her, he feels tears start to prick his eyes as he hangs his head, “I just keep fucking this up.”

“You’re not fucking anything up, Harry,” YN replies softly, her hands coming to rub at his shoulders, “What do you mean?”

Harry sniffles pathetically, refusing to look up, “I wanted to jump your bones the second you were naked on my bed. I wanted you in the shower with me before you even offered but I’m making you feel like I’m not into you and I’m sorry.”

YN titters, thumbing over his warm ears, “I don’t think you’re not into me. I feel like I’m not reading you correctly and I feel bad.”

“No, no, baby,” Harry refutes, kissing her belly, “You’re reading me right. I want you. Every part of you. I just…I’m really doubting myself and I don’t feel like a good boyfriend.”

“But why?” YN presses, finally forcing his chin up until his watery eyes are meeting her concerned, honeyed one’s.

“You’re gonna laugh at me,” He mumbles but lets her press sweet kisses over his forehead and temples as he struggles.

“Never going to laugh about something serious, if you want us to have a healthy relationship we have to work through whatever is bothering you,” YN encourages, cupping his hands and moving her lips to kiss all over them as well.

“I was in the locker room today and they’re were fuckin’ around and making fun of some guy who…doesn’t last long. It made me anxious because I haven’t been and I don’t want you to get annoyed with me because I’m not good in bed,” Harry’s gone teary again, YN is quick to wipe them with her thumb and a knowing, calm smile decorates her face.

“Baby, that’s why you’ve been so skittish?” YN shakes her head with a small giggle, leaning down to kiss him once more.

“Said you weren’t gonna laugh at me,” Harry grumpily reminds her, nudging her cheek with his nose before pulling back.

“Didn’t realize you were worried about something absurd,” YN tries to tamper down her grin, “You’re worried that I’m not enjoying myself when we had sex?”

“You had to finish yourself off,” Harry points out as a weak reason to his defense.

YN raises an eyebrow, “Okay, at the end? But the reason I was even close enough to get myself off was because I was so turned on and you were making me feel so good.”

Harry didn’t think of it like that, he blinks at her like he wants her to keep talking, and so she does, gripping his hands firmly.

“The two times we’ve done it, they’ve literally been the best experiences I’ve ever had sexually,” YN rubs at the bridge of her nose, “I told you no guy has ever made me come before even when I was helping myself along.”

Harry takes in that information, a sense of pride swelling in his chest, and twitch in his thin shorts at the praise.

“Fuck,” Harry mumbles, brushing his lips against her clothed shoulder, “M’sorry I’ve been being such a dickhead.”

“You just need to communicate. I understand this is all new to you. It’s new to me too. It’s the first time I’ve ever been in love with the person I’m having sex with,” YN admits as her body gravitates closer to him and her legs spread for him to wriggle in between.

“And I’m going to be the only one who gets you like this. Always gonna be in love with everything about you. You’re my person,” Harry reassured her, the nerves melting away because he feels so fucking safe with her.

The stage fright, the nasty quells of insecurity dissipate, and are fully replaced desire to please the gorgeous girl in front of him.

“I’m sorry I made you feel like you needed to cover-up. I actually think we should probably do a no clothes policy in my room from here on out,” Harry rasps, his tone getting lower with the more arousal swirling in his tummy.

YN giggles kittenishly and it goes straight to his center, “Oh really? When did that become a rule?”

“Right about now,” Harry growls impatiently, tugging off her bottoms and panties in one rough yank before he’s lifting her thighs over his shoulders and making himself at home between them, “Fuck. How do you always taste so good, pet?”

“I-oh fuck, Harry,” YN whines loudly as her legs try to squeeze around his ears, he was so fucking dedicated when he went at it - licking, kissing, sucking every bit of her mound and what lay inside.

“Always want this,” Harry murmurs before lapping consistently at her slit while he thumbs at her clit - it was all coming naturally to him now.

“Yes, there. Yes,” YN encourage breathlessly when he finds the perfect rhythm that  has her back arching of the mattress and legs restless against his shoulders.

The encouragement just spurs him on to thrust his tongue into her perfect, velvet core as his thumb doesn’t stop the motion.

Her hips speed up to ride down onto his tongue as she nears her orgasm, Harry reaches up to flip her shirt up to reach and knead at one of her tits, pinching at the nipple.

That small burst of pain tends to do the trip because she’s squeezing on his tongue, clit throbbing against his thumb as she tries to muffle her mewls as she comes down.

“In me, want you in me,” She orders brattily, pulling Harry up by his biceps and dragging him on top of her, she’s bossy as she grips him around the base and leads him straight to where she needs him.

“Fuck, fuck baby,” Harry moans as he’s overwhelmed with pure fucking euphoria, his hips starting to fuck in automatically as his noises echo off the walls.

“S’good, you make me so full,” YN whimpers as her lips brush against his on every odd thrust, “Love being full of you.”

“Darling,” Harry scolds between a groan, the dirty talk did not help his stamina and fuck, her mewling about how full she felt just made it worse because he’s giving a few more weak thrusts before he’s coming as well.

“Mm, thank you,” YN hums as she pulls him up for another kiss, a spark in her core when she tastes herself, “See, practice makes perfect. We’ll get there.”

“Next time m’taping your mouth shut, who knew you spewed filth like a sailor?” Harry teases as he pulls at her bottom lip, “Made me come on the spot.”

“I don’t mind being gagged,” YN says nonchalantly and holy shit, Harry is in big trouble with this girl.

He fucking loves his person, his safe place.

[stormynightstorytime]

Bro time rants

Nathaniel, chill: Yknow I hate it when girls especially my girl think we're gonna leave them all the time.

Nathaniel, fake girly accent: I'm not good enough, you're gonna cheat on me.

Nathaniel, irritated: Woman, I'm lucky I even got you. What do you mean- *inhales*

Nathaniel, tone gets louder: I am built like a twig. I look like every basic French boy with emo hair highlights. You are probably going to be the first and last girlfriend I'll ever have.

Nathaniel, pulling down his eyelids to show his eyebags from drawing all night: have u seen this? I'm hideous.

Nathaniel, paces around the room putting his arms in front of him like guys do when in an arguement: I appreciate that you have enough confidence in me to pull another girl like that but I can't I just can't.

Nathaniel: You are stuck with me. There is no way someone's gonna line up at my doorstop and say "I wanna date him".

Nathaniel: I don't even know how you put up with me half the time. I'm lucky you even looked in my direction.

Nathaniel:What you mean I'm about to leave you? Where am I gonna go? The bakery?

Marc, who has been listening the entire time:

Marc, who feels happy for the couple but also has a new found fear of love struck Nathaniel: If.. You go... Could you pick up a croissant for me?

Nathaniel, calmed down: sure.

(I do not own MLB or the picture below all credits to their respective creators.)

[flightfoot]

Hey, do you have any good recommendations for Lukadrigaminette or Julerose fics? Mostly canon-compliant. No fantasy or western AUs, but stuff like Adrien never going to school is fine.

Yeah sure, I've got some stuff for you!

The Quartet's Duet by timeandspace_lord

In which Kagami and Luka attempt to get two idiots to fall in love. Instead, four idiots realize they were already in love. Based a lot on Determination and Wishmaker specifically. ~~~ It was only a matter of time, he told himself. Sooner or later they’d stumble into the same secret he had and realize they were made for each other. And if they needed a helping hand to get there, a conductor for the symphony of their lives together, he was more than happy to take on that role. Kagami nodded firmly. She’d known that Marinette was Adrien’s true target from the beginning, but it had taken longer for her to get over her own jealousy and realize that the other girl was also the correct target. Now that she no longer had blinders on, it was obvious the two were meant to be together. If she could help them realize it, so much the better.

---

Hold Me By Both Hands by @angelofthequeers

“I know he said never to take you back,” Plagg mutters. “But he’d change his tune if he knew.” He looks Adrien straight in the eye and, more serious than Adrien’s ever seen him before, says, “There’s someone you gotta meet. He’s been looking for that book for ages.” How differently might the events of season 2 have gone if Adrien had also known of Master Fu from the start?

Honestly, I think this is one of the best ML fics EVER, and I've read a LOT of ML fics. It's a re-imagining of seasons 2 and 3, with Lila sticking around the whole time, lots of discussion and growth of all the major players in the fic, and some truly amazing character arcs. It features what I consider the BEST Chloe redemption arc to date, with looking at where she started in the early seasons and having her actually figure out reasons why she wants to be better, and what that looks like. If you've watched The Good Place, it's like that.

I wrote a 26,000 word essay analyzing the various subplots in the fic, that's how intricate it is.

---

holding onto the memory of you by @fruitdragon1a

For MLB Femslash February 24! Day 10: Juleka/Rose 'hold', 'dress' Juleka and Rose are on the métro when something happens to Rose.

---

You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess by @mexicancat-girl

With Team Miraculous now full-time holders, Ladybug has them patrolling in pairs like her and Chat Noir. New partners Pigella and Purple Tigress get along phenomenally, their easy banter and similar wavelengths making working with each other a joy in and out of combat. But sometimes Tigress is surprised just how close she is with her partner. Sometimes she tries not to feel too guilty thinking about it.

There’s some nice Julerose here! I love them kinda getting into a lovesquare with each other, though it’s not as much of a problem as it is in canon since it’s reciprocal in every relationship and they’re both down for a poly. It’s fun, and I love the “Luka attempting to woo some of his love interests” plot going on in the background XD.

---

Everything I need by @coffeebanana

When Ladybug asks Pigella to care for her injured teammate, she wants to refuse. She's not the best person for the job, and she's not sure if Purple Tigress even likes her. But Ladybug insists, so Pigella fights through her fear and tends to Tigress' injury. It doesn't make things any easier that Tigress keeps reminding her of Juleka.

---

Ink, Skin, and Hearts by EpicNerd

For Rose and Juleka, the topic of soulmates is surprisingly a difficult one.

---

I hope these catch your fancy (especially Hold Me By Both Hands, that fic is a must-read).

[xoxobuckybarnes]

March 2024 Stucky Fics

Completed

Now! That’s What I Call 90’s Slow Jams (Rated: M, Words: 10K) by deadonarrival

Summary: Steve goes home for the wedding of Becca Barnes and while he’s there he runs into his old crush. Her brother. Except now they are both hot as shit. Oh no whatever will happen.

(You Can't Choose) What Stays and What Fades Away (Rated: G, words: 3K) by Taste_is_Sweet

Summary: At some point in everyone's life, the first words their soulmate will ever say to them will appear in deep black writing on their skin. The words fade to light grey when a soulmate dies. Sometimes new words replace them, whether they're wanted or not (These were the words Steve was born with, running in a messy, uneven line across his skinny little chest, beneath both his collarbones: You okay, pal? Those jerks didn't hurt ya too bad, did they? Steve woke up from the ice in 2011 with the words, Who the hell is Bucky? circling his heart, in printing so precise it barely looked human. Steve hated them.)

For Words to Say it Right (Rated: T, Words: 25K) by Squeaky & Taste_is_Sweet

Summary: Turns out when you're missing an arm, everyone asks are you okay? all the damn time. And when your soulmark is one of the most common questions in English, it's even worse. Generic soulmarks are a bitch.

Lost Vocabularies that Might Express (The Memory of These Broken Impressions) (Rated: M, Words: 111K) by dorian_burberrycanary / @burberrycanary

Summary: The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away. How’s that for some consolation on the road? A post-The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Stucky fix-it as part of the all-American road trip, detours included.

The Simple Life (Rated: E, Words: 114K) by howler32557038

Summary: "The simple life." "You'll get there one day." "I don't know. Family, stability...The guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out." Bucky wants to be part of Steve's life. He wants to be an Avenger. He wants to be a good partner. Unfortunately, sometimes that means not telling Steve everything.

WIP

a league of our own (Rated: E, Current Words: 40K) by burning_brighter / @burnin-brighter

Summary: Steve's sixteen-year-old son's one and only dream is to play in the Major League. He thinks he has a shot when the team get a new coach, retired MLB legend and Steve's high school crush, Bucky Barnes. Steve hasn't thought of the man in many years, but seeing him brings back many memories that push Steve to reach out to an old friend and maybe make new ones on the way. What happens when Steve gets to know Bucky properly? What happens when they open up about their darkest secrets and deepest fears? There's really only one thing that can happen.

hey now, you're an all star (get your game on, go play) (Rated: E, Current Words: 81K) by buckyismybicycle / @buckyismybicycle

Summary: Boston Bruins trade notorious party animal/human disaster Bucky Barnes to the Dallas Stars, and captain Steve Rogers is not impressed when Fury puts him on babysitting duties. But, as he gets to know Bucky - really gets to know Bucky - he wonders if maybe the media has got it all wrong - very, very wrong. PS - you do not need to know hockey for this, I promise.

Every Me and Every You (Rated: E, Current Words: 60K) by deadto27 / @deadto27

Summary: Bucky Barnes is doing his best. He's getting by after the blip, after Sam became Captain America, after Steve...well, it's best he doesn't think about that. The point is, his life is different now, and he's trying his best. He just wishes the hollow feeling in his chest would go away. ----- Bucky gets blinded by a bright light as the tear seems to implode in on itself and there’s an odd little jolt as the pulling stops, and then Bucky’s blinking, trying to get his vision right again as he loosens his grip on America. “You okay?” he checks, still squinting. He’s probably not blind, he thinks. It just feels like it right now. “I’m okay,” America tells him and he sees her nod shakily as his vision starts to clear, and he carefully lets go of her, seeing that she can support herself, hands pressing onto the floor next to her. “Uh…I don’t think I am,” says another voice, and Bucky turns his head so fast he might give himself whiplash. Because he knows that voice. He knows that voice better than any other voice on the planet and he’s missed that voice

[halfagone]

I really like your mlb x dp mentor au, And I was wondering how Marinette and Adrian would react if Danny brought any past ghost miraculous users to help teach them.

(Continuation of this prompt. Use the tag "dp x mlb" on that post for more of this AU)

That's a very good point! I believe Miraculous Ladybug even had a moment where Joan of Arc (which was a previous user of the Ladybug Miraculous in this universe) briefly appeared, so theoretically this would make even more sense.

I'd have to think some more about who other possible Ladybug and Black Cat holders could be, but it would be super interesting to explore past holders who not only could help them grow as heroes but as people underneath the mask.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I can imagine it going a little something like this:

---

"You can do that?" Chat Noir gasped as he leaned forward, looking like his eyes might pop out of his skull. "You can just call any ghost to you any time you want?"

"Well not really? I'd have to ask if they're even willing to teach you guys, but otherwise just ringing them up works for me," Danny explained with a casual shrug.

"Can all ghosts do that?" Ladybug asked with an inquisitive tilt of her head.

"Not all of us, no," Danny shook his head. "I'm a more... special case, I guess? I have a very complicated relationship with death, so it comes with some... perks, if you will."

"What do you mean by compli-" Chat Noir began to ask, but he's thankfully interrupted by Ladybug, who asked, "Do all Miraculous Holders come back as ghosts when they die?"

Wow. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Answer Chat Noir's question and Danny could reveal a potentially devastating secret. Answer Ladybug's question and he would give these kids nightmares for days. Lovely...

Her question, however, was a little unexpected. Danny wondered what fears might rest on her mind to ask something so- loaded.

"That's complicated too," Danny admitted with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. "For the most part it depends on how they died, but otherwise..." How could Danny say this in a way that would scar them the least? "Sometimes only the memory of a person will remain."

The two stared at him with obvious confusion. Maybe Danny shouldn't have been so cryptic. You'd think he'd have learned that from all of Clockwork's visits.

"I mean, you're public figures," Danny began, "your face is plastered everywhere! Even if you died peacefully, without any regrets or unfinished business, your name could live on far longer than you do. And that creates spirits of their own."

"It won't be you," Danny tacked on. "It will never be you. Just what people perceived you as. And sometimes that's worse than whatever afterlife death could have given you."

Ladybug looked frightened, pensive with this news. Danny could already imagine her mind firing at a million miles per hour, trying to find a way to work around this. She had always been the type to over-plan these things where and when she could.

Danny risked a glance at Chat Noir. If Ladybug had looked scared, then Chat Noir looked downright terrified. He looked paler than a sheet ghost, eyes vacant as he stared down at the streets below.

Danny wondered what kind of ghosts haunted him.

[verfound]

FIC: "An End of Days" (MLB; Lukanette; LBSC Lukanette Month 2024)

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers is doing a Lukanette Month for September 2024, and we all just kinda tossed some prompts in the disco to compile a list?  We ended up with 71 prompts, so I decided I’d roll some dice to pick a prompt, do a twenty minute (ish, bc we all know sometimes they run away from me) sprint, and try to get some short fics out this month?

Oh look it's a whole-ass AU now I guess

Read on Ao3

10 September 2024

Prompt 67: Promises

He doesn’t tell anyone.

Not at first.

He doesn’t really know how.

That first day, when the doctor tells him, he sits in his car outside their offices and just…processes.  The nurse had asked if there was anyone she could call, and he knows there is.  His daughter.  His sister.  His best friend.  An entire crew of family and friends who will be devastated by this news, despite how poorly he’s treated them as of late.

…but the one person he wants to tell most – the one person it will affect most, while making no difference at all…he can’t tell her.  He doesn’t know how to tell her.

It wasn’t supposed to be him.

It was never supposed to be him.

…it was never supposed to be her, either, but when it was…how can he be the one going first?  Who will take care of her when he’s gone?  The hospital staff, obviously, but who will care?

The rest of the world moved on.  They all left her behind, too busy with the process of living to bother with someone who couldn’t.  Harmony never knew her.  Resents her most days, he fears, as much as she resents him for getting stuck.  Her own parents had long since passed.  Her friends, her family, had all grown older and had families of their own.

…who was going to love her, when he no longer could?

He had promised for better or worse.  Til death do they part.

He wasn’t supposed to go first.

He wasn’t supposed to abandon her like this.

He had kept his promise, hadn’t he?

…how can he break it now?

So he sits in his car, numb to the world.  He cries.  He thinks of his daughter, old enough now but still too young to be an orphan.  He thinks of his sister and wonders if maybe she’ll be relieved.  He thinks of his gnarled old ma, still raging against the world like its rules had never applied to her.  And then he thinks of Marinette, and then he turns the key.

She’s sleeping when he gets there.  He’s almost grateful for it.  It won’t matter, in the end, because he doubts she’ll understand when he finally does tell her, but he’s not sure he can tell her just yet.  He doesn’t know if he can tell himself just yet.

He knows he shouldn’t, but he still crawls into the bed behind her.  His arms find their way around her, the path familiar even if it hadn’t been walked in too many years.  He holds her close, his face tucked against her hair.  She doesn’t smell right – she hasn’t for years.  There’s a clinical, sterile scent that clings to her these days, but he’s still able to supply her shampoo.  They must have bathed her recently, he thinks absently, because the scent is stronger than it normally is when he presses his face there.  She moves, just slightly, and he stills.

“Lu…” she murmurs, and his heart twists in his chest as she rolls towards him.  Her hands fist in his shirt, one she’s never seen and the old her would probably balk at (he hasn’t worn anything custom – an MDC original – in longer than he can remember), as she presses her forehead against his chest.  Her nose digs almost uncomfortably into his sternum, but there’s something grounding about that.

Familiar.

From the better times.

…who will remember the better times, when he’s gone and she can’t?

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

They were supposed to grow old together.  They were supposed to have an entire house full of little ones – she had always wanted three, but a part of him had wanted more.  She was going to take the fashion world by storm, and his music was going to change the world, and their home would always be full of creativity and passion and…

…who would play for her, when he was gone?

Who would sing her silly little love songs?

Who would sing her her song?

He falls asleep there, holding her close and worrying about a future he never had any control over.  His purview had always been the past, anyway, but there’s no longer anything he can do about that.  There hadn’t been in a long time.  He doesn’t know how long he stays there, but she’s still sleeping when a nurse comes in to check on her later and finds him there.  She gently shakes him awake, her face sympathetic as she reminds him he shouldn’t do that.

“It’ll be worse, M. Couffaine,” she reminds him gently.  “If she woke up before you.  You know…”

“I know,” he says, but he lays there just a moment longer.  Just one more.

Because now he knows he doesn’t have many more left, and he’ll take what little he can get these days.

…who will love her?  Once he’s gone?

[vennyvenadito]

Here are the powers ideas for the miraculous in my MLB remake because in my version most of the original powers doesn’t convince me or they mostly don’t make sense (*cough* rooster *cough*)

Pig 🐖: Restorative food, the holder cook food for their teammates, the food would give them back the energy they lost in the battle (doesn’t heal injuries or sickness)

Snake 🐍: Future vision, the holder manage to see what would happen moments after of an situation, so they would tell the team of what would happen

Tiger 🐅: Camouflage, they will combine with the environment, that way they can hide from the enemy and chase their prey

Rooster 🐓: Strong scream, with this they will stun everyone around them, keeping everyone deaf for a few moments except the holder

Peacock 🦚: Blindness, the feathers will expand behind the wearer and anyone who looks directly at them will be blinded for a few moments

Goat 🐐: Telekinesis, move objects or even persons in every way they want, even give the enemies a electric touch

Rabbit 🐇: Multiplication, the holder can multiplied in many copies of them (get it, because rabbits can multiply), but they would have a limit time, they can jump more higher than other holders

Ox 🐂: Super strength, can hold heavy objects and throw them away, physically they are more resistant than other holders

Mouse 🐁: Change size, become more smaller to get inside places or get things, they can become bigger as well

Dog 🐕: Sense of smell, when they throw the ball and hit the objetive, in case they loose it, they can activate their power to smell and follow the target

Monkey 🐵: Derision, makes the enemies more dumb or ruins their weapons to be useless

Dragon 🐉: Whether elements, alter it to make it more chaotic

Horse 🐎 : Teleportation, move to place to place by portals, the horse make the holder be more faster than the other holders, being able to travel great distances

Moth (I know in canon is a butterfly but I like the moth theme) 🦋: Emotion and transmission, the moth would become in a cocoon to keep the person inside but the victim would be trap in their own mind without noticing, the holder play with the memories of the person and bring their dreams, goals and fears to provoke them, also participate in their fantasies, when the holder accept the holder’s help, they will transform in the creature of the pain or emotion they feel right now (the holder don’t give powers but they give the victim the strength to finally express what they are feeling)

So here they are

I didn’t put the main five because I think they’re ok (just the ladybug one is over-power)

[joonapeach]

and he's a goner [MLB]

summary: Adrien’s weak for girls who make him feel weak.

(Alternatively… a brief history of how strong girls turn Adrien into a simp and how Marinette ends up being one of them)

author’s note: this is more of a character-study/vibes-than-plot type of thing. but it was so fun to write and makes me smile because it’s a new style of adrien realizing his feelings for mari.

also reposted on ao3

[3k words of a fluff/humor and an alternate universe of canon divergence]

Adrien’s weak for girls who make him feel weak.

A little sadistic, he knows, but he promises it’s not as scandalous as it may sound. It’s simply the only common denominator he can find between every girl he’s ever felt pulled to.

The biggest case and point is, of course, a spotted girl in red but he’ll come back to that one in a bit. Let’s start off easy - elementary school.

Contrary to whatever his eight year old classmates might think, it was not Chloe who had him starstruck when she forced him to come up a tree in the playground that he was terrified beyond words to climb. He understands why it might’ve looked that way to the outside world when an eight year old Adrien Agreste was seen tumbling out of a tree after he heard her voice. But it was, in fact, a short cherub-cheeks dark-haired girl passing by who was the reason that Adrien to date was left with a nasty scar across his elbow.

“Hey!” the girl had yelled, peeking into the playground. “What are you making him do?!”

Chloe scoffed, turning her nose up at the intruder. This was, after all, a playground near their school and this girl - whoever she was - was a complete stranger. But that didn’t seem to scare in the slightest. She only put her hands on her hips, threw a look back at her busy parents and marched closer.

“Mind your own business,” Chloe mocked.

The girl didn’t back away. She looked more infuriated, if anything, and Adrien could only blink at her. Even he was intimidated by his childhood best friend, despite whatever weight his Agreste name carried but this girl wasn’t shaken up by Chloe, nor scared to come into a space of kids that she didn’t know.

“He’s clearly frightened to death! I saw you forcing him to climb the tree!”

“I’m not forcing him! He’s scared of heights and I’m helping him overcome his fear!”

“He doesn’t look like he wants to overcome his fear,” the girl stated, crossing her arms over her chest. Then she looked at him. “Hey, you. Did you want to climb this tree?”

No words came to his lips. Adrien could only manage to shake his head, clutching to the trunk of the high tree tighter. He was hanging for his dear life.

“See? And what about the rest of you?! Why couldn’t you stand up to her and stop her from making him climb?!” the girl went on, frowning at his classmates. They all kept their heads down, shooting apologetic glances. “What if he gets seriously hurt?! Someone should help him! He barely looks like he can come down!”

Boys in his class snickered at the last statement and Adrien knew he should’ve been retorting back to her about some false capabilities of how strong he definitely was. She was saving him but in turn embarrassing him.

Instead, he could barely manage a squeak. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so important that this girl saw him as the weakest loser on the playground getting picked on - only that she was seeing him.

Well, kind of. She was hardly looking his way, more focused on giving Chloe a scolding - probably the first scolding Chloe had ever gotten. Adrien only watched from his terrible spot in a tree at a stranger defend him, as if she’d known him forever.

No matter how bad a situation was for a stranger, no matter how much pity Adrien would feel for them, he couldn’t imagine doing what was being done for him. He was always on the receiving end of attention even at such a young age that he couldn’t picture the image of Adrien Agreste marching headfirst into trouble to save anyone.

And yet, this girl had done it.

In hindsight, Adrien thinks maybe this is where his obsession began. His obsession to be someone half as marvelous as the eight year old girl who tried to save him from a tree, his obsession to find someone as brilliant as the eight year old who put her hands on her hips and commanded a class full of kids to do better.

But back then, none of these revelations came as coherently. Instead, there were the stirrings of something warm and delicious in Adrien’s heart and - according to present-day re-tellers of this story - a dreamy smile on his face with wide eyes at his classmates being told off.

All seconds before his grip on the tree trunk loosened.

The girl noticed first. Of course she did. Her mouth gaped and he thought he heard her scream, “hey! Hold on!” but now he isn’t so sure because all he remembers is that when her eyes met his, he was falling before he knew it.

★

“Falling out of a tree because of a pretty girl,” Plagg sighs. “Just so you know, I will be omitting these parts of your life when I recount you as Chat Noir to future Chat Noirs.”

Adrien grins. “Hey, you’re the one who was curious about the first girl I had a crush on.”

“Tell me kid, why is it that you’re always the damsel in distress in these stories of your crushes?”

Adrien strikes a narcissistic pose, pressing his index finger to his nose. “Maybe because I look the part so well?”

Plagg looks unimpressed. “Yeah. I will definitely be omitting this when I talk about you.”

“I’m glad you’ll talk about me to future Chat Noirs to begin with,” Adrien only smiles. “I don’t think I’m that great a Chat Noir.”

“You’re a good one alright,” Plagg shrugs. “Plus, I have no choice but to bring you up when I talk about our current Ladybug to every new cycle of heroes,” he adds with a grin, and Adrien wonders if this expression on Plagg’s face mirrors his expression of being starstruck. “I hope every Ladybug after her can be half as good.”

Ah, yes. Girls who make him weak.

Where did Adrien stop in his story again?

After an unfortunate tumble to the ground at eight years old (and scraped elbows and a broken leg), so came an end to Adrien’s public school life. At least, till he was fourteen and met the next girl who swept him off his feet.

Except the timeline’s a little fuzzy for this one. You see, Adrien is certain that he falls for Ladybug after a wondrous speech she gives before she promises herself to Paris (and so goes his heart) but there’s a few bumps on this road. It isn’t so simple because his heart flutters sometimes and it isn’t always for her.

But even if it’s not always for her, it’s always because of her in some way. There’s a girl at school who surprises Adrien at times and occasionally, makes his head spin because her voice, her words, the way she argues with Chloe, reminds him too much of both an eight year old crush and his superhero first love.

Aside from her though, there are some other bumps on his road with Ladybug too. Ladybug isn’t like the eight year old girl on the playground, one that he sees once and feels his heart burst to never feel it again. Ladybug is a whole piece of his life.

Ladybug makes him feel weak but she also tells him he’s strong. She tells him she trusts him, no matter the awful mistakes he makes in trying to be someone who saves others and she tells him he’s a hero. Granted, she doesn’t know it’s Adrien Agreste she’s telling but… it still counts for something.

Because Adrien Agreste has never been a hero. He’s simply been the one with things given to him. He’s the one who takes and never does anything for anyone.

And here comes a girl, one who makes him feel weak and warm but believes he can save her too.

And you know what? Despite all his shortcomings and insecurities, Adrien will never tell Ladybug otherwise. Because though he’s used to being weak for her, there’s still nothing in this world he didn’t believe he couldn’t save her from.

★

Then comes the brief period Adrien has to take himself away from Ladybug - both for her sake and his.

Of course, he’s still madly in love. He follows her lead, grins when he’s wrapped in her yo-yo and she inevitably has to rescue him, works with her like a best friend. Only difference is, Adrien’s been so busy in love that he hasn’t recognized that there’s another very important part of chasing after someone. Them loving you back.

As much as Ladybug makes Adrien feel all weak and giddy, Adrien finally pulls away for a while and what do you know? He gets pulled to yet another girl who makes him feel weak.

This time, it’s a girl he knows from fencing and she even likes him back. It’s a first for Adrien, being liked back.

It goes really well for a while. Though Adrien’s heart secretly still resides in the yo-yo of a spotted superhero after being wrapped in it countless times - this is nice. Kagami is nice. He’s smitten sometimes, when he clumsily makes bad jokes and gives his hard-working brain a break from the extracurriculars to act silly. It’s his dream relationship - she’s rational and strong, and he’s just the boy who gets to chase after her. It’s what he’d always wanted with Ladybug.

But then… it turns out more hurtful than Adrien expects. When Kagami puts down his jokes or berates him for his childishness, Adrien doesn’t like feeling weak like he once did. When Kagami doesn’t hear out his sincerity or when she sees him beneath her because of how he worships her ground, Adrien suddenly feels like he’s done this all wrong.

Where did he go wrong? Did girls not like weak boys? Was showing how charmed he was going to make him a target?

His heart doesn’t flutter for her like it did for the other two girls before her and yet… it still hurts. Even when he cries, he hides none of it from Kagami and begs to stay together.

“It won’t work,” Kagami says to him softly, like it’s an apology. “I like you but… dating you isn’t like I expected. I don’t think I’m the girl you’re looking for either.”

“You are,” he says quickly. She has to be. There isn’t a plethora of girls like the eight year old girl on the playground who want to date him and… Adrien doesn’t feel for anyone else. If it isn’t Kagami, it can’t be anyone else.

“It gets tiring, Adrien,” Kagami sighs. “We’re too… different, you know? It gets tiring always having to rescue you and be the strong one.”

If it isn’t Kagami, it can’t even be Ladybug.

That’s what Adrien takes away from his first relationship and first breakup. If even Kagami couldn’t be around him, can’t put up with having to take care of Adrien in the way he wants… then Ladybug wouldn’t either.

She leaves and Adrien mopes for the rest of the night. For the first time in a while, he thinks he could take the pain of falling out of a tree just to relive an old day of his life than to be here right now.

★

While Adrien knows being Chat should technically be limited to superhero-duties, it doesn’t stop him from skipping off rooftops and helping every person in need he sees tonight.

An old lady crossing the street with trouble? Adrien jumps to bridal-carry her to her destination. A car stuck driving into a fire hydrant? Adrien uses his strength to push it away. A delivery needed to be done across the other side of the Arc de Triomphe? Adrien swiftly skips through multiple lanes without fear.

He’s no longer going to wait to be saved, no longer willing to be weak for girls who made him feel weak. The eight year old girl, Ladybug, Kagami… they’re all nothing special. Adrien is the one who made them something to marvel at in his mind.

“I’m going to be a new person from today, Plagg,” he says, standing atop a rooftop while waiting for his kwami to recharge. “You’ll have only good stories to tell about me. I’m not the damsel in distress. I’m the hero!”

“Easy there Hercules,” Plagg laughs, chewing his cheese. “One measly breakup spurring all this change?”

Adrien ignores him in favor of looking over Paris. A sight of young girls at the park catches his eye, all desperately crowding around a tree.

“Looks like there’s someone who needs help,” Adrien says. “Come on, Plagg!”

Plagg sighs. “All this and I just know you’re gonna fall in love with the next strong girl,” he grumbles before being sucked inside Adrien’s ring.

In a few moments, Adrien lands inside the park and sprints to the young girls. There’s a cat meowing in the branches and Adrien quickly understands the situation.

“How’d your cat get up there?” he asks, climbing carefully up.

“He got scared and ran up,” a girl answers. “Careful! He doesn’t like strangers.”

“Don’t worry about that. Cats are good to each other,” Adrien says with a wink before reaching for the small kitty stuck in the branches. He holds him for only a second before he slips out of his hands, back to the girls. Adrien sighs in relief, happy to help another citizen.

Until he recognizes the predicament he’s stuck in.

“Ah… haha,” he awkwardly chokes out a laugh, shooting a friendly smile to the girls. “I… I didn’t realize how high this tree was.”

The girls suddenly look mischievous. “I thought you were a cat?” says one. “Are you… scared?”

“No!” Adrien quickly rejects, though his pulse quickens when he looks at the ground. He’s used to heights by now but something about being caught so high in the branches still makes him uneasy. Please, he prays, please don’t let me fall.

“Just jump!” another girl says. “Cats always land on their feet, right?”

It takes Adrien a few seconds to realize they’re teasing him. He could beg for their help but something in their grin tells him they’re perfectly happy to watch him struggle so high. Adrien swallows.

Only such an awful thing could happen to him tonight.

“Hey,” a new voice joins the ground. In the night, Adrien has to strain his eyes to make out the new figure, an older girl towering over the young ones. “What are you doing?”

“Chat Noir’s stuck in a tree!” a young girl laughs teasingly. “He always talks so much about being a cat but look at him!”

The new girl strains her neck and that’s when Adrien’s stomach plummets. Staring up at him from the ground is no other than his classmate with her hands on her hips and a frown tugging between her brows.

“Why aren’t you helping?!” Marinette suddenly yells at the little girls. “Were you just laughing at him this whole time?”

Chat gulps. He’s heard that dominating tone from her before but it’s been a while. He’s so used to her shy, stammering self that it’s easy to forget that Marinette has this side to her. 

“We weren’t laughing! And he’s fine, he’s a superhero! Superheroes don’t need saving!”

Marinette crosses her arms with a stubborn glare. “Sometimes, they might,” she states before glancing up at him. “You okay there?”

Suddenly, Adrien’s at a loss for words. He can barely manage a squeak but it satisfies Marinette enough. She turns to the kids, now going off at them for being inconsiderate to him and Adrien’s surprised at the passion of her words. As far as he could recall, Marinette has never been such a die-hard fan of Chat and yet, here she was defending his honor as if it were her own.

He quickly fights the familiar feeling. He knows this all too well - him weak, a pretty girl strong and his heart gone. He instantly tries to block out her voice until he hears the young girls screaming back.

“We’re gonna call our moms! You can’t shout at us,” they bark at her, upset. “Wait right here!”

Marinette’s eyes widen as she watches the group of girls suddenly walk in another direction. She glances up and shoots an awkward smile, before climbing up with ease.

The world feels like a daydream till Marinette’s hands are around his torso and he’s no longer trapped in a tree but lying on the ground with her on him. In a flash of movements, she tugs him to his feet and runs out of the park with his hand in hers.

“What… what are we doing?!”

“Those girls were gonna call their moms!” Marinette says, turning her head back for only a brief second. Adrien feels the wind in his chest as the two are running on the streets of Paris, against all the people. “I’m not gonna let some rude girls get the best of us!”

After a few moments, the two halt on a bench and Marinette cranes her neck. She sighs in relief when she sees no one behind them and it’s the two of them alone now. Adrien can’t do much but stare at her. He remembers running with Marinette away from crazy fans but this situation feels far from that. For some reason, it feels like an even older memory.

He kicks his feet back and forth, sitting on the bench as Marinette stands in front of him and says, “good thing I came in time, right?”

Adrien can hear a smile in her voice and it reminds him of Ladybug. Now able to catch his breath, his bitter feelings bubble up to the surface. Marinette argued with a bunch of middle schoolers for me, he screams internally in humiliation. Why did these things always happen to him?

“I was doing fine.”

“I know that,” she says.

He looks up at her and grumbles, “I didn’t need saving.”

He intends it to be rude, to be harsh and snappy but Marinette only laughs. He feels her soft fingers ruffle his hair.

“Oh, I know that too kitty,” she grins, not at all peeved by his frustration. “You just like being saved,” she adds with a twinkle in her eye.

Adrien blinks. “That must be annoying, right?” he asks, the question coming off his lips without him intending to. The worries of the week are bottling up in him and being caught in this situation makes him feel vulnerable again. “To have to rescue someone who always likes being saved?”

Marinette smiles. Adrien worries his question is too strange and random but when he looks at her, he feels only reassurance.

“Hmm… maybe for some people,” she shrugs before bending down to his level and winking. “Lucky for you, I like saving.”

The nostalgic stirrings of something warm and delicious start in his heart. He’s sure he’s felt this before but something about this also feels new. More than anything, it feels right.

Oblivious to the chaos she’s caused his heart, Marinette stands up and brushes her trousers. All Adrien can do is stare. Stare and hope his heart calms down enough to help him find even a single coherent word to say.

He watches as she rearranges her bag and steps away. “Well, try not to get caught in any more trees,” she says, half-distracted. “I once saw a kid tumble straight out of a big one. Broke his leg too.”

Ah. Now Adrien knows why it feels right. If there were any future re-tellers of this story, he’s sure that he has the same dopey smile an eight year kid once did at falling out of a tree. He finally finds the semblance of some confidence to laugh and say to her, “m-must’ve been a stupid kid.”

Marinette laughs back, pausing in thought. “Maybe. I think he was kind of cute though,” she waves before running off. “See you around, kitty!”

Left alone, Adrien only grins like a madman on a sugar rush. He revisits his initial theory - it isn’t that he’s weak for girls who make him feel weak. It’s that there’s one girl in particular that he’s been weak for since falling out of a tree… and no matter what he does, he’s a goner every time she comes to him.

BONUS

“Is Adrien doing okay?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

Marinette’s finger goes to the window of the classroom and everyone’s eyes follow. The sight is both entertaining and worrying for everyone - though for Marinette, it’s only puzzling.

“Hey Marinette!” Adrien waves excitedly with a big grin. His feet are kicking back and forth like a child on a swing, except he’s not on a swing. He’s on the highest branch of a tree, while the rest of the class looks at him in horror.

“Um… should we be doing something?” Alya cocks a brow.

Adrien suddenly points to the branch he’s sitting on energetically. “Marinette, I’m on a tree!”

“I can see that,” Marinette yells back through the window. “What are you doing there?!”

“Oh God,” Chloe mutters, peeking over Marinette’s shoulders. “The boy fell off once as a kid and now thinks he has to prove himself? Didn’t his broken leg teach him anything?” she says to herself.

Marinette’s eyes widen before turning back to Adrien. No doubt, the lovesick smile on his face is starting to look awfully familiar but it isn’t till he yells some more that she runs out. “Marinette, don’t you like saving?!” he says, still waving for her attention. “I need to be saved!”

Alya and Nino both turn to her. “What is he talking about?”

Marinette pales and she’s out the door before she has time to think of a reasonable explanation to give to her friends. Right now, there’s only one idiot on her mind to save.

“Chat Noir! Get down from that tree!” 

[aliensunflower-fics]

whats your secret sauce to writing salt? like how do you get the characters to feel like you do its driving me crazyyyy i wana know whats going on in your brain

My 'secret sauce' when it comes to writing a salty version of a character is to take traits from that characters that are viewed as good or neutral and pushing them into the 'no longer good' zone.

A weird thing to say I know but follow me on this. Most characters and peoples best traits can be there worst traits. An easy example is the very common character trait of being 'protective of loved ones' this trait sounds GREAT when you read it oh gee wow the character is protective of there loved ones. How can this possibly be bad?

Easy. Take that positive trait and push it further. Suddenly they go from just 'protective' to OVER protective which is a little annoying a little negative but push it even further and you can wind up with a Yandere or someone who infantilizes the people they care about someone who see's there friends as too weak to take care of themselves and bam you just turned a positive trait into a negative trait.

This can pretty much be done with any trait and helps you keep characters closer to there base selves while showing how under the right situations, stimuli, influence, ect there best qualities can become there worst. Using this you can easily write MLB fanfiction thats salty without diving into the full blown dead sea of salt.

For example the trait I exploit most often when I write my fics is the class & adriens trait of 'trusting' and 'forgiving' these are good kids who believe in giving 20th chances thanks probably to Bustier and Chloe. And these traits by themselves are not bad but the second you start to push them to there extreme they become incredibly toxic both for other people and for themselves. Constant forgiveness and constant blind trust leads to PROBLEMS it leads to ignorance and blindness in the face of bullying thus allowing me to write the class as sympathetic while still pointing out that there kinda being jerks and idiots at times. Thus striking the balance of salt to truth.

You can take this principle with pretty much any character or trait and get something workable. Someone is all about 'justice' that's great until they become obsessed with it and there own view of how it should be dished out. Someone is all about 'kindness' that great until there so kind they cant stand up to people for fear of hurting them. Someone is very 'giving' that's great until they have nothing left to give and start to base there own value on it. Someone is super 'supportive' wonderful until they support the wrong kind of behavior.

Voila my secret sauce.

[stuckybingo]

Stucky Bingo Round-Up #32 (May 17th - May 21st)

Don’t forget to fill out the submission form to be a part of the round-ups and to get your bingo badges! Round 4 ends May 31st and all works must be submitted before then!

Good Kitty by Andrea1717 Square filled: O5 - Kink: Pet Play Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Established Relationship, Beefy Bucky, Pre Serum Steve, Fluff and Smut Summary: Steve has a present for Bucky because he has been such a good kitty. Format: Drabble (exactly 100 words)

𝐒𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐫’𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐜’𝐬 - AU LAWYERS by smutconnoisseur Square filled: B4 - AU: Lawyers Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Fic rec list, AU: Lawyers, Explicit sexual content Summary: This rec list is created for @stuckybingo Card # R4101 | Square filled | AU: Lawyer Format: Reclist

smutconnoisseur's Fic Rec's by Smutconnoisseur Square filled: G3 - Friends to lovers Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply, Mentions of recreational drug use Major tags: Fic rec list, friends to lovers, explicit fics Summary: This rec list is created for @stuckybingo Card # R4101 | Square filled | Friends to lovers Format: Reclist

Special Girl by rookthorne Square filled: B2 - Celebrating Birthdays Ao3 rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Tooth rotting fluff, pet names, cat dad Bucky, cat dad Steve Summary: Birthdays were a very special occasion in their household, especially when it was Her Highness’ big day. Format: Moodboard + 235 word blurb

a cabin in the woods by SomeSortofItalianRoast Square filled: G1 - Mjolnir Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Captain America Steve Rogers, Modern Bucky Barnes, Rimming, Threesome - M/M/M, Summary: Steve inherited a cabin in the woods from Howard Stark. After being apart from his best guys for too long, they head to the cabin for a get together. Format: Short oneshot (300 - 1000 words)

Thrill of the Unknown by smutconnoisseur Square filled: I1 - Sailing Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Humor, Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Semi Public Sex, Strangers to lover Summary: ""Come on, man. You need to get out. Let's go sailing,"" said Clint as he wiggled his eyebrows and scooped up his keys. Steve had never been much of a sailor like his college buddy, but he was willing to try anything once, especially if it got him off the couch on a Friday night. Format: Short oneshot (300 - 1000 words)

a league of our own - chapter 5 by galks Square filled: I4 - drinking game Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: kid fic, modern au, baseball au, slow burn Summary: Steve's sixteen-year-old son's one and only dream is to play in the Major League. He thinks he has a shot when the team get a new coach, retired MLB legend and Steve's high school crush, Bucky Barnes. Steve hasn't thought of the man in many years, but seeing him brings back many memories that push Steve to reach out to an old friend and maybe make new ones on the way. What happens when Steve gets to know Bucky properly? What happens when they open up about their darkest secrets and deepest fears? There's really only one thing that can happen. Format: Part of a multichapter fic

Smutconnoisseur’s Rec List - Alpine Edition by Smutconnoisseur Square filled: G2 - Alpine Ao3 rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Rec List, Éxplicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Happy Endings Summary: Smutconnoisseur’s Rec List - Alpine Edition Format: Reclist

will you forgive my soul (when you’re too wise to trust me and too old to care) by pilotflyingj Square filled: G5 - Flowershop au Ao3 rating: Teen Warnings: I am choosing not to use archive warnings (eg because you don't want to spoil the ending), References to death, grief/mourning, discussion of religion/faith Major tags: Language of flowers, steve rogers and the 21st century, everything is beautiful and everything hurts Summary: Faith is a fickle thing, but Steve finds himself comforted by the idea that maybe the afterlife is real, Heaven or something close to it, and maybe when he dies — actually and fully dies, that is — he’ll get to see his Ma again. He’ll get to see her smile for longer than he can make the image linger in his brain, he’ll get to greet her with a kiss on the cheek and get one from her, too. And the flowers. He’ll get to give her those flowers. Format: Medium oneshot (1000 - 5000 words)

[character-fan19]

MLB Season 4 Character Analysis: "Dearest Family"

Introduction

Hey everyone, I'm back with another season 4 character analysis and this time it's "Dearest Family". You may be wondering where my analysis for "Qilin" is so the answer is that it got removed for some reason and I have no idea why because I made it just like my other posts so far so until I get the answer and understand what's going on we're going to be moving on with episode 21. If you're new to this series then here I look at our favourite MLB characters in depth in every individual episode of season 4 in order to give an overall picture of the characters' journey throughout the season.

Yeah, so "Dearest Family", good episode. We see for the first time that our perfect little kwami, Tikki is not as perfect as she seems due to her obsession over sweets, Marinette trying to figure out what it all means, and her family members arguing over what's best for her. So this analysis is probably going to have the most characters POVs we've had since "Crocoduel". So let's get started.

Character POVs

Tikki

"I was afraid you would thing less of me. Because of my cravings"

For the very first time, we see Tikki have some weaknesses and some characterization. Ever since the beginning, Tikki has always just been Marinette's guide and bright-side-up to help her through difficult times but never had any character of her own. But here, we see that she has cravings for new and unique sweets that happens every few hundred years and according to Plagg, the last time it happened was when chocolate was invented and she made it rain chocolate for eight weeks.

The reason for Tikki's abnormal food cravings compared to other kwamis is due to her being the kwami of creation which makes a lot of sense. Tikki's sweet cravings seem to be so dangerous that all the other kwamis in the Miracle Box are afraid of her and that says a lot. These cravings went to the extent that she even used her power without having a holder which caused a giant galette bigger than the Earth to be made and affected the Earth's gravity but thankfully it was destroyed by Cat Noir as Astro Cat.

When Tikki saw that her cravings were taking her away from Marinette, she stopped as her worst fear, as she stated to Marinette, being afraid that her cravings would make her think less of her, came to reality which really shows how much she cares about her relationship with Marinette and shows the strength of her bond with her. When Marinette tell her that she can help her overcome her weaknesses, this is what gives her strength to try to overcome her cravings.

2. Marinette/Ladybug

"Of course not! I'll always like you, Tikki. Everyone has weaknesses, you know. Let me help you overcome yours. Just like you helped me overcome mine."

This episode is seems that the roles of Marinette and Tikki have been reversed. Tikki has always been the one to help Marinette with her problems and share wisdom on what she should do and encourage her to be better. But now Marinette is making it up to Tikki by helping her overcome her weaknesses.

When Marinette first discovered that Tikki's craving, she was in denial that Tikki had some sort of problem as she believes that she knows Tikki best even when the other kwamis warned her about Tikki's cravings. She tried to control the situation by stopping her from eating their family's galette and transforming into Ladybug to prevent her from eating more which backfired as she got the craving as well when she was transformed.

When Marinette saw that Tikki was going as far as using her power without a holder to appease her cravings, she realized her mistake and admitted that Sass was right about Tikki and she didn't know her as well as she thought and when Tikki revealed to her that the reason why she never told her about her cravings was because she believed that she would think less of her, Marinette assured her that they would work to overcome her weaknesses together just like Tikki has always helped Marinette with her weaknesses.

3. Sabine

"The person who knows best what Marinette needs is Marinette herself!"

Moving onto the family argument on what is best for Marinette, we'll start with Sabine. From her perspective, Marinette is the only person who knows what's best for her and she's old enough to do so and she is the one I most agree with.

We've seen how Marinette is good with planning and is always helping other people and coming up with great ideas, both as a civilian and as Ladybug. It's best to treat her as someone with her own individuality and her own mind and let her to make her own choices. And by the end of the episode too this is what we see them go with: letting Marinette decide what she thinks about getting a motorbike as a gift from her grandmother and decide whether she is old enough for a gift like that.

4. Tom

"I know my little girl better than anyone else and I think that bike is way too dangerous for her"

Next we have Tom, who believes that Marinette needs some like him to protect her and he believes that the motorbike that Gina got for Marinette is too dangerous for her which makes sense for his character considering the events of "Weredad", where he gets akumatized because he wants to protect her little girl, Marinette from heartbreak.

Tom cares about his daughter a lot and would go to great lengths to protect her, he even stated in "Stoneheart (Origins Part 2)" that he would protect her if Ladybug and Cat Noir failed to do so which at the time seemed like it was just a lighthearted joke but we know from "Weredad" now that it's true. By the end of this episode though, he realizes that he should let Marinette decide if the gift is best for her and their conflict is resolved.

5. Gina

"Happy Birthday, Marinetta!"

Next we have Gina, who was the one got Marinette the motorbike for her birthday which she didn't realize was just months ago due to her not spending much time with them as she travels the world on her motorbike.

The last time when she arrived to visit Marinette, she believed that Marinette was younger than she actually is due to the same problem that cause her to not realize that Marinette's birthday was months ago in this episode and it was in that episode that she realized that Marinette was no longer a little girl who ate candies and liked doing things like going to the petting zoo and going on the merry-go-round and was now a young woman who liked hanging out with her friends. So it makes sense for her now to get her a big girl gift like a motorbike and believing that Marinette is old enough for something like that. By the end of the episode though, she lets Marinette decide what she thinks and when Marinette decided that she was still to young for the bike, Gina was OK with it.

6. Rolland

"How can anyone have their head so far up in the clouds? A birthday is a birthday and a Galette's Day is a Galette's Day!"

Lastly, we have Rolland who still seems to be a little old-fashioned from "Simpleman". When Gina brings the motorbike as a gift for Marinette he believes that Marinette is not old enough to have one yet similar to Tom and believes that Marinette still requires discipline to be able to ride the bike.

This makes sense for Rolland's character as it's traditional for someone only to be able to have a motorbike when they are around 21 and before that they can't drive at all. Unlike, Tom he believes that Marinette needs someone to teach her about order and discipline before she can ride a motorbike and not someone to protect her. By the end of the episode, he realizes that he should take Marinette's choice into account and when Marinette decides that she's not old enough for the bike but instead should have a mini-scooter, he is OK with it

Conclusion

Well, that's the end of this analysis. Hope you enjoyed reading. This took a while to do with all the characters but I'm finally done. As always, let me know your thoughts on this analysis and let me know if I missed anything for any of the characters this episode. Until next time!

[tsamired]

I learned a good coping mechanism the hard way, PLEASE don’t make my mistake

fuck this is titled like a buzz feed article

tw// death, panic attacks

quick thing I just realized and want to put out there to save someone the trouble of figuring this out on their own

if you’re like me (a self-destructive peepee head who’s best coping mechanism is just shoving the problem away and hoping it deals with itself), then here is a major tip

If you had a bad experience and the situation was related to something you think about frequently, DONT avoid thinking about it. For example, I have a massive fear of death and I recently read a Lumity fic with a major character death. (It wasn’t Luz or Amity, don’t worry) It genuinely freaked me tf out, like full on panic attack. At first I tried to avoid it, whenever the thought of the fic or even just lumity itself popped up I’d shut it away. However, I remembered one time I. Fuck this is gonna hurt to type. One time a while ago (when I was quite a bit younger and had much less of a filter), my cousin and I were both fans of Miraculous Lady Bug. I decided to make some fan art of it and show her, however only realizing after I showed it to her that it was. Badtm. I may as well have curled up into a ball of embarrassment then and there and just imploded. Since that… experience, I haven’t talked to that cousin as much and I’ve genuinely scrolled faster any time some MLB stuff pops up on my dash. Because I tried to shoo the memory away, it became permanent. Hooray. Back to the lumity fic, the first few times it popped up I once again shood it away. Eventually I realized that, if I didn’t indulge the thought, it would be a repeat of the MLB incident. I figured I had nothin to lose and, lo and behold, thinking about that fic doesn’t affect me anymore and I can actually continue enjoying lumity and TOH related stuff without imploding. I know that for some people, this may not work. If you have some issues, first of all, stop putting off those therapist visits. Second of all, this may not work for you and may make it worse. Oh god I sound like a medicine commercial- what I’m trying to say is, don’t shoo away the thought. It’ll only make it worse. Do some kind of self-imposed exposure therapy. I don’t know how to end this post.

[laresearchette]

Sunday, May 14, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (AMC Canada) 9:00pm MATCH ME ABROAD (TLC Canada) 10:00pm EDGE OF THE EARTH (CNN) 10:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT?: SUPERSTAR (ABC Feed)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

NETFLIX CANADA THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN

IIHF MEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (TSN) 5:00am: Slovenia vs. Canada (TSN3) 5:00am: USA vs. Hungary (TSN) 9:00am: Norway vs. Switzerland (TSN3) 9:00am: France vs. Denmark (TSN) 1:00pm: Czechia vs. Kazakhstan (TSN3) 1:00pm: Sweden vs. Austria

MLB BASEBALL (SN1) 1:30pm: Atlanta vs. Jays (SN Now) 1:30pm: Rays vs. Yankees (SN360) 4:00pm: Padres vs. Dodgers (TSN2) 7:00pm: Cardinals vs. Red Sox

SULLIVAN'S CROSSING (CTV) 7:00pm/8:00pm (SEASON FINALE): Maggie's medical training is put to the test as she races against the clock to save the life of a friend. In Episode Two, Maggie returns to Boston prepared to face the consequences of her actions, while Cal searches for closure of his own.

HOLMES: NEXT GENERATION (CTV2) 7:00pm: Mike Holmes and his children tackle a renovation that has fallen off the tracks for expectant parents; the team is on a time-sensitive mission to finish the nursery and the only working bathroom in the house prior to the baby's arrival.

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN4) 8:00pm: 76ers vs. Celtics - Game #7

MYSTIC (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: When tension between Dan and Issie starts affecting Champs training, the KP gang decide to take action. Meanwhile, Mystic seems to be warning Issie about the illegal trawler.

A TOWN CALLED MALICE (Showcase) 9:00pm: Cruel Summer

UNDERCOVER UNDERAGE (Investigation Discovery) 9:00pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Roo leads her team on a new decoy sprint in Oklahoma by launching two new underage personas; after initial contact from two sexually aggressive adults, a potential misstep could put one of the investigations in jeopardy.

QUEEN OF THE DEUCE (documentary) 9:00pm: In the 1970s, Greek-Jewish Chelly Wilson built a porn-cinema empire in NYC's The Deuce and a rep as a savvy operator.

THUNDER: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ARTURO GATTI (Super Channel Fuse) 9:10pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Untangling the myths of Arturo Gatti, and celebrating his explosive career.

MLS SOCCER (TSN/TSN5) 9:30pm: LA Galaxy vs. San Jose

SCOTT'S VACATION HOUSE RULES (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm: Kelly must convince her husband Paul that purchasing an old dark cottage will help their retirement; Scott leans into the gorgeous teal lake this property sits on and gets to work with Deb transforming it into a beautiful coastal cabin.

THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND (History Canada) 10:00pm: Rick, Marty and the team make a discovery below the Garden Shaft that could be the key to solving the Oak Island mystery.

PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Makeful) 10:00pm: Christmas Celebrity Special: Artists from across the U.K. and Ireland compete in a battle of skill as they attempt to produce portraits of famous sitters; the winner will receive a £10,000 prize, along with their winning portrait being hung in a famous cultural institution.

[erodasfishtacos]

~ MLB Curious Gazes ~

prompt: four different situations where people have run into or hung out with MLB!H - told from their perspective.

word: 6k +

warnings: language, mentions of sexual content

If you enjoyed this please - reblog, like, recommend, comment, and inbox me to chat about it!

please consider donating to my kofi - my work is FREE and it is a great way to show support!

enjoy!

-=-=-=-=-=-

The Doctor’s Office

Aubrey couldn’t believe her eyes as she sat in her uncomfortable, too small chair in the empty waiting room at the OBGYN office in the early hours of the morning. 

She was sitting alone with her baby boy sitting in his carrier on the floor - it was his nine month checkup and it was taking forever to be seen.

The woman was sitting, scrolling on her phone when out of her peripheral she saw an extremely - like extremely handsome man step into the area with a carrier.

Aubrey was a married woman but holy shit this guy was hot- without even trying is the thing. 

He had on a New York Yankees Nike hoodie and a pair of Nike athletic shorts with some calf length Blake Nike socks and trainers.

In the carrier was a fresh little baby, couldn’t be older than three months who was bundled up with a sunflower headband on.

The man was multitasking with a curly haired toddler on his other hip as he finds a seat a little bit down from Aubrey on the opposite side.

His wife was standing up at the check-in and of course it made sense that she was absolutely beautiful as well even though Aubrey could relate to how tired she looked.

The woman still had a small bit of her pregnancy bump left signifying that the baby was indeed very very new to the world.

She keeps glancing over at the man, he looks so familiar but she would remember if she had even met someone that handsome.

Then the context clues hit her, his hoodie, his toddler son was also in a little Yankees hoodie that matched his fathers and Aubrey googled quickly.

Her eyes flitted throughout the recent articles.

Styles’ Alleged $65 Million Dollar Bonus

Hot Head Harry Styles - how he managed to start three bench clearing brawls in one game!

Breaking Records and Bats - Styles manages to break his own record in the same season followed by breaking a bat in celebration

Holy shit.

She could help but watch them - this was much more interesting than reading a magazine.

Aubrey didn’t follow baseball but Harry had turned celebrity status and was this well known cocky dickhead to the media - women and men loved and drooled over him for his looks and his skills.

Right now, he sat down with his two babies - the boy looked exactly like Harry, it was quite unbelievable from the curly locks to mossy green eyes that was copy and paste.

Harry was currently tucking an applesauce pouch between his lips and guiding the boy's small hands to hold it for himself.

“Good job,  ,” He murmurs in the dead quiet waiting room as he tucks him further into the crook of his arm.

Harry looks up to his wife who joins them, she is a bit in awe when Aubrey sees him palm a bit at her bloated belly and whisper, “Y’look gorgeous today, mama.”

Aubrey couldn’t help but frown, she wished her husband did that.

YN sits down, leaning her head on his shoulder - Aubrey didn’t know her but she seems tired - of course she was a new mother.

The silence is broken when a nurse comes out and with an apologetic face says, “I’m sorry, we are running really behind today. It might be another thirty minutes,” before shutting the door again.

Harry kisses his wife’s forehead before wrapping his unoccupied arm around her shoulder, a flashing gold band on his ring finger.

Aubrey zones off for a little when her son wakes up, rocking the carrier a few times before he settles again.

She’s brought back to the couple when she hears a sniffle comes from Harry’s wife and his face turned towards hers, hand rubbing her shoulder reassuringly.

“Mama, she’s so healthy. There’s nothin’ to worry about, did a perfect job growing her in y’belly. I know these check-ups make you anxious but nothin’ is gonna be wrong,” He soothes, a near whisper because of how quiet the room is and he didn’t want to disrupt.

“I just don’t know if she’s been getting enough milk, it’s so hard to tell,” YN replies sadly, like she’s disappointed in herself.

“Y’kidding me? She’s our chunkiest baby - look at those little rolls. She’s on y’tits more than any of the boys including me,” He jokes softly, obviously trying to make her feel better.

It seems to work a little bit because she lets out a light giggle with a roll of her eyes, “No one is on them more than you.”

Harry shrugs unashamed before replying seriously, “Everything will be okay. She’s perfect and healthy.”

The curly haired little boy gets a bit squirmy with the wait after he finished his pouch, asking to be set down which his father does.

Harry is watching him carefully, his nervous but still adventurous little two and a half year old, as he toddles around the waiting room.

When he spots Aubrey and her carrier, he wanders over looking up her with wide curious eyes, he points at her son and squeaks, “Baby?”

Ever the diligent father, Harry is up and next to his son, Aubrey is a bit starstruck if she’s honest when he talks to her.

“M’sorry, he’s a curious little one,” Harry smiles at her, going to pick Ezra back up to guide him away from bothering her.

Aubrey waves her hand though, lifting the visor to show the sleeping baby, “Yeah, he’s a baby. That’s Dominic.”

The boy gazes at the baby before lisping, “Bry!”

Aubrey isn’t sure what he means but his father clarifies, “You’re right, Dominic is a baby just like your little sister Briar.”

“Okay,” Ezra shrugs and goes back to his mom to inform him of what he just discovered before crawling up and cuddling into her chest.

Harry nods, “Thanks for indulging him.”

“No pro-problem,” She stutters like an idiot and Harry smiles a bit like he knows but doesn’t say anything else before going back to his family.

A few minutes later when a high-pitched cry resounds through the room, Harry is carefully cradling his daughter who Aubrey notes looks nothing like him but like her mother even though her features were still so little.

“Shush, darlin’,” Harry coos with a soft drawl, leaning in to kiss at the newborn’s button nose.

Briar roots at her father’s chest, smacking her plump lips, and squeaking in frustration when she doesn’t find a nipple. It makes Harry chuckle before he glances at his wife and his smile falters a bit, “Sweetheart, did y’bring a bottle?”

Aubrey watches his wife shake her head, she is facing away from her so she can’t see her expression but gauging Harry’s it seems that she may be upset, “No, I completely forgot. I didn’t bring my nursing blanket either - I’m going to have to go the bathroom. M’being such a bad mom.”

The observer feels a pang in her chest, she can definitely relate to not always feeling like she is a good mother because of little mistakes she makes like forgetting diapers, buying the wrong formula, forgetting to bring a pacifier.

“Hey,” Harry’s voice is firm, “Y’not going to talk like that when s’the farthest thing from the truth. S’okay, we have four babies, we’re both goin’ t’forget things sometimes, okay? Here, let me help you.”

Aubrey wishes she had a husband who was as empowering, supportive of his wife.

He hands the whimpering baby over to his wife, he’s then tugging off his hoodie. Aubrey tries but fails to divert her eyes when his shirt rides up revealing  a glimpse of his taut abdomen and a light dusting of hair leading into his shorts, obscene tattoos covering his hipbones .

Harry maneuvers the hoodie over his wife’s shoulder, helping her tug down her loose shirt and nursing bra, and guiding his newborn to his wife’s breast until she latches and starts suckling hungrily.

“There y’go mama,” He whispers encouragingly before tugging Ezra back onto his lap to rock him a bit as he’s getting whiny - ready for a nap soon and not liking being in an unfamiliar place for too long.

-

Aubrey is buckling Dominic into his carseat when she spots the other family exiting the office. 

Harry’s wife looks much more relaxed, a smile on her face, and her arm tucked around her husband’s narrow hip, they’re parked close to each other, and Aubrey climbs into her small sedan - blasting the aircon.

She watches the parents strapp their kids into a massive, tinted and brand new cadillac escalade that was no doubt over a hundred thousand dollar car but who could expect them to be driving around a mid-level minivan?

After the kids are secured and they close the doors, Harry presses his wife up against it with his arm resting over her shoulder against the window. He is whispering to her, their mouths close before he ducks down to connect their lips.

His hand comes back to her deflating baby bump like he did in the doctor’s office, hand massaging the skin with adoration that was visible even to Aubrey as she sat in her car watching them.

Later on in the week, as she sits on her couch, a video pops up on her timeline. It’s a sports report she was about to skip until the name caught her attention. 

The sports reporter stated, “Harry Styles was fined an alleged sixty thousand dollars at last night’s game after getting into a verbal altercation when the second base man purposely tripped him.”

It flashes to the man she just saw in the doctor’s office in a form-fitting Yankee’s blue and white striped uniform with a helmet on as he ran at an impressive speed from first to second, stumbling when the baseman put out his foot.

Harry recovers quickly enough to touch the base to be considered safe. 

After that though, he’s pushing himself up and brushing off the dirt, then he’s charging towards the man who fucked up the play. 

He has no fear as he gets in the man’s face, veins on his neck standing out as he shouts. They don’t play the audio but you could tell Harry was cussing this man up and down.

It flashed back to the reporter speaking to another, “Nearly every team in the league reports that Styles is an absolute nightmare to play against from his skill to his downright arrogant and cocky attitude. He’s not someone I’d find myself wanting to hang around.”

“I agree with you there, Tucker. He has a right to be proud with all of his broken records and achievements but being a bit humble would do this man so good. I feel sorry for his wife and kids. He probably just spends all day bragging about himself.”

Aubrey clicks off the video, if only everyone in the world just saw the Harry Styles she saw just a few days ago - well they’d all change their minds on what kind of person he is. Especially what kind of husband and father.

--

The Charity Event

It was a charity event at Madison Square Garden in Time Square. 

It was for all Major League Baseball teams who had qualified for the playoffs and of course, The New York Yankees were there.

There were tables filling the whole stadium, extravagant in white linen tablecloths, multiple bars, and it was black tie dress code. 

It was a private event and it was not open to the public but after the dinner there would be awards given out and that would be broadcasted.

Nicole was there with her husband, Trent, the left outfielder with an average batting score. He wasn’t the most popular on the team by far - well everyone got outshined by Styles. 

She couldn’t help but be a little bitter that Harry had gotten a $60 million dollar bonus (the biggest bonus ever gifted but also the Yankees were not taking any chances at losing their star and their ultimate money-maker). Trent got a measly bonus of $100,000 which was nothing in baseball terms. 

The wives and girlfriends of the Yankees players did not like YN one bit. It really wasn’t fair because she was always lovely, kind, and friendly. It didn’t matter because they were all spurred on by jealousy of what she had.

Nicole couldn’t help by gaze at Harry as they sat at the same circle table towards the podium where the awards would be presented after dinner. He was in a sharp all black suit with a small team logo pin of the lapel.

She couldn’t deny how stunning YN looked in an absolutely stunning dress. It was a one-shoulder with sparkling black stripes against a tan background, it fit like a glove and accentuated her stunning legs with a high slit. ***

It blew Nicole’s basic black Gucci dress out of the water which made her even more infuriated at the woman. She knew she was being irrational and if she hated her so much, why couldn’t see stop staring at the couple?

Nicole could get away with it by looking past them at other tables but to be quite honest, the two were much too wrapped up in each other to be aware of any of their surroundings or people watching them.

Trent was off bullshitting with all the other players while the Styles’ sat at the table and Harry waited for people to approach him - like the cocky asshole that he was. He would give them a minute of his time before becoming visibly bored and returning his attention back to his wife.

As the appetizers arrived, Trent finally sat down with a grunt, giving his wife literally no attention as he dug into the salad like a slob. 

Across the table, Harry looked down at his plate, picked out all the tomatoes and stabbed them with his fork. He then brought his hand over to his wife who giggled and let him feed her the three little tomatoes for his salad.

“Don’t like tomatoes, Styles?” Henry, third-baseman, jokes as he watches him feed his wife without any shame.

“I love ‘em, m’missus just really like the little grape ones,” Harry shrugs casually - like that didn’t just sound like the most whipped thing that he could say.

Trent probably couldn’t even guess Nicole’s favorite color - let alone know something so minuscule like YN like the little tomatoes that come on house salads. 

Throughout the whole dinner, it was quite disgusting how infatuated these two were with each other - Harry had at least one hand on her body at one time - her thigh, shoulder, even cupping her neck in a way that was almost too intimate for the setting.

At one point, Harry notices that YN is a bit quiet - sipping on her glass of water and he pulls back from the conversation, murmuring, “Y’alright, mama?”

Nicole bites her lip hard at the cute pet name, feeling even more dislike towards YN - why couldn’t she have had someone like Harry?

“D’you think the babies are okay? Ezra’s been so anxious lately,” YN replies quietly, there were no phones allowed at the event and had to be left at home or at the door.

Harry kisses her temple, “Y’know Ezzie is good with m’mum, doesn’t get as anxious as he used to at sleepovers. Y’know East and Cash are probably on a sugar high.”

YN nods, agreeing and Harry jumps right back into the conversation but she notices that he keeps looking over at his wife to check on her.

Trent accidentally knocks her elbow hard and just grunts out a bland, “Sorry.”

The topic changed to traveling for games. Ellie, another wife of a player who was nice to YN were chatting about how stressful it is.

“I know, loading all three boys up is rough when we do decide to travel to games with H,” YN says to Ellie, a small smile on her face.

“Ugh, I know. Lily and Parker are the worst flyers! They usually end up throwing up or not being able to nap at all,” Ellie groans about her two little ones she has back at home.

YN let’s out a laugh that just irked Nicole to not end.

“It's going to be even harder when we have more kids,” YN laments like she’s bothered.

“Oh? More kids?” Ellie squeaks with excitement, clapping her hands together.

Nicole reaches a breaking point, jumping into the chat,“Really? More kids? Don’t you think you should focus on the ones you have? Or do you think because your husband makes an unfair amount of money, you can just have as many as you want? Hire nannies and act like you take care of them?”

Before YN frowns, about to respond when Harry interjects with a booming, displeased voice, “First off, why don’t y’mind your own fuckin’ business. My wife and I can ‘ave any many kids as we want, last time I checked.”

He continues with tense posture, all of his previous calmness disappears, “Second off, don’t take it out on my wife tha’ your husband got a shit bonus, we all know tha’ why y’pissy. And don’t act like y’dont have a nanny for your one kid while we don’t nor ever will have one.”

Nicole sneers, “You’re a cocky bastard.”

Harry smiles in faux charm, “Of course I am, dear. I’ve got a fucking beautiful wife, three healthy babies, the most records broken in history, and the fattest bank account in this room.”

“Alright, alright,” Trent interrupts and it doesn’t go unnoticed that he doesn’t defend his wife. Instead he shoots Harry an apologetic look for his wife’s behaviors.

Harry just scoffs at the couple, rudely rolling his eyes, and tugging his wife in for a kiss that’s a bit too intense but he can’t help himself, smiles against her lips when his wife pinches his thigh playfully.

He says (not quietly at all), “All these women are jealous of you, hm? S’cause you’re so beautiful and such a fuckin’ catch.”

Nicole feel a sharp pang in her chest at the indirect comment - fucking asshole.

Deep down, Nicole is unfavorably realizing that somehow YN has it all - a loving husband, who is seemingly head over heels four her, three well-behaved children, and everything she could ever want - sitting on Harry’s $600 million dollar net worth, on top of being gorgeous.

She didn’t have that. Trent and her were on the rocks constantly, has definitely cheated on her, their kid is a literal nightmare, and they’re both so reckless with money they have no savings.

It made her jealous to see Harry whispering in YN ear to make her giggle- lips brushing her ear, his hand splayed across her bumcheek while they waited for drinks at the bar, she even hears them murmur ‘I love yous’ at least twice.

Then the lights dim, spotlight on a podium in the front of the room, an older man in a crisp navy suit taking the stage.

“It is an honor for me to announce ‘Player of the Year.’ The decision by the board of Major League Baseball wasn’t a hard one. The statistics and records broke continuously by the man has led us to only one option.”

Everyone watches all the other players in room deflate a bit because they realize the award is going to Harry yet again.

 “He is again breaking a record tonight, he is the first player to earn this achievement four years in a row. The duality of this man when it comes to pitching a curveball or hitting a homer is truly remarkable.”

It makes all the players even more irritated than they already are when they look over at Harry who’s sitting back, manspreading, hand on the back of his wife’s neck gently, and a cocky, unbothered grin.

Like this award wasn’t the biggest accomplishment he could earn.

One of the players from an opposing team at a different table mutters to one of his teammates, “Fucking arrogant asshole. The only thing this award does is feed his gigantic ego.” 

“Such a douchebag,” The other agrees, jealousy tinges his voice.

“I’ve most likely made it obvious who the the recipient is this year. The New York Yankees pitcher with the most strikeouts to date and top-scoring hitter - Mr. Harry Styles!”

The crowd erupts in applause, whistles, and a standing ovation because despite his unsavory demeanor - no one could deny he was a legend.

Before he gets up, Nicole watches as he cups his wife’s cheek - locking her lips in a kiss before she has to give him a playful shove when he tries to slip some tongue.

When Harry gets up to the stage, he shakes the hand of the announcer and takes the award from him, setting it on the podium.

“Fourth year in a row has a nice ring to it,” Harry gives the crowd a dazzling white smile that have his dimples digging into his cheek.

The crowd whistles and coos.

Nicole notices YN getting teary-eyed as she watches her husband accept the award.

“I want t’thank a few people tonight. I want t’thank m’wife and the mama of my babies - YN. She’s supported me from when I was in college with no other career path but baseball, unsure of if I’d fail or not, she stuck through it.”

She can sense everyone’s eyes dart over to YN who is still staring up at her husband - who is giving her a gleaming smile right back.

“We’ve been through some really hard obstacles in our first years as a couple but she’s the reason for all this - the fact that she always believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

The audience is respectful, quiet as he publicly tells a story of his deep love for his wife.

“I want t’thank m’three babies. Easton, Cash, and Ezra. They inspire me to be a better better man and a good role model - even though I think y’all agree they won’t be if they watch too much how I play when I’m out in the field.”

The crowd erupts in laughter at Harry poking fun at his own antics that he’s most famous for. He goes on to thank the team, coaches, Nike, everyone on the professional side of career.

When he’s done, everyone stands back up to congratulate him, patting him on the back as he returns to his seat.

Nicole watches as Harry sits back down, chuckling as he swipes a tear off his wife’s cheek, “Why y’crying, mama?”  

“I’m just so proud of you. Everything you do for me and our babies. The best husband, best daddy. My heart is just full,” She murmurs, clearly not meant for others to hear but Nicole was eavesdropping.

Harry’s eyes darken with something Nicole can’t identify but does notice his hand creeping a bit further up her thigh.

He leans into whisper something into her ear before she sees his lightly nip at her lobe before pulling back to join into the conversation.

-

After the lights come back up, Trent abandons her to go shoot the shit with other guys.

When she trails off to the bathroom, down a long hallway from the main area - she hears a rustling from behind a door labeled with a plaque that says ‘executive meeting room’.

Nicole pauses confused, all these offices and other rooms were strictly off limits during events obviously. She was confused to hear someone in a room that was not supposed to be in use.

Then she realizes it’s not just someone - it’s two people.

“S’good, sweetheart. Give it t’me so good.”

And she knows right then and there all she needs to know about who’s in that conference room and what they were doing.

“Be quiet, you’re being too loud,” YN scolds back, the walls were clearly thin because she could hear the exchange.

“Make y’cunt not feel like heaven then,” He remarks back, his voice slower and more soft than it would be in front of people.

God, Trent and her haven’t slept together in ages - let alone has spontaneous hookups or dirty talk like that ever.

When they all end up back at the table before the closing speech for the night, Nicole spots a nicely sized mark under Harry’s jaw that he’s wearing with pride.

YN had her lipstick wiped off and was much more clingy as the night rolled on which Harry seemed to thrive on.

As she and Trent are on their way home, Nicole speaks into their silence, “I don’t think our relationship is working.”

Not after she saw love and happiness at that event table tonight - she wanted that kind of love not settling for some cheating asshole.

-

The Little League Game

It was a cool autumn evening, it was an important game - if you could call it that for the little league team that Kayla had her son on.

The goal was to determine which team would move onto the playoffs, even though most of this was all in good fun because it was for eight-year-olds and it wasn’t serious.

Kayla couldn’t lie and say that she didn’t spend some of the time curiously gazing at the New York Yankees player who would come to watch his son play.

He wasn’t at every game due to his schedule but it seemed like he came to whatever ones he could with his wife and other three kids.

They had taken the bench on the bleachers right below her so she had an up close and personal view of the family when they’ve never sat this close before.

As the kids warmed up, Harry had his youngest son who looked to be about four sit next to him, squished between his dad and mom happily.

Their middle son was next to his mom on the other side, looking to be about six, and he was wriggling impatiently in his seat - eager to join the other kids in the jungle gym.

The baby girl who looked about a year and a half old didn’t look anything like her brothers - it was obvious that she was a spitting image of her mother (who was stunning).

She was curled up in her mom’s lap, asleep with her face squished against her mother’s chest - a pacifier suckling fiercely between her puffy lips.

“Mama, please,” The curly haired boy begs with greedy puppy dog eyes as he keeps glancing back to look at the other kids.

“You stay right where daddy and I can see you, yes?” YN murmurs, brushing back his unruly curls that where getting long, “And what are our rules?”

“Stay where you can see, don’t talk to strangers, and be nice to others,” He recites perfectly, Kayla was a bit blown away by his manners.

She watches baseball. It was hard to believe their children were so mild mannered when their father was the exact opposite - at least on the field.

Harry was rustling in the diaper bag for something as his son looked at him with wide, concerned eyes, “My baby, daddy.”

“I know, Ezzie. M’lookin’ f’your baby,” His father replies softly, the polar extreme of his normal brash, crude language that had a nasty tone like he couldn’t bother giving people the time of day.

“Daddy, please,” The youngest whines, his little hand grasping at his father’s tattooed wrist as he gets to his knees to help his dad look.

“Left inner pocket,” YN murmurs offhandedly as she makes sure Cash gets to the playground safely with his friends.

“Say ‘thanks mama’,” Harry coos to his son as he manages to tug out the baby doll and hand it to the awaiting little boy.

“Thanks mama,” He replies instantly with a gapped smile as he nuzzles right back into his father’s side as if he can’t get close enough.

“How are you feeling, Ezra?” His mother leans over to ask, keeping the baby close to her chest.

“M’happy, mama,” Ezra replies simply before starting to babble to himself as he plays with the babydoll.

Kayla watches Harry and YN swap a fond look at their son but she couldn’t help but wonder why they asked him that? He seemed fine so why did they feel the need to do that?

The game is going okay, Harry stands up to cheer and whistle when Easton hits a two-base hit but YN smacks his thigh and motions to their sleeping baby.

He looks at her sheepishly before sitting back down, kissing her cheek in apology, and peeking down into the fleece blanket to watch his daughter sleep for a moment.

Then it seems like Easton starts to lose momentum after he pitches two home-runs, his face pinched in disappointment as the other team scores but Harry is attempting to keep him motivated with encouraging shouts.

Easton struggles from then on, he strikes out for his final three turns, doesn’t catch two pop-ups, and his pitches start to get a little shaky. It’s obvious in his facial expression he’s getting upset because he’s breathing heavier like he’s trying not to cry.

Kayla feels a sense of dread for the little boy, his father who’s the best baseball player in modern day history is watching his son not do well during an important game.

 Because of what she knows of him from his temper and attitude on the field - she worries that he’s one of those father’s who will hound their kid for doing poorly.

“Oh, c’mon East,” Harry murmurs softly when his son stumbles over a ground ball before another kid picks it up and throws it in - their son smacking his glove down against the ground in frustration.

“He’s getting himself worked up,” YN notes as she watches her oldest kick his cleats in the dirt with a quivering bottom lip.

“I know,” Harry replies to his wife, “Wish he wouldn’t, he’s gettin’ upset out there, I can tell.”

“Sad?” Ezra squeaks, clambering onto his father’s lap and stating, “Hold me, daddy.”

Harry obliges easily, gathering up his small son before his attention is directed back onto the game - it was down to the last few minutes and unfortunately Easton pitched a ball that resulted in a home run for the other team.

“Fuck,” Harry mutters, running a hand through his messy locks before he’s setting Ezra back down on the bleachers, “I’m going to go talk to him. Do you want to meet back home?”

YN nods, leaning down to tuck the baby into the double stroller before buckling Ezra in as well, “I’m going to go get Cash and head out. Why don’t you take him out for some ice cream? I love you.”

“I love you too, mama,” He replies, kissing her softly before kissing both of his kids foreheads and stepping down the bleachers - ignoring all the adults who are staring at him with a starstruck expression as he heads to the dugout.

It cleared out fast, nobody sticking around after the loss that ended with them not continuing on to the championship, and Easton was sat on the bench - he was stoic and there was a hard, angry expression on his face that reminded Kayla of what she saw Harry look like when he played.

As she gathers up her son and makes sure he’s got all of his equipment, Kayla stands and chats to a few of the moms before she’s heading to her car - which happened to be parked next to a sleek Masserati crossover, who would let their muddy kid go in there? Rich people, she guesses.***

Kayla pops the trunk to her van with her key as they get closer, she notices that Harry also has his up and Easton is sitting on the tailgate with his eyes looking down at the pavement. She tries not to appear as nosey or eavesdropping as she tucks her items into the back.

“Sweetheart, s’okay. Y’did so so good tonight,” Harry assures his pouty son, he squats down to start to untie his son’s nike cleats but continues to make eye contact with him. 

“No, I didn’t, Daddy!” Easton whines, tears finally starting to bubble over the surface as he begins to sob with a shuddering chest, “I gave up home runs and then I missed ground balls!”

“Whoa, bubby,” Harry simpers after he tugs off the shoes and throws them carelessly into the back before standing up, “Y’did amazing, are you kiddin’? You did three innings of strikeouts, hit two of y’own homeruns. Y’played like a professional, way better than daddy.”

Kayla’s heart aches a bit when she sees Harry sit down next to him before hugging him harshly into his side, thumbing at the tears that are running down his son’s sweaty cheeks with soft reassurances.

“Daddy, are you mad I didn’t win?” Easton asks shakily, keeping his head buried into his father’s side and his small hand clutching into the fabric of his hoodie.

Harry chuckles lowly, “Daddy would never be mad at you f’anythin’, definitely not a baseball game. Remember what mama and I said? If at any point y’want to stop playin’, just let us know and we can find something else, yeah? Just like how Ezzie does art classes.”

Easton seems to calm down after a few moments of Harry rocking him and reassuring him of what an amazing son he is.

As Kayla drove away that night, her perspective on the all-star baseball player definitely changed. It was refreshing to see someone to not hold their child to an unreasonable expectation just like she thought Harry would.

--

The Campfire

Austin was the shortstop on the baseball team, he’d brought along his girlfriend, Chelsea, to the frat party to celebrate another win.

Everyone was in whispers that Harry was bringing his new girlfriend but nobody knew who she actually was because it was just a rumor.

It was surprising because Harry wasn’t a relationship kind-of man. He wasn’t into hookups much - always said he needed to focus on baseball.

Many of his teammates were envious of how many girls were constantly coming up to Harry at parties to flirt and try to get a dance in but he had always rejected them.

Harry had never showed interest in any of these girls at the parties, never seen him disappear upstairs with one or really entertain a conversation over a beer like they’d expect.

Chelsea pokes his shoulder and nods towards the entrance when Harry walks in with his arm around YN’s shoulder.

Most were in a little shock because they seemed like such an unlikely couple - YN had written some scathing articles about him and it was no secret he hadn’t been a fan of her.

“Holy shit, Harry’s dating YN?” Chelsea whispers to Austin as the group of party-goers cheer and whistle at the allstars appearance.

“Guess so,” Austin replies with a shrug, tugging Chelsea into the kitchen for a drink.

Later on that night, there’s a bonfire on one side of the backyard and a volleyball net on the other where a group was gathering to play.

Austin and Chelsea are on the opposing team of Harry and YN - she can’t help but watch them with curiosity because of what a surprise it is that they’re dating.

Even Austin has been watching because Harry’s acting in a way that he’s never seen throughout his time on the team with him.

Harry is just all over YN which was confusing how he went from not being remotely interested in the college girls to being a lovestruck puppy.

When she throws the ball up to serve, Harry reaches over and pinches her bum which makes her squeak and accidentally drop the ball which has him cackling as she glares at him.

As they change positions, he crowds up behind her, and massages her hips, leaning down to murmuring something in her ear.

She blushes wildly before smacking him off which has him laughing hard and kissing the back of her head before taking his position.

After Harry jumps and spikes the ball hard, earning them the winning point, YN turns around and wraps her arms around him to hug him tightly.

Harry wraps his arms around her shoulders, returning the hug before pulling back to kiss her lips in a soft peck.

Chelsea elbows Austin, “Who’s that and what did they do with Harry?”

Austin shakes his head, “I really don’t fucking know.”

The group migrates over to the fire as they might become cooler and the stars are high up in the sky, the fire flickering orange and yellow crackles of sparks.

Harry plops into a chair, pulling YN right onto his lap, and she wriggles until she’s comfortable. Chelsea notices him tap her thigh as if telling her to cut it out, too much motion right on his crotch.

Jake, one of his teammates, says in a teasing tone, “YN, I’m surprised to see you around these parts . I clearly remember a strongly worded article about how stupid frat parties are.”

YN takes it in stride, smiling as she replies, “And this party just proves my point.”

The group laughs easily, they enjoy YN’s sharp wit and comebacks as they get to know her. Austin can’t help but to notice how quiet Harry is.

Normally, he’s the life of the party, loud and making his presence known to everyone but not tonight. He has his chin propped on her shoulder and she’s cuddled back into his chest.

Austin can’t make out what Harry is saying but he’s constantly whispering in her ear and accentuating each time with a squeeze to her thighs.

“Are you guys official?” One of the teammates asked bluntly, a few beers deep by this point in the night.

Harry replies instantly, a possessive squeeze, “She’s mine and off the market, s’don’t even think about it.”

“Well I don’t think it matters because she’s turned down the whole baseball team by this point. I think everyone tried to ask her out at least once,” Steve jokes as the others agree.

“Tha’s m’girl,” Harry murmurs to her before teasing his friends,“Who’d want to go out with any you? You’re all dickheads.”

Everyone continues to joke around, it’s nearing midnight and that’s right about when Harry gets in his prime - like the party just started.

But not tonight.

YN’s eyes start to flutter shut as everyone banters and drinks around the fire, obviously not used to these late night parties.

“I better get this one t’bed,” Harry states after a few minutes, thumbing at YN’s cheekbone as she tries to stay awake.

“I’m okay,” She mumbles weakly, head still heavy against his shoulder.

“You’re coming back though, right?” Kyle asks expectantly, brows furrowed.

Harry shakes his head, “Nah, m’in for the night when she is.”

All the players look at him with a bit of a dumbfounded look, Steve shooting out, “Who knew you’d be so pussy whipped, Styles?”

Chelsea’s eyebrows raise at the crude comment, waiting with bated breath as Harry’s jaw clenches as it seems like he’s biting his tongue.

“Goodnight,” Harry says in a tone Austin has never heard before - agitated and almost…offended.

When Austin and Chelsea are sneaking up to his room for a late night hook-up, she overhears Harry and YN in his bedroom.

At first, she thinks they’re in an actual argument but as she listens to them - it’s not the kind of arguement she thought it was.

“You’re always the little spoon,” YN groans from behind the closed door.

Harry squawks, affronted before huffing back at her, “S’my favorite, please spoon me, darling?”

“You’re so fucking spoiled,” YN giggles as Chelsea assumes they move into a position where Harry’s the little spoon.

“Mm, I like feelin’ y’tits against my back, s’nice,” Harry hums with a boyish tone.

Chelsea doesn’t even realize she’s smiling until Austin drags her from her stupor. 

All she knew was that Harry Styles really really fancied that school reporter.

-=-=-=-=-=-

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