#the realisation i don't linger in hugs like i used to before

[finelinefae]

camping [pilot!harry x teacher!yn]

synopsis: It’s the 1950s. Harry and Y/N leave the air base to go on a camping trip in July and their feelings are all over the place.

word count: 13.2k (!?)

contains: friends to lovers, opposites attract, violence, nightmares, flirting, smoking, fluff, smut (breeding kink, size kink, she's on top, cockwarming *if you squint*), forced proximity

this is part 2 of the aviator, you can read part 1 here

. . .

“Leave me alone Harry!” Y/N stormed several paces in front of him, hugging her arms around herself to try and keep herself warm. 

“Birdy, c’mon now, it’s not what y’ think it is.” Harry kept his distance behind her but had been following her home since she stormed off after she’d caught him with her housemate, Nancy. 

“Quit calling me that! And will you stop following me?” She spun round and he immediately froze in his steps. 

“Promised I’d walk y’ home,” He shrugged, “Not gonna let y’ walk home in the dark alone.”

“I’d probably be better off,” Y/N huffed, crossing her arms.

“Will y’ let me explain?” Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. Y/N opened her mouth to say something but he carried on talking, “I won’t quit following y’ if that’s what y’ gonna say and the view of the back of y’ head is just as pretty as the front so there’s no way y’ gonna stop me. I just… Will you let me explain? Please?” 

Y/N scoffs like she can’t believe what she’s hearing right now. What would it take for him to take a message and leave her be? “You’re not used to hearing the word no are you?” 

“I respect it but doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop trying. God, especially not with you.” Every part of him seemed serious. Y/N’s shoulders dropped and he took it as a sign to continue, “Me and Nancy we have history tha’s for sure,” He started and the words made Y/N’s chest ache, “But we only slept together a couple times before Christmas tha’s all. She came out and found me smoking and I realised she was a ‘lil drunk. I tried to pull her off me but she wasn’t having it, said she saw me outside with y’ and got upset.”

Y/N frowned, unsure of whether to believe him or not, “Listen, I know you’ve heard things about me but-” He dug his heel into the ground and chuckled lightly, “I ain’t ever felt the way I did back there when I kissed y’ Y/N and I’m not jus’ saying that.” 

Y/N felt some of the anger dissipate from her body, replaced by pure frustration. She hadn't come to Offutt to get tangled up in a mess with a man she barely knew, yet here she was. Nancy's revelation about having her sights set on a man hit Y/N like a ton of bricks. If she had known it was Harry, she might never have kissed him in the first place. She hardly knew Harry beyond their brief interactions and the hearsay from her housemates. How could she trust him? Yet, despite her doubts, there was one undeniable truth: the kiss they had shared lingered vividly in her mind. The taste of peppermint and cigarettes still clung to her lips, a tangible reminder of their brief encounter. It was a moment that now intertwined her with him in a way she wasn't expecting.

Y/N huffed, “And what? I’m just meant to believe you now. Take your word for it and run into your arms and kiss you again?”

“That’d be nice, yeah.” Harry smiled, his hands in the pockets of his trousers. 

Y/N shook her head, trying to process everything Harry had just said. Despite her frustration and confusion, there was a part of her that wanted to believe him. She knew deep down that she couldn't deny the chemistry they shared during that kiss, but she also couldn't ignore the uncertainty punching at her gut. 

"Harry, I... I don't know what to think," Y/N admitted, her voice softer now, lacking the edge of anger from before. "I want to trust you, but it's hard after everything that's happened and what’s been said. I-I don’t know you that well is all."

Harry stepped closer, his expression earnest. "I understand, Birdy. And I don't expect you to trust me blindly. But hey maybe we could start as friends, get to know each other better before anything else, if that would make y' comfortable."

Y/N raised an eyebrow, considering his suggestion. The idea of starting as friends seemed more sensible, given the circumstances. "Friends?"

"Yeah, friends," Harry confirmed a hopeful glint in his eyes. "No expectations, just getting to know each other without any pressure."

Y/N nodded slowly, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Alright, I like that idea.” 

Harry grinned, relieved that she seemed to be willing to give him a chance. "Well, you need more of ‘em.”

Y/N’s smile disappeared, “I do not! I have plenty of friends.”

“The girls at the nursery don’t count,” Harry smirks, “And neither does Elise.”

“Whatever,” Y/N muttered, spinning on her heel to continue her journey home. She heard Harry’s footsteps jogging up to meet her and was surprised to feel his jacket being placed over her shoulders. 

Harry put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. Y/N’s heart stuttered, “Friends don’t do that you know.” She grumbled, pretending to act grumpy around him in hopes it would hide the fact that she was most definitely swooning inside. 

“Oh? I do it with my friends all the time. Sometimes I kiss them on the lips too, we can try if y’ want-” Y/N looked up at him, glaring, “Alright then, another time.”

Y/N let Harry walk her the remainder of the way home, feeling a little more at peace with the fact she would be welcoming him into her life, even if it was just as friends for now. She hoped it would be enough to get to know him and eventually, she’d trust him enough to allow their relationship to blossom into something more and hopefully sometime soon because when Harry had left her on the doorstep of her house, she knew she’d be dreaming of that kiss every time she looked at him. 

Y/N closed the door as gently as she could, pressing her forehead against the wooden frame. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding before walking into the kitchen where Nancy was standing, “How’d you get home so quickly?” Y/N asked, unable to meet her hard stare.

“Harry must have taken you the long way home.” She shrugged pushing her chair back from the table, the legs of her chair scraping against the tiled ground.

“I-I didn’t know Harry was the guy you were talking about Nancy,” Y/N said truthfully.

“Would it have made any difference?” Nancy asked, a bite to her tone.

Y/N sighed, “All this was never my decision. Harry asked me to the dance, I-I didn't know it was going to be such a big deal.” 

“Harry loves attention from any girl who bats her eyelashes and twirls her hair.” Nancy glared, “You don’t make the exception.” 

Y/N straightened her shoulders, “What if I do?” She wasn’t going to allow herself to be belittled by another woman over a man she had just met.

Nancy snickered, “Are you that entitled?”

“Harry’s smart enough to make his own decisions Nancy and I’m not going to be involved in whatever petty game you think this is. Not only is it up to him to decide who he likes but it’s my decision too and if he’s not with anybody then I can decide whether I should be allowed to get to know him or not.” Y/N declared.

Nancy narrowed her eyes, “I’m not trying to compete with you but I’d be careful if I were you. If you’re planning on standing so close to the fire prepared to get burnt. Those Styles boys have their things going on. Harry hasn't the faintest idea of what to do with a girl outside of the bedroom. I've known him long enough for that.” 

“Maybe you don’t know him that well.” 

“Maybe,” Nancy shrugged, “Maybe you can tell me all about it when you realise he’s not all he says he is.” 

“Why do you want him if you have no faith in him?” Y/N asked.

“I said I had my eye on him, not that I planned on settling down with him. Every girl wants to sleep with him and not only because he’s Offutt’s best pilot, he’s the only man who knows what he’s doing.” Nancy stands from her chair, “I won’t compete but I don’t particularly enjoy being proven wrong.” She moved past her, leaving Y/N standing in the kitchen. 

. . . 

As winter turned to spring and spring into summer, Y/N and Harry's friendship seemed to blossom with the seasons. They had developed a type of bond that neither of them had with anybody else and through it they learnt more about themselves and each other. Ever since the night they began their relationship, there was never a moment where Y/N wasn’t seen with the brunette aviator walking beside her. 

Even Harry’s brothers had come to enjoy Y/N's company. Somehow she had taken on this maternal presence within their family dynamic that none of the siblings had ever really had before. Sonny had taken a particular liking to having Y/N around, enjoying the free time he had now that Y/N would sometimes volunteer to put Elise to bed in the evenings. 

Along with Harry’s brothers, also came Y/N’s housemates Molly and Patsy. She had become good friends with them too in the last few months and now she finally had her own little girl group to hang out with (they’d often include Elise in that group too). 

The group had become their own little, dysfunctional family on Offutt. 

Even though their friendship was meant to be the start of something more, Y/N and Harry hadn’t spoken much about that night at the dance since it had happened. Even with Harry’s flirtatious teasing from time to time, Y/N couldn’t help but feel that something had happened between them like this friendship had created a strange liminal space between them that held so many questions. She loved the current dynamic - the comfort everyone shared, even amidst their occasional bickering. It made her wonder if this was how it was supposed to be, and perhaps Harry thought so too.

However, her feelings for Harry continued to grow stronger with every passing day. She would dream of the kiss they shared and wake up with a strong ache in her chest at the idea that it would never happen again. Every day she tried to coax herself into talking to him about how she felt and every day she’d get distracted or put off by doubts and the voice in the back of her head warning her, telling her enough time had passed that maybe Harry didn’t have feelings for her anymore which is why he never bought them up. 

It was July now and the girls were sitting eating breakfast in the kitchen. Y/N was nibbling on a piece of slightly burnt toast as Molly rambled on about how busy her day was going to be down at the hairdresser with her hair rollers still in her hair. 

Opposite Y/N at the table sat Nancy, who had hardly spoken since waking up. She was dressed to the nines, her hair perfectly curled, and her uniform immaculately pressed. The tension between the two girls lingered from the dance night. It was clear Nancy was prepared to do anything for Harry's attention, even if he didn't see it. While Nancy seemed distant, Y/N tried to keep things friendly, despite the awkwardness between them. They had to live with each other after all. 

Y/N had seen Nancy and Harry alone together a few times and even if it filled her with an insatiable amount of jealousy, she wouldn’t allow herself to get involved with whatever went on between them. This wasn’t a competition she was taking part in, her feelings were her own and so were Nancy's. What mattered was her own relationship with Harry because it had slowly become the most important thing in her life. 

The front door burst open, Sonny’s voice boomed down the hallway, “Good morning ladies!” 

“Is anyone ever going to teach those boys how to knock?” Molly grumbled, standing from the table to lean against the kitchen counter, “I oughta start locking that front door before I go to bed.”

Y/N looked down to hide her smile as three grown men, dressed in overalls and white t-shirts walked into the room, one of them holding the small toddler in his arms. “Give me the baby!” Patsy launched from her chair and reached for Elise, smothering the girl in kisses. 

“Can I have a turn, Patsy?” Sonny asked, batting his eyelashes playfully. 

“You wish,” Patsy glared. 

“Morning Nancy,” George grinned, only to receive a curt nod in return, “Good morning George, y’ sure are looking mighty fine in tha’ uniform of yours,”  George remarked, his voice slightly mocking, delivered in a high pitch to tease her. 

Nancy stood from her seat, glaring up at the tall brother in front of her, “Good morning George, do you mind getting out of my way? I’ve got work to do, unlike some people.” 

“How could y’ say that? I’m always working,” He argued.

“Cigarettes and arm wrestling during work hours do not count as working.” Nancy picked her bag up from under her chair. 

“Know y’ like watching though darlin’.” He smirked and Nancy scoffed, shoving past him and leaving the house. 

“Y’ oughta be careful with that one George,” Molly smirked, taking out a cigarette and offering one to him.

“She’s all good,” He shrugged, his eyes on the seat Nancy had been sitting in.

Y/N’s smile dropped when someone snatched the piece of toast she was eating from her hand. She looked up and was met with green eyes looking down at her, a lazy grin on the face she saw every day, “Hi birdy,” His voice was always deeper than usual in the mornings 

“Hi Harry,” Y/N grinned. 

He grabbed the empty chair that Nancy had been sitting in and lifted it from the tiled floor to sit next to her. His eyes flitted around her face, and the corner of his lips turned upwards, “You’ve got jam-” He reached his thumb out and wiped away the jam from the corner of her lips. Y/N’s cheeks tinged pink, “There y’ go.”

“Thanks,” Y/N murmured, looking away from his intense gaze. 

“No problem,” He smirked, “Y’ look beautiful by the way.”

Harry said the same thing almost every morning and Y/N never failed to blush whenever he told her the compliment. “I only woke up thirty minutes ago, I haven’t even run a brush through my hair.”

“And you still look beautiful. It’s unfair birdy, truly it is.” He sighed, shaking his head dramatically.

Y/N giggled, “You’re such an idiot.” 

“So what brings you boys here so early? Ran out of food back home?” Molly asked, reaching for Elise since apparently, it was her time to hold her. 

“We’re going off base with some of the guys later to the town to buy camping gear for the trip,” Sonny explained, taking a sip of black coffee from Patsy’s mug. 

“What happened to the stuff from last year?” Molly quirked a brow, “It was perfectly fine when we left it.”

Harry reached for Y/N’s hand and mindlessly played with her fingers as people spoke. George shrugs, “There’s more of us going this year so either way we need more tents.”

"What are you talking about?" She asked, turning to Harry for an explanation.

All eyes turned to her, then to Harry, their expressions puzzled. George's frown deepened. "You never told her?"

Y/N's gaze remained fixed on Harry, waiting for his response as he dropped her hand onto his lap.

"Every year on the last week of July, a huge group of us go camping down at Harpers Lake," Sonny explained. "It's a five-hour hike, and we camp out for two nights. We're all going this year, and we thought Harry over there already told you about it, but clearly he didn't."

Y/N's eyes narrowed slightly. "I thought Molly would have told you," Harry admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

Y/N's eyes darted around at everyone's faces as they looked at her expectantly, "I-I don't know if I'll get time off at the nursery," Y/N stuttered, feeling a wave of uncertainty wash over her.

"Hey, I'm sure someone'll cover for you," Harry reassured her with a shrug. "If you don't go, I won't go either."

"Harry," she huffed, unable to resist the warmth in his eyes. "What about Elise? Who will take care of her?"

"Elise is coming, of course," Sonny piped in. "You think the Styles go anywhere without each other?"

Y/N glanced at Harry, her heart softening at his earnest expression. He gently picked up her hand again, squeezing her fingers lightly as if to persuade her to come with them. Harry's gaze held hers, his voice soft but determined. "If you’re worried about skipping work, it’ll be fine. We'll figure that out together, Birdy. I promise."

“I hate camping,” Y/N confessed, the corner of his lips quirking.

“But y’ haven’t camped with me yet.” He smirked as if doing anything with him was the solution to everything. 

Y/N’s shoulders sagged, “Okay, fine.” She relented, falling into their persuasion. Though the idea of camping was her worst nightmare, being with Harry off-base seemed to make it bearable. 

Eventually, everyone left to start their day of work. Y/N took Elise into her arms and made her way down to the nursery, “Y/N!” Harry called, she turned and saw him running up to them from down the road. “Y’ not mad at me are you?” 

Y/N frowned, “Why would I be mad at you?”

“Y’ know,” He stood straight, scratching the back of his neck, something he always did when he was nervous or about to say something sincere, “Because I didn’t tell you about the camping trip. I was meant to but every time I’m with y’ all the things I plan to say just seem to slip from my mind.” 

Y/N’s face softens, “No I’m not mad at you Harry. I mean, I wish I could have found out sooner, but if you say it’ll be fine, I’ll believe you.”

Harry grinned, a dimple carving into his cheek, “Y’ believe me huh?” He took a step forward until he stood directly in front of her. 

Y/N’s heart stuttered at the proximity, “Y-yeah, I do.” She murmurs. 

Harry’s hand reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, “Y’ might be the only one.” He whispers his breath minty from the gum he was chewing on. 

His eyes darted to her lips and then back up again. Even though they were outside, Y/N felt the oxygen slipping from the space around her until a tiny, chubby hand swatted Harry’s face out of the way, “No!” Elise yells and starts to ramble. 

Harry’s expression shifted, his features softening with amusement. He grabs Elise’s hand and starts pressing kisses to the inside of her palm, “What do y’ mean no? Y’ don’t like it when I speak to my best friend? ‘S that because you’re my best friend Elise?” Harry teases, pretending to bite her small hand. 

Y/N giggles, “It seems I’m always competing with somebody for your attention.” She jokes but Harry’s smile falters.

“Y’ don’t need to do that,” He murmurs, “Y’ too special to me to do that.” 

Elise carried on rambling as Y/N remained silent, surprised by Harry’s words. That classic, flirtatious grin reappeared once more on Harry's face as he pressed a quick kiss to Elise’s cheek and then Y/N’s too, “I’ll see you later, baby girl.” He said to Elise. 

He walked backwards, eyes fixed on Y/N, “I’ll see both my best girl’s later!” He winked and then turned around. 

“Your brother is stupid,” Y/N said to Elise. 

“Ha, Ha!” Elise pointed at her brother who disappeared around the corner, calling him the name she always called him since she couldn’t say his full name properly yet. 

“Ha Ha indeed,” Y/N sighed, making her way to the nursery. 

. . .

The camping trip had been a tradition in Offutt for the last ten years or so. Harry had been with his brothers ever since he had come to Offutt. He mostly enjoyed it for the fact that he got to spend time away from the Air Base. He didn’t do very much other than smoke cigarettes and maybe sleep with one or two people if he felt like it. 

This time though felt different. Harry had never been this excited about a camping trip before, especially not with Y/N. It had been ages since he anticipated anything, but the thought of spending two entire nights with the girl who had completely transformed his life was exhilarating enough to have him willingly sleeping in a tent out in the wilderness.

They were into the final hour of the hike to Harper’s Lake. The sun was beating down on their faces and Y/N and Harry were way behind the rest of the group. Y/N had been huffing and puffing ever since the halfway point of the trail. It had kept Harry rather amused during what was often a long and boring walk.

Harry walked in front wearing a white vest and cargo trousers, an unlit cigarette dangling between his lips and a silver dog tag around his neck. Y/N was walking behind him, beating bushes with a big stick as she walked by them. 

“Y’ keep beating up those bushes back there darling and they’ll start shouting back to y’.” Harry smiled to himself as he heard her mumbles. “You dawdling back there?”

“No,” Y/N snaps, “I do not dawdle thank you.” Her feet were slipping. She didn’t have decent shoes to wear and Harry had already had to stop twice to put bandages on both her knees which was probably why they were so behind from the rest of the group.

“Why couldn’t we just fly? You’re a pilot Harry, can’t you go get us a plane?” 

“Y’ want me to get a military plane to fly us to a lake so that y’ don’t have to get all hot and bothered 'cause you’re walking, is that right birdy?” Harry holds back a laugh.

“Well, I don’t see the point in flying planes if you’re not gonna use them.” She mumbles.

Harry stops and turns around to look at her. She’s wearing a shirt that’s too big for her and shorts on her small legs. He let her borrow his flight cap so she didn’t get sunburnt but it was too big for her head so it covered her eyes. “Are y’ asking for a lift up the hill?” 

Y/N fell silent, her gaze drifting past him to the peak of the hill. She nodded quietly. Harry chuckled, dropping his bag to the ground. Turning around, he squatted and gestured behind him, arms outstretched. "Hop on, birdy."

“Are you sure? What if I'm too heavy.” Y/N says.

“I’m only offering once so I’d make the most of it if I were you.” He teased and waited for her to jump on his back.

He heard her feet tread along the ground before stopping behind him. She put her body weight onto him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, “Y’ won’t drop me, will you? Because it’s not gonna be funny if you do.”

“Never,” he promised, lifting himself off the ground. Y/N wrapped her legs around his waist and he picked up his bag off the floor. “How’s the view up there birdy?”

“Pretty,” she said, her lips close to his ear.

“I bet,” he said to himself before tracking up the hill.

The lake glimmered in the sunlight, surrounded by birch and willow trees. Y/N had never seen something so beautiful before as she looked over Harry’s head to see where they’d be staying the next few nights. Her feet hit the floor as Harry released her from his grip. There were around thirty people from the base who had come along on the trip and were already deciding where they were going to set up their camping spots. 

Y/N glanced around to spot her friends only to find them already bickering with each other in a shaded spot away from everyone else. Patsy and Molly were sharing a tent, while Sonny and George were setting up theirs with Elise. Harry had his own tent, and Y/N had bought a separate one as well. “Hey Patsy, have you seen my tent?” Y/N glanced around the floor where everyone had thrown their bags. 

“No, I thought you would have taken it.” Patsy shrugged.

“Me too,” Y/N huffed, looking through her backpack to see if she had packed the small tent she had bought. 

“Have you lost it?” Molly asked. Y/N frantically shoved some of the bags out of the way, hoping to spot it somewhere, until the realisation hit her like a ton of bricks.

It was sitting on the couch in the living room of her house, five hours away from where they were camping.

“You left it at home?” Sonny burst out laughing, Y/N’s cheeks flushing red. 

“It’s not funny Sonny,” Patsy whacked him on the shoulder, “Where’s she meant to sleep?"

“With me.” A voice spoke, and Y/N turned around to see Harry standing with aviator sunglasses covering his eyes. 

“W-what?” Y/N stuttered as if she couldn’t believe what was happening. 

“Well unless y’ wanna sleep with Elise, Birdy, the only other option is with me.” He shrugs as if it was no big deal that he was offering her to sleep in his one-man tent. 

“I-I can sleep with Elise,” She noticed how no one was saying anything or coming up with other ideas for her sleeping arrangement. She could have sworn she saw her two housemates giggling in the corner of her eye.

"And I could sleep with Elise too, but you know why I don’t?" Harry chuckled, shaking his head. "It's because all three of my siblings seem to have inherited a gene that I missed out on. Trust me, Birdy, you don’t wanna sleep in a tent with a snoring swing band the whole night."

Harry reached out and gently tugged her hand, “We’ve slept in the same room before.”

“Yeah but you slept on the floor,” She crossed her arms, trying to think of any other way she could sleep without having to share a small space with the guy she had feelings for. Y/N glanced around at her friends who immediately went about fixing their own tents as if they hadn’t stopped to watch the whole ordeal. She sighed, “Fine.”

Y/N brushed past Harry. He quickly snatched off his hat she was wearing and placed it on his own head, grinning, “It’ll be fun,” 

By the time they had set up the tent, it had dawned on Y/N exactly what she had agreed to. The tent was barely large enough for one person, let alone two, and with Harry's muscular frame, she couldn't fathom how they were meant to sleep without being practically on top of each other.

As Y/N unravelled her sleeping bag, Harry’s head peaked through the entrance, “A few of us are borrowing bikes to head to the nearest gas station to buy things for the barbecue if y’ wanna come.” 

Y/N nodded, “Just give me a second and I’ll be right out.” He nodded and paused as though he wanted to say something else before shaking his head and leaving. Y/N released a sigh and pushed back her hair wondering how she even got into this mess in the first place.

Harry was standing by two bikes, holding Elise in his arms, “A few of ‘em already went ahead.” 

“I didn’t know Elise was gonna be here,” Y/N cooed and pinched the two-year-old's chubby cheek. Harry’s eyes warmed before he placed her in the basket of his bicycle. “Is that safe?” Y/N frowned. 

“Course it is,” He shrugged. 

Soon they were riding side by side with Elise squealing in the basket of Harry’s bike, her small fingers gripping onto the front of the basket as the wind blew through her hair. Y/N’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much as she watched the two year old laugh and scream with excitement. 

Eventually they pulled over into the gas station. Y/N held Elise as Harry grabbed the things they needed for the barbecue, “Do y’ wanna ice cream Elise?” Y/N gasped, taking her to the freezer to pick out an ice cream.

Elise squealed and babbled incoherently as she picked the most colourful ice pop in the whole freezer. Y/N picked out two for herself and Harry to have since it was so hot out and they still needed to ride back to the campsite again.

They sat under a grouping of trees, Elise inbetween Harry’s legs as he helped her eat her ice pop. He’d have to wipe her chin every now and then with how sloppy she was when eating, “There y’ go baby girl, that ice pop ain’t going anywhere,” Harry chuckled as Elise gripped the ice pop in two hands. 

Y/N smiled to herself as she watched the two of them interact, Elise’s adorable antics continuing to amuse them both. She couldn’t help but think about how strangely normal this all felt. Despite the little time they had known the Styles’ siblings, it felt like they had known each other for much longer. The ease with which they connected, the laughter shared between them—it all felt so natural, as if they were meant to be together in that moment.

Harry’s eyes lingered on Y/N’s face with a hint of a smile on his lips, “What’s going on in that head of yours Birdy?”

Y/N smiled, “Nothing, I’m just happy.”

Harry looked surprised, “Y’ are?” 

“Yeah,” She nodded, “I am. Are you?”

Harry thought for a moment, “Yeah Birdy,” He grinned, dimples popping, “I am.” 

Their exchanged smiles lingered for a moment longer before Harry stood up, “We should probably start heading back before the sun goes down.”

“Yeah,” Y/N sighs, she could have stayed right there in that moment for a little longer but she knew they needed to get back to feed the others. 

They picked up their bikes off the floor and began their journey back, stealing glances at each other when the other one wasn’t looking. Y/N’s heart fluttered everytime he caught her eye and looked away bashfully. 

After eating and staying out to talk to her friends, Y/N was already ready for bed and wrapped up in her sleeping bag. She was wearing her pyjamas and an eye mask on top of her head. She wanted to make sure she was the first person in the tent so that she could be the first one to claim her space. 

She tried to relax but her heart was racing when she heard Harry’s voice from outside as he said goodnight to his little sister in the tent next door. Y/N randomly picked up a book she had bought with her and pretended to read as the entrance to the tent lifted open and Harry crawled in. 

He was in nothing but a pair of shorts, his tattooed torso completely bare, “Normally I’d wear less than this but since the lady’s present,” He smirked. 

Y/N scoffed, “How kind,” 

There was nothing but the rustling of his sleeping bag as he crawled into the tight spot next to him. Y/N’s eyes widened when she felt his arm right next to hers as they lay side by side in such close proximity. She immediately sat up, looking down at his relaxed state, “What?” He frowned.

“Can’t you move over a little?” She huffed, even though they both knew there wasn’t exactly anywhere to move. 

His head turned, “Where exactly?”

“I-I don’t know!” She exclaimed.

Harry smiled as though he were amused by her franticness, “Oh c’mon Birdy, I don’t bite. I mean I may get a little bit touchy in the night but that’s no fault of my own.” 

“Harry,” She sighed. 

His expression faltered. "Fine," he muttered. Reaching beside him, he retrieved the blanket he had stowed away. Sitting up, he rolled it up and placed it between them. Y/N settled back down, the blanket now forming a barrier between them. Though it sacrificed some space, she found herself feeling a bit more at ease with the added distance.

“Thank you,” She sighed. 

“Mhm,” Harry huffed. 

A silence settled between them. Y/N, exhausted from the hike, found herself unable to drift off to sleep quickly. Her mind raced as she listened to the man beside her breathing softly. "Y' trust me, don't you, birdy?" he whispered into the darkness.

She thought for a moment, “More than I did before.” 

“But not completely?” Harry’s voice seemed sad, almost defeated. 

She said nothing, wondering what she could say. Of course she trusted him, he had been nothing but good to her these last few months and proved to her he wasn’t what most people said he was. Even if he was a flirt and enjoyed attention from time to time, he was loyal to the people he held close in his life and she adored that about him. 

“You’re getting there,” She whispered but the truth was he was already there. She just didn’t know if she trusted herself. 

Y/N woke up in the middle of the night when she felt something jolt next to her. Groggy and disoriented, she blinked in the darkness, trying to make sense of her surroundings. As her eyes adjusted, she realised that Harry was stirring restlessly, his breathing ragged and uneven.

“H-Harry?” Y/N sat up, the sleeping bag falling to her waist. She reached out and placed her hand on his arm to shake him, “Harry wake up,” She urged, voice laced with concern. 

She noticed how he had begun to shiver, his arm covered in goosebumps. Y/N reached to put her hand gently against his forehead and hoped that her touch would provide some warmth to his shivering body. “Harry, you’re dreaming, it’s just a dream.” She tried to coax him out of his sleep without scaring him more than he already was. 

Harry's eyes snapped open, wide with fear as he gasped for breath. His chest heaved with each ragged breath, and Y/N could see the remnants of tears glistening in his eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Y/N murmured soothingly, her heart aching at the sight of Harry's distress, “You just had a nightmare that’s all.”

Harry's breathing gradually slowed as he focused on Y/N's voice, the warmth of her presence calming whatever dark thing that lurked inside of him. With a shaky exhale, his head fell, “Fuck,” He hissed, “Did I wake y’ up?” He looked up at her, his eyes tired and sad. Y/N warily nodded her head, “M sorry, M so sorry.”

“Hey, Harry, it's fine. It’s okay.” She reached out to wrap her arms around his shoulders, she could feel a thin layer of cold sweat on his back as her palm pressed against his shoulder. 

Harry took the opportunity to bury his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the floral scent of her perfume as if it would be enough to bring him back from whatever memory he was trapped in. Y/N wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as she whispered words of reassurance. She gently stroked his hair, feeling the tension slowly melt away from his body.

“It was real,” Harry whispered. 

“W-what?” Y/N pulled away, still holding him.

“M-my old man left me out in the cold one night when I tried to stop him from hurting my Mama. He kicked me out in the backyard and locked the door behind him like I was some old dog.” He spat the words out, full of anger. 

Y/N’s eyes welled with tears, “He hurt you?”

Harry exhaled shakily, as though he was trying not to cry, “Y-yeah he did Birdy, real bad.” The way he said it made Y/N believe it wasn’t the only time his father had hurt him. 

Y/N swallowed back her tears, her throat burning. She held his face in her hands and forced him to look right at her, “Y’ might have to be big and brave for your brothers and Elise but y’ can be whatever you want with me.” She murmured, “I won’t let anything hurt you, Harry.”

His eyes softened, something flashed in them as Y/N moved her face closer to kiss his cheek, tasting the saltiness of his dried tears. “God where have y’ been all my life birdy?” He whispered, their lips inches apart. 

“It doesn’t matter,” She shook her head, “I’m here now.” 

Y/N made space for Harry to lay back down, but he couldn't seem to let go of her. She noticed how he held onto her hand whenever she tried to move away. So, she removed the rolled-up blanket between them and unzipped the tops of both of their sleeping bags. Once they were lying next to each other, she placed the blanket on top of them for extra warmth.

Harry’s arms reached out for her and he didn’t even ask before he was holding her close to his chest. She could hear the beating of his heart as her ear pressed against it. “Y’ not afraid are you?” She asked, peering up at him to see his eyes closed gently. 

“No, that's just how it goes whenever I’m around you. Y’ get used to it after a while, don’t worry.” He murmured. 

Y/N’s heart seemed to pick up pace until it matched his own, “Okay.” She whispered and fell asleep in his arms. 

The next morning, Y/N awoke in the embrace of Harry who was still fast asleep. She thought back to last night and how she had never seen him so afraid before. She pressed a kiss to his cheek when she sat up and tried to leave the tent without making much of a noise. 

She reached for her sweater and pulled it over her torso so she wouldn’t get cold from the morning air. “Good morning sunshine!” Molly grinned, “How’d your first night with the pilot go?”

Patsy giggled, “Yeah how’d it go?”

Y/N bit back a smile, “It was nothing like that and you know it.” She said but they weren’t accepting it as an answer. 

George smirked, “I better not wake up an uncle by tomorrow morning.”

Y/N’s mouth gaped open, she hit him on the arm playfully and grabbed a carton of orange juice from the crate, “I’m two months older than you so I’d be careful!” She glared. 

“Ha! Ha!” Elise grinned, her mouth covered in yogurt as she stood and stumbled over to Y/N’s tent. 

"Good morning, baby girl," Harry's raspy voice greeted, a hint of strain evident as he lifted Elise into his arms, “Y’ sure are a little mess, madam.” He chuckled. 

Y/N tried to resist the urge to look at him as everyone greeted him with a good morning. She settled into one of the camping chairs, folding her legs beneath her, but soon a shadow loomed over her, blocking the sun, “Good morning Birdy,” His voice was deep and raspy. 

She looked up at him through her eyelashes, “Morning Harry.”

“Where’d y’ go? Left me cold in tha’ tent this morning y’ know?” Multiple snorts came from the group around them. 

“I-I was-” She didn’t know what to say and she was pretty sure her face was the colour of a tomato.

“Wake me up next time, yeah?” He smirks, leaving her to grab some of the coffee Molly had made.

“Oh, so there’s a next time huh?” George winked. 

Y/N cleared her throat, feeling flustered from the interaction. "So, what's everyone doing today?" She attempted to change the subject, wondering if there would ever be a moment on this trip where she wouldn't be embarrassed by something she wasn’t expecting. 

. . .

Y/N didn’t see Harry for the rest of the morning as the girls got ready to go swim in the lake for the afternoon. Due to the tent mishap, Y/N was worried she’d forgotten her bathing suit as well but luckily found it at the bottom of her bag. 

Molly was already in a blue, plaid halter one-piece that tied around her neck and Patsy was wearing a yellow one with a bow on the front. Y/N stepped out of the tent after getting changed, “Oh no, you can’t wear that.” Molly was the first to comment. 

Y/N frowned, looking down at her plain black and white striped swimsuit, “What do you mean?”

“What do I mean?” Molly pulled the cigarette from her lips, “Honey y’ look like a crosswalk in upstate New York.” Patsy snorted.

“It’s not that bad,” She huffed, reaching for the suntan lotion only for Molly to snatch it from her grasp. 

“Honey, this trip isn’t just a relaxing break for our pilots - it’s also the chance for us ladies to get a little something out of it. Think about it, all those men do is work and all we do is sit around waiting for some excitement. Y’ think Patsy and I want to camp in tents? Y’ think we want to hike up hills? No of course not, most of the ladies here come because they want a little fun. They want to flirt and be romanced by a pilot who we might never see again.” 

Y/N’s eyes widened, “Really?”

“Really,” Patsy nodded. 

Molly brushed past her and walked to her tent to pull out something from her bag, “Y’ lucky I’m an overpacker.” She unfolded the material and held up a red, polka dot swimsuit with a sweetheart neckline and a scoop back. 

“I can’t wear that!” Y/N almost gasped, she couldn’t help but look around to see if anyone saw.

Molly rolled her eyes, “You don’t think we’ve all seen you with Harry? He’s head over heels for you! Put this on and I guarantee you’ll be thanking yourself for forgetting that tent.” 

Y/N hesitated, her cheeks flushing with a mixture of embarrassment and excitement. The thought of Harry's reaction to seeing her in such a swimsuit sent a flutter of anticipation through her stomach. With a playful roll of her eyes, she took the swimsuit from Molly's outstretched hand. "Fine, but only because you're relentless."

Harry was already by the lake with his brothers and some of the other pilots working on Offutt. He was lying on a towel with his sunglasses on and swimming trunks hanging on his hips, smoking a cigarette. “Oh shit, I didn’t know Nancy was coming on this trip,” George said, taking a swig of his glass bottled beer as he sat down. Nancy was sitting with a group of friends, lounging on the dock, “She sure is something in that swimsuit, H. Would y’ look at her- pure sunlight she is.” 

Harry chuckled, “Yeah, sunlight, sure. Think you’ve had one too many of those beers George. Why don’t y’ go over and talk to her?”

“Are you kidding me? She spews venom every time I try to talk to her.” George says, “And she likes you more anyway. I don’t know why though, everybody knows you’re with Y/N.”

Harry’s ears perk at the mention of her name, “What are you talking about? We’re not together.”

“Uhuh, keep talking and your nose will get bigger than it already is,” 

Harry sits up to lightly hit his brother but he pauses when he sees his mouth drop open, “What are you staring at?” Harry turns around, following George’s gaze.

That's when he notices Molly and Patsy approaching, both clad in their swimsuits. Yet, it's not them who have captured the attention of not only George but seemingly everyone else as well. Y/N walks in between them in a swimsuit that reveals the soft skin of her thighs and the curve of her breasts from the low neckline. Her hair is pinned up and tied with a red ribbon, her smile so bright it overtook the light from the sun.

Harry felt a rush of breathlessness as he removed his sunglasses, unable to tear his gaze away from Y/N. "Have mercy," he muttered to himself, rising from the ground and striding over to the girls, with Sonny and George trailing behind him. 

The girls laid their towels out on the ground as the boys were walking over, “Looking swell Patsy,” Sonny’s eyes were fixed on her cleavage.

“My eyes are up here Sonny,” Patsy spoke, monotonously. 

Harry ignored everyone else as he stepped in front of Y/N. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at him. He felt his cock stir in his swim shorts as she licked her bottom lip, sending a jolt of heat through him. Harry knew he needed to get a grip on himself before things got out of hand. 

He glanced around and noticed eyes staring at the girl in front of him, “Hi Birdy,” 

Y/N tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “H-Hi Harry,” She stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. 

“Are you saving this swimsuit for someone or?” He smirked, wanting to get a rise out of her. He liked seeing her cheeks turn red whenever he attempted to flirt with her. 

“M-Molly and Patsy wanted me to wear it. I wasn’t sure at first but they thought it looked good. I feel like it’s a little too much, what do you think? Do you think it’s too much?” Harry’s eyes softened as she rambled nervously to him. 

Sensing her self-consciousness, he put her at ease by saying, “Y’ look beautiful Y/N,” 

She took a deep breath, “Are you sure?”

“Never been more sure about anything in my life,” He murmured, reaching his hand out to hold her own. Y/N offers a shy smile. 

“I don’t know about you all but I’m just about melting from how hot it is. Are any of you going in the water?” Molly asked, receiving a nodding of heads in response. 

“What do y’ say we go for a swim huh?” He smirks. 

Y/N suddenly gets all embarrassed again, “H-Harry, I need to tell you something,”

“What’s wrong?” He was immediately concerned. 

“The thing is, I don’t know how to swim all that well.” She confessed, “We don’t have anything like this back home so I never really got the chance to learn.”

Harry snickered, “How’s about I teach y’ hmm?” 

She purses her lips and then nods, “Okay Harry.” 

They walk hand in hand to the dock. Harry notices Nancy’s glare as they walk past her and gives Y/N’s hand a small squeeze in assurance. He’s first to jump in the water, submerging underneath and swimming up to the surface. 

Y/N stood on the edge of the dock with her toes hanging over the edge, “Oh I’m not so sure about this Harry,” She said, uncertain as she realised how deep the water was. 

“It’s alright darling, I’m right here,” He holds his arms out, ready for her to leap right into them, “I’ll catch you before your head even goes underwater, wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty hair now would I?”

“No,” She says and he knows she wasn’t paying attention to anything he was saying, too busy worrying about jumping in.

“M right here Y/N, you can do it. Get in the water darling, c’mon.” He coaxes her and thinks she’s about to do it but she hesitates. 

“I can’t! I really can’t Harry.” Y/N shakes her head. 

“C’mon Y/N, you can do it!” Molly and Patsy cheer for her, already swimming in the lake with Elise in their arms. 

“Alright Birdy, on the count of three,” Harry’s smiling even though he knows it’s hard for her. “One…”

“I can’t!” She bends her knees slightly. 

“Two…” He shouts, people clapping and cheering now. 

“Harry seriously!” She giggles, her eyes squeezing shut. 

“Three!” 

“I can’t do it,”

“Birdy get in the water!” He yells and then laughs because she’s laughing too at her own silliness, “I’m sorry daring, will you please get in the water.”

Y/N closes her eyes, bends her legs and screams, using one foot to leap into the water. Harry’s already there waiting to catch her and drag her up. It’s almost instinctive as he grabs her hips and feels her legs wrap around his waist beneath the water. Her head emerged and she quickly wrapped both her arms around his neck. “That’s m’ girl,” He cheered, everyone joining in as Y/N emerged with a smile. 

“It’s cold,” She laughed, water coming out her nose. 

“It’s not so bad,” Their faces were close, if he moved any closer he’d almost be kissing her. 

“Are you gonna teach me how to swim now?” Y/N asked, her teeth biting her bottom lip. 

“I don’t know,” Harry shrugged, grinning, “I kinda like having y’ like this.”

Y/N splashed him with water, “What if I drown?”

“I won’t let you,” He said as though it were a matter of fact.

Y/N rolled her eyes, “But what if I’m eighty and you can’t swim anymore but I wanna swim instead.”

He knew she was being silly but he liked the fact that she considered him to be a part of her life for that long. A spark of hope flashed within him, “I’ll probably just swim with y’ anyway. I mean it would be a sight to see Birdy but wherever you go I go.”

Y/N huffed, “Fine if you won’t teach me to swim, you’ll just have to carry me around in the water.”

“Sounds like a dream,” Harry joked, “Where to first Birdy?”

She pointed to her two friends who were keeping Elise entertained in the water and Harry grinned, understanding her silent request. With a playful twinkle in his eye, he scooped Y/N up into his arms and waded into the water towards Molly and Patsy, Elise's delighted squeals echoing around them.

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a warm glow over the lake, they reluctantly made their way back to shore after spending the whole afternoon swimming. As it was the last night, people had been preparing for a bonfire - a tradition created to commemorate the end of the trip. Sonny and George were already sitting with Nancy’s group of friends as they waited for the bonfire to be lit, the other’s going to join them. 

Elise was napping in Patsy’s arms as they sat together, wrapped in towels and talking. Harry pulled Y/N down to sit next to him on one of the logs, pulling her into his side. He noticed she was shivering as the air turned cooler and silently reached for the sweatshirt he had brought with him to pull over her head. She thanked him quietly in return. 

Eventually, the evening air was filled with the scent of woodsmoke and the sound of laughter as they settled in for a cosy night by the fire. Someone pulled out a guitar, and soon the sound of music filled the air, blending with the sounds of voices and the crackling of the flames. 

Harry excused himself from Y/N's side for a moment to join his brothers and friends for a smoke. Despite the distance, he couldn't help but steal glances at her now and then, his heart warming at the sight of her. Each time she took over from Patsy in looking after Elise as she slept, a sense of peace settled within him.

It had always worried Harry that Elise wouldn’t have another woman in her life to provide the things she needed that Harry and his brothers knew nothing about. There was something profoundly comforting about seeing Y/N with his baby sister. It wasn't just the way she cradled Elise with such care, or the gentle sway of her movements as she rocked the sleeping girl. It was the way Elise seemed to instinctively trust her, snuggling closer to Y/N as if she sensed the warmth and safety she provided.

Harry turned his back on her momentarily to extinguish his cigarette in the dirt. But when he faced his friend again, his attention was drawn to someone approaching the girls. It was a man he recognized, someone Nancy and her friends had been conversing with for most of the day. He observed as Y/N smiled, but he could sense her discomfort as she subtly retreated while he continuously tried to get closer to her.

Harry began to slowly walk towards them until he could make sense of some of what the stranger was saying. The closer he got, the clearer it became that the man's words were laced with suggestive undertones, and Harry's protective instincts surged to the forefront. 

As he approached, he caught Y/N's eye, and he could see the silent plea for help in her gaze. “Hey fella, I think you’ve had enough,” Harry said, his tone firm as he confronted the guy. 

The thug sneered at Harry, clearly not appreciating the interference. "Mind your own business, pretty boy. The lady seems to be enjoying my company just fine," he retorted, a smug grin on his face.

Harry’s jaw clenched, “I don’t wanna have to ask y’ again to leave her alone.” He warned, his voice laced with a steely edge.

The man stood up and Harry tried to keep calm when he saw the frightened look in Y/N’s eyes. He wasn’t going to fight in front of her and he wasn’t going to wake his sister who was now in Molly’s arms. Although Molly, as though sensing there was going to be a fight, backed away and bought Elise somewhere away from the campfire. 

Harry looked behind the man who was a few inches shorter than him, “Was he bothering y’ birdy?” He pointed at the thug who was trying to intimidate her.

“H-Harry-” Y/N stood and tried to reach for him but he held up a hand to stop her. 

People were watching, the noise had quietened down as a thick tension fell over the camp, “I just wanted to talk to the pretty bitch over here. You know she was asking for it the way she was wearing that swimsuit all day.” The sick thug chuckled. 

“You think that’s funny huh?” Harry faked a smile, stepping forward until he was right up close to the man, “Y’ know, my old man told me that when a guy makes comments like that to a young lady, it means something.” 

“Oh yeah? What does it mean?” The thug spoke, as though he was in on some kind of joke Harry was making. 

Harry’s jaw tightened as he muttered, “Their cock’s too small to find.” With a swift movement, he clenched his fist and swung, the impact landing squarely on the man's jaw. The thug stumbled back, stunned by the force of the blow, and Harry wasted no time in delivering another punch, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Harry!” Y/N gasped as Patsy screamed in shock. 

People gathered around to watch as the two men delivered punch after punch at each other. Y/N’s eyes welled with tears as she watched Harry get hit repeatedly, his entire face covered in blood. 

“George!” Y/N ran over to him, “Y’ gotta stop it,”

“What am I meant to do? That guy’s huge!” George exclaimed although he also looked worried for his older brother. 

“Please,” Y/N begged, “He’ll kill him.”

George hesitated for a moment, torn between the instinct to protect his brother and the fear of intervening in the dangerous fight. But the sight of Harry, bloodied and battered, spurred him into action.

"Sonny, help me!" George called out to his younger brother, who immediately rushed to his side. Together, they managed to pull Harry off of the thug he was punching, their combined strength enough to separate Harry from him.

Breathing heavily, Harry glared at the man lying on the ground, spitting out blood from his mouth as he did, before turning to face Y/N. Despite the pain etched on his face, his eyes softened as he reached out to her. "I'm okay," he assured her, his voice hoarse.

“Y-you’re hurt,” She was in shock, unable to believe this was real and not just some nightmare she was having. 

“I’m okay baby,” He heaved, spitting out more blood onto the floor. 

Before the man could get up and try to hit him again, Sonny, George and Y/N led Harry away from the bonfire. Y/N's heart ached at the sight of Harry's injuries, her hands trembling as she gently touched his bruised cheek. "We need to get you cleaned up," she murmured, one of his eyes already beginning to swell. 

They managed to lead Harry away from the chaos of the campfire, guiding him towards their tents where they could tend to his injuries in privacy and ignoring the gossip that was whispered amongst everybody. Y/N caught sight of Nancy who stood up and looked over at Harry with concern etched on her features. 

“Put him down here,” Y/N pointed to one of the logs for him to sit on and ran to grab a first aid kit she had packed in her backpack as a precaution and a wet cloth to wipe his face with. Harry groaned at the impact, hunching forward and clutching his ribs in pain. 

Y/N knelt in between his legs in front of him and opened up the kit, “You two should head on back, make the most of the rest of the night,” She told them as she placed the wet cloth to remove the blood from Harry’s face. 

“Are you sure Y/N?” Sonny scratched the back of his neck, “We can help if you want.”

“And do what? All I’m gonna do is fix his wounds and then go to bed. I don’t want you two to miss out and ruin the rest of the trip.” It was only ten thirty so there was still plenty of time to spend at the bonfire. “The girls are leaving Elise with one of the families and I’ll pick her up in the morning. Everything is fine, you two go and have fun.”

Harry hissed as she applied disinfectant to his cuts, “Well alright,” George said, still unsure, “But you’ll come get us if something goes wrong?” 

Y/N nodded, trying her best to smile, “I promise I’ll come get you.”

They soon left and Y/N was left alone with Harry writhing in pain, “I’m sorry Y/N.” His voice came out a whisper.

Y/N’s jaw clenched, “That was silly, y’ could have easily diffused the situation without delivering the first punch.”

“He was asking for it and I won’t allow anyone to talk to y’ that way. I saw how scared you looked when he was talking to you. God Y/N,” Harry exhaled heavily through his nose, “I think I saw red - I’ve never been so angry before.” 

Y/N sighed, “I know you were just trying to look out for me but you frightened me and I-”

“I did?” His voice sounded hurt, taking Y/N aback.

“A-A little,” She admitted, “I thought you were gonna die.”

“I can’t die, you know that,” He tried to crack a smile but his face hurt too much, “I never want to scare you, you know that right?” 

Y/N said nothing, “Hey,” He cupped her face in his hand, “I never want to scare you, ever.” 

“I know,” She shrugged him off, “Just don’t ever do that again.” 

Harry looked at her with a furrowed brow, unsure what to think of how she was feeling, “Alright,” His shoulders dropped, “I won’t.” 

Harry thought better than to interrupt her as she tended to the cuts and bruises on his face and hands. His eyes stayed fixated on her as she focused on fixing him up. He was pretty sure his pupils had carved themselves into hearts with how much adoration he had whilst looking at her. Her hair was wavy and tangled from swimming in the river, she had caught the sun a little so her face was tinged red and she was wearing his sweatshirt that was much too big for her small form. 

“I think that’s as good as it gets,” She whispered, eyes darting across his face. 

As she was about to pull away, Harry tugged on the sleeve of her sweater. Y/N looked down as he curled his fingers around her wrist and rubbed the pad of his thumb over her pulse point, “Thank you,” He murmured, doing his best to look at her despite his black eye. 

Y/N helped Harry into the tent, trying to make it easy for him to lay down comfortably without feeling any pain from where he had taken a few hits on his torso. She crawled in beside him and lay on her side to look at him, “Do you need anything?” She kept her voice quiet. 

Harry shook his head, “Just you here is fine.” 

Y/N swallowed, “I’ll stay here until you fall asleep.” 

A silence fell over them, the tension felt palpable now that they were alone together. There was so much that needed to be said hanging in the space between them - things that had been brushed off or put to one side all so they could build trust. But perhaps as their trust in each other grew, they began to question their own judgement and feel uncertain about themselves. 

“Y/N,” Harry whispered, breaking the silence. He rarely said her name now, often replacing it with the nickname he had given her, so hearing it from his lips sounded sweet like a term of endearment. 

“H-Harry,” She said back, unsure of what he was going to say.

“My old man used to hurt me and m’ family a lot,” He started, Y/N’s heart hurting for the man in front of her and his younger siblings, “When I grew older, I started t’ fight him back and I got so good at it. Not that that’s something to brag about but… I-I guess when I see the people I love, like my Mama and my brothers and Elise, in pain, I just get so angry. I-it’s like I see red every time and all I can think about is how much I want to hurt the cause of their pain.”

Y/N stayed quiet, allowing him time and space for his moment of vulnerability, “But I don’t think I’ve ever been as angry as I had been tonight. It’s like I saw you flinch and I swore I could have killed him.”

“Harry,” Y/N gasped, wanting to reach out for him. 

Harry turned over, wincing at the pain but needing to look at her as he spoke, “I ain’t stopped thinking about that kiss since it happened. When I sleep rough, I picture it to help me get back to sleep. Y’ seem to settle something in me that no one else can and… I don’t know what to do about it.” 

Y/N’s heart thundered against her chest like it was trying to leap out, “Watching y’ with my family, being with y’ every day - it is the one good thing in my life. You are the one good thing in my life, the only thing that is wholly and completely mine. I don’t know how to quit y’ Birdy, I’ve been trying because I thought y’ wanted to do this whole friends thing for a little longer but I think about you when I sleep, when I eat, when I’m a hundred feet in the air - Hell, I even think about you when I’m holding Elise, imagining you being there and holding her and how much I want that with you.”

Y/N felt her eyes burn with tears, “Y-you do?” She said her voice barely above a whisper. 

“I do darling,” He shuffles forward and reaches a hand out for hers under the blanket.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you either.” Y/N confesses, feeling the weight on her chest ease with each word she spoke, “I don’t think I’ve stopped thinking about you since the moment I saw you.” 

“You haven’t?” Harry questioned like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I haven’t,” Y/N affirmed, “Somehow it seems you’ve set up camp somewhere in there,” She placed a hand over his heart, “‘S a little annoying really,” She giggled. 

Harry grinned, his head moving closer to hers. Y/N’s smile fell when she felt his breath blow across her face. Her eyes darted down to his lips, “Are we going to kiss again?” She asked. 

“Do y’ want to kiss again?” He murmured, his lips feathering across hers. 

“I do, so badly, I do.” She was almost begging. 

“Well alright then,” His voice husky with desire. With that, he closed the remaining distance between them, capturing her lips with his. 

The kiss ignited something within them both. Months of longing and watching from afar, releasing into this moment.  Harry's lips moved with an urgency as Y/N sighed deeply in relief,  their mouths melding together. His hands found their way to her waist, pulling her closer as if to bridge any remaining space between them.

Y/N responded eagerly, her fingers tangling in Harry's hair as she deepened the kiss, her heart racing with every beat. The world around them faded into insignificance as if they were the only two people remaining in the world and they were all each other had. 

Y/N’s hand went under his shirt, feeling his warm body beneath her fingertips as she slid them up his torso. Harry gripped her hips hard enough to move her on top of him. Her bare legs were between his and he remembered she was still wearing her swimsuit beneath her sweatshirt.  “Harry,” She whispered, breathless. She was tugging on the hem of his shirt, silently begging him to take it off.

He shot up and she pulled his shirt over his head. Y/N marvelled at his muscular, tattooed body, she’d seen it plenty of times before but she could never seem to get over how perfectly built he was. Harry was eager to kiss her again, but Y/N hesitated. Her fingers went to the hem of her sweatshirt, and she pulled it over her head. Then, she did something that left Harry breathless.

She pulled the straps of her swimsuit down, leaving her upper body completely bare. Harry had never seen something so ethereal. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, the ends falling at her supple, rounded breasts, her nipples hardened from the cold air. Harry felt his cock stir in his shorts and he was pretty sure Y/N knew what was happening from the way her pupils dilated and her lips parted. 

“We don’t have to...” Harry wasn’t sure where this night was going to go but Y/N stopped him.

“I want to,” She whispered, “I want you.”

“Y/N,” He murmured, unable to believe this wasn’t all a dream. 

“Shhh,” She shushed him and pressed her lips against his again. She looped her arms around his neck and pressed their bodies together. 

Harry tossed the blanket to one side with his lips still attached to her. He pressed kisses down her neck, sucking and biting on her skin leaving a mark that would tell him in the morning that this was all real. Y/N could feel the bulge in his boxers beneath her as she straddled his lap. She rolled her hips against him, Harry groaning against her lips in response. 

Y/N gasped when Harry thrust his clothed cock against her core. She could feel the dampening of her swimsuit as her pussy grew wet the harder he ground against her, “Harry,” She breathed, his lips ghosting against her jawline, “I want you to put it in me,” She said, her desire overruling everything.

“Yeah?” His voice came out raspy, “Y want my cock in your pussy darling girl?” He looked up at her with hooded eyes.

Y/N immediately nodded, desperate to feel him inside of her, “Take me out then baby,” He ordered.

Y/N swallowed and tugged on the waistband of his shorts, her fingers fumbling to pull him out. Her eyes widened when she saw the outline of his cock against the fabric. She reached into his shorts and felt his cock beneath her hand, wrapping her fingers around it only to realise how big he was as she pumped her hand up and down. Harry clenched his jaw, his head falling back as he released a moan. 

“Gonna take off the rest of that swimsuit baby?” Harry murmured, playing with the nylon fabric. Y/N nodded and lifted her hips, allowing him to tug the swimsuit off of her body. Harry’s mouth fell open as her wetness touched his thighs. “Look at tha’ making a mess all over me hmm?” He tutted, his eyes looking down at her bare, pretty pussy. “So pretty, the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.”

“I need you so bad Harry,” Y/N mewled, her head dropping forward onto his shoulder as she went back to pumping his cock. He ran his hand up and down her back, soothing her. 

“I know baby, I know.” He cooed.

He helped her a little by pulling his shorts down from his hips. He almost died when he saw how much bigger his cock looked in her smaller hand, “Will it fit?” Y/N asked, eyes looking up at him big and round. 

Harry glanced at her pussy, “Dunno baby, y’ pussy’s so small,” He sighed, “Might hurt y’”

“But it’ll fit, I know it will,” She insisted because if he refused she’d probably pass out. 

“Oh yeah?” He looked at her with a cocky grin, “Look at you, you’re so desperate for it.” He reached out to wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth as she looked at his aching length.

His lips went to her ear, feeling her shiver beneath his touch as he breathed, “Show me.”

“What?” Her mouth fell open. 

“Show me how it fits in y’ baby,” He muttered. 

Y/N swallowed and nodded, exhaling shakily. She sat up on her knees, lifting her hips and shifting herself so her pussy was directly above Harry’s cock. Harry waited patiently, moving his hands to her hips and giving them a soft squeeze in encouragement. She grabbed the base of his cock in her hand and lowered her hips until she felt the tip nudge against her hole. She gasped when she lowered her hips a little further and the thick crown of his cock squeezed through the opening of her core.

“There y’ go,” He inhaled, “Tha’s my girl.” Y/N nodded, unable to think as his cock stretched her open inch by inch in the most delicious way, squeezing and pulsing against the walls of her pussy the further it entered her.

“‘S it all the way in yet?” She whimpered, her eyes squeezed shut.

Harry looked down and groaned when he saw half of his cock submerged in her tight pussy, “Almost baby,” 

“Okay,” She mewled, sinking further onto his cock until he was so deep inside of her. She whined, her head dropping forward when she felt the tip of his cock nudge the walls of her cervix and his balls pressed against her ass. 

“Fuck baby,” Harry moaned, pressing a longing kiss to the top of her head.

“Y so deep,” Y/N’s words came out slurred. She rested her head against his chest for a moment, getting used to the feeling of his cock inside of her. “M ready now,” She whispered.

“Yeah? Y’ sure?” He wanted to make sure she was okay and that she was in complete control of the situation.

Y/N didn’t say anything. Instead, she lifted herself up and then sank back down on his cock, feeling it rub against the walls of her sopping, wet cunt as she did. She repeated the action, her head falling backwards, back arching; she had to grip Harry’s calves to keep her from falling back. She was seeing stars every time she bounced on his cock, “It feels so good Harry,” She whimpered.

Harry grabbed her waist, helping her move up and down on his cock, “I know it does baby,” He moaned, “Does it feel good knowing ‘m so deep? Only I can touch y’ that deep baby, fuck,” He drawled. 

Y/N pushed herself up and removed her hands from his calves to his shoulders, using them as an aid to help her move up and down. Harry moved his head forward and wrapped his lips around her nipple, sucking and biting. He pressed spongy kisses down the center of her breasts, “Can y’ feel me right here darling girl?” He whispered, pressing his hand to her belly where his cock protruded every time she sank back down on him.

“Please Harry,” She whined, unsure exactly what she was asking for but so consumed by the intense pleasure she was feeling. 

“Please what?” His lips ghosted against her jawline, sweat coated their skin from how warm the tent was. He tugged on the ends of Y/N’s hair, “Y’ want me t’ put a baby in y’ is that what you're asking?” Y/N groaned, lips parting as the air left her lungs. “Oh you like that, don’t you? Can feel you clenching round m’ cock baby. Darling girl wants me to put a baby in her?” 

Harry thrust his hips harder into her when he received no reply, “Want me to fill you up and put a baby in you hmmm? Do y’ like the idea of having my baby inside of you? Making y’ belly all round and swollen and having everyone at Offutt knowing that baby inside of you is all mine.”

“Y-Yes Harry,” She gasped.

“Yeah? Y’ wanna make me a daddy baby? Be m’ perfect mama waiting on me with your perfect pregnant belly?”

“Mhm,” Y/N choked, his words making her heart pound. Her eyes began to water, feeling overwhelmed with how good she felt.

“Do you want me to cum inside of you?” He kisses her chin, “Know y’ ready to cum baby. Y’done so well.” He moves his hand in between them and starts to rub circles on her clit. Y/N’s gasping for breath, whining and writhing on top of him. 

“Harry, Harry, Harry,” She says over and over again like some sacred prayer, a stray tear falling from her eye.

“I know baby, I know you’re tired and ready to cum.” His lips puckering to leave a kiss where the salty tear once was on the side of her cheek. He could feel the burning in his belly as his orgasm began to build. He would have cum ages ago if he wasn’t so set on cumming with her. He could feel her cunt tighten around his cock, squeezing him harder. “Cum with me darling.” He murmured.

Y/N felt the coil in her belly burst as she clenched around his cock as she came. Harry’s quiet moans filled the tent as his cum painted the walls of her insides. He makes sure his whole cock is all the way in her even though he knows it won’t do anything, the thought of filling her up with his seed makes him cum even harder. 

Y/N collapses into his chest, her head falling on his shoulder. Her eyes flutter shut and her chest heaves as she tries to catch her breath from the intensity of her release. She feels Harry’s heart thumping hard against his chest, his hand smoothing up and down her back as he lays his forehead on her shoulder. 

Y/N whimpers when Harry moves and shakes her head, “Can we stay like this for a little longer?” She asks, tiredly.

Harry kisses her shoulder, “For as long as y’ want.” 

“Thank you,” She murmurs, feeling as though she could fall asleep exactly like this. His cock was still inside of her, she could feel the stickiness of his cum dripping on her thighs, but it felt so good to be so full of him. 

“C’mon darling girl,” Harry kissed her cheek, “Time to sleep.” 

Y/N shuddered when Harry removed his cock, her pussy pulsing around nothing whilst she felt his cum gush out of her. Harry brought his fingers to her thighs and began to push his cum back into her sensitive cunt. Y/N inhaled deeply, shuddering as she felt his fingers stuffing her empty hole with his cum. 

He gently laid her down beside him, her body placid. He grabbed the blanket and laid it across her body to stop her from getting cold, “Your bruises,” Y/N whispered, cupping his cheek in her hand and brushing her thumb over the bruise on his eye.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” He told her, he’d completely forgotten he was even in pain after she admitted his feelings for her. 

“Promise?” She whispered. 

“I promise,” He kissed the tip of her nose and then laid down next to her, wrapping her in his arms. She hooked her leg around his waist and nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck. “I love you Y/N.” He whispered. 

Y/N smiled, he could feel her lips curving against him, “I love you too Harry.” 

Y/N woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. Memories of last night flashing through her mind like each individual scene from a movie reel. Her whole body was filled with warmth, her core aching from the acts she had partaken in just last night. 

She turned over, expecting to see Harry still asleep beside her only to find an empty space. With a frown, she sat up and ran her fingers through her knotted hair, searching for her underwear and the sweater she had borrowed from him yesterday to cover herself up. 

She crawled out of the tent and glanced around, trying to find the man she had confessed her feelings to. She hoped he was somewhere smoking a cigarette or maybe decided to go for a swim before they had to make the hike back to the Air Base later on. 

Y/N stood on shaky legs and wrapped her arms around herself. She caught sight of Sonny and Patsy walking over with a bucket of fresh water. Y/N waved and tried her best to smile at them even though the feeling of dread began to swarm in the pit of her stomach. Sonny’s head turned in her direction and his expression faltered , “Hey guys,” Y/N said, her voice slightly raspy, “H-Have any of you seen Harry this morning?”

The uneasy silence that followed, punctuated by the grim expressions on Sonny and Patsy's faces, already made Y/N regret ever asking the question in the first place.

p.s y/n is on birth control just wanna make that clear heh

taglist: @ribbonknives @scorpiotulipicon @hermionelove @champagnepronlemsxxxx @n0vaj3an @roxyfan14-blog @avasbeanie @idontcareforausernamesblog @tpwksummer  @celesterry @love-letters-to-uranus @boredhsblog @tpwk-harry-styles @groupieloveclub @estaticheart @unknownkii @royaler1999 @lovebittenbyevans

[allysunny]

Hello 👋 can I pls request dating and jealousy headcanons for Bale! Batman? The reader works in his company and is very sweet and generous? Thank you ❤️

Dating and Jealousy Headcanons | Bale!Bruce Wayne x Fem!Reader

Words: 6k words

Warnings: None, I would say? Workplace relationship, if that's a tag, hahaha. Jealous and overprotective Bruce, one (1) makeout session and I don't think anything else? Do correct me if I'm wrong.

A/N: Hello everyone! Here's another one of my Bruce asks! I had a really fun time writing it - I love this man so much omg. I hope you guys have as much fun reading it as I had writing it!

Also I apologize if I got any of HR functions and tasks wrong, please do not kill me if they're not correct, I had to do some research, hahaha! Also, I've just realised how vague the information on Wayne Enterprises is. Like, what the hell do they do? I've been rewatching the movies because my family never has, and they're never clear about it lol. Except for the first movie and the whole "Thomas Wayne wouldn't want us to build war weapons" plot, what the hell do they do there???

At first, he had no idea who you were.

And honestly, could you blame him? He’s the owner of this enormous company that employs at least a hundred people.

You were working in the Human Resources department and were praised by every single one of your coworkers. You were the one keeping everything in check, from analysing performance and helping everyone set goals on what they wanted to achieve at work, to organising databases and generating reports. Those jobs should technically be made by at least 3 different people, but you were efficient and very professional, and most of the time took it upon yourself to oversee things and make sure all was running smoothly.

Bruce ran into you for the first time when you were checking on the Applied Sciences department. You had been sitting next to Lucius Fox, keeping a record of all the important work he’d done the last month, as well as going over the paperwork that outlined whatever his job entailed – while still in the AS department, Lucius was now a member of the board once again, and you wanted to make sure he had everything under control – as always, he did.

Bruce had walked in and raised an eyebrow. He’d never seen you before, were you one of his employees? Some relative of Lucius’s? His partner? Who the hell were you, and what were you doing in here?

“Ah, Mr. Wayne.” Lucius said with a nonchalant smile, standing up to shake his hand in a warm greeting. “As always, it’s a pleasure to see you. I was going over my Monthly Workplace Wellness Check with Miss [L/N] over here, and it seems all is in order.

“Mr. Wayne,” you greeted him, standing up and offering him your hand. This was your boss – the Bruce Wayne, the Prince of Gotham, arguably the richest and wealthiest man in the city, the boss, the man you’d never actually seen, but everyone spent no expense in talking about. And they did not lie – the man in front of you was handsome, with dark brown hair carefully slicked back and warm brown eyes that scanned you over carefully. He looked far too good in his navy suit, and you tried your best not to let your gaze linger on him – it would be unprofessional, and you wouldn’t want to be fired for sexual harassment.

Bruce, on the other hand, thought you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes upon. Your body was being snuggly hugged by a pretty, dark pencil skirt, and you wore a white dress shirt with flowy sleeves. The first two buttons were open, exposing a small patch of delicate skin and a leaf pendant. Cute.

Slipping his aloof mask back on, he shook your hand, relishing the feel of your hand on his. Your grip was firm – you were clearly trying not to be intimidated by him, but there was also something very tender about it.

“Miss [L/N], is it?” he asked, leaning back and placing his hands inside his pants pockets.

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ve never seen you around here – are you new or something?”

You tried not to flush in embarrassment. It’s only normal he wouldn’t even know who you were. After all, he’s got a whole company to take care of. And it’s not like you hung around the top floors a lot – your work was among everyone else, not the board. They had their own assistants for that.

“No sir – I’ve been working here for a few years. I’m HR Director.” You replied, trying to sound confident. This was your job and you’d been doing it very well – extremely well – and you were proud of it. It was a great opportunity to let your boss know of how great of a worker you were.

“HR Director, huh?” Bruce hummed, turning to Lucius once again. “You familiar with Miss [L/N]?”

“Yes sir,” the older man replied, smiling confidently at you. “She’s been overseeing most departments for about five years now. She’s the reason everything’s going so smoothly.”

“Really?” Bruce raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of responsibility.”

“Yes sir, it is,” you nod. “I’m very proud of my job.”

Bruce took one good look at you once again and nodded.

“Fox, I wanted to check on you about some of the, well, some of the orders we placed last week. But seeing that you’re busy, I’ll return later.”

Lucius nodded and sat back down. Unlike you, he felt comfortable around Bruce, even if he was his boss. After all, who else had helped Bruce Wayne spelunking?

“How about I fax you when I’m done?”

“Oh, I can – I could come back later if you wished to talk to Mr. Fox right now?” You asked, quickly turning to your desk to retrieve your clipboard and pens.

“No need, Miss [L/N],” Bruce responded, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t want to interrupt an employee doing a good job. I’ll wait for Fox’s fax.”

You placed your clipboard down and nodded, offering him a small smile.

“Thank you, sir.”

Bruce found himself returning it, before turning to Lucius and nodding in acknowledgement and then walking away.

“I’m quite sure he’s gone, Miss [L/N].” Lucius announced, an amusing smile playing in his lips. You nodded, trying to get that flustered look off your face.

The man next to you supressed a chuckle – he was sure the first thing his boss would do when he got to his office was do a thorough research on his HR Director. And it’s not like he hadn’t noticed the heat that seemed to have crept up on your cheeks. He shook his head and turned to you, focusing on the Wellness Check.

Lucius was right. The first thing Bruce did when he got to his office, was do some research on you. Who you were, what job you held exactly you held, how long you’d been in the company. Not in a creepy way (or so he tried to convince himself), more in a “How come I’ve gone so long without knowing my HR Director? Who knows what kind of people are working in my company, and how come I don’t know them all? Who knows what their true intentions are” kind of way. Not that he doubted you – Lucius wasn’t the type to lie – but he was… Curious. Very curious.

He also decided to ask around about you. No one would know you and your work better than the people that interacted with you daily.

The word around was that you were an exemplary employee. Professional, hardworking, and kind to a fault. Everyone told Bruce about how incredible your work ethic was, and how helpful you were. How you always offered an arm when asked for a hand, how you’d go the lengths to help your coworkers even if it meant you would work overtime.

“She’s quite incredible, Mr. Wayne. Very efficient, very focused,” his board members would tell him, going over the fantastic things you’d done for the company. “She’s actually personally trained each of our interns herself – that’s why they’ve picked up on their work so quickly.”

“I don’t know about your department, but we work better when she’s overseeing us. [Y/N] is really kind, she’s very firm in her job, but never rude. You know what I mean?”

[Y/N], huh? Pretty name.

“She’s an excellent communicator, fights barely happen when she’s around because she makes everyone feel heard and understood.”

“Her initiatives have significantly enhanced our company culture, that’s for sure.”

“Her consistency to always go above and beyond in her efforts would make Thomas Wayne proud. This is what he would’ve wanted Wayne Enterprises to be about.”

There were many the people that mentioned his father’s name along with yours. How he’d be proud of you, how he’d give you a promotion right away, how workers like you were exactly what he needed in his company. And Bruce was intrigued. Because, how come such a gem was working under him, and he had no idea?

He had to change that, clearly.

“Miss [L/N]?” he asked you once as you were about to leave for the day. You turned around and couldn’t hide the way your eyes widened in surprise. What did your boss want? And how come he’d remembered your name?

“Yes, Mr. Wayne?” you looked up at him and tried to focus. A million thoughts were running through your head. What did he want? Why had he chased you? Oh goodness, had he chased you? Had he run a background check on you of some sorts and was unsatisfied with the work you were doing? Were you going to be fired? You couldn’t – you’d been working here for about five years and never once slacked off. This couldn’t be happening, could it?

“I was wondering if you would like to join me to dinner later this week.” The words rolled smoothly out of his mouth, practiced, precise. He knew what he wanted and was not going to play around.

“Dinner?” you repeated, furrowing your brows. “This week? With you?”

“Dinner, this week, yes. That’s what I said.” Bruce nodded, and patiently awaited a response. He knew it might be weird. Your boss, whom you did not know, suddenly asked you for dinner?

You stared at him, running his words over in your head. Your boss wanted to have dinner with you. Your boss. Bruce Wayne wanted to have dinner with you. Part of your brain told you this was a terrible idea. Everyone knew what the papers said about Bruce Wayne, that he was a womanizer, a playboy. You didn’t want to be just another name in a long line of women he slept with.

But there was something inside of you that kept screaming “GO TO DINNER WITH BRUCE WAYNE PLEASE. YOU LITERALLY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE”.

Except perhaps, your job. What if he asked something of you, something you couldn’t give him? What if he punished you for it? What if, all along, this was a big ploy to check his sources and get you fired?

“Miss [L/N]? Is everything alright?” Bruce asked, looking at you in concern.

Screw it. You were a damn good employee. There was no way your boss was going to fire you, murder you, or whatever other silly ideas were going around in your head. You shook them away and looked at him once again, smiling.

“Yes, sorry. Everything is fine. And yes, dinner sounds really nice. Thank you for inviting me.”

Bruce gave you a polite nod, before looking behind you, where his limo went.

“I will send you the details later then. Is Thursday okay?”

“Yes! Thursday is fine.”

Bruce nodded again, and looked at his limo, this time with a tad more urgency.

“Miss [L/N], I would offer you a ride home, but I have quite the long list of errands to attend to. I will see you later this Thursday then.” He smiled – he smiled – and made his way towards a black limo, where an older man dressed nicely opened the door for him.

You couldn’t help staring as the car drove away.

You were going to dinner with your boss. With Bruce Wayne.

Surely, there was no need to panic, right?

Turns out, there hadn’t been no need to panic at all.

In fact, things went great.

Dinner with Bruce had been surprisingly pleasant.

It started out a bit awkward, with you not really knowing what your position there was, but after Bruce reassured you there was nothing wrong with your performance at work, you relaxed.

And surprisingly, so did he.

He found himself conversing with you the way he hadn’t done in a long time – casually, truthfully, openly. Sure, he didn’t tell you all of the secrets he kept, but he was genuine in his answers about his favourite memories from his childhood, or his hobbies, what season he liked the most, or whatever other question you had for him.

It felt nice to have a companion who wasn’t merely interested in his name or title or wealth. You didn’t seem to care about those, preferring to get to know Bruce Wayne the man, as opposed to Bruce Wayne the name.

He asked you about your life and you replied truthfully as well, telling him stories from when you were growing up, sharing some of your hopes and dreams, and opening up about yourself.

Bruce thought you were fascinating – at first he thought the things people said about your kindness were just polite office talk, but after spending 20 minutes with you, he realised how true they were. You’d smiled at everyone on the way to the restaurant, letting an old couple go inside before you (even though you two had arrived much earlier), refused to ask for anything without a gentle “Please” at the end.

And he could tell you weren’t fake – he was often met with fake smiles and faux politeness everywhere he went, but he could tell you were genuine, and it just made him even more interested in you. After all, not only you were beautiful, with your hair carefully tucked behind your ears, and a fitting dress that, while modest, still managed to make you stand out, but you seemed to be beautiful inside as well.

By the time you got to dessert, you were laughing heartily, head thrown back as joy overtook you. Bruce had been telling you about the worst excuses he’d made to get out of social events, and the last few truly were something. You then realised he was not the man media portrayed him to be. No, he seemed much more down to earth, more focused, more sensible. Not at all the reckless playboy gossip magazines painted him as. It was a pleasant surprise, and you were enjoying every minute of your evening.

At the end of the night, he drove you to your apartment (more like gave you a lift, since his driver – whom you learned to be his butler Alfred – was the one who had taken you to the restaurant in the first place) and walked you to your door, like a true gentleman. You giggled and swayed a bit, having drank a tad too much of wine. You weren’t drunk, no, but you could feel that pleasant buzz flowing through your veins, the one that made you gigglier and happier and made everything a bit funnier.

Bruce steadied you by letting you hold onto his arm and caught you when you tripped on the stairs to your building. You laughed loudly and he pulled you up, allowing you to face him clearly. Your breath caught in your throat, and you giggled once more when you realised how close you were, and how you could feel the alcohol on his breath.

“I really liked tonight,” you said, nodding along to your words. You had been drinking, but you weren’t dumb, and weren’t going to ruin the lovely night you’d had. As far as you were concerned, this could simply be a dinner for him to try and get to know you better, and not anything remotely romantic.

His next words changed your mind.

“Me too,” he said. “I’m sorry if my invitation was abrupt. You’ll have to forgive me, but when I saw you working with Fox that day, I was curious.”

“Curious?”

“Yeah. Everyone said wonders about you, and you seemed like a great worker, and not to mention you’re quite beautiful – “

“You asked about me?” you giggled, covering your mouth with your hand. Somehow, that was the line your brain picked up in this whole conversation. “You’re a stalker!”

“And I apologize for that.” Bruce steadied you once again when you leaned back to laugh and let out a dry chuckle. “But I really enjoyed our evening. I was hoping that you’d accompany me to dinner some other time?”

You looked at him, eyes now getting heavier. The wine was working its magic, and instead of moving around, you stood very still, enjoying the feel of Bruce’s arms around you.

“Dinner? Some other time?”

“Yes.”

“Like a date?” You don’t know what prompted you to say that out loud. That’s what you were wondering, yes, but you weren’t actually going to say it out loud, too scared to face rejection, too scared that this whole thing was a misunderstanding, and he wasn’t interested in you at all.

Bruce looked at you, surprised by your forwardness. Not that he wasn’t thinking the exact same thing – he was – but he thought he’d have to be the one doing the pursuing. After all, he was the “stalker”, as you put it.

“Yes, [Y/N], as a date,” he nodded. “Like a date. As I said, I’m interested in you. I know it might not be appropriate, seeing as I’m your boss, but I won’t lie and say you haven’t caught my eye, and I would really like to go on another date with you.”

You smiled, hands resting on the collar of his coat.

“This was a date?”

He shrugged, “If you want it to be.”

You pretended to think, placing a delicate finger on your chin, and looking away.

“Hmmmm…. I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.” Playing the part, you stepped away from him and tried to climb the stairs to your building door. Unfortunately, your foot caught onto one, and the floor went flying on your direction.

Luckily, steady arms wrapped around your waist, preventing you from falling face first. Bruce pulled you to him once again, and this time he swore he could see all the specks in your pretty eyes. Heat rose to your cheeks, and you couldn’t look away. Bruce’s eyes fell to your lips for a brief second, and you followed his gaze, wishing he would close the distance between you too.

But Bruce Wayne might be a lot of things and do a lot of things – but he wouldn’t take advantage of you. Not right now, when the wine was clearly getting to your head. He was going to do this properly.

He pushed away from you and gave you a friendly pat on the arm. Upon seeing the way your face fell, he mentally kicked himself. Shit. It was the wrong thing to do, wasn’t it? He should’ve just kissed you. But you weren’t thinking straight. And he didn’t want to take advantage of that.

“Goodnight, [Y/N].” He said, offering you a smile.

“Why are you such a goddamned coward?” A tiny voice in your head asked repeatedly. Why didn’t you just kiss him? You had a great time, didn’t you? He said so himself. He called it a date. He wanted to go on another. Why were you always so scared of going for what you wanted? Why dint you just take the plunge and do what you wanted to for once in your life?

Shaking away your nerves, you stepped forward and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Goodnight, Bruce.” You said, nodding in contempt and walking towards your building. By the grace of some god up above, you found your keys rather quickly and didn’t have to deal with the awkwardness that would’ve surely followed, so you just walked inside and closed the door behind you.

It was Alfred who had to break Bruce out of his trance.

“Perhaps you could take a picture of the building and take it with you, seeing as it is far too cold for you to stare at the real thing the entire night.” He said in a sarcastic manner, causing Bruce to stare at him and get in the car, but not without shooting one last look at the building.

He’d see you again for sure.

Things went smoothly after that.

You went out a few more times, and within about two months, he officially asked you to be his girlfriend. You accepted of course – after all, you were just as head over heels for him as he was for you.

You had to settle some boundaries for your office life to work out. You didn’t want anyone thinking you were shagging your boss for a promotion, or financial extras – not at all. So, you set some ground rules.

No PDA at work – this was rule number one, and it was the most important one. After you two started dating, Bruce found himself seeking you out more during the day, just to catch up or look at you (he was whipped). You’d noticed, and it was hard keeping yourself away from him. PDA was a big no-no. You two had to be professional and keep your personal relationship out of the office.

No pet names, no endearment terms, and minimal contact as it was. He’d once nearly gotten himself in trouble, having to switch from “My dear” to “Miss [L/N}”. It was tough and some employees looked at him funny, but he just walked away with his Wayne confidence, and no one said a word.

If you two did want to meet, it’d have to be after work hours, or during breaks, and in private. You would often bring him lunch, sit by his side in his office and just talk about your day and go over work stuff. He liked the privacy his office offered. He could have you in his lap, laugh about whatever silly reality show the Gotham gossip channels had on, and just enjoy some time off work.

No special treatment of any sort. This was very important. He couldn’t turn a blind eye to any problems you’d caused or any work you hadn’t done properly. Thankfully for him, you’d always been an excellent worker and he never had to reprimand you nor scold you. But he also couldn’t just praise you for every little thing you did – at least not at work.

It was hard, to say the least.

At home, you enjoyed being close to him, away from prying eyes, doubtful employers or clingy assistants who wanted his everlasting attention. And you could manage just fine at work as well – sure, you didn’t like seeing other workers drool all over him and beg for him to look their way, but you were also always far too busy to pay them any attention. After all, you had so much work to do.

But Bruce couldn’t say the same thing.

He’d go down a few floors to check on one particular project, or to supervise a series of workers, and find you busying yourself around with tasks, giving orders, keeping files in check, and turning in reports, and you’d look so great doing all of that. Efficient, hard-working. That’s what everyone had called you.

But then he’d see every other person had noticed the same. He could see the way other men looked at you, calling you over to ask questions and chit chat with you. They’d try to make you laugh, offering you charming smiles when they achieved so, and Bruce had to control every fibre in his being not to walk over to where you were and punch those smug grins off their faces.

Their games didn’t work on you though. You’d politely decline their advances, and declare you were taken, but some of them were too damn persistent. To those, you simply wished a good day and returned to your tasks. Something inside Bruce beamed with pride, and he would be lying if he said their upset faces did not bring him joy.

“C’mon [Y/N], it’s just one dinner. What wrong can that do, huh? I’ll take you to some place real nice,” a man in the same department as yours once pleaded, holding your hands in his. Bruce’s jaw twitched and you firmly moved away from him.

“Sorry Joe, I told you, I’m very busy. And even if I wasn’t, I have a very loving partner, and would never cheat on them.” Your voice was calm, but he could tell you weren’t comfortable with the way he touched you.

Joe scoffed.

“Some partner you have – you leave by yourself every single day. How come they never come pick up their missus, huh? If I had a girl like you, I’d come pick her up every day. What kind of douchebag leaves his girlfriend all alone? C’mon – one dinner with me and you’ll forgetting all about that idiot.” Joe moved towards you once again to grab your arm, but you moved away, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I told you; I wasn’t interested. And please do not touch me. Now, you should get back to work. Your monthly reports tell me you’ve been slacking, and I would hate to have to give you a warning.” You said firmly, raising your chin and gripping your clipboard tighter.

Joe scrambled for words, and you walked away. While brushing past Bruce, you could feel the smirk in his voice as he whispered “That’s my girl” for only you to hear.

But sometimes, he had to jump in and save you.

Well, perhaps save wasn’t the right word.

Because you didn’t need saving – he was just jealous.

You were taking a break from your weekly roundups, sitting at your desk, and chatting happily with your closest work friends. You leaned forward to whisper in a woman’s ear, and the both of you leaned back in laughter.

“Good morning, ladies,” a man in a nice-looking dark blue suit said, approaching the two of you. His blonde hair fell loosely over his eyes, and he did little to nothing to tame it.

“Raph! Hey – you’ll not believe what [Y/N] just told me,” your friend smiled, and “Raph” bent over to listen closely to what she whispered to him. He widened his eyes in surprise, before snorting in response.

“You’re kidding.” He turned to you.

You shook your head, biting the pencil you’d taken to your lips. Bruce had half a mind to walk over to you and claim your lips then and there.

“Nope. Saw it with my own eyes.”

The three of you laughed again, and Raph quickly looked around. He clearly did not notice his boss staring at them from across the room, so he pulled up a chair nearby and sat down.

You three engaged in lively conversation, and Bruce fumed at the sight of you leaning towards him every so often and giggling, bending over to whisper in his ear and touch his arm. Why were you so god damn close to him? Was there something going on between the two of you? Why the hell did he not keep his hands to himself?

Bruce’s patience snapped when he saw Raph take your hand in his and place a dramatic kiss on your knuckles. You looked at him and rolled your eyes, doing your best to pry your hand from his.

“Let go of me Raph, you’re absolutely disgusting.” Bruce noticed the way you smiled as you spoke each one of your next words, and something twisted in his stomach. A very ugly feeling that told him he did not like the way you seemed so close to Raph, nor the way he seemed to touch you so effortlessly. Why the hell was he touching you in the first place? Did he not know you were taken? He decided then and there this had to stop. This man needed to get his hands off you, right this moment.

“I’m serious – ugh – get off me, you’re sick! Get away!”

“I believe the lady has told you to let go of her hand.” Bruce’s voice echoed in the room, and nearly everyone stopped what they were doing to look at him. Your breath caught in your throat and Raph, who was sitting next to you, quickly stood up, brushing his suit.

“Sir – Mr. Wayne, I wasn’t – “

“Working? Clearly. Shouldn’t you be occupying yourself with your tasks at hand, other than harassing your coworkers?” The words left his mouth with venom, and he looked very angry – part of you had to stifle a laugh.

“Mr. Wayne, I promise I wasn’t harassing, I was – “

“Get back to your job before I do something about it.”

Raph shot you an apologetic look before scurrying away.

“Miss [L/N]?”

“Yes?”

“A word.”

You shrugged bashfully at your friend and followed Bruce. He led you away from your department, looking inside each passing room to find one that was empty. Once he found what he was looking for, he pushed you inside, locked the door behind you, and pressed himself against you, kissing you passionately.

A gasp left your lips before you returned his kiss, hands instinctively wrapping around his neck and in his hair. He licked your lower lip as if asking for permission, and you granted it with a soft whimper which he swallowed, hands deftly pulling your hips closer and closer to him.

When you broke away for air, you noticed how flustered he was, and how his lips and chin were covered in lipstick.

“What was – what was that for?” you asked, panting.

“Couldn’t stand to see that bastard all over you,” Bruce muttered, before moving on to press kisses against the column of your neck. You sighed in pleasure and ran your fingers through his hair.

“Raph is just a friend.”

Bruce snorted.

“Yeah, and he’s clearly interested in you. Idiot. Doesn’t he know you’re mine?”

At these words, you pushed away from him and burst out laughing.

“Mind explaining what’s so funny?” Bruce asked you, raising an eyebrow.

“Bruce,” you managed to say in between laughs, “Honey, Raphael is gay!” You kept laughing, staring at his dumbfounded expression.

“What?”

“Honey, he’s gay! We were talking about how I found his work crush sending dick pics to some random guy on Grindr!”

Bruce stopped in his tracks; brows furrowed in confusion.

“Gay?”

“Yes! He’s not interested in me silly – we’re just friends.”

“Oh.”

You resumed laughing, before adjusting your clothes and trying to wipe some of the lipstick off his face.

“Bruce, were you jealous?” you asked, cocky grin playing in your lips.

“No – I wasn’t – “

“Oh gosh, you were!” You smiled warmly at him. It was flattering, and you felt slightly bad for him. He had been worrying over nothing. “You don’t have to, you know?”

“They’re all after you. I know it.”

“They’re really not,” you replied, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. “And even if they were, I only have eyes for you. You know that right?”

He nodded, kissing you again.

“Besides,” you pulled away for air, fiddling with his tie. “If anything, I should be the jealous one. Every woman in this building is in love with you. And your personal assistant has tried not once, not twice, but three times bending over your desk, so you’ll look at her chest.”

Bruce shook his head, brushing a strand of hair away from your face.

“I couldn’t care less. I only have eyes for you.”

“Well then, you have to learn to behave. This is still my workplace, and I still have to interact with all of these people. And unless you want everyone finding out about us, you’re gonna have to learn how to deal with your jealousy better.”

He sighed, dropping his head to rest it on your chest. You smiled and ran fingers through his hair absentmindedly.

“I only have eyes for you, you know.”

“And I only have eyes for you.” He replied, before straightening up and fixing his hair and clothes. He looked at you for confirmation and you nodded, wiping whatever lipstick he had on his face, and fixing his tie and shirt. “Perfect”, you mumbled.

Bruce gave you a quick kiss and you walked outside. He’d wait a few minutes before following.

He really needed to work on those jealousy issues.

And he did!

Sort of.

He tried not to think too much about it when coworkers of yours praised and complimented you. “Hey [L/N], heard the turnover rates stabilised thanks to you! Good job!”. “Nice outfit, [Y/N]. Makes your eyes stand out. Very nice.”. “Hey, you saw this week’s morale reports? They skyrocketed – you’re too good at your job, we should all just quit.” It made his blood boil.

He tried not to think too much when your colleagues brought you any sorts of gifts. Coffee, when you were feeling tired, cookies or some other snacks when you were hungry, some even offered to go get you full fledged meals like salads or other dishes from the cafeteria just so you could keep working. You were so kind to everyone – it was only natural the ones around you reciprocated. And Bruce loved it – he loved that people recognised how generous you were, how downright good you were, and wanted to repay in kind. But it still made him somewhat envious.

So, he decided to take action.

One particular morning, he found you in your floor, working tirelessly. It had been a very stressful week, and you’d been far too busy to even visit him at the Manor or have dinner with him. He missed you. Missed your smiles, your laughter, your voice, your touch. Alfred was positive he was behaving like a child whose favourite blanket had been taken from him. It was endearing, yet also somewhat pathetic.

He approached you from behind, ignoring the surprised and stunned gazes everyone around you gave him. He embraced you from behind, dropping his head to your neck, and kissing you there.

You gasped in surprise, face covered in an expression of astonishment. What was going on? Was that Bruce? What was he doing here? And why was he kissing your neck? You were in the middle of organising a few very important reports and did not have time for distractions of any sort.

“Bruce – what are you doing?” you whispered, voice laced in shock.

“You’ve been working so hard, my love,” he said, intentionally loud for everyone to hear. “You should take a break.”

“Bruce, we’re working – we can’t – why are you – “ you had no words. No PDA, no nicknames, no special treatment. Why was Bruce breaking these rules all of a sudden?

“I missed you, of course. You’ve been exhausting yourself. Look at what I brought you,” he placed a cup of coffee on top of your desk, and you gasped. It wasn’t just any coffee; it was a very special brand that you only got one or two times due to how expensive it was. “You need sustenance.”

“Wow, Bruce, I mean, thank you so much, but you didn’t have to – “

“Of course I had to. Can’t have my beautiful girlfriend burning out, now, can I?” He lifted himself up and faced you clearly. He then proceeded to dip down and capture your lips with his, hand cupping your cheek and rubbing gentle circles with his thumb. He parted from you slightly, and whispered against your lips, “I couldn’t pretend anymore. Couldn’t stand being away from you. Screw everyone else. If they have a problem, they can come and talk to me. I’m the boss, after all, aren’t I?”

You looked at him through your lashes and offered him a soft smile. You couldn’t lie; you too missed Bruce, and it was getting harder and harder to pretend you didn’t know him at all. You gave him a soft tug on his tie and pressed another kiss to his lips. He could feel your smile against him, and it only made him smile in return.

Bruce then stood up, straightened his suit, and caressed your cheek.

“I bought lunch. Meet me in my office in two hours?”

“Yeah. I’d like that very much.”

He stole another kiss from you, causing you to chuckle, and walked away, as if he hadn’t just shocked the entire HR department to hell and back with his actions.

It didn’t matter.

They all knew you were his now.

A/N: And that's it! I hope you guys enjoyed it! I love this man so much okay. And wish me luck, going to rewatch TDKR with the family. Yesterday we watched TDK and I don't think my family understood the sheer magnitude of that movie... 😔

Oh well! It'll be fun!

Once again, thank you very much! And please keep your eyes wide open, I have a surprise coming up for everyone!

Have an amazing day ahead!

[sissyisawitch]

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Relationship: Sebastian Sallow x f!MC

Summary: After leaving everything behind and starting a new life almost three years ago, MC returns to Hogsmeade for Christmas Eve. Little does she know that her brief return will be enough for her past to catch up with her…

Word Count: ~9.4k

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol in the beginning? Otherwise it's just pure pining and fluff

Author's Note: Special one shot because I just love Christmas. It should've been even longer, but I had to shorten it, or I'd never have managed to post it in time for Christmas. Anyway, I had a blast writing it, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas!🎅🎄 Lots of love💕

“Oh, MC, I can’t get over how much we’ve missed of each other’s life. You can’t imagine how much I’ve missed you!”

MC and Poppy sat in a cozy corner of the Three Broomsticks, whose dim lighting and soft hum of conversation provided a comfortable backdrop for their reunion. Excitement and laughter had been echoing for the past hours, as the two best friends shared their numerous respective adventures, and reminisced about the wonderful times they shared while at Hogwarts.

“Life sadly took us on separate journeys after graduation, there was no other way… But I'm so grateful that we haven't lost touch.” MC said as she took a sip of her third Butterbeer of the afternoon. She had never realised how much she had missed the sugary drink, especially after being away from Hogsmeade for so long. It tasted of the good old days when she spent the entire day shopping with her schoolmates, before going for a collation to relax and forget about the homework they had to do.

After Hogwarts, Poppy became a renowned Magizoologist, following in her grandmother's footsteps, like she had always dreamt of doing. As for MC, she had taken a very different path. Barely a few weeks after graduating, the girl had decided to leave everything behind and embark on a life full of travel and adventure. She never stayed in one location for very long. Her aim was to discover as many places as she could.

Now, the only thing left of her former life was her best friend Poppy, and the letters they regularly exchanged. It was for her that MC had exceptionally returned to Hogsmeade, to see her on this Christmas Eve.

“Merlin… I didn’t realise it was so late already.” MC sighed as she looked out the window. The evening sun painted the sky in hues of orange and pink, casting a warm glow through the pub windows.

Poppy grimaced in response, as if a bittersweet realisation came to her, “Time flies when you’re having fun. I wish I could stay longer... but Gran hasn't been well lately, and I've already left her on her own all afternoon...”

“Don't worry, Poppy. I totally understand.”

“I'd love to offer you a place to stay, especially since it’s Christmas Eve… but as I said, it's complicated at the moment.”

MC offered the girl another genuine and reassuring smile, “It’s okay, I don't mind. I've managed to find a room in an inn for a couple of days.”

“I'm glad to hear that.” Poppy smiled back, although ruefully.

After paying for their drinks, the two girls made their way out. They stood on the porch on the Three Broomstick in contemplative silence, the air thick with unspoken emotions. The time had come to bid farewell once again.

Poppy took a deep breath, as if to get rid of the lump in her throat, before breaking the silence, "MC, it's been wonderful catching up with you. I wish we could freeze time and stay like this forever."

A wistful smile played on MC's lips. "Life moves on, though. We have our own journeys to continue."

Poppy hesitated before uttering her newt words, “…Don't let it be another three years before our next reunion."

“It won’t. I promise.” MC replied weakly, having to bite the inside of her cheek to hold back her tears. She had never been very good at goodbyes.

Maybe that was why she had never said one to Sebastian.

With a lingering hug, they exchanged a few more words, promises to stay in touch, and expressions of hope for the future. It was nightfall when Poppy finally disapparated, leaving MC alone on the village streets, which were neither crowded nor deserted. Most of the people still outside were on their way home, or off to enjoy a late drink with their friends.

MC walked for a while, before stopping at a vantage point overlooking the quaint village which was bathed in the soft glow of Christmas lights that shimmered like a galaxy full of stars. Tremendous decorated Christmas trees could be found on every street corner, perfectly matching the garlands of fir branches that linked the roofs of the various cottages. It was even possible to find some snowmen that were bewitched to fill the air with the enchanting melodies of Christmas carols. The whole scene resembled a holiday postcard brought to life, especially with the thick blanket of snow covering the village.

It was magical. Literally.

As MC gazed at the picturesque view, memories started flooding her mind. The charming village setting reminded her of the spirited Christmases she used to share with Sebastian, spending the best part of their day at Zonko's trying to find a way to prank Ominis, before heading off to Honeydukes to buy Chocolate Frogs, just in case the blond ended up sulking for too long. The inseparable duo then made it back to the Great Hall just in time for the big Christmas feast, where they joined Ominis. The smell of roasted turkey, and the sound of familiar laughter echoed in MC’s thoughts.

After dinner, the group of friends used to return to their common room and sit down by the fire. She could almost hear the crackling of the fireplace, and feel the camaraderie that accompanied their joyful exchange of gifts. After that, Ominis fell asleep very quickly, and MC and Sebastian usually took the opportunity to get a little closer. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the sensation of his shoulder used as a pillow against her cheek, while his woody cologne invaded her nostrils.

MC could never escape these kinds of memories, especially when she was in Hogsmeade.

Everything always led back to Sebastian in Hogsmeade.

That was why she had refused to set foot there for so long.

To forget the insurmountable heartbreak of never having her feelings returned by the love of her life, MC had decided to start a new life. She had wanted to move on, to forget her feelings for Sebastian, but she had known that this would prove to be impossible with him in her life. She had therefore decided to make a clean break – because she knew that bidding Sebastian farewell was not a skill she possessed – and to disappear brutally. To make her plan even more effective, she had also cut ties with Ominis, seeing as he was Sebastian’s best friend, and MC had felt awkward to put him in the middle of her drama. The only thing MC had kept from her old life was Poppy... now her one and only friend.

MC had then spent years travelling around the world, searching for a place where she would feel comfortable enough, and that she would love enough to want to settle there for the rest of her life. The goal to her quest was to find a place that felt like home.

After almost three years, she still had not found her home.

“Ow!” MC suddenly exclaimed. Someone forcefully colliding against her back disrupted her reverie.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am. I didn’t see you.”

MC turned at the sound of a deep masculine voice. Indeed, the man could not possibly have seen her, for he was carrying a large pile of children's toys in his arms, up to his eye level, thus blocking his field of vision.

The man shifted the pile of toys into one of his arms instead of both, moving them away from his face to take a look at the unlucky person he had just unintentionally bumped into.

Next thing MC knew, before she could even realise it, MC found herself face to face with none other than Sebastian.

His chocolate eyes widened in recognition as they locked onto hers. An amalgam of shock and bewilderment flashing across his face, washing away his previous apologetic look. He was so flabbergasted that he forgot about the packages in his hands, which began to wobble. MC rushed closer to him, to put the parcels back upright, and prevent them from shattering on the floor.

“…MC?” He asked hesitantly, never tearing his gaze away from her, just to make sure he was not dreaming, that his former best friend was well and truly standing in front of him.

“Hi.” She smiled softly at him. She could not believe that she had not recognised what had once been the only voice capable of soothing her even on her worst days. To be fair, it had changed remarkably. It was more intense, manly... even sexy.

“You’re back?” He questioned eagerly, a beaming grin breaking through the initial stupor.

MC nodded in response. She could not bring herself to tell him that it was only temporary, or even worse to admit to him that she had not come back for him, that she had never had a single intention of ever seeing him again. She could not be the one to wipe that gorgeous smile from his tantalising lips. It would break her own heart all over again.

As she kept staring into those familiar eyes, a rush of emotions overwhelmed MC. The old crush she had once harboured seemed to reignite with an unexpected intensity. It was unbelievably insane that just one glance at him was all it took to make her flamboyant feelings for him resurface. She thought she had managed to eradicate them, but she had actually only been able to bury them deep inside.

However, with that also came the horrid realisation that Sebastian was carrying a large number of toys in his arms. As MC looked once again at the eye-catching bundles in his arms, reality struck her like a cold breeze.

There, nestled in his grasp, was the object of the rude shock that life had evolved without her, in ways she never could have foreseen. Obviously, these toys were for his children, meaning that Sebastian was also married and had a loving wife waiting at home for him.

MC, still quite in denial, racked her brains to find another rational explication, but there was none. There was no other option because Ominis always said he never wanted kids in order not to pass on his ‘cursed Gaunt genes’. As for Anne… well last time MC had heard of Anne was the day Solomon Sallow died. After that, she had severed all contact with everyone except Ominis, who had promised her not to divulge any information about her whereabouts.

MC’s heart sank as her mind kept repeating itself that Sebastian had moved on, embracing a world that now included the joy and responsibility of raising a family.

“Merlin, MC! I thought I’d never see you again! You’ve missed so many things, there’s so much I need to tell you! Do you live here now?” If Sebastian had ever held a grudge against MC for disappearing without warning, no trace of it was visible. His excitement was taking over completely.

“I have a room at the Hog’s Head.”

“What? The Hog’s Head?” He exclaimed in horror – rather dramatically if you asked MC – “You can't possibly stay in this dodgy shithouse!”

MC was surprised by his crude words. She was used to his outspokenness, but she had not expected to hear it again so soon after such a long time. She could only shrug sheepishly, “I don't really have much choice... Sirona didn't have any more rooms available for me. Everything was booked up… you know… with the holidays.”

“Ah... Well, I can't exactly let a lovely lady like you sleep there. I've got room at home, you can come if you like.” Sebastian puffed out his chest, putting on his false air of chivalry.

MC tried her best to conceal the blush creeping up her cheeks, but alas, she could do nothing about her nervous stammering, “Oh… Oh, I… I don’t wanna bother you. Besides, the Hog’s Head’s not that bad…”

“Don't say no. Please. Really, I insist. We could spend the evening drinking and catching up… What d’you say?” Sebastian gave her the sad puppy eyes, and MC could feel all her resolve slipping away at the same second.

Thinking about it twice, the Hog's Head was truly, absolutely dreadful. The few times MC had been there, she had been catcalled far too many times for her liking.

So yes, she knew that staying with Sebastian, his wife and their children was going to be pure torture, but MC still preferred that to the risk of being mugged or assaulted by one of the Hog's Head patrons.

“Okay.” She ended up saying, forcing a smile that masked her internal turmoil.

“Brilliant!” Sebastian looked so excited that it would not have surprised MC if he had started jumping up and down. “Have you got any luggage you need to pick up in your room before going to my place?”

“No, I've just got this." MC replied, pointing to her small rectangular shoulder bag, barely large enough to hold a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. “I travel light.”

“Perfect! Well then, if you will follow me, my lady.” He offered her his arm with a wink, and after a brief moment of surprise, she accepted it.

Sebastian made it so effortless to fall back into their old dynamic, that it made it just as natural and easy for MC to do the same. It was like they had never been apart.

They walked together, sticking close to each other, in the same way they used to do when they were still teenagers. As they strolled through the streets of Hogsmeade, MC assumed Sebastian was taking her to a Floo Flame. The girl was therefore genuinely caught off-guard when he stopped in front of her. a small house typical of the village – made of stone with an excessively pointed roof – and took out a key to open the front door.

“Ladies first.” Sebastian's face lit up with pride and joy, while he let MC in first, still the perfect gentleman as usual. Even married, he could not help being flirty.

Before entering, MC took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, in anticipation of meeting the woman who had succeeded where she had failed, the woman who was better enough than her in Sebastian's eyes to have succeeded in stealing his golden heart.

However, instead of coming face to face with her nemesis, MC found herself immersed in an intimate reflection of Sebastian's essence, overwhelmed by how homey it felt. The house was truly cosy, but a little small for a family in MC's opinion. But then again, it had to be remembered that Sebastian was used to small spaces, having lived in his little one-room cottage in Feldcroft for most of his life.

The living room had the charm of disarray, with stacks of well-read books scattered on the coffee table next to empty mugs, suggesting that Sebastian had not lost his messy habits. The smell of the fireplace and coffee intermingled, creating a comforting atmosphere that reflected precisely the way Sebastian always managed to put MC at ease.

MC guessed that the upstairs, which was in fact a mezzanine, must be the bedroom. She did not dare go upstairs to respect his privacy, but from the ground floor, she could see the top of bookshelves reaching up to the pointed roof, proof that Sebastian was still as thirsty for knowledge as ever.

All these little details showed MC that, although his life had evolved, the man standing a few steps away from her was still her beloved Sebastian.

Sebastian, observing MC's reactions, could not suppress a grin, "It's not much, but it's home. You can have the bedroom, and I'll sleep on the couch.”

On further inspection of the house, MC came upon the kitchen, which was open to the living room. She could not help noticing that the worktops bore the marks of failed culinary experiments. Some pans with burnt bottoms were abandoned on the counter, and dirty cutlery had accumulated in the sink. In short, the kitchen was a mess, just as Sebastian could be in other people's lives.

However, what stood out most to MC was the absence of signs of shared living. There were no visible traces of another person – no stray belongings, no indications of a partner or children. It was as if the whole house resonated with Sebastian alone, as if his whole person had become woven into the fabric of his environment.

As MC continued to stare in silence at his topsy-turvy house, Sebastian scratched the back of his neck nervously, “Don't pay attention to the shambles, please. I didn't clean up... since I wasn't exactly expecting any guests.”

Instead of reassuring him as she would have liked, MC's curiosity was quicker to take over her next words, “Where’s your wife?”

“My wife?” Sebastian frowned.

“Yes. The woman you married.” She added bitterly. Her curiosity slowly lowered its mask to reveal its true self of authentic jealousy.

He looked away, but MC could still see that he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep a straight face, “I’m flattered you think I’m charming enough to get a wife, but I’m afraid there’s still no Mrs. Sallow. Besides Anne, of course.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Sebastian chuckled at her enigmatic reaction.

“I thought the toys were for your kids…” She admitted shyly, pretty embarrassed after making so many wrong assumptions about him.

“My kids? Bloody hell, MC, you sure have high expectations for me!” Sebastian exclaimed, clearly amused by the situation. “But no, I don't have kids. The toys are for my niece.”

MC was gob smacked, eyes wide and mouth agape, “Your… niece? You have a niece? Anne had a child? Wait, did she get married? With who?”

“That’s a lot of questions.” He smirked playfully at her, while looking for a bottle in one of his cabinets. “But I think you can guess the answer to the last one.”

MC looked down at her feet, taking a moment to think, when realisation hit her like a bolt of lightning. She turned her head back to Sebastian so fast it almost gave her whiplash, “Ominis?”

“Bingo.” Sebastian replied casually, uncorking a bottle of Firewhiskey. “And he took Anne's name. He's Mr. Sallow now.”

“No way!” She gasped, letting herself fall limply onto the sofa out of utter stupefaction.

“Yes way.” He laughed wholeheartedly, sitting down next to her and pouring two glasses of alcohol for each of them.

"How? When?"

"Apparently, after fifth year, they did more than just keep in touch."

MC took her glass in hand, but did not drink from it. She had far too many questions on her mind to take the time to have a sip, "But how did they deal with Anne's curse?"

"It disappeared once you killed Rookwood, since he was the one who cursed her. Apparently, magic disappears with the caster. I learnt all this a few months after graduation, when Anne got back in touch to invite me to their wedding…”

Sebastian suddenly paused in his explanations to down his glass of Firewhiskey in one gulp.

“She wanted to invite you too… I had to explain to her that you'd disappeared without warning." He continued, looking pained, and MC suspected it was not just because of the bitterness of the alcohol.

"I'm sorry." MC winced at her own words. She was pathetic to listen to, using the most clichéd and basic phrase. But it was all she could muster to respond, because it was exactly how she felt. She was profoundly sorry. Sorry to the people she cherished the most, for abandoning them without looking back. But also sorry for herself, because she now had to accept the bitter realisation that she had been absent for so many crucial milestones of their lives.

Sebastian only shook his head, avoiding her gaze and preferring to stare at his empty glass, "Why did you do that? Why didn't you say anything? I was worried sick ‘cause I thought something bad had happened to you, that some Ashwinders were still out there, and had kidnapped you. I spent months looking for you... I'd even asked the Aurors to search for you.”

MC sipped her drink slowly, using the alcohol as a distraction from the painfully heartbreaking explanations of the man sitting next to her

“…They eventually found you overseas. In perfect health... and in perfect company so I've heard. That's when I realised that you hadn't been taken away, but had gone away of your own free will.” Sebastian poured himself another glass before throwing it back again.

“I'm so sorry.”

He scoffed bitterly, “I don't want to hear that you're sorry. It's no use. I just want to know what you were thinking when you left.”

This time, it was MC's turn to down her glass before pouring her heart out in the most honest way possible, "I just needed to get away from everything, from the past. I just wanted to start again."

Against all odds, he nodded understandingly, "Wish I could stay mad at you for it... but I won’t say that I don’t understand."

What he did next surprised MC in the most pleasant way. Sebastian reached out towards her, placing his large hand on top of hers, which was resting on the brown leather of the sofa. Even if his hand was calloused and weathered by time and experience, MC was amazed by how perfectly it fit around her own.

"What matters is that you're here now." He offered her a tender smile that warmed her heart in the most appeasing way. Only he could do that to her.

"I am." MC smiled in return, even more brightly. It was contagious. She turned her hand over and intertwined their fingers together.

As their conversation died down, MC could not help but steal a moment to observe the transformation in Sebastian’s appearance. The once-adorable teenage boy she remembered had blossomed into a handsome man. His features, chiselled by the passage of time, sculpted a strong jawline that added a touch of rugged refinement to his countenance. The shadow of a beard adorned his face, giving him a distinguished and slightly mysterious air. Sebastian's tousled hair fell with a casual elegance, framing a face that bore the subtle imprints of life's experiences, such as a scar on his eyebrow arch that MC had never seen before.

The only remaining trace of the boyish charm that MC had cherished years ago, was the constellations of freckles that beautifully decorated his face. They had always made MC weak in the knees, but the butterflies in her stomach were multiplied tenfold now that they were highlighted by his light tan.

MC internally begged herself to stop ogling him before she fell further under his spell (if that was even possible, considering how head over heels she was for him).

She poured herself another drink and cleared her throat, “You said you wanted to catch up over drinks, right? Go ahead. Tell me about yourself.”

As Sebastian spoke, MC found herself captivated by the way he carried himself – his confidence unaltered after all these years, and the assurance with which he gestured. There was an understated magnetism in the way he spoke, a reflection of the man he had become since they last parted. As he easily recounted all he had achieved, MC marvelled at the beauty of the journey that had transformed him into the person sitting in front of her.

And so, MC listened attentively, desperate to know everything she had missed about him. She thus learnt that, after Hogwarts, Sebastian had joined the Auror recruitment programme. His first reason was that it was a profession he was passionate about, and that allowed him to do what he loved all day long. The second reason – and perhaps the most important – was because he knew that this career would help him to achieve noble things. In other words, it was his way of making amends for all the mistakes he had made in the past, in the hope that Anne would eventually forgive him too (which had taken a long time, but eventually worked out).

After having been accepted into the programme, Sebastian knew that he would not be able to stay in Feldcroft, firstly because the cottage held too many painful memories, but also because it was now Anne and Ominis' shared home. Consequently, he had found himself a small studio in London, not far from the Ministry. However, even after spending several months there, it just never felt like home to him. He resented the lack of green space, and the fact that he always had to check that none of his Muggle neighbours noticed that he was a wizard. So he moved again.

Looking for a place that was both in the heart of the Highlands and still bustling with life, Sebastian found only one possibility: Hogsmeade. The small, all-wizarding village met all his expectations, and the Ministry was easy to reach thanks to the Floo Network. And so, Sebastian moved into this small cottage, perfect for his life as a bachelor.

“So Auror Sallow, huh?” MC said playfully. “Well, can Auror Sallow win a duel against Ancient Magic Prodigy MC?”

“He sure hopes he can, since it’s supposed to be his job.” Sebastian laughed along with her.

“Do you want to put yourself to the test?” She cocked an eyebrow at him mischievously.

“You know I never shy away from a duel.” He replied with the same spark of deviltry in his eyes.

Without wasting any more time, Sebastian stood up, then turned to MC, holding out his hand to help her up. It was a simple gesture, but it was enough to make MC's cheekbones turn pink, as would any act of affection she received from Sebastian.

The two took their positions, taking a few steps apart before facing each other. It had been years since they last engaged in the exhilarating dance of magical duelling, a pastime that had once defined their youth, especially after being named Crossed Wands champions for three years running.

"Ready?" Sebastian grinned, the confidence of experience illuminating his eyes.

"Always." MC replied, wand at the ready, and they prepared to rediscover the thrill that had bound them together in shared laughter and friendly rivalry.

Ever the perfect gentleman, Sebastian let MC commence hostilities.

“Expelliarmus!”

“You're off to an easy start.” Sebastian laughed after brushing the attack off with a simple Shield Charm. “Confringo!”

MC deflected the spell just as easily, smirking right back at him, “You're off to a predictable start.”

A symphony of lights ensued, as sparks and spells flew, and the air shimmered with the energy of their magical prowess. MC’s spells were fluid and controlled, a testament to the skill she had honed over the years. Sebastian, however, moved with a newfound grace and precision, his every movement reflecting the growth and mastery he had attained thanks to the Auror training.

The duelling only grew in intensity as the two friends weaved intricate spells, each trying to outmanoeuvre the other. Laughter and teasing remarks echoed through the night as memories of their youth resurfaced in the midst of their magical exchange.

After several long and intense minutes of competing against each other, Sebastian unexpectedly directed his wand away from MC, aiming instead at the ceiling, and more precisely at the chandelier hanging from it.

“Glacius!” The candles obviously failed to resist the ice and were instantly extinguished on contact, plunging the room into semi-darkness.

Distracted by the newfound refined strategy established by Sebastian – which he had no doubt learnt to put in place at the speed of light during one of his courses – MC did not notice Sebastian disappear under a Disillusionment Charm, which was all the more effective as there was hardly any light in the living room, apart from the orange flames crackling in the fireplace.

With a final, masterful flick of his wand, Sebastian cast the final blow, “Depulso.”

MC found herself propelled to the floor, her back slamming against the sofa. Judging by the underwhelming low force of the impact, it was easy to guess that he had restrained himself, so as not to hurt her.

“Looks like I've had my long-awaited revenge for fifth year. I've finally bested you in a duel." Sebastian, breathing slightly heavier but grinning ear to ear, extended a hand to help her up.

MC, refusing to admit defeat, grabbed Sebastian's hand but only to make him fall to the ground beside her. She rolled them over until she was astride him, holding him firmly down.

She grinned down at him, “Really? Because I actually think I’ve won.”

He barked a laugh, “And I think you've forgotten the rule that you're not allowed to use physical violence in a wizard duel.”

“Since when do we play by the rules?”

Their gazes met for the umpteenth time that night, but this time was different. It was as if time had come to a standstill, as if the world had momentarily stopped spinning for them, just to let them savour the closeness of the moment.

MC kept staring into Sebastian's chocolate eyes, and was truly taken aback by what she saw in them. His eyes, once full of youthful curiosity, now sparkled with a different kind of radiance. They shone with a brightness that seemed to reflect the happiness and contentment he had found in his life. The laughter lines around his eyes only enhanced their glow, and as MC looked into those bright, expressive eyes, she could not help but feel a sense of joy for the man who had evolved from the adorable teenage friend she once knew, into the confident and content individual currently lying on the ground beneath her.

In those eyes, she saw the echoes of the genuine happiness that had transformed Sebastian into the person he was meant to be, the person she should have met from the very beginning of fifth year, if only Anne had never been cursed by Rookwood.

But now Sebastian was completely fulfilled with every aspect of his life. It was as plain as the nose on his face. And the feeling was made all the clearer by the fact that his lively eyes were perfectly matched by his wide toothy grin, which shone brightly even in the middle of the darkened living room.

After eventually snapping out of her thoughts, MC pulled herself away from Sebastian and helped him straighten up, “I’m proud of you, Seb, of what you’ve become. The future Mrs. Sallow will be very lucky to have a capable man like you by her side.”

Sebastian sat down next to her on the floor, facing the fireplace, and back resting against the sofa behind them, “She’ll never be as lucky as Mr. MC will be. I hope he’ll realise he’s got the most brilliant witch of the world by his side.”

MC grabbed his arm and hugged it close to her chest, while hooking her leg over one of his. Their limbs were tangled together, clinging to each other. Sebastian seemed to have no objection to this new positioning. In fact, he seemed quite delighted as he wrapped an arm around the shoulders of the girl next to him.

“What d’you think he’ll be like, my future husband?” She asked quietly.

“He’ll have to be right for you.” He replied all too solemnly.

A small laugh escaped her, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means it has to be someone who will know how to take care of you, and give you everything you need to be happy, without a single shred of hesitation. It will be someone who's worthy of standing by your side and will be able to protect you from any danger… so basically someone who'll be able to defeat me in a duel."

"Seems like I'll be stuck with you for the rest of my life, then." MC continued to smile, but it was no longer in amusement. It was something more akin to contentment.

Sebastian mirrored her expression, "Perhaps you will. I can’t imagine it'd be too bad, would it?"

"Apart from your occasional bad temper, I think I could take it." She rested her head on his strong shoulder.

MC was not sure whether it was the fatigue accumulated from her perpetual travels, or the feeling of being in a warm, comfortable home, or even the fact of being reunited with Sebastian (it was probably all three), but her eyelids became heavy without her even realising it, leading her into a peaceful sleep.

“I'm going to celebrate Christmas at Anne and Ominis' house tomorrow. You're coming.” Sebastian declared out of the blue, without realising that the girl had started dozing off.

“What? No, Seb, I can’t do that. I can’t just barge in when I wasn’t invited.” MC mumbled groggily.

“You don’t need an invitation, MC. It’s you. You’re always welcome.” He retorted instantly, as if it was the most common fact to ever exist. “Plus, they miss you, so they’ll be the happiest people in the world if you show up.”

“I won't even have a present to give them...” She muttered like a pouting small child, which made it impossible for Sebastian to hold back a chuckle.

“You're back. Believe me, that's better than any present you could buy.”

Sebastian's fingers subconsciously started tracing invisible shapes on her arm, effectively lulling her back to sleep.

❄∗❆∗❅⁂∗☃∗⁂❅∗❆∗❄

The next morning, MC was woken by the few rays of winter sunshine that the curtains had failed to hold back. Keeping her eyes closed to enjoy a few more minutes of rest, she rolled onto her stomach and was pleasantly surprised by the feel of soft sheets against the skin of her face. But what struck her most was that she could smell Sebastian's perfume all around her, as if she were immersed in one of the bottles.

Completely enveloped by the sophisticated fusion of woody undertones and hints of vetiver, and the enigmatic charm it carried, MC opened her eyes and realised that she had indeed spent the night in Sebastian's bed. On seeing this, MC let herself think that Sebastian had slept in the same bed as her, and that perhaps, with a little bit of luck, he reciprocated her feelings.

A flutter of anticipation flickered within her, one that prevented her from staying in bed any longer. Without wasting any more time, MC descended the mezzanine stairs to the living room, where Sebastian was already sitting on the couch, Daily Prophet in hand.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Sebastian greeted her with a smile when he noticed her standing at the bottom of the stairs.

MC realised he must have been up for quite some time, for he was freshly cleaned up – the lack of stubble which had been present the previous day was testament to it – and already dressed up for the imminent Christmas reunion. He was clad in a tan windowpane shirt, coupled with a gingerbread brown vest matching his tailored pants. The choice of colours could not have been more perfect. All those shades of brown brought out all his most majestic features: his unruly yet soft hair, his freckled skin, his warm and reassuring eyes…

Sebastian was making it humanly impossible to tear one’s gaze away from his god-like appearance, and MC could not resist making a comment about it.

“Morning, handsome.” She smirked playfully back at him.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Better than ever.” MC admitted, a discreet pink tinting her cheekbones. “Just a question, though. How did I get up there?”

“I carried you, of course. Couldn't let you sleep on the floor. What kind of host would I have been?”

“And… you slept…?”

“On the couch. Just like I told you I would.” Sebastian smiled tenderly.

“Right.”

And with these few simple words, reality dawned on MC. Disappointment settled in, like a gentle snowfall dampening the warm embers of her previous hope that Sebastian harboured feelings for her.

The truth was that he had chosen the sofa over sharing the bed with her, a sign that he still viewed MC as nothing more than a friend. The girl felt her heart tug, like a reminder of why she had chosen not to be part of his life any more.

MC took a deep breath, “I'm gonna go and get ready, so we don't arrive late at Anne and Ominis'.”

“Anne likes us all to be dressed up for Christmas. We can go and buy you a dress at Gladrags, if you'd like–”

She immediately shook her head, “No, no, it's fine. Don't worry, I've got everything I need.”

MC took out her wand and pointed it at her small shoulder bag on the floor. With a simple flick, the object grew tenfold in volume until it reached the size of a suitcase. MC opened it, revealing that the bag had been enchanted to be bottomless, and she climbed inside it before disappearing. All that could be heard was the sound of her footsteps, and her bustle as she went through all sorts of outfits.

“Talk about travelling light.” Sebastian snickered.

A few moments later, MC emerged back from the suitcase as if climbing a ladder, wearing an ankle-length cotton mahogany dress. The corset hugged her waist perfectly, and highlighted her bust with its square neckline and short puffed sleeves. The dress was nothing extravagant, but the fact that it fit her like a glove was what made it so charming.

“Is this dress all right? Think it'll be nice enough for Anne?” She gave it a twirl, so that Sebastian could see it from every angle, before putting on a black cloak to protect herself from the winter cold.

“It looks great. You look great. Well, not great, actually. I mean– More like stunning. You look stunning, you do. We’re even matching. The colour, I mean. Because obviously you look better than me.” Sebastian stammered awkwardly, his cheeks tinged with a hint of shyness. “Merlin, this is awful. I need to learn to shut up.”

“It’s alright. I understood what you meant, that's the most important thing.” MC could only chuckle at his new bashfulness. She found it absolutely endearing.

Sebastian took a deep breath before speaking more clearly, “What I’m trying to say is… You're beautiful. You’ve always been.”

“Thank you, Seb.” She met his gaze, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

He tried to divert attention from his nervousness by slipping on his long black coat, and grabbing the wrapped gifts for his niece, “Ready to go?”

MC nodded in response, waiting for Sebastian to apparate them. She expected him to grab her by the arm, but instead he wrapped an arm around her waist. He brought her small figure close to him, as if he wanted to make sure that she would be comfortable during the apparition, that there was not even the slightest chance for her to get splinched.

With a loud crack, the world began to spin. Next thing she knew, MC was standing in the middle of the snowy village of Feldcroft. As she tried to right herself, she staggered slightly, dizzy from the apparition, whose effects were far more brutal when someone was doing it for you. Fortunately, Sebastian still had an arm wrapped around her waist to cradle her against him. With his other hand, he grabbed her elbow to steady her.

Once Sebastian was certain that MC was all right, he guided her towards the Sallow cottage, which she had not seen for years. From the outside, it looked much bigger than she remembered, particularly because it had an extra floor. Sebastian explained that he had helped Anne and Ominis enlarge it after their wedding, so that they would have enough room for their future family.

Sebastian was the first to set foot on the cottage porch. He hid MC behind him with his body, to create an effect of surprise, then knocked on the door. It was Anne who answered, appearing in the doorway wearing a sublime ankle-length midnight-blue velvet dress adorned with cultured pearls.

"Sebastian! I told you to buy only one present! She's going to end up spoiled rotten if this keeps up." Anne exclaimed without even greeting her brother.

"She's my only niece. Who am I to spend my money on if not her?"

"How 'bout your sister?" She raised an accusing eyebrow at him, while clearing him of all the packages in his arms.

"Ah, but I've brought a surprise for you too. Look what I found last night…" He intoned with amusement, and stepped aside to reveal MC. "A lost soul who wanted to spend Christmas alone at the Hog’s Head!"

"Oh my, MC!" Anne swiftly pulled the girl into a bear hug. "Ominis, come here!"

"What is it, sweetie?" The blond man called from afar, carrying his daughter in his arms.

Judging by the way he had stopped dead in his tracks, coming to an abrupt halt, MC knew that he had sensed her presence thanks to his sentient wand.

Sebastian decided to take his brother-in-law’s daughter off his hands, so that the two friends could reunite peacefully, "Hey, little monster! Wanna give a hug to Uncle Seb?"

Meanwhile, MC approached her old friend and spoke softly, "Hello, Ominis."

Knowing that Ominis was not very comfortable with physical contact, especially with people he did not know well, MC was not sure how to greet him. So it came as a great surprise when he made no hesitation whatsoever and took her in his arms, holding her tightly.

"I should be telling you off for disappearing... but I'm not going to. Not today." Ominis whispered in her ear.

She chuckled lightly, "I'm happy to see you too."

"Let me take your coat." He offered after pulling away.

MC untied the ribbon from her cloak, and handed it to Ominis. She then turned to Sebastian to pick up the toddler in his arms, so that he too could remove his thick winter coat.

"Hi, little princess. I'm a friend of your mummy and daddy, and your uncle Sebastian too." MC cooed in a honeyed voice. She could not help noticing that the little girl in her arms was the perfect amalgam of her two parents. She had all her mother's features, but with meadow-blonde hair and grey-blue eyes like her father.

"Unkie! Unkie!" She pouted and made big gestures with her arms to indicate that she wanted to go back to her uncle. She truly was an uncle's little girl.

"I'm here, baby.” Sebastian immediately took her back into his arms, after giving Ominis his coat, to cradle her. “You don't have to be scared of MC. She's really nice too, you know."

"Auntie?" The one-year-old asked hesitantly, reaching out to wrap her hand around MC's index finger.

"That's right, that's Auntie MC." Sebastian encouraged her. It was impressive how he naturally had his way with kids.

It may have been silly, but something as simple as being called Auntie by a child she had just met, as well as by Sebastian, awakened something in her, a sense of belonging that had been dormant for a long time. She truly felt like a fully-fledged member of this family.

Anne suddenly let out a sigh, "I'd love to be able to celebrate the reunion with you, but I've still got lots of things to do in the kitchen. Sebastian, can you look after the baby while Ominis lays the table?"

"I'll come and help you, Anne." MC declared.

"Thank you, MC. You're too kind." Anne exited the living room, followed by MC.

“So… You and Ominis, huh?” MC started once they were alone. She was sitting across from Anne at the small kitchen table which was covered in food stains from preparing the meal.

Anne immediately shook her head, “Oh, no, no. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about my marital life later. Let's talk about how you ended up here with my brother after all these years."

"We ran into each other last night in Hogsmeade. He offered me to sleep over, and we basically spent the better part of the night talking." MC shrugged.

"And?” Anne pried impatiently. “What happened?"

"Nothing. What do you want to happen?”

“Nothing. It was just a random question.” Anne replied coyly while she finished icing the Yule log. “So, update me as well. Where are you in life? Have you met anyone?”

“No, not at all. I haven't really had time for that.”

“That's a shame.”

“What – uhm – What about him?” MC did not look up from the kilted soldiers she was preparing, in an attempt to appear nonchalant. Needless to say, it was a failure.

“Who?” Anne feigned ignorance.

MC heaved a sigh, deciding to finally meet her friend's gaze, “Sebastian. Has he met anyone recently?”

Anne bit the inside of her cheek, "I think you should ask him directly."

"I'm scared it'll be awkward…"

"Well… if you want to know everything, he hasn’t courted anyone since you went away. He claims that he's not interested in dating, that he’s focusing on becoming a proper Auror first. He always finds an excuse to avoid admitting that he's already got a girl on his mind, but is too much of a coward to act upon it."

MC felt her heart skip a beat. A cold realization settled over her, making her stop everything she was doing. Her heart sank, the weight of unspoken truths pressing upon her, and she forced a tight-lipped smile, concealing the ache within as she navigated the sudden revelation that someone else was in Sebastian's heart, and it was not her.

MC swallowed thickly, "Has he known her for long?"

"Several years."

"And is she a good person? Does she treat him well?"

"He's never been happier than when he's with her." Anne admitted with a sincere smile that contrasted drastically with the unsettled look that MC was unable to disguise.

"Who is it?" She asked weakly, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

"I fear that’s too much information, and that's not for me to tell. Just ask him."

Without another word on the matter, Anne gracefully pivoted, excusing herself to go back to the living room and announce that the meal was ready. MC took a moment to compose herself, swallowing the bitter pill of disappointment before joining the others in the living room.

Seated at the table, surrounded by the warmth of holiday decorations and the aroma of a festive feast, the four friends engaged in a pleasant chatter. The clinking of cutlery and laughter created a veneer of normalcy. They reminisced adventures from their time at Hogwarts, shared stories about their jobs, exchanged anecdotes about Anne and Ominis’s little one, and indulged in the delights of the Christmas meal.

“So, MC, what have you been up to during your travels?” Ominis asked as he had just finished feeding his daughter.

MC swallowed her mouthful of turkey before replying, “Well, you know, trying to explore the world and discover new places. Honestly, I’ve just been searching for a place that makes me want to stay, that feels like home.”

“And have you found that place yet?”

MC was silent for a moment. How was she supposed to explain that she had found this special place years ago, but had fled far away from it, just to search the world for something similar? Because if MC was willing to face the truth, she knew that her home was wherever Sebastian was.

Sebastian was her home.

It was quite ironic that he did not feel the same way about her…

“I… I’m not sure.” MC finally said.

“…Does that mean you’ll be back on the road again?” Ominis questioned again, but this time with caution.

“Yes. I leave tomorrow morning.” MC replied resolutely.

The clatter of dropped cutlery echoed like an unintentional punctuation to the tremendous silence that followed. Eyes widened, gazes met with uncertainty, and an unspoken tension pulsed through the room.

Anne was the first to break the palpable unease by raising her voice, “What? But you just came back! You can’t leave so soon.”

The next sound came from Sebastian's chair legs scraping the floor as he stood up abruptly and threw his napkin on the table, “Excuse me. I need some fresh air.”

His eyes did not meet anyone's as he left the table. Without even grabbing his coat, he stormed out of the house. The door slammed behind him and echoed through the deathly hush inside.

"What’s up with him? Did I say something wrong?" MC asked, disconcerted. She was completely unaware of the weight of her revelation, which had hit her friends like a tidal wave.

Anne huffed in irritation before shouting at her, "Of course you did, MC! You're supposed to be his best friend! Can't you see how cruel you're being to him?"

Ominis rested a hand on his wife's shoulder, "Calm down, sweetie. It's not her fault MC is dense."

"Hey!" The girl exclaimed indignantly, but Ominis ignored her.

"Let me put it simply for you, MC. We were all hurt when you left without saying a word, but Sebastian's been a complete wreck ever since. The usual cheerful Sebastian you know was nowhere to be found for years… until today. And that's only because you came back.”

“And now, you've just brutally told him that you plan to disappear tomorrow, and take his happiness with you! Again!" Anne insisted, determined to keep rubbing it in until realisation eventually hit the girl.

Fortunately, it worked quite quickly, but now MC did not know what to do with herself, "I... I didn't know that... I thought he’d just forget about me and move on."

"I thought you knew him better than that. Haven’t you yet realised that you're everything to him? Because it's more than time you do!"

“I… need to talk to him. Excuse me.”

MC, in turn, rushed out of the cottage, only grabbing Sebastian's coat in her haste.

The freezing air greeted her as she stepped outside, snowflakes landing on her hair and the bare skin of her arms. Thankfully, it did not take her long to spot Sebastian, who had moved slightly away from the house to lean against a tree, his shoulders hunched slightly against the winter chill.

She approached him slowly, but with a determined step, the snow crunching under her feet. She knew he had heard her by the way he straightened up, even though he seemed intent on ignoring her.

“Seb, come back inside. It’s freezing, you’re gonna catch your death.” She implored him, covering herself with her arms to protect herself from the icy wind.

“What’s it to you? You won’t even be there to see it.” He replied even more coldly than the weather, without even turning to look at her.

“…Put on your coat at least.” She insisted, extending it to him.

Sebastian took the coat from her, but instead of putting it on like expected, he draped it over her, so that she would not get cold. His hands lingered on her shoulders, which were now protected by the thick felt.

At last, he met her gaze, his eyes silently pleading with her, “Am I not good enough for you to stay? Not good enough for you to notice me?”

MC grabbed his wrists as if by instinct, “Seb, of course you’re plenty enough. You’re my oldest friend–”

Sebastian sighed in annoyance and pulled away from her, “But can’t you see it’s not enough for me?”

“…What?”

Sebastian reached into his pocket, retrieving a small velvet box. He had always imagined giving her this gift with a broad smile, but now he was opening the box with a rueful frown, to reveal a delicate ring.

“I wanted to give it to you a little after we graduated. I wanted to give it to you to confess my feelings. I wanted that ring to be a symbol of my devotion, and a promise to always remain loyal to you… Turned out life had other plans because you left the day I bought it.”

“Sebastian…” MC croaked out, doing her best to fight back the tears that threatened to fall as she stared at the magnificent jewel that was the poignant representation of all the missed opportunities and lost time.

"Now’s a good time to give it to you, I think. If you’re going to leave again, might as well be honest while I have the chance, before you run away like last time." He said acrimoniously as he placed the ring on her finger.

"Wha…” The shock took away MC's voice before she could even finish her sentence. Her eyes were riveted on the golden band. “What about the girl you like? Anne told me you were interested in someone."

"The girl I like?” He laughed humourlessly. “MC, I've been ridiculously and irrevocably in love with you since fifth year, since the day you kicked my arse in Hecat’s class. You literally knocked me off my feet. I know I didn't always show it well, but it's true, it's always been you.”

MC let out a pained grunt and hid her face in her hands in shame, "Oh Merlin, Seb... I've been such an idiot."

“Why?” Sebastian frowned.

“I've always loved you too. But I was so miserable thinking I'd never be anything more than your friend, that I decided to disappear to try and forget you.”

“And? Please, tell me it didn’t work.” His words came out desperate, almost begging.

She took his face between her hands, and lovingly caressed his cold cheeks, “It didn’t. How could I ever forget you? Being away from you only made me miss you more.”

His hands came down to rest around her waist, bringing her close to his body, in search of both solace and warmth, “It's all right. We're together now. You don't have to leave anymore. All's well that ends well.”

“Well… Not exactly all. You gave me this beautiful ring, and I have nothing to give you in return.”

“I finally have the witch of my dreams back at my side. I couldn’t dream of a better Christmas present.”

Suddenly, MC and Sebastian were interrupted by a cracking sound coming from above them. They looked up and saw a branch of mistletoe sprang out of thin air from one of the branches of the tree they were standing under, its delicate white berries shimmering in the soft glow of the surrounding lights.

Sebastian looked back down at MC, a playful smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, “Actually… I’ve just thought of a gift you could give me.”

The snowflakes descended gracefully around them, creating a magical scene that mirrored the fluttering emotions in their hearts. In that enchanting moment, with the world cocooned in a quiet hush, MC found the fiery courage and desire to close the thin gap between them. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, and their hearts were set alight, for the moment they had dreamt of most in their lives had finally become reality.

Out of enthusiasm, Sebastian tightened his grip around MC, with his arms completely wrapped around her petite frame, enveloping her in such warmth that she completely forgot they were both covered in snow. He pressed and secured her tightly against him, and lifted her off the ground. Out of reflex, the girl's hands travelled up to wrap around his neck to steady herself. Her fingertips grazed his soft curls, sending shivers down her spine.

Unfortunately, their winter wonderland moment was abruptly interrupted by the joyful cheers of their friends inside the house. MC and Sebastian reluctantly pulled away from each other, and turned in the direction of the commotion to see Anne and Ominis glued to the window to spy on them. The wand in Anne's hand was proof enough that it was she who had conjured up the mistletoe.

MC giggled, looking back at her boyfriend with stars in her eyes, and her hands resting in his chest, “Merry Christmas, Seb.”

“Merry Christmas, darling.” He answered softly before leaning in to steal another kiss from her.

MC sincerely hoped there would be another Mrs. Sallow other than Anne next Christmas, for she had finally found her home and never planned on leaving ever again.

❄∗❆∗❅⁂∗☃∗⁂❅∗❆∗❄

Part 2 : Christmas at Home (link)

[chronicowboy]

Buck is stood staring at his couch with a wrinkled nose when a frantic knocking rips him from his thoughts. Frowning, he skids over to the door on socked feet and yanks it open to reveal a harried Eddie and sheepish Christopher.

"Tell me you aren't busy," Eddie pleads, already pushing into the loft to set down two dangerously full grocery bags on the kitchen island.

The loft suddenly seems a lot brighter, feels a lot warmer.

"I'm not busy," Buck replies as he shoots a questioning look at Christopher who only bites his lip and looks away.

"Oh, thank God." Eddie grabs him by the shoulders with a grateful smile before taking a deep breath. "I am. Busy. Like incredibly busy."

"Okay..." Buck narrows his eyes at him. "So, I'm hanging out with my favourite Diaz then?"

"Hold the thought on that favourite bit," Eddie huffs, dropping his hands. Buck's shoulders turn cold at the loss, he shrugs the absence off. Eddie turns to Christopher with his arms folded over his chest and an arched eyebrow. "Want to tell Buck what you decided to tell me at four pm this afternoon?"

"Fine," Chris sighs, looking up at Buck guiltily. "I need to bake cookies for my whole class."

"Sure, we can do that." Buck frowns, sharing a look with a still frantic Eddie. "When do you need them for?"

Christopher averts his eyes. Realisation dawns on Buck, and he shares a knowingly unimpressed look with Eddie.

"Tomorrow," he mumbles.

"Chris," Buck groans.

"I know, okay?" Chris groans right back. "I forgot. I'm sorry. Will you help me? Please?" He breaks out his patented puppy eyes, and Buck has to try hard not to laugh at the notion he wasn't going to help Chris all along.

Buck steals a look at an apologetic Eddie, shakes his head in a way he hopes conveys I've got your back.

"Of course I will, Chris, you know that." His eyes snap to Christopher when Eddie's face melts into that dangerously fond expression. He's been seeing a lot more of it ever since he woke up from his coma, and it makes him feel a little like a lightning bolt trapped in a human body. He doesn't know what to make of it.

"You are a lifesaver," Eddie tells him seriously, pulling him into a quick hug. "I've gotta get over to Pepa's, but I'll be back around dinner time, okay?"

"Oh, I see," Buck tuts. "You just want to reap the benefits of all our hard work."

"Obviously." Eddie pulls one of his patented frog faces. "I wasn't trying to hide that."

"Lazy good-for-nothing," Buck says, except it comes out sounding much more like you're everything.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Who here was asleep for a wholeass week?" Eddie retorts.

"Ass," Chris snickers.

"Don't," Buck and Eddie scold in unison, sharing a bashful smile. Chris just rolls his eyes.

Buck tries not to preen at how natural all of this is, thinks of Bobby's words in the engine just before lightning struck.

Life's too short to take those relationships for granted.

Buck has seen his world without the Diazes in it, he'll never take them for granted again.

"I don't think a coma is technically considered sleep," Buck argues, just happy that Eddie isn't flinching away from the reminder of the accident like he used to.

"Well, you weren't snoring," Eddie concedes.

"I don't snore!"

"Buck, the only reason I felt okay leaving you sleeping on the couch to make Christopher's lunch was because I could hear you breathing all the way from the kitchen." Buck tries not to think about a worried Eddie hovering over him, fingers itching to reach out and find a pulse, lingering in the doorway to the kitchen because he didn't want to leave Buck alone. "You snore."

"You snore," Chris agrees.

"Betrayal!" Buck gasps. "We're making oatmeal raisin cookies."

"Nooooooo!" Chris cries. "Buck, please!"

"Do I snore?" Buck demands.

"Nope." Chris grins.

"Chocolate chip it is."

"Double chocolate chip?" he tries, eyes wide and sparkling. Buck loves him desperately.

"Nice try, kid." Eddie drops a hand onto Christopher's head. "You get double chocolate chip when you tell us more than one day in advance."

Something warm and content settles in Buck's gut at the ease of Eddie's us.

"Buck?" Chris pouts up at him.

"Nah, not gonna work on me." Buck shakes his head, folds his arms over his chest. Eddie sends him a smile, the small and private one that tucks itself into Eddie's rosy cheeks, the one that Buck's pretty sure he'd return from the dead just to see again.

"Okay, well, you two have got it under control." Eddie ducks down to drop a muah! on Christopher's head, presses a quick one to Buck's cheek. "I'm off! Love you both, see you for dinner!"

Eddie sweeps out of the door in a whirlwind of frantic energy. Buck just watches him go, mouth half-open in a soft 'o' as the skin of his cheek tingles where Eddie's lips had been. He stares at the closed door with wide eyes, stares for so long his mouth goes dry.

Maybe he does have the answers, maybe he's had a couch all along.

A sharp tug on his shirt pulls him from his trance, and he looks down at Christopher.

"Cookies?" he says, entirely too knowing for an eleven-almost-twelve-year-old.

"Cookies," Buck nods.

[wileys-russo]

blurb with Mary E realising she’s in love with reader right before the World Cup semi or final (you choose). Mary tries not to let her feelings get in the way and so she pushes you away which eventually leads to you confronting her and her confessing. So bit of softness and a bit of angst for my girl

midnight confessions II m.earps

"mary! get off." your laugh echoed around the pitch as the soaking wet goalkeeper wrapped herself around you, rubbing her wet hair in your face as you squealed, the older girls lips curling into a grin at the noise of your continued laughter.

"you're such a dick maz." you shoved her away with a smile as she finally let you go, the girl pulling your hoodie over your head as it started to drizzle again. "oh you loove me." the blonde grinned teasingly, pressing a kiss to your cheek making you playfully roll your eyes.

"can you imagine once this is filled with people?" you shook your head in awe, your hand slipping into marys as it often did, the keeper squeezing it gently as the two of you wandered your way around the stadium.

"all cheering your name when you score!" mary dropped your hand and ran around pump her fists, mockingly yelling your name over and over as you smacked at her chest with flushed cheeks, overwhelmed at the thought.

"you've been the one who carried us this tournament, seriously mary you should be so proud of yourself. i'm so proud of you!" you hugged the taller girl tightly who instantly melted at your words, resting her chin on your shoulder and mumbling a thank you, the two of you holding one another for a moment before you were both called back in.

"first one inside picks the movie we watch tonight." you challenged as you broke up the hug before sprinting off, hearing the blonde yell in contempt before she chased after you. "loser!" mary cheered with a whoop as she passed you, just entering the tunnel moments before you did.

"not fair your legs are longer!" you huffed, jumping on her back as she carried you away. "thats what you get for cheating. my pick tonight!" mary grinned victoriously.

the two of you would always watch a film in her room on matchday eve, over the course of this tournament together it started off as a one time thing but with time it had become your own little tradition.

"oh hey i have to talk to rach about something, i'll meet you on the bus." you raced off after the keeper carefully placed you back down on your feet, watching you go with a fond smile.

"tooney! delete that." mary shoved the shorter girl beside her who took a photo of her as she appeared by her side. "no. consider this an intervention." ella announced, motioning over alessia who joined the pair as they made their way toward the exit, trailing behind everyone else.

"you, are in denial." ella poked at the keepers chest who frowned. "what are you on about?" mary sighed as alessia slung her arm across her shoulders. "you're in love with her mary." the blonde stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"what? in love with who?" "her."

and with that ella held up her phone, showing mary the photo she'd snapped earlier which did in fact show her looking after you as you'd run off toward rachel, a soft smile on her lips and what anyone else could easily describe as a lovesick look of pining smacked on her face.

"look at how you look at her mary, you're obsessed with the girl." ella spoke now a lot more gently, the keeper pushing her phone away as she looked forward with a frown, alessia and ella sharing a look as the trio paused, lingering in the corridor.

"i'm not, we're just best mates." mary mumbled quietly with a shake of her head, trying to push down the doubts which had begun to swirl around her head. "best mates don't look at one another like that mary." alessia stated softly, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"when something exciting happens, whose the first person you want to tell?" "she is." "when you wake up or go to sleep, whose the person you ring or message?" "she is."

"when you're around her, how do you feel?" "happy? comfortable? relaxed? i don't know!" mary sighed, dragging her hands down her face with a shake of her head.

"i can't do this right now." the blonde stated quietly, shrugging alessias arm off her shoulder and marching off toward the bus, the conversation triggering an explosion of thoughts within her head, all crashing and smashing into one another like dodgem cars.

scrambling onto the bus mary took a seat beside katie, forcing herself to ignore the frown sent her way by you as you'd saved her a seat and tried to wave her over, the two of you normally always sat together.

and it was the same thing at dinner, you'd saved her a seat and grabbed extra food on your plate, knowing the taller girl would always finish before you and end up picking at your dinner, yet another regular routine.

so when she'd sat herself in between millie and rachel, on a table seemingly as far away from you as she could get, your body deflated and you pushed away your plate, now no longer hungry as you tried to riffle through anything you could have done to upset her.

"you need to eat, big game tomorrow. world cup semi finals don't happen every day you know!" lucy bumped her knee against yours, noticing your downtrodden mood and having made multiple attempts throughout dinner to cheer you up to no avail, jordan joining in with just as much success.

"just the nerves i guess, not really hungry." you mumbled, resting your chin on your hand and zoning back out, diving right back into the pool of overthinking about anything you could have done to cause mary to be off with you.

"ai dopey come on then. what's the matter?" lucy tapped at you, giving you a concerned look making you sigh. "yeah you're never this quiet, i almost prefer the headache you give me with your chattering about than this mopey state." jordan added on with a teasing smile.

"mary's off with me and i don't know why. she blanked me on the bus, blanked me after media time, blanked me at dinner, isn't answering my messages. and i dunno what i did wrong!" you frowned, head slumping to rest on your arms with a defeated sigh.

what you missed was the shared look of knowing between the two older girls, both lucy and jordan having played alongside you and mary for years it was safe to say alessia and ella weren't the only ones on the team who wondered why the two of you hadn't ended up together yet.

"maybe she's just nervous for tomorrow too kid. give her some breathing room and then try to go chat to her."

so you gave her space during dinner and for around an hour afterwards as everyone had spent some time bonding, playing a few rounds of never have i ever in the rec room.

then you'd tried speaking with her afterwards but she'd brushed you off again, mumbling that she was tired and not in the mood for a film tonight before hurrying off to her room.

"hey, you alright?" alessia appeared beside you as you watched mary disappear into the elevator, the younger girl having noticed marys strange behavior toward you and feeling an abundance of guilt that it had clearly been caused by her and ellas attempts to get her to acknowledge her feelings.

"has mary said anything about being upset with me?" you asked with a frown as alessia shook her head, trying to pull you into a game of darts with her and ella which you declined, thanking her for the offer before marching off toward the elevator.

you crossed your arms and tapped your foot impatiently after you'd almost knocked your best friends door in, knuckles tingling from the force as a few more moments passed and you raised your hand to knock again.

only before you could it clicked open, a tired looking mary appearing as you pushed past her into the room before she could even say a word. "i said i was really tir-"

"what have i done? why are you upset with me?" you sat down on her bed and cut her off, eyebrows knitted into a deep frown as mary tried her best to ignore the obvious hurt which shone through your eyes, no doubt caused by her actions this afternoon.

"nothing, i'm not upset with you." "then why have you been avoiding me all afternoon?" "i haven't, i've just been busy with the girls." "bullshit. you've been blanking me ever since the pitch inspection."

"maz please, if i've done anything at all to upset you can we just talk about it? i hate being like this with you, you're my favorite person and right now it feels like you're a million kilometers away." you asked a lot more softly, voice cracking a little with the vulnerable confession.

"you've not done anything so there isn't anything to talk about." mary repeated firmly, busying herself re-folding her already neatly folded uniforms for tomorrow, purposefully avoiding your gaze which didn't go unnoticed by you.

"then why can't you even look at me mary!" you raised your voice slightly, the blonde wincing but still refusing to turn around as her hands shook slightly, desperately fighting how much she so badly wanted to just wrap you up in her arms right now.

you waited a few more moments, giving her as ample an opportunity as you could to speak up but when you rewarded with only silence your body crumpled.

"whatever, be like that then." you mumbled quietly, shoulders sagging as you stood to your feet, shuffling back toward her door and not even sparing her a glance.

"hey no wait." the keeper dropped the shirt in her hand and hurried toward you, hand slamming the door back closed as you tugged it open, her taller form hovering behind you.

"there is something going on but its not something you've done." mary admitted quietly, taking a step back as you turned with a confused look on your face. "well then talk to me about it. we talk about everything!" you affirmed softly, reaching out to take her hands, face falling as the older girl took a step back and pulled her hands away from you.

"fine, i won't push you." you sighed in defeat, mary throwing back her head with a silent groan of frustration, reaching out to grab you by the arm as you tried to open the door again.

"i think i'm in love with you." the keeper rambled out quickly before her mind could tell her to stop, allowing her body's jerky impulse to take over as she bit down on her bottom lip, terrified for your reaction to her realisation.

"you're the first person i think of when i wake up and the last when i go to sleep. you're the one person in the whole world who i think actually gets me and you believe in me sometimes more than i think i could ever believe in myself. actually no i know im in love with you and i think i have been for quite a while now which probably sounds super weird? because well we've never kissed or been on a date or done anything even remotely romantic but-"

at your lack of response mary opened her mouth and continued to word vomit, her lovesick and nervous ramblings cut short as your cherry red lips suddenly found themselves pressed softly against hers.

at the heavenly sensation mary's knees buckled and she grabbed onto your waist to steady herself, needing to physically touch you to make sure this was really happening as you pulled away once the two of you needed to come up for air, chests slightly heaving at the unexpectedly feverish kiss.

"i think i might just be in love with you too."

[mehidktbh]

Worries And Kisses

Pairing: Alejandro Vargas x Fem!Reader

Summary: Alejandro comes home to you after a long mission only to be ambushed with your worries and kisses.

Warning: War, minor injuries, kissing, crying, established relationship, suggestive kinda stuff..., Alejandro is a bit horny ngl, a bit of angst but not really? Its mostly all good

A/N: I cannot believe how underrated Alejandro is... like on God I know that man is packing under those jeans and I'm willing to take it all 😩 (Italic font is flashback/memory)

(Sorry if I got any Spanish translations wrong, I'm not fluent in the language and I don't speak it so please lmk if google translate did me wrong)

You lost count of when the last time you've seen your husband, his absence was strong around you. Without his touch or sexy voice the house fell into a deafening silence with no one to fulfil that space, no pet or child only your mind to cope while he was gone. The last time you spoke to him was three weeks ago, his voice still repeating in your head as you try to fulfil your time day to day with chores. Cooking was too hard, sometimes you imagine his hands around your waist and his husky voice tickling your neck only it was your hands hugging yourself into your crying state.

Alejandro was the only one who could make you feel the way you do, waking up beside him was a blessing, his protective hold on you was warm and comforting. His morning voice was croaky and dark, mumbling sweet nothings while he pressed a bunch of kisses into your bare neck as you tried to plead against him. But now your mornings were spent struggling to wake up, taking in the empty space beside you as you tried to take up as much space as possible. Filling up with that your husband used to lay.

Not even showering felt normal, and instead, you only stand in one place while you slowly wash your hair missing your time in the shower with your husband.

"Stop Alejandro" You laughed, trying to use his full name to sound angry but he couldn't take you seriously as he had just sprayed a bunch of soap all over your body. Bubbles sticking and sliding down your thighs and stomach as he couldn't help but silently laugh. "lo siento mi amor" He said breathlessly but you just gave him a blank stare, stepping back before he trapped you between the shower walls. The crystal-clear water drops hit his muscular back as they rolled down, he had a shit-eating grin on his face as he began to kiss your shoulder blades. Innocently and slowly going lower as you tried to push him away, his strong embrace was too hard and you suddenly felt his lips wrap around your nipple.

♡ ♡ ♡

You had just got changed into some working clothes as you were hopefully going to have the chance to go out and about, your shared room was already clean and the rest of the house was too. A chemical smell lightened the air, lingering above the candles that you lit previously. You were about to step out of your bedroom door when you heard a loud sound, an echoing slam from down the hall, which instantly alerted you. Normally Alejandro would warn you from time and time again about feeling worried that someone would find you eventually through him but you never thought out of all days it would be this one.

Your eyes were now only poking through the little gap of the semi-closed door, your heart thumping out of your chest loud enough to alert the stranger. Your hot breath came out unsteadily and scared, your hands balled into a fist as if you thought you could protect yourself only knowing some of Alejandro's tactics.

The sound of thick boots got louder, thumping up the hallway until you realised that they were just down a few doors, they stopped at some doors to push them open and moved on once they saw no one was inside. The footsteps marched closer, getting quicker as if they knew you were in this room, you began to panic harder like the air was sucked out of your lungs as you looked around the room. The clean smooth bed had the sheets tucked in and you didn't want to run into the closet because there was too much stuff in there for you to fit. And just when you were about to run into the bathroom connected to the room the door was slammed open, the door nearly hitting the wall with a thud if it wasn't stopped by the stopper.

A heavier, taller man stood by the threshold, his arms by his side as you squinted hard trying to identify him through the golden crisp sun, the window was open and you could barely see. Only when he softly called for you through his tired tone did you break down, tears swirled in the corner of your eyes as you gave in.

♡ ♡ ♡

The day was filled with crying and worries, your shaky voice checked over Alejandro as he tried to calm you down, shushing you and repeatedly telling you he was fine. His gruff and silent voice soothed you through your tears but still, he couldn't stop your sniffing and worry ness. The way you lightly planted kisses on his forehead and nose, your soft plump lips pressed what could only be described as heaven as he melted in your hold.

He didn't say a lot besides reassuring you that he wasn't hurt or that he only had little scratches, and instead, he let you talk. Hearing you when you described how much you missed him and how you thought he was dead only made him sink into sympathy.

His fingers held you close, dancing along your damp skin, feeling the goosebumps run up and down your silky skin, the little waterdrops collected in his hand but not as much as his shirt which was soaked in your tears. The wetness sank through the material and marked it a darker colour. Your head was buried just below his neck as your arms were wrapped tight around his back, squeezing him tighter every time you sniffed or were on the verge of crying all over again.

But while this was all sad to Alejandro, seeing you in tears and at his chest pledging he wouldn't leave again he could only promise you he won't. Even though he knows he'll be hearing from the military in some weeks and soon enough this will come again he can only cheer you up from your distressed state. "No hay necesidad de llorar, amor." He spoke softly, "I'm here for you." His reassuring was nice to hear after not looking into his eyes since he came through the door and once your red puffy eyes met his. He smiled, flashing you a gigantic charming smile, laughing a bit when you returned it.

♡ ♡ ♡

You could only remember the sun going down, a yellow-orange blend came down to light up the house, the windows were closed but you could feel the cool breeze brush up against you. Or maybe it was the breath of Alejandro who was right behind you, his veiny arms resting upon your hips where they rub circles.

"Why don't you sit down, be done soon" You soothed over your husband, wiggling your hips a bit so he got the signal but instead he gripped tighter. His head coming down to lean on your shoulder blade as his crouch rubs up against your butt, he seemed to sigh dramatically before talking. "Por qué debería, querido" He smirked, teasing you only to see you roll your eyes, a silent laugh reputing from your chest.

"You'll miss dinner." A fake pout couldn't get through Alejandro as he gripped you tighter, whispering close to your ear. "¿Por qué no te como para la cena?"

[howyouloveyourdragon]

ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴍᴏᴅᴇʀɴ!ʀʜᴀᴇɴʏʀᴀ'ꜱ ꜱᴜɢᴀʀ ʙᴀʙʏ ʜᴄꜱ

pronouns: they them warnings: suggestive, no smut

in this scenario lets say you're Jace's friend from university/college and your struggling with finances so he makes sure you invite you to his parents place every weekend so he knows you're okay and eating well

you become a constant and she no longer has to ask Jace if you're coming over, your place is always set

but one day she comes to collect you both for dinner and she hears you talking to Jace, talking about your struggles to pay rent

she's proud to hear him offer a space at his own place but there's a growing worry in Rhaenyra's gut when you refuse

she knocks on the door and acts as though she doesn't notice your red eyes while inviting you downstairs

it is only after you leave, thanking her graciously as always, that she speaks with her husband Daemon about it and while he shares her sympathies, he isn't concerned, only waving his hand and saying you'll figure it out

so a plan develops in her head that night as she stays awake

she goes out the next day and decides to pick you up as many inconspicuous things as she can starting at simple things like a shirt to replace the one Luke stained with dinner the other night and then a lip-gloss she thought would suit you

she starts slow

and she reaps the benefits the next weekend when you thank her and embrace her in a warm hug, something stirs, something unfamiliar

she only clears her throat and runs a hand through her short hair, asking Daemon to pace the plates around

the next weekend comes and she finds herself excited to bring you the box of chocolates she claimed to gift to Daemon only to find he's allergic to something in them

if we say this is September then it takes until December for her to get you a larger present, excited to see you with them at the holidays

the second your eyes light up, she realises what that stir clutching her heart is and she doesn't enjoy burying it down

she knows her husband sees it to with the sudden interest he displays in you himself

she and Daemon knew when they married that they weren't going to be in a monogamous relationship with the way his eyes wandered over Laena Velaryon who always partook in some of their...activities

they're happy to explore and right now she wants to explore you

her arm lingers around you and stays there as you watch Joffrey help Aegon figure out one of his toys

it's only the night before you are set to leave that she makes her move, creeping to your guest bedroom door at midnight

you open with a flushed face and fidgety hands, smiling up at your best friend's kind mum and pretending the thoughts you had of her were completely pure

her smile grows as she asks how your doing before mentioning she has another gift for you

you invite her in, settling on the bed together as you unwrap the carefully prepared present

you're greeted by a very expensive necklace and cover your mouth with your hand to hold in your surprise

as you splutter your thanks, she chuckles and tells you it's nothing before brushing back your hair and pressing a kiss to your cheek

it surges the heat already there to travel across your face

she leans back but not far, mischief dancing in her eyes as she stares into your, the intimacy growing

"Sweet one" she murmurs throughout the night, dancing her tongue along every part of you until you fold in her palm

she's returned to her room by the time you wake up and you don't have much time before Jace is beckoning you to the car outside

she winks and says she'll see you soon and that's that

you're back in your dorm and trying to forget her while still completing your coursework when suddenly your phone is ringing

"hi darling," is greeting you on the other side with that deep beautiful voice "I thought you could do with a pick-me-up so I made a reservation for us"

Your mouth obviously drops open in surprise but with the gears whirring in your head you don't notice when she hangs up, already on her way

you spend the next half hour pacing and debating who you should call, was this friendly? was she expecting something? reservation where?

the cool knocking on the door interrupts your thought pattern and walks your hesitant steps to open it, peaking your head to see Rhaenyra Targaryen dressed in a detailed black garment and an expensive branded bag hanging from her hand

you open the door wider for her to enter but the shock halts most of your questions

"I found this and thought you would look wonderful in it" she tells you, thrusting it into your arms

she's an impulsive woman, you shouldn't be surprised at her lack of discussion, regardless you change with a frantic mind and when you come out, your blushing at her praise and encouragement

you don't know where she's taking you until you're standing in front of the lavish restaurant and being tugged by her arm to a table

you sit opposite one another and her smile doesn't cease as she seats a packaged bracelet on the table and straightens her posture

"I want you to let me know if it fits or not your style, I kept the receipt, sweet one"

"Why did you ask me here?" You blurt, some suspicion in your tone

she raises her eyebrows and her lips curl. her hand reaches across the table and interlaces your hands together across the table

"I'd like to make an arrangement with you..."

so this focuses more on how the relationship starts but i'll make a part 2 if that is something you would like :)

[hey-kae]

Communications and Confessions

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x reader

Request: Heyyy could you please write a drabble/headcanon about Charles' communications manager behaving distantly all of a sudden because she realised she has feelings for him but then he confronts her about it, it gets a little angsty and turns out he has feelings for her too?

Warnings: bit of cursing.

a/n: i was supposed to directly answer the ask but ended up mistakenly deleting it. Luckily, i managed to copy it before 😅 also, i’m aware this is a bit more like a short imagine but i honestly couldn’t figure out how to write this as a drabble so bear with me pls!!

Somehow, over the last few race weekends, things had changed so quickly between you and Charles.

Sure, you were collegues and when you first found out how close in age the two of you were, you thought it would make things easier, especially when you became friends really quickly. If only you knew.

Fast forward a little while, you started dreading race weekends.

As his communication manager, you were often the first person he saw after the races. The first consolations were always from you and you always were one of the few first people he would hug after a win. The friendship the two of you shared definetly made that part of the job easier and less awkward. For a while, at least.

Now, you had went back to the uncomfortable shyness that had being lingering around when the two of you were first introduced last season, simply because you caught feelings for him when you knew you shouldn’t have.

Therefore, the only solution you could come up with was to distance yourself, emotionally at least and just hope for the best. The post-race hugs turned into high-fives, hanging out when it wasn’t work-related was a thing of the past and the small chatters and whispers the two of you would exchange during team meeting were long gone as well.

About three race weekends into the second half of the season, and after zero communication during summer break, Charles had enough of the unexplained cold shoulder you were giving him.

He found himself unable to stay silent about it when you greated him with pursed lips and a sorry look after the Dutch GP, immediately walking in front of him to the media pen instead of giving him the hug he was so used to getting, the one thing he looked forward to after a race.

He hid his annoyance-tinged surprise and rushed through the interviews, being a bit more curt with the interviewers than what was appreciated and what you had recommended.

You thought he had misunderstood your advice due to the way you had panicked and tripped over your words when he had leaned down to hear you, his hand on your back as you walked to the media pen.

"You didn't have to be so short with them." You noted to him as the two of you walked away from the cameras and microphones.

"You don't have to be so short with me either but, oh well. You can't always get what you want."

His defensive response startled you as the two of you made your way into the motorhome, Charles now way ahead of you, his steps hurried as he loosened the collar of his suit.

Sighing, you followed him up to him driver’s room where he immediately turned to face you.

“So… Care to explain why we’re back to strictly professional interactions?” He let himself fall into a chair, one of his arms hanging over its back as he sat challengingly.

At first, you attempted to tell him you weren't being short with him and that if you were, it wasn't on purpose but he wasn't buying it so you gave up and told him you needed to get going.

He quickly closed the door of the tiny room and blocked the way to it.

"You won't even look at me, ma chère. And i believe there's a hug i have been robbed of."

"Quit the dramatics, Charles. I need to leave."

“You’re not leaving until i figure out what the fuck changed.”

Even then, you couldn't meet his eyes, especially with the underlying disappointment in them from the race. That would just make you want to wrap him in the biggest hug. Yeah, he got P3 but you out of all people knew how little that meant to him.

“Nothing changed!” Your voice rose.

“Yes, exactly. I’m not an idiot so don’t try to get me to believe that.”

Your rubbed at your eyes in frustration, your heart racing as you realized you had no clue about how you would get yourself out of this situation.

“Why do you even care? We were barely even friends.” You snapped, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Ouch!” He grimaced, “You’re telling me all that shit meant nothing?” He tried to catch your eyes but it was all in vain.

“No… I don’t- Charles, it’s still… Fuck, i don’t know!”

"You know, for a communication manager, you're shit at communicating." He said while leaning back against the door, the suit now hanging off his hips.

"There's really nothing to communicate, Charles."

"Tell me, please."

“Tell you what?!” You faked cluelessness.

“I’m not stupid. Please, just say it, whatever it is.”

Silence reigned as your thoughts raced.

“Please.” Charles still insisted.

“Charles, please don’t make me do this.” You pleaded while tears threatened to pool in your eyes bit you immediately wiped them away, making sure he didn’t notice them.

But he did.

“Fuck…” was his response to that, taking a step closer to you, his body frozen with worry now, “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

You sighed and looked away before murmurng the words in a whisper that was barely audible, "I kinda like you."

You checked for Charles' reaction out of the corner of your eye and found his brows raised in surpise, a slight smile on his face, all the worry disappearing in an instant. His heart was racing at those four words.

"Don't say anything." You held a hand up at him, "I'll go resign and disapper into some underground hole on the other side of the planet, maybe even on another planet altogether, forget f1 and ferrari ever existed and then we can pretend we never knew each other to begin with. Simple and easy. It's just a crush, you know? It’s no big deal, right? It-" You tried delaying having to face his reaction by rambling.

"God, do you ever shut up?" He cut you off with a laugh as he moved even closer to you, grabbing you by the hand and pulling you closer before guiding your arm onto his shoulder while his wrapped around your waist.

"What are you doing?" You questioned, retracting your hand and looking at him weirdly for a millisecond while your heart was thretening to beat out of you chest.

"Responding to the confession." He smiled, "Look at me a little."

The second you did, his lips were on yours in a delicate and quick kiss that took you by suprise and made you blush and resist a smile until he pulled away and smiled widely at you himself.

"Just like i imagined, even better than the hugs." He said before hugging you tightly anyway, his face hidden in your neck this time as he whispered to you.

"Just in case you didn't get the hint, i like you too."

[babygirlispunk]

Summer Fling - PART THREE

Pedro Pascal x f!Reader

summary: meaningful words are exchanged and built up tension between you and Pedro is released... kind of.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, dry humping/fucking, fingering.

Word count: 3.8k

A/N: keeping this one sweet and simple, thank you so much to everyone who has commented, shared and liked the last two parts. means so much and motivates me, didn't think I'd be posting three parts within a week 🫶

PREV - MASTERLIST - NEXT

The uber ride to his hotel was silent. You both hadn't spoken a single word since you got into the elevator. You weren't sure what was going on in his mind either since you were avoiding eye contact with him, feeling shy at the idea of what is likely to happen when you reached his hotel room. Apparently liquid courage had a time limit because you certainly weren't feeling as bold as before. If anything, your eyes were getting heavy and sleepiness was taking over.

The only thing keeping you conscious right now was Pedro's touch keeping you present in the waking world. The sloppy kisses along your neck in the elevator down, his hand wrapped tight around yours when waiting for the uber, the trail he'd slide up and down with the tips of his fingers along your thigh while in the car, the way he hugged you from behind with one arm while his other hand found its way to the hem of your dress and lifting it so his fingers could ever so gently caress circles on the fabric of underwear as you both watched the numbers on the elevator ascend...

As you stood at his door while he rummaged through his pockets to find the key card, you took out your phone to let Syria know you're okay. You struggled to type as your body starts to feel tired and you were seeing double of the screen.

You: I dint dish. With Ped at hoteel.

Syria: Will u be ok?? I'll come get u if you don't want to sleep with him??

You: of corse i want to sleeep him text you tomoz

Syria: ur drunk as fuck, are you 100% sure??

You: dont cock bock me pls

Syria: be safe baby girl xx

You look back up from your phone and Pedro is waiting for you at the door way, looking concerned.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" You grin back at him for reassurance though he doesn't look convinced.

"You were just typing really slow on your phone... and you're swaying on the spot."

"Oh." you laugh nervously. "Did drink quite a bit."

He cocks his head to the side, frowning. He sighs then taking your hand, he leads you inside. You're hoping he's going to take you the bed but instead he sits you down on a massive couch facing the floor to ceiling windows. While he walks off, you try to take in as much of your surroundings as you could. You realise that he had a studio style room.

As a celebrity you were fully expecting him to have a massive multi room penthouse or something but instead his chosen to stay in something more fitted for one person. Although it was bigger and fancier than something you could afford, and this couch was basically as king single bed in itself, it still felt humble for someone of his status.

Pedro appears in front of you again and hands you a cold water bottle, motioning you to drink it. You do as your told and he kneels in front of you. Watching with a side eye as you sip on the bottle, he's situated himself in front of you and is on his knees. Staring down intently and biting his inner lip. You follow his line of sight and you feel your core pool with arousal realising he's looking at your exposed lacy underwear. Your dress had hitched up your hips, exposing your lower half.

The longer his eyes linger, the wetter your felt yourself get. His eyes are met with yours. He licks his bottom lip, lowers his head and kisses your knee, not losing eye contact.

"Keep drinking the water." he says low and slow.

"Yes sir."

You do so but keep watching him as he places one hand on your calf and uses the other to unzip your boot. Sliding it slowly off your foot and placing it to the side, he moves to your other leg to do the same but slower. You listen as each hook of the zip undoes itself as he pulls it down. This time he raises your leg higher to his chest height, sliding the boot of your foot. You're losing concentration as water starts to spill the sides of your lips and run down your chin and neck.

His eyes had not left you once and you see him take in a deep inhale watching the water drip down you. Placing the Achilles of your foot on his shoulder, he softly places kisses on your leg. Closing the lid of the bottle you chuck it away and lean back into the couch wanting to have a full view of him making his way up your leg. He kisses, licks and nibbles his way down your thigh, beard and stache tickling against your skin, you throw your head back and the room is spinning but you whimper, begging him to hurry up and reach your pussy already.

But he stops.

You stare at the whirling ceiling waiting for him to continue, but he doesn't.

Bringing your head back down, you see him resting his cheek against your thigh, staring at you with those damn puppy eyes.

"What am I going to do with you..." he whispered as if it slipped from his mind out his mouth.

Impatient and slightly annoyed, you reach for his top and pull him to yourself. Kissing him hastily and humming into him, you reach your hand down to his crotch and palm him as desperately as you can through his jeans. He was already hard under your touch and you could really get a grasp of how big he could be, the thought of it increasing your already flooding wetness. You were so ready for him, to take him whole.

As you attempt to undo his pants, fingers struggling to undo his belt buckle, the kiss is broken as he pulls back. You stare at him, mouth open and disoriented, he shakes his head 'no'.

"When you're sober." he says sincerely.

"I am sober!" Your slurred words say otherwise.

"I'm going to change, stay here okay?"

You nod begrudgingly and he gets up onto his feet. As he stands in front of you, his crotch is eye level and you basically drool at the sight of his large bulge, frowning when he walks away.

Waiting for him to change, you get comfortable into the couch, watching night life bustle below. Sparkling lights, honking cars, people walking along the wharf, even the stadium lights where beaming bright into the stars.

Pedro drops himself next to you on the couch and when you look at him, you swear he's teasing you on purpose. He changed his jeans for a pair of sweatpants and of course they're grey. You squint at him for his audacity and he returns the look with a wink and pats his lap.

You lie your head down on his lap, sad that his hard on had gone down. He sweetly moves the hair that's fallen onto your face and tucks it behind your ear. He continues to pat your head, soothing you and building up your sleepiness.

"So what are you doing down under anyways."

"Just having a break. It's cold up north so I thought I would try somewhere different. My brother, Nico, suggested Australia and just went along with it and brought him and a few friends along too."

Thinking back you realised the guy he was talking to at New Year Eve and back at the bar must've been his brother.

"And how are you liking it so far?"

"Well this city reminds me a lot of New York, except hot. And the people are pretty chill for the most part. Nicer too. You guys certainly know how to party, I'll say that. Crazy but in a good way."

"Thanks I think." you laugh.

"I actually went west after the music festival. Gorgeous sites and beaches. Felt like a massive country town despite being a main city, but something... something was pulling me back here."

Pedro moves his hand to your shoulder and strokes your arm. Your mind lingers on his last words. Was it self-centred to think you were that 'something'. That kiss you shared was intense and did hold heavy for you but you couldn't imagine it was enough for him to come back in hopes of finding you in a city of millions. You just had to ask, not directly though.

"So... do you usually bring back women to your place after a night out or..."

You feel his stomach bump against the back of your head as he chuckles.

"No, not really. Its been awhile since the last time I've slept with someone. Been too busy to. I've been working so hard to get where I am but my siblings could see it take a toll on me. They basically held an intervention." You feel him take a deep breath. "Sorry, off track... I do- have slept with people I meet out but only if I really feel like I've connected with them in some way otherwise I just get to know them first."

You feel your heart skip a beat. You didn't expect an answer any deeper then a yes or no, but you were grateful he felt comfortable enough to speak openly like that though it makes you question where you stand on that spectrum of 'connection'. You turn onto your back so you're able to look up at him. His face is solemn, looking out the window but scrunches a smile at you.

"And what happens to these connections?" you ask hesitantly.

"I chicken out and let them go...or they were simply one sided." his voice trails off and he looks away. You clearly had hit a soft spot.

Was this a one sided connection? You obviously were connected to him sexually, he was your celebrity crush and anyone would take that chance. You have probably shared more kisses and touches then you have words but you couldn't think of anyone else who had made you feel this way, an unexplainable pull that has brought you back into his arms by some miracle.

Or you're just majorly overthinking e v e r y t h i n g and were the exception. A simple hook up.

"I have to know..." you wanted to lighten the mood, so you figured you'd tease him a little. "How do you reeeeeally feel about being the internets Daddy?"

He looks down at you, eyebrows raised and amused. You stick your tongue at him to make sure he knows you're playing around.

"It's fun with the fans, not so much when it's all interviewers ask me to get clicks and reactions. So I just play dumb for the most part."

"Understandable. You're handsome but you're also really fucking talented. A shame you weren't recognise earlier."

"A fan are we?" he teases, grabbing your face and squeezing your cheeks into a fishy face.

"Don't act like you didn't know old man." you say through fishy lips.

"Ouch." he uses his valley girl accent and you both giggle.

He leans in for a quick kiss, soft but heavy, making your cheeks flush at the suddenness of it and how loaded it felt. You try to get a read of his face but all you can pick up is a quick flash of anxiousness in his eyes.

"What was that for?"

"Just felt like it." he shrugs. Something was bothering him.

"What's on your mind."

He's eyes become heavy, his mouth is twitching nervously, bending and hyper extending his thumb. Looking through the window, you can tell his mind is running and is contemplating sharing his thoughts. Eyes darting back to you, he takes a deep jagged breath.

"Without trying to sound like a crazy person, before we even kissed, when I saw you for the first time after you bumped me, I just felt something. A pull. I couldn't stop looking at you. Your energy and smile reminded me of someone special to me. We kissed, then you were gone. I tried not to dwell on the feeling and you're so... young, I thought I was being that stereotypical creepy guy... But I found myself back here. Seeing you again was like finding a needle in a haystack, yet there you were, at the bar. Admittedly I was scared to approach you first, I didn't want to come off as some crazy stalker. But I couldn't let you get away this time. You rejected me of course." He chuckles softly remembering how you pass him up. "But I think that pull brought you back to me."

Butterflies erupt in your abdomen, not quite believing what you were hearing. It felt like a camera crew was going to jump out of no where and tell you you're getting punked. Or did you drink so much at the bar you passed out and dreaming this all up?

Pedro desperately searches your face for an answer. "I sound insane don't I?"

You reach out and cup his cheek, caressing it with your thumb. He nuzzles into it, kissing your palm.

He was real. This was real.

"I'm glad you found me." Was all you could say while feelings and words jumbled in your brain not being able to translate it into a coherent deeper sentence.

You both just stare deeply into each others eyes, no words being able to describe the feeling that was being shared between you two. You start yawning and all strength you have left to keep your eyes open is gone. He continues to stroke your head in his lap, whispering a song and lulling you to sleep.

Me complace amarte Disfruto acariciarte y ponerte a dormir Es escalofriante Tenerte de frente, hacerte sonreír...

Eyes slowly open to the view of the dawning city. Sunlight reflecting off building windows and the river. A pair of glasses sitting on the coffee table in front of you. You're still on the couch. As your brain catches up with your body you are able to feel and make sense of your surroundings. It's silent in the room except for the slow breath blowing on the back of your hair.

A warm body is pressed against your backside, legs tangled together. An arm is tucked underneath the crook of your neck, wrapped around your chest while the others is draped over your waist. You listen to the hum of his shallow breath. It seems like he moved some pillows and a blanket from the bed to the couch. You can't help but smile at his kindness and at the fact he didn't ditch you for the bed.

You carefully turn around as to not stir Pedro awake so you can look at him. Hair tousled, face relaxed, he almost looks younger than he is, as if all the worries in his world have left him. Last nights words echo in your head and those butterflies return.

Like instinct, you can't help yourself but kiss the along the ridge of his gorgeous nose. Tickling him, he twitches and scrunches his face. His eyes slowly flutter open, slightly blinded by the light from the window. Blinking away the sleep, he sees you and places a soft kiss on your forehead.

"Sorry." you whisper.

Another small kiss, this time on your nose.

"Good morning Soleada." his voice is husky from sleep, sending a tingling down you and waking your body up from inside. "Hope you don't mind that I stayed on the couch with you."

Dipping your head onto his neck, you give wet kisses to answer him. He groans softly as you make your way up to his ear and nibble it. Slipping your hand underneath his shirt, feeling up his lean back and wrapping your leg over his hip to bring his pelvis closer to yours.

Unlike his jeans you are able to get a better feel from his sweatpants of his cock twitching and growing against the fabric of your underwear.

You whimper while you suck on his ear lobe as you eagerly rub against him, the friction of the fabric building the heat. A hand suddenly slaps onto your ass and you let out a yelp at the sting that is muffled by Pedro's lips crashing onto yours. He didn't waste a second to dive his tongue in your mouth and you opened for him letting your tongue find his.

If the slap wasn't going to bruise, his death grip on your ass certainly would. The pain adding to the arousal, you needed to be closer to him. You use your free hand on his back to fiddle with your underwear trying to get it down without breaking the kiss. Realising you're struggling, Pedro helps you pull them down far enough that you're able to kick them the rest of the way off.

Hitching your leg up, Pedro rolls on to his back bringing you with him now resting on top straddling him, blanket slipping off you two and onto the floor. Now able to put your full weight down on his cock, you roll your hips deep into him and stimulate your clit.

"Fuck." He moans against your lips. "Need t-to get this off n-now."

He swiftly takes his own top off, only just now breaking the kiss then grabs the hem of your dress and pulls it up to get it past your head. You sit up to put your full body on display for him to devour with his eyes as you keep rolling your hips and you admire his sun kissed skin and broad chest and shoulders rising and falling, begging for air. His stomach is plush but still lean. He bites onto his bottom lip, eyes darting at every point of your body.

"So beautiful. God how did I let you go the first time. I could have had all this 2 weeks ago." he says it so breathlessly and sweet you can't help the whine that slips out your mouth. You need to feel every inch of him so bad, reaching for his sweat pants to pull them down but he stops you, gripping tightly around your wrists.

"Keep riding." he growls, eyes intense.

"But-"

"I said, keep riding." the dominance in his voice makes you blush not expecting this part of him but you don't think twice, placing your hands on his chest and harden your glides against the outline of his dick. With the help of his hands on your hips bringing you back and forth, you're able to get a consistent rhythm. Slowly a tightness builds in your lower stomach and you can't hold back the sounds escaping your lips.

"Don't be shy now. I need to hear you beautiful. I need to hear how good you feel."

You do as you're told, letting yourself be more vocal as each roll of your hips brings you higher, watching him through slitted eyes as he looks back and forth from your face and your clit grinding against him. With growing intensity, your arms are getting weaker and your arms begin you shake, losing your momentum. Pedro notices. Sitting up and holding you tight to his body, he swivels his with you around so that his back is resting the back of the couch.

He takes one of your boobs in his mouth and laps his tongue around your nipple, throwing your head back and grabbing his face to bring him closer to your chest.

"Ah! Pedro!" you moan out loud as he nips and bites at your nipple and slips a finger from behind into your pussy making you grind faster.

He pumps his fingers in and out, in and out in rhythm with your rolls, mouth sucking on your tit, your legs are starting to shake. You're so fucking close you can't stop moaning his name, pleading him to get you to the finish line and his hungry growls vibrate along your chest. He sticks in not just one but two more fingers, stretching you wide and massaging your walls inside. You're so wet the pain is pleasurable.

He moves away from your nipple and connects his forehead to your sweaty one, eyes staring deep into each other desperately trying not to close them from aching pleasure. There is so much yearning in his deep coffee eyes, you're almost lost in them if it weren't for his fingers, knuckle deep, each pump getting harder and faster helping you reach the edge of bliss as they hit in just the right spot.

"You feel so good like this beautiful, you're gonna feel so perfect on my cock."

With his sweet words, it sends you over. Your pussy pulses violently around his fingers, hips bucking and your stomach tightens making you keel over and scream out Pedro's name pressing hard against his forehead. Murmurs of your name and praises against your lips, he moves his fingers and rubs circles on your already over stimulated clit prolonging the orgasm, yelping out in pleasure and making stars in your vision as you squeeze your eyes shut tight.

"Good girl." He coos in your ear as the last of your spasms subside.

Shaking and breathless, you hug around his neck and your body slumps into his, feeling the hot touch of his chest and body, still straddling him. He brushes his fingers up and down your back, soothing you with hums as he kisses you on your cheek. You stay seated there in a breathy silence, regaining your energy back while listening to him continue to hum whatever song he was singing last night.

As you're mind comes back to reality, you begin to feel a cool wetness spreading against your inner thighs. You straighten up and look down at Pedro's lap, shuffling a little back to see the stark and massive wet patch on his sweats taking up the whole of his lap.

"Fuck." wide eyed, you meet his eyes and he only looks pleased with himself, a self-gratifying grin plastered across his face accentuating his dimple. Before you can say another words, he has your face cradled in his hands, showering your face with kisses.

"I like seeing and feeling how wet you are for me." He leans back and slides his hand under the elastic of his sweats and you watch him palm himself, letting out small grunts of delight. Your not surprised you can feel yourself getting excited again already, he is just so gorgeous and undeniably sexy in his actions and words. "Soaked right through Soleada."

Practically salivating and wanting to taste yourself on his cock you finger at the elastic of his waistband wanting to rip them off but of course he stops you, tsk tsk-ing at you. You pout in response. When will he let you finally touch him, like actually touch him skin to skin?

"Lets have breakfast and go beach." he says nonchalantly like you aren't butt naked in front of him and he's not soaked with your juices.

"You're kidding me. You get me naked but don't even fuck me? At least let me give you a blowie." you whine exasperated.

"Blowie?" he says imitating your accent.

"Blowjob." you mock back in an American accent.

He laughs out a wheezy laugh and its hard to stay mad at him with how adorable he sounds. Pouty lipped, he brings you in and pecks at your neck, seemingly his favourite spot on you, really not helping the growing arousal building up again deep in you.

"I'll make it worth the wait. I promise."

PREV - MASTERLIST - NEXT

check out my recs list for stories written by people with actual talent ♡

A/N: first time ever writing smut, please forgive me if its shit, I'm trying xx (also i do prefer any questions you have or whatever in my ask as this is a second account and it can get confusing ♡)

Tags: @mingeniee @ghostofjoharvelle @str84pedro @reidsog @pedro-pedrito-pascalito

[kira-broflovski]

Mysterious Injuries || Kenny McCormick x Reader

note: characters are in high school + mild descriptions of injuries on kenny

It was a night just like any other. You had finally finished a long evening of studying for a test next week, your chores were done, and you had a soothing bath to just finally relax.

Your parents were both at a night shift, so you texted them to let them know your little sister had been put to bed already.

You were about to go to sleep yourself when a phone call from your close friend and crush, Kenny, lit up your phone. Of course, you answered it straight away.

"Y/N?" He sounded oddly relieved that you picked up.

"Kenny? Are you okay?" His unusually short breath started to worry you. "Why are you calling so late?"

He didn't answer your question, instead, he asked if he could come over to which you said yes. Then, he hung up with a quick mumble of thanks. What was that about?

You made sure your little sister was still asleep before going downstairs and waiting for Kenny to arrive. What was going on?

The loud doorbell rung throughout the house, almost making you jump out your own skin, and you dashed to the front door, knowing it was the very person you were waiting on.

He stood there, his jacket barely holding onto his shoulders while the vest that covered his torso was barely white anymore. He was covered in various dark shades, one of which you recognised to be a deep red.

You looked up to meet his eyes, only to note further injuries: he had a black eye and his lips were split, spilling blood down his chin and neck; along with various cuts and dents all over his body.

"What the fuck happened to you?" You felt your heart drop when the realisation set in that he was hurt.

Carefully, you brought him inside and upstairs to the bathroom where you sat him down on the edge of the bathtub. He was so quick that the smell of your body spray still lingered.

"Sorry for the late notice," Kenny looked down as if he was embarrassed. "I didn't know where else to go."

"Don't be sorry, Kenny, it's okay." Without thinking, you bent down to kiss him on the forehead before getting all the medical supplies out, which also meant you didn't see the furious blush that formed on his face.

"What happened to you?" You asked once more. He looked uncomfortable as he avoided your gaze, so you decided to drop it and assumed something happened at home again. Especially after him saying he didn't know where else to go.

"Let me know if it hurts too much, but this disinfectant is going to sting."

He considered telling you everything. His parents wouldn't cause this much harm to him, if anything he did it himself by choosing to fight crime as his superhero persona, Mysterion, the persona you had no idea was really him.

He wanted to tell you so bad because he felt like he was lying to you, and he didn't want to lie to the one person that took care of him so tenderly, and the one friend that paid attention to little Karen.

Well, his sister wasn't that little anymore, but he still wanted to look out for her. She often came over for playdates with your little sister, and Kenny had never been so thankful for meeting you.

Your little sister adored Kenny as well, so days with the four of you were always so wholesome.

However, he didn't want to worry the most important girls in his life, so he kept this double life to himself. He stayed silent.

He has never felt like this before. He used to just let himself die so carelessly because he knew he would come back, but he now realised how depressing that is.

Getting taken care of doesn't seem so bad if you're the one tending to him.

The way you gently touched him in case you accidentally hurt him made his heart and mind race. You stood him up when you were done, but he quickly pulled you into a hug as tears started to pool in his eyes.

You didn't question the embrace, you simply returned the hug and rubbed his back.

"Thank you." He was trying so hard not to cry on you.

"It's okay, Kenny. I'm here for you." Your words made the poor, touch-starved boy sob on your shoulder and pull you in tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N. I'm so fucking sorry."

You pulled away slightly and moved a hand up to wipe away his tears, while staring directly into your understanding eyes.

"You have nothing to apologise for," you reassured him and put your arm back around him. "We can go watch something in my room, would you like that?" Your gentle voice made his knees go weak.

He didn't have the energy to even talk anymore, so he just nodded with a watery smile.

The two of you put on some random comedic movie as you cuddled in your warm bed. Kenny had drifted off, and his head somehow ended up in your lap so you decided to slowly play with his hair as he lulled further into a deep sleep.

He felt another gentle kiss on his head, and the last thing he heard before truly falling asleep was you.

"Sleep well, Kenny."

[crocuta-corvax]

Got Mint? (Part 1) - Isekai Bad Batch

Author’s Notes: Crosshair loves mouth stuff, he especially loves your mouth, the mint is just an added bonus. - I'm going off the notion, if it isn't mentioned in SW canon, i can pretend if it is/isn't real, I've decided mint how we know it doesn't exist in SW universe as far as they know ¬u¬ Haha wow I finished the first half, I have more for this prompt planned. Relationships: Crosshair x Reader Tags & Warnings: Smooching, Oral Fixation, +18?? I think, it's very earnest kissies

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do we do if he sees us?" Both you and Crosshair had been sent to tail a target for Cid, and now together you were standing watching a nervous looking Rodian make his rounds at every stall in the bustling marketplace from a quiet off-the-street courtyard.

"Nothing."

You're familiar with his curt answers now, it wasn't necessarily from rudeness, Crosshair just didn't waste his breath on more words than were necessary.

"Right..." you huff, a little agitated at the waiting and pop a piece of gum in your mouth. Crosshair watches as you do this, he'd always been curious about this gum stuff you always had with you, but never asked, it seemed to be your equivalent of his toothpicks, an oral focus that helped him concentrate. He figured it best to leave it to you, after all, you'd been teleported here from another universe whilst you'd been out doing a "supply run", and of all the food you had with you, this was all that was left. Someone Wrecker had already eaten most of the rest, but you'd staunchly protected the gum like a Pyke with Spice. He didn't want to take your "toothpicks" from you.

You can feel Crosshair's eyes on you as you watch the Rodian slowly make his way toward your vicinity. The feel of his gaze sends a flush of warmth to your face and neck- to think you had THE Crosshair staring at you right now, if the Clone Appreciation Community back on Earth could see this, they'd flip their shit.

Over the past few months of your “accidental” arrival in this universe he'd gone from being deeply suspicious, to warming up to you, to the two of you being so comfortable just existing in each others spaces that you had no doubt that he harboured feelings for you on some level- he'd be busy cleaning his Firepuncher while you would lay across his lap doing the "homework" Tech had given you to help get to grips with this universe. You treasured your alone time, so did he, but being alone with him was somehow so much better.

And of course there was the purposefully teasing you- he enjoyed getting you riled up with rampant flirting, slightly too long hugs, lingering touches and near kisses. You wondered if that's what he was doing right now, with his eyes still fixed on you, plotting a new way to rile you up.

You dare a glance over at him and he's smirking at you, of course he is, "Can I help you?" he drawls, making you roll your eyes playfully,

"You're supposed to be watching." you sigh, casually discarding the finished gum in a nearby bin. He rolls the toothpick between his teeth while maintaining his smouldering gaze on you, "I am."

His words send another flush of heat to your cheeks and he chuckles before flicking away his toothpick and leaning over you, one arm resting on the wall above you, kriff he's so fucking tall, "Our mark is too close, we need a distraction." He gently grabs your chin as you start to turn to see, "Don't look." He leans in closer, and you can feel the warmth of his breath on your face, a soaring feeling rushes up through your body as you bite your lip. In this moment he could do anything to you you realise, and you wanted him to.

"They always get uncomfortable with public affection." he murmurs against your mouth, gently ghosting his lips across yours as a silent request, one you eagerly permit by parting your lips and closing the searing hot space between the two of you.

Your lips practically melt against his as Crosshair gently pulls you closer into his body, one hand secure around your waist, while the other slowly traces along your jaw. Kriff, he's so warm...

Having never tasted mint before, your sweet cold breath had Crosshair intrigued. Running his tongue over your lips to gain entry to your mouth, that you so deliciously granted, had him reeling in pleasure at the taste of your tongue on his. How could someone taste so good? His grip on your waist tightened a little and the hand he had been using to send shivers down your neck moved to the back of your head, running his fingers through your hair and gripping just a little, as he deepened the kiss, causing you to softly moan into his mouth, your fingers digging into his back as you held on to him.  

After what felt like a delectable eternity of his mouth on yours, you pull away to catch your breath, and look up at Crosshair who briefly scans the marketplace before turning back to you with that sly smile of his, "I think it worked."

"Oh, good. Good..." the surprise as to what just transpired has you flustered while Crosshair gazes down at you, revelling in the fact that he finally got to kiss you, and leaving him wanting more of the delicious lingering tingle of mint you left on his mouth.

[mushrubes]

Here with me

Masterlist | The walking dead Masterlist

Part one | Part two

Requested : No

Song : The Beach - The Neighbourhood

Pairing : Daryl Dixon x reader (No use of Y/n)

Pronouns : you/yours

Type : fluff + angst

Contents : mutual pinning, slightly canon divergent, best friends :)

Word count : 1k

Have a great day / night !!

——

I'm sick and I'm tired too

You were currently sitting at the table, hair tied up out of the way as you cleaned some of the group's weapons. Setting Michonne's katana down, you grabbed your knife, leaning back as you carefully sharpened it. A gentle smile on your face as you heard Carl talking to Judith in the other room, playing with her as Rick spoke to Michonne about his next plan about whatever. You heard the familiar creek of footsteps coming down the stairs, trying to fight the grin that was trying to appear. "Morning sleeping beauty." you teased, earning a glare and a grunt.

"Shut up." he grumbled, grabbing a drink as he leaned against the counter. You carried on with what you were doing, trying to ignore the gaze you felt lingering on you. He loved moments like this although he'd never tell anyone. Quiet(ish) mornings where everyone would do their own things and he'd get time with you - not that he didn't anyway. The pair of you were joined at the hip most of the time now, unable to separate one from the other. He took in how you look, admiring your beauty in the sunbeams that were peaking in.

"Want me to do your knife?" you asked, your head tilting slightly without you realising. He reached to his side, pulled the knife out and placed it on the table. He went to walk away before you held your hand out, signaling for him to wait. "I cleaned these for you." you reminded, handing him a couple of arrows he used, not having any others. "Should really get more," you suggested, earning a raised eyebrow. "Not that easy." he huffed, the pair of them chuckling.

You made a mental note to tell Glenn you were coming with him on the next run.

I feel it burning me I feel it burning you

"Where is he?" you breathed out, moving through the swarm of bodies that were piling at the gate. The walkers had gotten a bit out of hand, certain people not sticking to the original plan and making it harder for those all together here. "Move!" you heard a voice shout, seeing a slight commotion build up at the front. "Sorry! 'cuse me!" you apologised, speeding up as you made your way out. A breath of relief left your mouth as your eyes settled on him.

You jogged over, nodding your head at Rick who saw you before him. He said something to Daryl, causing him to turn around and see you approaching. He met you the last few steps, engulfing you in a hug. His arms wrapped around you tightly, your arms round his neck while his were on your waist. "Thank God, you're okay." you gasped, looking back up at him. He pulled away, checking you all over as you suppressed your smile. "Are you okay? Did they get you?" he rambled, still checking all over you. He continued looking and rambling until you cupped his face, caressing his cheeks.

"Look at me, Daryl. I'm fine." you assured, frowning at him. Both of your cheeks heated up, grinning as you saw his cheeks go red. "Are you blushing?" you teased, making sure it was loud enough for the two of you to hear. "Na, shut up." he grumbled, pulling you closer, muffling your laugh as he rested his head on top of yours. "Oh! Right, look what I found." you smirked, pulling away as he looked at you in suspicion. You reached into your backpack, pulling out the pack of arrows you had found in one of the houses laying around, seeing his face light up. "You're welcome." you grinned, resulting in him rolling his eyes and pulling you in again.

You were going to be the death of him.

I hope I don't murder me I hope I don't burden you

Confusion filled him as he looked beside him and around the room, not seeing your figure anywhere. He carefully made his way out, not wanting to wake the others up. Avoiding the creeks on the stairs, he made his way to the front door, seeing the soft glow of the porch light on. Making sure not to scare you, he softly pushed it open, walking out after. You looked up, looking back as you saw him. He shut the door, sitting next to you.

Your gaze was on the moon, seeing it clearly as the clouds were nowhere to be seen, the stars and moon brighter. He didn't press you, simply sitting next to you. Partly because he wasn't sure of what to say, but also because he knew if he was there with you, it was helping a lot more anyway. "What's goin' on in there, doll." he whispered, his hand resting softly on your thigh. "Thinking. My mind won't shut up." you groaned, leg bouncing slightly as his hand pressed a bit harder, trying to help it.

"I'm..." you paused, swallowing as you tried to fight the tears welling up in your eyes. You hadn't even realised some had fallen until you felt him gently wipe them away. "Am I a burden?" you whispered, your voice cracking slightly as you spoke. "Who said tha'? Na, ya not." Daryl comforted, trying to not let his anger get the best of him. "No one." you answered, leaving the topic. "It's fine, Dar." you assured, knowing how he would react.

"Yer no burden, I promise. I dunno where I'd be if it weren't for yer, honestly." he confessed, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you into him. You sat there for a few minutes together, his hand occasionally brushing up and down your back, silently assuring you he was there for you. "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" you smiled softly, your eyes on him as he looked up briefly before looking back at you. The look in his eyes showed he knew exactly what you meant, his full of adoration. "Yer right." he mumbled, pressing his lips to yours. Though the words were never said directly, there was a mutual understanding and reciprocation of feelings shared between the soulmates.

Turns out, Carol and Rick were right.

------

Part one | Part two

[beanibon]

Hi!!!! Hope this isn't too uncomfortable but could you write Vash catching his s/o trying to make themself throw up due to body image issues? It's totally OK if you reject, take care of urself first and always.

I'm going to be completely honest and even I little forward sharing this, but as someone with an ED myself I couldn't be more thankful to be able to bring this to life. There aren't enough fics that I've seen at least of these topics, and I'd be glad to write thus for you Anon 💜

Please take care yourself 💜

TW: throwing up, body dysmorphia, potential mentions of EDs (eating disorders).

Drool pooled around your fingers, the tips reaching your uvula as you felt your throat tighten and gag at the intrusive appendages. Bile, bitter and acidic could be tasted at the back of your throat, but it wasn't enough to make you fully vomit.

You lent over the bowl of the motel's toilet, regretting how you gorged yourself at dinner with the group. To be fair, you didn't actually realise the portion was going to be massive, otherwise you would've swapped it for something much smaller. Then perhaps you wouldn't be in this situation.

A quiet knock on the door had you tense, cursing as you noticed the door was unlocked.

"Y/N? You in there?" Vash called, concerned etched within every syllable.

Guilt made you nauseous, finding you were gagging more due to it rather than the fingers shoved down your throat. You didn't mean to worry Vash, running off to your room the moment the group arrived back, but you couldn't justify eating that much. It was too much, yet you still ate it all.

"Hey, can you open the door? I'm worried about you, the food didn't make you sick did it?" You swore Vash didn't know the definition of privacy, for all you know the blonde would've walked in anyways even if you were properly using the bathroom. Without so much as a warning.

"I'm fine! How did you even get in my room?"

"...that's unimportant." You were going to kill him.

Opting to ignore the intrusive Gunman outside your door, returning your mind to urgency of purging your genuinely enjoyable meal. That was until the door slid open, revealing that familiar, adorable face you knew all too well.

You both stared at each other for a few seconds, Vash shocked and stepping forward until his giant form was towering over your hunched body. He watched the way you quickly flushed your previous purging, slamming the lid of the toilet shut in shame.

Before long, two arms wrapped around you, encasing you in a tight, but comforting hug. Vash buried his nose into your hair, those long legs on either side.

"You shouldn't be doing something so harmful like this, you're perfect the way you are." Those words had your heart aching, eyes watering as you hid your face, shaking it to deny Vash's words. The only response was the sound of a quiet sigh, then a brief chuckle. "You can deny it all you want, but I'm a pretty lucky guy ya know? Got good taste to pick out such a beautiful woman, a real good lookin gal!"

No matter how hard you tried you couldn't stop the giggle that echoed off the bathroom walls, peeking up your boyfriend fondly. The way his eyes sparkled in unabashed delight at getting your attention was cute, arms pulling you closer as he nuzzled into you.

"I'm really lucky, and I mean it Y/N. Please, you don't need to do this anymore, no matter what I'll never judge you, you're perfect to me." A lingering kiss was placed atop your head, the sensation leaving a warmth you could never forget.

Exhaling tiredly you slowly nodded, leaning into Vash's warm embrace. "I'll try."

"That's all I ask, healing can take a while, but that's why I'm here Mayfly. To support you through all this." Another kiss, and you melted into that loving warmth.

Maybe you were the lucky one, being blessed with such a sweet boyfriend to kiss away the pain, to be patient through your darkest time. Either way, Vash was beyond perfect and you were forever thankful.

[shy-urban-hobbit]

21 with Lambden from the touch list, i need more Lambert getting hugged from behind, if you want to! <3

This one went a little angstier than I intended!!!

CW for child death.

Lambert placed his last blade in its holster after checking them all over - again. Try as he might, he just couldn't get his brain to stop and he was pretty sure the infernal organ was doing it purely out of spite at this point.

His thoughts just refused to quieten down, running around his head like panicked rabbits and making him extremely irritable. It wasn't the first time - there was a reason he had a reputation for having a rather short fuse - and he was loath to admit that Eskel and Aiden might be right when they said it was because he cared too much. He got angry when one of his experiments failed, angry when his loved ones got threatened or hurt and downright furious on behalf of the little boy he'd been and all those alongside him who were long since dead. Right now they weren't the children at the forefront of his mind though. Everything was revolving around the tiny little thing who had peered up at him from behind her father's legs - her twin sister having been snatched days ago by a bruxa. Her, they'd managed to dispatch no problem, the girl however....she was gone long before they'd arrived, half turned and half mad with it. Aiden had had to be the one to deliver the killing blow after Lambert hesitated a little too long and got a bite to the arm for his trouble. Her father had wept but placed no blame on them, claiming he already knew in his soul what had befallen his daughter after so long, but even false hope had been better than none at all.

He heard the other approach him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and draping his body across Lambert's back as he knelt behind him, "I can hear you overthinking." Aiden said, hooking his chin on Lambert's shoulder.

Lambert gave a mulish hum in response.

"The girl again." Aiden sighed, tightening his grip slightly, "You can't keep torturing yourself with 'what ifs' pup, you haven't rested properly in almost a week. There's nothing we could have done differently."

"We don't know that." Lambert snapped, "Maybe if we hadn't lingered on the road we would have reached the town sooner, if we'd found where that fucking thing was hiding quicker."

"Oh, so Wolf mutagens come with clairvoyance now?" Aiden asked in the no nonsense tone he used when he wanted Lambert to listen rather than actually provide an answer, " We could have done all that and the outcome would still be the same if the bruxa had struck a week, even a day earlier than they did."

"... doesn't it ever bother you?"

"Of course it does, you think I'm not haunted by the ones I couldn't save? I can't do anything to change that, but what I can do is make sure I'm fit and ready for the next one. Something which you are not doing by letting it eat away at you."

Lambert tensed but made no move to try and pull away as Aiden gently grasped his chin, turning his face towards him.

"Lambert, you're going to be no good to the next child you can save, or me, if you go into the fight exhausted. Try and meditate for awhile at least. For them if not for me?"

Lambert threw him an unimpressed look, "Dirty trick, Aiden."

"Is it working?"

It actually was. Now that he'd been given permission he hadn't realised he'd been seeking he felt himself relaxing against the other in increments. He made a small noise of protest and grabbed at one of Aiden's hands when he felt the other shift.

"Not going anywhere, just making us more comfortable."

Lambert let Aiden manhandle him until he was sat between the others spread legs, fully reclined against Aiden's front, who had one arm wrapped around Lambert's chest as he made himself comfortable with his back against the tree Lambert had first situated himself by. He slipped further out of meditation and into true sleep as the sounds of Aiden's breathing and heartbeat - the sounds of Aiden just being alive - coupled with the Cat's free hand cradling his face to run fingers through the hair at his temple caused his thoughts to - for now at least - quieten down one by one.

[hwanghyunjinenthusiast]

I'm honestly surprised it's taken me so long to write anything about Joshua. He came for me so viciously this year and, bulldozed his way into sharing third place with Minghao in my Seventeen bias list lol. Enjoy my lusting after Joshua. I had issues with posting this for some reason. Hopefully it posts now. This is from like a month ago lol.

Heads up: Joshua Hong x Fem! Reader, Hard Dom! Josh, Sub! Reader, established relationship, Daddy kink, choking (f. receiving), breast slapping, degradation (f. receiving), praise (f. receiving), unprotected piv sex, Possessive! Joshua, Vernon lowkey has a thing for Reader and Josh is not amused, unconsensual voyeurism and exhibitionism (Josh and Reader have sex and Vernon overhears. Josh makes sure he overhears intentionally. Both Vernon and Reader didnt know about his plan though) and some angst with Vernon at the end.

I will block you if you are minor and have no easily visible indication of your age on your blog if you interact with me in any way.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Joshua is one of those people who very much likes his privacy when having sex. Tends to want to keep his sexual exploits to himself. Understandable. However, Joshua Hong is also a menace. So, when he notices the way Vernon's eyes linger on you a too long to be considered socially acceptable and how hugs between the two of you seem to last a little too long, the beginnings of an idea formulate in his mind.

Now, Joshua is not a particularly possessive man. You both remain committed and respectful about your relationship so, he's never felt the need to be. The urge does spring up from time to time and, the increasingly blatant way Vernon is lusting after you has made it worse than ever before. He doesn't even think either of you are really aware of Vernon's lingering gazes and too long hugs. You being oblivious to his interest and, him not realising how clearly he's displaying it. You'd both also never hurt him that way, the rational part of his mind knows that but, he can't stop thinking about the ideas that have taken root in his mind since he has picked up on his group mate's interest in you.

The hotel Seventeen is staying at is great for the most part but, the walls are thinner than the majority of the group would like. Not Joshua though, this works perfectly for him. You've managed to secure a few days off work to spend time with him and, your boyfriend has made it clear he is going to be using that time to the fullest.

"Don't do that, I want to hear you," you boyfriend commands into your ear, voice thick with arousal. Joshua has set a brutal pace. Not giving you the slightest moment to catch your breath. You'd be surprised if you could move, let alone walk after he was finished with you. You're trying your best to keep your noises to a minimum, noone needs to hear the two of you and you don't want to be an asshole that's too noisy so, you've resorted to covering your mouth with your hand. Joshua very much doesn't approve and, gently removes your instead. You gasp loudly when he spanks your breast in punishment, "When I tell you to do something, you do it. Am I undstood?" He asks, nipping at your neck while the hand that dealt the blow gently massages your hypersensitive breast. "Y-Yes, I'm s-sorry," you squeak out, your orgasm creeping up on you from all of your boyfriend's ministrations. "Yes who?" He asks again, pulling back to look down at you with a tint of sick amusement in his eyes. Like he knows something you don't. "Y-Yes Daddy," you breathe out, clenching around him hard when he brings his hand up to ghost it over your throat. Not quite applying pressure. "Hmm, maybe I should reward you with my hand around your pretty neck but, you have been disobedient," he ponders out loud, smirking as you whine pathetically underneath him. Tripping over your words begging him to choke you. "Look at what a slut you are. Begging for Daddy to choke you so pathetically. I bet if I do, you'd be cumming on my cock in an instant. You're so predictable," he says to you condescendingly, his smirk only growing as he watches your eyes gloss over even more from the degradation. "I'm s-s-sorry, Daddy. I'll be good. I p-promise. I j-just didn't want anyone t-to hear," you choke out, gasping when the head of his cock brushes a particularly sensitive spot inside you. His hand returns to your neck, barely applying pressure. It's definitely more than before but, both of you know it's not nearly enough for you. "What if I want someone to hear?" He asks lowly into your ear, gradually applying more pressure to your neck. Your eyes roll into the back of your head at the drop in oxygen, nails leaving faint, pink marks in their wake on Josh's back. "You may not but, I see the way Vernon looks at you," he mutters, groaning as you milk his cock for seemingly all he's worth. To say you're thrown off guard by Josh's words would be the understatement of the year. You're completely shocked. "I- huh? Vernon?" You ask him in a daze, desperately trying to express any coherent thought you can while Joshua continues his unrelenting ministrations on you. "I see the way he looks at you. You're mine though, right baby?" He asks in your ear, a possessive edge to his voice.

Joshua rarely gets like this. You've only seen this side of him crop up a handful of times in your relationship. While you know that you two should probably have a more serious conversation about all of this later, you can't lie and say part of doesn't find him insanely attractive when he gets like this. "Y-yes I'm yours, Daddy," you cry out, fresh tears falling onto your cheeks as you start to feel overwhelmed. "I want you to say it louder," he commands against the shell of your ear, his breathing ragged. "I'm yours, Daddy. Only yours," you finally manage to say louder than before, pushing past any prior reservations you may have had. Too lost in chasing your own pleasure to really care about anyone hearing you two. "Good girl. I think you deserve a reward," he praises, moving his hand from your neck to press quick circles into your hypersensitive clit. His praise coupled with the added stimulation has you hurdling into your climax before you even realise what's happening. Fingernails digging harder into his back, your moans filling the space of the hotel room while he watches your face intently as you unravel underneath him. "Fuck, you're so good. You feel so good. Gonna cum," he moans, eyes rolling into the back of his head from how tightly you grip him. His hands fly to grip your hips harshly and keep you in place while he fills you with his cum, letting his own sounds of pleasure out freely. Eventually, the fatigue seems to hit him and he plops onto you, both of you trying to regain your breaths and feeling in your bodies.

Vernon hasn't felt this disgusted with himself in a long time. He feels like some kind of gross pervert. His cum starting to cool on his stomach, evidence of what he's done. He's always found you attractive but, he's never crossed the line and masturbated to you before. Well, until now. When he realised what you and Joshua were doing, he fully intended to put on his headphones and turn up the volume as high as it could go. That was until he heard you. You just sounded so pretty and needy and, he was a goner. Hand flying to the waistband of his boxers when you let out a particularly desperate moan. Now here he was: sweaty, flushed and disgusted with himself. The guilt only worsened by remembering that Joshua was there too. Your cries and moans of belonging to him searing themselves in his brain. He didn't think either of you would be into the whole Daddy thing, he muses in a kind of twisted amusement. Slowly getting up to clean himself up and, hopefully get some sleep. Though, he doubts it'll come easy tonight.

[tangerinenotions95]

Always Been You - Chapter 3

I unlocked the door and walked into the cosy open kitchen and living area aware of Bradley's presence behind me.

I kicked off my heels near the back of the couch and hung my coat up. I turned and saw him lingering just inside the door looking like he wasn't sure what to do next.

"You want anything to drink?" I asked as a way of invitation and he thankfully took the hint stepping inside the warm room and gently closing the door behind him.

He nodded moving towards the kitchen island placing his hand, palms down, against it for support. "Water would be great thanks".

I turned moving toward the fridge grabbing two bottles of water from it and passing one to him which he accepted with a smile. Uncapping the bottle and taking a few sips before letting out a breath and placing the bottle on the counter.

"Can we not do the whole awkward silence thing?" I asked him finally with a raise of my eyebrow forcing him to look at me.

He let out a heavy sigh, "Yeah this feels weird, you know me better than anyone, it shouldn't be weird"

"Well that's what happens when you don't talk for ten years" I quipped. He was about to apologise when he saw the grin on my face and knew I was only teasing.

"That is probably my biggest regret"

"What is exactly?" I probed. He placed his bottle on the counter and walked over so he was standing right in front of me, "Treating you the way I did, walking away from out friendship, from us", he was watching my face for my reaction but I was stunned, I didn't expect him to be so open.

I couldn't form a reply in my head so I did the only think I could think of, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his torso pulling him into a hug. I felt him tense for a split second before feeling his strong arms wrap around me also. We stood there embracing for a while before I pulled back to look up at him, a smile on my face" I told you already that I forgive you Bradshaw but I appreciate the sentiment all the same" I giggled making him chuckle, neither of us letting go just yet.

I sighed before stepping out of his embrace. "So, where does this leave us exactly?" I asked curiously. He shrugged, "Honestly, I was just happy that you didn't immediately punch me because I would have deserved it".

Rolling my eyes I lightly punched his bicep, "Better?" we laughed.

"So, not to ruin the happy reunion or anything but have you spoken to my dad yet?"

Bradley's face changed, I saw his jaw clench slightly before relaxing again, "Sort of" was all he gave her.

"Well, that's progress I suppose" Y/N muttered. Bradley sighed, "You know why I don't want to talk to him" he replied hearing what she had said.

"I'm well aware, I was left on my own door step and never contacted again remember?" Slight agitation to her voice.

"I thought you were over it?" He exclaimed, irritation in his voice. She leaned against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest, "Over it, I said I forgive you Brad, doesn't mean I got 'over it'".

They both stood in silence staring at each other before Bradley spoke up, "I should get going"

"Yeah".

She turned her face away from him slightly not wanting to have to watch him leave..again.

He sighed and walked over to the front door, opening it but pausing with one foot on either side, looking back at her with a sad face.

"I know I don't deserve it, but I don't want to go another ten years without you in my life" his voice was low and he walked out, closing the door behind him a sad expression on his face when she didn't reply.

Y/N let out the breath she didn't realise she was holding as the first tear escaped over her waterline.