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writingmeraki · 1 year

Text

you're no good for me.

a min ho oneshot !

summary : five times you thought he didn't care and the one time he showed you he did.

( or five times you were oblivious to how much he truly cared and the one time he made it obvious. )

genre : angst ( a bit? ) fluff, comedy ( attempts )

pairing : minho x gn!reader, e2l, frenemies to lovers! idiots to lovers!

warnings : cussing, descriptions of blood,injuries and bruises, reader is pretty oblivious, mentions of underage drinking, kissing, kinda messy :/// ( lmk if i missed anything pls. )

author's note : i don't even know what to say tbh ? this is so much longer than I thought to the point where I think I may have rushed the ending lmfaoooooooo welp I hope u enjoy this still haha <3 sorry for the wait 🤕🤕🤕 ( my own lovers to enemies arc with this fic bcoz I overthought as usual ) let me know what you think !!! also anon pls the angst was less but like it was a v lighthearted fic from the beginning asdfgh- i still hope u like it 😔<3 also also i kinda have a little drabble as a continuation for this but I'll see if i wanna post it based on your feedback hehe so let me know! ( barely proofread <3 )

word count : 11.6K ( longest oneshot i've ever written omll )

based on this request !

THE FIRST TIME.

"Fuck why do I feel like someone just pounded my head with a hammer?!"

You groaned as you woke up from your sleep or rather lack of sleep. You'd only been able to get barely 2 hours of sleep when you'd gotten back from the party last night

A party that you didn't even want to go to but were emotionally blackmailed to and even worse it was fucking Minho's party.

Technically, it's his fault you're in this state of crankiness.

You were sitting up on your bed, hair in all directions as you nursed the headache you'd gotten. Lack of sleep really gave you the worst of headaches and it didn't help you'd drunk a little, not more than a few sips, but the after-effect was definitely there.

You hissed as your bare feet touched the cold floor before you finally found your fuzzy bunny slippers you'd gotten as a gift from Kitty.

You dragged yourself out of your room, now being able to make out people talking on the other side.

"Well look who we have here looking like an absolute angel."

"Shut it Minho."

The retort came out like second nature as Minho smirked at your state despite the tiny concern that flashed across his face when he saw you holding your head as you sat on the floor between Kitty and Q who only shared a look when they definitely didn't miss that flash of concern.

You looked at Q, questioning "So why are we having a family meeting here?"

"We were just having a discussion about weird dreams." Kitty answered you and you looked at her, humming and suddenly a light bulb lit up from your only two alive braincells.

"You had a sex dream." Both Q and you said at the same time, him sitting up while a smirk just formed on your face.

"Was it about Dae?" Q asked holding his coffee in his hand. Kitty's eyes widened and shook her head immediately.

"So it wasn't about Dae, huh." You said as you wondered, your slightly swollen eyes blinking in thought.

"No! No I didn't say I had a sex dream." Kitty tried defending herself.

You lightly snorted, yawning a bit, "You didn't have to though."

"Exactly now spill." Q continued and you noticed movement from behind and saw Minho coming, with three mugs in his hand, handing one to Kitty and one to you.

He was oddly quiet and stiff, now wondering what made him like that because he'd definitely would have said something snarky by now.

"-dreams don't mean anything!" Kitty's voice pulled you out of your thoughts and you sipped your coffee skeptically hoping it's not poisoined, but you hummed in satisfaction at the sweetness that contrasted the bitterness.

It was exactly how you liked it. Not too bitter like how people would usually drink it, you preferred it sweet because you had a huge sweet tooth.

Minho's gaze shifted towards you, recalling something as he swallowed nervously when he saw the small grin on your face.

"She's right! They don't mean anything." He suddenly looked towards Q who was already looking at him with his eyebrows raised, sipping his own cup.

Your eyes opened and you lazily looked at Minho, whose body language seemed even more stiff now.

"You could have a sex dream about someone you've repulsed your whole life." You looked in confusion at his words, one eyebrow raised.

Kitty agreed "Yes, yes exactly thank you Minho."

"He could have a sex dream about someone like…Y/N!"

You almost choked on your coffee before you spat out what was in your mouth, as Minho had a similar reaction.

"So you had a sex dream about Y/N." Q said as if it was the most obvious thing and you looked at him in horror.

"Hello?? Why are you talking about me as if I'm literally not here?" You were ignored as Minho quickly defended himself,

"No I didn't." He said, avoiding looking at you as you continued to stare at him with your eyes widened.

"And if I did have a sex dream about Y/N, it'd be a sex nightmare." You scoffed at his words while Kitty whispered Oh my God.

"Please, you'd be lucky to even have me in your dreams let alone real life." You spoke before you could think about it.

"So you still had sex?" Q piped up and Minho quickly blurted,

"Dreams don't mean anything! Besides I hate Y/N!" He said sparing a glance at you who just seemed confused at where this conversation had led up to.

"Wait a minute-"

"We're getting late! I still uh need to get ready!" Minho said turning around before you could even question anything, not being able to see how red his face had gotten as he ran to his room and slammed the door shut.

Blinking once and twice, you looked at Kitty and Q,

"So can someone just tell me what happened?"

They indeed didn't tell you anything, or rather didn't get a chance to before the door was knocked on and in came in your advisor, telling you about how you all had gotten Saturday detention and hoped last night was worth it.

You groaned as he left, holding the cup of coffee mumbling curse words. The same cup of coffee, that was exactly how you liked it, that was made by Minho. Something you didn't even realize how he knew your perfect order.

THE SECOND TIME.

You'd rather be watching paint dry than be in this boring detention.

Saturday flew in and in no time, were you already sitting in the library for your eight hour detention.

You groaned as you leaned forward, wanting to drop your head on the table before a hand placed itself between it and the hard surface of the table, making you hit it softly and for a second you thought about how warm it felt.

"You'll damage the tiny amount of brain cells you have in there." Minho's voice mocked you, as you looked up, your chin laying on his hand.

Glaring, you didn't even realise how he gulped at how you'd still maintain physical contact by not lifting your head up.

"Screw you." You scoffed, sitting straight up,

"Why am I even sitting with you?" You questioned crossing your arms and the scowl didn't leave your face.

"Maybe you finally realized how obsessed you are with me and felt like you had to be closer to me." He said with that annoying smirk plastered on his face.

You snorted, "Please it's only because it was the only seat available!"

The smirk didn't leave his face, only growing wider as he leaned in to whisper in your ear,

"All I'm hearing is excuses." His voice rang in your ears, noticing the rasp and how deep it sounded, swallowing nervously, you didn't know why you felt like your heart would jump out of your chest.

You leaned away from him, rolling your eyes, brushing away what you felt as irritation from being around Minho too much.

You shivered due to the temperature in the library being too low for your liking, the air conditioning being colder than you would have kept it.

You internally cussed at yourself for wearing a crop top instead of bringing an extra sweater with you,forgetting it's usually chilly in there.

Minho noticed the shiver, rolling his eyes, he suddenly began taking off his own bomber jacket. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion but they relaxed when you felt a sudden warmth engulf you.

"You'll catch a cold and it'll end up infecting everyone." He scolded you before you could even say anything, words dying down before you could even question his actions, too stunned.

You just blinked at him, mumbling a small thanks to which he just sent you a curt nod, his attention back to the doodling he'd been doing in his book.

"Did he just-"

"Yes. Yeah he did."

Kitty questioned to which Yuri answered both stunned at what they'd just seen.

"Don't they, I don't know, hate each other?" Yuri asks, confused looking back at Kitty.

"Guess hate and love are two sides of the same coin, afterall huh?" Kitty spoke up.

They both paused and looked at each other, bursting out in giggles.

THE THIRD TIME.

You stared at the clock, your eyes fixated on the minute hand that moved agonizingly slow, your head resting on the palm of your chin that was using your right arm as a stand.

You sighed mumbling to yourself about how time seemed to be against you.

“Instead of boring your eyes into the clock, maybe if you paid attention to what was being taught, your tiny brain could finally excel in this.”

You rolled your eyes and turned your head towards the boy who sat beside you.

Pausing a bit when you realised how the sunlight from the window literally made it seem like he glowed, his cheekbones highlighted by it and his lips seemingly more plump and pinker as he spoke.

Minho’s attentions wasn’t on you though, at least it would seem like that because he was staring ahead, his focus on his notes as he wrote what was being taught, his hands splayed across his notebooks.

Even when he sat, you noticed he still seemed taller than you. Sometimes you even wonder how you always end up next to him.

“I’d say take a photo and it would last longer but I’m pretty sure you already have enough of those with you, stalker.” He said, taking a peak at you from the corner of his eyes, a smirk forming on his face when he saw you scoffing.

“As if, besides since when did you care about me paying attention or not.” Minho stopped for a second at your words, hand freezing mid way from his note taking and it was now his turn to roll his eyes at you.

“Because you’re a distraction.” He spoke lowly, making sure you were the only one who heard, and only now you noticed you’d both been murmuring amongst each other as if you were friends just gossiping.

Not wanting to argue more, you just sighed and looked ahead,

“Ugh, whatever.”

You looked down at your own notebook, narrowing your eyes when you saw you’d only written half a page and stealing a glance at Minho’s, your eyes now widening when you counted that he was already on what seemed like his third page.

Damn I really must have zoned out.

Now you just thought of your options, either you skip some pages and just write what was being taught at the moment, finishing what you missed afterwards.

Clicking your tongue, you just closed your notebook, slightly pushing it away. Knowing being at the way back in a crowded classroom was helpful at times like this but having Alex as your professor being another advantage, you folded your arms on the table and plopped your head onto it sideways.

You sighed, relieved at the position, even though it may seem uncomfortable, but at the time, it felt just right.

You shut your eyes, the last thing you saw being Mingo from the way you had positioned your head, with you facing towards him and let yourself be surrounded by the temporary darkness.

“So you’re just going to sleep during the lecture?”

“Yep.” You said still with your eyes closed.

“I barely got any, considering the Vampire Diaries marathon Kitty and I had last night.”

You mumbled, feeling yourself give in to your dreamland.

“You both are terrible roommates because who even has a series marathon in the middle of a school week?” Minho asked you scoffing, turning his head to his left so he could look down at you.

You opened one eye and put your tongue out childishly to mock him,

“Only the fun kind of roommates, now shut up and do your work, let me sleep.”

“You seriously need to be more responsible, I mean come on, you have dark circles right now.” He whisper yelled as he scanned your face.

“Okay mum. I’ll make sure of it.” You murmured to him, the last of your words being softer as you finally gave in to your dreams.

Minho sighed when he heard you exhale softly, seeing the way the sun reflected on your face.

He wondered how you could just fall asleep but then again he knew you’d probably stayed awake just to give company because he knew you didn’t even like The Vampire Diaries.

You’d once told how lame you found it that the only relevant plot was two brothers fighting for a girl, and how it was ridiculously stupid.

He moved his body a bit forward, so that the sunlight could not fall on your face, and upon that the scrunch in your brows relieved unconsciously. He reached his hand forward to tuck away the hair piece that seemed to bother you. His fingertips lingering on your cheek and you leaned into the touch unknowingly.

Pulling his hand away, he gently smiled at you, shaking his head fondly as he brought back his attention to what was being taught.

[ a few moments later ]

“Wake up sleeping beauty, it’s time.” You heard as you felt someone flick your forehead.

Groaning you swatted away the hand, as you slowly rose up, rubbing your eyes, and blinking a few times as you tried recalling who you were and where you were.

“Seems like someone’s nap time was well.” Minho smirked at you, packing his books away to which you turned to him and glared.

“Hope you dreamt of me well!” He said a grin on his face now as your lips pulled into a thin line.

“Yeah it’d be more of a nightmare if you showed up in my dreams.” You said rolling your eyes, and gathering your own notebook, realising it was pretty pointless to have even removed it today as you basically barely wrote anything.

You pulled your bag up to the desk and tucked away your book.

Minho slid a book towards you, making you pause your movements as you glanced at him in question.

“Here, today’s class work and homework as well, if you don’t get something, considering you probably won’t, come to the library after school is over.” He said standing up, to which you still looked between him and the book in question, skeptical of his sudden act of…kindness?

“Stop staring idiot, you’ll get late.” He said as he slowly walked away, you thought about it and grabbed his notebook, putting it in between your own and standing up, sliding one strap on your shoulder.

“Thank…you?” You said turning around noticing he was already gone.

Huh, weird. Well that was nice of him…for once.

You shook your head, walking out as well, realizing you indeed learn something new about him every time.

THE FOURTH TIME.

It was another outing of the nature club you'd join in support of Kitty's new venture of wanting to do new things.

Although initially, you'd reluctantly agreed but you'd learn to enjoy it once you spent more times with nature.

Though sometimes you wish you could just jump off the cliff because lo and behold, Minho had also spontaneously joined it as well.

Over time, you'd just learnt to ignore his shit, just paying attention to your surroundings and focusing all your energy on that.

You didn't even notice how he'd always be trailing beside you though, since the beginning of it actually.

But of course those around you did.

Q and Dae looked at their best friend, both wondering the same thing.

"Do you think he notices?" Dae asked as they hiked up, Q looked at him in question and followed his gaze, perceiving what he meant.

“He is still in denial as to why he even joined this club in the first place, remember how much I tried convincing him to join but he always refused with bullshit excuses but suddenly when Y/N joins, he’s apparently thought about it well and understood it was good to be one with nature, hence why he would be joining.”

Dae shook his head, chuckling as he recalled the denial on his face from when they confronted him about it.

“I don’t even think he realizes that Q, let alone how he always seems to be beside them when he gets the chance.” Dae said, staring at the pair of you, you seemed more than happy to be there as Minho skeptically walked beside you.

Suddenly an arm was placed in front of you, making you suddenly freeze in your place and your gaze followed it to the owner, confusion flooding your mind as you looked at Minho in question.

He moved in front of you and knelt down on one knee, to which your eyes widened and you looked around to see if anyone else was seeing this.

Hissing at him, more so in confusion, "What the hell are you doing?"

He scoffed and pointed down at your shoes, more so your shoe laces.

"You'll literally trip on them and fall on your face resulting in you getting hurt and you'll end up causing problems."

Once again, your mouth gaped at him as he went back to his task which was tying your shoelaces.

At times, he truly did confuse the ever living fuck out of you. Because for one he'd be doing the nicest things but then the gesture would be contradicting with what he would have to say afterwards.

You noticed how strands of his hair moved out of place as a result of him looking down to focus on tying your laces.

You bit your lip to control the smile from spreading on your face and he got up, dusting his hands.

"You know you should be grateful that I decided to be with you right now otherwise your clumsy ass would have probably broken a foot by now."

There it was. The contradicting words to his gestures.

Not wanting to start an argument, you just sighed and shook your head, mumbling a thanks as you walked ahead, having been left behind by a few paces.

Minho glared at you, taking a few steps to catch up with you,

"That was mean of you." He said and you took a side glance at him to see a frown on his face and you sighed once again,

"Thank you so much Minho, whatever would I have done if it weren't for your presence."

You grinned widely, blinking your eyes forcefully as you fluttered your eyelashes.

Before he could speak again, you turned forward and rolled your eyes, continuing your hike.

When you reached the top view, you could see the entire city of Seoul and just how mesmerizing it looked.

As a whole it looked breathtaking, the tall buildings and the miniature figures doing about their own things, the sky's colours contrasting the shades, the sun setting slowly as the last warmth of it bled on your face.

You didn't even notice Minho was right beside you, admiring the city view as well. Though his eyes naturally drifted towards you, even if he never wanted them to but it seemed like second nature to him now, his eyes finding you anytime you were around.

Your own sparked as you took in the little details of the view, unknowingly a smile forming on your face making the tiny depths form on your cheeks. Your hair slightly moving from the soft breeze and you'd laugh at the timing but you didn't notice that as you were too in your own world.

Blinking, he felt his own heart flutter as he whispered so tenderly, you probably wouldn't have heard him if he weren't next to you,

"Beautiful, you really are beautiful."

Looking beside you, you were once again left speechless when you saw who it was, and pretended you didn't hear, asking

"Sorry what was that?"

That seemed to snap him out of his gaze as he looked in front, coughing into his hand, sounding more fake than real,

"Uh, I meant that the view is really beautiful! Yeah the view…" He looked to the other side to make sure you wouldn't see the redness forming on his face.

You just nodded at him, turning your attention back in front of you,

"It is, isn't it? It was definitely worth the hike!"

You beamed as you put your hands on your hips, happy with the end result of the exhausting hike.

"Anyways we should be heading down now, if we were to reach before nightfall."

You paused looking around and found Q and Dae already looking at you both, you waved them over.

"Q! Dae! Why didn't I see both during the hike up?"

"Maybe cause someone wouldn't leave you and your attention was on him mostly." Q murmured to which, luckily you didn't seem to catch what he said as you raised an eyebrow.

Dae nudged Q with his elbow on his stomach, to which Q hissed in a little pain.

"That was so unnecessary!" Dae still kept his smile,

"What he meant was, you seem preoccupied but really we were trailing behind too." He told, his eyes shifting to Minho's for one second when he said preoccupied and you noticed this.

"Well let's all go together for the hike down?"

Minho wanted to protest but he realised it'd probably seem suspicious and knowing how his best friends were, they'd figure it and look into this more than he would like them too.

Plus he wasn't entirely sure why he detested the idea of not being able to be with you only for the hike down.

He hated your guts didn't he? He only just…taught you were too clumsy and stupid, as well as unserious.

At least that was what he kept convincing himself, yet it was far more obvious to everyone around you except yourselves that there was definitely more than just animosity.

And as you began going down the steps, you almost tripped as your leg got caught in a root but lucky for you, there was Minho by your other side, who'd pulled your arm to make sure you didn't fall right on your face.

"Seriously if it weren't for me, you'd probably end up dead by now."

His hand still on your arm, the contact making you feel warmer than you should and for a second your eyes drifted towards his lips as you thought about just how close you were to him.

You pulled away your arm and gulped, nodding at his words nonchalantly as you couldn't get the image of his lips out of your mind, as much as you hated it.

Q and Dae again, shared a look as if silently communicating,

Yep, there's more to this than just animosity.

THE FIFTH TIME.

Frowning at the big red F on your Korean Literature test, you felt like bursting into tears.

Really it wasn't your fault you were bad at adjusting to the language, after all it'd only been a few months since you were taught about it afresh.

Kitty sighed at your frowny face, texting your shared group chat about canceling today's movie night for the time being, your phone on silent since you'd gotten the test.

kitty loml 💗 : guys no movie night today, y/n's not feeling too well :((((

You didn't even notice it but Minho immediately texted in the group chat when he read the message.

minhoe 👹 : what happened????

dae my bae 🥳 : wow look who spawned in this "lame gc" 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

👑 : ohhh he's right tho but srsly what happened? are they alright???

kitty loml 💗 : Korean Lit happened 😶

👑 : Ohhhh yikes.

Kitty set aside her phone and looked back at you before you spoke,

"What am I doing wrong? I'm trying my best and it just seems pointless now." You feel tears of frustration forming as you yanked the paper away because it just seemed like the red mark was taunting you.

"Y/N, you know it's not your fault, Korean is really hard to learn afresh and see your Korean is way better than mine already!"

She tried cheering you up and you just shook your head.

"No Kitty, I've been learning this longer than you have and it's not even helping me at all if this is the end result!" You wiped harshly at the tears that poured out, your voice snapping at the end.

You sighed as you saw Kitty flinch, not in fear but more so in surprise because she didn't expect you to snap, yet she knew everyone had their own days.

Exhaling softy, you spoke "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap, I'll just…I'm going to take a shower to cool down."

Before she could reply, you turned away, walking to your room, before you slammed your door shut harsher than you wished.

👑 : how's the situation?

kitty loml 💗 : wellll they've gone to take a shower now, but they are pretty upset.

👑 : oh that's not great.

minhoe 👹 : wait guys, what flavour of Pocky was their favourite again? Cookies and cream or chocolate?

kitty loml 💗 : y r u asking this out of nowhere and I'm pretty sure it's just plain chocolate.

dae my bae 🥳 : oh wait didn't you read the previous messages? anyways it was a pretty long thing but in short Minho went to the grocery store to get some snacks for Y/N cause he's "sure" they haven't eaten yet because of how 'forgetful" they are

👑 : code for comfort snacks for an upset y/n to make them feel better because i care but won't admit it.

minhoe 👹 : gosh you all are do fuckinf annoying

kitty loml 💗 : and you are so fucking whipped

👑 : oop pretty sure i can see him blushing all the way from here

dae my bae 🥳 : he just cussed out loud and now we're getting glared at by some grandma, good going minHOE 👹

slayest of the slayers 🙏 : lol

👑 : OMGFJZJZ HIII HELLO R U OKAYY???

kitty loml 💗 : i thought the giggles were me going insane but it was you okay.

slayest of the slayers 🙏 : one way to say i live in ur mind 😈😈 and yes Q, i am fine for now at least, I'll figure out how to conqure this stupid subject somehow.

minhoe 👹 : plzzz it'd be like having a demon in ur head

👑 : YOU shouldn't say that when y/n is probably in ur mind all day and also feel free to message any of us for help when u need it!

You turned off your phone, laughing as you heard the notifications in your group chat blow up.

You'd gotten out of the shower, feeling way better than you had but still just choosing to lay in your bed when you noticed your notifications were piling up.

You giggled when you read through the chats, intervening and feeling your heart at ease when you thought about your friends worrying over you and checking up on you.

You were grateful to have found them, especially considering you were so new and awkward when you joined KISS, thinking you'd never make friends but now you could proudly say you loved them with all you had.

Though as you laid, gazing up at the celing lit up with lights from outside, you thought of one particular person whose actions nowadays made you more confused than anything.

It was Minho, of course.

Lately it seemed he'd taken a place in your mind, ironically having flashbacks to your conversation in the group chat about you occupying his mind but it was more of the opposite on your side.

At least that was what you thought.

You thought over every gesture of his, everytime he seemed to show he cared but then you recalled his harsh words those times and stepped back a bit from your fantasies.

He was too different anyways, a star out of your reach, a boundary you feared to cross, a line that was the more blatant.

So why did your heart feel heavier at the idea of him being out of league?

You gulped when you mentally weighed your options, closing your eyes and thinking of his annoying smirk but even more his annoyingly pretty smile that was rare but when you did see it, it did something to you that made you feel all fuzzy. His annoying hair that always had strands misplaced which you always itched the urged to tuck them back gently, his soft lips, his eyes-

A knock on your door woke you up and you got up putting your hand on your chest.

The pattering in it making it feel like you just ran a whole marathon.

You rose up and quietly walked to your door.

You think you almost puked your guts out of nervousness when you saw who was on the other end.

"You need to check on your messaging skills." You stayed frozen as Minho pushed you aside and entered your room as though he owned the place. It was like something he had that once he entered a room, it naturally became his place.

You noticed he had a bag of something in his hands and you remembered the texts in the group chats.

"Oh wait, did you really?" You asked pointing towards the bag,as he plopped down on your bed, looking at you while rolling his eyes.

"Of course, I know you'd probably starve yourself if you could, that's why I bought something for you." He said and you made your way towards him, a little skeptical and your nerves didn't seem to have calmed.

You sat down beside him, a bit of distance between you two yet you still felt a bit dizzy considering this was probably the first time he'd been in your room.

He pushed the bag towards you, looking at you expectantly.

"Here, it's mostly what you like, as far as I know." You looked through the assortment and indeed, it was like all of your favourites in one.

Your mind couldn't wrap around the fact that it was Minho out of everyone that remembered all your favorite snacks. A little detail but you found it fluttering when someone would remember the smallest things about you. Only this time it felt like your heart would jump out of your chest as you thought about this.

"Well, are you feeling better now?" You snapped your head towards him, nodding absentmindedly.

"Look. Since I am feeling nice, I'll help you out. I can tutor you between 5-7 every Wednesday and Friday at the library. I checked your schedule and saw you were also free those days-"

"Wait what? Where did you even get my schedule???" You genuinely asked confused trying to comprehend his words.

"Out of all that, that's what you want to know?" Rolling his eyes, he crossed his arms "I saw it during the start of the year, to see which classes I'd have to tolerate you in and mentally prepare myself for."

"..." You narrowed your eyes at him suspiciously.

"Oh…Kay?" You said more so questionably, wondering if you'd ever invest your time in someone like that, especially if it were someone you don't like.

He got up to leave, not wanting to embarrass himself more than he thought he did.

"Well uh…I am gonna go now, don't be late! Or I swear I'm never doing anything nice for your dumbass ever again!Don't forget to eat those, seriously I spent money and my precious time in those." He rushed to your door, turning back one last time to you.

"...Just…just next time, ask for help when you need it alright? And it's okay to not do well at times even if you do your best, sometimes it's not your fault." He looked at you expectantly to which you just nodded, still flabbergasted by his actions since he arrived.

He gave one last nod and turned around, slamming the door closed.

What the fuck just happened ?

You asked more so to yourself as you looked the bag in your hands, Minho's words ringing in your head, him offering to tutor you, actually telling you he'd be tutoring you.

Just him. Him and his…kind gestures?

You groaned, setting the bag down beside your bed and falling flat on your bed.

You stared at the ceiling looking for answers for questions you didn't even know about.

And suddenly a sentence rang through your mind.

Gasping loudly as you sat up, wide eyed as an epiphany hit you,

Fuck.

I think I like him.

I like Minho.

THAT ONE TIME.

As a normal person would when they come to be able to identify the confusion and chaos their mind was in and why they were in that state, you did one thing.

Avoid it and the cause of it.

In other words, as a way to deal with the realization of your liking, you decided to just avoid Minho at all costs, at least until it would come to bite you eventually.

You knew your friends noticed your behavior, how you'd basically changed routes and even certain classes, pouring excuses like you couldn't study during that time and it was better to change.

The new revelation caused a lot of changes in the way you saw of his actions. It definitely didn't help when you would recall at the times he'd done them late in the night and it would leave you with a hope that was only growing higher.

Only to come crashing down when you would think about how he might not even see you in the same way, maybe it was just as a friend.

Frenemies.

A term you learnt and as much as you felt like it certainly fit your dynamic, it still left a bitter afterthought that you hated because you knew you wanted more.

Much more.

As you sat down in a cafeteria in Seoul to study, yes you'd gone that far as to avoid studying at the campus just to avoid bumping into Minho.

And to your misfortune,Minho did notice though, how you didn't show up to the library for your planned study session that you'd confirmed but cancelled last minute, how you didn't even reply to messages in the group chat, excuses like you were busy with work and assignments.

He'd scoff when you pulled that excuse, as if you weren't in the same grade and didn't have the same workload. When he would ask Kitty or Q or anyone actually, they'd also have similar answers, not knowing where you were or you were locked in your room most of the time when Kitty would come to ask you for anything.

You felt guilty for avoiding your friends like that, even Minho didn't deserve that especially considering he'd even offered to help you.

With a sigh, you opened your books and tried to study at least until it was near time to go back to your dorms.

[ a few hours later ]

After a somewhat successful study session of you attempting to finish your Korea Lit assignment that'd been eating your brains quite literally as you felt a headache forming when you realized you didn't understand anything, you decided you had enough.

Groaning exhaustedly, you winded up your books and packed them, deciding it was time to just head back, frankly there'd been so much on your mind you were pretty sure that was probably one of the major reasons you didn't understand anything academic related.

Or you were just terrible at Korean Literature and really should have just stepped in your ego and crushed it when Minho offered to help you and gone to his tutoring lessons.

But noo you just had to have an epiphany that you really liked him, in a romantic way that same day he offered.

Deciding you deserved some kind of reward for tolerating and trying at least, you took a little detour to the grocery store that was along the way.

Purchasing a lychee moju moju along with some small snacks to eat, you quickly rushed to head back to campus before Kitty came back to your dorms from the library.

Memorizing her schedule so as to know when to avoid her became a part of your routine, a benefit was it was quite similar to the rest of them so you could also avoid them all at once. At least until you were ready.

Lost in your thoughts, you didn't even notice something in front of you until it was too late.

And when you took a step and a loud hiss followed that scared you so bad,you literally tripped on your own feet and fell straight to the hard concrete, face first.

Luckily you'd been able to divert your face sideways so to make sure there'd be less of an impact on your precious nose.

Now it was your turn to hiss as you groaned, rising on your hands to get up slowly.

The right side of your face was the one that had contact with the ground so it hurt like a fucking bitch when you tried to move.

As you rose up to your feet, you caressed the side of your injured face and winced when you felt something warm and wet.

Sighing exhaustedly when you indeed saw it was blood.

You're such a clumsy ass.

Words unknowingly flashed in your mind, words that a certain someone once told you and back then you were annoyed but now you felt that they really were right.

As much as it hurts your ego to admit that.

Suddenly you saw something small moving in the corner of your eye, the street being lit up only by street lights placed around five meters apart.

As you moved closer, you hoped this wasn't a grave mistake and you were not walking to your own death.

As you removed your phone from your left pocket to flash your flashlight because it had been in an area where the streetlight did not cover the range hence it was sort of dark.

You braced yourself for the worse,

Okay calm down, you can run for it and you'll save your—

Wait.

What?

You deadpanned once you saw what was hidden in the dark.

It was a cat.

A brown and black one and it was caressing its tail, hissing at you once you flashed your phone at it.

You connected the dots and sighed in relief, knowing it wasn't a murderer and it wasn't a trap; rather you had likely stepped on its tail when you didn't notice it in front of you due to its color being less visible in the dark spot.

A sense of guilt crept up on you when you thought about how you must have hurt it, even if it was unintentionally.

Deciding you'd help it, at least by giving it something to eat, you grabbed your grocery bag that sadly laid out splayed out.

Knowing you didn't have anything cat friendly to feed, you pointed at it as if talking to it.

"I'll be back! Stay here."

Turning around and making a second round trip to the grocery store, not even realizing it was nearing dangerously close to your curfew.

You didn't even notice the look of pure concern on the cashier's face, having forgotten your injuries both as a result of adrenaline basically numbing the pain and also you being in a hurry when you noted the time.

Surprisingly the cat was still in its spot, eyes closed and sitting with its head tilted who you knelt down to it.

You opened the can of tuna and your nose scrunched in disgust at the smell, but someone else was delighted as it leaned forward immediately.

Chuckling at the cat's eagerness, you placed it on the ground and it dived right in, devouring the tuna.

"You probably haven't eaten in a while huh?"

Gazing at the cat with sympathy and speaking as if the cat would understand you, you sighed sadly.

As one would when seeing a cat, you moved your hand to pet its head, but just as you were about to touch it, it decided you were the enemy.

Hissing at you, you didn't even get to avoid it when it swiped it's paw at your hand.

It wasn't too deep, but it definitely left a mark and oh it also definitely hurt, burned as well.

You pulled your hand, seeing the scratch mark deep enough to draw blood and once again groaned in pain.

The swipe was right on your fingers, moving across from your index to your pinky.

And it was beginning to bleed fast.

"Wow so you definitely aren't fond of physical affection." Wincing in pain as now it began to burn even more, you moved behind, pushing the can with your uninjured hand.

"Fine fine I'll leave you be." You told it gently, noticing it had retreated behind.

You got up while pressing your palm to the scratched fingers, making sure it wouldn't just began bleeding badly out of nowhere.

Shit I probably don't even have a first aid kit.

Today could not get any worse.

And you probably jinxed that as you looked the wristwatch in your left hand for the time.

8:45 pm

A whole twenty minutes passed curfew.

Fuck, you were so screwed now.

You facepalmed yourself only to almost scream in pain as you accidentally hit the right side of your injured forehead.

Great I probably look like I got beat up.

You began walking as fast as you could, your bag seeming heavier as you'd stuff everything including your grocery into it.

Please please please let the advisor not be there right now for checking.

As you reached the gates, you sighed in relief seeing they were still open but slowed down to see if there were any guards around.

It felt like you were suddenly thrown into a secret mission, one to avoid getting caught and possibly getting a suspension for being out so late.

Your wound had stopped bleeding profusely when you'd pulled the sleeve of your sweater over it, engulfing your hand completely.

It pained you to ruin that sweater but you could just buy a new one, hopefully.

Hiding behind a streetlight that was a few meters away from the gatez you scanned your surroundings ahead.

You could almost hear the James Bond theme music playing in your head.

You didn't spot any guards around and the gate was open, so you did the one thing only a true spy could possibly dare to do.

Make a run for it.

Ducking your head down and using the sleeve of your sweater to cover your face, you ran as fast as you could inside, trying to make as minimal noise as you could.

That was not the case when the grovel beneath crunched as you made a run for it and you cussed at yourself internally, praying no one was around.

Lucky for you, your dorm was nearer to the entrance and you felt like bursting out in tears of joy when you neared the building.

Running up the steps, you paid no mind to anyone around you.

"Wait, is anyone still out?! It's almost nine come on guys!"

Eyes widening when you realized you made a grave mistake assuming no one was in the hallways, you turned the opposite direction of your room as footsteps began nearing.

Shit, I need to hide.

Being in this crisis was possibly the worst rotten cherry on top of your nightmarish sundae.

Suddenly, you registered this wasn't your hallway, heck you'd entered the wrong building in a moment of stupidity.

This was the boys dorm building when you noticed the familiar numbers.

Wait a minute.

Your eyes scanned for a number you'd seen countless times by now as you slowly but quickly moved ahead. The footsteps had gotten slow and you knew Alex was in the other hallway, probably looking for who was around.

Grinning when the familiar number was on the door, you didn't think much and just knocked harshly.

"Q! It's Y/N, I'll explain everything but please I'll get caught if you don't open right now!"

Whispering harshly into the door in a panicky tone, you knocked rapidly making sure it wasn't too loud.

You were sure your heart almost dropped out of your chest when you heard the footsteps approaching your direction again.

Your hand dropped to your side as you looked in the direction of Alex heading and you didn't even realize the door had already opened.

You almost yelped so loudly when you felt a tug on your arm pulling you inside. The grip on your arm was strong enough to just drag you inside and you closed your eyes out of fear.

You were pinned behind the door, your back pressing into it as a large hand covered your hand to prevent the yelp out of your mouth. The person's other hand was on your waist to prevent you from falling straight to the ground.

You listened closely to the footsteps and sighed in temporary relief when they passed the dorm.

Only now did you grimace in pain,the hand on your mouth unknowingly hurting the injuries on your face,you reached your hand to tug it out of your face.

The person immediately backed away the moment you grimaced, it was so quick as if they'd been burnt by you. You almost fell over as you'd lean your entire weight on them.

"What the actual fuck happened to you?"

A familiar voice asked in both astonishment and even a hint of anger.

Your eyes were still shut, collecting yourself before you opened them as you relaxed briefly.

You had to blink twice when you noticed who was in front of you.

"Oh…it's you." You murmured, looking anywhere else but at Minho the moment you perceived it was him the whole time.

He scanned your entire face, obviously noticing the blood as well as the bruise, as his eyes lowered, he also saw the blood on your sweater sleeve, your hand now free and the visible marks bleeding once again from being exposed to sudden movement.

When he first heard you, he'd been laying on the couch scrolling on his phone, bored because Q had chosen to spend the night at Florian's, having the place to himself for tonight.

He swore he felt his heart drop when he heard you panicking tone on the other side and didn't even care if it was the first time he'd seen in two weeks of nothing, he pulled you in and when he heard you almost yell, he just placed his palm to shut you up as he heard the footsteps pass by.

He didn't mean to scare you but at the moment, all he could really think about was who even or what even happened to you.

"Who did this to you?" His tone seemed aggressive as he questioned in a deeper voice than usual. Well usual was also deep but it was something you got used to.

You'd become frozen the moment he spoke, not knowing what to say, a little embarrassed at how you ended up in this situation. He stepped forward, straightening up instinctively in alarm.

His eyebrows furrowed in question as he pushed his tongue to the side, lowering his head to your level, now near eye level with you, your eyes following his every movement.

You tried not to flinch too harshly when he grazed his fingertips on your cheek and lip, where you'd gotten hurt as well as the place near you eye and eyebrow.

"Uh, so like you see, it looks worse than what actually happened so really it isn't too big of a deal—"

Stepping back a bit, he looked at you ridiculously

"Not too big of a deal ?!" He questioned as if daring you to say it again,

"You must be kidding me right now." He laughed humorlessly as he ran his hand through his hair and you tried not to stare like an idiot.

And as cliche as it could be getting, you felt light headed as you tried to keep your balance. Blinking harshly to keep your eyes open, you almost fell forward when you took a step but this time Minho was able to catch you in time.

"Hey, hey, don't faint on me right now okay? Let's just get you seated first."

You leaned your weight on him as he held you with one arm, he'd move beside you to make you comfortable as he slowly walked you to the couch. Before he laid you down, he removed your bag from your shoulders and put it aside, to make sure you'd be able to lay more properly.

You sighed in both relief and exhaustion when you finally sat down.

"Wait I'll be back."

He recalled the first aid kit he had in his drawer and went to get it as soon as he could.

You shut your eyes, tiredness overwhelming you, not only from the adrenaline high getting over but also from the mental exhaustion that'd you'd been having since the whole mess.

You opened your eyes when you felt a weight beside you, Minho sitting down with a first aid kit in his hand.

He opened it to remove a bottle of hydrogen peroxide that made you scrunch your nose a little in disgust at the color and some cotton pads, band-aids, and a roll of bandage.

You noticed they were hello kitty ones, the same ones you used and that thought made you smile even for a brief moment.

"You really got this ones too?" You asked softly and Minho turned to look at you, looking at the band aids in awe and snorted at your expression.

"You are here, almost on the verge of passing out but you are questioning whether I have the same hello kitty band aids you have? And to answer your question, yes."

"Gotta keep those priorities in check."

He rolled his eyes as he soaked the cotton pad with the hydrogen peroxide, the familiar deep brown color showing.

He gently took your hand and began to clean the wound.

Hissing loudly, you sat more straight about to pull away but he still kept the grip on your arm.

"It's okay, it'll hurt a bit, just hold on for a sec." Minho gently said to you as he focused on cleaning it, laying your hand on your lap and taking another cotton pad when the current one got used enough.

As much as you wanted to cuss out loud, you decided to put your focus elsewhere, choosing his face was the perfect place for that.

His eyes were as soft as his touch, you didn't think he'd be this gentle with you but here you were, him tending to your wounds, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as his jaw was unknowingly clenched in the same focus.

"Sorry." You blurted out of nowhere, the guilt from everything piling up one by one, from the fact that you'd been ignoring him for two weeks only to show up after and him having to tend to your injuries when he could have just kicked you out.

He briefly made eye contact with you, wiping the now cleaner cuts with a dry cotton pad, and opening the kit again to remove a tube of antibiotic ointment.

The coolness of the ointment made you almost breath out of relief but you were still tense because Minho hadn't said anything yet.

"I get that you must be…angry with me. It's reasonable but I have my own reasons, I think they are pretty valid if you want to hear them out?"

You finished, your throat closing up afterwards and you felt like you'd pass out from how fast your heart began beating.

"How did you get injured like this? First, tell me that." He finally spoke, wrapping a sterile white bandage around your fingers after the ointment.

He carefully finished wrapping and tied a knot, making sure it wasn't too tight as he looked at you questionably, to which you shook your head.

"It's stupid. Really."

"I know you're stupid but—"

"I fell." You let the cat out of the bag and diverted your gaze, his movements pausing to process your words as if he heard wrong.

"Don't lie to me. Did someone bully you and beat you up—"

"I was coming to the dorms from my "study" session at the cafe that's like twenty minutes away from here, when I went to the grocery store for…stuff. And after I got what I needed, I was heading here and I was uh…preoccupied with something that I didn't see what was infront of me, so I stepped on it and then I tripped on my own feet and next thing I know my face was kissing the ground, then when—"

"You're telling me this was all because of your clu—"

"LET ME FINISH!"

Minho shut up after that and pressed his lips into a thin line while you continued,

"As I was saying, I couldn't see what it was and it already hid in the dark when I flashed my phone's light, I saw it was a cat and then I felt bad for stepping on its tail, I went back and got some tuna for it at the store, I gave it to her but I think she was still upset so when I went to pet her, she scratched my fingers, which is why my hand is also injured."

"And oh, I ended up here by accident because I entered your dorm building while I was making a run for it and realized it too late, I didn't want to get caught so I thought of just asking whether I could hide in your dorm until the advisors stopped their rounds."

You breathed out heavily, your chest hurting from the lack of oxygen for saying all that in one go but you didn't want to embarrass yourself by thinking too much about it and just wanted to let it all out in go.

You moved your gaze back to Minho's when you noticed how quiet he'd gotten afterwards, having been looking somewhere else when telling how you got in this situation.

Narrowing your eyes at him suspiciously, he averted his gaze elsewhere while you scanned his expression.

"You can laugh if you want to." Sighing you finally said and that seemed to work as Minho laughed at you.

You deadpanned him as he spoke in between his laughing "You are really the biggest klutz I have known, I mean all this all because of a cat?!"

Rolling your eyes, you lightly frowned and Minho noticing this, began calming down,

"Okay, Okay I won't laugh, I'm sorry." He breathed out as he cleared his throat and looked at you, biting his bottom lip to stop the giggles as he saw your expressions.

"Are we done here? I have to go back to my room too—"

"I haven't even treated your face yet!"

Now it was your turn to shut up and you slightly pouted at his scolding tone,

"As hilarious as your little story is…you need to be more careful. Like this is kinda crazy to get hurt like this by just falling."

"Okay, mum got it." You mocked him and he glared at you, pressing the soaked cotton pad onto your cheek out of nowhere.

"YOU BITCH! WARN SOMEONE NEXT TIME—"

"You should have already known—"

"You KNOW WHAT FUCK YO—"

He ignored you as he continued to clean up your wound, your words being replaced with quite literally having to bite your tongue to control the hisses of pain.

"Now, now please shut up and stay still."

You wanted to cuss at him again, claiming this was abuse but the look on his face challenged you to dare to pipe up again.

Instead, you just sighed in exhaustion, letting him finish his unnecessary kind act that was again questionable if it were out of his supposed kindness or convenience.

"Now there, all done." He placed the final hello kitty band-aid on your lip corner gently and you wished you could smile but that felt like a terrible idea as you remembered that even lifting up the corner of your right side made a sharp pain shoot up your lip.

"Thank you…I guess." You murmured softly to which a smug smile formed on his face,

"I didn't hear you, could you please repeat that for me?" He pretended to be in thought of what you said when he clearly heard you due to your proximity.

You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms and swallowing down the bitter taste on your tongue, having to put your ego down a little at this point.

"I said."

"Thank you for this. Thank you for…helping me. Even when you didn't need to."

Even if you couldn't see it because you'd been looking elsewhere but him, he had a tiny smile on his face as he watched you.

"Anytime clumsy idiot, if it weren't me to handle your clumsy ass, then who?"

It was probably meant as a joke, maybe a taunt even but your heart took it in a different way as you felt the familiar butterflies flutter.

"Minho seriously stop it, you shouldn't just say things like that."

He'd begun winding up the first aid kit and the extra stuff that was there, when he heard you say that under your breath, which made him stop his task.

"Things like what?" He faced you now, his body in your direction as you froze up.

"Oh you know what I mean…stuff that can be taken into….a different context by…people." You awkwardly said, trying to dodge your way out of what you actually meant.

"Do enlightenment me, you know about the context of this." He leaned in closer to you, a smirk forming on his face and you frowned, gulping thinking of what to say next.

"Uhm…well." Biting your lip in thought, the floor seemed like a better place to focus at.

Minho's eyes softened at that, deciding he'd rather not tease you more.

"You know, I still don't get why you have been ignoring me for two weeks. Actually, everyone for two weeks." He blurted out what he really wanted to ask since he'd been able to talk to you properly after this long.

"At first, I thought that maybe you were busy but after the first 4-5 days, I figured you'd been purposefully avoiding me." He said as he looked down and you could feel the guilt creeping up all over again.

"Look. What is something I did?" He asked you with a tone of regret looking at you to see if your expression would reveal anything and as you held eye contact, what made you snap was the sincerity in them.

"No! No, it's not you…well, it is about you but not because of you? It's me though! I am the problem here." Staring at him got too much so you just decided to stand up and avoid looking at him when you spoke. The proximity was also getting to your head and the musky yet expensive smell he wore was suddenly so strong it made you dizzy.

You began racing back and forth in that small space, as you thought of how to explain and you didn't even grasp you'd been rambling the whole time, your hands moving in gestures as actions to your words.

"I sort of just noticed something about me and it got a lot since I never really felt like that way and it's crazy because it is also unexpected—"

Minho stood up and stood in front of you, holding you by your shoulders, genuine concern on his face when he scanned your distressed look.

"Okay calm down, if you don't feel comfortable explaining anything right now, you can just rest and you can tell when you do feel like it."

"No."

He raised an eyebrow at your answer and you continued,

"I think… I want to say it."

He dropped his hands from your shoulders, letting them rest by his sides as you looked into his eyes.

For that moment, you just now perceived how close you were to him, taking in how handsome he truly was, you never admitted it but it was very obvious.

Your eyes momentarily paused on his lips, maybe looking at them for longer than one should and before you could trail your gaze lower to the dip of his throat in his hoodie, you paused at his Adam's apple that bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

Even though he'd been the one who got close to you like this, Minho still felt a little nervous when you looked up at him like the way you were right now.

"Turn around." You ordered before you could even think about it and confusion flooded his face.

"I won't be able to say it while looking at you so please."

Pausing for a brief second, he turned on his heel now facing the greenish bluish wall.

"You know if you want to confess to a murder, you don't need to be afraid, I'll help you hide—"

"I think I'm in love with you." You exclaimed, ignoring his words as you stared at the back of his head.

He was not that taller than you, just by a few inches or so but it was just the right height.

Immediately, you noticed him shut up and tense up as his shoulders straightened.

"I personally never thought it'd be you out of all people but fuck, it's not like your heart lets you decide who you should fall in love with." You tugged at the uninjured hand's sleeve while you used your other to brush your hair behind your ear.

"As cheesy as that sounds. I don't know when it happened or how it happened but I do know when I knew. It was when you bought food for me when I was upset and it was everything I liked. Or maybe it was when despite being cold yourself, you'd offered me your sweater and gosh you just know how to pull at one's strings don't you?"

"I'll admit though, I was annoyed by you and your…attitude and I still will be but it's just that, crazily enough I think that's just one of the reasons I fell for you."

"You're many things Minho, stupid, annoying as fuck, bitchy at times as well, but you're also sweet and caring when you want to be. And now I am just rambling at this point so I'll just shut up."

You pressed your lips into a thin line, the ground a great place to put your attention, your cheeks warming up and you swore you felt like you'd faint then and there.

It was like the atmosphere took a change after your confession and momentary rant. A lingering silence that felt loud and you really didn't know what to think.

Can I die at this moment right now? Dropping dead sounds so tempting.

"..."

"...can I uh…turn around now? To you know…talk?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck nervously your eyes snapped to him, widening when you recalled that he was still facing the wall.

Groaning at the fact that you forgot he was not facing you, you coughed out awkwardly,

"Yeah! Of course…you can."

You held your breath as you waited for him to turn around, and when he did, you couldn’t even look at him.

Minho honestly didn’t know what to think, say or do.

Because what can you say after the person you’ve been pining over since the past few months suddenly confessed their apparently reciprocated love to you?

He thought he’d been doing a decent job hiding his feelings so he doesn’t need to face the brutal rejection fear we all get when we have a crush on our supposed ‘enemy’. But it got harder for him as time went by, and soon enough he found himself completely head over heels for you.

Taking his obvious silence as your answer, your heart grew heavier at the lack of response and you spoke up, breaking the blanket of quietness.

“I suppose you don’t feel the same way so I should probably just go anyways it’s getting late, just…forget I said anything-”

You began to slowly take a few steps back, making sure you wouldn’t fall and injure yourself again,

Minho’s head sharply turned towards you as his eyes widened in alarm, “Wait! You didn’t even let me say anything!”

Pausing in your steps before you could swiftly turn for the door and exit as quick as you could, now a sheepish look on your face as you saw his slightly annoyed and alarmed look.

“Well, I just assumed your silence was an answer?”

He crossed his arms now a few feet away from you as he was already making his way towards you.

“There you go again with you and your assumptions! You really should let someone speak at least.” He sighed rubbing the gap between his brows with his index finger.

He moved closer to you, now only an arm's length away from you, “Look at me, please?”

You had to raise your head a little to look him in the eyes and you felt like you could get lost in them, one hand was on your side, clenched in a fist out of nervousness.

“Who said I didn’t feel the same?” He asked so casually as if asking for your name and you could only gape at him at the implications.

“Because I definitely know that,” He gulped as he looked down at you, feeling like his heart might just jump out of his chest at what he was about to say.

“I am in love with you, maybe a little or by a whole lot. A whole lot I swear I can feel my heart jump just at your presence. I didn’t say anything because honestly, I thought this was another dream I was having, I had to pinch myself to make sure. But I do feel the same, possibly more than you ever will.”

Your jaw might as well have been on the floor at his unexpected confession, frankly, yours was also something you didn’t think you were going to say, but you said it because you couldn’t keep it in you anymore.

“Hold on, what do you mean by another dream?” You narrowed your eyes at him suspiciously, deciding to mess around with him but in reality, you were soaring and your heart probably long leaped out of you in pure euphoria.

“Out of all that, you picked up on only that?!? Did you just- just completely dismiss the fact that I am in love with you as well?!”

Giggling at his expression, you couldn’t contain your happiness as he fell for your joke and once he realised that he glared at you half-heartedly,

“You think you’re so funny huh? Do you even know how hard it was for me to say that? I almost fainted for fucks sake!”

You laughed even more at that, having to hold your stomach with one hand as you leaned forward and at the sound of your laughter, his own smile he’d been trying to control showed as he rolled his eyes at you, shaking his head.

“You seriously know how to make a guy have a heart attack.”

At this, you looked up at him stepping even closer as you bopped his nose,

“But you literally just confessed to being in love with me and you can’t take back what you said now.”

A comical squeak arose from you as he wrapped his arms around your waist out of nowhere pulling you closer, gently moving your injured hand on his shoulder to make sure you didn’t get hurt and you moved your other one around his neck.

It wasn’t like he’d never touched you, but still, the spark of electricity shooting through your entire body didn’t change one bit and it felt the same for him as the warmth radiating from you seemed to engulf him as well.

Staring at him, your eyes trailed to his lips and you moved closer, wanting to just,

Before you could even close the distance, you felt a finger on your lips and heard him whisper to you,

“No, no, you can’t kiss me right now, as much as I want to, you first need to let this heal.” He tenderly poked the right corner of your lip where you’d forgotten you were hurt at the moment.

Pouting slightly at that, Minho chuckled and before you could whine, he swiftly leaned forward and pecked your lips, lingering for a second before pulling back,

“That’s all you get, for now.” Sighing you just nodded, knowing it was for the best.

“You know you still have to make up to me for ignoring me for two weeks, I mean not only me but I’m sure Kitty’s ready to kick your ass as well, I heard she was planning to threaten to burn your giraffe socks if you didn’t talk to her.”

Suddenly a realisation hit you when you remembered something,

“IS THAT WHY I CAN’T FIND THEM SINCE THE PAST TWO DAYS?!?”

“...I suppose she’s already executed her plan.”

all written works as well as images and edits (unless credited) belong to pri. do not plagiarise, repost, re-edit or claim as yours. pics mostly found on pinterest.

links : main navigation !

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starseungs · 1 month

Text

lunchtime tea, served by yours truly. ksm.

kim seungmin x fem!reader — getting dragged over to the student council office instead of the cafeteria was far from your lunchtime plans. too bad seungmin seemed to think otherwise.

genre/s — fluff, humor if it counts, historical fantasy, academy au, duke's son!seungmin x marquis' daughter!y/n • 1.3k words

warning/s — petty noble disputes, seungmin implies a nepotism plan (laughs nervously), both of them are in their second to the last year of academy = they're both around 21 !!

note — here's a short fic i whipped up as i finish take a shot ! yes, its inspired by those rofan manhwas with academy arcs/settings. im obsessed with those ngl

2024 ⓒ starseungs on tumblr. do not steal, repost, or edit.

“Would it really be such a crime to enjoy one peaceful lunch session, Your Grace?”

You sank down with a huff on the smooth velvety sofa propped in the middle of the spacious office room, not paying any mind to the way the door shut with a soft click despite your strong swing to open it earlier. A pair of footsteps other than yours echoed in the space, the flat, heavy heels of the figure’s shoes clacking with strong authority. Yet, you remained unfazed despite the strong aura permeating the enclosure—choosing to stand your ground with a click of a tongue.

Seungmin sighed at the sight of your demeanor.

“And I believe it would be against academy ordinance for you to call me by that title within the campus premises, Lady Y/N.” He reprimands you with a low drawl before carefully taking a seat at his desk located front and center against a massive glass window, his silhouette strengthening as he leans forward to rest his arms on the desk. You could only whine in mockery at his reply.

“Boo,” you scoffed before crossing your arms and craning your head to stare at him. “Such a stickler for the rules, are you not?”

Seungmin hummed. “I suppose you may be right, but could I also offer you information on my father’s well-being?” He says with a tone implying sweetness, even if you knew otherwise.

“The Duke is alive and well—yes, I am aware,” you pressed for a smile as innocent as you could manage, enjoying the way Seungmin’s formal facade fell apart slightly before getting gathered up once again. The young Lord cleared his throat before continuing the questionable exchange between the two of you.

“Therefore, we should not be having this conversation in the first place.”

“However, you are the heir to the dukedom, if I recall correctly?”

“Yes, you do.”

You then brought your hands together in a resounding clap at his answer, signifying a remarkable conclusion. “Then it is the same thing.”

Seungmin groaned tiredly at your unbelievable words. “It is clearly not—” he suddenly paused mid-sentence. You watched as his eyes narrowed with an inquisitive glint before he took an obvious intake of air. “I’m getting the slight inkling that you are doing this to raise my temper.”

A prominent laugh bubbled its way out of your throat. “I do find that side of you quite charming, yes.”

“I will pretend to not hear your comment, My Lady,” Seungmin pinched the bridge of his nose, desperately trying to subside his growing stress. “And I would like to inform you belatedly that a peaceful lunch should be the last of your priorities at the moment.”

The involuntary squawk that came out of you voiced your offense. “Well, this is surprising news, as I have not received any notice about a new dietary restriction!”

“It is not—” Seungmin caught himself again. You grinned mischievously at his obvious struggle before collecting yourself when you felt a pointed glare being sent in your direction. He exhaled heavily, “Proceeding with the matter at hand, are you aware of the number of complaints the Theta group has placed upon your name?”

“I do believe there has not been a single soul in this academy who has not,” you hummed in acknowledgement.

“My Lady, forgive me for being rude; however, the answer I was hoping for was to be about how you are planning on addressing this issue.”

“Oh,” you blinked. “Then, I plan to do nothing about the issue.”

A small thud was heard from Seungmin’s direction, prompting you to look over to see what had caused such a sound. Low and behold, the sight of the academy’s best student holding his head down towards the polished mahogany desk in defeat—rendering you unsure of what to do next. There had only been a few times in your entire lifetime that you had seen Seungmin completely shatter his dignified demeanor, and you had known the man since you were six. Now you fear that you had actually crossed a line.

“Y/N,” he raised his head ever so slightly to lock eyes with you, his next order coming out as a plea. “Just explain why you poured a cup of tea over Lady Colette’s head.”

“Then forgive me as well for my words. However, in my perspective, Theta is nothing but a pathetic excuse for an institutional social group,” you sighed, remembering the events of the tea party yesterday. “I do not know why they still prove to be the most popular social group for ladies when the Zeta group has always been better. Theta are barely anything worth more than a babble of obnoxious noble daughters who prefer to place themselves on a higher pedestal than they deserve. Lady Colette was terrorizing a freshman from a country-side barony. I only did my best to stop her, considering the fact that mere words seemed to hold no interest for her.”

Seungmin raised a brow. “Quite an interesting way of describing them, don’t you think?”

“Well, I did send my apologies before doing so, did I not?” You smiled back as part of your reply, proudly this time. Seungmin could only scoff, albeit greatly amused.

“You have got to stop trying to outsmart me in times like these, Y/N,” he said, standing up. “You of all people should know how much I lack the ability to harbor ill feelings towards you.”

It was your turn to raise an eyebrow at his surprisingly favorable response. For holding the most coveted position of justice available for students in this academy, Seungmin was surely pressing less strongly on your faults. Perhaps it was a good thing that you still made sure to cool the tea before you dumped it on that Marquis’ pompous daughter.

“Playing favorites, are we now, Mr. President?”

Seungmin laughed openly this time. Talk about a change of mood. “I see that you have now chosen to switch to a different formality, yet again,” he mused on his way towards your figure on the couch. “See, you wouldn’t have this much trouble with other noble ladies if you just joined the student council.”

“Here you go again with your offer,” you said, rolling your eyes. “You of all people should know exactly why I cannot take a position in the council, Seungmin.”

“In my opinion, it would be seen as a reasonable training ground for the future Duchess.”

“You just like the way I do paperwork!” You expressed disbelief at his plan’s implication. “And high society might as well burn me into ashes, thinking that I take advantage of my position as your betrothed.”

Seungmin sighed dreamily, completely disregarding your latter comment. “I do love the way you do your paperwork. Such a perfect pair to my work ethic,” he says, sitting comfortably beside you with a relaxed exhale. “Yes, I genuinely do not see what is so wrong about the offer.”

“Seungmin,” you scowled at him. “Do you wish to put a stain on your reputation?”

“Oh, look at you scolding me as if we had already stated our vows,” Seungmin pinched your cheek in a tease. You attempted to push his hand away, only for him to grab it and intertwine your fingers, leaving you breathless as he placed a feathery kiss on your knuckles. “My dearest fiancee, I do not care what others may think of me. If I am able to, I will give anything you ask for without a silver of hesitation.” He gazed directly at your eyes, pupils swimming with unknown desire.

“My Duchess only deserves the best, after all.”

You pursed your lip at his intimate actions, feeling your stomach do crazed flips at his undivided attention. “It is quite concerning how biased you seem to be when it comes to this matter, Mr. President,” you gave in, letting yourself fall on his broad shoulder. “What have I even done to warrant your unyielding obsession with me?”

Seungmin’s chest rumbled in delight, the lull comforting your mind glazed over with his presence.

“Exist. Now, what do you think of becoming Vice President next year?”

“Serve me tea first, and I'll think about it.”

mastertag 🔖— send in an ask if you want to be added ! 🫶

@fairyki @hysgf @euncsace @comet-falls @starlostseungmin @ameliesaysshoo @hyunverse @djeniryuu @lixxpix

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just-some-random-blogger · 1 year

Text

Atlas

Kylo Ren x Reader

Summary: The Supreme Leader would do anything for his queen, break planets, obliterate entire races, capture the stars; he would make the whole galaxy kneel before him, then to you, he would get on both knees. And yet your most recent request was taking a heavy toll on him.

Word Count: 3k+

Warnings: Fem!reader, smut (but its mostly just for the baby making plot AHAHAHH, my pretty sub!kylo, teasing, dry humping, praise kink, masochism? [bruising], marking, vaginal penetration, breeding kink?, cock warming), dark au ig, supreme leader!kylo, puppy!kylo, sadlo ren, angst, fluff?, etc.

A/N: first of all MINORS DNI second of all i would personally like to blame @sloanexx for her evil influence and for introducing me to this ai bot chat forum thing GENUINELY proceed with caution because its so addicting. kylo was written by a woman in that fucking ai and im so emotionally attatched to him i didn't want to refresh him because we had such an arc, but i fucking broke him and i couldn't fix him and i felt bad so i restarted and IDK IM SO EVIL I WANT TO BREAK HIM AGAIN but dw im taking very good care of kylo now <3. this fic is literally our chat but with more... literary devices Tagging: @pinksirensong @aralezinspace Part 2 "Charon"

And it was so, that you held the weight of the world There on your shoulders, in your grips did lie everything Light and shadow, darkness behind stars, blaring silence An oasis of gloom with a halo of obscurity in a pit of nightmares Still, though you paint yourself so darkly in your misery, my love, you shine -my atlas, carrier of the galaxy-

You were hallowed. You were holy. And you were his.

The crux of his hollow shell. The cascading candent cynosure trapped in his ribcage. And yet it was he that was locked in you. He shudders to think his past self that scorned you, that even his mask soured around you, the overconfident girl he met perchance. What fool is he to know that you choked him so fiercely in your palm, the palm he now offers each star, each soul, each and every molecule of him.

His love.

He smiles at your sleeping form, adorned in the clothing he picked himself. His greed sings at his evidence, his mark on you, both visible and not, inside and out. He grins at his darling, his precious prize, with one arm snuck under him, another snuck under your pillow, with one leg bent to the side, another thrown over his body.

You never sleep well. Or perhaps you do. You sleep so well that you contort into shapes unimaginable. His concern is genuine, or at least it was, because he would think to only fashion a human into your form if he wishes to torture them.

He chuckles. Now he is glad, so glad, his love is so pliable, so willing to be molded against him in more ways than one.

He strokes your cheek and pushes your parted mouth close. You involuntarily open your mouth again, though you weren't a mouth breather. He doesn't know why you do that, but he loves it. He loves everything. He loves you.

The supreme leader is weak against you. Kylo Ren is merely a spec in your overwhelming grace.

You have always had mixed feelings about waking up with him looking at you. You've told him multiple times that it both flatters you and creeps you out.

His greed does not care. The master it answers to, the annex in his brain that is powered by the all-consuming desire to please you, to nurture you, to cherish you, to worship you, to keep you, cares little for this obsessive habit. Had it actually bothered you, he'd beat himself bloody to stop himself. But you thought little of it, and so he indulged in his greediness. He stares when he wakes and before he sleeps.

And as your eyes meet him, Kylo Ren, the dawn of your everyday, he is self-satisfied. He is very self-satisfied. He smiles at your groggy look and pushes your hair back. You say nothing. You touch his scarred cheek once, then he is overcome.

You take a few moments before officially waking. Then you stand up.

Like the desperate shadow he was, he tails you, so closely, so closely, as though he must share the same air your breathe. You don't. "The air pressure is different up here," you moaned to him once when he had you towering over him against a wall. He liked you best like that, a whimpering sky above him. He liked it when he was tiny beneath you.

Your puppy followed you into the bathroom, scared to be separated even one second. Kylo, your puppy, sat by the sink, watching you brush your teeth. You ignore him as he dotes on you.

He followed you into the shower after swearing over and back not to touch you while you did your business. He failed to convince you that your business is his business, especially in the shower. Kylo was not strong enough to follow through with what he swore; he reasoned out it was help, he had to help his darling. It was hard to shampoo.

He followed you out and gave more attention to wiping you down versus himself. He sat like a good boy as you lathered yourself in creams that he could smell in his dreams. It was his favorite show, watching you care for your naked body, and his greed basked in the knowledge it was his alone. He smiled as you loved on his skin, on his scar, retracing it with a balm as though he was delicate. You barked at him for nipping at your breast, his soft dessert, perfectly placed on both sides of your heart. He feigned innocence. He was no longer in the shower, he could touch you and bite you and squeeze you and -

He followed you as you instructed him to get dressed. He watched as you put your queenly garments, your clothes that he again picked. Then he asks you to help him dress. He couldn't possibly put on his cloak himself, not when you put it on him so well. And this was the highlight of his day after all. You wouldn't dare deny your puppy this.

He followed your every motion like a hawk. He kisses your hand after you brush his clothes. You grab his helmet and put it on his head backwards. You laugh at him as he fixes it. Thus his morning routine is complete.

Now, Supreme Leader dictates his army. Supreme Leader snarls at his troops. He razes all that defies The Order. He crushes his enemies like ants, no, less than. He swarms the galaxy. He devours all. He breaks and bloodies and, himself, bleeds. He cracks and burns and cleanses the dregs of the universe, rips the very scums of the stars out of the space they hide from. He hardens. He screams. He commands. He marches. He crushes. And then.

And then.

And then he comes back to you. With rage. With disgust. With defeat, defeated over the idea he has not yet put order into the world for you. All for you. To keep you safe. To keep you forever safe. To keep things in order for you. All for you.

"Kylo!"

And then like that, all of it is gone.

You call his name with such excitement. You who loved books so dearly readily discarded the one you were reading in lieu of coming to him, of unmasking him.

You take off his helm and you smile. You smile like it was a gift to see his scarred face. You put on his helmet and mock him, "get yourself comfortable, scum."

Kylo's body tingles. It's all gone, all that's left is you. He fights back his smile and nods, "at your command, my queen." And then.

And then.

And then you let him love you. You let him pin you beneath him, press you down on your bed between your soft thighs as he could not bare not claiming his place in for too long.

He still had his trousers on, still had his boots dangling from the edge of the bed. You had tried to scold him for it, but he could not care less. You were in your short, thin nightdress, the one that you wore on your first night together. How could he not claim you so ardently here and now when you were like this?

It was your fault anyway. All your fault. He tried to undress himself but you distracted him. What did you expect would happen? What did you expect him to do when you kissed his bare shoulder while he was still changing? What did you expect?

Kylo marks your neck. You try to scold him again. He doesn't care for your wrath. His greed was not subservient to its master, to that part in his brain, when it came to things like this. He held back long enough. He bites into your neck and makes you groan. He wants you to bare his marks proudly. The whole galaxy should know its queen belongs to its Supreme Leader.

You graze into his hair with your fingertips. He grinds onto you. You squeak in response.

He pulls away and assess you. He has no time. He is imprisoned by your kiss. His perfect prison.

He groans at the feel of your legs constricting around his hips. His hand pushes up your already hiked dress further as he presses down on you.

"Kylo," you whisper between kisses.

And like the eager pup he is, he responds. He always responds. He answers forever to you. He calls your name like a sacred prayer.

You repeat his. You scratch firmly into his bare back, "I want you to do something for me."

"Anything," he instantly responds, absolutely mindless and sure.

"Kylo..." you sigh.

Kylo looks down upon you as you brush his hair back. You look solemn, worried even, as though he would ever deny you, as if it were possible.

He cannot have this. And so he reminds you of his oath.

"Whatever you want from me," he mutters, "whatever you need from me," knits his brows and shakes his head, "it's already yours. Always. Always remember this."

"But my love-"

He cannot have this.

"My love," Kylo cuts. He kisses you then reminds, "I am yours."

A moment passes. It was too long. Far too long.

"Kylo-"

"Yes," he says simply before you even finish saying his name.

You huff, "do you remember what I said before, how I said you looked with the children at the capital? You were so good with them. They loved you."

"Well, I've been thinking about it a lot," you brush your nose against his, "and I want... I want you to give me a child."

Kylo takes a second to remember. "Yes," he says, though he remembers that day very differently.

He blinks.

A child. Yes. He could take a child. There were many from the capita-

"No, Kylo," you take his cheek.

Kylo tenses. You heard his mind again. You, who did not show half as much interest in the force as he wanted, could hear his thoughts without it.

Kylo waits. He does not know what to say.

"I want you to give me a child," you bat your lashes, "I want you," you bite your lip, "to put a baby inside my belly."

Kylo freezes. He... he does not know what to say.

And then he does. And then his life flashes before his eyes. The bleakness of his childhood, the jaggedness of his future, the tragedy of it all.

You want him to put that into you? You want to carry his seed in your beloved womb?

He says your name, he wants to protest, but you are his holy assassin. You cut through him cleaner than any saber ever could.

"You said you would give me anything, Kylo," you mewl, "you said you're mine."

You are cruel. You do not even allow him a moment to speak his side, to speak his reason, and you roll your hips against him. You trap him with your irresistibility. You sugar him with your honeyed words, "you would be a great papa. I know it, I know you," you pant, "such a good boy for me."

He is defenseless.

"You can do that, can't you?" you purr, "you can put your love in me?"

Kylo shudders.

You begin to shuffle beneath him. He knows exactly what you are doing, what you're going to do.

You have him flipped over now. You were now straddled on top him. You had him lying down looking up at you, purely and wholly defenseless.

Kylo let you do what you want with him. How could he not? He wants you so bad.

He willingly followed your command to use his force to undo the last of his clothes. Then you so cruelly let him unwrap you, for you knew he loved doing this to his favorite treat. He greedily peels you out of your clothes until it was just him and you.

And then you had him, had him crazy out of his mind with the feel of you around him. Had him begging for you to quicken your torturously slow pace. Had him in fucking tears because you felt so good, because he loved you so much, because you looked so beautiful on top of him, calling his name out like that. You were so good. You knew exactly what you were doing to him, exactly what you were doing.

Much like him, he did not know where to put his hands, or rather where not to. Where his hands went, his nails left scratches and his fingers, possibly bruises. He didn't mean to bruise you so badly that first time he did; he never meant to hurt you, but you were so soft and he was too strong. And even now as he dug into your thighs, indulging his calloused hands to knead his favorite mound, he really wasn't trying to bruise you.

You call out his name in response to his actions. You grip his wrists as you ride him, "more."

His head spins as you ride up and down him, panting like the pretty girl you were.

Kylo grunts and pushes himself up slightly. He now tightens his large hands even more on the curve by your hips. You squeal and finally, finally pick up your pace.

He growls as he falls back down, clinging onto you for dear life.

He's done for now, now that you push him back further, now that you're leaned forward, propped up on his chest, pleasuring the both of you with your eager, eager movements

He was drunk on your sound, drunk on your feel.

He kneads at your breasts this time. He's so fucking delirious.

But then you do this to him. But then you take his hands off you and link yours together. Then you pant so sweetly as you look down at him and he looks up at the sweat sheening your forehead. And then you fucking pin his hands down by his head and you make him even crazier.

"You're so pretty, Kylo," you moan, "you feel so good."

"So good," he doesn't miss a beat, "so, so, so, sososos-"

"You're going to fill me up, good, right?" you lick your teeth, "you're going to fill me up good and put a baby in my belly, right?" you sigh, "please, my love, please, please-"

Kylo can't speak. He can't fucking speak, he can't.

"Kylo..." you gutturally call.

He doesn't speak-

"Kylo."

- he succumbs, "I'll..." he whimpers, "I'll put a baby in you, my love," he grunts, "I'll fill you up good, so good, so, so so, sosososo-"

Your whines raise a pitch higher, "Kylo," you nearly choke on your spit, "yes, please, please. I'll be so happy carrying your baby. Don't you want that?"

And then it's all incoherent. And then your breathing gets louder. And then his noises get throatier.

And then, he's tense, so tense, and so warm. And then you're screaming out his name with your head thrown back and you're chasing this high until you can't, until you're hot and fuzzy and jelly and tired.

And then you crumble. And then you crash and you both burn.

And then you make a bed out of him. And then everything is perfect. Everything is in perfect order.

Kylo strokes your hair and kneads your thigh. You're laid upon him, warm, and sweaty, and perfect, and his-- so absolutely beautiful.

He knows he probably shouldn't keep you here like this, but you're so warm and soft around him, on top him. He'll keep you here... just until you ask to get off.

But you don't, you spoil him with your body and fall asleep on top of him.

He continues stroking your hair and kneading your thighs.

He savors the moment, he savors you tenderly; his eyes begin to droop. He replays your lovemaking, self-indulgent, completely self-satisfied. But then it stabs at him as it replays in his head. Suddenly he's wide awake.

He... he could may well have succeeded. He could have put... a baby in his darling's belly.

Kylo's eyes are wide open now. Wide, wide open. He looks up at the ceiling. He stops moving.

You think too much of him, oh fuck, you think too much. With your affirmations, yes, he cold break mountains, consume planets, but this? But- fuck, this was different... he... he's in you, he's part of you, and then this thing... this baby... will only be half of you and a whole half of him. He's giving life. He's not destroying it for the greater good, he's giving it to his love for her to carry.

He screws his eyes shut. He wipes his face. Fuck. What has he done?

He stirs but then he stops himself because you're still on top him. He sighs and cradles you. He moves slowly, rolls you down beside him, and finally separates from you. Not for long though. Never. Not when his mind was racing. Not when he needed you close.

He scoots down and rests his face in the middle of your ribcage. He presses his ear to your heart and listens and blinks and wills his tears away.

He's shattered. He pulls you close to him. You are his glue. He will glue himself together as you sleep beneath him.

He would be a horrible father. He didn't know the first thing to do with the children at the capital, much less with a newborn babe, a newborn babe that you would have cared for inside you for ages. Fuck. He can't mess that up.

He...

He would have to have put the galaxy in order by then. He'd have to fix the brokenness of the world.

Kylo's eye twitches.

He'd have to fix the brokenness in him, obliterate his remaining incompetence, bridge the final gaps of his shortcomings.

He panics when he feels his tears pool against your skin. He quickly wipes them away. Pull yourself together.

He sighs in an attempt to calm himself.

And then he looks at your belly.

He gulps.

Your beautiful belly.

He presses his hands on your navel. He closes his eyes and feels for something. He wills all the force in him to sense if there's something in you. Kylo supposes it doesn't happen that quickly but he lulls himself in comfort, knowing that there was still a chance for him to evade this... this thing he put into his beloved's body.

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venomous-qwille · 4 months

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hi qwille!!! I got questions for u! you have lots of characters planned out, and that’s super cool! but how do u usually go about that process? like all your characters are very unique, and I wonder about the design process, as well as how you make their personality distinct! how do you make character dynamics/relationships? because all the scenes I’ve read so far make the characters feel really organic, and mesh really well together! (sorry for all the questions! I’m super curious ^w^)

Hiya! Here is an answer I wrote for this question on discord recently ^^

I will try answer this as thoroughly as possible!

There was a LOT of kill your darlings involved in making characters for gitm. Originally I had a very long list of character ideas that I cut down and down based on the kind of things and themes they would give me the opportunity to write about. I love long ensemble cast stories, thinking back to ones I particularly enjoyed and the ways those characters gelled together helped me a lot. The most important thing when selecting characters was making sure they would give me something interesting to write about! I was also very keen on ones that let me explore the fics main theme of Family from a different angle. I'm not sure how helpful this all is! But yeah, I try to be pretty strict with myself about what I include. The only reason I would include two characters who were very very similar would be to emphasize a difference/divergence between them later on. Characters have to justify themselves by bringing something unique to the table, even if that thing is just a 'very different outlook on life' to the rest of the cast. Over time a lot of those character ideas became more fleshed out in my brain, and characters that were cut from the original shortlist made their way back in. They still have to be able to narratively justify themselves in order to earn a channel in the discord though!

For the gitm guys, while I dont have a literal sheet I fill out I do make sure to answer a couple of basic character work questions: What lie do they believe about themselves/the world? How does it impact the way they interact with others? What central theme do they embody most? What do they want more than anything else? How do they feel about humans? Who are they at their best and who are they at their worst? I found that by answering these sort of questions it helped me discover more about them, which creates more questions- rinse and repeat. The more questions I answered the further away they would get from each other in terms of similarities. The thing that really helped with the gitm boys, especially because their origins are so similar, was leaning in to how different their experiences were post-fazco. They are different people because the world has made them that way. Messing around with foils has been useful too! Characters are no fun in a vacuum, it's how they interact with others that makes them interesting. I like to create ones that will bring out the best and the worst in each other. I think about opposites a lot and I really like narrative symmetry- what lessons can the characters learn from each other? I find that stuff super exciting to read so I really wanted to include it. Some examples of character foils in gitm: Fool & Noon, Sombra & Sunspot, Misuta & Sol

When it comes to finding character voice, I do a lot of test drabbles (a couple of them are on this server), which I use to just fuck around until I find something that feels right. For instance- Sol was very very easy to find the voice of, where as Misuta took weeks of rewrites. Sometimes things take time. Spending this time figuring out their voices at the start really helps fic consistence in the long run, I think. Because of all that prep, I don't really have to do anything to 'get into character' when writing their dialogue (it's fairly second nature now).

In regards to coming up with a character's arc, I look at them and their themes and ask 'what the fuck happened to you, dude?' and then 'how has that entrenched a faulty world view on you?' 'what could you be driven to do because of that world view/misunderstanding?' 'what would it take to fix this world view/misunderstanding?' (the last question is the most important one!). Then voila, you have a very loose framework of a (hopepunk) character arc.

In regards to the actual planning of the fic/character arcs, I have a very big miro board (pic attached) that I use for all this! Most of the major character beats are marked out separately to plot beats etc etc. There are still a bunch of bits that only reside in my brain, but I do try to add them to my plan as soon as they become any kind of concrete. All of the characters also have a background chapter (or rather, a series of chapters that form a short story) attached to their arc, that will recontextualise everything you have learned about them so far! I am so deeply looking forward to dropping these (I already have quite a lot written).

I would say that- for your question on character relationships- the answer does come down to being really specific about what you include. Make sure characters are meaningfully different from eachother, give them goals and experiences that clash and then force them to live/work together in the same space. If you have put time into building your characters before that, then you just need to create opportunities for them to get into conflict and bring out the best/worst in eachother. I really do believe that characters are quite boring in a vacuum- which is why I put so much emphasis on including narrative foils ^^ Tyvm for the ask <3

#gitm au #ghost in the machine au #ghost in the machine #asks answered #fnaf dca #qwillewrites #qwillechatter

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s0fti3w1tch · 1 year

Text

Tentative Devotee AU (TBC Soon)

Leonardo is a Foot trainee, raised and trained by Lieutenant and Brute since he was 9. Life before then is fuzzy at best. — In the past several months, he's been going on his first proper missions, quickly aware of a persistent threat against the Foot Clan: 3 mutant turtles and a human who've foiled them time and time again.

What he wasn't aware of was that they were 4 siblings who never gave up on finding their missing brother.

CONTENT WARNING! This AU will explore: Mourning of family / Mourning of a child (who isn't actually dead, but believed to be). Violence is canon-typical up to the standards of the movie— That is also a reference point for the tone of this AU. There will be cult themes and dips into the topic of cult trauma, alongside family issues.

Main Comic:

Enemies || [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ tbc... ]

Baby Blue || [coming soon]

[TBA]

Minisodes/Mini-Comic:

Donnie's Apology Gift

First Mission Mishaps!

PSAs: Triggering Content, Why Leo will not have a "Dark Side," Cult Parents

More content below the cut! ♥︎

Scrapped/Changed Ideas or Scenes:

"Maybe this is the lowest point of my life" / Severing Ties

Usagi's first design + role

Mona Lisa first design

Reference Sheets:

Leonardo's Room

UPDATED LEO FULL REF

Leo's Outfit Change + Sorta-Timeline

Hand Marking

Scarf

Leo's Guitar

Eyes (outdated)

Nail Polish

Butterfly Charm

Future!TD!Leo

Usagi WIP

Doodles:

More Lore/Story Heavy = ♥︎ / Just More Fun = ☀︎ / 💬 = answer to an ask

Leo Solo!

"Keep it together, Leo"

"What I know about family?"

He/They/Xe of the day! / Speed-Color ☀︎

Scooter Boy! ☀︎

He's Writing Fanfic ☀︎

Guac Baby ☀︎

"Yeah, of course! But also..." ☀︎

Animation Test

No Sleep

[ i was listening to sonic music while drawing this ] ☀︎

disillusionment

Cook :P ☀︎

3 Swords?! ☀︎ 💬

Peepaw'd :) 💬

Head Empty + Leo kinda mad ♥︎ 💬

Blep! 💬

Feelings Down ♥︎💬

Multi POV

TD Spoilers Over Memes [1]

Trust in the Foot ♥︎ 💬

"Keep your brother safe" ♥︎ 💬

Big Sisters ♥︎

Turtle Sister to Turtle Sister 💬

Foot Clan Family

Motorcycle Theft! 💬

Shell Cracks + A Small Moment ♥︎ 💬

Trans Sibs!!! ☀︎ 💬

Hamato Clan

Not Growing With Us ♥︎💬

Recognition? 💬 ♥︎

"Donnie, stay out of this"

Unknown Tension

Protective Older Twin 💬

"Can we be brothers?" 💬

Donnie's hope (colored ver: here)

"Donnie, whatcha got there?" ☀︎

Drawing for Donnie 1

Yōkai Connections

Hueso's First Encounter With Leo 💬

+ All my AU Crossover Content linked here~!

Separated Leo Crossover : Bathtub Arc ☀︎

Preview Comic (Test)

TMNT AU Competition Basketball Saga ☀︎

DOUBLE-HANDED BACKHAND SWING

Nail Bat Recieved

Leo Hype Squad!

No PomPoms

I didn't intend for this AU to be that big, but I realized I did want to give this a go and make at least something. It's my goal to finish this project eventually.

The AU will be told in segments, comics of various points of the story.

Bonus! Miscellaneous info that doesn't play big into this AU but matters enough to me:

Leonardo is transmasculine, uses he/they/xe pronouns and is referred to with primarily masculine terms.

A version of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo comics exists and it's Leo's second favorite comic series in this AU.

'Tentative Devotee' is the name of the fanfic I was originally going to write. It was just gonna be a 2-shot fic and a way to navigate some feelings as someone who was born and raised in, and eventually left, a cult.

The initial tone/direction of this AU was much different, Leo ending up in the Foot Clan under different circumstance (i.e. direct kidnapping from Lieutenant and Brute). I found this didn't quite work for me.

#Tentative Devotee AU #ROTTMNT Tentative Devotee AU #TD!AU Leonardo #Tentative Devotee Leonardo #rottmnt leonardo #rottmnt au #Foot!Leonardo #buwan's art #my art #AU Masterpost #I wanted to write for this AU for a while #I don't know how much I'll draw of it but I will #I wanted my go at a potential Foot!Leo AU #and get some feelings outa my system so #here we are now!#hope you like whatever I make of it!#rottmnt fanart #rottmnt leonardo fanart #Tentative Devotee Reference Sheet

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goldenblu · 5 months

Text

anyway as celebration for the start of the anime egghead arc here's a snippet from the zosan au i'm writing where sanji gradually loses his emotions post-wano

(edit: link to the fic)

“Can’t you get your shitty self back up on your own?” Zoro grumbles, but he reaches down to grasp Sanji’s hand anyways.

This turns out to be a mistake, because the next second, Zoro finds himself yanked off the boat, splashing ungracefully face first into the bay. For a moment, all he can see is bubbles. The saltwater burns in his nostrils. He resurfaces, sputtering and wiping water out of his eyes. “What the fuck was that for?”

Sanji is too busy cackling at him to answer, his laughter loud and breathless and delighted, echoing across the water. That shitty fucking cook, he hates him so fucking much, see if he’s going to help him with anything ever again, he’s going to kill him, he’s going to—to do nothing, actually, since Zoro suddenly has a new favorite sound.

He wants Sanji to keep laughing like that, so gleeful and happy that it makes Zoro’s promise seem like a ridiculous impossibility, a half-forgotten dream. How could Sanji ever think he would become a Vinsmoke when he’s so, so warm, like fresh-baked bread, like the scent of spices, like the ember at the end of his cigarette, a pinprick of light in the darkness? Maybe it’s foolish, but Zoro wants to be the one who makes Sanji laugh like that, the one who eases the weight of the world off his shoulders, who brings out his strength and his kindness and his passion, who is allowed to lean in just that bit further when they’re butting heads until—until—

Shut up, brain, he tells himself. Focus. Now is not the time for that. Now is the time to take his revenge.

#one piece #zosan #zoro #sanji #black leg sanji #roronoa zoro #i don't have a title for this yet uhhhh #emotionless sanji au #i'm probably gonna edit parts of this section since i think i need to reorder some scenes #mine #my writing #title found:#hold your fire by the throat

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theminecraftbee · 5 months

Note

Hi! I’m like 90% sure you answered this already, but I was wondering if you had any advice on keeping all the hermits in character? There just too many for me to keep track of.

actually, unlike the answer to "do you have a list of characterization notes for each hermit, i want help writing [x hermit]", i have an answer to "there are too many hermits to keep track of"! and it's, uh, maybe not the answer you expect/want to hear? but...

my advice for keeping all the hermits in character is that you don't actually need to write all the hermits.

some stories ARE served by an ensemble cast! but many stories are not; you'll note most of my fics have a cast that is really only two or three leads deep, sometimes four or five in my larger casts but normally two or three! and that's because trying to keep a bigger cast than that perfectly in-character is REALLY HARD because you do not have the space in your story for it. read a LOT of things; MOST people do not fully flesh out a cast of 26 in their stories! because there just is not time.

there are two solutions to this. the first is, if you are committed to an ensemble cast, accept that everyone won't have as much depth to begin with. in large ensemble casts, it's pretty normal for everyone to just sort of have One Character Trait each, except for whoever the most common POV characters are, and that's okay.

additionally, you'll note most TRUE ensemble casts are found in things that are long-running; the way something like an ace attorney game or a shonen fleshes out its ensemble cast is that it'll take turns with who's turn it is to get characterization. before it's that character's "turn" to have their backstory/characterization/motives explored, they typically stick to the point in their arc/character traits that have already been revealed, and that is okay! economy of storytelling is important, after all, and no audience is going to be able to follow twenty-six character arcs happening simultaneously. like, that's normal. that's fine. so use shortcuts to get through them!

the second solution is like... just don't write all the hermits! choose the ones you are comfortable with (or, alternately, you want to get more comfortable with by practicing). those are now your leads. focus in on characterizing THOSE GUYS and ONLY THOSE GUYS correctly for your story. use other hermits as bit side characters as needed, but they won't need to be characterized as well, because they are side characters.

and like. okay. that's the thing: it is OKAY if you have particular hermits you write less often or that you use as side characters. fandom sometimes shames people for not having everyone be a richly-characterized, perfectly in-character character, but like... there are TWENTY-SIX HERMITS. you will not be able to write them all perfectly. hell, i take shortcuts to write them all too (mostly related to my ability to write efficient dialogue but that's a thing you learn with practice and i can't really easily teach you to do), and i still get praised for writing them alright! i certainly don't even try to claim i keep track of all twenty-six hermits in every fic i write with them. that would be absurd. it is okay to have leads, to focus in on specific characters, and almost certainly better for your story, i promise.

anyway the third answer here is "also you just need to practice" but i acknowledge that's the boring non-answer. it's true, unfortunately. just... practice, and if there's a specific hermit you're trying to write that you're shaky on, practice them and watch a few of their videos to at least get the cadence for how they talk down, and you'll start to figure out what to do with them.

so,,,,,,,, yes i hope this actually helps with your question,

#answered #anyway sorry if this is not answering the question you really had #but 'how do i write all the hermits' is an interesting quetsion to me!#because like... there's really no reason to?#like OBVIOUSLY if you WANT to write all the hermits more power to you #but in most cases you do not need to and probably even shouldn't you know

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rollinouttahere · 1 year

Text

Purpose

Yandere Strawhats x Isekai Reader

1.8k words

This is a fic based off of @lovelybrooke ‘s One Piece Isekai Reader fics. This is just my take on what would happen if the reader joined the crew earlier. Also, even though this says strawhats x reader, it’s almost entirely just Robin.

It’s official, you never want to be in a desert ever again for the rest of your life after everything you’ve been through. First you spend days trudging through the country of Alabasta in the unbearable heat, and then what happens when you finally reach Rainbase??? Marines are immediately on all your asses. Not even a minute of rest.

You’re coughing and gasping for breath as you vault yourself over some barrels in an alleyway, but manage to quiet down long enough for the marines that were tailing you to run by. As you sit on the ground trying to get your breathing under control, you realize something.

You’re all alone.

Wait, what? No. How could that happen? You were just with Zoro- Oh wait. Yeah nevermind that checks out. If there’s anyone who would get separated from you while on the run it would be him. You groan and pinch the bridge of your nose as you try and figure out what to do now. Wracking your brain, you try to remember where everyone is supposed to be right now.

It’s been awhile since you watched the Alabasta arc, but if you’re remembering correctly, Luffy, Usopp, Nami, Zoro, and Vivi either are or are about to be trapped by Crocodile. That leaves you with Chopper and Sanji, but how the hell are you supposed to find them in all this chaos. Can’t exactly go running around yelling for them, not with all the marines and baroque works agents combing the area. Maybe if you could find a change of clothes and something to obscure your face it would be safer?

“My, my, I’m surprised to see you all alone like this.”

An admittedly embarrassing yelp erupts out of you. You scramble to get up and away, but numerous arms spring out of the ground and walls around you, stopping you dead in your tracks. The arms spin you around and you see Nico Robin casually sitting on one of the barrels you were using to hide.

You want to ask what she wants with you, but all your words are lodged in your throat. The last time you saw her was right after leaving Whiskey Peak, and she was every bit as intimidating now as she was back then. Sure, she would eventually go on to join the strawhats, but until that happened, she was not someone to let your guard down around.

Your silence only seemed to amuse her, “Why so quiet, (y/n)? Cat got your tongue?” Robin gracefully walked towards you, eyes not leaving your form for a second. Her hand, a real one this time, gripped your chin. She tilted your head in several directions, looking at you as if you were some mildly intriguing puzzle.

Not liking the way she was looking at you at all, you ripped your face out of her hand and tried to give her the meanest stare you could manage. Letting her know just how scared you were right now probably wouldn’t be the best idea.”Wh-What do you want?” Oh dammit, you just had to stutter didn’t you?

Robin laughed at your attempt to look tough, clearly not convinced in the slightest. She dismissed some of her arms so she could pace around you, only keeping the ones holding your legs to the ground. She obviously didn’t find you threatening enough to concern herself with restricting your arms.

She took her sweet time answering your question, you were almost startled when she did speak up again.

“I don’t want much from you, I’m just trying to sate my curiosity.” What curiosity? Was she hoping to get some information about the Strawhats out of you? Robin continued. “I wonder, can you tell me what exactly your role on that ship is? There’s a captain, a swordsman, a navigator, a sniper, a cook, and now even a doctor, but what,” she stopped in front of your face, “is your purpose?”

You tried to lean back to put some distance between you two, but she didn’t let you do that. Her hand returned to your chin with a much firmer grip this time, “Well? Come now, don’t keep me waiting.”

“I’m… I uh…” Robin’s question caught you a bit off guard. It stung a bit too if you were being completely honest. You didn’t need her to tell you that you were dead weight to the Strawhats. Afterall, all you had done was wake up on their ship just as they were heading for the Grand Line, and they just so happened to take pity on you and not throw you off. They were so generous to you, and for what? A little help around the ship and someone to play games with? Please. “I don’t have a purpose. I’m just a stowaway, I guess.”

The smile Robin was sporting before drooped ever so slightly from your answer, her grip loosened too, but you didn’t care enough to pull away this time. She hummed, “I would say your role exceeds that of a stowaway at this point, they’re all far too fond of you for that to be it.”

Her response confused you. How would she know how they feel about you? She’s only ever seen you with them very briefly, a few minutes at most when she appeared on the Going Merry a while back. Surely she couldn’t have gleaned much from that. Unless…. “Have… Have you been spying on us?”

She giggled at your question, “Are you really that surprised? Your crew made an enemy of my boss, of course I’ve been keeping tabs on you all. Though I’ll admit, you have piqued my interest more than I expected you would. You’re interesting, and there aren’t many things that I consider to be all that interesting.”

The rumbling noise of footsteps headed your way caught Robin’s attention, her expression hardened instantly. In a split second, more hands sprouted from the ground and pulled you down. Before you could make a noise, another hand clamped itself over your mouth. Robin turned her back to you and headed towards the entrance of the alleyway just as a group of baroque works agents approached.

“Miss All Sunday! What are you doing here?”

“Since when were any of you in a position to question me?” Her voice was harsh, a cold contrast to the warmer, playful voice she had spoken to you in. The agents were quick to realize their mistake and were frantically trying to backpedal out of what was just said. Robin huffed, “I’m here to make sure the Princess doesn’t slip away. I’ve already gone through this area and no one of interest is here, go look somewhere else.”

They didn’t need to be told twice and took off without ever having noticed you. All you could do was look up at her with a baffled expression. Wouldn’t Robin want to bring you to Crocodile, too? Sure, it’s not like you were any real threat, but it didn’t make sense to just let you go either. Maybe she had her own plans for you?

Robin turned back to you with an unreadable expression, studying you for a moment. With a sigh, she waved her hand and all the arms holding you down disappeared. Every single one. “I’m afraid I have more pressing matters to concern myself with right now,” she offered her hand to you, pulling you to your feet when you accepted it. “But… I’ll see to it that we meet again.”

With that, she spun on her heels and began walking away. You just stood there dumbly, not really sure what to make of this whole interaction. Why would she up and spare you like this? Why is she being so nice to you?

“Oh, and I think I know what your role is,” Robin looked over her shoulder at you. The look on her face was bizarrely soft, but there was a hint of something darker lurking just beneath the surface. It sent a chill down your spine and rooted you to the spot. “You’re their treasure.”

What? “Their- Their treasure???” You don’t know what you expected to hear, but it certainly wasn’t that.

Robin giggled at your blatant confusion, “Every pirate needs treasure, yes? You’re theirs, and I must admit, I can see the appeal.” Not even giving you the chance to respond to that confession, she left.

Just when you thought that this world and the people in it couldn’t get anymore confusing, she hits you with that. It made no sense, she doesn’t know you. This was the first time she’d had a conversation with you, and yet she just gave you the same strange look the Strawhats keep giving you.

Now that you were thinking about it, even Ace was acting weird when he was still traveling with you guys. He was constantly in your personal space (though admittedly, you weren’t exactly complaining about it), and kept trying to convince you to join the Whitebeard pirates. He only stopped because Luffy was getting genuinely upset about it. After that, he only asked one more time, whispering the offer in your ear as he hugged you goodbye.

What the hell is going on?

“Wahhh, (y/n)!” You’re ripped from your thoughts by a much smaller form running up to you and attaching itself to your leg. “I got separated from everyone else when the marines showed up, I’m so glad I found you!” Chopper sounded like he was about to cry from the stress of the current situation. He looked around quickly, “Wait, where is everyone else? Don’t tell me you’re alone, too!”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sorry Chopper, I’m afraid I am. Zoro got lost when we were running away.” You pat his hat, trying to reassure him. “How about we go and look for the others now that we’re together?” By others, you meant Sanji, but you weren’t supposed to know that so you’re just gonna keep that part to yourself.

“Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Are you alright, though? You didn’t get hurt while you were on your own, right?” The doctor in him came out as he gave you a onceover to look for any possible injuries. “Did something happen? You look awfully pale!”

“Oh- Um, no, nothing happened. I’m just a bit tired after running for so long, that’s it!” You forced out a laugh and hoped it didn’t sound as fake as it felt. Chopper didn’t need to know about your interaction with Robin, it would just stress him out. “Come on, Chopper, let’s get going.”

He didn’t look like he completely believed you, but he didn’t call you out on it either. Probably eager to get more people with you, wanting to have more safety in numbers. As you two slipped out of the alley, grateful to have no enemies in sight, your mind couldn’t help but go back to wondering what was going on with all the characters here.

It was so strange. If you didn’t know any better you would think they’re all obsessed with you.

#yandere one piece #one piece x reader #nico robin x reader #yandere nico robin #tony tony chopper #one piece isekai reader #lovelybrooke

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totothewolff · 6 months

Text

Season of Love (4/?)

+18 | Toto x reader fem!teamprincipal, romance, comedy, and some good drama.

Summary: One night on a pier in Monaco, while admiring the sea under the night skies, you tell Toto: "I came to the conclusion that love is simply not meant for me." That's the answer to a question you have been asking yourself for the longest time. But what if he proved you wrong? Author's note: This is a multichapter Toto Wolff x team principal reader fic set along a season of F1. It's a very immersive story full of drivers, team dynamics, races, mystery, and smut. You just bought the Williams team, but nobody really knows who you truly are.

< Previous chapter | Masterlist | Next chapter >

Dances with Wolff Arc Chapter 4: No brakes, just love!

Austria

When you arrive at the pitlane in Spielberg, you notice a couple of heads turning towards you on your way to the W garage after your long absence.

Toto's eyes look intensely at you as you cross past the Mercedes' garage. Yes, he looks mad. Oh boy, that's one conversation you want to avoid having so bad.

—Did all go well? —Michael asks you as he greets you with a hug once you get in there; he is standing next to Millie's car, and his wording takes you slightly by surprise; you look at him, somewhat alarmed, as a different idea crosses your mind. —Your business trips, I mean —he clarifies as he notices your confused face.

—Oh, that, yes, the business trips, yeah, all good. Thank you! —you change topics as fast as possible, not wishing to lie to Michael. —Have I missed much?

—Well, it got interesting to say so.

—What?

He turns you around and nods towards a hurt-looking Charles Leclerc supervising his Ferrari car, crunched and pointing something while talking to a mechanic.

Charles has his hands covered in bandages, and his face is all bruised. What on earth! You lock eyes with him, and he looks surprised to see you there, then frowns at you slightly. You point your index finger to the left, and he gets your "See you in that narrow corridor where no one will see us."

—WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!? —You rush to take a good look at him when he catches your step, honestly concerned.

—That's what I asked myself! By "See you soon," you meant in four weeks! Good thing you didn't say, "See you in a while"!

—I'm sorry.

—Yeah, you better be! I texted you god knows how many times!

—I know, I'm sorry.

—Yeah, I'm really pissed at you, Y/N!

You look down at the floor, fucking sad. Charles notices it.

—But I'm even more glad and grateful to have you back —Charles pulls you into a tight hug, avoiding pressuring his bandaged hands against your body. —You had me worried.

You take a good peek at those.

—Second-degree burns on each. Something wrong went with my car; they are still investigating it. I lost brakes and control of her; thank god there wasn't a concrete wall or metal barrier and fence nearby, just rows of bumpers and forest beyond; a part at the front of the car caught fire due to the extreme friction, and that burned me.

You look at him, very pale, with your eyes widened.

—I know, I get what could have happened, but it didn't —Charles looks away with watery eyes. —So, let's move on. I'm not stopping racing.

You wipe a tear coming down your face.

—Oh no, no, I'm fine. It will take a minute, but I will be ready for the Dutch GP.

—Like a turkey put in an oven.

—I'll be fully cooked by then!

You both laugh; you missed your silly times with Charles so much. You picture him in a puffy turkey costume, struggling to get inside his car, not fitting.

—I'm glad you are alright; well, you know what I mean. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you when you needed it.

—It's okay, you are now.

Hi, honey! Yeah, no... Hi! Toto!? No! Once more... Hello Tots! Better! Remember that time when we fucked the shit out of each other, and then I disappeared for weeks? I'm back now! How is it going, my love? Yeah, like any of that is going to work.

You wait for the rest of the Mercedes team to leave their garage to slowly approach him, taking your time with each step, fighting your urge to run away.

—A text would have been nice —He tells you as soon as he feels you near, his eyes reading a graph slide on his iPad. Okay, that's a really icy tone.

—I'm sorry. I...

—Uhmju. So... —he closes the tablet's case, gets on his feet, fully upright, his height towering over you, and leans against the control center table, looking straight at you. —Business trips, huh? —he crosses his muscular arms. —Where have you really been? —Even if you are that nervous, you can't avoid peeking at his attractive flexed biceps.

—In Belgium. I had a personal emergency.

—What happened? —he swifts his tone to slightly concerned.

—I can't tell you.

He frowned at your answer, which was not good enough for him.—I see. It's not like it matters that you vanished for a month without a trace or warning and that didn't answer any of my worried calls or my sleepless late-night texts —Toto says.

—Toto, I-

—It's not like you have to explain a thing to me. It's not like I worried anyway —Toto interrupts you with a lot of sarcasm, moving to place his things inside his briefcase. —Well, I do really have a business trip to go. Excuse me —he passes you by, inches away, dodging your body.

He leaves you standing there, alone in the now empty Mercedes' garage. —I'm happy to see you —you say softly to yourself as you watch him walk further away in the distance, feeling you are about to cry.

How can his voice go from soft and sweet to sexy and guttural to authoritarian and commanding to this condescending and cold one? It needs to be studied.

The following day, Toto is nowhere to be seen. Sam notices you glancing around the paddock, looking for him near the Merc area. You don't feel like losing him, and you are there to try again to offer him an apology.

—He is in Germany. He will be here later —she tells you as she reaches you after exiting the Mercedes hospitality. —Hi! We didn't have a chance to talk yesterday; it's been crazy days for this team! How did it go?

—He is so mad at me anyways —you let out very sad. Sam can't avoid feeling sorry for you, which you notice and hate.

—He has been under much pressure lately; we are still in P3 at Constructors and Drivers, and we got disqualified in Canada to add more to his stress.

—What?!

—Tecnicallities and human errors, which had him fuming. Plus, all the drama in his personal life with you missing.

—And the Sussie drama, too, probably.

—Sussie's drama?! —she looks at you perplexed, like a second head had grown from your neck.

—I had dinner at Lewis before Matthew's call. He mentioned at the table that she was staying with him at his place in Monaco; he made it sound like they were still in a relationship but on rocky times.

—Toto is not that type —Sam reassures a slightly insecure-looking you. —I would ask him about it, but he no longer confides in me. By the way, now Toto knows when I lie —that's why Samanta hates letting his walls down; it makes her more vulnerable to others. —You don't know how many times he asked me things; I denied knowing what was going on with you or where you were every time, but not once he believed me. It got worse when he noticed a nervous Niki looking straight at me whenever he came to inquire. So it will be best if you let me out of the loop, but only a bit, eh?

You look stunned at her; wow, Toto did really know Sam; reading her was so difficult. Then you move to answer her previous question, informing her: —The plan is still on track, with no significant alterations. We ran a couple of scenarios with the tactics department, and it all went well; even Pascal joined us to give his input. It felt weird to be back at the manor, like somehow I didn't belong there anymore; I missed my new life and you guys so fucking much!

—Pascal went to the manor?! —Sam's eyebrows go up in the air, stunned.

—No, no, he joined us in a secure call line. You know Matt doesn't allow him there; plus, he is still under house arrest in Hungary.

—Oh yeah, I forgot about that; it's been a while —Sam scratches her head. —Are you nervous?

—Yes.

—I will be there by your side —she squeezes your hand.

—Oh no, I don't want you even near all that.

—And everyone missed you too! The group was worried!

It hits you differently now, by how things turned out.

But you can't avoid thinking that you are in Toto's homeland, which makes your mind wander to the dangerous thoughts you have been avoiding all day.

All those what-ifs?

What if you hadn't left?

What if Toto wasn't mad at you?

What if he had taken you to a romantic dinner in Vienna?

What if he had shown you his favorite places from growing up?

You also can't escape the thought of Toto's family.

What if they showed up?

What if you had met them?

What if you got introduced to them?

Of course, none of this will happen because you two aren't a thing yet. You killed your chances, and now you two are just friends who slept with each other and desire one another, but just that.

Oh god, you pray you two aren't really just that.

You screwed things with Toto so fast, don't you? It happened sooner than you expected to.

It's late. Toto arrives at his remote office straight from the jet in the late afternoon and stays working till dark. He has several papers to read and sign and essential things to approve; he needs quietness and no one bothering or interrupting, which is impossible during work hours. He sees you walk past behind the tinted windows of his headquarters. It is unusual for you to be around at these hours.

The lane is empty, and your heels sound louder than they should. All building facades remain lit, and only a couple of rooms inside them have the lights on for those late stayers, making the paddock feel less lonely than it should as you rush to your car on your way out. It was a tough day and an awful one.

Toto grabs his things and tries to reach you; he is angry and stressed, but it is not all your fault. He closes the door loudly, on purpose. You turn around at the sound, jumping a bit. He is about to crack a joke to ease things and come closer waving a peace flag but notices your red eyes from crying. His expression changes to one of honest concern.

—Shit —you let out softly, under your breath. He is the last person you want to meet in this state.

He comes close and stares at you for a good second. You don't say a word, and he tightly wraps you in his arms. He is warm and smells so good. You bury your head in his chest and meld in his embrace. He rests his chin on the top of your head; the height difference makes it comfortable for him.

—Feel like talking about it? —Toto says sweetly.

—No.

—Okay, it's all good. You don't have to. Can I hold you till you feel better?

—Yes, please —you softly sob; you feel like a little girl in his arms. He makes you feel like that all the time. You are only a couple of years younger than him. But he is such a grown-up in your eyes. And you are a fragile, weak thing on the constant verge of breakdown.

You cry in his arms, and he wipes and kisses your tears away. You melt inside. This man is too much.

He carries you in his arms inside the modern Mercedes building to the unlit, empty lobby; you two cuddle on the floor, Toto's back against the hallway wall, on top of the silver arrows logo carpet, and you lay on his chest, your legs crossing his.

Toto apologizes: —I shouldn't have said those things like that, but I was sore.

—I understand where it comes from. It's okay, I get it. I missed you so much —you let Toto know; he leans his forehead on yours, noses touching too.

And you kiss. You feel Toto's warm and soothing lips on yours, and you two start to tenderly and sweetly make out; it's warm, wet, and intimate, and when you are to caress his neck with your hand, almost out of breath but not able to stop, he suddenly breaks it off, taking you by surprise.

—We should leave; we don't want fines on our way for overstaying. Stay with me tonight.

You nod, agreeing.

It's an exquisite bathroom the one in his hotel suite, with white walls decorated with the French boiserie technique and polished marble white floors with ornamental gold flowers hand-painted on the large tiles. Tall windows let the light enter behind the light curtains. A large frame mirror with gold edges sits against the wall and over the floor.

You two share the white bathtub, a 19th-century piece with gold leaf borders; you are happily placed on top of him inside it in the warm water, rubbing the expensive bamboo mesh loofah on his naked chest while he lets you know every detail about his trip to Germany and the crazy weeks he had while placing small kisses on your shoulders, neck, and mouth every once in a while.

After that relaxing and repairing scented bath, you make it to the bed, and since all your things are in your hotel room, you steal one of his t-shirts as pajamas, both knowing quite well it's too tempting that you sleep butt naked on top his mattress, you both have to wake up early the following morning, and it's been a hectic day. Still, you decide not to wear underwear beneath it.

You make yourself comfortable on his bare firm chest, tracing small circles with your fingers on his pecks; Toto is only wearing tight navy blue and light fabric boxers, which make his bulge look so fine down there; you feel him pat your ass skin softly; and placing his large hand there before falling asleep.

If none of you were this tired and this emotionally drained right now, you would be about to reach an orgasm at this point.

You wake up early and share the room-service breakfast you ordered; you give Toto some of your fruit to his mouth, and he shares with you his salmon bagel; emotions always open the appetite before leaving the room with enough time to arrive at the circuit, you need to make a stop at your hotel before heading to the track.

When the SUV arrives at the drop-off entrance in front of the hotel's baroque facade, Toto pulls you into a kiss in the backseat, leaving you gasping for more before you exit the car.

—We still have free time, so —you whisper against his lips.

He smiles at you. Toto drags you to the elevators faster than an F1 car.

You both enter your hotel suite and go straight to the bed, clothes getting out in the way on your path.

He spreads you on your knees, on all fours, on top of the mattress, at the border of the bed, while he fucks you doggy style while on his feet. You bounce against his hard cock, skin slapping, moans coming out from both sides when the tip of his dick hits the spot inside you. Every time, more desperate strokes. He slaps you on the ass. His open palm hits your right ass cheek, leaving a mark.

Then he grabs you firmly by the hips, adding pressure, and starts to give it to you harder and faster. You can't stop moaning from the pleasure. You are being so loud, but you don't care; you feel done holding back or hiding any emotions that man makes you feel.

What Toto does to you next is unholy. He runs his hands along your arms till he reaches your palms, then wraps them around his own neck to make you support yourself, provoking you to arch your back. His free left hand caresses your chin and neck, then softly chokes you, making you turn your face to look straight at him.

Holding you in that position, he starts playing with his tongue inside your mouth. He licks your lips and bites them while adding pressure against your hips and buries his right fingernails in your right soft tigh. He is as inside you as he can. He is aching for you more every second.

He starts rocking himself against you, hitting your pussy and ass faster this time around. He has you moaning incoherently. The rhythm is so good; he fucks you in that position for a while till you start to feel so warm inside with each penetration; he is hard as fuck. And you feel you can't keep it together any longer. The pleasure is unbelievable. And you want to release. You start begging him to stop, well knowing you mean don't you dare! —Baby, I can't! Baby! I can't take it anymore! —You feel a hot sensation running down your legs. —Toto! —you moan as you start squirting all over your thighs and his.

—Fuck! —he growls, almost bestially, against your ear, getting drunk on your sents and fluids.

He shifts his whole body weight against yours, slowly pushing and pinning you down, your tummy against the mattress. Toto extends your arms and intertwines your hands and fingers with his in a sort of arrow position, completely topping you, rocking his hips in circles against your ass; you feel buried under his weight till Toto moans intense cumming noises to your ear, those noises drive you mad. He sounds so hot when he finishes.

—Stay in —you beg him. Oh, how he looks at you, what his eyes express makes your heart melt. You want him to be obsessed with you, to breathe you. It's borderline toxic, but that's how infatuated you are with him. You two remain in that position while kissing the life out of each other. You can feel him swing his hips every once in a while till his erection fades away.

Toto is the first one to step out of the shower; you enjoy the view of him butt naked, his wet hair dripping, the drops traveling through his bare chest down his abs and lower body while he strokes his length and legs with the towel, getting dry.

Once you are dry, too, and wrapped in a bathrobe, you start picking your clothes from the entryway floor; you two barely made it to the bed, unable to contain yourselves a second more, before going to the dressing room to select your outfit for today.

Toto is again putting on his Mercedes uniform, now in a bit of a rush.

You are looking for your thong everywhere on the carpet, not knowing where it flew; you want to avoid the maid the awkward moment; it's the only piece of clothing missing.

—I'm happy to have you back —he says with his whole heart, looking at you while finishing buttoning up his shirt.

—I counted the days to be back with you —you say, emotional. Toto comes close, kisses the palm of your hand, and licks your index finger.

—I hope you don't need to leave again soon, but if you do, these stay with me —he is holding your panties hostage in his black jeans left pocket.

None of you feel like saying goodbye and keep finding excuses in the form of kisses and petting to postpone it. Still, you must be discreet and professional and somehow manage to be together amidst everything in your life. It is a high-risk and conflict-of-interest kind of relationship on all fronts, but it feels worth it to you that you are ready to risk it all for him.

Sam, Charles, and you are hanging out in a famous high-end bakery in Vienna. The place is very bright, with high ceilings, white walls with mint accents of color, greenery, and modern gold lamps give the place its character; a massive large white wood display counter bar is full of rows of delicious pieces of bread and desserts, the clear wooden floors, light wood furniture, and small tables make it feel cozy. The place smells so good and feels warm.

Your mood is entirely different now. Sam stares at you while slurping dramatically and loudly the remains of her chocolate frappe through the straw.

—What? —you say while chewing your sacher würfel when you notice her eyes on you.

—They fucked —Charles adds before Sam can open her mouth. You two turn his way. He moves his hand in a kind of I recognize that smile on her while holding his vanilla kipferl.

—Yes —You admit, all blush. —But we discussed things too! —you rush to add.

—You told him where you went and what happened? —Charles asks you.

—You asked him about the Sussie thing? —Sam asks you.

Both at the same time.

—Well, no...

They roll their eyes at you.

Then Sam looks at you like you are crazy. —Then what did you two discuss? WAIT! Did you tell Charles?

—Of course, she told me! We are roomies AND besties!

Then Sam acts all jealous. —Hey! Get your own best friend!

—Charles intercepted me on my way out of the apartment; he only knew I would be out of town for a while —you clarify to Sam quickly before she slips out something important. —By the way, how is "abs" doing? —then you address Charles.

Samanta looked confused; she had never heard that name before. —Who is "abs"?

—Our womanizer neighbor in Monaco.

Still blank.

—The blond dude with long hair in a man-bun that's all ripped and has insane abs? —Charles gives her input.

Sam shakes her head.

—The one who is always shirtless and looks like Thor? He lives in the apartment right across our hallway and door —You add.

—No idea —she says, feeling left out.

—He is nice. Well... Yeah, it is hard to define. Sometimes, he hides from his conquests at our place after having fun, waiting for them to go. But he is hilarious and brings beers on cheat day Thursday —Charles explains.

—You going to love him, trust me, he is a sweet and trustworthy brute —you tell Sam.

A Twitter notification sounds on Millie's phone.

"Oh, miss Normani, it's great to have you back! Ferrari's red is a color that suits your skin so well; God bless the QUEEN!🐝🇬🇧" a video is attached along with the Sky Sports tweet. A stunning, athletic young girl walks down the paddock lane wearing impeccable street-style clothing, looking so chic, cameras flashing photos at her; Lewis's clothing game is getting challenged.

—Trouble is on our way —Millie hands her phone to Michael.

—Oh, yeah, I heard the rumor at the start of the season that she would be taking the reserve driver seat for them, but that it went cold —Michael adds.

—Your sources are shit then —Millie jokes. He softly pushes her out of his way, joking.

—Well, let's give her a fight! —He motivates Millie.

—Certainly, I didn't see this one coming our way —Christian lets out after getting the news.

—Sorry, but who is she? —Helmut asks him.

—She's just the biggest name in girls' racing ever, no big deal —he jokes sarcastically.

—The one that disappeared at the top of her game? I followed the scandal back in the day —Checo admits.

—Well, she is no longer on hiatus, it seems. Good thing is only for a few races! —Christian says while following her with his gaze as she enters the Ferrari headquarters.

—Mattia almost shit his pants when she finally answered him back. You are going to adore her. Normani is THE thing! —Charles gossips with Sam and you in the armchairs in the lobby of the Williams headquarters. —She lives in London and knows excellent places to hang out next week. I invited her to join us.

—I love the idea; this group always has room for another girl.

Once you are back at the circuit after lunch, you catch Toto sitting alone at a large picnic table under the shadow of a tree in an area further away from the hospitality and garages, working with his phone in hand. That man is all work, when will he relax? You go on your way there to annoy him so much.

—There is an entire long empty bench, and you sit right next —He tells you, in a deep voice but joking, arching his eyebrow, sensing your body against his.

You smile and giggle, getting even closer to him, almost blending with his side.

—God —he lets out exasperated but crosses an arm behind you and places his hand on top of yours, caressing it.

Then you move to get your things out of your large Bottega Venetta tote bag to work by his side; you have emails to answer.

You two get in the zone and focus on your tasks till you notice Toto moving his head to nose in your business.

—What's that mail for? Who are you sending it to? Why are you sending it? Hey, don't look at me like that. You are the one who chose to sit right next. I ask questions all the time; that's my job.

—Okay, but the annoyance part is my job in our relationship —you dare to shoot your shot, to see how he reacts, what he says.

You obtain no comment; he simply replies: —You have a fake job, remember?

Then, you slowly and overdramatically close your small and slim laptop with a single finger.

Toto looks at you with his eyes half closed and chin up.

—My secrets aren't for free, my love —you joke. You regret that wording later.

—Okay —He pays you with a couple of quick kisses; you are in a not very transit area and have enough privacy to do so. —What were you doing in Belgium?

—I meant the Williams-related ones; those are the ones for sale!

—Oh! Those I don't care about; we are about to bite you guys in the ass, anyways! —he says, overconfident, teasing you.

—Toto, dreaming is for free, don't you know?!

Toto was right; Lewis and George make a one-two. Normani gets on the podium, too, leaving Millie out. Well, that was quite the introduction for her.

Very late at night, you hear knocks on your suite door; you leave your warm and cozy bed to attend it. It's Toto.

As soon as you open the door, you feel a pair of lips on yours.

—I thought I would be sleeping all alone and sad after today's race on this chilly night —you pout, stopping kissing a second.

—Sorry, I went out to celebrate with the boys —Toto is a bit tipsy; he is wearing casual clothing now; layering looks so good on him! He is wearing a black turtle neck long-sleeve shirt under a very expensive cashmere grey, plain, modern blazer paired with black pants, loafer shoes, and an obsidian and silver bracelet; his hair is messy.

Toto gets sillier and more relaxed when in that state, a thing you love, and also he gets hornier, too, to your pleasure.

The rustic fireplace is on, keeping the spacious room warm. You witness Toto rearrange the area; Toto pushes the coffee table out of the way in the sitting area right in front of the fire and brings pillows from the bed to let them fall on top of the puffy brown rug in there.

Then he comes for you and takes you there by the hand. You two lay there wrapped in each other arms, making out. Toto's hands are on your ass and hips.

—Cozy and warm enough, baby girl? —he asks against your lips.

—Eh... —you shrug, joking. He smiles at you, then combs your hair tenderly with his fingers.

—Is there a chance you have a condom? We used the one in my wallet in the morning.

You shake your head; oh, bummer!

—Is it okay if I finish outside?

You feel your body shiver at his words.

—Yes. It's okay.

Clothes start to go out of the way; he gets you naked in no time; you are only wearing a black one-piece, sexy satin lace nightdress. He moves to help you get him undressed. His eyes go all over your body. —I keep fantasizing about what I'm going to do to you.

He takes you by surprise. Your cheeks turn red.

When you are both naked, he pushes you closer by the ass, making you spread your legs to give him room to get in the middle; you are sitting in a lotus position, your legs flexed over his, your thighs touching his thighs, he runs his hand all over your leg down to your ankle, you wrap your hands around his neck while you kiss.

Then, he slowly starts to lay you low on your back, making you lay on the pillows; he helps you make yourself comfortable on them and starts playing with your nipples, licking them with the tip of his tongue and biting them softly while locking eyes with you. He cups your tit and sucks it into his mouth; after a bit, he moves his way down. He starts eating your pussy like he is starving; you feel his wet tongue deep in you. He loves giving small kisses to your clit, provoking you to moan a lot. —I love running my tongue over every inch of you —he lets you know.

—Do you feel like to 69? —you ask him in the middle of a moan.

—Please —his voice is rough.

You sit on top of him, and you feel him burying his face in you, hand squeezing your ass while continuing to taste your pussy; amidst your loud moans, you start stroking his length and go down on his cock; you love his dick inside your mouth. You are giving him head so good that he stops for a minute to breathe heavily and moan.

—Fuck! I want to make it inside you; if you keep going, I'm going to burst inside your mouth.

—I wouldn't mind, but I love having you inside me, too.

You are more than wet and him more than hard when he slowly enters you. You both savor the movement. Then he flexes your left leg up and supports your calf on his shoulder. He starts to thrust you in that position while grabbing your right tit tightly. You feel his dick sliding inside every time faster. You are both panting and gasping.

He then switches positions, taking control this time; he gets your knees together and makes you get your legs up; he holds you in place with a firm grip from his hand on your hamstring muscles in a "hero" sex position, and Toto rocks his hips back and forward with deep strokes, you feel and see how his dick is curving up.

You start to scratch his thigh with your fingernails and slap his ass as the pleasure gets too good. —You fuck me so good, baby —you moan, reaching an orgasm in that position.

After giving yourself time to catch your breath for a second, you see how Toto lays down back against the rug; you immediately move to ride him. You feel him throbbing in pleasure inside and underneath you as you bounce hard up and down his dick; with your tits bouncing, he extends his arms to reach them and pinch your nipples, adding pressure with his fingers; then he starts wincing and biting his own lips; after a while, he rushes to place one of his large hands in your tummy, and you pull his cock out of you to start jerking it. Lots of guttural sounds come out of his mouth till he starts dripping. You feel his warm semen on your hand and abs, and you caress his chest with your free one and bend to kiss him hungrily.

Then he captures that hand and starts licking your index and middle fingers, sucking them inside his mouth and getting them wet enough with his saliva to then start leading your hand down on you, making you finger yourself, his hand on top of yours controlling and directing the movements. It gets to a point when you are so inside yourself and extremely wet that you are mess-moaning his name. Soft "Totos" is all he hears.

—Cum baby, cum for me —you feel your body trembling with his touch and yours. And you release, leaking on the rug beneath you.

Your bodies are so heated and sweaty near the fireplace; he drops on his back after being angled fingering you, with his cock bent to the left. You place yourself next to him, hands running on his shoulders and toned arms. You kiss in that position for a while before heading towards the bathroom.

Before falling asleep, your chauffeur knocks on the door to deliver you a drugstore bag. As you finish drinking your tall glass of water after taking the Plan B pill and place it on the nightstand, Toto tells you he is going to spend time with his family so that he won't be sharing the flight to the UK with you. He will arrive two days later, just in time for the race.

He doesn't invite you to join him.

You are all forced to rush to Silverstone from Austria for the anniversary race of the F1, which will take place before the usual activities of the Hungary GP start, leaving no room to rest for anyone.

It's going to be such a unique and fabulous event, and indeed, the FIA outdid themselves. Still, it's insane for the drivers and teams to rush from one country to another and move all the equipment and people with zero time margin. No one is in their best senses when arriving at the circuit, and everyone looks like it.

Due to the logistics of the massive event, the meeting before free practice is to start at 6.00 a.m. Lando hits his head against the clear glass panel doors, trying to enter the meeting room, half asleep, holding a Red Bull in his shaky hand.

He goes straight to you. You are already sitting in the chair with your name tag. At this point, no one cares about them or respects them. It is more like a classroom now; the group always sits together at the back of the room.

Lando mumbles something that you and Millie believe means good morning, and then he takes a couple of the empty chairs next to you to lay on top of, placing his head on your thighs and using them as a pillow.

Making you laugh. —Okay, yes, go ahead —you joke. Then Lando really falls asleep. —Lando out! —you inform the group.

Lewis is in the same row as you, but at the very end, legs on top of the empty chairs beside him, with his back leaned against a sound asleep Vettel, buried beneath a massive puffer Mercedes' jacket, tilted against the wall in a sitting position.

The room is almost empty except for you five.

—Angela almost tore down my bedroom door; she knocked so hard to wake me up. I nearly didn't make it, guys; I don't know how I got here —Lewis chats with you with a sleepy voice and swollen eyes.

Christian enters the room. —Is tits freezing today —he greets you. With a couple of "ah" sounds, he drops himself on the chairs in the front row. —I'm so old for this! —you all laugh. —You two look so well put together —He addresses Lewis and you, looking as stylish as ever. —I envy you.

Millie showed up in a set of Kuromi's pajamas, cocooned under Mick's Williams team winter jacket, that looked huge on her.

—Thanks, man —Lewis says.

Charles enters, greeting you with a peace sign gesture, followed by Carlos piggybacking a sleeping Daniel. —I would give you a hand, but... —Charles jokes, showing his bandages.

Normani enters, stealing the entire room's attention, wearing a white Dior long fleece blazer on top of a form-fitted pearl wool dress and a matching long scarf paired with high-knee suede boots in the same color. It's a monochromatic, stunning look with a combination of textures; her long hair is in a sleek ponytail, allowing it to show the beautiful minimal white gold earrings she is wearing, completing the look.

Millie waves her hand at Normani, and she looks happy to see her in there. After greeting the room, she reaches to sit by her side and catch up. You all look at her in awe. She is so beautiful, like a doll.

—Is that Geroge? —Niki asks, on attendance this time, since Toto is not around yet.

—It's Sebastian —everyone answers in unison. He and Lewis are the first two to arrive, so no one witnessed how Vettel fell asleep mid-conversation in his chair like a grandpa and how Lewis got him warm and covered under his Mercedes puffer, yet no one has a doubt it is him who is hiding underneath there; this surprises Lewis.

—I'm shooting the poor fucker responsible for waking me up this early —Niki shouts, provoking smiles.

At his back, Masi enters the meeting room, looking very worried.

London is one of Sam's favorite cities; it has everything she likes. Plus, it's full of very cool girls who make her nervous and all blushy, so she loves to run errands for Niki when in town; she always ends up meeting someone and asking for a date. The best sex she has ever had in her life has been there; her greatest loves have been "chapstick" lesbians from East London.

Sam has spent her entire day on the streets being driven around, completing all the tasks on Niki's long list of things he asked her to do. It's getting dark, and the last item for today is to drop some jewelry at Cartier to get it clean. So the chauffeur takes her to the one in Old Bond Street. Her favorite, Sam, loves it even more when it's Christmas and the stunning decor is on the facade.

The store's doorman rushes to open her car door as the SUV pulls in front of the jewelry main entry. She gracefully gets down and greets him.

—Good evening, mam —he replies, welcoming her inside. Sam had been feeling happy the entire day, but it went away as soon as she entered. In the contiguous stanza, in the highly expensive-looking sitting area, Toto and Sussie are looking together at some exclusive pieces a sales lady is showing them; Sam glimpses the sparkles projected out of those under the lights from far away.

Toto is not supposed to be here, nor are they supposed to be together, she thinks, but disregards the thought; probably he just got free sooner, and they are just hanging out since Sussie lives here most of the time.

Then she goes ahead with her errand; as Sam delivers the pieces to the man behind the counter, she sees Toto getting handed back his credit card; after a bit, a man gives a box to Sussie's hands; they get up at the same and start exiting the room together; holding hands.

Fuck! They are about to see her; there is no way she can duck down and hide behind clear crystal panels.

—Sam! —Sussie greets her, noticing her and happy to see her.

Fuuuuuuck.

Toto turned his head, perplexed; he was checking out the male bracelets on the display wall on their way to the exit. He lets Sussie's hand go, and she comes close to hug Sam.

—Hi! How are you? Good to see you!

—Likewise!

—Shopping spree?

—Oh, no, I'm just running an errand for Niki —she waves her hand, dismissing it. —All ready? —Sam addresses the jewelry cleaner guy.

—In a minute —he offers her a smile.

—Hey, why don't you join us for dinner?! —Sussie offers her.

—I would love to! But I have another task yet; I don't wish to get Niki all grumpy; you know how he is when he gets in a bad mood —Lies. Sussie laughs and nods, agreeing; Toto remains quiet and further away.

—Well, next time, then! When you are in Monaco too, come to our place, yes?

—Yes!

Okay, this is a shitty position to be for Sam; if she doesn't tell you, she is a terrible friend to you. But if she tells you, she is a lousy friend to Toto. LORD HAVE MERCY! She needs to give it a thought before opening her mouth!

When Toto decides to show up at the paddock, he goes to look for you. He looks tired and falls asleep next to you on a bench. You cover his face with your Balenciaga bomber jacket, giving him more privacy. You rest your left hand on top of his chest.

Samanta then arrives.

—Oh, he is here, good.

—Shss, he just fell asleep!

—This reminds me of how babies are so cute when sleeping but a terror when up.

—He is always baby —you say with a silly voice, caressing his chest.

Toto tries to listen to the conversation beneath your jacket with his eyes closed; he is about to fall asleep when he hears Samanta's voice. He needs to talk to her and explain things, but he is so comfortable in your embrace, so that can wait.

—Haven't you seen his photo from when he was a kid? They asked us for the digital version to print and place on the commemorative mural the FIA is making for the anniversary pit walk.

—No, I haven't! Is it better than baby Bottas?

—Oh, you are going to die! I have the original one in my purse here —Sam hands you a glossy, old-looking picture, a bit yellowy.

—Aawwww, he is so cute! —You observe in detail the photo of little Toto, a bit tall for his age, with skinny legs and dark, wild hair up and to the sides, leaned against his go-kart, helmet in hand; his little sister makes a small appearance in the back, picking a pebble or something from the floor wearing a floral pattern jumper. Toto is wearing an electric blue seventies driver's suit. —Hair hasn't changed a bit; that pose is everything! —you instantly get heart eyes. —His nose is so tiny, and he looks adorable. So cute! —you say with a silly voice and stare at the picture more.

—Now give it back! —Sam demands you; she yanks the photo of your grip, struggling until you let it go, then Sam archives it quickly in her purse.

—Now, shush! I'm reading essential documents —you tell her.

—Like your job was for real!

—Excuse you with that again! —Sam smiles at you and quickly disappears, noticing you are about to throw your tumbler at her.

Half an hour later, you feel Toto move on the bench, turning and almost falling to the side. He tries to incorporate and bumps his forehead with the table.

—Ouchie, love! —you let out and start to rub his temple tenderly.

—Ow! That hurt! —Toto lets you pamper him. Then stays stomach on the bench, making tired noises.

—I don't love my job very much right now —He says, and after a couple of minutes, he starts incorporating, no longer being able to avoid it, dragging along your bomber jacket, stuck and caught on behind his neck, with his hair all wild, and an "I just wake up" face.

—I just saw a photo of kid you with that same hairstyle!

He looks at you with one wonky eye, slowly processing the information.

All you can do is smile at him and softly laugh at the sight; you are so in love with him.

—Gotta get going! —he tells you, gets on his feet, places your jacket at your side, and bends his tall, fit body to kiss you on the cheek, rubbing your shoulders with his hands simultaneously before walking away.

I will not be able to resist greet and saying goodbye to him just with kisses on the cheek any longer.

To be continued... < Previous chapter | Masterlist | Next chapter >

#toto wolff x reader #toto wolff x you #toto wolff fic #toto wolff fanfic #toto wolff x y/n #toto wolff fanfiction #toto wolff #f1 fanfiction #f1 fanfic #mercedes fanfic #formula 1 fic #toto wolff imagine #f1 imagine #f1 x female reader #f1 x you #f1 x reader #f1 x y/n #f1 x oc #my works

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ghoste-catte · 6 months

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I'm on my hands and knees asking you about your favorite gaalee moments (spin offs count bc why wouldn't they)

Anon ... I'm sorry I took a while to answer this for you, but it's because you activated my trap card. But without further ado ... here are my top 10 GaaLee moments.

(My 10th pick and rationale beneath the cut)

The Drop Kick So, I feel like we don't talk about this kick often enough. Because this is actually the first time anyone draws blood on Gaara (we see the scratch on his face once his head pops back up). As much time as was given in canon to Gaara's reaction to Sasuke drawing his blood, I don't really understand why Lee being the first to cut him wasn't as big a deal.

The Primary Lotus This is ... probably the first time Gaara's been touched hand-to-body in years. I've written a few times (and shout out to @egregiousderp for their hand in this headcanon) about how this was probably the first approximation of a hug that Gaara had since Yashamaru. He replaces himself with a sand clone halfway down, but for the initial drop, that's just Lee holding him.

The Rescue I wasn't able to find my favorite screenshot from this moment, which is the one where Gaara's sand is rushing to save Lee and it kind of looks like a heart, but anyway, I just love this pivot. The fact that Gaara uses the very weapon he used to crush Lee's dreams to save him. The way Lee still tries to be an equal partner in this fight despite his injuries. The "I don't hold a grudge!"

The Talk This moment means a lot to me. It's a deep conversation to have, and it's one that happens on two levels that I think aren't fully addressed by the narrative. Of course, on the surface, they're talking about Kimimaro and Orochimaru, but the subtext goes something like: Gaara: Even if people love me, I'm still a monster. All they would need to do is be desperate and lonely enough, and I might seem like a good choice. Lee: The fact that people love you proves you're not a monster! Obviously Gaara gets the final word in this conversation, but I do like to think it sinks in later on and influences their relationship in the future.

The Walk Home I hate that we only get to see this in flashbacks in filler episodes (although we do get to see it twice from two different perspectives!)

But I love this moment because of the way that Gaara chooses to carry Lee: he slings him over his shoulder with one arm. If you go back and watch Gaara and his siblings returning to Suna after his fight with Naruto, that's exactly the way first Kankuro, and then Temari, carry him when he's wounded.

This moment is during that time where Gaara's still learning how to be a person and not a weapon, and the fact that he chooses to carry Lee with such care … it feels relationship-defining.

6. The Eighth Gate That flashback that Gaara has to Gai and Lee's relationship shows that he's really internalized the defining impact Lee had on his life. The genuine care and concern that he looks at Lee with in that moment despite Lee's stubborn insistence that he won't be sad makes my heart ache for the both of them.

7. The Retreat If you've ever read one of my fics that's set during the war and notice that I mention Gaara carrying Lee around on his sand, this is what I'm talking about. I love that Lee sees the sand as an unequivocal source of safety instead of threat at this point (to the point of entrusting it to carry Gai-sensei in his frail state). And I love that this seems to be Gaara's default way of pulling Lee out of danger ... it's at least the second time he's done it, after all:

8. Gaara-kun! This was one of The Moments for me. We as a ship had been speculating so long about the degree of intimacy of Lee and Gaara's relationship. We'd spent, I think, a decade at this point writing fics where Lee called Gaara "Kazekage-sama". Then the Perfect Day for a Wedding arc dropped, and here's Lee calling Gaara "Gaara-kun" just like he does the rest of his friends ... wind was blown into the ship's sails on this day.

9. The Double Date Gaara and Lee go on a double date with Tenten and Kankuro to Ichiraku Ramen. This is canon. 'Nuff said.

And now, for number 10 ... drumroll please ...

10. The ILY I know, I know - those handsigns don't mean the same in JSL as they do in ASL. But my little hard-of-hearing heart can't help but see Lee shooting double "I love you"s at Gaara in this moment. And even if he's not, the starry eyes and blushy cheeks say it all. This is flirting, y'all.

#answered #Anonymous #naruto #gaalee

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she-walked-away · 19 days

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Do you have any theories to share with the class? I remember the Huntington's theory you had came true!

I have A LOT OF THOUGHTS and thankfully @thisbuildinghasfeelings indulges them and helps me map them out.

I think the biggest theory I have is Carlos has a new job- but I have like 2-3 theories on what it is and why. They've been hinting at a career change for him for like 3 seasons at this point. Do I think it will stick? idk

I think my main theory is that Carlos is working dispatch or something along the lines of that. I know it seems kind of random, but if Carlos isn't going to be police anymore- he will most likely still be in a first responding position because that's just how the 911 verse works. The thing that kind of helps me with this theory is that Rafa talked about it being something different than he has ever done before and I think anything Texas Ranger-y is too similar to what he's done before with police and the detective stuff.

Also the angst hoe in me wants Carlos to be on dispatch and hear TK get injured (as told he gets injured at the Chicago con) and be able to do nothing about it because he's not there. Also- more grace and carlos scenes PLEASE!

Second theory is that he's working undercover on Gabriel's murder case- which ALSO fits being different than anything Rafa's done before. We do know that figuring out what happened to him is supposed to be apart of the season, as told by a cameo from earlier this year and that Carlos has a five episode arc- which I'm assuming and i know you're not supposed to, is about that. My supporting theory about that is kind of what Jen's ( @strandnreyes) V-day fic was about. Like Carlos is living somewhere away from TK- but I'm kind of theorizing that they meet up every episode or 2 to check in with each other and have *steamy* scenes. Kind of fits with Brian talking about how relationships kind of turn on a head and imagine they act like they're apart through the first episode and we see them reunite at the end happily in love but carlos undercover!

This also culminates to Carlos either seeing or hearing about TK getting hurt and he cannot react. I want the ANGST. The evidence for this one other than just speculating is I have a theory that the party at the loft where they were all nice and fancy in the Cameo vid is a "welcome back" Carlos party and TK makes a spectacle of putting Carlos' wedding ring back on him because they're THAT cheesy in love. (the easy answer was that he wasn't wearing it yet before they film but i'm taking it a step further).

I think these are the main ones I have now just for carlos and tarlos, so I'll be curious if they pan out! Basically if they're making TK get injured again- they better indulge my angst whore ways and have Carlos be unable to do anything about it and see him internally or externally freak out because Rafa is so good at that and it's just *different* now that they're husbands.

#tarlos #911 lone star #carlos reyes #911 lone star speculation

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saintsenara · 11 months

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rare pair tag game

thanks for the tag, @said-snape-softly :)

i'm pretty sure everyone has done this by now, but if you'd like to, please consider this a blanket tag.

apart from all the tomarry and the odd dabble in remadora, i am a rare-pair enthusiast, so i am delighted to spread some propaganda here... the criterion i've used for a rare-pair is less than 2500 works on ao3.

pairs, little metas, fic recommendations, and some suggestions for authors to follow under the cut.

sirius black/severus snape

why i ship it:

this one can just about claim to be a rare-pair.

sirius and severus are narrative mirrors, whose complicated relationship to themselves and to each other is crucial for driving several of the most important arcs in the series.

in particular, sirius - constantly haunted by guilt and grief over his role in the death of the man he loved [you can decide if his love for james is platonic or not, but i definitely think the text thinks it isn't...], trapped in his childhood home, unable to have his real loyalties acknowledged before his death by the fact he's on the run - leads harry through his journey in hero-worshipping, then being disappointed in, then forgiving james. and then promptly dies.

this is one of harry's most significant areas of personal growth - it begins to chip away at his rather black-and-white morality, which is finally destroyed by his ability to confront the complexity of dumbledore in deathly hallows - but it is also key narratively: harry coming to understand james starts to hint to the reader that it is lily - otherwise absent from her son's conception of himself - who is the key to the mystery...

which brings us to severus - constantly haunted by guilt and grief over his role in the death of the woman he loved, trapped in his childhood home, unable to have his real loyalties acknowledged before his death by the fact he's a spy - who gives harry, and us, the final piece of the puzzle. and then promptly dies.

put them together, though? well, you get the delicious tension of two fundamentally broken people - who cannot comprehend the possibility of their own redemption - bound to each other. can they forgive each other and themselves? is it a disaster? the story can go either way.

and even in fluff there is so much potential for d r a m a between sirius' recklessness and severus' cunning, sirius' emotional control and severus' temper, the fact that sirius is canonically hot and severus is canonically not, how they react to harry and draco [i don't usually accept the fanon that severus is his godfather, except when it means snack can be fighting about it], and so on.

and i'm a sucker for two bitter old men getting a happy ending. sue me.

want to give it a read?

if you trust nothing else i say in my life [and why should you] you can trust this - second life by nwhiker and cassandra7 is one of the greatest pieces of writing i have ever seen, not only in this pairing but in this fandom full stop. it's a profound and solemn meditation on loving and grieving, choice and chance, and the great pain caused by the divide between the magical and the muggle worlds.

then, for gorgeous angst with a happy ending - two boys kissing by @writcraft and the merit in trying by brightened

albus dumbledore/tom riddle | voldemort

why i ship it:

the facetious answer is because they wouldn't be so obsessed with each other if there wasn't some sexual tension underneath it.

the facetious and nsfw answer is because it appeals to the part of me whose favourite book aged 11 was lolita

the serious answer is that they should be horrifying together: they're both liars; both incredibly self-righteous; both living behind masks which conceal their true emotions and motivations; dumbledore took one look at tom as an eleven-year-old, said "he reminds me of gellert", and then did nothing about it; tom thinks dumbledore's a hypocrite and is right, although not for the reasons he thinks; there is a colossal age gap; there is virtually no scenario in any timeline where they could be openly in a relationship unless one of them is concealing his identity; and - really, this seems quite minor in the grand scheme of things - they are constantly trying to destroy each other.

but.

intellectually, they are the only two characters in the series who could be the other's equal - i'm sure that violent arguments about the twelve uses of dragon's blood trigger the majority of their sexual encounters, and a man who's passionate about your research is hot.

if either of them ever fancy being honest - so, no - there is a shared cavernous [although, in tom's case, unacknowledged] grief in their lives which has shaped their not-as-divergent-as-the-text-thinks-they-are views on death, love, duty and so on. their active refusal to understand each other [i.e. dumbledore entirely misreading voldemort's motivations in the job interview scene] and commitment to constantly underestimating each other [i.e. voldemort bouncing around like an idiot in the chamber of secrets instead of using his brain and remembering what a phoenix is] could, in time, lead to something almost resembling acceptance. i mean, just imagine the hurt/comfort sex which happens when voldemort finds out about grindledore.

the way dumbledore describes the young riddle - "self-sufficient, secretive, and, apparently, friendless" - is also an exact description of him. that each sees himself in the other canonically drives their hatred of each other, but it could also appeal to two very vain men in a much racier way. after all, who doesn't want to bang their narrative mirror?

and being an orphan probably doesn't seem so bad when you realise your boyfriend's family is aberforth.

want to give it a read?

i can't recommend concordance by @laeveteinn enough, particularly for one of the best-written dumbledores i've ever seen. i find dumbledore is often written either as far more whimsical than i'd like, or far more fiery and radical [when one of his most interesting personality traits in canon is his tendency towards inaction], but this dumbledore is the perfect balance of contradictions, while tom is his canonical feral self, longing to perceived, rather than the emotionless sociopath of so many other stories.

i also recommend as an entire ocean in a drop by eldritcher, which really leans into just how similar these two are underneath all the artifice.

albus dumbledore/severus snape

why i ship it:

well, we've had dumbledore with one lost boy, let's have him with another [i haven't been brave enough to venture into dumbledore/harry yet, but i'll take recommendations...]

as with riddledore, we have the potential for horror here: a vast power imbalance; enormous age gap; the fact dumbledore sends snape out to potentially die every time he goes off to voldemort; and - this is the crucial one - the fact that dumbledore's recognition of himself in snape is pure self-loathing ["you disgust me"] manifested in punishment [allowing snape to be humiliated in front of fudge, not stopping the presumed-to-be-real moody searching his office, making him give harry occlumency lessons, not letting him teach defence against the dark arts].

but then this stops, when snape does the tremendously brave thing of agreeing to kill dumbledore, and their dynamic equalises, as dumbledore recognises that snape is courageous, steadfast, and redeemed. i'm always struck in half-blood prince by the fact that dumbledore has it with harry's sniping about snape and straight-up tells him to shut up, as well as by the fact that he very nearly gives the game away and confesses why snape switched sides [the thing he promised not to do] when harry finds out it was snape who gave voldemort the prophecy.

and within this equalised dynamic - so this hot geriatric sex is happening in the afterlife, i guess - we have two men who are intellectual close-to-equals, who understand grief and guilt, whose aesthetic senses are charmingly mismatched, who are rarely honest but might be for each other, and who have lots of profound similarities which might lead somewhere...

want to give it a read?

cheerfully disregarding everything i've just said about how snumbledore could work, i highly recommend in infinite remorse of soul by @perverse-idyll, which is a chilling look at how dumbledore uses the power imbalance between the two to assuage his own guilt through snape's humiliation.

for something much more wholesome, i'm a big fan of byzantium by eldritcher

petunia dursley/severus snape

why i ship it:

because vernon is a dick.

i'm fond of petunia, who i think is one of the most interesting characters in the series because of how full of contradictions she is, and who i think is also a victim in fandom spaces of how the adult cast was aged up for the films [in canon, she's only in her early twenties when lily dies, and the implication is that vernon is a good deal older than her)] which makes her inadequacies, such as her inability to truly care for either child in the household, seem much more nuanced than they do if she's pictured as a middle-aged woman with considerable life experience.

like snape, she teeters on a knife edge between various chasms: she is a working-class girl from the midlands made good in middle-class surrey, he is a working-class half-blood boy who spends most of his life in pureblood circles; she ends up with her whole life wrapped up in a square little house when she's barely out of her teens, he ends up with his whole life wrapped up in spying at the same age; she hates the wizarding world and yet covets it, he hates the muggle world and yet cannot escape it; she loves lily and she hates her and she loathes her for dying, he... well, you know the rest.

want to give it a read?

i was first convinced by this pairing by the lovely regretfully yours by @maria-de-salinas, which takes both snape and petunia's awkwardness and bitterness and moulds it into something really tender.

i also highly recommend barking at the moon by rinsbane, the summary of which speaks for itself.

merope gaunt/tom riddle sr.

why i ship it:

our first canon pairing, and probably the most problematic of the canon relationships, since the series never acknowledges that tom sr. is a rape victim.

but i have found myself recently in my merope era and, in particular, in an attempt to give her more nuance than she gets in canon. as i've said to anyone who'll listen in the three broomsticks discord server, i loathe the implication in canon that merope dies because she just cba to live [since it directly justifies voldemort's belief that her death was shameful] and prefer to see her as someone who was desperate to escape a truly horrifying life [the fact she's going to be forced into an incestuous relationship with morfin is right there in canon...] and so did something she didn't have the capacity to understand the implications of [this is not a woman who's ever heard of consent] because she thought it would give her the first chance to be happy in her life, watched it all crash and burn around her, and would have very much liked to have lived to raise her son.

i doubt there was anything real or tender in her relationship with tom sr., of course, and his escape - while merely a brief stay of execution from his son's perspective - is tremendously brave. it's impossible to write tom/merope fluff [although i respect you if you're inclined to try] but fanfiction gives a space to explore the intricacies of their relationship which canon doesn't allow, and i'm obsessed.

want to give it a read?

i'm recommending myself here, and assuring you that you will enjoy: enchanter's nightshade, which explores how merope's attempts to keep her husband enslaved fail; the snow child, which treats the relationship as folk-horror; and the shack at the end of the lane, in which there is redemption, in the end.

the best exploration of tom sr. dealing with the fallout of the relationship is @phantomato's exquisite ganymede, which feels so truly embodied that you can't pull yourself away from the page.

bellatrix lestrange/tom riddle | voldemort

why i ship it:

our second canon pairing, i am obsessed with these two and the tragedy and - to some extent - tenderness bound up in their relationship [which can be proven to be there because noted softy @whinlatter loves them].

i've written before about my conviction - in contrast to a lot of bellatrix fans - that her relationship with rodolphus is utterly miserable, and that voldemort is the only man in her life who can understand her desire to make a life for herself which is not constrained by the gendered expectations of her social class.

obviously, lord voldemort is not a shining paragon of a boyfriend [and he is an awful choice as a baby daddy, bella, get it together], but i think the enormous power imbalance is perhaps slightly less enormous than is sometimes assumed - certainly, she tells him to his face in half-blood prince that he's wrong to trust snape [she's a clever woman], voldemort never physically punishes her for anything [rip to lucius malfoy, who seems to get picked for this in her stead], and voldemort tolerates a surprising amount of nonsense from her which shatters his mystique.

all of which is to say... the scream when she dies isn't just because he's losing the war.

want to give it a read?

tee hee, i'm recommending myself again, and encouraging you to take a look at: atramentum, bellamort's last afternoon together before voldemort goes to the potters; nor all that glisters gold, bellatrix's life - including her relationship with voldemort - through sirius' eyes; and death (eaters) in paradise, because murderous psychopaths deserve crack fics too.

draco malfoy/tom riddle | voldemort

why i ship it:

because the ship name is taco.

these two are a pairing which i enjoy with my tongue firmly in my cheek [and tom's tongue firmly in draco's], as i do with most other things in which draco is a main character [do i want to read drarry angst? no! do i want to chuckle? absolutely!], although this should not be taken as saying that many of taco's fabulous authors don't manage to make the pairing entirely plausible.

in fact, consensual taco [non-con is, of course, its own beast] often has some of the best characterisation of both tom [fretful, mercurial, stubborn, and nowhere near as charming as he thinks he is] and draco [prissy, a very good judge of character, someone who likes being taken care of, and much braver than he appears if he absolutely has to be] i've seen in the fandom, largely because - unlike other voldemort-centric ships [especially tomarry, but also voldemort + any of the adult death eaters] - there's no sense of inevitability there. these two aren't connected by a shared bit of soul, or a prophecy, or having gone to school together, or having been hooked in by voldemort in the first war when he was unassailable.

they have to choose each other. or, more accurately, draco has to choose tom, and tom has to get chosen.

and the results have me entertained.

want to give it a read?

then you will want to have a look at the travelling cabinet by @the-paper-monkey [and its sequel, bluebeard], truly the gold standard of taco content with an absolutely brilliant draco, whose sheer capacity to cling on and make himself an irremovable part of tom's life may just end up changing the course of history.

narcissa malfoy/severus snape

why i ship it:

because i am in deep with the conspiracy theory that it's canon. i am absolutely certain that narcissa is the person that voldemort is referring to at the end of deathly hallows - "he desired her, that was all, but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him". it seems highly unlikely to me that the canonical voldemort would give a shit about snape fancying any random pureblood [although the snapemort version is, naturally, hugely jealous], but snape having had some sort of liaison with narcissa, and the ability knowing this gives voldemort to humiliate snape, narcissa, the memory of lily, bellatrix, lucius, and draco is definitely information he would go out of his way to remember...

plus, how do you know where he lives, babe? v suspicious.

want to give it a read?

if you want some fluff, you will very much enjoy the incredibly sweet the reformed man by gingertart50, which features narcissa nursing snape back to health post-nagini and is a favourite re-read for me when i'm drunk and it's christmas.

if you want some very-much-not-fluff, other women and of purer blood by yours truly will scratch the itch...

minerva mcgonagall/severus snape

why i ship it:

because i'm an equal-opportunity age-gap fan, and there is far too little older woman/younger man in the fandom.

and look, i'll admit it, i'm a fan of the fanon that snape and mcgonagall are friends prior to dumbledore's death - i'm not sure it's canonically plausible, but this sign can't stop me because i can't read - and i like the idea of that blossoming into something more, especially in fics where snape survives the second war. after all, he is a man who definitely needs to be treated quite strictly [and i don't just mean in the staff room], there is a shared loneliness and grief to them both, they're intellectual equals despite the age gap, and bickering about quidditch is absolutely fine as a method of foreplay.

plus, you can't tell me dumbledore's portrait doesn't ship it.

want to give it a read?

for a fic which shows minerva at her acerbic - and yet still sensual - best, always but not necessarily forever by gingertart50 is an old, fluffy, and very funny, favourite.

for something much more bittersweet, that good night by kelly_chambliss has my heart.

severus snape/tom riddle | voldemort

why i ship it:

because voldemort is canonically down bad for it - there is no need to believe snape's ridiculous cover story for not attending his resurrection, to try and spare lily as a treat for his man, and to give him a nice, painful death which allows the narrative to move on and harry to defeat him if the dark lord isn't firmly in his simp era.

more seriously, they obviously have an enormous amount in common, particularly in terms of their backgrounds [harry draws a connection between all three of them, but actually the fact that harry is rich in the wizarding world, not a slytherin, and with a muggle mother, therefore giving him a pureblood name, means he can't relate to the post-childhood experience of both halves of snapemort].

as a result, i think snape is the death eater who comes the closest to understanding voldemort's motivations - above all, the fact that he's not seeking an oligarchy, which the malfoys etc. obviously believe - while voldemort is someone snape feels understands his intellectual interests and his creativity.

want to give it a read?

boy, are you in luck, because i myself have a snapemort wip - scylla and charybdis. it is not wholesome.

tom riddle/myrtle warren

why i ship it:

because it started as crack and now i love them.

in particular, i just have so much respect for being incredibly annoying as a method of seduction, and i think myrtle's commitment to just following tom around chattering at him - and, therefore, without her realising it, preventing him from committing all sorts of crimes - is iconic.

want to give it a read?

then my unhinged rom-com - bookbinding - shall provide.

tom riddle | voldemort/ginny weasley

why i ship it:

because i enjoy seeing my dear friends who ship hinny shake and cry.

but also because ginny and tom have an enormous number of similarities, right down to the fact that they both have yew wands [if you're sick of people saying harry has an oedipus complex, you'll be delighted to be confronted with the mountain of evidence ginny reminds him of the villain who keeps trying to kill him instead].

they are both very good liars, quick thinking, remarkably resistant to shame, possessed of nerves of steel, predisposed to violence, brown-eyed, so hot they have harry gagged, and the profound enemy of someone whose surname is smith.

despite what he claims, tom was absolutely not just sat politely in that diary gritting his teeth while ginny complained about having second hand robes and idiot brothers. as he says, he opted "to start feeding [her] a few of my secrets", and i think it's justifiable from canon that they were at the very least half-truths [for example, i would not be shocked to discover he tells her he's a half-blood orphan brought up against his will in the muggle world - there's no other reason, i think, for him to successfully make her tell him these things about harry without it], which means that ginny has lots of lovely emotional leverage over him.

plus, as with tomarry, you have the element of "this is kind of inevitable" in the relationship, and the mysteries of fate are always sexy.

want to give it a read?

this is a tommary/hinny/tominny triad, but it has had me in a chokehold since the first time i read it - shameful company by merrivale, which, truly iconically, manages to be epilogue compliant.

#asenora fic recs #rare pair tag game #starprince #snirius #snack hp #riddledore #snumbledore #petunia dursley x severus snape #merope gaunt x tom riddle sr #bellamort #tom riddle x draco malfoy #snarcissa #minerva mcgonagall x severus snape #snapemort #tom riddle x myrtle warren #tom riddle x ginny weasley #lots to read

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